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Messages - Dan from Chicago

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1
DFRPG / Re: self sponsered magic
« on: May 04, 2015, 10:12:56 PM »
Quote from: Taran on May 04, 2015, 08:38:38 PM
For other types of 'self-sponsored' magic, like a pyromancer for example, compels might revolve around an intense need to start fires.  Or, if you look at the symbolic aspects of fire, it could revolve around anger, purification, impulsiveness etc...  These aspects then colour the wizards outlook and influence how (s)he (re)acts to a situation - in the form of compels.

Honestly that just sounds like a vanilla aspect to me. The pyromancer has the Trouble Firebug.

2
DFRPG / Re: Fred Hicks talks about "Rumors From The Paranet"
« on: May 04, 2011, 02:57:59 PM »
Quote from: iago on April 25, 2011, 08:25:25 PM
Nope.
no idea ... nope

Double negative = positive?!?!?!?!?!

;)

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DFRPG / Re: Fred Hicks talks about "Rumors From The Paranet"
« on: April 25, 2011, 08:03:52 PM »
I assume there's no idea on when a release date might be?

4
DFRPG / Re: How would you handle differences between elements?
« on: July 26, 2010, 08:00:06 PM »
Quote from: Nomad on July 26, 2010, 07:44:15 PM
You can use one "element" to create the effects of another like Harry's little freezer trick. You can't pull with fire, sure but you can create a blastwave to push it to you. For Rube Goldberg machine maneuvers like entropy "skating" something by placing an entropic shield under it, I would impose a penalty ranging from 0 to 2 shifts depending on the amount of extra stuff. For some extra ordinary things like calling water by earthcrafting alone, I might even go for 1 shift penalty for each step required.

This seems like a good approach. Sure it's possible to use fire to create a backdraft to pull an item towards you, however that should be way way way harder an application of fire than using air to achieve the same effect would be.

Maybe Epic difficulty vs Fair difficulty :)

If not than there's much less reason to spend the refresh to diversify.

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DFRPG / Re: theoretical powergaming: maxing out an evocator
« on: July 26, 2010, 07:48:13 PM »
Quote from: Tsunami on July 26, 2010, 07:35:49 PM
I think you got the progression of refinements a bit wrong

With those 10 slots you can get the following by way of refinements
Control (+5; +4; +3; +2; +1)
Power (+5; +4; +3; +2; +1)

How? As I understand things, the power/control 'tower' function like skills. You can't have more in a higher level than a lower. So if you're applying points one at a time, you get to the point where you can't boost a bonus to 2 without more at 2 than 1. Can you save up points to apply them in blocks?

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DFRPG / Re: theoretical powergaming: maxing out an evocator
« on: July 26, 2010, 07:42:39 PM »
Quote from: Tbora on July 26, 2010, 07:17:27 PM
Sure, but its still infinitely less potent.

Funnily enough, I just started a thread on this. It's only infinitely less potent if you assume that each of the elements is a perfect substitute for the others. If they are ... if there's nothing you can't accomplish as easily with water as you can with fire and vice versa, you're right, your build is far more refresh point efficient than mine is. If however, if the thematic differences between the elements has a game mechanic effect(and I would argue it should), than my build has both enormous power and flexibility.

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DFRPG / How would you handle differences between elements?
« on: July 26, 2010, 07:25:23 PM »

So it's definitely possible to get similar results using different elements. In the books, different elements have been used to create blocks:

Harry's spirit shield
Carlos's water/entropy shield
Elaine's Air Hyperawareness

Where would you rule that you can't use an element to create a result? Obviously fire wouldn't be used to pull something to you, whereas you could use air or spirit you pull it to you pretty easily, and earth has some potential(using a wave of earth, or maybe a tree).

Would you say it's more difficult to use one element rather than another to get some effects? Would that translate into additional shifts of difficulty?

I'm trying to get an idea of how the thematic differences of the elements would translate into mechanical game differences. I feel as though they shouldn't be perfect substitutes

8
DFRPG / Re: theoretical powergaming: maxing out an evocator
« on: July 26, 2010, 07:15:51 PM »
but there's no reason for an evocator who used refinements to increase elemental power and control to be pure offense. The split between offense and defense only to focus items.

And my build doesn't have toys to take away :)


9
DFRPG / Re: theoretical powergaming: maxing out an evocator
« on: July 26, 2010, 07:03:14 PM »

I don't think you could get 10 shifts with that build ... not without incurring serious stress or risk. At most you'll have 2 of the three casting skills at 5, with 1 at 4. let's say lore and conviction at 5, discipline at 4. That means a single focus items could have at most 5 points in bonuses. Call it +3 control, +2 power. freebie bonuses get you +1 power, +2 control or vice versa. That gives you 8 shifts, more if you want to take risks of fallout or backlash. As far as I know you can only use one focus item at a time, so whatever focus item you use will have to be balanced between control and power so the lore limit comes into play pretty quickly. Using all the refinement slots gives you 8 bonus points, so you could do +2 offense/defense control/power. So 8 shifts for offensive and defensive applications each in a single element using focus items is fairly realistic.

Focus items have their own limits.

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DFRPG / theoretical powergaming: maxing out an evocator
« on: July 26, 2010, 06:24:08 PM »

Take 11 refinements, apply them all to evocation upgrades. There are ten 'slots', control and power for air, earth, fire, water, and spirit. After 10.5 refinements(2 to open up new slots with one bonus each, 8 refinements providing 2 bonuses, 1 refinement providing 1 bonus and 1 focus slot), you get the following:

1 at +4
2 at +3
3 at +2
4 at +1

as far as I can tell the progression stops there. Without another slot, there's no way to move up farther. At this point the character has received at least 11 skill points(probably 2-3 times that many). Should be more than enough to get all three relevant stats to 5, if not higher. Assuming you use focus item bonus to balance out imbalances between control and power, you can toss out the equivalent of 9-10 shifts as a rote without breathing hard. In your weakest element you'd run at 6 shifts.

Granted the character is minimum -18 refresh. Still pretty scary though :)

Of course, you'd be completely neglecting half of wizardry

11
DFRPG Resource Collection / Re: Harry's Stats as of Small Favor/Turn Coat plus Assorted Other Stat Revisions
« on: July 23, 2010, 08:18:55 PM »
Quote from: Tsunami on July 22, 2010, 04:31:53 PM
That much is quite obvious... The main question being HOW he skirts them.

We know he sends summoned creatures to kill people. He does so quite openly.
If Sending summoned creatures to kill someone breaks the laws, how is he getting around them?

One possibility is that sending summoned creatures doesn't break the law ... the entity doing the killing acts as a firebreak for the corrupting effects of lawbreaking.

A second possibility is that he doesn't use the creatures to actually kill normal people. If he gets hired to go after supernatural players, the Grey men go to town. If he's going after pure mortals, Binder uses the Grey Men to restrain the vics and caps them himself using a gun. It's clear he's proficient with firearms. He got a lot closer to killing Dresden using a grenade than he did using his nasties.

12
DFRPG / Re: [Aspects] Compels for Gun-Fu?
« on: July 20, 2010, 09:00:59 PM »

Well, there's scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where Sundance can't hit a target unless he's moving ...

13
DFRPG / Re: Crafted Items and the First Law
« on: July 20, 2010, 08:58:51 PM »
I believe it was mentioned at some point that the Wardens use the swords specifically to avoid breaking the first law, but I don't know if it was Mr Butcher who stated it or one of the game designers. It's definitely a sticky rules interaction question. How can we request an official opinion?

14
DFRPG / Re: 4th Law Question: Did Obi-One Break It?
« on: July 19, 2010, 08:57:47 PM »
Dude ... Jedi Knights were fucked-up sinister not-so-secret police. They were emotionally repressed cultists who could execute people on sight on their own authority.

The White Council would have been whacking Jedi right and left, and would have been completely justified in doing it.

Forget Obi-wan ... Luke mind controls Jabba the Hut's peon into letting him in the door when he was specifically ordered not to do it ... think the peon survived Jabba's displeasure?

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DFRPG / Do Toughness abilities ALWAYS require a catch?
« on: April 07, 2010, 06:54:43 PM »
It doesn't seem clear:

Quote
Toughness abilities require you to define the
circumstances under which the ability is effective—
this is represented by a stunt attached
to your toughness abilities called the Catch,
defined below.

The Catch can be something that doesn't give you a rebate, like True Love for the White Court. Other templates get toughness abilities, but don't have a catch associated with them. If I take a Lycanthrope character, do I need to invent a catch for it's inhuman recovery?

Thanks

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