The Dresden Files > DFRPG Resource Collection
Custom Powers Master List (Work In Progress)
Sanctaphrax:
Boon of the Fisher King.
Though today he seems to be little more than a senile old man, the Fishers King is in fact a very old and very powerful faerie. He is remembered in the mortal legends of Bran the blessed and king Arthur - the wounded monarch on which the vitality of the land depends, his life sustained by the magic cauldron that can restore the dead to life. Later the title fisher king was tied into the Christian idea of Jesus as the fisher of men, and the legends interwove into the tales of Joseph of Arimathaea and christianised. All things considered it's not surprising the poor guy doesn't really know who he is any more.
In the legends with his vitality curtailed by his wound, the monarch is surrounded by a wasteland. The return of the cauldron (or grail) by his questing knights allows him to hold back the decay and the land live again once more. But it is a never ending battle and can only be achieved with the help of those who can share his vision and enact it- alone he is still the wounded impotent king.
The Fisher King is fond of sending his people on quests which allow them to test themselves and discovered powers, skills and talents that have been lying dormant with in them. Thus he assists them to learn more of themselves and fulfil their full potential. As a result the creative powers of the king are now focused on inspiring the people around him - consider it similar to the Greek muses. And this is the power he gifts to those of his court,
Sponsored magic
Description: The spells performed under the power of the Fisher kings boon derive from the questing and 'muse'. They also have a certain level of healing that is drawn from the cauldron of life; though most of that power is being used elsewhere (see the pool of LIFE section)
Cost: 4 (- the usual reductions if you have evocation or Thaumaturgy but most of those using this magic are Faerie or changelings and thus won't benefit from the discount.)
Benefits: Where as the powers of the courts of the queens focus on evocations, the Fisher king is more Thaumaturgy orientated. For example;
•Conjurations to allow the 'visions' to be shared and ideas to be prototyped,
•Divination to assist in the quests,
•Crafting of items of power so chosen mortals can be gifted the ability to excel.
There is also a massive amount of psychomancy going on, as the mortal artists and scientists that attract the attention of the Faerie are 'inspired' to greater achievements in the goal of driving back the wasteland.
Limitation: The power is derived from the Fisher King, it is essentially creative, any attempt to carry out an activity that would expand the wasteland, or discourage a mortals creativity would clash. Destructive spells would only be appropriated as 'self defence' -or defending a protected mortal, or one of their creations.
TOUGHNESS
Physical Renewal
Refresh Cost: -8
Through some quirk of fate, you have been given the power to recover from wounds like no other. For a Fate Point once per scene, you may heal from All non-Extreme, physical-based consequences, be they Mild, Moderate, or Severe, as a Full Action. Such power does not come without cost, as your will is taxed to the limit doing this, and your body is just barely healed of your consequences: Your Mental and Physical stress tracks are filled as a result of using this power(if not already filled). Strenuous activity after this healing is not recommended. (Note: Consequences taken before using this power still count toward Fate Point gains if you Concede or are Taken Out)
The Catch and Only the Catch (-3)
Life for Mortals is not fair, get over it!
Must: 1 Toughness Power
World Don’t Work That Way!: Your Toughness Powers can only be overcome by the Catch and only the Catch. This Power counts as a Toughness Power for determining total cost.
(Designer Note: If the Catch for the Toughness Powers are too unreasonable a Game Master can disallow a Player from choosing this Power; so as to prevent some super-munchkin from taking an absurd Catch and making it the only way to harm them.)
[-3] There Is No Salvation
There are many powers in the world that make it their business to level the playing field and give inferior creatures a "fair" chance by rewarding their inferiority.
Sometimes though, rejoice, despair, Fate does not care. This is where you come in; removing all external crutches you put all creatures in their rightful place in the world.
Effect: Pay a Fate point. For the duration of the scene, only your actual catch can negate your toughness and recovery powers.
Inhuman Stoicism [-2]
Description: Your mind is abnormally stout, withstanding far more abuse then the average human.
Musts: No protection against self-inflicted attacks or stress is provided. You must attach this power to an appropriate mental Catch (page YS:185).
Skills Affected: Conviction (page YS:124), other mental skills.
Effects:
Hard to Twist. You naturally have Armor:1 against all mental stress.
Hard to Break. You have two additional boxes of mental stress capacity.
Supernatural Stoicism [–4]
Description: Your mind can handle trauma that would normally destroy a person.
Musts: This ability replaces Inhuman Stoicism. No protection against self-inflicted attacks or stress is provided. You must attach this power to an appropriate mental Catch (page YS:185).
Skills Affected: Conviction (page YS:124), other mental skills.
Effects:
Harder to Twist. You naturally have Armor:2 against all mental stress.
Harder to Break. You have four additional boxes of mental stress capacity.
Mythic Stoicism [–6]
Description: The durability of your mind is beyond the mortal scale.
Musts: You must have permission to purchase this ability. This ability replaces Inhuman or Supernatural Stoicism. No protection against self-inflicted attacks or stress is provided. You must attach this power to an appropriate mental Catch (page YS:185).
Skills Affected: Conviction (page YS:124), other mental skills.
Effects:
Nearly Impossible to Twist. You naturally have Armor:3 against all mental stress.
Nearly Impossible to Break. You have six additional boxes of mental stress capacity.
Inhuman Mental Resilience (-1)
You add 1 to your mental stress track. There is no catch vs this power, and you can not take other powers that would increase your mental stress. (Stoicism for instance.)
Supernatural Mental Resilience (-2)
Add 2 boxes to your mental stress. This power otherwise acts like Inhuman Mental Resilience.
Mythic Mental Resilience (-3)
Add 3 boxes to your mental stress. This Power otherwise functions like inhuman mental Resilience.
TRUE FAITH
Skepticism beyond Reason [-1]
Description: People believe in many things. You believe they're idiots. Religion is hogwash. Monsters are just silly legends. Magic doesn't exist. You have faith in science and reason and nothing will sway you from it.
Musts: This power does not count as a supernatural ability, but every other supernatural power you take increases the cost of this power by 1. After all, it's hard to cast a fireball one round and then say you don't believe in magic the next. Your must have a high concept referencing your complete disbelief in the supernatural.
Effects:
There Must Be a Rational Explanation: Your disbelief in the Supernatural is solid. You always have a +2 bonus to resist belief in the supernatural, and those trying to convince you get no benefit from declarations that are based on the truth of their claims or the strength of their conviction. You may defend against all such attacks with either conviction or scholarship. Treat any attempt to convince you of the supernatural, or any use of a supernatural power in your presence as a social attack.
True Nonbeliever: Your belief in science is absolute. Petty things like "witness accounts," "evidence," or "personal experience" won't shake your faith. You believe science holds the potential to solve all mankind's problems, if only it weren't held up by those superstitious flat-earthers. Symbols of science count as symbols of your faith, and satisfy appropriate catches on monsters. Your house and any place of science are treated as holy ground when you are present, and you raise their thresholds by 2.
I Don't Believe in Fairies: Your presence satisfies the catch on all faekind. Additionally, you deal damage against tulpas and any other constructs whose existence is based solely on belief in them.
This Can't Be Happening: [-1] Your utter disbelief in the supernatural gives you +2 to avoid the effects of any supernatural influence on you. However, you automatically oppose any helpful supernatural effects at +2 as well. By default you resist with the higher of conviction or scholarship.
Void of Faith (-4)
Believing against Belief is a funny and frightening thing.
Must: Must have a High Concept that rejects the faith entirely, and can never have or take any True Faith or Spellcraft Powers.
“I Care Not for Your Superstitious Beliefs!”: You ignore the effects of Bless This House has on Thresholds.
“I Reject Your Faith!”: You gain Physical Immunity to all Holy/Unholy damage that ignores the general rule of “Faith Trumps All”.
Home is Where You Make It [-1] This character carries his threshold with him, he may, with or without any special objects, setup a threshold with a value of two given adequate time to prepare (5-15 minutes). If the threshold is being setup in the open, then the size is up to the GM. It can be used to strengthen the existing threshold of a building by one. This power stacks with "Bless this House".
Faith Healing [-2]
Musts: You must have taken the Guide My Hand and Righteousness powers in order to take this ability.
You may use your Conviction skill to declare justification for your own or another character’s recovery from moderate or severe consequences of any type, even without access to proper facilities, given time to pray and (for another character) lay hands upon the character in question. In addition, you may spend a Fate Point to allow another character to heal from a Consequence as though it were one level lower in severity. So, the subject would recover from moderate consequences as though they were mild, etc. Consequences reduced below mild are always removed by the beginning of a subsequent scene.
Holy Magic -1
Musts: At least one aspect, preferably the High Aspect, has to explain the innate holiness of your magics
Must have Holy Touch, Righteousness, and either channeling, evocation or sponsored magic.
Your evocation attacks, maneuvers, blocks and defenses are treated as "Holy", as in the Holy Touch ability.
Holy Weaponry [-1]
Description: Your sacred power extends beyond your body to envelop the weapons you wield.
Musts: You must have the Holy Touch power in order to purchase this one.
Effect:
Holy Weaponry. You may apply the effects of Holy Touch to weapons that you wield.
Miracle Man [-1]
Description: You are able to perform old school miracles, but at great cost.
Effect:
Bargain For Miracle. Negotiate with your gm for an appropriate cost in fate points for each miracle you perform. This power is potentially limitless in scope, given enough fate points.
[-2] Aegis Daemon Shield - Your very presence, backed by the force of your rock solid Faith, is anathema to Supernatural beings of malicious or ill intent. Effects; The Emperor Protects. You may spend a Fate Point to create a shield of True Faith around yourself and your zone. This shield functions as a zone border with a value equal to the user's Conviction against all supernatural creatures that oppose the user, reduces the power and control of evocations that target characters inside of it by the user's Conviction, and reduces all stress inflicted by the natural attacks of supernatural creatures that oppose the user to characters inside of it by the user's Conviction. This effect only lasts one exchange, but it can be extended indefinitely at the cost of a supplemental action each exchange.
VAMPIRISM
Magic Eater[-2] - Anyone who makes the mistake of targeting a magic eater with magic shouldn't be surprised when it back fires dramatically.
When ever targeted by magic a magic eater can spend their turn in advance to wrestle control of a spell from the caster (direct discipline contest). Succeeding this contest allows the magic eater to redirect the spell to his chosen target.
Fountainhead of Blood [–2]
Description: You've somehow managed to cut the metaphysical ties that exist between master and servant. You are no longer beholden to the Red King, and are a sovereign in your own right.
Musts: When you gain this power, you must change your High Concept to reflect your new status as the fountainhead of a new bloodline of red court vampires.
Skills Affected: Discipline, Social Skills.
Effects:
Self Control. Your control over the thirst is unparalleled, you gain +1 to your Discipline when using it defensively.
Deeper Reserves. You are the most powerful vampire in your bloodline. Add two boxes to the length of your hunger stress track.
Liege Lord. You are the fountainhead of a new bloodline of red court vampires. Any social skills used against other vampire courts or bloodlines gain a +1 bonus. Increase this to +2 when dealing with members of your own bloodline.
Improved Feeding [-1]. If you purchase this upgrade you gain a +2 (instead of a +1) on subsequent attacks after causing your enemy to bleed, in a grapple you do two extra stress instead of just one. You may also use the Taste of Death of effect of the Blood Drinker power twice per scene instead of only once, however you must spend a fate point to use it the second time.
Mana Locust (Vampirism; -2)
Detect Magic: Within your zone, you may attempt to detect the presence of magic (defined as effects created by or individuals possessing Spellcasting Powers) via an Alertness or Investigation roll. Success provides awareness of the presence of magic, and identifies individuals with Spellcasting Powers if you are already aware of them.
Magic Drain: Whenever an effect created by a Spellcasting Power originates from or targets your zone, its effectiveness is reduced by two shifts.
Mageslayer: Add +1 to close personal combat attacks made against characters possessing Spellcasting Powers.
Mana Plague (Vampirism; -1)
Musts: Mana Locust
Magic Drought: Magic Drain reduces three shifts of power.
The Taste of Death: Once per scene, if you inflict enough stress and consequences from feeding to kill a character with Spellcraft Powers, you may take an immediate "free" recovery period equal to an extra scene.
Area Drinker -4
The character leeches upon the vitality of their surroundings as a whole: people, animals, plants, and all. Each day, they roll Conviction to feed - this affects a radius in zones equal to ten times the numberical value of the numerical value of the result on the ladder (and the character must remain within this area for the whole day) - the affected area takes on an Aspect of "Depleted," which can be compelled and invoked to cause illness and decreptitude, and against the healing of physical consequences suffered by inhabitants (inhabitant being defined as someone who last slept in the affected area). The effect is cumulative if multiple characters with this power feed.
Manipulate Dream -2
This power allows the character to incite or alter a target's dreams. In general, this is a contest of Deceit vs the victim's Discipline - success allows the character to lay an Aspect on the dreamscape, which can be tagged or invoked to ease further manipulations, or the use of other powers such as Dream Vampirism. Aspects on dreams can be environmental ("everything grows dark"), emotional ("everything is inexplicably frightening"), or an incorporated element or monster ("beware the jabberwock"). [Mortals can take a Lucid Dreaming stunt for Discipline, which allows them to use this power on their own dreams, which counters the manipulations of others]
Dream Vampirism -1
This is carried out using the same system as Emotion Feeding, using the vampire's Decit vs the victim's Discipline - as the name implies, it can only be used on a target who is currently dreaming - however, any Aspects laid on a dream by the Manipulate Dream power can be tagged or invoked to benefit feeding. Some Dream vampires draw on emotional energy, while some siphon life force more directly - the only mechanical difference is that the former inflicts psychological stress and the latter physical - decide which one this character does (they can't pick and choose).
Quackerjack:
Thanks for all the work!
Sanctaphrax:
You're welcome.
The question is, what now?
The plan is to reformat and rewrite everything until it's all balanced and decent-looking. But looking at the list, it's obvious that that's going to take a while.
In the meantime...is this worthy of a move onto the Resources board?
I don't think it's polished enough, really, but I want to make it easier for people to find.
Also, I'm having some second thoughts about the rewrite plan. I worry that I'm going to destroy some of what the original authors had in mind.
Well, I guess I can contact most of those original authors easily enough. Getting their input and approval on rewrites would be very helpful.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.
Quackerjack:
If you move this to the Resources Board, why not tag it as [Beta]?
Sanctaphrax:
I suppose I could do something like that.
Though I can't actually move to the Resources Board myself. Only a mod can do that.
Anyway, a few powers caught my eye while I was compiling that list. I'm going to take a stab at rewriting them now. And I'm going to ask the original authors for input while I do it.
The powers I have in mind are Displacement, Transcendent Music, and Spiritual Weapon.
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