Custom Powers Master List (Work In Progress)

[Oblyss]

You mean the Refresh rebate for having other casting Powers?

It should still be there. I just didn't bother to mention it because I kinda take it for granted. Maybe not wise on my part, I dunno.

No that's fine, I was just making sure. You'll have to forgive me, I only started playing like a month ago and this is more or less my first real tabletop game I've gotten seriously into.

Edit: Also I was freaking out a bit cause I'm already struggling to pay off the -2 cost hah.

[Lavecki121]

Clearly there's something wrong with the wording if it causes this much confusion.

How does this plan for making it clearer sound?

-Make Item Limitation into a separate Power that requires (and modifies) Limitation. Then split it up into multiple trappings, to make it easier to understand.

-Split the clarifying text from Limitation into a separate trapping so that it doesn't interfere with comprehension of the main effect.

-Rewrite the entries of the rebate value list so that just reading them provides a decent summary of the Power.

-Add examples.

My theory is that people are just getting overwhelmed by the text-block. They see a big chunk of text and their eyes glaze over a bit. They then glance over it quickly instead of reading closely, leading to confusion.

These changes are intended to make the amount of text less overwhelming and to make it easier to understand the Power without reading it carefully.

So, do you think that'll work?

This could work. I would still have to see it though

[ways and means]

Here is the changes I would make to Unlimited Blade Works which would include the powers sponsor (Alya) and agenda from the visual novel. 

Reality Marble (Unlimited Blade Works) [-4]
Description: With the help of a powerful force you can project your soul upon the world.
Sponsor: Alya /Gaia/ the World Spirit   
Agenda: This power is sponsored by the World Spirit in exchange for an Eternity as a spiritual guard dog after death. It's agenda is the protection of the world as a whole no matter the cost on an individual level.

[Oblyss]

Here is the changes I would make to Unlimited Blade Works which would include the powers sponsor (Alya) and agenda from the visual novel. 

Reality Marble (Unlimited Blade Works) [-4]
Description: With the help of a powerful force you can project your soul upon the world.
Sponsor: Alya /Gaia/ the World Spirit   
Agenda: This power is sponsored by the World Spirit in exchange for an Eternity as a spiritual guard dog after death. It's agenda is the protection of the world as a whole no matter the cost on an individual level.

Oh, huh. I wasn't aware of that. Is that the kind of thing you actively agree to or just get wrapped up in because you used the power? Also the guard dog bit, is that reference to becoming part of the Counter Force?

Edit: Seems so, though it also doesn't look like the UBW is specifically the cause of it? Since the plot involved wanting to kill the Unlimited Blade Works user before he made a pact with Alya, but he still used the power at that point?

[Crion]

Okay, here's Reality Marble 2.

REALITY MARBLE [-1]
Description: You can travel to a magical sub-universe of your own creation and drag other people with you.
Note: Many characters are more powerful inside their Reality Marble than they are outside of it. Such characters should attach an appropriate version of the Limitation Power to whatever Powers they have while inside the Marble.
Skills affected: Conviction, others.
Effects:
Personal Universe. You have a personal universe called a Reality Marble. Design it when you take this Power. You may give it an Aspect of your choice, and as long as it has at least one zone you may give it any number of zones you want and arrange them as you please. You must designate one zone as the "entry zone" which characters arrive in when you use this Power. Your Reality Marble cannot be inhabited, and its design cannot include anything that gives you a significant advantage.
Reality Marble. As an action, you may spend a Fate Point to enter your Reality Marble. If you wish to bring other people with you, you may roll your Conviction skill. Then every other character in your zone is forced to enter your Reality Marble with you unless they beat your roll with a defense roll using Conviction or Athletics. People drawn into the Marble remain there until you decide to send everyone back or lose consciousness. You can't send people back one by one; it's all or nothing. And you can't keep people longer than the time indicated by adding your Conviction roll to "half a minute" on the time chart.
Different Rules [-varies]. Your Reality Marble has a special rule. Negotiate the effects and costs of this upgrade with your GM. You can only purchase this upgrade once. Here are some examples of possible special rules, with appropriate costs:

[-1] Peaceful World. Inside your Marble, all attempts at physical violence face a block with strength equal to your Conviction. In addition, all characters in your Marble have armour 4 against all physical attacks.
[-1] Random Entry. Instead of entering the Marble through the entry zone, characters are randomly scattered among the zones of the Marble. If the Marble is large enough, this may prevent them from seeing each other when they enter.
[-1] Clinging Marsh. The soft and sticky ground of the Marble imposes a border value of 1 on every zone.
[-1] Heavy Gravity. Might restricts all physical skills inside the Marble.
[-2] Anti-Technology Field. Anything rated 8 or lower on the hexing table fails to function inside the Marble.
[-2] Killing Heat. Everyone faces an accuracy 6 weapon 2 attack against their Endurance each exchange from the extreme heat of the Marble.
[-2] King Of The Hill. You enter your Marble in a different zone than everyone else. A zone border equal to your Conviction blocks entry to your zone, and its fortifications add 3 to whatever armour value its occupants have against attacks coming from outside of it.
[-3] Ocean Depths. The entire Marble is underwater.

PS: Not totally confident in the balance of those rules. Most of the costs are guesses.

Just a random thought (and I'm late to the game here), but wouldn't the baseline of Reality Marble be at a -2 instead of a -1? I figured the -1 for Demesne, with another -1 for an "attack" for force everyone into it. I only ask this since we've seen a few Reality Marbles in the series (I can name two, three if you count the Gate of Babylon), and they all seem to work the same way: bring someone into a world of your design (i.e. Demesne) and have the Home Turf advantage.

As for the powers of the Marble, I'm personally at a tossup between buying them as set powers like you have posted, have a collection of Scene Aspects (theoretically an unlimited number since the Demesne allows you to create Aspects), or even some combination thereof. I'm not too keen on some of the costs, or even a better balancing act. Perhaps we should try to scale some of the Reality Marbles of a few of the characters we have seen and determine it as we go?

Although it could work rather well as a form of Sponsored Magic (discussion on that below).

Here is the changes I would make to Unlimited Blade Works which would include the powers sponsor (Alya) and agenda from the visual novel. 

Reality Marble (Unlimited Blade Works) [-4]
Description: With the help of a powerful force you can project your soul upon the world.
Sponsor: Alya /Gaia/ the World Spirit   
Agenda: This power is sponsored by the World Spirit in exchange for an Eternity as a spiritual guard dog after death. It's agenda is the protection of the world as a whole no matter the cost on an individual level.

Unless I'm mistaken, Emiya become a Servant because of the deal, so I don't think the Reality Marble existed because of said deal.


That being said, perhaps the Reality Marble as Sponsored Magic (mixed with a Demesne) is the way to go. Emiya can create objects nearly instantly and Alexander can summon his soldiers outside of the Marble; both can be seen as Thaumaturgy at the Speed of Evocation.

I'm thinking if you apply a few limits as to the "sponsor" (if there isn't one, but you can argue that it is a higher being, the Magus offering the Mana, or even personal) and the general effect (weaponry, soldiers, etc). I'm thinking closer to the realm of Thematic Thaumaturgy here.

Trapping someone within the Marble can be tough depending on how you do it. Perhaps it is Thaumaturgy that requires a "Taken Out" result? A bit too tough to pull off, and makes the effect one of telling how someone is taken out (which doesn't help with the uses we've seen in the Fate series).
Perhaps creating a Zone Border or Block that is difficult, but still possible, to escape from?
Using a maneuver-like, Zone-Wide attack to bring everyone into the Demesne?
Simply using a maneuver to create a "Reality Marble" effect that can be tagged to use your magic to the full extent?

Just a few thoughts; will offer more up later if able.

[Oblyss]

Just a random thought (and I'm late to the game here), but wouldn't the baseline of Reality Marble be at a -2 instead of a -1? I figured the -1 for Demesne, with another -1 for an "attack" for force everyone into it. I only ask this since we've seen a few Reality Marbles in the series (I can name two, three if you count the Gate of Babylon), and they all seem to work the same way: bring someone into a world of your design (i.e. Demesne) and have the Home Turf advantage.

As for the powers of the Marble, I'm personally at a tossup between buying them as set powers like you have posted, have a collection of Scene Aspects (theoretically an unlimited number since the Demesne allows you to create Aspects), or even some combination thereof. I'm not too keen on some of the costs, or even a better balancing act. Perhaps we should try to scale some of the Reality Marbles of a few of the characters we have seen and determine it as we go?

The trade off is that you can't alter the reality marble during a conflict and so you sacrifice all the home field turf in favor of being able to drag people in, for the -1 cost. Then you can upgrade it for home field turf aspects for additional cost. That's my thinking on it.


Also if you look at the Reality Marbles suggested ruleset, it mentions bringing people into the marble as a conviction based attack, defended against by enemy conviction/athletics. Their score is rolled against the wizard's conviction roll on the ability.

[Sanctaphrax]

Demesne might be narratively similar to Reality Marble, but mechanically they have almost nothing in common.

[Crion]

Demesne might be narratively similar to Reality Marble, but mechanically they have almost nothing in common.

Narratively, yes, but some elements of the Demesne could theoretically work (like the Discipline for attacks; could explain why someone not physically powerful, like Caster, could have a killer Marble).

[Sanctaphrax]

You could add similarities, but by default they're not there so it's not really possible to use Demesne as a reference for how much Reality Marble should cost.

[Crion]

You could add similarities, but by default they're not there so it's not really possible to use Demesne as a reference for how much Reality Marble should cost.

I have to disagree with that. A Demesne is a location created by an entity/spirit as a home turf, so to speak, where they have a great deal of control. They can still get beaten there (as we see with Agatha Hagglethorn and Dresden in his own dream), but they have a lot of advantages.

A Reality Marble (at least in the cases of Ionioi Hetairoi and Unlimited Blade Works) is essentially a location created by the entity where they hold a great deal of power, an advantage, and unlock their true potential. We do have some exceptions (Emiya Kiritsugu has a Reality Marble inside of him to alter his body by way of heartbeat and general speed, but that can be Biomancy and Time-like magic)

The similarities are:

Home Turf (entity has a great deal of power there)
It is difficult to escape (destroy it, destroy the entity, or escape through another supernatural means)
It takes the form of whatever the entity wants when it is first created (Agatha has old Chicago, for example, while Emiya has the vast desert with swords).


The biggest differences I see are:

Victims (and allies) are dragged within the Reality Marble, often against their own will, while a Demesne normally has to be entered.
The entity usually has a sole purpose for the Marble, specifically to unlock a special power (Gate of Babylon and Unlimited Blade Works act as a super armory, Ionioi Hetairoi has the army, etc)


With that in mind, I still think they are mechanically close, thus why I commented on it being -2: -1 for the Demesne-like location, and another -1 to make an "attack" (or simply be the effect) to bring others in. From there, I think designing a collection of powers, or a single power, to be utilized within the marble would be fitting, but at a discounted price (very much like Human Form, as it can only be utilized within the Marble).

In the case with Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works, I think it would be the -2 for the Reality Marble (using the above logic), followed by either a collection of points in Refinement (to denote the increase in his magical power or just the number of weapons; Enchanted Items, perhaps?), some increased physical traits, or even a custom, but fitting, power set he would acquire, then grant a discount due to the limitation of only being active within the marble.

Again, my two cents.

[Sanctaphrax]

By default, you are no stronger within your Marble than you are outside of it.

Demesne gives you a place in the world where you are incredibly powerful.

Reality Marble lets you move yourself and others into a place outside of the universe.

Those are very different effects.

[Oblyss]

I have to disagree with that. A Demesne is a location created by an entity/spirit as a home turf, so to speak, where they have a great deal of control. They can still get beaten there (as we see with Agatha Hagglethorn and Dresden in his own dream), but they have a lot of advantages.

A Reality Marble (at least in the cases of Ionioi Hetairoi and Unlimited Blade Works) is essentially a location created by the entity where they hold a great deal of power, an advantage, and unlock their true potential. We do have some exceptions (Emiya Kiritsugu has a Reality Marble inside of him to alter his body by way of heartbeat and general speed, but that can be Biomancy and Time-like magic)

The similarities are:

Home Turf (entity has a great deal of power there)
It is difficult to escape (destroy it, destroy the entity, or escape through another supernatural means)
It takes the form of whatever the entity wants when it is first created (Agatha has old Chicago, for example, while Emiya has the vast desert with swords).


The biggest differences I see are:

Victims (and allies) are dragged within the Reality Marble, often against their own will, while a Demesne normally has to be entered.
The entity usually has a sole purpose for the Marble, specifically to unlock a special power (Gate of Babylon and Unlimited Blade Works act as a super armory, Ionioi Hetairoi has the army, etc)


With that in mind, I still think they are mechanically close, thus why I commented on it being -2: -1 for the Demesne-like location, and another -1 to make an "attack" (or simply be the effect) to bring others in. From there, I think designing a collection of powers, or a single power, to be utilized within the marble would be fitting, but at a discounted price (very much like Human Form, as it can only be utilized within the Marble).

In the case with Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works, I think it would be the -2 for the Reality Marble (using the above logic), followed by either a collection of points in Refinement (to denote the increase in his magical power or just the number of weapons; Enchanted Items, perhaps?), some increased physical traits, or even a custom, but fitting, power set he would acquire, then grant a discount due to the limitation of only being active within the marble.

Again, my two cents.

Those are some great thoughts on powers for the Blade Works but yeah, like Sanct said, it's different from a Demesne because the reworking says you have no benefits with the base Reality Marble power. You simple have that battle ground you can bring others too. For those home turf aspects you have to buy those when you first take the power to get their benefit, otherwise it doesn't affect combat much at all in many situations.

[Crion]

By default, you are no stronger within your Marble than you are outside of it.

Depends on your definition of "stronger." Gaining a ridiculously powerful ability like an army and claiming your own battleground could make one incredibly strong. Perhaps not directly physically strong (unless reality bends to their whim, which we won't get into), but still "stronger" all the same.

Demesne gives you a place in the world where you are incredibly powerful.

Reality Marble lets you move yourself and others into a place outside of the universe.

Reality Marble still creates a location, but said location isn't reachable from outside without the creator. Also, when a Marble breaks, everyone returns right to where they were standing originally, so I think there has to be some ties to the physical world, specifically wherever the creator was standing. Rider proved that someone could be dropped elsewhere, but with very limited range (perhaps the next Zone in DFRPG terms).

Besides, in a technical sense, wouldn't one consider a Demesne something out of this universe when compared to the physical world? One could even argue if the Nevernever, being a Spirit World with only theoretical ties to the Physical World, is truly part of our world. If anything, it seems to be a bridge between worlds when you consider it. . .

Those are very different effects.

To-may-to, to-mah-to. Again, the biggest difference seems to be the way in (and who you drag with you) and the advantages granted to the creator (which could be the aforementioned powers or the ability to make location Aspects with realtive ease as per Demesne).

Those are some great thoughts on powers for the Blade Works but yeah, like Sanct said, it's different from a Demesne because the reworking says you have no benefits with the base Reality Marble power. You simple have that battle ground you can bring others too. For those home turf aspects you have to buy those when you first take the power to get their benefit, otherwise it doesn't affect combat much at all in many situations.

But isn't the ability to create your own battleground (with related aspects) and dragging others into the mix just, theoretically, a ramped up version of Demesne. I mean, yeah, removing "Home Turf" as a power is one thing, but getting a location of your choosing AND trapping others there seems a bit better than a simple -1.

Especially considering the fight against the transformed Caster at the end of the first season of Fate/Zero. Rider basically trapped Caster within the Marble for a period of time, literally removing him from the zone and, by all right, taking him out of the fight to give everyone else a chance to breath and plan.

I think that's a pretty amazing power right there, even with the loss of "Home Turf" from Demesne.

[Sanctaphrax]

Depends on your definition of "stronger." Gaining a ridiculously powerful ability like an army and claiming your own battleground could make one incredibly strong. Perhaps not directly physically strong (unless reality bends to their whim, which we won't get into), but still "stronger" all the same.

Reality Marble doesn't do anything like that unless you upgrade it.

To-may-to, to-mah-to. Again, the biggest difference seems to be the way in (and who you drag with you) and the advantages granted to the creator (which could be the aforementioned powers or the ability to make location Aspects with realtive ease as per Demesne).

But isn't the ability to create your own battleground (with related aspects) and dragging others into the mix just, theoretically, a ramped up version of Demesne. I mean, yeah, removing "Home Turf" as a power is one thing, but getting a location of your choosing AND trapping others there seems a bit better than a simple -1.

I repeat: by default, Reality Marble gives no advantages to its creator. It just lets you move people.

Having a place where you are god leads to a completely different play experience than being able to take people to another world.

Can't comment on the source material except to point out that you should judge the Power based on what it does in DFRPG, not by what it does in the source material.

[Crion]

Can't comment on the source material except to point out that you should judge the Power based on what it does in DFRPG, not by what it does in the source material.

As I don't entirely agree with the power as written, allow me to quote a player of mine: "I refute your reality and substitute my own!"

Note: It's been a long day, but I wanted to get this written out before I forgot to do so. And this is just a draft of ideas, so pick apart as you choose.

Reality Marble [-2, plus powers from "Unlocked Potential"]
Description: A reality marble is placing your own inner world materialized and projected onto reality. You have the ability to project a limited world of your design into reality.
Skills Affected: Conviction, others.

Effects:
Personal Battleground: The created location appears as you choose, it defines your nature, and can take any form. This form cannot change after creation. Additionally, create a pair of Location Aspects that are always in place. (Some canon examples are "Field of Swords," "Overwhelming Forces," "Memory Suppression," and "Desert Wasteland"). These aspects are  important for "Projection," below. These scene aspects cannot be removed, and new scene aspects cannot be created within the Reality Marble.
Projection: As an action, spend a Fate Point and roll your Conviction vs. the highest Discipline of your targets (can name multiple targets within the same zone). If you succeed, you are given a number of free tags to any of your Scene Aspects equal to the margin of success, and only you can access the Aspects. If you tie, you are only given one free tag, but only you can access the Aspects. If you fail, you must spend Fate Points to access your Scene Aspects, and ALL within the Marble may access the Aspects. Regardless of success, all targets are brought within the Marble, and are removed from any current conflict that was not with you.
Trapped: All who enter the Reality Marble are trapped until the Marble is broken, you are Taken Out, or an amount of time equal to your margin of success after "half of minute" on the time table has passed. Extra amount of time can be acquired by taking a Mental Stress for each additional turn. If you choose to end the effect of the power, you may place your victims at any location up to a zone away.
A Reality Marble can be destroyed by a powerful attack targeting it. The Reality Marble automatically has a defense skill of your Conviction + your Margin of Success on the Conviction roll. When the Marble is destroyed or you are Taken Out, everyone returns to where they were when this power activated.

Unlocked Potential
As the Reality Marble follows the rules governed by the creator, the creator often has an ability that is inaccessible to them in the "real world." While within the Reality Marble, you are able to use that special ability.
Purchase a single or multiple powers with +1 point refund due to the limitation of being accessible within the Marble.



And that's what I have offhand. Too tired to tweak it any further tonight; will look at responses later.