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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Abhoth on June 21, 2010, 01:54:12 PM
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In addition to been a total harry nut, I am also a massive True Blood Fan, I was wondering do you peoples think this system would do the vampires (and other things) from True Blood (The TV series)?
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Sure. Sam's a bit tricky, but everything else is pretty easy, really.
Some things are going to be outside PC power level, of course.
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Yeah the I can shift into anything power is a little tricky, your right some things will be above the PC's power lvl, However vampires are Clearly PC material in this setting (given they do have free will) and given that even a newbie vampire like jessica has supernatural speed, strenght and everything Vampires are going to be awfully tough, but they have a massive catch, they are incredibly vulnerble to silver, even a flimsy silver chain can restrain one and a human can take one unawares.
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A TB style shifter is quite doable at higher refresh levels. Take True Shapeshifting [-4], Modular Abilities [-2] and a 3 point pool of form points would allow you to mimic most normal animals. Also, since Sam can’t duplicate other human forms or inanimate objects it seems like his version of shapeshifting would probably be -3 instead of -4, so you might be able to allocate an extra point to your form pool.
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Actually I'd build Sam basically this way, depending on the Refresh available:
Echoes of the Beast [-1]-He can track by scent in human form.
Beast Change [-1]-Bear in mind that he can't fly well, because he lacks the skill set. This implies to me that he has one skill pyramid for all his animal forms, and since he can't assume the for of anything not an animal...
Human Form [+2]-He can't change without an animal (or at least it's image) to focus on, that's somewhat limited. May be bought down to +1 later.
Modular Abilities [-7 or -8]-He can turn into a Bull, which is at least Inhuman Strength, Claws, and Hulking Size, so -5 Refresh worth of powers.
That's -7 to -9 Refresh total, and very doable as a PC.
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I might steal your Sam template in the future, Deadman. I like it ;D
And most of the vamps are probably very statable, I'm not usually one to stat templates that I'm not using personally so I might take a crack at it later.
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I might steal your Sam template in the future, Deadman. I like it ;D
And most of the vamps are probably very statable, I'm not usually one to stat templates that I'm not using personally so I might take a crack at it later.
Surely the basic True Blood vamp is just a Red Court Vampire with Flesh Mask and Cloak of Shadows replaced by Domination, right? I might also be inclined to ditch Claws: a vampire's fangs aren't that nasty, and the effective Weapon:2 from Inhuman Strength is probably enough to cover it. Things like the psychic link to vampires you've made/vulnerability to commands from your Maker I'd just call invokes/compels of your Vampire high concept.
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The basics are as follows:
Blood Drinker [-1]
Human Form [+2], completely helpless during the day, lose powers as long as they are touched by silver, applying to everything except
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
The Catch is Sunlight, Silver, and Stakes Through the Heart [+4]
Feeding Dependency (Blood) [+1] effecting;
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Speed [-2]
Supernatural Recovery [-4]
Their mind control abilities are a bit harder, but I'd stat then as Incite Emotion (Obedience) with Lasting Emotion and an eye contact instead of touch. That's -2.
This actually works out to only -6, so individuals could really jack up their Inhuman Speed and Strength pretty readily. Or buy things like shapeshifting and 'Wings' to represent flight.
Their connection to their Maker, while cool, is I think best handled as Compels and Invokes, rather than it's own power.
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Season 2 opener, tell me vampire's fangs can't do damage... though Eric was also probably ripping him apart with his strength as well.
Would you stat their blood as some sort of healing potion?
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The basics are as follows:
Blood Drinker [-1]
Human Form [+2], completely helpless during the day
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
The Catch is Sunlight, Silver, and Stakes Through the Heart [+4]
Feeding Dependency [+1] effecting;
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Speed [-2]
Supernatural Recovery [-4]
Their mind control abilities are a bit harder, but I'd stat then as Incite Emotion (Obedience) with Lasting Emotion and an eye contact instead of touch. That's -2.
This actually works out to only -6, so individuals could really jack up their Inhuman Speed and Strength pretty redily. Or buy things like shapeshifting and 'Wings' to represent flight.
Good idea on Human Form, I had forgotten the "powerless during the day" bit of the schtick. I'm not sure about Incite Emotion for the psychic whammy though; it's always looked more like a mental attack to me, so I'd probably stick with Dominate to model it--I forget, have they ever mentioned that people who have been mind-whammied are more susceptible to it later? That would track well with mental consequences.
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Season 2 opener, tell me vampire's fangs can't do damage... though Eric was also probably ripping him apart with his strength as well.
I contend that tiny little vampire fangs aren't big enough to add a Weapon rating all by themselves--they're barely the size of a small pocket knife, if that. That damage came from Eric's Supernatural, if not Mythic, Strength IMO.
Now, if Jessica had done something like that....
Would you stat their blood as some sort of healing potion?
I'd use the temporary acquisition of powers rule (per the sidebar on YS90) to give anyone who drinks vampire blood Inhuman Recovery. Any Fate Point debt they accrue from that would be compels on the "High on V" Aspect Addictive Saliva gives out.
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I'm actually willing to say that True Blood vamps are weaker than Dresden Files vamps. Obviously there's quite a bit of power difference between Jessica, Bill, Eric and Godric, but when all's said and done their powers are more plot device than straight up strength. I would let them spend Fate Points to do invoke some impressive feats on their Aspects but they are merely inhuman (It counts as Ritual Magic: I Am Vampire at most), with elder vamps having higher skill caps.
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Incite Emotion IS a mental attack, which is why I used it. Domination is actually not used to do anything but break people into renfields...which is why it seemed inappropriate. Read the two powers again.
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I contend that tiny little vampire fangs aren't big enough to add a Weapon rating all by themselves--they're barely the size of a small pocket knife, if that. That damage came from Eric's Supernatural, if not Mythic, Strength IMO.
Now, if Jessica had done something like that....
Yup, and you need to grapple to use them.
I'd use the temporary acquisition of powers rule (per the sidebar on YS90) to give anyone who drinks vampire blood Inhuman Recovery. Any Fate Point debt they accrue from that would be compels on the "High on V" Aspect Addictive Saliva gives out.
That sounds right, though no need for the Addictive Saliva thing, just make it a Compel. In fact, I'd make them pay the entire FP cost of powers gained from V in compels of one sort or another. Think Sponsor Debt.
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That said, there are long term effects from drinking vampire blood, so drinking it probably requires changing an aspect to represent that. (Alternatively, represent drinking it as taking an Extreme Consequence)
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Incite Emotion IS a mental attack, which is why I used it. Domination is actually not used to do anything but break people into renfields...which is why it seemed inappropriate. Read the two powers again.
No, Incite Emotions is a maneuver, which you get +2 to use. Domination is a mental attack, and like any attack it's used to inflict stress and, ultimately, consequences (which in this case should be anything from "Willing to Do What [Vampire] Tells Me" to "Cannot Conceive of Disobeying [Vampire]" or the like) and taking people out/getting concessions out of them. Turning someone into a Renfield is just one option if you score a Taken Out result, not the only thing the power can do.
That said, there are long term effects from drinking vampire blood, so drinking it probably requires changing an aspect to represent that. (Alternatively, represent drinking it as taking an Extreme Consequence)
Addictive Saliva already covers this.
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I believe Deadman's write up had the lasting emotion upgrade, which lets it act as a mental attack.
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I believe Deadman's write up had the lasting emotion upgrade, which lets it act as a mental attack.
My bad, missed that. Still not 100% sure "Incite Emotion" to instill "Obedience" is 100% kosher, but at least it's an attack.
Aaaand I just looked through Dominate again and noticed the "helpless opponent" requirement. So yeah, I guess Incite Emotion probably is better than Dominate as the model for vampire psychic whammo in True Blood.
That sounds right, though no need for the Addictive Saliva thing, just make it a Compel. In fact, I'd make them pay the entire FP cost of powers gained from V in compels of one sort or another. Think Sponsor Debt.
Well, I figure they need Addictive Saliva to cover the blood anyways; all I meant was that the "Addicted" consequence they get from that is a dandy source of compels that could pay down the cost of the debt--in addition to any other compels the GM wants to throw at the junkie for that aspect. I don't think I'd make them pay down the cost with compels, but I might very well say the temporary Inhuman Recovery only comes with the taste if Addictive Saliva is enough to inflict at least a moderate consequence. If you want to get really nasty, you could key the temporary healing power to the severity of the consequence: take a little taste and get a mild consequence but no healing; take a bigger hit for a moderate consequence and get Inhuman, or mainline it for a severe or even extreme consequence and maybe you get a dose of Supernatural or even Mythic Recovery.
I'm actually willing to say that True Blood vamps are weaker than Dresden Files vamps. Obviously there's quite a bit of power difference between Jessica, Bill, Eric and Godric, but when all's said and done their powers are more plot device than straight up strength. I would let them spend Fate Points to do invoke some impressive feats on their Aspects but they are merely inhuman (It counts as Ritual Magic: I Am Vampire at most), with elder vamps having higher skill caps.
I really don't agree with this: vamps in True Blood pretty consistently exhibit a set of powers on par with a lot of what we see from Dresdenverse vamps, and 90% of those powers fall under powers the game models. Some stuff can be Aspect-driven, like the "can't enter a home uninvited" thing or the psychic links between maker and progeny, but a lot of what they do should be modeled as Refresh-based powers.
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Hmmm, you make a good case for Addictive Saliva. Maybe I'll throw it in.
And my version are weaker than the Red Court only because of the helplessness during daylight, more severe Catch and lack of Claws or Cloak of Shadows. And many of them buy up to Supernatural in Strength or Speed. In a straight fight, it's a toss-up.
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Hmmm, you make a good case for Addictive Saliva. Maybe I'll throw it in.
It does seem to model the effects of V pretty perfectly, but on the other hand addictive blood is a fair bit less subtle and easy to subtly turn against your enemies, so I could see a case for it not being worth a -1 refresh and instead just being a property of the world, much like thresholds in the Dresdenverse are just a fact of magical life and not a specific power or weakness.
And my version are weaker than the Red Court only because of the helplessness during daylight, more severe Catch and lack of Claws or Cloak of Shadows. And many of them buy up to Supernatural in Strength or Speed. In a straight fight, it's a toss-up.
Yeah, that was what I was getting at with "powers on par." The stuff they actually do is generally on par with what the Reds do, the difference comes more from vulnerabilities.
We're starting to stray out of the PC-able realm here, but shouldn't True Blood vamps also have Supernatural Sense? They do have pretty sharp senses.
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Ooh, Echoes of the Beast. Yeah. You're right. Okay, revised writeup:
Addictive Blood [+0]
Blood Drinker [-1]
Echoes of the Beast (Extra Trapping: Can identify things by blood-smell with Alertness) [-1]
Incite Emotion (Obedience, Lasting Emotion, Requires direct eye contact instead of touch) [-2]
Human Form [+2], completely helpless during the day, lose powers as long as they are touched by silver, applying to everything except
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
The Catch is Sunlight, Silver, and Stakes Through the Heart [+4]
Feeding Dependency (Blood) [+1] effecting;
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Speed [-2]
Supernatural Recovery [-4]
That's -7 Refresh. Assume Bill also has Supernatural Speed or Strength (and maybe both if he's an NPC), and good combat skills and I think we've got ourselves some solid True Blood Vampires that are still usable as PCs.
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Ooh, Echoes of the Beast. Yeah. You're right. Okay, revised writeup:
<Snip>
That's -7 Refresh. Assume Bill also has Supernatural Speed or Strength (and maybe both if he's an NPC), and good combat skills and I think we've got ourselves some solid True Blood Vampires that are still usable as PCs.
Yeah, looks like a good setup to me. I can't think of anything else they'd need, until they get really old and start doing seriously crazy stuff.
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One problem: Your Catch appears to be of a higher + value than the negatives of your supernatural toughness. I was under the impression that your Catch could not bring the refresh cost of an ability below 1.
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One problem: Your Catch appears to be of a higher + value than the negatives of your supernatural toughness. I was under the impression that your Catch could not bring the refresh cost of an ability below 1.
You're forgetting the Supernatural Recovery, while listed in a separate section, the Catch applies to it as well (since it applies to all Toughness powers). I could relocate it to after that if there's confusion, though.
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Ooh, Echoes of the Beast. Yeah. You're right. Okay, revised writeup:
Addictive Blood [+0]
Blood Drinker [-1]
Echoes of the Beast (Extra Trapping: Can identify things by blood-smell with Alertness) [-1]
Incite Emotion (Obedience, Lasting Emotion, Requires direct eye contact instead of touch) [-2]
Human Form [+2], completely helpless during the day, lose powers as long as they are touched by silver, applying to everything except
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
The Catch is Sunlight, Silver, and Stakes Through the Heart [+4]
Feeding Dependency (Blood) [+1] effecting;
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Speed [-2]
Supernatural Recovery [-4]
That's -7 Refresh. Assume Bill also has Supernatural Speed or Strength (and maybe both if he's an NPC), and good combat skills and I think we've got ourselves some solid True Blood Vampires that are still usable as PCs.
Hello remember that a vampire isnt helpless during the day they can and do move around and have thier full powers its just thats when the rest and of course sunlight will killl them. SIlver sounds right thou. However I think the speed is not high enough to accurately depicate what we see in the show, I say at least Supernatural Speed for a True Blood Vampire.
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Hello remember that a vampire isnt helpless during the day they can and do move around and have thier full powers its just thats when the rest and of course sunlight will killl them. SIlver sounds right thou. However I think the speed is not high enough to accurately depicate what we see in the show, I say at least Supernatural Speed for a True Blood Vampire.
Actually they are compelled to sleep in the day. Staying awake requires tremendous effort (spending fate points to buy off the compel) even if they stay out of sunlight (they start to leak blood from their ears, eyes, nose, etc.).
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Debatably true, and I considered editing in mention of it upon that becoming clear this season (last season really implied they couldn't without a whole lot of effort). Silver still robs them of all their powers however, so the cost remains unchanged, so I decided it wasn't wort it.
And as for the speed, I tend to agree on more powerful vampires...but not, say, Jessica. The template is for a young, weak, vampire, not an elder. Bill's almost certainly got up to Supernatural in both, and Eric may well have as high as Mythic Speed, just for example.
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1) Beast Change [-1]-Bear in mind that he can't fly well, because he lacks the skill set. This implies to me that he has one skill pyramid for all his animal forms, and since he can't assume the for of anything not an animal...
2) Human Form [+2]-He can't change without an animal (or at least it's image) to focus on, that's somewhat limited. May be bought down to +1 later.
1) Sam can turn into a bird, so I think he can fly well. He turned into an owl during the second season, anyway.
2) I don't think he has to have the animal to focus on. In the books he has a book open to a picture of a collie so it remains uppermost in his mind, but he can become any animal or bird.
I know you are going primarily by the tv show, but the show glides over certain subjects.
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1) Sam can turn into a bird, so I think he can fly well. He turned into an owl during the second season, anyway.
Sure, sure, but there's no evidence that it was particularly good with Owl-specific skills, which is what the Beast Change would mean.
2) I don't think he has to have the animal to focus on. In the books he has a book open to a picture of a collie so it remains uppermost in his mind, but he can become any animal or bird.
Actually, he saw a fly and an owl to enable his change into them in the second season, too. Though he seems to have lost this requirement by the third. My interpretation is that it's a limitation of starting/novice Shifters and can be overcome (which Sam has done by now, and certainly by later books in the series).
I know you are going primarily by the tv show, but the show glides over certain subjects.
I've actually read the books, too, but like I said by the later ones, Sam's shapeshifting skills have clearly improved a lot.
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Actually they are compelled to sleep in the day. Staying awake requires tremendous effort (spending fate points to buy off the compel) even if they stay out of sunlight (they start to leak blood from their ears, eyes, nose, etc.).
Is this from the novels? because from what I ahve seen of the TV show (upto date with 3rd season) vampires had no issue been awake during the day as long as they avoided direct sunligh and even then it took a long time for a vampie to die to direct sunlight from what we were shown. Just so you know I am basing my stuff all on the TV show I have not read the novels as I prefer the TV show :)
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Is this from the novels? because from what I ahve seen of the TV show (upto date with 3rd season) vampires had no issue been awake during the day as long as they avoided direct sunligh and even then it took a long time for a vampie to die to direct sunlight from what we were shown. Just so you know I am basing my stuff all on the TV show I have not read the novels as I prefer the TV show :)
In the books only the really old vampires can be functional during the day. There is a scene, in the Dallas book, where Sookie has to move Bill during the day and it's very difficult, he is so lethargic. The TV show shows the leaking blood, but I don't remember that from the books because the vamps aren't shown during the day.
I'm not sure a vampire has died from the sun in the books except for Godric and the sleeping vamps exposed by an explosion. (The Fellowship of the Sun blew up a hotel holding a vampire convention.)
As you noted the TV show has differences from the book. I think it's cool to see the alternate endings/stories shown on TV.