Author Topic: Stat Xander Crowe's Hand of Glory from Wormwood  (Read 1854 times)

Offline furashgf

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Stat Xander Crowe's Hand of Glory from Wormwood
« on: September 14, 2010, 02:46:09 PM »
The podcast Wormwood (which I can't recommend highly enough) has a character who has a "hand of glory" that is actually alive - it will act as your right hand (assuming you don't have one). It appears to be able to do the following things:

- "open any door": unlock any normal or magical lock; unlock supernatural doorways (e.g., Nevernever, ghost worlds, etc.)
- assist in summoning - "pulling" demons, gods, etc. down quicker (this assumes you're already a knowledgeable practitioner, otherwise it doesn't do anything)
- act independently - stab someone you haven't noticed, etc., do things while you're not watching
- horrify people (it's pretty scary looking)
- cause you occasional bad luck and trouble

How would you stat this? It's an item of power, sort of.

Offline wyvern

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Re: Stat Xander Crowe's Hand of Glory from Wormwood
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2010, 03:50:25 PM »
Well, everything on that list except the first item is pretty clearly just the benefits of an aspect.  So, what's the price tag on "open any door"?  Well, let's see.  In terms of stunts, it's: use burglary skill for even magical locks, +3 to burglary for opening things, and no penalty for lacking appropriate tools; that's about three and a half to four stunts, so, as a power, I'd price that at -2 refresh, or maybe -3 if it also deals with traps on the doors it opens.  It'll work best if you've already got some burglary skill, of course, but even without that it'll put you in the upper tiers of mortal ability - and remember that you can always invoke its aspect on top of that bonus if you need to.

And then there's the item of power one time bonus.  That'll vary from +0 (if it's not readily apparent that the hand is a separate removable entity and/or if it's difficult for someone else to take it away from you without a hacksaw) to probably a maximum of +1 (since you can easily conceal it by just putting a glove on, or maybe taking the hand off and putting it in a pocket.)

Offline furashgf

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Re: Stat Xander Crowe's Hand of Glory from Wormwood
« Reply #2 on: September 14, 2010, 03:53:55 PM »
Sweet, thanks. It also seems to be able to open Gates to odd places (equivalent of the Nevernever) if you have enough lore (or are unlucky enough). How would you add this - since it's magic, but it's a "one trick" pony.

Also, it has a negative - it attracts bad luck, people want it, etc. (I'm thinking a compel). Can items/powers have aspects?

Offline wyvern

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Re: Stat Xander Crowe's Hand of Glory from Wormwood
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2010, 04:42:51 PM »
Can items/powers have aspects?

Not just can, but *must*.  You cannot have an item of power without at least one aspect referencing it - thus, the negatives are just compels on that aspect.

The opening gates bit falls under "use burglary skill for opening magical things".  Alternatively, if you'd rather have that work off lore, you could replace that skill trapping swap with just an extra +2 or +3 to lore skill for opening magical things.

Of course, you'll want to discuss exact details with your gm or gaming group; the stuff I've written here is a suggestion only.