Character Breaks

[Obsid]

Don't think you can carry mobile circles, for one. And how do you put them back up again in time to not get shot. Plus the bullet would break the circle.

For the guns, I'm thinking of slightly more complex wards. Three dimensional, spheres, cylinders, and hollow cylinders mostly. The sections where the bullets go wouldn't be warded. A custom built weapon can be made to make the necessary wards as simple as possible. But you're right about the mobility. Any way to get around that?

[finnmckool]

wards need thresholds. so not really.

[paul_Harkonen]

The general consensus is that if you inscribe a circle on something mobile it doesn't work properly.  Better potential examples include inscribing a circle on the interior hood of your car so it isn't affected (I'm scaling up so it's easier to deal with on the conceptual level of being mobile at all).  Given that the magical principles of circles (as they have generally been presented to us) include them as immutable barriers, making them mobile disrupts their "essence."  Circles work by grounding out and limiting movement, if they themselves are moving it's kinda hard for them to limit movement and to remain grounded.

(I should note that while the analogy of circles as "force-fields" against magic is reasonable, when you start expanding that analogy to assume other things work because a force-field would work you run into problems.)

Finally, if you wanted to make a character who's weapons all worked fine when magic was around either do a homebrew power "Technomancer" or a homebrew Item of Power "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch" (other other special weapons that you devise a back story for).  It can work in game terms, and I think is a better solution than the circle man concept.

[devonapple]

For the guns, I'm thinking of slightly more complex wards. Three dimensional, spheres, cylinders, and hollow cylinders mostly. The sections where the bullets go wouldn't be warded. A custom built weapon can be made to make the necessary wards as simple as possible. But you're right about the mobility. Any way to get around that?

If you can convince a GM in a particular game to allow such a thing, please enjoy the opportunity to combine magic and technology in this way.

The DFRPG setting, however, is pretty clear about the oil-and-water nature of mortal magic and technology. Mobile circles etched in micro-runes all over a weapon seems clever, but there isn't really a way to make this work with the precedents established in the canon, such as the immobility of magic circles. Simply warding everything but where the bullets would go would seem, even to me (not a savvy gun nut) impractical, one of those "weakest link" situations where the few moving parts which couldn't be warded would still be hex-vulnerable, and therefore still able to cause the whole weapon to jam up.

A rules-light way to accomplish some of what you seem to want would be to set up one of your Aspects to reflect your particular affinity for technology, which you can tag for a bonus to resist hexing, or simply to Declare that a particular thing is going to work right around you in a given Scene. A GM might also allow a Stunt for a bonus to Discipline checks to avoid hexing things. But ultimately, hexing is a liability of having mortal spellcaster powers, and the GM is basically Compelling a spellcaster's High Concept to make it happen. Playing a mortal spellcaster in DFRPG  means that someday, somehow, Murphy's Law is going to come into play, when you don't have a Fate Point to buy it off, and there just can't be a truly foolproof way of preventing it.

Unless, of course, your GM and fellow players buy into it. But that is a table decision, and not anything that could get established as precedent with anyone holding to the canonical DFRPG setting.

[toturi]

The DFRPG setting is pretty clear about certain things except when they are not.

It is pretty clear that magic and tech do not mix, except that some people seem to be able to make use of technology without much trouble.

The setting is pretty clear that mortal magic have trouble hurting Outsiders except when said mortal magic user is Harry Dresden. (Harry doesn't even need an Aspect to represent his ability to take down Outsiders, cool no?)

There are quite a few instances of "exceptions" to stuff that are "pretty clear".

[Becq]

With regards to the Catch question, you should consider that as with everything else on your character sheet (aspects, etc), what you put down as your Catch should be viewed as a vote of sorts as to how the game is run.  By this, I mean that if write down a Catch and put a +4 next to it, then you are telling your GM that you fully expect that material to be used against you practically constantly.  After all, you are saying that not only do most people (including those who want you dead, of course) know that obsidian is what hurts folk like you, but also that anyone who felt the need for obsidian weaponry can run down to the neighborhood sporting goods store to find some.  This may not reflect reality, but by choosing your Catch value you are making it true for your game.

As to the mixing magic and technology question, I think devonapple is right on.

[Obsid]

Much thanks for all the help.

A few more questions... not really regarding Breaking a character but still regarding power balance.

First Question. Beast Form gives you access to a single alternate form and costs -1 refresh. True Shapeshifting gives you access to unlimited alternate forms and costs -4 refresh. How about a shape change that grants you a specific set of alternate forms. Like shapeshifting into a dog, choosing to be a anything from tiny puppy or a dogosaurus rex. Same race, same breed, just different sizes/features.

Next. For Supernatural Sense, how are the following senses.
1. Sense in Void. You can use your senses despite a lack of sense data, such as seeing in darkness, or smelling something normally odorless.
2. Sense in Excess. You can use your senses despite an otherwise overload of data. Such as seeing in blinding light, or hearing in a crowd.
3. See with Acuity. Your vision is better than normally possible for a human. You can see with extra precision, maybe even a larger range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
4. See Reality. You can see an illusion for what it is. You recognize if something has been transformed or otherwise disguised. This does not necessarily allow you to see through illusions, to recognize the normal form of something, or to see through mundane disguises.
5. Hear with Clarity. Your hearing is better than normally possible for a human. You can hear more clearly, maybe even higher or lower decibels than normal.
6. Hear Truth. When people talk, their words vibrate to you in a way that tells you how truthful they are being. This regards more with intent than the accuracy of what they say, so if someone tells you (and believes) that the ground is up, it seems truthful, but if a someone (like a faerie) speaks accurately in attempt to mislead you it strikes false.
7. Taste with Purity. Your taste is better than normally possible for a human. You can taste more strongly and possibly even more tastes than normal.
8. Taste Purity. Evil tastes bad. Holy tastes good. Innocence tastes like vanilla. Corruption adds flavor. You can taste the purity of anything you direct this sense toward. You have to be mentally aware of its location relative to you to do this (such as being able to see or feel it).
9. Touch with Sensitivity. Your tactile sense is better than normally possible for a human. You can feel a pea through a mattress, or the texture of things that might normally feel smooth.
10. Feel Presence. You can feel the presence of other creatures. The stronger their Presence the stronger you feel them.
11. Smell with Intensity. Your sense of smell is better than normally possible for a human, or even most animals.
12. Smell Power. You can smell power the way other people smell fear. The type of power (money, magic, might, etc) determines the scent. (I imagine necromantic power would smell like rotting corpses and taste much the same)

I'm a bit worried that 1 might be a little over powered (since Seeing in Darkness would be part of that, and its listed as an example of sense options). If its possible to make it balance (such as by requiring the other odd numbered senses to work clearly) I'd like to hear opinions. I'm not sure if the other senses would be over powered or not but they don't really seem that way to me.

[tetrasodium]

Another important thing is "mmhmmm... and how did you acquire this particularresistance/immunity?" > "Oh magical research or something equally vague?" "mmhmmm...."then at some pointlater on you find out that you have brought out the wrath of the GM and apparently somehow bound to an outsider or something equally "fun"

[InFerrumVeritas]

For your first question:

I'd allow a number of forms equal to the number of refresh spent on it. -2 is two forms, -3 is three, -4 is unlimited.