Custom Power List

[Silverblaze]

Inhuman Mental Stamina [-2]
You have strengthened your mind and your stamina over many years and can cast many spells without hurting yourself.
You have access to two extra stress boxes which can only be used for casting.

Supernatural Mental Stamina [-4]
You have strengthened your mind and your body over decades and can now cast many more spells than normal wizards without endangering yourself.
You have access to four mental stress boxes which can only be used for casting.

Mythic Mental Stamina [-6]
You have strengthened your mind and body over centuries to be capable of casting many more spells than a normal wizard could ever dream about.
You have access to six mental stress boxes which can only be used for casting.

Yeah...wizards really don't need to be more badass.

I wouldn't this power in a game I was in.

[Sanctaphrax]

It's been done. Some people think it's underpowered though.

See the Custom Powers Master List thread.

[Silverblaze]

It's been done. Some people think it's underpowered though.

See the Custom Powers Master List thread.

I'm sure it has.  i wouldn't want to play in that game unless the story was good.  I'd feel the mages were OP.

[Sanctaphrax]

Why?

Taking these powers will make PC wizards weaker if you're playing at standard levels of power.

[devonapple]

Why?

Taking these powers will make PC wizards weaker if you're playing at standard levels of power.

Is that because they are spending Refresh on stress slots, when they could be spending it on Refinements?

[Sanctaphrax]

Yes.

[Silverblaze]

Why?

Taking these powers will make PC wizards weaker if you're playing at standard levels of power.

Not true.  I will not believe it.  Not unless you can find me mathmatical proof.  That many more spells (2/4/6) per fight had better yield more damage than the +'s you get.  If someone can show me the math for 4 spells with similar amounts of refinement and min/max damage per attack against the same foe ; then show the damage of 2-6 more spells without the refinement against the same foe, I'll have my mind changed. 

I think the smartest way to go is only the first level of it then the rest as refinement.  Which is still OP in my opinion.  The extra stress boxes also stop mental damage from inhibiting a wizard from acsting spells.  Say an incite emotion took up a stress box, that is one less spell or maybe 2 if two attacks hit.  With mental toughness the paper to a wizards rock is diminished.

I do not like it.  Like I said though, provide the math and I'll change my mind on the matter.

[ways and means]

Supernatural Orator [-1]
Your words have a weight that beggars belief you can literally change people minds with your words. Your social attacks do mental stress.

A thousand words in one. [-1] You can say a lot in a very little time, your can attack mental and socially during physical combat.

Words with the weight of worlds [-2] Your words are unnaturally effective and any attack you make with them has a weapon rating of 4.

[Sanctaphrax]

Supernatural Orator is cool but needs elaboration.

A Thousand Words In One is too strong.

Words With The Weight Of Worlds is boring and also turns the setting upside-down. Or at least tilts it 30 degrees.

[Sanctaphrax]

As for the mental stress expanders:

It's not possible to provide clear math, because extra stress is situationally useful. And because stress math is weird, there's a thread in the main forum about that fact.

But we can try.

Refinement makes each attack do +2 stress. Resilience gives a fifth attack. (We'll pretend that you hit automatically and have no ability to attack without magic.) So when counting total stress, the question is whether the stress inflicted by the fifth attack is greater than 4x2 = 8. Which it sometimes will be and sometimes won't be.

When you consider that Refinement makes you more likely to hit and that wizards only occasionally run out of spells and that a wizard who's used his spells can take consequences to cast more and that wizards without spells can still act and that single big hits are usually better than multiple small ones, Refinement is clearly better as long as you can still get the full +2 from it.

And as a general rule, what you can do each action is paramount. Refinement increases that.

[ways and means]

Supernatural Orator is cool but needs elaboration.

A Thousand Words In One is too strong.

Words With The Weight Of Worlds is boring and also turns the setting upside-down. Or at least tilts it 30 degrees.

Supernatural Orator basically just switches the stress that its user does in social combat from Social to mental to represent the orators ability to use his power to get into his subjects mind.

I don't see why a thousand words is too strong it just moves social action a couple of step up the time increment ladder, its useful but it doesn't really do anything that isn't already done better by incite emotion.

I can see your point about Weighty words being boring but it hardly seems setting defying as far as I can tell most of the  high sidhe seem to have either invested into powers like this or into presence charms.

[Sanctaphrax]

Does Supernatural Orator change the skills used to defend or the range of permissible take-out effects?

Incite Emotion gives a weapon 2 range 1 mental attack with one social skill for 3 Refresh. A Thousand Words In One gives infinite range with all social skills and whatever weapon rating you use in social conflict for 1 Refresh. Plus it can hit the social track, which means that high-Conviction high-Discipline opponents might have their skills ignored. Plus it makes every social attack boost you buy better by letting it apply to physical fights.

I've never seen evidence that fey have social powers beyond simple Marked By Power and maybe Incite Emotion or some sort of Captivation power. You'll notice that when Harry argues with Mab, he puts up a pretty good fight.

The default setting contains no uber-social supernaturals, and the rules currently reflect that.

PS: Do you need Supernatural Orator for A Thousand Words In One?

[ways and means]

Does Supernatural Orator change the skills used to defend or the range of permissible take-out effects?

It does not change the skills used to defend but it defiantly changes the range of permissible take-out effects and consequences that is its main purpose as a power.

PS: Do you need Supernatural Orator for A Thousand Words In One?

Yes its an upgrade I should have stated that at the outset. Would limiting a thousand words to one social skill or one trapping balance it?

[Sanctaphrax]

Dunno.

I think that limiting it to mental attacks might be better, or maybe not.

Really not sure.

[Locnil]

Limiting it to one skill and mental stress only would seem to be the best, but then you might as well use a reflavoured Incite Emotion.