Also, does anyone know what "element" of magic Time would be?

So, I didn't see a thread on this, so I'm not sure if you guys had heard - apparently a third DFRPG book is in the works, at least according to Evil Hat: http://www.deadlyfredly.com/2010/12/confessional/

What do you all think they'll include in it? My guess would be updates for the most recent books, and perhaps some rules clarifications from the previous two books.

If you had your choice, what would you want to see in it? (Hey, maybe they'll read this thread)

If Merlin wrote them, then I see it as Einstein writing about nuclear physics. It was already there, he just documented it.

The Blackstaff isn't really an exception. It is an item that takes the taint instead of the user. The orignal owner of it still wants it back too, according to Jim.

How is Necromancy and the summoning of beings anti-thetical to life not evil? Those are some of the worst. Time travel manitains the status quo, sure, but that is because a paradox may destroy reality. They don't want to risk it happening, that is for sure. How has Rashid broken the 6th Law? As for the Seventh, he doesn't have to summon them in order to keep them locked up. He just needs to check the locks, throw a couple bars over the door, and banish the few that get in.

That's what breaking a Law does. It corrupts you. It is a stain anyone (with power) can see, and it changes you.

I doubt a wizard of any caliber could do that last bit. And who is immune to them, beside the Blackstaff (who has his filtering tool)?

In the book, it isn't phrased like he discovered them, its phrased like he created them. But then again its only a sentence that mentions it. Without more information we can't really know.

The Blackstaff is an exception because it has the ability to take 'taint' into it. The fact that this ability even exists means that its within the bounds of reality to resist the 'taint' of the Law of Magic, through magical means (assuming the Blackstaff was enchanted to resist the 'taint').

Well, calling back/using souls is evil, but I wouldn't say that the use of dead corpses which don't have a mind/soul within them is evil, but this is more of a philosophical issue. (I would see the other laws of Magic used to protect a being with choice, ie a mortal - I wouldn't consider a body with a vacated spirit a mortal anymore, hence its not evil to use it). As for the risk of breaking reality, any magic has inherient risks with it. The difference between the first four laws and the sixth and seventh laws are that the first four prohibit actions which will always lead to a mortal's choice being stolen (ie evil), whereas the sixth and seventh prohibit actions which might if used inappropriately lead to a mortal's choice being stolen, just with much larger consequences. In this sense, I see the sixth and seventh laws as 'evil' as using any other type of magic - they have the capacity for evil, but don't directly lead to it.

Its not directly stated in the books, but in both Turn Coat, for instance, and the RPG books, it says that Harry suspects the Gatekeeper has broken the 6th law, although we don't really see it. And the 7th law isn't just collaborating with Outsiders, its trying to learn any knowledge at all about them. And this is the Gatekeeper's job. So he is in a constant state of violating the 7th law, and Harry suspects that he violates the 6th law, and Harry has pretty good instincts.


Overall though, there are too many questions to say definitively that "The laws of magic are absolute" or "The laws of magic are fabricated", so there's no use arguing over it. I guess we'll find out in future books, but in the meantime, there is plenty of leeway to go one way or the other inside a campaign.

I don't know. Personally, if I were running the game as GM, I would make it so that Lawbreaker stunts are only taken in cases in which a character intentionally breaks a law of magic, as opposed to unintentionally: eg if you were throwing a lightning bolt and it accidentally struck a civilian you had no way of knowing was there, that wouldn't be lawbreaker, but if you burned down a building knowing that there were civilians in the building and some of them died, that would. In the same vein, if I didn't know that a player remembered that breaking a law of magic could kill their character, I would gently remind them of this fact before they acted, and if they still chose to do so, so be it.

As for whether its a 'metaphysical law' of the Dresdenverse, I don't think that's exactly true. We have to keep in mind that both the books and the RPG are both written from Harry Dresden's very very biased viewpoint. He's gotten better about it throughout the series, but he still has a strong tendancy to try to paint the world in black and white. If the Laws of Magic were so clear and fundamental, it would leave questions such as:
In the RPG, they discuss how some of the laws are in place not because they are evil, as opposed to maintaining the status quo. I dunno, it seems like there's a decent degree of flexibility without breaking cannon, simply because Dresden isn't omniscient.

I'm coming! I'll see if your games are at the right time - if so, I'll be there. This is my first time playing FATE and I've really wanted to GM Dresden Files RPG, so hopefully I can learn about it that weekend XD

Well, I think you could see vanity two ways:
- One being the more surface beauty side of it, in which case the opposite would be something like confidence or inner strength although, you're right, that is kinda vague.
- You could also see vanity as narcissism, in which case the opposite could be true selflessness, which would be easier to fit in.

The Pantry! An awesome old 24/7 restaurant. http://www.pantrycafe.com/
Either that or maybe a major hub, like Union Station.

So an idea I have for a character type is a supernaturally powered scientist. A bizarre combination, I know. However, do you guys have any suggestions for how science would interact with magic in the following circumstances?

Evocation: The Elements
Obviously a scientist is going to have a more grounded view about how the elements work in the universe, and thus would draw his evocation ability from that. In the book, it gives examples of characters coming from different backgrounds using different element systems. How would you guys make this work? I suppose if you wanted to take element literally, you could divide the periodic table into parts (eg Radioactive metals, other metals, Anion-makers, Cation-makers, and noble gases?). Or perhaps, since you are looking at the smallest building blocks, go down to a theoretical physics level (eg Quarks, Leptons, Gravitons, Photons, and gluon/W and Z bosons?).

True Believer
I assume this is able to be flavor-changed to accomodate a belief in science? Even though the example is religious, I assume this is a 'belief in whatever', not a 'belief in god' (eg when Harry is able to channel power through his pentacle necklace through his belief in the order of magic).

Hexing
Obviously this scientist, in order to do his research, works with very fine equipment. How would you guys handle a supernatural ability that made it so a person is immune to accidental hexing? It seems a little tough to cost that at -1 refresh... Are there other options? Would exchanging the ability to hex on purpose with the accidental hexing be a fair trade, balance wise? Although now that I think about it, the book talks about how hexing relies on belief maybesorta? It wasn't really clear to me.

Thoughts?