The Dresden Files > DFRPG

[DFA] Focused Practitioners!

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Sanctaphrax:
It makes sense.

I do have a basic understanding of DFA. I read the book. But not carefully, and not recently. And I never played it or brewed for it. So I can't really provide mechanical analysis.

Troy:
Kleptomancy
Magical Sponge: You naturally absorb (inadvertently or not) magical energy. You get Armor:2 against magical attacks and +1 to overcome magic-based obstacles with Force.

Kleptomancer: Mark Exhausted. For the rest of the scene you can duplicate any magical power you witness or have used against you, mimicking their approach and action. You are capable of “borrowing” more than one spell or power in a scene, but can only retain one at a time for continual use. For example, if a necromancer strikes you with a flesh-rotting bolt of entropic energies, you can do the same to him until such a time you choose to abandon that magic for some other spell you see in action (Fuego!, for example).

Into the Abyss: Mark Burned Out to make any zone in which you are currently inhospitable to the use of magic. If anyone attempts to use magic in your zone they must add +2 to the opposition; if their magic doesn’t prompt opposition, they must first overcome Fair (+2) opposition to use it. It’s as if their magic is just sucked into nothingness. This lasts until the end of the scene or sunrise, whichever comes first.

Stunt Suggestions
“Borrowed” Power: If you are aiding in the casting of magical ritual, you can use magical energies you have siphoned during your experiences to pay one cost of the spell in lieu of accepting a complication. You may do this once per scenario.

Mana Static: When using Into the Abyss, spellcasters and other magical powers face Great (+4) opposition in order to use their powers.

Thaumavore: Absorbing magic empowers you. When you successfully defend against magical attacks or overcome magical obstacles using your power, in addition to other effects, you gain a Filled With Energy boost reflecting the sort of magic you absorbed. You may only have one such boost at a time.

Notes
This was inspired by the minor talent in the DFRPG called Mana Static. They talked about some people, perhaps even fledgling wizards, just being able to glitch technology the same way that practitioners do when they cast spells. When I saw the name of the power, I thought it meant someone who prohibited magic from working around them. Mana - magical power. Static - unmoving. So, with a little help from Venture City Stories, I worked up this ability.

The first tier ability is just a passive power for all intents and purposes. When magic comes at you, it has a lesser effect. When you actively use your ability to absorb magic, you get a slight increase to do so. I imagine this would be something that comes in handy if someone wanted to push their way past a ward or something.

The second tier ability is the cool one! You don't really have magical powers of your own, but you can "borrow" them when you're nearby. It gives you a bit more versatility depending on what's going on in your story.

The third tier ability is the ultimate expression of the power, where you just become a black hole singularity when it comes to magic. I wonder if kleptomancers are employed by the White Council or hunted by them...

The Stunts are just improvements to the natural abilities. "Borrowed" Power is one I think is cool. You can just use some stored up magical energy to help empower a spell one of your buddies is casting.

Troy:
Luxomancy
Luxomancer: Your magic enables you to create and manipulate light. Of course, creating or banishing light tends to draw a lot of attention. You can use Flair to create advantages in this way and your luxomancy operates on a Supernatural Scale.

Illuminated Reflections: Mark Exhausted. Gaze into any reflective surface in order to see the events that transpired in said reflective surface, effectively viewing the past. You can do this for the rest of the scene. These visions are as clear as the surface in which you’re viewing and, being only images, there is no sound, but you can “rewind” or “fast forward” or “pause” to your heart’s content. By making a successful overcome roll using Intellect you can even witness events transpiring presently as long as you have some connection to your target and your target is near a reflective surface. The GM will determine the opposition.

Divine Radiance: Mark Burned Out. Your luxomancy operates at the Otherworldly Scale for the duration of the scene.

Stunt Suggestions
Dazzler: You use awesome displays of dancing colors, flashing lights, and mesmerizing patterns to incite emotion among onlookers. You get +2 to create advantages using Flair when you do this.

Frickin’ Laser Beams: Use your luxomancy to attack using Haste. These attacks must be line of sight, but can be in any zone in which you can see.

Luminous Revelation: Your magic can reveal objects hidden to you with a shining beam of light. You get +2 to Overcome using Focus when looking for something hidden in your zone.

Notes
The luxomancer is a pretty basic template, taking my cue from Dazzler of the X-Men, I avoided making this magic combat oriented. I imagine that someone with this Talent will discover their power through peaceful means, so it will take a bit of effort to use it for attack. Another out of the box thing I did was allow for the manipulation of light to affect reflections and give the character scrying powers. The Luminous Revelations stunt is also a form of divination. So, I guess I was thinking that luxomancy is primarily used for knowledge and defense, as Yoda might say.

Troy:
Iteramancy
Iteramancer: You possess the potent magical ability of moving from place to place without regard to barriers. Paranetters have many theories about how such magic works with the most prominent being that the iteramancer somehow traverses inter-dimensional pathways or transmits their material form instantaneously through any medium. Regardless, you (and whatever you’re wearing or carrying) can move through walls, doors, or other physical barriers without difficulty as long as you are touching them. This source of opposition is just off the table for you. When you encounter magical barriers or those with a Threshold, you get +2 to Intellect to overcome them using your ability. At the GMs discretion, your iteramancy operates at the supernatural scale.

Traverse: Mark Exhausted. Move instantaneously from one place to another, or move any object you can fit in your hand from one place to another, as long as such is in your line of sight. You may do this for the rest of the scene and it is your action in an exchange. If something opposes you in this endeavor, roll Force to overcome. Even if your roll doesn’t go well, you can still traverse but at a cost to be determined by the GM.

Gateway: Mark Burned Out. You tear an opening in the fabric of reality between your location and any other place you have ever been. This gateway can be as large or as small as you need it to be and remains open until sunrise. People, objects, environmental factors or whatever, only move through the gate at your discretion. You may grant permission for some things to pass through the gate, but not others, and you dictate if and when the gate is one-way or two-way at your whim. For example, you may dictate that anyone can travel through the gate, but only your allies can come back through from the other direction; or you can dictate that only left-handed red-headed women born on the 4th of July can traverse the gateway. Enacting these restrictions (or lack thereof) are your action in an exchange.

Stunt Suggestions
Anchorpoint: You can mark a location with a mystic rune or arcane circle. From that point forward, you may Traverse to that location regardless of where you are. Only one location can be thus marked at a time. If you opt to make a new location your anchorpoint, your previous runes will mystically erase themselves.

Gatecrasher: You get an additional +2 to Intellect when attempting to overcome magical barriers using your iteramancy.

Passengers: Normally your magic only affects yourself or what you have on your person. With this level of proficiency you may take others with you when you use your iteramancy powers as long as they are in physical contact with you.

Pathways: The iteramancer always knows where they are and maintains a flawless sense of direction. Furthermore, with a moment’s concentration and a successful overcome roll (Approach and opposition at the GMs discretion), she can calculate a route between two points which meets the criteria she needs. The more criteria, the more complicated the route and higher the opposition. This Minor Talent is often possessed by a city’s best Uber drivers.

Notes
This is travel magic! I imagine that these sorts of Focused Practitioners are the ones who have created flying carpets and brooms and cars and bicycles and stuff like that. They probably also make magical maps or maps of places that don't exist in the real world. Maybe they are experts on traveling the Nevernever. They are probably prized as messengers and thieves because of their ability to go anywhere they please. The first tier ability is like being a master lock picker or burglar... locks, walls, doors are just not an obstacle to you. The second tier ability is a natural evolution -- you disappear and reappear wherever you like as long as you can see where you're going (inspired by Nightcrawler of the X-Men!). The third tier ability is a natural evolution of that power where you just make gateways to wherever you like. I imagine that in ages past, this was used to move armies surreptitiously into an enemy's territory or to evacuate entire populations in the event of a natural disaster.

The Stunts just seemed like things that make sense. You're a practitioner and you have a sanctum, so you can probably teleport there any time you want using Anchorpoint. You can be adept and getting through Thresholds and wards with Gatecrasher. Passengers allows you to help your allies make a clean getaway. Pathways is a Talent that I imagine manifests to the fledgling iteramancer; a form of divination, it's how they might discover they have this magic within them.

Questions? Comments? Critiques? I'd love to see them all.
Thank you so much for your time!

Sanctaphrax:
Maybe it's just because I'm a Dungeon Meshi fan, but I'd like the ability to use teleportation in combat. Moving your opponents around, teleporting them into stuff, maybe teleporting stuff into them.

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