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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: potestas on July 08, 2014, 10:49:33 PM

Title: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 08, 2014, 10:49:33 PM
Does sponsored magic allow you to pull in more power then you can control and offset it by taking debt instead of backlash. How is self sponsored debt paid off then since their isnt anyone to compel you.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 08, 2014, 11:02:49 PM
You can use sponsor debt for pretty much anything, including backlash. Usually, you'll take 1 point of debt for 2 shifts, just like Fate points, but depending on your group, 1 point of debt could offset the entire backlash as well.

As for self sponsored, I've always seen this as an "if all you have is a hammer" sort of situation. Self sponsored doesn't really mean you are lending yourself power, it's just a mechanical way to describe someone who is very specialized in one area of magic. Try to look a bit closer at how some of your friends might approach the same problem from different angles, depending on what kind of job they are doing, and you'll know what I mean.

So paying off debt in that regard would mean that you are set in your ways. Sponsored pyromancy would make you volatile, prone to aggression, burn now ask questions later, that kind of stuff. Even if a calm or secure approach, or even a retreat might be a far better option. But because you are so set in your ways with your highly specialized magic, the way you use it is just the natural way to solve problems.

So if you are self sponsored in wards, you'll always be prone to taking the safe route, turtle up and wait first, and not act unless you are absolutely have to.
Self sponsored crafting will make you need to channel your magic through a well prepared item and fail when you have to use raw magic.

All in all, it's a more powerful version of the "Blind Spot" Box (YS179) to me.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Sanctaphrax on July 09, 2014, 12:21:23 AM
The standard use of sponsor debt to invoke an Aspect absorbs backlash pretty well. Also boosts your roll.

As for self-sponsored debt, it's discharged through ordinary Compels. Obviously a GM is welcome to use Haru's approach if it's appropriate to the character, but the rules don't require it.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 09, 2014, 01:06:40 AM
does anyone not think this is extremely OP especially the self sponsored variety
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Taran on July 09, 2014, 01:16:08 AM
I'm not a huge fan of self-sponsored magic.  I don't think it's OP, though.   Although, with any homebrew power you have to watch out.  Convenient evothaum and a questionably powered "extra benefit" can make it OP.

I don't find Sponsored magic OP, overall.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 09, 2014, 01:23:53 AM
In what way? It's not like you can just take 1000 points of sponsor debt, even if it is to yourself. That's still going to have to be agreed upon by the whole table.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Exkramental on July 10, 2014, 09:30:06 AM
eeerrr  debt? is that in the book  ???
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Locnil on July 10, 2014, 10:01:50 AM
eeerrr  debt? is that in the book  ???
Yes, in the sponsored magic section. Basically you gain the benefit of spending a fate point, but instead of actually spending one you gain a point of debt per fate point. Then at some future point, your debt will be compelled. Accepting the compel means you lose that debt, and do not gain any other benefit. Refusing a compel costs a fate point, like usual - but the debt remains, even after you pay the fate point.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: gojj on July 10, 2014, 05:44:03 PM
Hope you don't mind if I piggybag and ask my own question.

I feel very strongly that complexity and control bonuses meant for Ritual/Thaumaturgy spells should not be applied to evothaum spells. While the book's blurb on evothaum is far from comprehensive, this bit from YS 288
(click to show/hide)
seems to heavily imply that evothaum is not meant to impart any meaningful mechanical benefits, rather it just allows the caster greater freedom in how he or she describes the spells they cast. Allowing complexity and control bonuses meant for Ritual/Thaumaturgy spells count for your typical Evocation spells essentially triples their worth.

Example: +1 complexity (Ritual), +1 Control (Ritual), +1 Offensive Power (Channeling), +1 Offensive Control (Channeling), +1 Defensive Power (Channeling), and +1 Defensive Control (Channeling) (a total of 3 refresh worth of refinements) can all be substituted for +1 complexity (Ritual) and +1 Control (Ritual) (one refresh worth of refinements).

This adds way to much power to Sponsored Magic, which already benefits from the "Extra Benefit" and ability to take on sponsor debt. Agree or disagree?
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Blk4ce on July 10, 2014, 06:04:11 PM
You should probably also ask and about specialisations, where the cost isn't different (there's no offensive, defensive in specialisations).
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: gojj on July 10, 2014, 06:58:41 PM
Ah yes, sorry if this wasn't clear, I am mainly focused on focus items. Specializations require Evocation and/or Thaumaturgy, I think they should still follow the general of Evocations use evocation bonuses and Thaumaturgy uses thaumaturgy bonuses, regardless of the flavor behind them.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Sanctaphrax on July 10, 2014, 08:24:27 PM
Mostly disagree.

Evothaum attacks don't hit nearly as hard as evocation attacks, so you'll still want evocation specializations for hitting people. Maybe also for some other types of evocation, depending on your GM. Plus thaumaturgy specializations are normally kinda weak, so I'm not too worried about them getting a bit of extra power.

As for the sidebar, I think it's misleading. No matter how much you rationalize, thaumaturgy does a lot of things that evocation just doesn't.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Hick Jr on July 10, 2014, 08:34:10 PM
Hope you don't mind if I piggybag and ask my own question.

I feel very strongly that complexity and control bonuses meant for Ritual/Thaumaturgy spells should not be applied to evothaum spells. While the book's blurb on evothaum is far from comprehensive, this bit from YS 288
(click to show/hide)
seems to heavily imply that evothaum is not meant to impart any meaningful mechanical benefits, rather it just allows the caster greater freedom in how he or she describes the spells they cast. Allowing complexity and control bonuses meant for Ritual/Thaumaturgy spells count for your typical Evocation spells essentially triples their worth.

Example: +1 complexity (Ritual), +1 Control (Ritual), +1 Offensive Power (Channeling), +1 Offensive Control (Channeling), +1 Defensive Power (Channeling), and +1 Defensive Control (Channeling) (a total of 3 refresh worth of refinements) can all be substituted for +1 complexity (Ritual) and +1 Control (Ritual) (one refresh worth of refinements).

This adds way to much power to Sponsored Magic, which already benefits from the "Extra Benefit" and ability to take on sponsor debt. Agree or disagree?
Being able to use your Thaumaturgy control/power bonuses for Evocation is pretty explicitly a 1 Refresh power (Kemmlerian Necromancy), and The phrase "thaumaturgy at Evocation's speed and methods" seems firmly support that this is one way to use Evothaum.

Also, evothaum pretty explicitly allows Thaumaturgy-only effects (wards, summonings, mental attacks but that's a GM-by-GM thing) to be cast as Evocations. So while it does let you be more creative with your descriptions, it provides a mechanical effect as well.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Blk4ce on July 10, 2014, 08:49:18 PM
Actually, the extra benefit for Kemlerian is the free refinement on Necromancy.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Locnil on July 10, 2014, 08:53:39 PM
Yeah, I saw that bonus to both evocation and necromancy thing being more of an consolatory prize for needing both Evocation and Thaumaturgy, making a straightforward sponsored magic less than optimal.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Exkramental on July 10, 2014, 10:13:45 PM
So if i get this right.   

Mr. Random meet Mab on the street, she slaps winterfae magic on him,

so mr. random now powered by winter,  seelie -4 magic, he can cast spells for debt yes, but can he cast spells from hs own strees aswell,?
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 10, 2014, 10:21:04 PM
Sponsored magic works just the same as regular magic. You don't have to take debt for every spell you cast. You can cast spells just like you do with regular evocation and thaumaturgy, just in the theme of the sponsor, and you take casting stress like any regular caster would.

But if you are tapped out and need to get another spell out, you can ask your sponsor to take the casting stress for you, so you don't take the stress, but sponsor debt instead. Or if you need to get a big spell out, you can ask your sponsor to turbocharge it and incur debt for it as well.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Blk4ce on July 10, 2014, 10:31:46 PM
How does turbocharge work? It doesn't specify in the rules.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Cadd on July 10, 2014, 10:36:03 PM
It's just invoking an aspect, but you gain 1 point of debt instead of spending a FP.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 10, 2014, 11:09:58 PM
Yeah, as Cadd says.

But you can also just cast a spell that's, for example, 4 shifts over your discipline and conviction, which would mean that you'd have to take high amounts of casting stress and backlash to get the spell off the ground, but instead, you ask your sponsor to take that instead. The general rate is 2 shifts of stress for 1 point of debt, just like invoking fate points, though you could just as well bargain that your sponsor takes the entirety of the spell for 1 point of debt. That's up to how your table likes to deal with this.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 10, 2014, 11:28:51 PM
Yeah, as Cadd says.

But you can also just cast a spell that's, for example, 4 shifts over your discipline and conviction, which would mean that you'd have to take high amounts of casting stress and backlash to get the spell off the ground, but instead, you ask your sponsor to take that instead. The general rate is 2 shifts of stress for 1 point of debt, just like invoking fate points, though you could just as well bargain that your sponsor takes the entirety of the spell for 1 point of debt. That's up to how your table likes to deal with this.
this where it gets a bit op imo.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 10, 2014, 11:34:20 PM
this where it gets a bit op imo.
It still has to be agreed upon by the table. And if the table has fun letting the character level a skyscraper with 1 point of sponsor debt, I'm not going to stand in the way.

If it is used in a GM vs. Players sort of way, then I agree, it can be overpowered. That's why talking about how you want to handle the sponsor debt on your table is important.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Blk4ce on July 11, 2014, 05:28:27 AM
The situation GM vs Players is wrong by default.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: PirateJack on July 11, 2014, 06:10:06 AM
this where it gets a bit op imo.

If I were to let a player get away with one point of sponsor debt like that I'd make sure that when it comes to paying it back that they're going to suffer for it regret it begin to rethink their decision to give up some free will for power. The way I've always looked at Sponsor Debt is that the more you take out, the more you have to pay at the end (from a narrative point of view), so if a newly minted Winter Knight were to level a skyscraper with one spell I'd have Mab then show up and order him to do something that is both interesting and very, very dangerous. Ain't no such thing as a free lunch, especially when you're a Faerie Queen's bitch Knight.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 11, 2014, 10:59:47 AM
The situation GM vs Players is wrong by default.
True, but a lot of people are primed like that from other games. Including myself, I had to unlearn a few things as well.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 12, 2014, 02:31:28 AM
If I were to let a player get away with one point of sponsor debt like that I'd make sure that when it comes to paying it back that they're going to suffer for it regret it begin to rethink their decision to give up some free will for power. The way I've always looked at Sponsor Debt is that the more you take out, the more you have to pay at the end (from a narrative point of view), so if a newly minted Winter Knight were to level a skyscraper with one spell I'd have Mab then show up and order him to do something that is both interesting and very, very dangerous. Ain't no such thing as a free lunch, especially when you're a Faerie Queen's bitch Knight.m
that only applies to sponsored magic not the self sponsored kind no such limitation with self sposored magic
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Sanctaphrax on July 12, 2014, 03:06:47 AM
No, the same thing applies to the self-sponsored stuff. Debt is bad to have.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 12, 2014, 04:33:02 PM
No, the same thing applies to the self-sponsored stuff. Debt is bad to have.
in theory but notin in practice.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: PirateJack on July 12, 2014, 04:35:03 PM
in theory but notin in practice.

As long as you're getting compelled the debt mechanic is doing what it's supposed to do.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 12, 2014, 08:46:14 PM
As long as you're getting compelled the debt mechanic is doing what it's supposed to do.
Who does the compeling
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: PirateJack on July 12, 2014, 11:00:54 PM
Who does the compeling

For sponsor debt? The GM. He is the voice of the sponsor so he is the one that tells you what the offer is.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 13, 2014, 04:23:39 AM
For sponsor debt? The GM. He is the voice of the sponsor so he is the one that tells you what the offer is.
if its self sponsored who does it then
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Sanctaphrax on July 13, 2014, 04:53:55 AM
The GM.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Haru on July 14, 2014, 12:15:06 AM
I would say that in addition to the GM, the rest of the group can suggest compels as well, though the GM is still the arbiter.

Remember that the compel is a mechanical thing, not a narrative thing. It lines up fairly well if it is an external sponsor, where "Your sponsor forces you to..." lines up with "The GM forces you to...", but that's only one way to interpret this. Even with an actual sponsor, it doesn't have to be a scene like "I'm your sponsor, and now I tell you what to do". It can just as well be that the magic the sponsor gave you in itself is changing the way you think and leads you to make decisions you wouldn't normally do. That's a compel right then and there, it is choice taken away from the character, he just acts according to his nature. And when it comes to self sponsored magic, that type of "nature vs. choice" type of compel will be the one you'll use most. It's actually one of the big themes of the dresdenverse as a whole.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: potestas on July 14, 2014, 02:24:15 AM
The GM.

were is the rule that allows GM to do it.
Title: Re: sponsored magic
Post by: Hick Jr on July 14, 2014, 02:39:47 AM
were is the rule that allows GM to do it.
Self-Sponsored Magic debt is handled the same way that normal Sponsor Debt is handled. The actual power is below.

SELF-SPONSORED MAGIC [-Varies]
Description: Either you’ve studied a branch of magic long enough to understand and use it intuitively, or you’re a being of such singular power that a unique form of magic emanates from you.
Skills Affected: Conviction, Discipline, Lore, others.
Effects:
Self-Sponsored Magic. This Power is in all ways identical to Sponsored Magic, except that it lacks an external sponsor. The Compels resulting from the debt taken to fuel this power are therefore obviously not connected to any external agenda; instead, they are linked to your Aspects like normal Compels.


As it says, they're linked to your Aspects and are treated like normal Compels. However, as someone (I think it was Haru) said earlier, it might also involve themes of the magic itself- Self-sponsored Wards Magic would Compel you to be cautious and defensive, Shadow Magic would Compel you to be sneaky and deceptive, Fire Magic would compel you to be energetic and chaotic, etcetera.