The Dresden Files > DFRPG
What will be your Dresden Files house rules?
Kaos Wizard:
I think the thing to keep in mind is that part of the reason that they're using FATE to design the game is that it will allow for more balance in characters, like between a vanilla Police Officer and a Wizard of the White Council. If they had gone with a modified d20 system then there absolutely would be a power difference between characters, there'd be almost no incentive to play a vanilla human being. Not only that, but the use of Aspects in character building helps to build the character's backstory as the character is designed. The fact that a vanilla human being doesn't have a whole magical arsenal at his disposal isn't necessarily a disadvantage. That person can get medical treatment a lot easier, can rely on modern technology, can enter a home uninvited, and is a lot more likely to have contacts with the rest of the vanilla people then your Wizard. A party comprised entirely of Wizards might actually have a real hard time getting around and dealing with the modern world.
Also, don't forget that a player can play a "knight" character without being a Knight of the Cross. Michael and the other knights are just one example of a knighthood in Harry's world. The most important thing is spiritual strength (just like playing any Paladin). You're knight characters don't even have to use swords, or have magical weapons to begin with.
As for the Wizard and apprentice scenario. You really have to have two players really willing to roleplay that situation fairly. I'm always hesitant to put my players in a situation where one person is in charge of another, or the whole group. I usually find that a leader type character naturally evolves in the party, but you can't always predict who that leader will be. I've found that when I've assigned a leadership role to one person they either aren't interested in playing the leader or try to take advantage of the position.
Also with a game that uses aspects the apprentice and Wizard could even be of equal "level" when it comes to the number of aspects they have. The apprentice will just have more non-magical aspects and skills then the Wizard. Not necessarily a drawback if the aspects are useful in the game.
Falar:
--- Quote from: Kaos Wizard on April 19, 2007, 04:28:16 AM ---Also, don't forget that a player can play a "knight" character without being a Knight of the Cross.
--- End quote ---
I'ma be a Knight of Thor and rock it with my sledgehammer. Whut.
King of De Nile:
--- Quote from: Blaze on April 19, 2007, 03:11:34 AM ---No one can say: that building wasn't there last week. (Well they can, but it will be silly.)
--- End quote ---
I dunno, downtown Pittsburgh has been through a lot lately...
We'll probably start with our standard three house rules, and build from there if we need to:
1. Characters are made with group input; nothing worse than multiple characters with the same skills.
2. Once a third of the people leave, the game's over for the night. Go home or start a new, smaller game.
3. No onions on the pizza. Hey, it's my house, my rules!
Samldanach:
I don't know, maybe I've just been lucky in the groups I've been in. We've always aimed for diversity. Part of it is that we're always conscious of covering all the major skill sets. One combat wombat, one skill monkey, one social monster, one reality-defying freak, etc. I think it would be pretty easy to just say, "Hey, people, try to get a range of things going," rather than any hard and fast rules. After all, I find that there are LOTS of excellent examples of character types in the books (and the TV series, for that matter) that aren't wizards at all.
As for balancing the players, that comes down to two things. One, make sure that when abilities have disadvantages, you enforce them. Make your wizard actually sit out of the action when he's brewing potions. Occasionally, make him regret using his evocation at full power. Two, make sure that when characters have advantages, opportunities come up in the game to use them. If a guy makes an IT worker whose advantages include significant disposable income and computer skills, make sure that your stories offer up ways to use money and/or hacking to solve the problem. Then, it doesn't really matter that the wizard might be, on some giant cosmic scale, "better" than the IT worker. Both characters are contributing equally to the story.
taralon:
House rules are looking to be the following:
1) No Knights of the Cross
2) No Wardens
3) No full fledged vampires of any court.
4) No senior council wizards
Council level wizards fine, but no power pools over 30 points, and no more than 40 points in powers. (See the Dresden in Hero's post for Harry's beginning NPC sheet).
I'm thinking about having them run 'powered' versions of themselves since we still have 'self' character sheets from a game we were running until the GM moved out of town. Which would mean that they won't get non-combat dice rolls if they miss things, and that they have to prove that they can do what they claim to be able to do. IE I claimed to be able to drop 15 round magazine of 9mm from a Glock into COM of a man sized target in 14 seconds, so I had to video tape doing it at the range before next game session. We had one guy break into his own car and hotwire it in a certain time frame. One some outre stuff it goes to GM fiat, as some things just aren't doable in the real world without breaking a law.
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