Ideas for a Tengu Scion?

[Harboe]

I honestly think that Unnatural Edge is underpriced at -1. -2 would seem more reasonable in my book.

All Creatures... is a -3, and the only difference between these two versions is that you get to ignore a couple of stress boxes from Toughness Powers, which is only a minor benefit compared to ignoring armour. You'd also still get to satisfy the most useful Catch to be able to hit "Holy stuff"

[Sanctaphrax]

I think Unnatural Edge is vastly underpowered. ACaEBG is scene-long and lets you ignore Toughness and Recovery. This affects only one attack, and it is useless against Toughness and Recovery.

In fact, I think Unnatural Edge is underpowered for a stunt. Killer Blow gives +3 stress for 1 FP, and enemies with armour 3 are fairly rare. So this will usually be worse than Killer Blow. And Killer Blow is terrible.

So, yeah.

Ideas for what to do with Tengu's Guiding Hand:

-Give stunts at no discount.
-True Aim.
-Beast Change variant that lets you use a different set of skills while holding the sword.
-Demonic Co-Pilot.

[UmbraLux]

This is my first attempt at doing an Item of Power. Please tell me what you think needs work.

Ok...comments below... 

Sword Of The Great Tengu [-3]
Description: This an exquisitely made katana traditionally used by the Tengu Clan’s current prince or chosen emissary as a symbol of the their authority and grants the wielder access to a small measure of the king’s sword skills while in combat.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons, Athletics

Not sure where it affects Athletics, am I missing something?

Effects:
[-0] Purpose. The Sword of the Great Tengu was crafted by the Tengu for the use of a skilled warrior. If the user ever leaves the path of the sword behind as defined by the Tengu this item will not work for them in a mundane or a magical sense
[-0] It Is What It Is. An extremely well made Katana Weapon 3
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. The Sword of the Great Tengu is not easy to conceal, because it's a sheathed Katana

The sword may or may not be worth a weapon value of three.  By the guidelines, I'd go with Weapon:2 when used in one hand and Weapon:3 when used with two hands.  Or just Weapon:2 to keep it simple.

[-2]  Tengu’s Guiding Hand: The wielder is partially possessed by the Tengu King via a mind meld, who subconsciously guides their swords strikes. The user gains the full effect of these stunts provided they are physically holding the blade.
Quick Draw (Weapons)
Iaijutsu (Weapons)
Riposte (Weapons)
Footwork (Weapons)
Devastating Slashes (Weapons)
My Weapon Speaks For Me (Weapons)

While I'm not sure what all the listed stunts do, there are 6 of them.  At the standard cost this should be a -6 power.

[-1]Unnatural Edge: By spending a fate point an attack with the sword automatically ignores mundane armor or armor created via some manner of spell craft.

Is this intended to ignore all magical blocks?  If so, it's probably worth more than -1!  If not, it's probably underpowered.

Trying to keep the spirit of what you've started, I'd suggest something like the following:
Sword v2b Effects [-1]

• Purpose; It is what it is; Unbreakable; Discount [+2]:  No need to make major changes though I'd consider the weapon value carefully and consider detailing the purpose.
  
• Tengu’s Guiding Hand: The sword is possessed by the Tengu King via a mind meld, who guides their sword at need.  Effects:
  • Always at hand  [-2]:  The sword appears, drawn and in its wielder's hand, as combat is initiated.  If the wielder is surprised, the sword will defend at Good automatically.  If the wielder is initiating combat, this forces an Avoiding Surprise roll even if the victim was aware of the wielder.  (Note:  This only works once against any given target.)
    
  • Unnatural Edge [-1]:  The sword treats Toughness powers as if they were one step weaker.  (Mythic becomes Supernatural, etc.)

You can add other stunts or powers if you wish...I left most of the stunts you had off mostly because I didn't know what half of them were.  Add them back in (at full price) as necessary.  As Sanctaphrax notes, you do need to pay for the stunts / powers though...the 'one time discount' is your discount for the weapon.   

[Jebm]

Ok thanks for the feedback guys,I'm working on the changes now. I was hoping someone could help do a write up for Tengu magic similar to this http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,25794.msg1291357/topicseen.html#msg1291357. I know that Tengu are know for their specialization in air magic and  shape shifting and possession but considering they're considered the founders of ninjutsu as well,maybe include some of the more mythical ninja abilities as well?. I know a certain breed of water  Tengu related to the kappa is able to launch  "strange" fireballs so maybe it depends on the type you learn it from?. I'd include it as normal ability just to be fair.

[Sanctaphrax]

Tengu magic should probably be like air for evocation and like illusion for thaumaturgy. Maybe thaumaturgical illusions at evocation speed too. Not sure what sort of extra benefit would be appropriate.

[Jebm]

Probably something to do with bladed weapons.

[Sanctaphrax]

Wield bladed weapons with a casting skill perhaps. Or maybe cast with the Weapons skill.

Because normally the skill/refresh investment required to use both magic and a sword is punitive. Wardens are quite suboptimal in DFRPG.

[Jebm]

Here's an updated version of Sword of the Great Tengu,hopefully that makes more sense.

Sword Of The Great Tengu [-3]
Description: This an exquisitely made katana traditionally used by the Tengu Clan’s current prince or chosen emissary as a symbol of the their authority and grants the wielder access to a small measure of the king’s sword skills while in combat.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. The Sword of the Great Tengu was crafted by the Tengu for the use of a skilled warrior in an effort to stave off the decline of swordsmanship in the world. This Item of Power may only be used in defense of one’s self, one’s comrades or one’s lord .If the user ever leaves the path of the sword behind as defined by the Tengu this item will not work for them in a mundane or a magical sense
[-0] It Is What It Is. An extremely well made Katana. It is treated as Weapon: 2 when used in one hand and Weapon: 3 when used with two hands.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. The Sword of the Great Tengu is not easy to conceal, because it's a sheathed Katana
[-3]  Tengu’s Guiding Hand: The sword is possessed by the Tengu King via a mind meld, who guides their sword at need. The user gains the full effect of these abilities provided they are physically holding the blade.

True Aim: When swung in keeping with its purpose, Sword of the Great Tengu grants a +1 to the wielder’s Weapons skill.

Always at hand : The sword appears, drawn and in its wielder's hand, as combat is initiated.  If the wielder is surprised, the sword will defend at Good automatically.  If the wielder is initiating combat, this forces an Avoiding Surprise roll even if the victim was aware of the wielder.  (Note:  This only works once against any given target.)

Unnatural Edge: The sword treats Toughness powers as if they were one step weaker (Mythic becomes Supernatural, etc.), ignores 2 points of armour rating on mortal body armor or one created via some manner of spellcraft and deals a +1 bonus to hit and inflicts two additional stress.

[UmbraLux]

Overall, it looks pretty good.  I would say the bonus to hit and extra damage here:

Unnatural Edge: The sword treats Toughness powers as if they were one step weaker (Mythic becomes Supernatural, etc.), ignores 2 points of armour rating on mortal body armor or one created via some manner of spellcraft and deals a +1 bonus to hit and inflicts two additional stress.

...are enough to bump up the cost at least one but probably two.  In other words, this power alone should be 3 refresh.  One for the toughness / armor reduction, one for the bonus to hit, and one for the plus two to weapon rating.

[Sanctaphrax]

I confess that I still do not understand Always At Hand. Could someone please explain it to me?

There is a math problem with the sword, in that it has 3 refresh worth of powers attached to a +2 discount for a final cost of -3. What's up with that?

Also, it's not clear to me what Always At Hand and Unnatural Edge are supposed to cost.

The new Unnatural Edge is definitely too strong for 1-2 refresh. I'd probably charge 2 refresh for the Toughness negation alone. Ignoring 2 points of armour is a decent power level for a stunt. +2 stress is acceptable for a -1 power. And +1 to hit is acceptable for a stunt, though there are stacking concerns. That adds up to a cost of 5 refresh.

[Jebm]

Always at hand is something Umbralux came up with. As I've got no clue how to properly add up refresh and am terrible at math, I'll go with your suggestion of 5. They were supposed to be abilities granted by Tengu's guiding hand. What's the cost for the Swords of the Cross,as I'd tried to based it off that.

[UmbraLux]

I confess that I still do not understand Always At Hand. Could someone please explain it to me?

The intention was to represent Iajutsu's legendary first strike and fast draw training.  So...having a weapon 'always in hand' seemed appropriate.  Mechanically, it's just extra defense during an ambush and the potential ability to 'ambush' an opponent with a fast draw. 

While I'm not sure 5 is correct, the last power was under-priced.

[Jebm]

I'll price it whatever you guys think is appropriate

[Sanctaphrax]

How exactly do you "ambush" someone with Always At Hand? Do you have to spend an action? What difficulty do they roll against? And so on.

5 Refresh is in retrospect rather a lot. The overlap between the abilities means that although the parts add up to 5 the collective power isn't really worth 5.

I would recommend rewriting Unnatural Edge. Ignoring a level of Toughness and having +2 weapon rating is probably a good 3 Refresh power.

[UmbraLux]

It's the Ambush trapping from Stealth...slightly modified for Weapons. 

Three is what I'd priced it at also.