Looking for Ideas: Ferrovax

[Blechpirat]

Hi,

one of my players uses sponsored magic. Her sponsor is Ferrovax, her character is said to have dragon-blood.. she can cast firemagic and developed wings. Also of note: She woke a dragon - so there are two dragons now. I have not yet told them how Ferrovax reacts - if you likes the idea of another dragon on this world or if he feels challenged.

She is in debt with her sponsor. Do you guys have ideas what Ferrovax could want from her?

[Arcteryx]

What are the themes & threats of your campaign setting?

[BobForPresident]

Story-wise: Ferrovax, rather than feeling threatened, sees potential here. This upstart with dragon blood might be just what he needs to  bring the magical world back under the sway of draconic forces and make the people fear dragons again.

Perhaps in her, he sees a vassal, or better yet, someone who can speak for him to the White Council or to the fae courts until his manipulations can bear fruit.

[Sanctaphrax]

Dragons like treasure, right?

So Ferrovax might make his Emissary give him stuff. Stuff like corporations, artistic masterpieces, magical relics, and fist-sized rubies. And if his Emissary doesn't own anything like that, they need to acquire it somehow.

[EdgeOfDreams]

I see two main motivations for Ferrovax:

1) Obtain treasure.  We've already seen him react favorably to the gift of a chest full of riches.  Maybe there's other artifacts and items of value he's after?

2) Obtain power.  Being so long-lived, he's got all the time in the world to slowly build up power and advantages against mortals and other supernatural factions.  Perhaps his schemes involve subtle manipulations in his interactions with other beings of powers, such that over the course of centuries he's built up a power base of favors owed and more abstract, mystical things.  In my mind, this is related to the way the faerie courts work against each other, gain power through the stone table, etc. etc.

[wyvern]

Another thing to think about is what power level you want Ferrovax to have in your game.  We've got a WoJ that even Mab would hesitate to go up against Ferrovax - yet in the books he came off (at least to me) as a self-important braggart who's more bluff than bite.

If you go with the notion that he's more of a primal Power, then waking up another dragon is probably a good thing from his point of view; it brings the world that much closer to its "natural balance" - i.e. dragons being in charge.

If he's less of a Power and more of just a powerful individual, then I can totally see him reacting with rage, jealousy, or competitiveness - especially if that second dragon takes a liking to "his" toys (i.e. the PC.)  (Edit: I would tend to say that this is the more interesting option.)

* * *

For sponsor debt, there are two directions you can go.  (Note that these options are not mutually exclusive; you might have some debt based compels from each category.)

One is the simple "What does Ferrovax want?" - political manipulations (as suggested by BobFor), or perhaps tribute (as suggested by Sanctaphrax or EdgeOf)

The other is "What makes this character more draconic?" - in this case the "debt" is more of a metaphysical thing, representing side-effects of drawing too heavily on that dragon bloodline.  Sponsor debt in this case could get called in to enforce draconic instincts; perhaps instinctively attacking when startled or woken suddenly; perhaps collecting coins or gold or jade; perhaps simply being haughty or overconfident when dealing with "lesser creatures" (i.e. normal humans).

[Sanctaphrax]

I like wyvern's idea about becoming draconic.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this is relevant, but here's Belial666's take on Ferrovax stats: http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,18780.0.html

[paulie]

I am currently playing a character who has magic sponsored by a dragon. ( who happens to be his grandfather.)

if you want to chat about how we did it, send me a message.

We decided his agenda was greed power wealth and of course fire. He runs a corporation in our city which is a front for the business interests in the city. He is a servant of his Grandfather and is his voice in the city.

Basically he does bad things in order to keep the status quo, which included disappearing corpses and negotiating peace between gangs.

[Masurao]

Another thing to think about is what power level you want Ferrovax to have in your game.  We've got a WoJ that even Mab would hesitate to go up against Ferrovax - yet in the books he came off (at least to me) as a self-important braggart who's more bluff than bite.

Can it be right that I recall someone saying that WoJ is that if Mab, Maeve and Lea went up against Ferrovax when Winter was in full sway, at a terrain of their choosing, the dragon would still hand him their collective Fae arses?

[Blechpirat]

What are the themes & threats of your campaign setting?

There are no defined ones. The group started as a Convention-oneshot and kept together. I tried "corruption by power", but my players don't react to temptaion.

I have
a cop who wants to become a warden like her mother.
a focused pactioner (conjurer) who used to be a mercinary and now wants to join the White Council
a plain mortal sniper who has no agenda
a focused practioner (fire) who learned of dragon blood in her veins, gained Ferrovax as a sponsor and developed inhuman toughness and wings. She wants a treasure for her lair.

[Masurao]

She is in debt with her sponsor. Do you guys have ideas what Ferrovax could want from her?

Practically anything, I'd say. I just depends on what he's got his mind on at the time, I guess. I mean, he's insanely powerful in (most likely) every aspect you could think of, so one little dragon-blooded bastard isn't really going to impress him much. Whatever the PC could do, it would be a minor boon to Ferrovax, in most cases. On the other hand, I'd picture Ferrovax as a very distant 'parent' at best.

Of course, if the newly awakened dragon is a contender, or at least above mortal nuisance level, Ferrovax might be a tad irrate and put his spawn up to a more difficult task. Perhaps it's just a task he would be amused about, to see if the hatchling could actually handle herself. Think along the lines of: "Bring me this and that artifact." The character toils quite a bit to retrieve the items. Then hands them to Ferrovax. "Yes, interesting... Hmmm... You did quite alright, I guess." Ferrovax tosses the items into the nearest garbage bin. "Are you still here? Taddle off, now, I've seen enough of you for this century. Call me when you hit dragon-puberty."

But, then again, that's my take on a creature of his arrogance and power.

[wyvern]

Can it be right that I recall someone saying that WoJ is that if Mab, Maeve and Lea went up against Ferrovax when Winter was in full sway, at a terrain of their choosing, the dragon would still hand him their collective Fae arses?

Nah, you're misremembering.  Take a look at the WoJ compilation thread here.  (You may have to scroll down a bit; the stuff related to Ferrovax is in the middle of the linked post.)

And note, again, that just because it's WoJ doesn't mean it's true for any particular game.  I, personally, prefer a version of Ferro that's much closer to what Jim describes as Smaug hanging around a nice apartment.  That's just more useful to the sorts of stories I want to tell in my games than a primordial power that's as far beyond the PCs as the PCs are beyond your average gerbil.

[Masurao]

I just thought that I'd state my sources:

I think Ferrovax is WAY above that... In an interview around when Changes came out, Jim was asked who would win if Mab and Ferrovax fought. His answer was something along these lines (not a direct quote)

"If Mab, Lea and Maeve together ambushed Ferrovax at the height of midwinter on the ground of their choosing he would still wipe the floor with them. Ferro is a primal force of nature, in another weightclass"

Which broke my brain for a while, I have to say...

Not trying to be right, just proving to myself I'm not crazy... Yet!

[wyvern]

Bah.  You're here; that's crazy enough for me. 

(Point taken, though.  Misinformed, not misremembering.  Poor word choice on my part; sorry.)

[Masurao]

Haha, no harm done! I've been trolling through these forums for answers intensely the last few weeks, so I can't be asked to remember anything correctly at all And I got the hidden meaning within your words Besides, your link will help a lot!