ParanetOnline
The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: LepRecon on February 26, 2011, 01:53:42 AM
-
Hi all
Well planning for new game one player through this at me.
Stan Hurley (Champion of God {Mars})
High Aspect: Rome's Last Centurion.
Have to say I love it and we need to discuss it. Game was to be in New Orleans now is in Vegas so I imagine he will be working at Ceasers Palace!
The player was thinking of being a defender more than aggressor so thought the item of power could be his shield. What are peoples thoughts on this character concept and how should we procede with it. I know vague but just looking for thoughts. One thought I hand was would he be a powerful as other Champions of God as the faith base is not there as it once was. Will this effect the character?
Cheers in advance
LepRecon
-
*edited out due to relevance*
-
Sounds like a good concept to me.
The power level is totally up to you. If you want to make him a match for a KotC, go ahead.
You could go pretty much anywhere with powers, but there is one stunt I'd like to recommend. It's called Shield Carrier, and it gives you +1 armour as long as you have a shield on hand. You can find it one the Homebrew Stunts Master List under Weapons.
-
If he is the Champion of Mars, I would suggest an aggressive mindset. Mars (or Ares) wasn't the Shield-bearing-protect-your-brother so much as the beserker god of vengence, from what I've seen.
As far as the Shield Carrier stunt Sanctaphrax suggested, I would go with a +1 to defense rolls where a shield comes into play instead. A flat +1 to armor is very powerful, but a +1 to all defense rolls is more flexible. Caesar's Palace is a great place to work though.
And as far as his strength goes, there may be less people worshipping the Greco/Roman pantheon, but there are some still there. Maybe there are fewer Champions in your pantheon then what there used to be due to the decline.
-
If he is the Champion of Mars, I would suggest an aggressive mindset. Mars (or Ares) wasn't the Shield-bearing-protect-your-brother so much as the beserker god of vengence, from what I've seen.
I like the high concept however as MijRal was saying he might want to take a look at adjusting the concept to Athena, as she was known for Wisdom and battle tactics, and continuously argued with Ares, about the purpose of war.
The other option that I have worked a bit on for Scion (White Wolf game), was a Demi-god of Ares but despised/feared him, so that could be something like the Debt system for sponsored magic when he uses his powers. Perhaps if he chooses to use any of the Inhuman powers he generates debt to his patron, which you as GM can then use to compel him to spread war and slaughter. It could also be really interesting to have him torn between Hephaestus and Ares, with Hephaestus either tormenting him, or always trying to get him to switch his allegiance.
PS. You should also remember that in some of the stories, Ares was considered a coward, especially when Hephaestus (a cripple) called him out over the Aphrodite issue, and Ares refused.
-
I have played a champion of a war god, it was fun the gm use guide my hand though to get me into the worse situation possible, I would allways eventually get to where I needed to be but only after going through the most bloody route possible.
-
Cool concept. If you wanted room for large advancement (ie a long game) you could be a scion of Mars who now serves as one of his Emissaries. This would put you on par or slightly below the strength of a Valkyrie (roughly). Your scion or emissary powers would involve melee, might and more importantly advanced bonus to weaponry. I'd suggest a very low refresh (only 1, maybe 2) since such a warmonger-er would likely be more close to be a monster (ie senseless repetitive violence and death) than most of your team.
-
If he is the Champion of Mars, I would suggest an aggressive mindset. Mars (or Ares) wasn't the Shield-bearing-protect-your-brother so much as the beserker god of vengence, from what I've seen.
One must remember that despite the custom of the Ancients of trying to match up gods between cultures, the gods WERE different. Mars and Ares were both gods of war, but they had extremely different characteristics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_%28mythology%29
Mars wasn't a mindless aggressor like Ares. He supported wars that secured peace and even had an agricultural aspect.
-
The other option that I have worked a bit on for Scion (White Wolf game), was a Demi-god of Ares but despised/feared him, so that could be something like the Debt system for sponsored magic when he uses his powers. Perhaps if he chooses to use any of the Inhuman powers he generates debt to his patron, which you as GM can then use to compel him to spread war and slaughter.
I like this concept, however it seems a little mean to have someone pay for powers with refresh and then have to pay for them again in compels. If you were going to do something like this I would run it a little more like the hunger system (perhaps with the hunger refresh award), with each scene in which powers were used had a chance to generate compels. Or you could just leave it and assume that his high concept will generate plenty of compels and actually award them fate points for them like a good GM.
-
Mars wasn't a mindless aggressor like Ares. He supported wars that secured peace and even had an agricultural aspect.
The reason Mars was nicer in Roman Mythology was because Rome revolved around conquest and war. The reason Ares is looked at as a beserker is because Athenians wrote most of the Mythology we have remaining and Ares was worship by Sparta.
-
The reason Mars was nicer in Roman Mythology was because Rome revolved around conquest and war. The reason Ares is looked at as a beserker is because Athenians wrote most of the Mythology we have remaining and Ares was worship by Sparta.
They were different gods essentially. They were only identified as the same after the Greeks and Romans met. Similarly they liked to say Thor was just Jupiter/Zeus. The Romans just had a more sensible god of war than the Greeks (though like people pointed out, Athena had many sensible warlike aspects herself).
-
Hi all some great ideas. I am hoping that he sticks with Mars as his god mainly because it was his first concept. If you search the net there are lots of comments on him and what his apsects were, including the support of farmers and agriculture.
Becuase the game is set in vegas I am thinking maybe Mars is still going around and looking or helping with conflicts but since these gods are old and maybe not as powerful he maybe has downscaled the wars he gets involved in. Gang war or maybe localised war between wizards/red court just in vegas.
Christian Knights of the Cross are easy they are there to fight evil. What would Mars Knight be there for? I am seeing it as just to fight (evil/good) not as big a thing? or Fight for the defenceless? What do you guys think?
-
Christian Knights of the Cross are easy they are there to fight evil. What would Mars Knight be there for? I am seeing it as just to fight (evil/good) not as big a thing? or Fight for the defenceless? What do you guys think?
Kind of like a cop, perhaps. They fight to end conflicts. Defending civilization would not be out of line either.
There are other ways to go of course, such as an enforcer of the accords (and perhaps other contracts designed to keep the peace). Translating an ancient portfolio to something modern gives you lots of options.
-
I object to MijRai's contention that +1 to all defences is more reasonable than +1 to armour. There is no situation that I can think of (other than maybe a surprise attack or Lethal Weapon-style weirdness) where armour will be better than defence.
-
I object to MijRai's contention that +1 to all defences is more reasonable than +1 to armour. There is no situation that I can think of (other than maybe a surprise attack or Lethal Weapon-style weirdness) where armour will be better than defence.
Indeed.
Defense blocks shifts on the attack and can prevent a hit. Armor blocks shifts on the attack, cannot prevent a hit, but reduces the effectiveness of a hit (reduces weapon rating).
So, if an enemy has a weapon 4 (supernatural strength and fists, say), and rolls a 5 to hit...
1-4 on defense before +1 bonus, then +1 defense gives 4-7 damage, and armor +1 gives 4-7 damage
5 on defense, +1 defense gives 0 damage, +1 armor gives 3 damage.
6+ on defense, then it is 0 damage.
So +1 defense IS just better. Remember too that if you have roughly equal defense and offense, the equivalent to "5" above is a substantial percentage. Also, the +1 defense adjusts one of the bellcurves, skewing the likely match-ups in a highly favorable manner.
The reason why armor seems so good as that it is often something free that doesn't depend on raising a skill or the like. It is a great thing to complement a good defense since it makes attacks that hit less potent, but by itself armor isn't that great normally. Defense bonuses typically work to replace a skill roll (e.g. blocks), rather than complement that roll. Just about the only ability that adds to defense are the Speed Powers. Armor, on the other hand, inherently works by complementing defense rolls, which is why magical items providing armor halve the strength of the item for the armor rating and defensive items do not.
In other words, block X is not like a bonus to defense at all, it is a replacement to defense. Armor X (since you have no natural armor from skills) IS just like +X armor. This is why armor looks so nice in the game, because it is dang hard to raise those skills higher and armor uses a non-skill system. When comparing simply +1 bonuses to existing stats though, armor IS worse than defense.
-
I like the idea they fight to end a conflict. Maybe make it so he takes part in conflicts maybe to solve maybe to start depending on how Mars sees it.
-
I like the idea they fight to end a conflict. Maybe make it so he takes part in conflicts maybe to solve maybe to start depending on how Mars sees it.
You could also add some specifics to that. Maybe he's a defender of Western Civilizations (to emphasize the connection to Rome) or just humanity in general. Something like that would allow you to proactively engage in conflicts to further the safety of what he's defending.
Oh, and he'd probably hate the White Court. Butcher quite cleverly (imho) has them using Ancient Etruscan, and those were neighbors of the Romans who viewed them as rather decadent (though the Romans learned many of the trappings of civilizations from the Etruscans, but that's besides the point). As I understand it, the Etruscans probably weren't as decadent as some Romans thought (possibly it was just increased gender equality), but the White Court is so I say go with it.
-
He should really have a set of 3 items. A sword, a Shield, and a Spear. without weapons the shield is nothing...
-
Of course he will have a full set Sword/Spear/Shield/Armour but I am not sure I will allow them all to be magically. A little overpowered.
I think I will leave the character to decide what he is to do in vegas. Not sure there are many Wars there.
LepRecon
-
Of course he will have a full set Sword/Spear/Shield/Armour but I am not sure I will allow them all to be magically. A little overpowered.
I think I will leave the character to decide what he is to do in vegas. Not sure there are many Wars there.
LepRecon
Not really he only gets the item rebate once so the only advantage of having them all is that they would all be unbreakable. The only real thing that gets an advantage for being indestructible is the shield which you could then use to block bullets.
-
Its not so much the fact he gets them its more can he afford them with his refresh cost for a magic everything. I know he will also need to spend points on weapons skills.
-
You really could just play him as a mercenary/soldier-of-fortune type. Then you don't have to worry about fighting wars specifically, just about finding moneyed individuals (or individuals with whatever progresses you towards whatever personal goal you have) who need your expertise.
-
I am not sure the player wants merc. Have to chat to him. He wants to be the Champion of Mars. Also a merc in Vegas? Based out of Ceasers palace lol.
I have found that Mars gave Ancile (a magic shield) to his followers so I think a Shield of power.
-
I am not sure the player wants merc. Have to chat to him. He wants to be the Champion of Mars. Also a merc in Vegas? Based out of Ceasers palace lol.
I have found that Mars gave Ancile (a magic shield) to his followers so I think a Shield of power.
I'd give him the full Roman set of gear, at least a Scutum (those square shields used by the roman legion) and gladius (weapon 2 sword). Perhaps a pilum as well (short javelin). You could do other stuff too, but I think he can handle those himself if he wants it, those are kind of the essentials. If you want to be cool, have the shield normally be a buckler or something small and unfurl into a full shield.
-
I have been looking into Mars and he is suppose to have sent a shield to Earth. It was called Ancile. The romans gave made copies of it and gave one each to a group of Priest/Warriors called Salii. One held the real Ancile. So I think I kno his magic shield and his High COncept there.