Well, item-wise, to some degree it depends on whether you have Kemmlerian Necromancy or Lawbreaker or both...so that's an issue, especially with your Specialty and Focus Item.

Aside from that, well, your defensive item isn't noted right, it needs a number of uses per session noted, and equally importantly, can be used for either Block or Armor on each individual use, for example:

Robes (8 shift Block or Armor 4, 3 times per session) (6 item slots)

This is also a hell of a protective item, and debatably overpowered in some games, so check with your GM if it's cool. If it is, then it's a solid choice.

I see, well currently it's an "on all the time" item. I dropped a load of enchanted item slots into it, I think I did the math correctly but not positive on that. To get this I set one enchanted item slot aside for the item itself, then with Lore 5, I dropped 3 enchanted item slots into that to bring it up to strength 8 from 5. Then halving that gets you an item that is on all the time right?

As for my speciality and focus item, those were just what I threw down at the moment. I am not dead set on them, but I figured kemmler works better with spirit. And yes, my character has both Kemmler and lawbreaker(fifth) now, we did end up moving up to 11 refresh to make it fit better.

I'll definitely bring it up with my GM, I'm glad to hear I did okay with it. The other thing is our party isn't very big, so I'm definitely trying to keep my eye out for things to get the group by in it. I don't really know how these games work yet, so maybe I am being overly cautious.

Yep. There's a solid cap there. Also, if you're actually gonna use it, Lawbreaker is actually pretty nice mechanically. +2 Control to every single roll you make using Necromancy either Evocation or Thaumaturgy? That's not bad at all.

And front-loading it is definitely the way I'd do that, yeah. Indeed, my first post pointing out your lack of it was intended to suggest something like this...apparently very poorly. Sorry about that.

No worries, I may have misunderstood and I definitely misunderstood the rule to some degree. I was under the impression it was going to start dropping my refresh like crazy every single time I tried to do what my character does. Starting off with lawbreaker -1 means a bit of careful sailing until my first refresh point.

I still need to figure out how to set up my items, but my aspects and powers seem about complete now.

This is almost certainly an error (or a result of the difference between PCs and NPCs), not an intentional statement on how the Laws work. Adding Lawbreaker was one of the last things that got done in OW (and considered more important on PCs than NPCs anyway), and nobody noticed its' absence on Kumori. No, really, I know, I was the one who pointed out it's absence on Grevane. They immediately put it in. Nobody did the same for her.

Indeed, I'll link you: http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,16539.msg784716.html#msg784716

That said, if you want to and it's fun for your group, go for it. That's by far the most important thing. Way more than any pedantic rules argument.

I disagree, I think the loss of free will involved in Lawbreaker very neatly models the reality of the books (which is what the game's trying for, obviously), and is quite fun in its own way.

But running a game without it is certainly viable. I would advise consistency, though. Either have it or don't or put a number of times you need to do X to get it, no applying it sporadically...that'd get weird.

Well here's what I've also read on it.

Actually it’s a pretty excellent question and one that is NOT explicitly stated to my knowledge. It is generally assumed when it comes to the Faerie Knights but there are exceptions. Linked below is a thread on the DFRPG site that debates the various approaches. The book does reference it and I’m pasting that here for clarification:

This quote is from the post-its on p.236
Technically, the Laws of Magic only apply to mortal spellcasters. I haven’t seen either of the Sidhe Knights at the meetings or ice cream socials.

But I think this could be a fertile ground for stories in someone’s game. Like one of the Knights whacks a Council-allied mortal, and there’s a movement inside the Council to apply the Laws to the situation, but the Accords get in the way…Sort of the reverse of what happened in the Death Masks case.

Stars and stones, Billy, my life is complicated enough here without pulling more politics into it!
And this quote is from p.241
As enforced, the Laws of Magic are applied where human victims are involved, but similarly, they’re primarily applied where human spellcasters are the ones doing the deeds.
FORUM THREAD
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/i...c,18574.0.html

Myself, I agree with a number of the positions.

1) If it is only Sponsored Magic (not a mortal wizard tapping Sponsored for more Oomph) then it really doesn’t come from them and the soul/moral consequences of the Lawbreaker talent doesn’t seem appropriate.

2) It’s going to depend on who the Sponsor is! No Warden is going to claim jurisdiction over a Knight. (And that is explicitly stated in several offers of knighthood to Dresden that they would love to have a Wizard that was not bound by the White Council’s rules. It is also stated that the Wardens would be off his back… it was a conversation with the Faerie Ladies in McAnally’s I think). But the power of the Sponsor and the origin of the Sponsor are going to be very important in the decision-making of the Warden.

3) Is the Sponsor a member of the Accords? If so, then they and their minions do not have to answer to another member except under those terms. What do the Accords say about it? No fricking idea, they’re a plot device.

4) What kind of Sponsored Magic? After all, Kemmlerian is simply magic that delves deeper than others into darkness. Kind of necro-methampheta-magic. Anyone who has dug this deep is no longer worried about the Laws.

5) This is a decision for the group and the GM. Remembering that the use of Magic to break the Laws is something internal as well as external in the game. It implies a blot on your soul, a change in your perception, a step down the path to NPC/madness. Do not use Sponsored Magic as a way to get around the personal effects of the Laws. In fact, if you have someone who is doing so and it's considered "legal" due to the Accords, I don't think it's too far of a stretch to apply the actual character effects to the character. After all, in the end, they simply represent the character becoming less human... And, in the end, isn't that what many of the Sponsors want? Downbelow would love for the person to become less and less human. Same with the Fae. What better temptation from DownBelow than "Burn everyone you want, the Wardens can't touch you."

I honestly just do not see a necromancer having to worry about going insane easily from using the type of magic they specialize in. Cowl, Grevane, and company would have been braindead if it were the case. And also for my group it is not a case of "x times before you break the law" it's just a case of "You can do this without breaking the law, but not this."

Not by any of the rules they don't. Some people would argue that they don't...but I've never agreed with them, and think that's thematic hogwash.

There's also the fact that I'm pretty sure you need to be a Necromancer (ie: have Lawbreaker - 5th) before you can even become a Kemmlerite...just logically.

Kumori doesn't have lawbreaker and she's clearly a necromancer and has used the abilities. In any case, I wasn't looking to butt heads on it. I understand some people might be against the idea but my GM and group think it to be a fun concept and no one sees any mechanical issues with it in the rule book. I was hoping more in input from more experienced players about the selection of skills/items and such for a wizard in their position for someone new to the game.

You could be a necromancer who hasn't gone all the way corrupt yet.  Say that you worked mainly with an animals or find the points to pick up a level or two law breaker.

In the books, Kumori is a non-Kemmlerite necromancer who isn't evil.  Crazy and in denial about it, sure, but not evil.

Richard

I do understand people's suggestion that lawbreaker would make more sense, and I do agree. I just also feel it's not completely necessary, and I'm working on the 10 point refresh otherwise I'd have been happy to throw that in as well. Though I will talk to my Gm and see about what they want to do, I understand it's not completely unthinkable to bump the refresh up by one for everyone at the GM and group's discretion. I'll ask what they think, but I'm not going to argue if they want me to leave things as they are.

Thanks for suggestions though Richard, they're a good example. As I mentioned already I'm taking some inspiration for my character from John Constantine from Hellblazer, the "hero" of the comics. Though most people would describe him as being a bit of a bastard rather than a hero, though they wouldn't describe him as a villain either. An "Any means necessary" type trying to do the right thing, but also a little too selfish for self sacrifice.

Necromancy doesn't necessarily have to be about killing and reanimating. It can also be about controlling ghosts and the likes. Maybe not even ghosts, just death energy of some kind or another.

You could look at it like this: every action has an equal but opposite reaction. So every spell you do is not one action, but a pair of action-reaction. Now most wizards learn to use magic a certain way, what I would call the action in the simile. Necromantic magic seems to work the other way around, creating what would usually be the reaction, so the action occurs. Granted, this will only translate very roughly to magic, but I hope you get my point. Necromancy, without killing or raising anyone or anything. Harry says so himself, Magic springs from life, Necromancy from death. Kumori says something along those lines as well, and she says that Necromancy can be turned to do good.

In some applications, the necromantic method might even be better than the magic everyone else is using. We don't have much to go on there, but I think that could be something that would let you walk the straight and narrow, while still having necromancy.

Spinning off this idea, every warden of the white council will probably feel the necromantic energies around you, that doesn't seem to be something that can easily be hidden. However. once they soulgaze you they will find out, that you never killed anyone, never intend to, that there is something about the necromantic energy around you, that might not be inherently bad, and they will definitely see, that you never broke a law. Add to that a sponsor, and you are good to go.

I would keep Kemmlerian Necromancy from your sheet, though, because that definitely is the darkest dark of necromancy and will, like Deadmanwalking said almost certainly come with a lawbreaker. attached. If you do put it on your sheet and use it, you will end up on the dark side, and if you don't use it, you have two points of dead weight in your refresh pool. Refinement would be the better way to go there, I think. If you want to have a Kemmlerian background, put it in one of your aspects, so if you really want to go there, you can draw upon it that way.

Speaking of aspects: I think "walking the line" and "if the ref doesn't see it, it's legal" are basically saying the same thing, and I feel that the second one is way more fuego than the first, and might make for a better trouble aspect, while conveying the same message.

Thanks Haru! There was some very good points you brought up. I'm definitely going to consider these things. And if I switch the trouble aspect out it would give me a good rearrangement for the rest of my aspects so I think I will definitely take you up on that.

I agree with all your points on the necromancy, it's definitely not going to be a secret from the council, just for now she's not going to be a top priority on their list. They're more or less watching and waiting. They feel any of them could take her out if they need to, they're seeing if she can be useful to them. The war is going on so they're definitely trying to make use of her, at her expense. And if she gets herself killed doing it, it's one less headache for them. Most of them will definitely not be comfortable around her.

The big issue with this character mechanically is the Lawbreaker Stunt and her lack of both it and the Refresh to buy it. By background, she should have Lawbreaker - 5th [-2], unless she has only ever used Necromancy on animals (enormously unlikely, I'd personally say impossible, for a Kemmlerite) and possibly other Lawbreaker stunts as well (if she's ever killed for instance). So, that's a definite problem.

I thought the sponsored magic rules keep lawbreaker stunt from being involved as long as you're using the sponsored magic itself to break the laws. The trade on this being the sponsor agenda, otherwise a necromancer would go insane in ten minutes of being one.

Edit: And I just checked Kumori out in the book and she doesn't have the lawbreaker stunt, though it also doesn't list her as having Kemmlerian necromancy. It says it's "unsure if she has full access to it". But I'm pretty sure we see her use necromancy on a human in the Dresden books as well.

Thematically, having an ex-Necromancer seems possible, but a Kemmlerite? Much less so...though I suppose if Kumori came off as sympathetic it's possible.

It's of course not the most likely of stories, but it's one I find fun and my GM's on board with it. They seem pretty interested the story of the Warden out to get her.

Hey everyone! I just started getting into this game and I have to say the system looks really amazing. I've never seen such a open ended magic system before and it's definitely been a little paralyzing with what all you can do with it. I'm still trying to learn everything but me and my best friend are starting up and we're still working on our characters and the city.

Before I type up a wall of text here's the gist of it:
 I'm doing my first Dresden RPG session soon, and I'm playing a female White Council necromancer that's not good or evil, and is probably going to take some inspiration from John Constantine in some ways. So while they may not be evil they are going to be doing a lot of questionable things. Their trouble aspect at the moment is, "Walking the Line" to reflect this. My GM suggested this one, but we're both new to aspect ideas.
I'm looking for some help on stuff like skills and items mainly, and suggested aspects, but I'm open to any suggestions on the other parts as well. It looks like they're going to be in a tough position so I want to try and make them statted out in a way to be able to handle it.

------


My friend's the GM and we've been working hand in hand on my character and some others. I decided I wanted to play a younger Kemmlerian Necromancer that's with the White Council now after making a war time deal for a pardon, by betraying the Kemmlerites that were training them. Also with their situation being taken under advisement. "Oh well they're just a kid, they didn't even know about the white council until after they were trained as a necromancer." They're of course more in their twenties in age.

My GM is all fine for this, and of course we've both agreed that while it works out, they are still going to have half the council at least convinced they are evil psychos waiting to snap. And the only reason any of this works out is because the Council was in a desperate situation and my character offered an easy out to solve the problem for a minor headache. We've also agreed that means there's going to be a bunch of old school wardens out to kill my character first chance they get. Specifically we got one named "Warden Adams" that's going to more or less be the "Morgan" for my character, but less reasonable.

My character's the only wizard in the group, and there aren't many others. So far there's also a Dragon Knight beholden to Ferrofax.


Here's my second character sheet: http://puu.sh/1ATho

I've got one aspect marked as "Placeholder" and I'm still trying to decide a good one to put there, I'm also open to suggested revisions on the other ones including the high/trouble aspects if a really good one is offered.

Anyway, I apologize if I made a mistake in my post. And I appreciate any suggestions people may have.