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DFRPG / Re: Holding Someone Down
« on: November 04, 2011, 08:10:14 PM »
Or offer a concession to the GM. "I'll get Taken out and killed if I can take him with me."
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For example: Say the challenge to lift the chair and move it from point A to point B is a Discipline result of 2, but after factoring in the actual obstacle course, it may actually be a challenge of 4 shifts. So rolling a 2 or 3 means the chair got moved, but not with any finesse. 4 would mean it was successfully maneuvered around the obstacles, while higher rolls would be more impressive.I agree this is how it should work.
Actually, I'd say the rules do have something to say in this matter. I'd call that a Maneuver, for purpose of Evocation categories. Assuming it would take 2 shifts of power to lift a chair, yes, that's easy enough to control. However, the additional cost of 1 shift per extra exchange (or, for fluff's sake, let's call it direction change) WILL make this more awkward. If you move this chair through an obstacle course in just a single exchange, I'd argue that either the chair or the obstacl course are largely inappropriate for their intended use afterward... Maybe both, even.A couple of hints with this. Maneuvers place aspects. They don't actually do anything real. Also if you haveto increase the power to do somelike like this it makes the concept of a wizard who is not very strong in the power but with a lot of control not doable. It seems that discipline is limited by conviction except in one specific case. Attacks. Then you can use the extra shifts you get on a roll. I just don't think it should be like that. There should be something good about having a high discipline low conviction. You may not be a powerhouse but you should be able to have some type of advantage.
Also, look at "Prolonging Spells" for how to make sure you have the spell going long enough to get it through said course. It IS stressful, and takes time, but it's quite feasible. The more complex the task, the more power you need to put into the spell, even if most of that power is only a constant trickle to keep the effect going...
So I would think it would be too much to say an aspect like "Loose Weapon Grip" could be invoked to make the enemy drop the weapon...to do that you'd have to do a compel and use a fate point since you are making an enemy take a disadvantageous action.
@Mijrai: thank you for the outbreak of realism. Much appreciated.
@Hey, Bitterpill, I've got some news for you: My game isn't at Submerged! Right now, they've all got 9 base refresh. Also, amazingly, not everyone takes fire as an evocation element. My wizard-warden PC is an earth mage, with Air, Earth and Spirit for evocation. Also, remember that fire is still just that: fire. Hot air and smoke are still going to be issues, even if your GM has allowed your wizard to draw off the flames from your zone, which is something that makes me go "buh?" And I said they levitated; not fly. They climbed up the side of the building with a fraction of their weight. And you just proved my point for me even better: wizards that are creative are never out of options; they could have had the hydromancer bust open a pipe and slid out of there, Bobby Drake-Iceman-style, just for one example. The issue is that they disregarded all of those options and went into a place where their options would be constrained because they weren't thinking, they were reacting.
Also, you're forgetting one major, massive issue: There. Are. Still. People. In. The. Building. People work late, even on the weekends. Students are studying. Setting the building on fire, or even using any evocations indiscriminately, is an invitation to take Lawbreaker.
@ Lanir: I agree, we all need to start learning somewhere, and making mistakes is one of the best ways. The list I posted was sent after the session was over as a basic primer points-to-keep-in-mind. But, in this case, which precipitated the list, the mistakes could easily have been lethal, and should have been. But, yeah, they need to be allowed to make mistakes. I was just trying to share some of what I've learned so they don't make as many (in my first RPG game ever, my PC started two wars--completely by accident, so been there, done that)