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Messages - JustinS

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DFRPG / Modular abilities and base form?
« on: July 29, 2014, 05:19:10 AM »
In the game I'm currently in, someone just got offered the change to pick up beast change for a formerly pure mortal character.

It was suggested that Beast Form and Modular Abilities be used, where the form points are spent on animal appropriate powers for the specific animal form, and be spent on the character's old stunts when in human form.

It was counter argued that form points are supposed to only be spent on forms generated from shifting, and may generally not be spent on stunts (and the character should instead take human form, and trim back their stunt list).

Any thoughts on if this should work or not?

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DFRPG / Re: Joining the White Council
« on: September 18, 2011, 02:05:24 AM »
In that case, I'd start with having the BC wizard start out as being helpful, but casting most of the help as being from them, and not from the WC as official (and deliberately steering the character into the bureaucracy and infighting). Meanwhile offering help that is slowly getting darker and darker grey.

Quote from: zenten on September 18, 2011, 01:14:29 AM
Hmmm... Let's see.  She knows Ramirez.  She knows Harry because she's been active in the Paranet.  And the player wants her to to ultimately end up studying under Rashid (sp?).

But on the other hand the local White Council wizard is one invented by another PC, who hasn't really invested in stuff like Aspects or stunts to have that wizard be the useful ally that she's been.  And I know that the players involved like plot twists and whatnot.  So I'm thinking, what if the older mentor NPC is actually connected to the "Black Council".  And the PC gets drawn into that end of things.  But it would hardly be impossible given who she knows that she could find out what's going on, and then end up helping fight against it.

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DFRPG / Re: Making Pacts for Magic
« on: September 04, 2011, 11:26:37 PM »
I could see having a low power caster doing this as maneuvers to have hanging aspects to tag and invoke involving outside powers.

Possibly a special stunt that lets him use these temporary aspects to add to power instead of refinement and item power bonuses.

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DFRPG / Re: Bless This House - Underpowered?
« on: July 28, 2011, 03:32:27 AM »
Quote from: Save_vs_DM on July 27, 2011, 10:27:19 PM
Good points all around. I think part of the trouble is that the character was a Park Ranger before getting called to Serve, so the concept is kind of pulling in two directions at once. And maybe I'm being too stingy about thresholds, but most of their big indoor battles have taken place in public builds, which by the book don't really have Thresholds. I have let him treat buildings as having a 0 Threshold before and he seemed to lack that, which is why I asked about this.

I could also see a Park Ranger  type with that power having 'within the light of my campfire' as a 0 threshold to build off of.

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DFRPG / Re: Limits on Resources/ Contacts
« on: July 18, 2011, 05:20:37 AM »
I'd say finding a random thug is Contacts +1 (ganger)/ +2 for competent (ex cop)/ +3 for skilled (ex-special forces)/+4 for total badass.
And use the above for costs.

+1 for aware of the supernatural (like say one of Marcone's mundane bodyguards)/+2 for clued in.

+1 for specific types by name.

So getting Gard or Kinkaid personally would be +7 contacts rolls, someone like them a +6.
So to find someone like that, you need to do a lot of legwork and call in a lot of favors, but if you have real money, you can afford them on occasion.

So yes, you can leverage super high contacts, but they will have their own agendas and needs. Even if you find them, and can meet their hourly rates, you still need to convince them to accept the job. Ward my house is easy, raid a temple in tibet to kidnap fu dog puppies may be not so much...

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DFRPG / Re: Impromptu summoning
« on: July 18, 2011, 05:08:02 AM »
I'd do it as evocation with a different effect flavor.

If you want to have animals and such on call, then use thamatergy to create a stack of aspects of "Rats waiting to help" and such, and either toss them on top of skills to do things, or on top of evocation effects.

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DFRPG / Re: What a Black Court Elder might look like...
« on: July 14, 2011, 04:58:14 AM »
Needs supernatural or mythic Recovery.

I don't see the Fists/Mythic Strength build being a caster, but for a caster, I can more see Sponsored Necromancy instead.

For a more generic BCVE I'd suggest Deceit or Intimidation as an apex skill. Also, Resources are likely popular for Elder anything.

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DFRPG / Re: Extraordinary NPC Thread
« on: June 23, 2011, 05:04:17 AM »
And even superman likely only has good fists.
Batman and Lady Shiva might be +6.
Black Canary, Karate Kid, Cassandra Cain Batgirl are +5. I'd even stick Wonder Woman at this level.

A +5 skill and a few supporting stunts or aspects is low level supers without anything more.

Quote from: Sanctaphrax on June 23, 2011, 03:07:07 AM
I'm not sure why, but most characters from other media get overstatted when people write them up for DFRPG.

There are plenty of superheroes that can be represented by Submerged characters. (Some representations of) Batman, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, for example.

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DFRPG / Re: When the players know too much
« on: June 21, 2011, 04:50:23 AM »
Note that by taking lore 6, he is saying that his character is "The man with the answers", and some times he just should know amazing things. Consider the equivalent investigation 6 is Sherlock Holmes.

That said, 'you know the right book', 'you know who the expert on that topic is, and have been exchanging letter with it for years', 'you can whip up a quick magic ritual to deal with that, under the light of the full moon' all work.

You can also try to move the mystery farther away from the character. Destroy evidence. Give him 2nd hand answers from people who are confused or don't know what to look for. Give him a list of a few options that are possible so far, or eliminate some answers, but not all of them.

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DFRPG / Re: Thaumaturgical Blocks ... err, help?
« on: June 11, 2011, 07:35:09 PM »
The coolness of potions is that they are what you need them when you need them, if you are willing to spend and safe fate points.

I too would model this with the special supernatural skill "Ignore sound" and buying duration up from one scene. If I had the spare power, I'd go with a boom box and not headphones and buy a zone of effect too.

I'd rule Ignore Damage is too broad a skill. Ignore fire/suppress fire, avoid bullets, or a hyper-senses defense (effectively magical athletics), but there is a whole, and to have something that has more power then evocation shields and enough duration to help is a lot of prep work.

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DFRPG / Re: Magical "lockdown" as in Blood Rites
« on: June 01, 2011, 05:17:16 AM »
The problem with targeting Marva or BCVs in general, is where is the ritual link?

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DFRPG / Re: Wardens and the Deathcurse
« on: May 29, 2011, 10:16:33 PM »
Interestingly enough, I'm playing a Warden who took a Death Curse pre-game.
It is a major part of his backstory, is involved with 2 of his aspects, and was the major explanation of why a 100 year old Wizard was back down to our game's starting refresh of 8.

From a narrative perspective, a death curse should either make the story more interesting, or be the predictable consequence of doing something significant.

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DFRPG / Re: Joining the White Council
« on: May 29, 2011, 10:07:23 PM »
Quote from: devonapple on May 24, 2011, 09:44:46 PM
Clever! I really liked that ::wipes an imaginary tear:: It made the sacrifice so much more poignant.

I have three Apprentices in my game - it will be hard to use that ruse on them unless I get them separated. Or perhaps, if one "makes it" before the others, then he can survive the procedure, and smile wickedly as the next Apprentice twists in the wind.

Thank you for the story!

If you have a simpler test, after the first one makes it, he has to figure out an appropriate test for the next one, and so on.

In the game I was in, I was going to conduct an Admissions Test for some NPCs, and I was going to do some quick and dirty tests of Evocation and Tham, with the goal of having them demonstrate a range of powers and flexibility.

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DFRPG / Re: Magical "lockdown" as in Blood Rites
« on: May 29, 2011, 09:09:37 PM »
So, the lockdown seemed a rather standard thing, and without a ritual link.

I'd see it as a block against ritual magic, or putting power into ritual magic, specifically.
Or creating a Special Skill of Non-evocation counter magic, that the person doing lockdown then used for the scene.

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DFRPG / Re: Can you have an enchanted item that is also a focus?
« on: February 06, 2011, 02:43:41 AM »
Sure, though I would make sure to use the combined levels of power for minimum object size.
The coat sounds like a nice item to have...

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