I could mention the con game I played one session of, in which one of the characters was a were-poodle.

A promiscuous were-poodle.

One thing I always thought would make a neat concept for a WCV is a psychotherapist who specialises in treating patients whose disorders manifest whichever negative emotion he or she prefers to feed on. Would be very good at his/her job, as the patients would come out of sessions with their emotional lows drained away - and if they're not quite 'all there' anymore, well, that would be attributed to the original trauma that caused their condition, rather than the therapy.

Get the PCs involved when the therapist stops being satisfied with taking meals in small courses, and a couple of patients turn up dead or missing.

As a long-time RPG player, some of the most frustrating moments I can remember - not just for me but for other players - have been when a major opponent who was on the ropes manages to suddenly conveniently slip away just as he was about to be taken out. Such tactics need to be used very sparingly if you don't want to leave players feeling like their victory has been snatched from them.

That said, I think you're correct in stating that a concession can't be rejected outright. The Taken Out, Concession, and Character Death column on page 206 clearly indicates that concessions are an available option even against creatures whose only goal is to kill you.

However, it is clear that if the concession isn't acceptable to the group as a whole, it must be re-worked until you find one that is. In some cases, that's going to mean taking a set of consequences little better than would have resulted from a straight taking-out. If the group have the bad guy cornered and are determined to eliminate him as a threat, it's not unreasonable for them to be looking for a set of consequences severe enough that he won't be a threat for the foreseeable future - a change of High Aspect to "Used ta be a contender" or "Barely alive", for instance.

Sure you don't want to give a portable hole in the head a try? 

I'll be sure to present the option to my fellow player, but I don't think he'll go for it.

He's already been Compelled to take the tinfoil-hat suggestion seriously and wear one next scene, as he was out of Fate Points at the end of the session.

Hi, I'm new to the boards. I've been playing a Dresden Files game for the past few weeks, and am still getting to grips with the ground-rules. Having had a wacky idea between sessions, I thought that, rather than spring it on the referee unexpectedly (hi, Dave), I'd try and get some feedback on it first.

In our current campaign we're dealing with a memory curse that causes other people to forget about the person who's been cursed. It manifests itself, to the Sight, as a malevolent presence in the victim's head, from which snake-like pseudopods lash out at those around him, biting out chunks of their memory.

My first thought was that a simple magic circle might be enough to contain that sort of spirit attack, but it's a bit of an extreme solution given that one of the PCs is currently affected, and I doubt he'd have much fun being alone in his room for a session.

There was an offhand remark at the end of last session, to the effect that he should try wearing a tinfoil hat, and that got me thinking along the lines of headgear, which gave me an idea.

What if the character were to wear a hat with a wide, circular brim (such as a traditional wizard's hat), and then empower the hat brim as a magic circle? Would that work as a portable magical barrier that would help rein in the curse?

On the general subject, I couldn't find any clear-cut rules in the RPG book on the creation and properties of a basic magic circle. I know from the novels that it's very basic magic, to the extent that even a Pure Mortal could create one, but I'm not sure what would be required to do it in-game, or how much protection it would offer.