"Champions of God are among the rarest of mortal humans, actively called to service by the Almighty (in one of many possible guises) to stand against the darkness and beat it back with the strength and light of their faith. They are very few in number, usually limited to the three Knights of the Cross."
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
"Changelings are half-human, half-faerie people who—at least for the moment—are still living life as mortals. But before each changeling, every day, stands the Choice, a razor’s edge dividing their mortal nature from their faerie nature. When they call upon the abilities of their faerie blood, they—bit by bit—push themselves closer to becoming full faerie.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
"Emissaries are mortals who’ve been saddled with a burden of great power—and great responsibility— by one of the big dogs in the supernatural community: vast powers from Faerie or the outer reaches of the Nevernever, one of the true dragons, or something stranger."
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
Focused practitioners are the minor-league of the spell-slinging set. They have one rather narrowly defined aptitude at spellcraft which they practice to the exclusion of all else—usually because they just don’t “get” things outside of their focus.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
As far as we know, both Courts of Faerie—Winter and Summer—each have only one Knight, a mortal granted some measure of the power of his or her patron Court and charged with making certain the Court’s interests are well-represented in the world of mortals and beyond.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
Let’s get this clear up front: lycanthropes are not werewolves—though they share some traits in common. But where werewolves change their bodies, lycanthropes change only their minds, aligning their thoughts and senses with those of a beast.
Is this fluff or the core of the Template?
The Dresdenverse is filled with mortals who have small, limited powers, whether due to long-forgotten traces of inhuman bloodlines, exposure to the supernatural, or simply the right combination of willpower and belief. These mortals can be referred to as minor talents: people with “one-trick” powers that might not have a lot of mojo—but which can be very effective in the hands of a creative and driven individual.
Is this fluff or the core of the Template?
Red Court vampires—nasty bat-things that live inside an apparently human (and typically gorgeous) flesh-mask, drool addictive narcotic venom, and feed on blood—are able to infect humans, putting them on a potentially inevitable path towards becoming a full-on Red Court vampire. These infected individuals possess some of the same capabilities as the monsters that bit them—at least at a “junior varsity” level. But these victims haven’t turned—they haven’t given up their humanity—yet. Not until they kill, though that often comes fast, as an almost uncontrollable hunger for blood grips them. Still, it’s only almost uncontrollable—with the right amount of discipline and careful choices about what sorts of situations they get into, these victims can hold out, at least for a time.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
“Sorcerer” is a near-pejorative term that many on the White Council use to describe “full spectrum” spell practitioners who don’t have the bloodline, access, resources, and training that a Wizard of the White Council has. The sneer has perhaps a little merit, as these versatile spellslingers are often self-taught or—let’s face it—at least dabbling in some grey, if not outright black, areas of magic in order to get a leg up. This fairly common moral flexibility turns into a slippery slope in short order.
Is this fluff or the core of the template - and if fluff then what is the difference between minor talent, sorcerer, and wizard?
Faith has power in the Dresdenverse, where the strength of your belief can—when focused properly—turn back the tide of darkness. There are special mortals among us whose beliefs are so strong that they cross into the territory of true supernatural power. These mortals are called true believers, for lack of a better term.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
The Dresdenverse is rife with shapeshifters of all stripes (many nonhuman). Some humans have learned (or were simply born with the capability) to take on the form of a beast; when that beast is a wolf, we call them werewolves, but there are many other were-forms out there. The animal in question isn’t supercharged or innately magical (other than the fact that it has a human intellect kicking around in its noggin), but with some practice, the shapeshifter can use it as easily as his human form, within the limits of what that animal can do. Unlike lycanthropes, loupgaroux, and some other types of shapechangers, most were-form shifters are entirely in control of their change. There’s no full moon business going on with us.
Is this fluff or the core of the Template?
Of all the known vampire courts, the White Court vampires appear to be the weakest—but they are no less deadly. They are also the closest to mortals in behaviors and predilections. They might best be seen as a separate race, able to interbreed with humans (White Court vampires are born, not made—it’s hereditary). They feed on the strong emotions of their victims—sometimes, though not always, to the point of death—and they can excite these emotions in their victims as well.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
White Court vampirism is a hereditary condition, passed along when interbreeding with humans, always breeding true. But the condition doesn’t truly take hold until the “virgin” White Court vampire has killed for the first time with his emotion-feeding abilities. Unblooded White Court virgins do not have the weaknesses of full White Court vampires, making them difficult to detect.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
The full wizard in action is a terror to behold. His is an ancient bloodline, heir to the magics of old and able to command their full array; given enough time and preparation, there is very little to limit what a wizard can accomplish beyond the fetters of his own belief in what he can do.
Is this fluff or the core of the template?
If the answer to any of those questions is "not fluff", then why are you ignoring the core of the Pure Mortal template?
If the answer to all of those questions is "yes", then why are you bothering to play with the DV as a setting for your game?
Or, to put it another way, no part of the Template is fluff. The Template is the Template as a whole and focusing on a single line in one template is as wrong as saying "there are four grains of sand on the beach".
Richard
