The Dresden Files > DFRPG Resource Collection
Setting up a ward how do you get all the shifts?
devonapple:
--- Quote from: bibliophile20 on December 09, 2010, 03:45:37 PM ---Temporary Aspect: High On Stimulants
Temporary Aspect: Eight Empty 2-Liter Bottles Of Mountain Dew
Temporary Aspect: It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed...
There, solved your problem for staying up... (knows and knows of waaay too many computer geeks...)
--- End quote ---
Well, that would cover 3 Discipline checks.
Watson:
--- Quote from: Drashna on December 09, 2010, 03:44:53 AM ---Just remember, the more shifts you have to control, the more dangerous it gets. one failed control check can kill you. Easily. Picture this: you got a 50 shift spell, you've got 4 shifts left, and roll so poorly that you fail the control check. Either way, your taking 46 shifts of damage, from fallout or backlash. Say bye bye to your wizard. That's the danger of bigger spells. So the pratical limit is the number of shifts of damage you can take. Stress track + 20 (2 mild, 4 moderate, 6 serious, 8 extreme).
--- End quote ---
Note the actual casting of the ritual is not really a problem (once you reach +5 in Discipline, you can easily add one shift of power without risking failing the roll). Though if you had a risk of failing the ritual, I would not raise the complexity to 50 and risk a 50-shift fallout...
As suggested, Endurance could restrict Discilpline for very long rituals.
Watson:
Note that this not only applies for general Wards, but also for Summoning rituals (more specifically the strength of the containment circle).
You don't have to go to really extreme complexities like 50, without too much trouble, a Wizard could (given enough time) easily create a complexity 20+ containment circle, that should hold all creatures summoned.
What bothers me is that, if the Wizard have enough time (and Discipline 5+), the player could simply say "I create a complexity 20 [or 30, or 40 or whatever] containment circle for my summoning, and as I can't fail the roll, so I suppose it is successful, right?". Given enough time and creativity, the player should be able to come up with enough Declarations to make it work.
I am thinking about some kind of restriction, saying that a Wizard can only create a Ward that has a Complexity equal to 2x his Lore skill (modified by any bonuses he might have).
eberg:
--- Quote from: bibliophile20 on December 09, 2010, 03:45:37 PM ---Temporary Aspect: High On Stimulants
Temporary Aspect: Eight Empty 2-Liter Bottles Of Mountain Dew
Temporary Aspect: It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed...
There, solved your problem for staying up... (knows and knows of waaay too many computer geeks...)
--- End quote ---
That's fine and dandy until one of the latter two is compelled so you have to pee. :)
eberg:
--- Quote from: Watson on December 10, 2010, 11:32:48 AM ---What bothers me is that, if the Wizard have enough time (and Discipline 5+), the player could simply say "I create a complexity 20 [or 30, or 40 or whatever] containment circle for my summoning, and as I can't fail the roll, so I suppose it is successful, right?". Given enough time and creativity, the player should be able to come up with enough Declarations to make it work.
--- End quote ---
Remember that thaumaturgical rituals are stories. Something that shifts 40 power isn't served by 20 Resources rolls to gather occult knick-knacks. To do that sort of big juju, you need big ley lines, the stars in the right formation, exactly the right consecrated dagger, a virgin born on the correct day of the correct year, etc. Multiple Declarations raise the bar. By the time you are past the first half dozen, they should be getting into the +6 difficulty range and just gathering what you need should be a task in itself, a sub-plot that can see complications. If you treat rituals (particularly the big ones) as just an exercise in math and game mechanics, it is rife for abuse and really loses something in terms of magic being interesting.
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