Hey EldritchFire, thanks for the reply again. That is exactly the effect I'm looking to create, though it doesn't even have to be Weapon:2, it could even just be Weapon:1. There are many ways to create this effect and this way, as others have mentioned, is a perfectly good way to do it. I could even create it by changing 'fists' to 'weapons' and carrying an actual weapon around. In fact, if I were to create an enchanted item, I could optimise my character for that and make a far more powerful one.
The problem is, I'm trying to create this effect using channelling or ritual only, without using slots or purchasing the claws power, and that's just not in the current rules as far as I can see. The reason why is that I can use channelling or evocation to launch fireballs, throw cars around, catch bullets and cause the earth itself to open up and swallow my enemies. I can also create tiny, ineffectual spells like coloured lights and so forth without any effort. What I can't seem to do is cast small spells that can affect conflicts in small ways unless I treat them as big spells with all of the mental stress costs that entails. This just doesn't make sense though.
It's easy to create a powerful wizard but how can we create weak but fun focused practitioners, those that have small but reliable gifts? We can't. Low conviction means they get a few weak spells before they're out of gas, they get more out of ignoring their magic and just hitting people but I don't think that's how it should work.
In the same way, there seems to be very little use of magic in social conflicts but intimidating someone with eyes of fire or having the sun seem to shine off of you that little bit more is surely possible. However unless you're trying to full-on dominate someone, the spell system is hardly relevant at all. I guess you could argue that it's been designed that way for a reason, but I still don't feel like it matches the 'reality' of the dresden universe. Clever magic users use every trick in the book to get an advantage.
I think I'm gonna give up
I'll other have to create the character around the rules, ignoring intent and roleplaying, or just create some obnoxious power-char that bulldozes through conflicts and gives the GM nightmares. Thank you though, I'll road test your idea and see how it feels.
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And following on from that (and another long post from me *sigh*), thanks for your time and help DMW. I think your idea is the closest we're gonna get to a purely ritual way to achieve the effect and it does fit the brief but it still doesn't fix the gap in the rules for effects like these. And you're right, unlimited complexity rituals would be broken, I hadn't thought about how it could be abused.
Nevermind, thanks again.
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9. As a standard action, cast a 3 power spell that, using a fate point too, uses one aspect to create a +1 modifier to rolls that match the intent of the spell until the end of the scene, can be countered/dispelled as usual.
Example. So for 1 shift of mental stress and 1 fate point our 'Pyromancer Hottie' (conv 3, disc 3) creates a physical attack spell that makes the tip of her knife grow white hot. For the rest of the scene, when attacking with it she gets +1 to hit and it deals 1 additional shift of stress. When the scene ends, so does the spell.
Example2. At a cost of 1 fate point and 2 mental stress, the 13 year old 'unwitting poltergeist' (conv 1, disc 1) defends himself from the burglar he discovered as he crept downstairs for a snack, small items seemingly throwing themselves at the masked intruder, distracting him as he tries to attack the terrified boy.
(The idea just came to me and I thought, why not post it).
