Warden Sword for a Mortal?

[Taran]

I admit I am just "over" swords

Swords are silly weapons.

Magic Swords are sillier.

Even a +5 magic sword of Ogre-decapitation?

[fantazero]

Even a +5 magic sword of Ogre-decapitation?

If you said a +5 Magic Bear Trap of Ogre-Decapitation
I'd be with you.

[Mrmdubois]

Swords do get done quite a lot, but after all they're the iconic weapon of nobility and heroism as well as battle, so it makes sense. 

A set of Warden Swordchucks would be pretty cool, and are actually a possibility.  Luccio obviously custom crafted each blade to fit the style (combat and otherwise) and personality of each wielder so in some rare cases (because a sword is also iconic of the wardens) she may have made exceptions to the sword motif.

[amberpup]

Swords do get done quite a lot, but after all they're the iconic weapon of nobility and heroism as well as battle, so it makes sense.

True, but do you need it to be a magical sword?

Mega-gaming here but unless the campaign was magic heavy I won't get my pure mortal character a warden sword. First you lose the dice for being a pure mortal, then you pay for the cost of the sword. Better to just get a deactived warden sword (zero cost), and pay for a stunt or two that ups your Threats/Intimidation. Then just run around and threaten magical folks like you do have a fully magical warden sword.

Cheaper for sure...

[Lavecki121]

Better to just get a deactived warden sword (zero cost), and pay for a stunt or two that ups your Threats/Intimidation. Then just run around and threaten magical folks like you do have a fully magical warden sword.

Or. Just get a regular sword and have the guy take really high deception equivalent skills so that he can trick magical people into believing it is a Warden/Magical Sword.

[Taran]

OR

Make it a real Warden's sword that does absolutely nothing special because the guy is a Pure Mortal.  Instead, it will give lots of plot hooks and room for the character to grow into something more later on down the road.

Also, I'm sad that no-one got my Ogre Decapitation reference.

[Addicted2aa]

OR

Make it a real Warden's sword that does absolutely nothing special because the guy is a Pure Mortal.  Instead, it will give lots of plot hooks and room for the character to grow into something more later on down the road.

Also, I'm sad that no-one got my Ogre Decapitation reference.

Is that from the "I attack the Darkness" Skit?

General Question?
Why can't the sword be an Enchanted item, that another wizard is powering? If the source of the power comes from another character it shouldn't kill his refresh right, Like harry's coat being usable by other people? I didn't see anything in the template suggestion pure mortal's should lose the extra refresh if they have an enchanted item, just if they take a power.
 I could understand him not being able to use the counterspell ability in normal action, but with the use of an aspect and a fate point I could see it coming into play. The weapon 6 I could see going the same way or being allowable.

[amberpup]

Also, I'm sad that no-one got my Ogre Decapitation reference.

I got it, but I rather have a Troll Decapitation Sword. They're like a pinata....

[Taran]

Is that from the "I attack the Darkness" Skit?

Gamers.  If you've ever RP'd - especially D&D, it's funny.

General Question?
Why can't the sword be an Enchanted item, that another wizard is powering? If the source of the power comes from another character it shouldn't kill his refresh right, Like harry's coat being usable by other people? I didn't see anything in the template suggestion pure mortal's should lose the extra refresh if they have an enchanted item, just if they take a power.
 

Yes, but I wouldn't allow an NPC to give something like that.  Maybe another PC, if they want to give up an Enchanted Item slot for another player since that's their choice, afterall.  Somebody has to pay the refresh for it.

I could understand him not being able to use the counterspell ability in normal action, but with the use of an aspect and a fate point I could see it coming into play. The weapon 6 I could see going the same way or being allowable.

I'm not sure I'd allow any of the powers of the sword per se.  The sword itself would be declaration fodder, so it could have minimal "latent" powers.  So while I wouldn't allow the counterspell ability, you could tag a +2 to get through a magical block, for example(assuming you succeed on the declaration or spend a FP).  If he wants the full powers, I'd say he'd have to pay the refresh.

[Addicted2aa]

Gamers.  If you've ever RP'd - especially D&D, it's funny.

Yes, but I wouldn't allow an NPC to give something like that.  Maybe another PC, if they want to give up an Enchanted Item slot for another player since that's their choice, afterall.  Somebody has to pay the refresh for it.

I'm not sure I'd allow any of the powers of the sword per se.  The sword itself would be declaration fodder, so it could have minimal "latent" powers.  So while I wouldn't allow the counterspell ability, you could tag a +2 to get through a magical block, for example(assuming you succeed on the declaration or spend a FP).  If he wants the full powers, I'd say he'd have to pay the refresh.

No invoke for effect based off aspects? Only allowing the +2? As to NPC's paying the refresh, couldn't that be his trouble? Some one is paying for it, and they want it back? It doesn't always respond well, infact sometimes being detrimental, though occasionally it works as it's supposed to?
Not that I have a problem with your way, Actually seems like a really good solution, I'm just trying to find other options.

Which Gamers? Dorkness rising? or the first one?

[Taran]

No invoke for effect based off aspects? Only allowing the +2? As to NPC's paying the refresh, couldn't that be his trouble? Some one is paying for it, and they want it back? It doesn't always respond well, infact sometimes being detrimental, though occasionally it works as it's supposed to?
Not that I have a problem with your way, Actually seems like a really good solution, I'm just trying to find other options.
Which Gamers? Dorkness rising? or the first one?

It could also be his trouble, which is why I like the idea of giving the player a weapon like this.  He could Invoke for Effect, I suppose...I don't know...it would really depend on the situation

The first Gamers. 

[JDK002]

Is that from the "I attack the Darkness" Skit?

General Question?
Why can't the sword be an Enchanted item, that another wizard is powering? If the source of the power comes from another character it shouldn't kill his refresh right, Like harry's coat being usable by other people? I didn't see anything in the template suggestion pure mortal's should lose the extra refresh if they have an enchanted item, just if they take a power.
 I could understand him not being able to use the counterspell ability in normal action, but with the use of an aspect and a fate point I could see it coming into play. The weapon 6 I could see going the same way or being allowable.

If another player who has ritual and has enough enchanted item slots to make such an item and is willing to give it to the character without any kind of compensation maybe, It's the whole purpose of spending slots to let others use enchanted items.  It would still need follow all the enchanting rules and limitations if it were up to me though.  Which going by the RAW, I don't think It's possible to make an enchanted item exactly like the warden sword in the powers chapter, but you could come pretty close.

Alternatively, if he has said Enchanted Item as a full time power (in the case that It's not from another PC) that's always at the ready should he want to use it.  It should be considered a power on his character sheet regardless of the narrative flavoring.  If It's something he manages to channel once in a great while (at the GM's discretion, NOT the players) for dramatic story moments as a temporary power, then I would let him have it for a scene for a few Fate Points.

The reason I and a few others have stressed it would need to be from an PC and not an NPC is mostly because it would devalue IoP's.  Why take an IoP when you can just say you have some amazing enchanted item that some random self-declared NPC made for you?

[Addicted2aa]

If another player who has ritual and has enough enchanted item slots to make such an item and is willing to give it to the character without any kind of compensation maybe, It's the whole purpose of spending slots to let others use enchanted items.  It would still need follow all the enchanting rules and limitations if it were up to me though.  Which going by the RAW, I don't think It's possible to make an enchanted item exactly like the warden sword in the powers chapter, but you could come pretty close.

Alternatively, if he has said Enchanted Item as a full time power (in the case that It's not from another PC) that's always at the ready should he want to use it.  It should be considered a power on his character sheet regardless of the narrative flavoring.  If It's something he manages to channel once in a great while (at the GM's discretion, NOT the players) for dramatic story moments as a temporary power, then I would let him have it for a scene for a few Fate Points.

The reason I and a few others have stressed it would need to be from an PC and not an NPC is mostly because it would devalue IoP's.  Why take an IoP when you can just say you have some amazing enchanted item that some random self-declared NPC made for you?

Because you aren't in control of the NPC. Which lets the GM play with the powers as he wants(Have start to fade because the wizard has poured any energy into it recently, Have it turn back on him because he used it in a way that it wasn't intended, Have the wizard come looking for it cause it was stolen from the one he gave it too 100 years ago or whatever), and allows for some pretty awesome situations. The other reason is IoP's are more powerful. A lot more in some cases.

All that said, I can understand why a GM would say no in most if not all cases, but I'm wondering if there is any rule preventing it.

[FishStampede]

I'm currently setting him up that he may be placed as "deputy warden." The city we're playing in is located at the split between a ley line, where it merges again further north. This creates a vortex effect that draws in magic and causes it to be "trapped" here. Despite its low population, there's a LOT of magic here. His cousin is the unnamed Warden in Atlanta, and needs someone to watch over this city. The two of them do not get along though, and currently he's sort of stolen the PC's house (long story), causing two other PCs to be evicted as well.

They will either resolve this peacefully and he will (despite having no magic) be unofficially put in charge of this city, or they are going to end up murdering the warden of Atlanta. Fun times ahead!

[atavistic]

A pure mortal, the average person doesn't have supernatural power to back them up, in response to this deficit a person has to rely on what made us the dominant species, ingenuity, guile and creativity.  For me I see part of that extra refresh bonus as being an extension of that mindset, its extra stunts or a few extra aspects invoked in a game session, it reflects the outside the box thinking and resourcefulness that makes people people and how they manage to win or survive against the bigger faster meaner things that go bump in the night.  But give a man a hammer (or sword) and every problem starts to look like a nail.

A mortal with a supernatural power is going to start seeing the world in terms of 'how can I superpower my way to victory?' Once you have that power you start to try and 'game' everything towards your strength.  Options that don't rely on that advantage stop being considerations and your world view starts to shrink.  The bigger and better the hammer, the more you try and make your problems a nail, and those hammer free solutions fade completely from view.  This is how a person becomes a monster, how they loose their free will and how they use up their refresh.

If you're giving a character a real supernatural advantage like a powerful magic sword, then you should make them pay for it just like any other hammer in the tool box, regardless of the narrative justifications for it.  He's still going to be seeing his problems as fencing dummies.  "I got it from my brother" and "I got it from my faerie father" just the mode of transition rather then the fact that its magic and its family.