The Dresden Files > DFRPG

Antagonists

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hollow49:

--- Quote from: mikeryan on June 17, 2007, 10:07:13 PM ---1) Werewolves.

I like the Dresdenverse werewolves, especially the Alphas. I figure that since the Alphas are mostly college kids, they'll have friends and family that are based in places other than Chicago. I think werewolfery is then going to spread beyond Chicago, as they initiate others and those others start their own packs in other cities.

Now the Alphas generally just patrol for supernatural threats, but their progeny might not be so discriminating. I'm thinking there are going to be some mundane muggings and serial rapes that are going to be stopped by the local 'wolves. That's all well and good, but there will be violations of the First Law by these well meaning kids, and that's going to lead them down dark paths. Enter the PCs.

--- End quote ---

I'm not sure that taking werewolf form to attack an enemy is a violation of the First Law. You aren't rendering the enemy helpless by magic, nor harming them directly with your power, just giving yourself an advantage. Personally I would rule this as on a level as creating a magically enhanced weapon for combat - and since that includes the Warden's swords, I rather think that it's one step too far removed for First Law to apply.

mikeryan:

--- Quote from: hollow49 on June 23, 2007, 04:10:47 PM ---I'm not sure that taking werewolf form to attack an enemy is a violation of the First Law. You aren't rendering the enemy helpless by magic, nor harming them directly with your power, just giving yourself an advantage. Personally I would rule this as on a level as creating a magically enhanced weapon for combat - and since that includes the Warden's swords, I rather think that it's one step too far removed for First Law to apply.

--- End quote ---

I see your point, and I don't disagree. However, I am thinking of including elements of intent on Lawbreaking. And beyond that, I make a distinction between what the Council thinks of as law breaking and what the game mechanics require for the stunts.

For the stunts, intent in a big thing (as always, in my game. YMMV). If you intend to kill someone and you use magic to achieve that goal, that counts as a Lawbreaker stunt. It doesn't matter if you take wolf form to hunt down a serial rapist or forge a magic sword or blast them with fire.

Just forging the sword or taking wolf form doesn't count for the stunt. You have to actually try to use it to kill someone. Yes, this means that Wardens will be wracking up Lawbreaker stunts. But they don't go around killing indiscriminately. They pick their targets, and take people for trial when they can.

We've seen that as long as you have a positive refresh rate, you retain free will. And I assume (going by SotC as a model) that advancement will be in the form of receiving new Aspects, which will improve your refresh rate. So it is possible to repeatedly break the Laws and not become a monster. Good thing too, or the Blackstaff would be one scary dude.

In the eyes of the Council, killing someone in self defense or the defense of others is a loop hole that lets you get away with black magic. That doesn't mitigate the damage to your soul (the stunts), but it does give you a "get out of decapitation free" card.

NevynK:
Right I had a couple of ideas for possible villians


1. Rich business mogul with a powerful warlock as his cronie. Trump tries to corner the market using mind altering magics, the WC is too busy to handle him but some of the people affected by his actions happen to take offense and take action. Give my PC some leeway to create characters and back stories. Weave it together to have them meet up and eventually confront the Mogul and his goons, or somehow sabotoge him or any other myriad of possible endings.

2. Evil Teacher w/magic kiddies. Cheesy I know but it works for introducing people to the world. The evil teacher takes a few kids on a "field trip" and tries to enthrall them knowing their potential. Kids have limited, babyish abilities and have to work together to get away from the teach and to safety. Probably segue characters into a magic group for future games.

SoulCatcher78:
Lots of ideas pulled from other games:

1.Preserve nature:  The local fae are in need of your services, a normal meeting/ceremonial/portal area is in danger due to unsanctioned waste disposal.  Convince the mortals to quit dumping on their land or the fae will get nasty.  You could turn this around and have the PC(s) hired by the waste disposal firm to find out who has been sabotaging their operation...not every part of a complex machine is made of iron based material (hoses/belts/tires...you get the idea).  Greedy industrialists or vengeful fae?

2.Everyone loves a Cult: With so many options to choose from, it's going to be hard but think about something really nasty for an outsider...C'thulu, everyones favourite tentacle monster, well maybe not that nasty but bad, bad, bad.  Runaways and homeless people have been disappearing in increasing numbers.  Come to find out there's a blood sacrifice planned or is already in the works as a progressive (gotta beat the clock) deal.  Megalomaniac cult leader and his creepy groupies fill out the cast.

A lot can be pulled from the literature, Trolls are going to be a nice thing to play with I think.  Vamps less so, I think they're better in ones and twos rather than whole clans/tribes/etc.  Just like anything else in the RPG lineup, there's no limit to what you can throw at the PCs as long as you can shoehorn it into the 'verse and make it fun.

Red_Breaker:
Bad guys for my game?  I've got a dozen ideas.  These two are my favorites so far:

#1. The Ghost in the Machine
This one started out as a fairly mundane thing.  A wizard who came into his powers late had real trouble dealing with the magic-makes-tech-go-screwy aspect of his existence, as he was a total technophile prior to his discovery.  After his apprenticeship, he bends all thought to getting around this problem, and eventually hits the solution.  He takes himself on a nice long journey through the Nevernever, and finally hits the place where old technology goes to die.  There, he made contact with a . . . something . . . that didn't want to go quietly into that long night, and cut a deal with him to stay relevant.  So empowered with great technological hoodoo, said wizard returns and starts breaking the technology that made his cthonic master obsolete.  I'm thinking said technology should be something important, like, say, automobiles.  Or telecommunications satellites.

#2. The Death of Fire
The old gods have decided to press issues.  Prometheus stole the Divine Fire from the gods, and now the gods want it back.  Electricity stops working.  Fire follows soon after.  Only magic can conjure fire, and that makes wizards popular real fast.  The White Council flips out, snapped fairly neatly down the middle between 'We could be as messiahs to these people!' and 'Let's help them help themselves, shall we?'  Only hope is a long quest into the Nevernever to get the Divine Fire back.

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