More New GM Questions!

[JGray]

We're four sessions in to Ray of Sunshine and I'm pretty happy. I do have some more questions, though! Hoping y'all can help a fella out.

1. Counterspells in the book is under the Evocation rules. However, if someone is taking their time and setting up a circle in order to remove, say, a mind control spell on someone - can it be a Ritual instead?

2. How do you handle new characters coming into a game when it comes to phases 4 and 5 (Whose Path Have You Crossed?)?

[Sanctaphrax]

1. Sure, why not.

2. I don't worry about it. I try to make sure they have some kind of connection to the other PCs, but it doesn't much matter if the connection is formally expressed through a path-crossing Aspect.

[Mr. Death]

We're four sessions in to Ray of Sunshine and I'm pretty happy. I do have some more questions, though! Hoping y'all can help a fella out.

1. Counterspells in the book is under the Evocation rules. However, if someone is taking their time and setting up a circle in order to remove, say, a mind control spell on someone - can it be a Ritual instead?

If you need to figure out which specialization it falls under, probably Transformation and Disruption.

2. How do you handle new characters coming into a game when it comes to phases 4 and 5 (Whose Path Have You Crossed?)?

Honestly, most of the games I've run have just ignored the phases in favor of, "Just come up with five aspects for yourself."

[Taran]

For the aspect thing, I just let them choose 5 and fill in the last two in-game.

[g33k]

I'd ask for a couple of players to step up for path-crossing with the new PC, but not insist...

[Haru]

We're four sessions in to Ray of Sunshine and I'm pretty happy. I do have some more questions, though! Hoping y'all can help a fella out.

1. Counterspells in the book is under the Evocation rules. However, if someone is taking their time and setting up a circle in order to remove, say, a mind control spell on someone - can it be a Ritual instead?

Thaumaturgy can do anything evocation can do, it just takes a while longer.

2. How do you handle new characters coming into a game when it comes to phases 4 and 5 (Whose Path Have You Crossed?)?

Just fill them out later. Maybe they get an idea who they might have met before and how, or the current game becomes their first guest star story. In any case, don't force it, the game works well, even if not every aspect slot is filled.

[solbergb]

Given that in my game, all kinds of people tied themselves to a player that didn't show up, it's not a big deal.  They still have connections through the absent third party.

Also the early scenes might have some connection with the absent player, based on what some of the PCs have learned so far.

Let the guest star in any story, or with any interesting NPC that has been important in the stories.  Somebody getting hospitalized, for example, is a great excuse for a PC relative to show up...(or I guess killed too...at the funeral instead of the hospital waiting room)

And yeah.  They can develop aspects in play too....but aspects actually do help tie in newbies to an established group, so it's helpful to the GM if the players make at least a little effort along those lines.

[Taran]

m) I guess killed too...at the funeral instead of the hospital waiting room)

Yoink.  Stolen.