Giving It Back: When A Changeling Chooses Mortality

[Aubri]

I have a player who currently plays a changeling with Unseelie Magic as her primary ability. The player is considering Choosing to become a mortal, now, but would also like to become an apprentice wizard. While I have no particular issues with that, mechanically speaking, I have some questions about the process.

First, giving up sponsored magic. How do you think I should handle this? Does the sponsor have any say in it? Would it incur any debts? What sort of long-term personal or social consequences might it have?

Second, I'm tempted to make finding a mentor a book-length goal. Other than looking down their collective nose at her, would the White Council have any particular problems with a wild talent like this? She hasn't broken any laws of magic at this point -- she was already running at 1 Refresh.

Third, having used "magic with training wheels", so to speak, do you think the character would be able to pull off Focused Practitioner-level magic without further training? Like maybe allow her to take either Channeling or Ritual? "Flying blind" and with lots of spell-failure compels against the new high concept, of course.

[wyvern]

First, giving up sponsored magic. How do you think I should handle this? Does the sponsor have any say in it? Would it incur any debts? What sort of long-term personal or social consequences might it have?

The impression I get is that the process is a simple mental effort.  The sponsor could get a say in it if and only if there's already sponsor debt on the table - and even if the sponsor doesn't (or can't) contest the Choice, any previous sponsor debt will still hang around until it's used up.  Especially if the character is planning on becoming a wizard, were I such a sponsor, I'd hang on to such debt for the long haul - think about how much Dresden's three favors owed affected... how many books now?

Second, I'm tempted to make finding a mentor a book-length goal. Other than looking down their collective nose at her, would the White Council have any particular problems with a wild talent like this? She hasn't broken any laws of magic at this point -- she was already running at 1 Refresh.

If she doesn't have a mentor already in mind - definitely.  I'd also offer some temptation in the form of a sorcerer, or even some other supernatural entity (possibly disguised as a sorcerer or even a weaker-but-more-knowledgeable minor practioner), that would be willing to mentor someone the Council wouldn't give the time of day to - and would be all too pleased to get some hooks into someone with wizard level potential.

Third, having used "magic with training wheels", so to speak, do you think the character would be able to pull off Focused Practitioner-level magic without further training? Like maybe allow her to take either Channeling or Ritual? "Flying blind" and with lots of spell-failure compels against the new high concept, of course.

I'd probably do this, yes; it seems likely to be more fun for the player that way.

[sinker]

To your first question I would think that it would depend largely on what the character has been doing of late. If the character is working really well for their sponsor then I think that the sponsor might be loath to lose their agent, however when it comes down to it the sponsor only has a say if the character still owes them. I might have your sponsor (being fey) try spend a decent amount of time convincing the character that they do indeed still have a debt (even if they don't). On the other hand if the character is failing or making a mess of things then I could see the sponsor simply cutting them loose (or perhaps insisting that there's something that must be done to make up for it). More than anything I'd likely have the sponsor continue to show up and demand favors for things, even after the magic is gone as that kind of partnership can be shaky about who owes whom when.

For your second question I wouldn't think that they'd look down their noses as long as she had the power. They might be a bit worried that the fey already have their claws in this one, but that's more reason to try to steer them away.

Finally the two powers seem pretty different to me. I would think that it would take significant training to be able to channel your own power rather than someone else's. However once she made it past that issue I would think that she might be better suited towards using that power since she already knows how to make use of it. Then again she might have to relearn all that again, just to make sure that some fey magic doesn't slip into her spells and further her debt (or perhaps her sponsor could regularly imply that that very thing has happened "You don't think that you could have pulled that off on your own do you?").

Seems to me like a very interesting and fun process that will result in many great compels.

[mstorer3772]

You're assuming (as is the player) that the "I chose Mortal" version of this character will be capable of Evocation and/or Thaumaturgy.

I would have expected them to become a Pure Mortal, complete with the bonus refresh.  I suppose it really depends on the mortal parent.

[Richard_Chilton]

There is an example in the books of wizards switching power sources.  The Red Court infected as many members of the White Council as they could - and the former wizards tapped a new power source.  Applying their old skills to magic whose source was based off of death (instead of life) so they could kill their former colleagues.

Richard

[Aubri]

You're assuming (as is the player) that the "I chose Mortal" version of this character will be capable of Evocation and/or Thaumaturgy.

I would have expected them to become a Pure Mortal, complete with the bonus refresh.  I suppose it really depends on the mortal parent.

To be honest, if I say no, the player will just say, "Never mind, then, I'll keep playing like this." In short, he's really enjoying playing a practitioner, but he's frequently frustrated by the limitations of Unseelie Magic.

[wyvern]

Huh.  I'd normally think sponsored magic would be less limiting than channeling + rituals.

Depending on the game & rate of advancement, it might be worth keeping going as is, and buying evocation and thaumaturgy when the refresh becomes available.  Adding either of those to an existing sponsored magic is only two refresh - and, while it's not RAW legal, I'd be tempted to let them buy channeling or ritual for just an extra one refresh (and with no additional focus / enchanted item slots) as long as they were willing to commit to upgrading to evocation / thaumaturgy next.

[sinker]

In short, he's really enjoying playing a practitioner, but he's frequently frustrated by the limitations of Unseelie Magic.

I wouldn't see this as getting around the limitations of unseelie magic. He's still going to be limited in scope of the things he can do (in fact sponsored magic tends to be a little less restrictive than mortal magic), and he's still going to be regularly visited by his parent (or he would be were I GMing). Unless you're being really harsh about the whole can't use unless it aligns with the sponsor's agenda then he's probably not going to like mortal magic any more.

[UmbraLux]

To be honest, if I say no, the player will just say, "Never mind, then, I'll keep playing like this." In short, he's really enjoying playing a practitioner, but he's frequently frustrated by the limitations of Unseelie Magic.

What limitations?  It's no more limited than any given element.

To the original questions, I'd handle it via aspect changes.  In other words, probably a gradual change through several milestones...depending on the number of aspects related to what / who he is and where his power comes from.  He'd have to start by paying off any sponsor debt, then start changing relevant aspects ending by changing his high concept. 

The new high concept should refer to the fact he's just learning the new style of magic at first.  Changing it to a more experienced wizard will take yet another appropriate milestone. 

Finding a mentor could be easy or hard depending on how badly the council wants to watch this "former fae claiming to be a wizard".  Either way, the mentor will watch as much as teach...perhaps more.  Finding a "fagin" of course would be far easier...and he would learn...if he survives.   

Or, if he's really unhappy, have this one choose fae (and NPC-dom) and create a new character.

[Richard_Chilton]

I'm not sure that a Changeling needs to use a milestone to make the choice.  In my mind the ability to choose is part of the template  - at almost anytime (while they have a positive refresh) they can add some of their parent's powers OR decide to give up all their powers to be a normal human.

Choosing means rewriting the character's High Concept - probably to something that includes "former Changeling".

Richard

[UmbraLux]

I'm not sure that a Changeling needs to use a milestone to make the choice.  In my mind the ability to choose is part of the template  - at almost anytime (while they have a positive refresh) they can add some of their parent's powers OR decide to give up all their powers to be a normal human.

Certainly, but that's just giving up powers.  Becoming a wizard isn't necessarily as easy.

[zenten]

I don't get why taking The Choice and becomming mortal makes the Unseelie magic go away.  Unseelie (or Seelie) magic isn't part of the Changeling template, it's something separate (although of course related).

[UmbraLux]

It would make whatever powers were included as "inherited from the faerie parent" go away.  More often than not that will be all faerie powers.

[zenten]

Right, but you never get the faerie magic from your parent, you have to get it from the faerie queen, and it's never automatic, just like you don't automatically get your parent's Court.

[CaptFisher]

In Summer knight Fix chooses to become mortal and seamlessly steps into the role of Knight of Summer (at least on screen)...I think the change and the gaining of new powers can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be depending on your style of play and what your players think is fun.