Newbies ask the darnest things

[Sanctaphrax]

I guess we're good.

But as you say, there's still hinkiness. So I'm not sure why you'd bother to try and justify anything under normal rules...rules-legality is kind of an all-or-nothing thing.

[Dracorex]

Clarification: The item strength/frequency/slots needed is using the maker's crafting stats. The person considered to possess the item is not the maker, as the maker crafted it for her.

Statement: Were the maker to borrow the item from her to use, he'd be the one taking the -1 strength penalty (as it's not actually his possession), and she'd be the one with the occupied slot (as the person who actually owns the item).

Query: Would you allow this setup? Impose any penalties? I require a more in-depth answer than "what does your GM say?", because I am the GM, wondering if this setup would be a little OP, and thus seeking additional opinions (my players can't help since every single one of them is new and working off the preorder pdf; I'm the one introducing them to DFRPG). Currently I'm having it as -1 strength, but occupying the owner's slot (the owner is also a wizard, so there's no issue on that front).

[Sanctaphrax]

I wouldn't allow it.

First, because the -1 penalty to make an item usable by anyone applies even when the original owner is using the item.

Second, because sharing item slots is pretty abusable. Basically it gives every crafter in the group the crafting skills of the best crafter in the group, for free, as long as they spend downtime with the aforementioned best crafter.

[Haru]

There's always the good ol' bag o' tricks from the Custom Powers Master List:

BAG OF TRICKS [-1]
Description: For whatever reason, you have access to a few minor magical trinkets.
Skills affected: Contacts, Resources, Burglary, Lore.
Effects:
Enchanted Items. You have four potions, each with a strength equal to your Contacts, Resources, Burglary, or Lore skill. You may not increase their strength in any way. At the beginning of each session, you must declare which potions you have on hand.
More Trinkets [-1]. You have four additional potions. Furthermore, you may choose to leave potion slots open to be filled later with Declarations.

You can easily justify the items being from a wizard you know.

[PirateJack]

For my game I've decided that Warden Swords are actually Items of Power, with a couple of custom powers attached to let them act as foci, counterspell enchantments and Unbreakable/Always Sharp. It makes more sense to me that since they're unique items created by a master craftswoman (and that she lost the ability despite having retained all her knowledge), that they wouldn't fit into the regular enchanted items rules.

EDIT: Of course I had to adjust the rules of IoPs slightly and make them cost -1 refresh, but screw it, they don't fit in the rules very easily in the first place.

[McNulty]

So my players are in a night club run by a RCV and they are interviewing a couple of infectees. Of course the wizard wants to use the third eye when looking at them. What does he see (I have my own ideas of course but always nice to crowsource)?

On a parallel storyline they are involved with a demon that's been released from a long captivity. My twist is that the longer they wait to act, the stronger it gets. Their options are banishing or new imprisonment the entitiy but I'm still struggling to come up with the numbers of how difficult this would be. Our power level is waist deep, mind. Also am I correct in my thinking that banishing would be easier than bounding/imprisonment (to an object/place)..?

[PirateJack]

So my players are in a night club run by a RCV and they are interviewing a couple of infectees. Of course the wizard wants to use the third eye when looking at them. What does he see (I have my own ideas of course but always nice to crowsource)?

These are the kind of moments I live for as a GM, though it's important to note that most Wizards interpret the Sight differently. Carlos hears Spanish guitar rhythms when he activates his Sight, for instance.

Red Court Infected are humans that have a parasite attached to them, feeding on their soul and pushing them to kill and drink the blood of another being. If we use Harry's Sight as a basis for this I'd go with something like   hideous bat-like creature latched on to the person's neck, feeding upon him, draining the colour from his spirit so that the blood flowing from the wound is all the more vibrant in contrast. Its taloned wings stretch around the person's face, clutching at his temples and driving the talons into his head. The man, though silent, appears to be murmuring to himself constantly. A moment's focus lets the Wizard hear the mumbles; "Kill them. Kill them all. Blood. Drink. Kill. Blood. Drink. Kill. Feast. Kill. Blood."

In the set up to this part of the scene I'd have made a point of noting the way he looks at certain people, maybe have the Wizard mistake the looks for lust instead of what they truly are. Red Court Infected usually don't stay like that for long if they don't have strong wills, too, so mentioning something along those lines would work as well. Perhaps an allusion to another addiction or having a battered spirit would give a bit of context for why the person became a half-vampire as well.

Soulgazes and the Sight are my two favourite parts of DFRPG because I get to really lay on the horror of what's going on.

On a parallel storyline they are involved with a demon that's been released from a long captivity. My twist is that the longer they wait to act, the stronger it gets. Their options are banishing or new imprisonment the entitiy but I'm still struggling to come up with the numbers of how difficult this would be. Our power level is waist deep, mind. Also am I correct in my thinking that banishing would be easier than bounding/imprisonment (to an object/place)..?

Banishing is usually done either by destroying the vessel the demon inhabits (i.e killing it) or with a thaumaturgic ritual. Naturally the latter needs a symbolic link strong enough to get the spell to target the demon, which generally means a Name or blood. That brings its own plot/problems to the fore, of course.

The difficulty for any ritual attempting to banish the demon would be a contest between it and the practitioner so it'd be Stress Track + Consequences + Roll (Max 4) + 1 to Take it Out. That's assuming the demon doesn't have any Fate Points to spend or a ward to hide behind though, which would raise the difficulty substantially.

[McNulty]

this I'd go with something like   hideous bat-like creature latched on to the person's neck, feeding upon him, draining the colour from his spirit so that the blood flowing from the wound is all the more vibrant in contrast.

Big thanks, this was the sort of evocative comment I was looking for.

[Quantus]

These are the kind of moments I live for as a GM, though it's important to note that most Wizards interpret the Sight differently. Carlos hears Spanish guitar rhythms when he activates his Sight, for instance.

Red Court Infected are humans that have a parasite attached to them, feeding on their soul and pushing them to kill and drink the blood of another being. If we use Harry's Sight as a basis for this I'd go with something like   hideous bat-like creature latched on to the person's neck, feeding upon him, draining the colour from his spirit so that the blood flowing from the wound is all the more vibrant in contrast. Its taloned wings stretch around the person's face, clutching at his temples and driving the talons into his head. The man, though silent, appears to be murmuring to himself constantly. A moment's focus lets the Wizard hear the mumbles; "Kill them. Kill them all. Blood. Drink. Kill. Blood. Drink. Kill. Feast. Kill. Blood."

In the set up to this part of the scene I'd have made a point of noting the way he looks at certain people, maybe have the Wizard mistake the looks for lust instead of what they truly are. Red Court Infected usually don't stay like that for long if they don't have strong wills, too, so mentioning something along those lines would work as well. Perhaps an allusion to another addiction or having a battered spirit would give a bit of context for why the person became a half-vampire as well.

Thats pretty awesome!  I might add something to the imagery to note the fact that should he give into the beast it will completely destroy his Soul (as contrasted by, say, the Thomas Soulgaze that was very similar otherwise but didnt have that risk).  Perhaps add some sort of cliffs edge imagery to the setting, or maybe have the beast pulling his whole being in, so that every time it draws in blood, the spirit's hands and feat shrivel as his limbs retract inward a bit, as if he is an empty flesh-bag being drained.  You may also want to shift the mumbling to the Creature, depending on the level of control/resistance this particular Infected has going. 

[Jabberwocky]

Well, according to the registration date I'm not a newbie but I don't post much so I will use this thread to ask a practical question myself. How long does it usually take for a new topic to be approved by the mods? I started one yesterday and it's still awaiting approval, which means nobody can see it. The moderator of the DFRPG section LCDarkwood hasn't been online since the 25 June 2013. Shall I wait some more or shall I PM somebody? Thanks a lot!

[Haru]

All the mods can see them and react. Usually it happens pretty fast, but if all the mods are out partying, it might take a bit longer.
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,41436.0.html

[Jabberwocky]

Ok, thanks for the answer. Friday and Saturday are probably RL busy times :-) I'll wait.

[Saracen]

Hello everyone. I hope it's the correct thread to post this in. I'm new to the forum and to the game, and I have some questions:

1) Can supplemental actions follow the main action? Example: can I roll my Fists at -1 to attack, then move to an adjacent zone without rolling?

2) Can counterspells and... let's call them spell-prolonging spells be rote spells? Rote counterspells probably don't make much sense, but I'm curious anyway.

3) Can sponsored Thaumaturgy spells (with Evocation's methods and speed) be rote spells?

4) Do you consider acceptable making a stunt that gives a skill trapping a +3 while restricting its use? Example: would you allow  a stunt that reads "you get a +3 to Craftsmanship when building weapons (or possibly even just melee weapons)"?

Thanks in advance. Bye.

[Haru]

Hello everyone. I hope it's the correct thread to post this in. I'm new to the forum and to the game, and I have some questions:

Welcome.

1) Can supplemental actions follow the main action? Example: can I roll my Fists at -1 to attack, then move to an adjacent zone without rolling?

Sure. Though you should announce the supplemental action in advance. For adding a supplemental action after the roll, there's overflow (YS214).

2) Can counterspells and... let's call them spell-prolonging spells be rote spells? Rote counterspells probably don't make much sense, but I'm curious anyway.

Sure. Anything you can do with evocation can be a rote spell.
When it comes to spell prolonging spells, I usually allow for the same rote to be cast as the original spell, and have those shifts go towards duration instead. It's not exactly how rotes are described, but I feel like having an extra prolonging rote for each spell is kind of punishing. So if you have a shield rote, you can cast it once and use the same shield rote to prolong the shield for a number of exchanges equal to the power of the spell.
I would not, however, allow a rote that lets you prolong any spell.

3) Can sponsored Thaumaturgy spells (with Evocation's methods and speed) be rote spells?

Sure.

4) Do you consider acceptable making a stunt that gives a skill trapping a +3 while restricting its use? Example: would you allow  a stunt that reads "you get a +3 to Craftsmanship when building weapons (or possibly even just melee weapons)"?

Sure, if the limitation is narrow enough, you can increase the benefit. If it is or is not usually depends on the table and the campaign. Your example is something I don't really see played out, so I'm not really sure how it would apply in a game. People usually have the weapons they need, and if it is supposed to be a special one, it's usually enough to wrap a whole story around.

[PirateJack]

1) Can supplemental actions follow the main action? Example: can I roll my Fists at -1 to attack, then move to an adjacent zone without rolling?

That's precisely it. If you take a speed power you can move 1/2/3 zones as a supplemental action without taking the -1 modifier to your main action as well.

2) Can counterspells and... let's call them spell-prolonging spells be rote spells? Rote counterspells probably don't make much sense, but I'm curious anyway.

I'm not sure what you mean here, but I don't see a reason why they can't.

Counterspells work by basically guessing the amount of power in an ongoing spell and then putting that much power or greater into your spell to stop it. If you have a rote counterspell with 4 power you could then use it successfully against any multiple round spell with 4 or less power behind it. You just wouldn't be able to scale the power if it's greater or lesser than 4. Counterspells aren't really that useful though because blocks do basically the same thing without the requirement of having to guess how much power is in a spell.

By spell-prolonging spells do you mean ones that have had power put into duration? If yes then that's perfectly fine for a rote as long as you always cast it with the exact same amount of power in the main effect and the duration.

3) Can sponsored Thaumaturgy spells (with Evocation's methods and speed) be rote spells?

I say yes to this one, because evothaum is basically evocation with a broader range of what it is capable of.

4) Do you consider acceptable making a stunt that gives a skill trapping a +3 while restricting its use? Example: would you allow  a stunt that reads "you get a +3 to Craftsmanship when building weapons (or possibly even just melee weapons)"?

Nope, it's pretty explicit in the stunt creation rules that you get +1 to a trapping, +2 to a specific use of a trapping and +3 only if it's otherwise very weak or you spend a fate point to activate it.