Hey- I believe I've already responded to Smith's email (if that was you). Otherwise, here's a response to both of you:

I had a group I've tried to get a game going with until some stuff came up. Things have settled down now, however we only have 3 right now, so 1 or 2 more would be ideal.

Our game has been on Mondays by default, but is negotiable.

Since gaming with people you don't know can be a bit dodgy, I recommend we meet face-to-face, perhaps at the Source some time soon. I am off work at 4:30 and can be there around 5 on a weekday, or early on Saturdays. How does that sound to you?

Obviously, shadowlost- you won't be able to until you move up here, so let me know when you're ready. Also, FYI, I'm new to Fate as well.

By the way- which one are you? 

my first question would be: how often do you expect to get bitten? i ask this because unless this is going to come up often a character probably would be better off spending their refresh else where.

Not very often. Maybe every few games, and of course only when facing vampires.

A little background- I didn't come up with this during character creation. For years now I've been writing pieces of stories about a modern-day mage who ended up being a lot like Harry Dresden (imagine how annoyed I was when I read the books, heh). This was one of his little gimmicks. The idea is that magic can be very powerful, but all the time you spend practicing spellcraft takes away from kung-fu lessons, so he knew if a vamp got close to him, he'd need something fast with enough bang to get him out of trouble.

At this point, he's likely to be an NPC, unless I end up as a player in a group that specifically needs a wizard. Taking that into consideration, I can pretty much do whatever I want, and not worry too much unless one of the PCs wants to get one. It's mostly for this possibility, and my desire not to be a jerk GM with his annoying GMPC, and for the sake of interesting discussion, that I even bring it up.

I think if the power isn't game-breaking, and in concept it really isn't. it would be fine as an enchanted item slot. If I built it as a power, I wouldn't want to spend more than 2 refresh on it.

The next interesting question is: Story-wise, what makes this thing work? Even if it isn't game-breaking, how is it able to break the rules of how magic usually works? Is he privy to a secret technique of infusing wards into living beings? Does he owe a powerful being a favor for this? Does it come at some other cost?

Yeah, I'm the GM, this is an NPC, and I'm not entirely comfortable with it. It's like an enchanted item that can't be taken away, or an evocation that you can cast as a free action.

Bob, do I have it right that wards are usually immobile, so if you want a big, long-lasting spell of protection it has to be rooted to one location? So if someone wants mobile protection, it’s all short term evocation and things like enchanted items?

Very good, William! Your conclusions are generally correct. With magic, there are always exceptions—but they’re rare and tied to specific circumstances.

So, if I really wanted to follow the rules closely, I would have to explain a rare and specific circumstance why this effect is allowed. Some possibilities could be:

• I must devote an aspect to it.
• It must be Rote spell.
• I must spend a fate point to make it work.
• I must take a consequence of some kind as long as the trap is "set".
• The energies in the ongoing "ward" are especially visible, allowing a average or easy Lore role to spot it. (although this would possibly defeat the purpose)
• It is considered both a ward and an enchanted item, taking up a slot or two.
• It is also an Evocation, which is rolled when set off, and the stress and/or consequences are taken at that time.
• Perhaps a powerful fae, demon, dragon, or other entity is capable of placing these on people, at an appropriate cost.

If I decide to try this thing out, I think I will use some of the above restrictions, plus I would be sure not to munchkin it out too much. One use per session is enough.

I have an idea for a character I'm building. I want him to have a pre-set "trap" spell on his body that will go off when a vampire tries to drink his blood. Possibly, he could expand this to other supernatural attacks as well. My idea for this is that he is a well-prepared wizard who knows that if a supernatural baddie gets past his offensive spells or shields, or catches him unaware, he still has one last line of defense that can mess up the creature enough so that he can maybe get away. I picture this as a being a tattoo that runs over his jugular and other major arteries and heart.

There has been some discussion on whether tattoos should be allowed for Focus or Enchantment items, and I personally don't think they should be, because I think it should be possible to take away magical items, but I think the Enchanted item rules handle this the best.

One other thought is that this would simply be handled as a thaumaturgy spell that is triggered by the specific circumstance I described above. This feels to me like cheating since there's almost no limit to these sorts of things, which is what item slots are for.

How would you guys handle this?

Well, I understand what you're all saying here. I have yet to play more than a single short session, so it might be best to play it as you describe, but humor me just a bit longer here...

Like I said, I'm willing to allow anything a player can reasonably justify, but do you think it might be fair to introduce some kinds of modifiers to the evocation difficulties when one element might be more or less appropriate in a given circumstance? I agree that you should be able to wham someone pretty hard with a fist of air, but what if someone wants to block an asbestos golem with fire? Should I disallow it? Allow it with a modfier? or insist on a REALLY good explanation for how this is supposed to work?

Okay, so I feel like I've completely missed something. I'm not sure how many Fate points NPCs are supposed to have in this game. The book doesn't seem to be explicit about it. It sounds like NPCs might not get any Fate points except for when they have their Aspects compelled by PCs.

The "Total Refresh Cost" listed for NPCs seems to be a good measure of the character's overall effectiveness, but any NPC with free will should have at least 1 unspent refresh, so should they get Fate points for it?

What about their spent refresh? Is it assumed that an NPC that has "free will" has theoretically earned enough refresh through Milestones to have refresh remaining?

If you can explain this to me, that would be great. Also, if you can point me to the part of the book(s) that explains it, that would also be awesome.