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The Dresden Files => DF Spoilers => Topic started by: groinkick on April 14, 2018, 09:18:08 PM

Title: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: groinkick on April 14, 2018, 09:18:08 PM
We've seen that Angels can be locked in Coin's, or that Spirits of intellect can live in objects.  Also that wizards can swap bodies.  So here is a question.  Could a wizard looking for a form of immortality send their mind/soul into an object (coin) in which they can possess people?  I guess kind of like a horocrux from the HP series.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: wardenferry419 on April 14, 2018, 09:21:01 PM
Seems like a very limited existence unless they can control the owner of coin?
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: groinkick on April 14, 2018, 09:24:28 PM
Seems like a very limited existence unless they can control the owner of coin?

Well similar to a Fallen...  Using their power to call out to mortals, and when they are touched they can then influence the person.  Unlike a Fallen a wizard is not bound from taking someone's will.  So a wizard could then force the person to swallow the Coin, and then basically take over their body the same way Corpse taker did.  But unlike Corpsetaker they don't die just because the physical body dies...  At least in my theory.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: wardenferry419 on April 14, 2018, 09:27:26 PM
How about something similar to Raistlin in Dragonlance?
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: Snark Knight on April 15, 2018, 03:27:51 PM
Well, Harry can make a new skull for a spirit of intellect. And anybody walking around as a "naked soul" like he was in GS can inhabit such a skull.

But I tend to think a human wizard would have trouble with the part about dominating the soul of whoever picks up the object they transferred their essence into. The Fallen can do that because they're vastly stronger, smarter and trickier than any human, not because of a spell on the coins - and even they need the host to somewhat agree to partnership or surrender.

An artifact vessel might be of some help to a necromancer spirit like Corpsetaker's, but the fundamental limit of having to either convince someone to give up (like she was attempting with Mort) or be crazy enough to manifest for a forced swap is seems like a pretty hard-coded limit in how things work.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: Lost Merlin on April 16, 2018, 12:12:05 PM
I think they could, but would they want to is the other question.  A human wizard even an older one does not have the same level of knowledge that a fallen has.  They could offer very limited power to those that they possessed. 

I would akin them to a Spirit of Intelect rather then a Fallen, as the would probably not have a battle form. 
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: WereElephant on April 16, 2018, 02:00:12 PM
We've seen that Angels can be locked in Coin's, or that Spirits of intellect can live in objects.  Also that wizards can swap bodies.  So here is a question.  Could a wizard looking for a form of immortality send their mind/soul into an object (coin) in which they can possess people?  I guess kind of like a horocrux from the HP series.

Or a ring? *hint hint nudge nudge*

Body-swapping has been demonstrated - Capiorcorpus.
Sanctums have been demonstrated - Bob's skull, Harry's grave, Lindquist's house, Demonreach (sort of)
Combining those two seems doable. As for possessing others? That also seems doable via black magic, combining the basic mental invasions done by Molly in PG with some of Capiorcorpus's abilities.

But I see some potential roadblocks. As a "naked soul", Harry's magic didn't affect the real world. A soul inhabiting an object could be subject to the same restriction. Bob isn't, but Bob isn't human, either. Being unable to affect reality might prevent the soul from using black magic on a mortal mind. We did see Harry jump into both Lindquist and Molly in GS, but that was consensual (though not how Molly would have wanted it).

Also, in addition what their magic an affect, one's magical potency seems tied to their physical forms as well. Look at Luccio. Post swap, her magical power was scuttled. Her skills remained, but the raw power she could put into them was much reduced. Using an inanimate object as a body instead of a living organism would likely reduce available power as well.

So I'm guessing possible, but impractical except as a desperate measure.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: toodeep on April 17, 2018, 01:40:11 PM
I think this is possible mainly because it is something of fantasy standard.  How would it work?  Essentially, I think a wizard would have to have two things:

1.  An item that essentially acts like a body, for housing a spirit/soul
2.  The ability to do the capriocorpus trick

Then, when someone donned/touched the item, the wizards soul/spirit would do the capriocorpus trick, with the body's soul going into the item and the wizards soul going into the body.  Essentially, the "Magic Jar" spell from D&D.  the wizard can also "give up" the body they're in by returning to the item, but I would assume dying in the body might still count as death...
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: LordDresden2 on April 27, 2018, 02:40:27 AM
We've seen that Angels can be locked in Coin's, or that Spirits of intellect can live in objects.  Also that wizards can swap bodies.  So here is a question.  Could a wizard looking for a form of immortality send their mind/soul into an object (coin) in which they can possess people?  I guess kind of like a horocrux from the HP series.

In theory, they could probably make something sort of like a baby-version of a Coin.  It wouldn't have the indestructibility or other special properties, but they could make something sort of along those lines.

BUT...theory is not practice, and so many things would have to be combined into this thing to make it work effectively that it would be epic-level magic, I think.  The Wizard would have to be able to make a device that could store his soul, make it tough enough that he'd want to risk using it, make it something small enough to be portable, something active enough that it could call people to it, or otherwise arrange victims, able to dominate their wills or displace their souls entirely for the Wizard, it would have to work very very reliably...it's a huge project.  It's the sort of thing you'd probably have to be Merlin or Kemmler or on that level even to be able to try, I think.

Plus there's the issue that this thing would almost certainly break several of the Seven Laws just by existing.  Almost certainly it would break or potentially break the Third, Fourth, and probably the Law against necromancy, very likely actually using it on a human would be a First Law violation.

I think the Wardens might come after you as soon as it left the drawing boards.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: groinkick on April 27, 2018, 03:30:55 AM
I think the Wardens might come after you as soon as it left the drawing boards.

Well I'd figure a wizard with the power to pull it off would be a Kemmler type person.  They wouldn't care about the Council, and their main concern would be about Immortality, and got a thrill controlling another person.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: khadgar4606 on April 27, 2018, 11:30:07 AM
call me conspiracy nut but is this how the f kemmy survived several white council attacks and return each time. and know kemmy uses cowl to enact his plan one more time. dun dun dun.
Title: Re: Could a Wizard make a Coin?
Post by: Fcrate on April 27, 2018, 10:41:36 PM
I think this is possible mainly because it is something of fantasy standard.
I remember in WOT, Rand al'Thor used a flawed S'angreal to overcome Ishamael's will, use his magic for his own, then ultimately giving him the boot and taking his body.

In DF, Harry used Little Chicago to leave his body behind and walk around as a spirit in Chicago, haunt somebody (heh) and obtain information. Cowl attacked him with a psychic punch, same way as you'd attack a ghost. I'm willing to bet that had it been Capriocorpus or Molly there instead of Harry, they would have been able to possess Grey Cloak.
So, in my opinion, it's already been done, the basics anyway, and all that's left is work on the prototype, make it more mobile and less location oriented.