Defensive Voodoo doll?

[Seidmadr]

So, I got to thinking about thaumaturgical links, and one thing led to another and I got to voodoo dolls. They work by inflicting something upon the doll, and then a magnified effect happen to the target, right?

A variant of this would be a voodoo doll that protects you: As long as the doll is whole, it works to keep you whole. So then all that a harsh life as an RPG character needs to not only injure you, but needs to work back through the thaumaturgic link to the voodoo doll.

With me so far?

Now imagine that this "voodoo doll" is in fact a granite statue, preferably buried somewhere to give it extra stability.. It'd be a pretty decent way of enacting an armour spell, wouldn't it? Any injury coming in, would have to do enough harm to hurt a granite statue before it really harms the wizard in question (or at least a percentage, the thaumaturgic link won't be perfect, so there will be some bleed, wire resistance, if you will.). Of course, this won't work if said wizard is in the Nevernever, behind a threshold or inside a circle, but what fun is stuff without an inherent weakness?



Anyhow. Anyone have the slightest idea of how to create this thing in the RPG, or even if it's a workable idea?

[Haru]

I like the idea. Simplest way to do this mechanically would probably be to take a level of toughness and attach either a catch or the limitation power from the custom power list.

Incidentally, bobjob did pretty much this with his character, though he went a step further and just replaced his body with the marble statue. Good times.
https://rising-tides.obsidianportal.com/characters/shale-buckby

[Taran]

I agree.  Take toughness and attach the catch to the voodoo doll.  Catch:  when doll is destroyed.  How difficult the doll is to find/destroy will affect how much of a rebate you'll get.

The other option is make it an enchanted item.  The doll can give you a block vs damage.  When every time it gets used, the doll takes most of the damage (instead of you) but then you have to repair the doll for it to work again. (refreshing your enchanted item uses).

In any case, when you go through a threshold, you have to lose number of powers equal to the threshold, so you could choose to lose access to that power first.

[Seidmadr]

I like the idea. Simplest way to do this mechanically would probably be to take a level of toughness and attach either a catch or the limitation power from the custom power list.

Incidentally, bobjob did pretty much this with his character, though he went a step further and just replaced his body with the marble statue. Good times.
https://rising-tides.obsidianportal.com/characters/shale-buckby

Yeah, I went with granite because while Marble is great at representing arrogance, arrogance isn't what was wanted here. What was wanted here was durability. Basalt would've been the best, but granite is easier to work with. Besides, it attracts less attention to order a block of granite.

[umdshaman]

Yeah, I went with granite because while Marble is great at representing arrogance, arrogance isn't what was wanted here. What was wanted here was durability. Basalt would've been the best, but granite is easier to work with. Besides, it attracts less attention to order a block of granite.

Item of Power - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai 

[Seidmadr]

Item of Power - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai 

Heh. Yeah. I wonder what's up with those statues in the Dresden Files. I give it about even odds that there is nothing, and that there is something from the spooky side with them.

[g33k]

One thing about burying the voodoo doll... I'd probably allow a savvy wizard-type who figured it out to use this to reverse the protection and apply a "Smothered / No Air" aspect to the character...

Also, as a general case:  what would happen to the protection if someone found the doll and put it inside a ward-circle?  My gut says the protection is suspended 'til the circle is broken.

[Seidmadr]

One thing about burying the voodoo doll... I'd probably allow a savvy wizard-type who figured it out to use this to reverse the protection and apply a "Smothered / No Air" aspect to the character...

Also, as a general case:  what would happen to the protection if someone found the doll and put it inside a ward-circle?  My gut says the protection is suspended 'til the circle is broken.

Yeah. That was the intention. The main drawback of this is circles and thresholds and whatnot.

Hmm. Yeah. I suppose it could work, but I think it'd be far more likely to reverse the cause-effect bond here, so even a small injury in the Wizard will cause damage to the statue.