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Messages - DragonDM

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DFRPG / Re: How Do You Get Effect 'X'?
« on: April 23, 2010, 03:14:36 AM »
New post for a different Query.

I hate the fact that I can't get the books, to try and figure some of these things out.

So, there are only a few types of Magical Categories in the Dresdenverse?

True Name; Summoning; Thaumaturgy; Evocation; and Veils (Illusions).

Or are there others, as well?

After all - For me: It's difficult envisioning Telekinetic effects as anything other then Evocation.
Same with the various Wind Control spells that Harry Uses.

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DFRPG / Re: How Do You Get Effect 'X'?
« on: April 23, 2010, 03:07:14 AM »
Wouldn't the Burglary +4 be the 'base starting' point? And then add the taggable Thieving Aspects (+2 ?), and then +2 (discipline assessment) +1 Lore skill = 9 shifts [Plus another +2 for Lore Assessment? If so, total is 11 shifts.]

Then the +2 (Scene aspect, something related to a cased building, tagged) if he had the time to case the joint?

And then +2 for using a Circle Ritual (?)

Not sure how much using The Sight would grant: I'd say at least +4 Shifts, since the person can see the True Nature of the Lock, and How It Works. However, remember that Harry is reluctant to use The Sight, because it can "Show you too much" and it's there Forever, once Seen: Good, Bad, or Otherwise. I mean, I'd rather not have every lock I've ever picked being stuck in my head, for as long as I lived.

All of these together might grant a 20 point Shift: But, of course, negative modifiers can be applied:
"Tricky Lock" or "Stuck Lock" might give -2;
"Rusty Lock" might give up to a -4;
"In A Hurry" (cops/rival thieves getting closer real fast) might give at least -2;
"Improvised Tools" (a hairpin and/or paperclip) might give at least -2;
"Missing Tools" (only using Kinetic magic to move the pins and tumblers) might give at least -4.
* So "In A Hurry" and "Missing Tools" could stack to give at least a -6 to the Shifts.
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Another thing to remember, is that in this new World, there are more Electronic Locks, which means that the use of Magic is going to cause them to 'fail' and be considered at least a "Stuck Lock" (at worst I'd see that it was a "Tricky Lock" plus "Rusty Lock", for -6), and that only mundane skills (and an Aura Suppressing Spell, ala Harry in Larry Fowler's studio - Book Five: Blood Ties) can be used. (Maintaining the spell could be a Conviction/Discipline and Concentration Test, which might also give negatives to the Lock Picking Test, because part of your attention is on maintaining the Spell.)
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Ok. Did I get close in my mental ramblings?

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DFRPG / Re: Angels in the Dresden Universe
« on: April 22, 2010, 08:11:38 PM »
Quote from: svb1972 on April 22, 2010, 02:49:04 PM
Nephilim are one of the most tragic parts of the Torah.
Beings of Love fell in love with mortal women.  They beget upon them children which caused the angels to Fall.  (And Angels still Fall to this day).  Nephilim were so hated by God that he sent the Flood to destroy them.

Actually, there are two parts to the Flood:
(1) Mankind was falling deeply into Sin, to the point that God could only find Noah and his immediate Family as acceptable. It was to git rid of this that he decided that something needed to be done.

(2) There were a LOT of Nephilim and other Scions running around, and starting to become a real problem to The Plan.
From what I understand, a lot of the stories of Giants and the Old Gods (Perhaps even the Elder Gods) came from.

And so GOD sent The Flood, which wiped them out (or at least their mortal forms), and God then barred all the Scions from the Moral Plan from then on.

As for the Now - Jesus's sacrifice means that a lot of those GOD SMITING days are over, and Scions are treated as being Mortal.
I also think that because of the Limitation, Scions receive a lot less power.

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DFRPG / Re: Angels in the Dresden Universe
« on: April 22, 2010, 02:39:23 PM »
Quote from: Rel Fexive on April 21, 2010, 07:35:44 PM
While I can see it with demonic scions I can't with Changelings, at least not every time.  Sure, trolls and ogres, but people could be easily swayed by a particularly lovely sidhe into a night of passion, especially if they didn't know the true nature of their lover.  With the right glamour it would work for uglier Fae as well.  Even the ugliest troll might be looking for a little love in the mortal realm!

Remember that the Immortal Beings (Angels, Fallen, Fey, and Demons) are all 'locked in' their ways
- in other words, they can't do anything outside their Purpose, or against their Nature.
A demon that does nothing but eat people is not inclined to mate with a Human, unless forced to do so by another Human.
And it's going to hate all of them: Master, Mate, and Offspring - and want to eat them all, and at the first possible moment.

The problem with most of the 'Immortal Beings' (Fey, Demons, etc) is that they don't really understand Love.
Lust, yes. Power (as in 'a controllable agent in the mortal Realm'), yes. Legacy (powerful descendants), yes.
Running a Deception upon a mortal, for the mere fun of it? Yes, especially the Sidhe: The longer lasting the Joke, the better.

Scions of Fey and Demons are scary to both sides of their Heritage, simply because they have great power and are unpredictable due to their Human Free Will.

Angels are pure Love, just as they are pure Spirit/Soul.
Scions of Angels were created by and for Love, but caused the Angel to Fall.

Fallen are exiled Angels, but still remember pure Love, but may no longer seek to help it flourish.
Remember that only the Denarians (30 silver Denari coins) are able to directly influence Humans, by tempting those that take up their coins - if the Human gives too much Will/Choice away, and they can dominate you. I'd think that even these trying to mate with Humans would still rarely produce Scions. Mostly because they have to figure out how to bypass their Mortal Host's 'limits'.

Scions of Fallen are every bit as scary as Fey/Demon Scions, and for the same reasons.
All the Nephilim are akin to hated half-breeds: they get flack from all sides, simply because they were born.
And the Heavenly Hosts don't respond to Nephilim any more they they do with any other Mortal Human, which means that you end up with a lot of them with the "Angstified Teenager" syndrome.

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DFRPG / Re: How Do You Get Effect 'X'?
« on: April 15, 2010, 05:52:44 PM »
Quote from: Cajun Guy on April 14, 2010, 08:45:49 PM
I have an idea how the translator spell could work. The game stated that using ectomancy you can allow yourslef to be possessed by a ghost containing a skill you lack and therfore have access. (paraphrasing here) So find a bi-lingual ghost. You might be able to temporarily bind him to a fetish and then use it for a scene based on how much juju you put into the spell after which the charge would be gone or sim,ply be possessed and have the spirit translate for you. You could use this for any type of skill. the problem would be finding and binding the appropriate spirit.

Just a thought.

Cajun Guy

This is indeed something that can be done.
Just remember that, technically, it's Illegal. "Thou shall not transend the bounderies of Life."
Harry had Lash (Lashiel's Shadow), but I think that Law would apply even to the lowest of two-bit Shades.

Need some ideas on just how hard getting the right kind of Ghost? Look into Ghost lab, and related TV shows.

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DFRPG / Re: How Do You Get Effect 'X'?
« on: April 13, 2010, 03:42:45 PM »
Quote from: Korwin on April 09, 2010, 11:18:37 PM
Anti-Gravitas [Earth Magic]:
You turn off Gravity, while its turned off you can make jumps like in an eastern space station.
You need 3 Shifts (Maneuver rules say 3 shifts is basic) for one exchange, more shifts gain you longer Anti-Gravity.
Also usefull if you find yourself falling from an plane bridge.

Workable? Did I miss something?

Remember, Mr Butcher said that Magic can bend the rules, but must still obey the basic Laws of Physics.

Personally, I think that it would be a lot easier to use a variation of the exploitation of Aerodynamics that airplanes use.
The less 'help' the caster gets from Aerodynamic objects, the more Shifts it costs to cast.
Want to magically propel your hang glider? No problem! 3 shifts should do the trick.
Want to fly on attached 'wings'? 5 shifts!
Want to use an umbrella to fly away, Penguin-style? Um - ok? at least 7 shifts.
Want to duplicate Superman's flying? At least 10 shifts!

To negate Gravity itself, you would have to use another force to 'push against' it.
But these would cost more Shifts to do.

Telekinesis is possible (above x2), and perhaps Magnetism (Above x3).
A Thaumaturgic/Earth combination could also be possible - basically using one portion of the Earth's Gravity to push against another.
This would be at least as expensive as using Aerodynamic, with a 5 shift base. (take above and add five).

I would apply Athletics for both leap and land, and Alertness/Athletics to make adjustments mid-air.

And don't forget the Spell Refresh costs.

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DFRPG / Re: How Do You Get Effect 'X'?
« on: April 10, 2010, 03:00:57 AM »
I must apologize, I have not had the privilege to read or test the Dresden Files RPG as of yet.
As such I must pull from other RPG games for references at times.
If I make any mistakes, simply correct them and continue.
I'll eventually get the time to read the response, as well as the DFRPG.
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I tend to see that Items last longer, until they are activated: in other words, the spell inside is in status for at least one day if the Test achieves base success. Each 'level' of Success after (Costing a Shift?) can increase this, from 7 days to 1 week, 4 weeks to 1 month, and 12 months to 1 year.
While there is a chance of the item losing Power, this is based on the Test Results for each item when it is made.

Quote from: Odd Man Out on April 09, 2010, 04:41:18 PM
Scenario number 3; Harry gets sick of his poor Latin Skills landing him in awkward situations with the White Council and develops a spell that's literally nothing but a translator. Do I just treat this as a spell that boosts his Scholarship, does it add an Aspect, what?

I would think that a Thamaturgic spell that allowed a 'direct connection between User and Person/Advisor' would be far more useful to the Magus.

Imagine Harry being able to use what looks like a Bluetooth to get advice from Bob, who can hear everything that he hears through it. Item Creation ability/skill, 5 Shifts + $5,000 Resources?

Making it even smaller, so that it's like those hearing aids that fit into your ear would be a lot harder to make (10 Shifts?) as well as costing higher (above base x10) Resources?

Quote from: JosephKell on April 09, 2010, 11:15:51 PM
I think this is Thaumaturgy and takes the form of enchanted items.  The reason why is because without storing the power somewhere it fades away pretty quickly (and remember, you craft as part of Thaumaturgy), so by the time you get to your car (from your magic space)

Quote
I think it is easier to just up Scholarship (take a second correspondence course).
Raising Scholarship would always be the best way. Relying on someone/something else to translate for you means that you always have to keep a “High Level of Paranoid”, lest they 'deliberately' mis-translate (or leave out important details) on you.  Example: Harry insists that every conversation with Bob is in Latin (pausing only to make sure that complete understanding is achieved) for a year.

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DFRPG / Re: Help Me - I want to run Dresden
« on: February 09, 2010, 04:04:19 PM »
Quote from: iago on February 09, 2010, 03:53:41 PM
Let's make sure we don't make this conversation about people being "mature" or not. It might not be about maturity at all. I prefer to look at it as different styles of play.  Some folks prefer winning over storytelling, and the hobby is big enough for both of them.

No offense was meant.
The fact that xiaolung specifically stated that he was concerned about losing his small gaming group over this was what I was basing that statement on.
If they look at any/all setbacks as failure, that is not very mature. Sure, they might be mature in other areas, but this is their own Flaw as players in the Games.
The fact that they have been a gaming group for years may be their only hope.

The Dragonslayer (video-arcade-game plug!) does not always defeat/kill the Dragon - sometimes the Dragon gets him.

Also, I forgot to mention that in TOON, their characters never die, unless the Player wants that to happen.
The PC 'kicks the bucket' and usually goes to heaven.

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DFRPG / Re: Help Me - I want to run Dresden
« on: February 09, 2010, 03:50:40 PM »
Quote from: Bosh on February 09, 2010, 04:20:42 AM
For the powergamers, I wouldn't worry about them making combat wombats since it is VERY hard to make an unbalance/overpowered character in Fate and as Fred has already mentioned generally in Fate the flawed characters are the powerful ones (probably the best way to be a munchkin in Fate is to be a fishmalk and try to milk Fate points by doing random crazy stuff all the time, but that can be reined in pretty easily by a good GM).

With the powergamers I'd try to steer them towards aspects that are awesome but can still be compelled. For example:

Looks like a badass: good for many things but can be compelled to make people notice him and focus on him when he's trying to maintain a low profile.

I don't take any lip: quite a bit like Dresden complete lack of diplomatic abilities (at least in the earlier books) where he needlessly antagonizes all kinds of people.

I can take him alone: gets a compel to take a baddie on one-on-one.

That sort of thing, basically give them compels to do muscleheaded stuff and they'll get Fate points for acting "badass" and they might even like the game. Probably cater to what they want a bit and give them plenty of jerky enemies that disrespect them personally that they can pound into the floor. A bit of mindless violence can be fun and the aspects could get them in the mood of comic book style smackdown, which seems to be what they want.

Nice.
The flip side of this is to go a different route: to make Failure either Funny or Cool, while still giving out extra EXP or Fate/Luck points as a reward.

The old RPG TOON is a great example of this. Everyone makes their own version of a favorite Cartoon Character.
A mature group can even mix Heroes with Villains, so that the FilmMaster does not have to do all of that work.
(If I can get a mature Group, I'll play the Mega-Villain with some heroic support staff [NPCs] to get the PCs out of really deep trouble.)

The idea is to get your TOON PC into as many difficult situations as possible, and see what happens.
Remember cartoons like the Original Merry Melodies (Bugs Bunny, Tweety and gang?) or Tom & Jerry or the fairly recent movie of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Sylvester chasing Tweety and always failing in spectacular ways:
sometimes it's getting munched by Spike the Dog: sometimes sliding into the Ocean: sometimes having Jerry throw a frying pan into is face at the last moment.

The same thing happens to Tom Cat, with Jerry D Mouse and Butch The Dog.

The goal is to be able to make it to the end of each Game Session and look back and everyone can compair notes and laugh their heads off at what all happened, even to their Character.

Once they see that 'failing' can be fun, try to get more serious and step up to more serious Cartoons:
Thundercats, Silverhawks, Biker Mice From Mars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.
(In TMNT- The Filmaster would be Shredder, and the Villain PCs could be like Bepop, Rocksteady, or one of the Foot Clan Ninjas.)

If they are still "Game" - give the Dresden RPG a try.

Remember, Mature Players are made, not born. Every GameMaster started as a Munckin (not only a little kid, but also the RPG terms) of one kind or another.

Also, get out there and start looking for more Players.
Yes, it takes time, and it can be a pain in the butt - however, it can pay off.

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