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Messages - dragoonbuster

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211
DFRPG / Re: Refresh costing a limited teleport
« on: May 22, 2015, 06:12:52 PM »
Quote from: Dlanaan on May 22, 2015, 02:06:26 PM
Hi,

One of the players in my game wants to make a magician (non-spellcasting) character whose power is based on the magic hat he uses. Specifically, the player wants the character to be able to reach into his hat and pull out objects that he has left in other locations, possibly regardless of size (e.g., he could pull a rabbit out of the hat, or a long-barreled sniper rifle). It sounds entertaining, especially if this is the character's only power. My problem is costing this refresh wise.

Obviously, the hat is an Item of Power. I just don't know the cost of the ability. Technically, the effect is something that could be achieved through Thaumaturgy (as indicated in the spellcasting section), but I guess that the player does not want to have to deal with the time restriction treating it as such would cost.

My initial thought is to treat it similar to potions, requiring a FP for something that has not been previously identified as being available, but otherwise allowing for closer to instant use. This still puts it in the 3 Refresh (before IoP discount) area, but I wanted to know if anyone else had suggestions or thoughts?

Thanks.

Potions as a mechanic is a good idea. Gives the hat a "limit" per session that can be increased over time w/ more refresh.

"Portals to this random arbitrary point" isn't quite within the Dresden paradigm of how magic works to me. For the hat to work, it'd have to open a portal to the Never at a localized spot, somehow reach out with some kind of energy across the entire Never to the specific place that corresponded to wherever his item is, open that Way, then pull the item across the intervening distance before depositing into the magician's hand. Sure, that's why IoP's exist, to bridge gaps like this, but I think it might be more interesting if he was actually conjuring things. Literally pulling them out of thin air. This means he has a weakness he's got to worry about! Since conjured items can be countered (read: Compels).  Figure:


Quote from: Magician's Hat!
+1 rebate (It's just a sweet tophat, man)
-1 It's All In The Wrist (Performance): Your base potion strength and Ritual Complexity is determined by your Performance skill instead of your Lore.
-2 Ritual: Conjuring
-2 Superior Conjuration (located in this post)
-X Refinement (add'l potion slots)


You might leave out the All In The Wrist stunt depending on skill build and/or whether you think it should be free to move those skills to Performance. This setup allows for more powerful conjurings given the ability to set up things via Declarations, such as going through a whole magical routine before reaching into the hat. And where's the circle? The inside rim of the hat, of course! When you reach inside, you've finished the spell and are breaking the circle to release it.

You could make the hat itself a focus item, if you want to devote item slots to that, for either conjuring or crafting strength/frequency.

Effectively what is happening here is that, with practice and preperation (potions), your guy can pull cool stuff off. If he needs something he hasn't practiced, he can do it, it'll just take some time (ritual). If he needs it now and hasn't practiced, it'll hurt (evothaum via Superior Conjuring). If you/he doesn't want the evothaum aspect to it, change Superior Conjuring to a stunt that makes the conjured items always look real.

212
DFRPG / Re: Mental Toughness question
« on: May 21, 2015, 07:04:36 PM »
Quote from: coboney on May 21, 2015, 12:41:32 AM
My view is the armor is meant to represent the fact that inverse older wizards are harder to influence with mind magic.

This. The armor protects against outside forces, not yourself.

213
DFRPG / Re: Soulfire Question for PP
« on: May 13, 2015, 04:44:12 PM »
Quote from: Taran on May 13, 2015, 02:30:25 PM
It sounds like it works more like

Mental   / Soul stress
0000    (00)

So it's like the extra boxes on toughness?

It's definitely a separate stress track.


This is the question that made me decide not to use Soulfire as written in the Paranet Papers. I find it to be confusing, and it complicates an issue that wasn't that big of a deal to begin with. I've never had a problem with using Sponsor Debt for Soulfire and just framing it in a different light, personally.

214
DFRPG / Re: Weapon/Stunt idea: The Gunblade
« on: May 13, 2015, 04:31:43 PM »
Why not just make it an aspect and invoke it when needed? This is what this comes off as to me. I'd save the refresh on the stunt, personally.

BUT, if you're set on a stunt, I definitely wouldn't go with the +2 damage on a +3 or higher roll; you'll rarely get to take advantage of that. I do like the +2 stress when invoking one of your aspects to boost the strike roll.

Or you could go for +2 stress on a successful strike that gains 2 or more shifts over your target's defense, aka, nailing a great strike. That's more statistically useful than the "on a +3 roll."


215
DFRPG / Re: Help with a were-lynx
« on: May 06, 2015, 08:24:49 PM »
Quote from: Taran on May 06, 2015, 08:02:07 PM
It doesn't mean you can't take it if you think it fits.  The Alphas were human turning into wolves.  You could also go lynx who turns into a human...which would be neat too.

A player of mine played a PC ocelot who'd been experimented on by warlocks and gained near human-level intelligence, telepathy, and among other things, she could turn into a human.

Fun PC type if you're up for a challenge.

216
DFRPG / Re: Magical healing?
« on: May 05, 2015, 11:11:33 PM »
Quote from: Sanctaphrax on May 01, 2015, 11:34:57 PM
Making fire, divining, and animating zombies are all comparatively simple, but I think a mundane knowledge requirement has potential for making rituals more interesting.

For example:

The conjuration of complex machines is possible, but only if you know how those machines work.

You don't need to know anatomy to make a zombie, since it has no meaningful organs. But you do need to know biology to create a new species of mundane animal, since animals are complex. Without knowledge the best you can do is an ectoplasmic construct that looks like a new type of animal, which disappears when the magic runs out and can't reproduce naturally.

You don't need to know physics to make fire, because fire is simple. But you do need to know physics to make a nuclear explosion, because nukes are complicated and mashing together conjured uranium isn't enough to make one.

You don't need to know astrology to identify an object with divination, since you can just use whatever method of divination you do know. But you do need to know chemistry if you want to divine the exact molecular make-up of that object, since without chemistry knowledge you won't understand what your spell is telling you.

And so on.

Yep. Page 237.

Quote from: Sanctaphrax on May 05, 2015, 03:13:46 AM
No comment?

Maybe my idea is actually very bad and nobody wants to tell me...

No comment here because that was the same thing I was trying to get across (though not that well, perhaps). It's how I run my game.

217
DFRPG / Re: self sponsered magic
« on: May 05, 2015, 04:44:48 PM »
Quote from: Taran on May 05, 2015, 01:03:57 PM
Which all seem to be physical consequences. 

I think that's more Harry than the 'Verse's casting paradigm. He's taking backlash to make his spells go off correctly when he gets physically drained. Mental Consequences are headaches, (yeah, that's iffy as "Mental", but oh well), a shorter temper (huh, imagine that), etc.


Quote from: Quantus on May 05, 2015, 12:51:55 PM
I still think there needs to be some external interaction for it to be Sponsored and not just that you're really really good.  I can get behind "Self-sponsored" in a sense that you've invested time and energy and Power into some original Construct/Artifact that acts as a non-sentient conduit for the Sponsor benefits.

I disagree. I think the issue is mainly coming from the name. If we separated it and called it "Superior Casting", it has a different feel. And it explains the kind of difference in ability that any random wizard has with ectomancy compared to someone like Morty. I like the Superior Casting styles as a fix for the common complaint that there isn't a good way to distinguish a Focused Practitioner's spellcasting from a Wizard's, since FPs can't take specializations. It also gives you another direction to go with wizards besides "another Specialization!"

218
DFRPG / Re: self sponsered magic
« on: May 04, 2015, 10:34:00 PM »
Quote from: Dan from Chicago on May 04, 2015, 10:12:56 PM
Honestly that just sounds like a vanilla aspect to me. The pyromancer has the Trouble Firebug.

That's right--but what Taran is saying, is with, say, Superior Pyromancy (a "self-sponsored" magic), the PC could take "Self-"Sponsor Debtm, and the compels to pay off the debt later would come against Firebug, etc--but that compel doesn't go away if the PC buys it off, isntead of a normal compel to Firebug. Thus, diving deeper into that kind of magic truly compels you to continue to do so.

219
DFRPG / Re: self sponsered magic
« on: May 04, 2015, 08:14:56 PM »
"Self sponsored" magic is a misnomer gained by trying to fit the type of spellcasting in question into Sponsored mechanics. "Self-sponsored" magic just represents a greater talent/skill/experience in a particular field that supercedes simple Specialization; it provides expanded ability in that field (primary, evothaum).

Kemmlerian necromancers, for instance, can't really do anything any "normal" necromancer couldn't. They're just better at it and can do it really fast (evothaum).

A stress track is an interesting thought, but I think that doesn't really fit with what "Self-sponsored" magic is; it's greater knowledge/skill applied to magic, and shouldn't be limited by how many times you've already done that kind of magic that day.

Taking Debt to Self-Sponsored magic is different. Some GMs allow, some don't; for me, it's conditional. Using the Kemmlerian example, I'd allow one or two "debt" points to be taken at any given time, and use aspects related to their necromancer for the compels (most likely a Lawbreaker aspect, given the type of magic we're talking about). Taking sponsor debt for Kemmlerian magic would drive you further towards using more of it to solve your problems, etc.

220
DFRPG / Re: How do you deal with players who want Scions?
« on: May 04, 2015, 05:52:47 PM »
Quote from: Lawgiver on May 04, 2015, 05:42:37 PM
anti-Entropy spellcasting thing.

anti-Entropy = Entropy. Just give her Entropic magic.

221
DFRPG / Re: Reactive Counterspells
« on: May 03, 2015, 04:43:45 PM »
Quote from: Taran on May 03, 2015, 06:20:44 AM
Getting a reactive lore roll seems appropriate to me.  If you fail you can always guess.  I think you'll get more out of the wizard duel if they both know where to aim.

I agree, but based on the single "official" counterspell we've seen (or, that I recall), Harry did take more than just a split second to line up his power. BUT - I prefer the whole shebang, including the lore roll.

222
DFRPG / Re: Reactive Counterspells
« on: May 03, 2015, 05:29:07 AM »
Quote from: Sanctaphrax on May 02, 2015, 09:51:17 PM
There are several different ways to implement it, though. Which one did you have in mind?

"Realistically," a "blind" counterspell, one without an assessment roll, might be more appropriate.

For the sake of fun, which is my main goal here? You can sacrifice your next action to attempt to counter any spell within LoS per the standard method for a counterspell. You may only sacrifice one action per exchange this way.

I like this more than allowing reactive blocks, and think those should still be the realm of a stunt. It's reasonable to require a stunt for reactive counterspells, as that does imply a level of increased skill and training with the technique--but I like the wizard-nulls-wizard dynamic and wanted to introduce that to play.

223
DFRPG / Reactive Counterspells
« on: May 02, 2015, 02:58:13 AM »
A thought: unlike reactive blocks, reactive counterspells don't really change the power of a spellcaster compared to other PCs, because any 'caster with channeling/evocation would have the ability. This leads to, in my view, more interesting dynamics when you have several opposing spellcasters in play. Wizard ends up countering wizard, and then the physical characters go at it. It's possible this method reduces, to a degree, the common issue of shorter conflicts favoring spellcasters over physical types. Instead of (or in addition to) the Paranet Papers' introduction of reactive blocks as a standard aspect of evocation, why not add reactive counterspells?

I probably wouldn't allow a Warden's sword or other enchanted items to be used reactively this way, only actually-cast spells.


Thoughts?

224
DFRPG / Re: Magical healing?
« on: May 01, 2015, 10:52:45 PM »
Quote from: Taran on May 01, 2015, 08:56:08 PM
I'm not arguing this point but it makes me think:  what kind of 'knowledge' do you need to create a zombie?  There's no stunt requirements for that kind of thing.

-Should a practitioner of divination of some kind of schooling in Astrology, geomancy, astronomy?

-Does someone doing fire magic need to have a physics stunt so that they know how to create fire from air?

-Do you need a veterinary degree to turn someone into a dog?

I just wonder why healing has this, seemingly, arbitrary requirement  when most other rituals have the knowledge built in.

It's not arbitrary--not as Jim has described how healing works. You've got to picture in your mind exactly what you're doing. Without some kind of advanced medical training, you're simply not going to be able to direct your magic to do what you want it to. Healing isn't as simple as "close that laceration! Magic!" Without the training (or an intervening sponsor like Summer), you're guaranteed to mess up your healing. And then you're a Lawbreaker.

Personally, I don't require the Doctor stunt for a PC to heal, but I require an appropriate High Concept or other aspects to justify the knowlege they've got of human anatomny. A CPR class at the YMCA won't cut it.

Making zombies is a matter of calling up ectoplasm around a body and animating it like a puppet. Vastly different than repairing living tissue without negative side effects.

If a diviner uses astrology/geomancy/astronomy in their divination? Yeah, they need to know that kind of stuff, whether through an appropriately high Scholarship skill, aspects, etc. Let's also pause to reflect how long it takes to gain a working level of knowledge in these subjects compared to the time it takes to become a doctor.

For the fire thing, obviously there's hyperbole going on here; the whole "years of training in the mystic arts" covers that. And wizards do, to some degree, learn physics to help them cover it. Harry has mentioned many times that magic still obeys physics--implying he has gained a working knowlege of it as it applies to his magic. Why the difference between this and needing additional justification for healing? Because the physics behind fire, and the mental construct needed for that, is much simpler than the complexity of biology.

If you wanted to turn someone into a dog, you don't need a vet degree--but unless you had one, the person-turned-dog would die shortly from having organs and systems that don't work properly. As is mentioned somehwere in YS in the transformation section, I believe.

225
DFRPG / Re: How do you deal with players who want Scions?
« on: May 01, 2015, 10:16:30 PM »
Quote from: Rougarou on May 01, 2015, 09:28:46 PM
I feel this could be better modeled by as a form of Channeling using "Luck" as an element.

We have an Emissary of Tyche on RagnarokNYC with Sponsored Magic from Tyche that is built around Entropomancy channeling/ritual, plus evothaum. It works very well. "Luck" magic of any kind is entropomancy. Just as you can use it to make improbably bad things happen (frozen turkey falling onto you out of the sky), you can make improbably good things happen to people.

'Cause, remember, Tyche isn't all about "good" luck. She's about "fortune"--not the specifics of "good" vs "bad." Some people have good fortune because of her, others bad.

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