The Dresden Files > DFRPG Resource Collection
Custom Powers Master List (Work In Progress)
Mr. Death:
Yeah, that looks good. Given that the power is going to get pretty much all of its unique utility via the enchanted item slots, I don't see any problem with boosting how many you get, so that you can get more out of it. Honestly, I'd rather have the 6 focus slots, but I can live with 5.
Sanctaphrax:
If Rune Magic gave you 6 slots, then why would anyone ever take Ritual (Crafting)?
Mr. Death:
Not wanting to play a Norse psychopomp? It's like Billy and Harry's discussion on the Warden Sword--it's powerful, but it comes with responsibilities.
Sanctaphrax:
--- Quote from: Mr. Death on February 20, 2012, 10:27:16 PM ---Not wanting to play a Norse psychopomp?
--- End quote ---
That is an awful reason. And not an ordinarily awful reason, a profoundly awful reason.
You should not let a specific character concept make a character more powerful. Because then you are mechanically punishing anyone who does not pick a certain character concept. This is very very very very bad.
Suppose I want to make a Crafter. If I don't pick Rune Magic, then I'm making my character weaker. This might be unfun for me, depending on my personality. So maybe I'll want to be a Valkyrie, even if a Valkyrie doesn't make sense in the campaign. Which puts everyone in a crappy situation.
I'm sure you've heard nightmare stories of powergamers who create incoherent concepts in order to justify their builds. Those nightmare stories are the fault of people who say things like the thing that you just said.
PS: Crafting is possibly the most powerful thing in the game. Making something stronger is not sensible.
Mr. Death:
There is a specific character concept that is more powerful than a lot of others: Wizards. If all anyone cared about was power, then everyone would play Wizards with maxed out magical stats. Some people do base their character decisions on the theme and character concept rather than cramming in all the bonuses they can get away with, after all.
And aren't sponsored magics supposed to have benefits over the standard powers? That's the whole appeal of making a deal with the devil for Hellfire, after all, it gives you more power at less cost than taking Evocation and Thaumaturgy, with the caveat that there's an agenda and debt that come with it. Sure, taking Rune Magic makes you better than a normal ritual crafter with two Refinements. But that ritual crafter doesn't have Odin looking over her shoulder, giving her inconvenient orders and potentially taking away that power if she steps too far out of line.
And I don't see how what I said enables "incoherent concepts," since I meant it the opposite way: The character concept should define the powers, not the other way around. A player shouldn't cherry pick powers and then cram in the concepts to justify it, and a GM ought to step in and say something if he sees that sort of thing happening.
That said, I just noticed the Rune Magic write-up doesn't mention the standard Sponsorship benefits, or is that just not mentioned because, well, it's standard?
And anyway, like I said, while I'd prefer 6, I can live with 5, so if it's that big a deal, go ahead and write it up that way.
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