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Topics - g33k

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46
DF Spoilers / What does Ivy know?
« on: July 31, 2019, 12:00:56 AM »
We know that she sees/knows/whatever everything that gets written down.

We have WoJ, IIRC, that this includes teh Interwebz.

What about non-text?  Drawings, paintings, etc?  Does she "know" all the labels on a technical drawing, but not see the image they are labeling?  She know all the praise heaped in print onto the Mona Lisa, but does she need to go see it in-person to know what all the hype is about?

She saw the script for Star Wars (and every other movie, including those that never got beyond the script) but does she "see" the movies that are made, as they are recorded onto film (and now digital)?

Speaking of digital (and teh Interwebz) -- that all comes down to 1's & 0's, which is textual (digits being text) in addition to being logical... so does that mean everything online, not just stuff that's obviously-text?


I mean, I can see all manner of grand strategic (and even close-tactical) advantages.

But... I'm being kind of skeeved-out here.  All that porn, all that hate-speech, private journals of the psychotic, etc etc etc...  In the head of little Ivy.
 
What about it, folks?  Ya got any sort of relief for me, from my creepy ideas?

47
DF Spoilers / What is the scope of a Soulgaze?
« on: July 09, 2019, 07:00:58 PM »
We know that it's part of the Wizard's Sight.

We know it lets a wizard see the core or essence of a person (and be seen, in return).

Several seem to be "snapshot of the soul" events, where some archetypal symbolic "tableau" is emplaced.  Thomas in the black-and-white desolate Olympus, facing his demon in the mirror; Marcone's sterile steel "tiger's soul;" Rasmussen chained to the cliffside; etc.

Others are different.

Helen Beckitt was re-living her daughter's "death," a clear and distinct memory.

Molly was a hall-of-mirrors many; like a bunch of future-soulgazes (which launches a whole new notion -- are we seeing the first instances of Harry having time powers alongside his other known strengths?).
 
===

Maybe it's no more than Jim using them for dramatic purpose; that there isn't so much a "unified theory" as a vague theme centered around what can happen in a Soulgaze.

Is there WoJ?  Or a more-expansive exposition scene by Harry, or Bob?

(I post here in Spoilers in case there's a Soulgaze I don't know of, in a recent short / comic I haven't read)
 

48
DF Books / Does the WhiteCouncil know Justin had a 2nd apprentice?
« on: July 09, 2019, 06:41:10 PM »
We know that they don't know Elaine was DuMorne's apprentice.  She successfully fooled Ramirez into believing she wasn't quite strong enough to be WC'ed.  They don't connect her to DuMorne at all.

But... do they "know of" that 2nd apprentice, at least as a matter of history?  Is it unequivocally stated (either way) anywhere?

I think they likely do know.  They had Harry, who wasn't likely to "defend" or "hide" Elaine, since he expected she was dead when they questioned him.  If they searched, the Summer Court protections would have blocked their searches the same as they later blocked Harry's.

He'd have testified that she trapped him for Justin's mental assault.  "Justin's other apprentice attacked me" is part of Harry's defense.

It's also possible that the ruins held signs of another resident, that the labs showed signs of a 2nd apprentice; there may have been "women's stuff" around -- clothing, accessories, etc, unlikely to be either Justin's or Harry's.

Finally... didn't they both attend public school?  They did homework together, did magic together, did... other stuff together.  But the public-school records would have revealed the DuMorne enrolled TWO students.

He also may have mentioned her to Eb, out at Hog Wallow farm.  Young guy, still processing on his First Love betraying him, and coming to respect Eb... Harry ain't exactly a gushing fount of emote-all-over, but getting the wisdom of a respected elder on a very troubling matter... THAT I can see.

(edit to correct an issue of what Harry saw during the fire)

49
DF Spoilers / Who is on the Grey Council?
« on: May 22, 2019, 11:47:02 PM »
Like it says on the tin...

Eb, for sure.  Founder after all!
Harry, as a "junior" member.

Vadderung, almost certainly.
Rashid, I think.
Listens to Wind, I think.
Ancient Mai, I think.
Mab (if they can bring themselves to trust her enough; or identify sufficient risk-mitigation).
...
After that, I'm really unsure.

50
DFRPG / Publicity?
« on: April 16, 2019, 03:37:46 AM »
Hey...  just had a thought...
 
Might it be possible to make a list of folk that were active on the jim-butcher.com version of the forum, but haven't been active on the Paranet, and drop an invitation to their e-mails of record?
 
I'm sure plenty of them know of the new site and are just "not getting around to it," but for some, it may just have dropped off the radar...
 

51
DFRPG / Still "the official site?" Does Iago visit/answer?
« on: July 11, 2018, 07:47:49 PM »
So, yeah.
Pretty much as per the topic.  Is this still any sort of "official" for EH, or just another social media account like FB or Reddit or whatever?
And, is this a "good" place to query (as in, get the attention of Iago / EH, and a likely reply if he/they deem it worth posting said reply to a forum about new DFRPG/DFA/etc content, ask about errata, "official" rulings, etc... ?  And yes, I do realize they have a pretty hands-off & minimalistic approach to "official rulings" and the like ...

52
DFRPG / general (non-DF) Fate forum?
« on: January 03, 2018, 08:03:51 PM »
Hi, folks...

What (in y'alls humble opinions) are the best places for general "fate" discussion and insight?  Variations like "Strange Fate" and "Strands of Fate" and FAE and etc etc etc.  What does one do more-readily than another?  What are the "sweet spots" of each?  And so forth...

My gaming-group met on NewYearsEve, not for RPG but doing sundry board/party/etc games with lots of finger-foods in a play/munch/party/visit/etc evening; there was discussion of "next (RPG) game," and I asked after an idea someone had mentioned last RPG session -- a world-hopping / parallel-planes sort of game.

Previously, I had been all "Welp, looks like Luther Arkwright!" (a sourcebook for Mythras (in the BRP/d100 family) based on the British graphic novels about that character' and a very worthy game (&setting) if you're looking around for Gaming Goodness!).

But in this more-recent conversation, I learned that the player was interested in a much more Fate-y style game, with collaborative world-building and narrative-emphasis characters, etc.  And while I know of no "parallel planes" setting pre-done for Fate, there are sooo many worlds out for Fate that a parallel-planes-hopping campaign is pretty easy to implement!

But I'd like to find a venue where all-flavors-of-Fate are equally discussed and disected...  and hopefully, a venue not on the verge of closing up shop  :'(

Any suggestions?

53
DFRPG / JUST like the Dresdenverse... but not!
« on: December 07, 2016, 10:39:43 PM »
    I am considering a DFRPG game, because almost all my players know and like the DF novels; but:
    • I don't want to get into the issue of degrees to which different people remember the "canon" of DF novels/shorts, and differences-of-opinion as to what-things-meant, etc.
    • Not everyone is equally up-to-date in the stories
    • I don't want to get into the canonical plot/metaplot issues, including where-in-the-series (esp. pre/post "Changes") our game begins
    • I don't want to stray into FanFic / MarySue territory, e.g. "My character is a BFF of Karrin Murphy"
    • I *DO* want to start with lots of unknown setting-details they can discover in-character, through play.  I'm planning to start maybe feet-in-the-water'ish (a bit clued-in, but most of what they "know" is pretty vague, no detail)

    The rules (both Dresdenverse metaphysic, and DFRPG mechanics) and the "feel" of my 'verse will be the same-ish (I hope!), but few-to-none of the specifics will match.  I'm hoping for some input/suggestions from the community here (hence, this post!) .

    Some of my WIP ideas (so far, all subject to change):

    I'm envisioning TWO sorts of diversion from Dresden canon.   First: most of the supernatural elements will be similar-flavored but differently-detailed...
    • NO Denarians with 30 coins.  Probably instead the Seven Deadly Sins (one demon per, each with their own cultic followers); probably delving into Islamic "Iblis/Shaytan" and Hebraic "ha-satan," and possibly deciever/destructor figures from older mythologies.
    • NO "Knights of the Cross."  Probably a different (and varying) number of "relic-wielders:"  sometimes just a few, sometimes dozens.  The Church tries to identify these and offer them support, protection, etc (as per DF Knights); but these are direct Servants of God, and the Church isn't really in charge (the Boss got that "ineffable" thang goin' on, doncha know!).  Some relics/wielders pass through the world unknown to the Church!.  N.B:  not all are "warrior" types!
    • "Enlightened" and/or "holy" folk of other faiths (not just Abrahamic), with similar Holy Powers.
    • YES to Blampires (I just can't let go of "Stoker's Guide to Vampire-Slaying" ! ;-) ) but a bit tweaked, likely a bit AnitaBlake-ish (different bloodlines = different powers) but always classic Blampire weaknesses (no Blakeian "Day-Walkers" dammit!).
    • NO Whampires/Rampires; however, different-sorts-of-Vamps will still be A Thing:
      • Ashanti Asanbosam
      • Philippine Asawang
      • Japanese Nukekubi
      • others from 'round the world
      • probably I'll add at least 1 wholly-invented sort (I'm working on a "Dream-Thief" vamp).
    • ? ? ? Faeries -- deprecating the Winter/Summer thing, mostly.  I'm considering a much-more-folkloric (and thus more-regional & less-unified) view
      • Norse/Teutonic Ljosalfar/Dokkalfar (most-similar to DF-canon Summer/Winter)
      • Celtic "Fair Folk" and then Yeats' "Trooping/Solitary" division, with bits of Seelie/Unseelie sometimes crossing that.
      • Many other somewhat-faerie folkloric traditions (such as when the Blackstaff showed up with a small army of Kenku (traditionally called a form of "goblin" or even "demon" by some, but IMHO much more faerie-like) )
      • Various other "Nevernever" beings may be "faerie-like" or not, depending
      • There is DEFINITELY still a Wild Hunt!  (I'd be too afraid of the consequences of slighting Them!)

Second, there will be some "alt-history" vs. the Dresdenverse; MANY things happened differently over the past few millenia:
  • NO singular "White Council" of wizards.  Probably instead something more fragmented:
    • a semi-feudal "Olde Council" in Europe
    • a semi-democratic "New Council" in North America
    • a "Celestial Bureaucracy" governing Asian wizards... from a "court" in the Nevernever!
    • a more-fragmented / non-governing group (except in the face of threat) of Afro+Caribbean Vodun/Bo Traditions
    • etc...
  • Kemmler happened.  In fact, the Olde Council power-structure is STILL in shambles!
  • Major "geosupernatural" tensions on the border of "New Council" and Vodun territories
  • etc...

Basically, I'm looking at a 'verse that -- if I were to write it up in novelization form -- is clearly an homage to DF at best (and probably just a cheap rip-off).  But as my in-house RPG... it's BOTH an homage AND a cheap rip-off, and I'm OK with that!

Extra brainstorming & input -- and criticisms of anything obviously or inobviously "broken" that I've missed -- are very very welcome!

54
DFRPG / so ... DunDraCon ?
« on: October 26, 2016, 05:14:36 PM »
Coming up in the San Francisco Bay Area this February 17-20 (USAian President's Day Weekend) is DunDraCon.
http://www.dundracon.com/
It's a really nice little/local 'Con!  And with quite a history ... this being DDC 41 (yeah, forty-one!)

Anyone planning to run DFRPG there?  <nudge, nudge>  They are still accepting GM-proposals (through late December).  The 'Con waives the registration-fee and gives "priority registration" (into another game) for anyone who runs a full game (aim for 6ish players for 6-8 hours, although more/fewer players for more/fewer hours are possible).

Or, really, ANY implementation of Fate core-ish (rather than FAE) ...

I remain under-exposed to any really good examples in-play of the Fate engine.  Sure, I've seen write-ups and I've played in DFRPG games... but nothing that has really provided that "a-ha" moment where I *see* why Fate gets so much love.  I have an abstract/intellectual sense of the thing, but not a FEEL for it... if you know what I mean.

So, I'm hoping for another pass at this.  Not just a regular "gaming-session" game, but an RPG used as an exposition of why and HOW the Fate mechanics excel at the things where it does excel.

Of course, I'm also interested in straight-up games, without my trying to grok things or the GM trying to showcase the mechanics...   ;D
 

55
DFRPG / Character, custom stunts, please comment: Dresdenverse "Jedi"
« on: April 01, 2014, 08:54:10 PM »
Jedidiah Joseph Ronald Talbot
(Jay, or JJ, to his friends; "Jedidiah" to his family)

geek and deluded "Jedi Apprentice"



After a 6-movie Star Wars marathon on Saturday with his Sci-Fi club,
and a mix of Jackie Chan movies & various anime all day (and far
into the night) on Sunday with the anime club, JJ walked into school
Monday morning very short of sleep and still running on a high of
heroics and slapstick action-comedy.

At 10:11AM, during recess, the bullies of his high-school (a clique
made of guys from the wrestling team and linebackers from the
football team) ambushed JJ in the bathroom, with the object of
"teaching the geek a lesson" via repeatedly flushing his head.

Always much quicker than average (an early but un-realized forebear
of his magical powers), JJ had actually dodged the first three
attempts to grab him, but he was blindsided by one of the wrestlers
and hit the ground hard; the football players dogpiled on, and a
few moments later he was dragged to his feet, and over to a toilet
stall.

It was at this moment that his "Force Powers" manifested.  Suddenly,
with a simple "thrust" gesture, even the heaviest opponent could be
shoved backwards; with a reaching or grasping motion, he could pull
objects to him; with a wave, he could move them about.

Suddenly, the one-sided fight was one-sided in the other direction,
hilariously so.  Stall-doors whacked JJ's assailants in the face,
hit them from behind, knocked them into one another.  Paper towels
streamed off their rolls like pale brown pythons, wrapping around
arms, tripping legs, tying the bullies in knots.  Sinks and toilets
sprayed water in their faces, under their feet, or hit with firehose
force.  Before 10:13AM, it was all over.



The school was never able to make sense of the reports.  Eleven
trained athletes (known bullies and troublemakers, all) complained
of being "assaulted" by a (notably non-athletic) geek.  The bathroom
where it happened was trashed (obviously by a large group).  The
only conclusion they could come to -- but could not prove -- was
that JJ must have assembled a group of science-and-engineering-geek
allies to cleverly "booby-trap" the bathroom into a series of
bully-traps, and somehow "tempted" them into trying to beat him up
there.

Everybody involved was suspended for a day, but -- lacking any sign
of others' involvement -- the matter went no further.

After that, JJ occasionally pulled the "Jedi Mind Trick" on a few
bullies -- "You don't need to beat me up.  I'm not worth your time.
Move along" -- but undertook a rigorous physical-training program
(based on the scenes with Luke and Yoda on Dagobah).  Desptite the
temptations to use it on cheerleaders and other "highschool hotties"
(e.g. "You want to go out with me.  You want to make out with me")
he avoided the more-deleterious uses of his power... nevertheless,
he's stuck with a Lawbreaker-4th stunt.

He graduated a year and a half later, and is attending the local JC
(previously university-bound, he has been "distracted" from that
course by his "Jedi Powers.")



He grasps his magic as "Jedi Powers" and follows that template
very closely (he has no realization of the real state of affairs).
If there are Jedi, there must be Sith too... somewhere... and
probably various aliens, too... and sundry bits ofultra-high-
tech.  The reality of the supernatural world, as he experiences it,
may well fit within this framework for some time to come, although
several elements (gates to the Nevernever, etc) have no good Star-
Wars-Universe matches, and may shake his new worldview.

Because of the strongly belief-driven nature of one's own magic,
and JJ's belief that he's a Jedi, his magic-driven Hexing power
doesn't affect technology the way most wizards' power does; after
all, Jedi have no problems using technology!  JJ sees himself as
an action-hero-in-training, a champion of justice against villainy
(of which bullying is only the first, petty step).  Consequently,
his "hexing" ability tends to manifest in battle as making him a
"primary/preferred target" for many foes (unless they have reason
to choose another), and out of battle it gives him improbably-
frequent "opportunities" to fulfill the action-hero persona.

Emergency-services first-responders are beginning to wonder at
how often JJ is there -- RIGHT THERE -- when these life-threatening
emergencies go down.  Preliminary police investigations have
cleared him in most of these cases, however -- equipment failure
he could not possibly have tampered with, other peoples' errors in
judgement, etc -- leaving officials puzzled and suspicious, but
not currently inclined to act.



His Character Sheet looks something like this:

Jedidiah Joseph Ronald Talbot, "JJ"
(Jay, or JJ, to his friends; "Jedidiah" to his family)

High Concept:  "Jedi-mancer"
Trouble:  but... I'm only an apprentice!

SKILLS:

+5 Conviction, Discipline
These are key "Jedi" skills

+4 Athletics, Alertness
Formerly non-athletic, he has been passionate about his
"Jedi Training" for well over a year, and he practices
the mix of stillness and alertness he thinks every Jedi
should master

+3 Scholarship, Endurance
Although he's strayed from the academic path, he's still
a bright Honors-Student kind of kid; his Endurance has also
benefited from his "Jedi Training Regimen."

+2, +1 -- Remain to be filled in.  Almost certainly no "Lore,"
however:  he doesn't believe in magic or the rest of that
supernatural crap.  He's a Jedi!


Powers:

-2 Channeling "Jedi Powers"
(he has no "Focus Item" slots, so I've assigned him the point-equivalent
of a Refinement:  +1 Power, +1 Control)

-2 Inhuman Speed (another of his "Jedi Powers")

-0 Jedi Foreseeing (like Cassandra's Tears)
He sees a few moments into the future, enough that in a fight he has
the equivalent Initiative of "Supernatural Speed" (but not the rest of
that ability)... but sometimes people notice that he "reacts" before
whatever it is that he's supposedly "reacting to," so friends and
acquaintances are sometimes getting a bit "creeped out."

-1 Supernatural Sense:  "the Force"
Works like in the movies, interpreting supernatural and life-force via
his own persone framework of understanding.

-1 Alternate Hexing:  instead of tech-hexing, he tends to be on-the-spot
when emergencies and minor disasters go down, and a preferred target
whenever he gets into battle.

-2 "Lightsaber":  for his 15th birthday, his parents gave him one of
the premium handcrafted "lightsaber" replicas that can be bought online.
After he "became a jedi" that day in the bathroom, he tinkered with it
until it "really worked."  Treat it as a "Weapon:3" sword, but he uses
Conviction instead of "Weapon" in combat -- it is fundamentally a
magical attack.  It can cut through almost any mundane material.

-2 "Jedi Parry":  Using his lightsaber & Conviction, he can apply a Block,
and often a Riposte, to almost any attack:  even a bullet can be bounced
away, although he needs a separate Discipline roll to re-aim a bullet
rather than having it randomly ricochet.

-1 Lawbreaker (Fourth):  "The Jedi Mind Trick"   JJ was raised a moral
young man, and is modeling himself on modern heroic imagery.  He does
not recognize what a slippery slope he is on with the "Jedi Mind Trick,"
but his rearing and internal modelling have so far prevented him from
slipping down past the -1 level of this stunt.

56
DFRPG / "Pure Mortal" bonus
« on: January 14, 2014, 01:06:33 AM »
So... the standard "mortal bonus" of +2 refresh...  As I think about it, it seems to me that this fixed bonus will become less and less relevant at higher starting-refresh levels, making the Pure Mortal a less and less viable choice of PC; and, less and less relevant as the game goes on...

What about "+1 Refresh per 5-Refresh (or fraction thereof) of the campaign" and carrying it forward to include a Mortal Bonus as Milestones are achieved...
Exempli Gratia:
 If a campaign starts at 8 Refresh, Pure Mortals get the standard +2 in bonus refresh; when the entire campaign milestones past 10 refresh, though (hitting the 11th point), the Pure Mortals get a 3rd bonus-point.  Same +3 bonus if the campaign starts at 11+ Refresh, and it'd be +4 at 16-20 Refresh.
One could adjust this... 1 "PM bonus" per 6 in the campaign, or per 7, or per 4.  Depends on what you want, stronger Pure Mortals, or weaker.

The intent is just to keep PM characters a bit more in-scale with the supernaturals, who tend to get a LOT of potency out of Refresh spent on their supernatural stuff...

Yeah, I know the supernaturals are MEANT to dominate in the setting, and I think they still would, with this change.  Does this break anything, d'you think?  "Unintended consequences"?  Other comments?


- Steve, the g33k
 

57
DFRPG / How can a wizard fly?
« on: November 14, 2013, 02:36:29 AM »
Offhand, Air and Spirit (pure force / kinetomancy) look like the obvious solutions.

Evocation is too quick&dirty, too hard-to-sustain-control, for anything sustained.... right?  So Thaumaturgy for sustained flight... right?

For (very rough) example:
 - Evoke a flight to the top of a 3-story building, probably OK.
 - Evoke a flight across a 50' river, probably OK.
 - Evoke a flight to the top of a 50-floor skyscraper... expect LOTS of extra rolls and likely failure.
 - Evoke a flight across the Mississippi river... expect LOTS of extra rolls and likely failure.

Does this seem about right?

What about thaumaturgic flight?  I'm a bit adrift on the difficulties of this one...

58
DFRPG / Mechanical help... Minor Talent
« on: November 02, 2013, 06:58:46 PM »
I've got a concept for a Minor Talent, wanting help with some mechanical questions (cost, etc).

It's a Talent somewhat along the lines of Psychometry, with elements of Clairvoyance, but not-quite-either.

He can see the INSIDE of any "package" he touches.  Envelope, packing-crate, suitcase, even the ginormous container-ship containers:  if it's a thing for carrying other things, he can see the inside at a touch.  He can see inside containers that are themselves inside containers, by touching the outermost one.

He CANNOT "see through" walls, doors, etc -- if it's not a container meant to carry things about, he sees it as a Pure Mortal would.

He cannot "see at a distance" as Clairvoyants can:  he has to touch it to "see" inside it.

He cannot "read" it like a Psychometer for psychic / emotional / historical impressions left on or within:  he sees the physical contents only, and only what's currently there.

There are some odd quirks:  he can read the letter folded inside the envelope... but take the letter OUT of the envelope and -- like anyone else! -- he has to unfold it to read it.  He can sort through hundreds of objects inside large sealed box in moments... but open the box and he has to take as much time as anyone else, to sort through them by hand.

I *think* this is both technically-legal and within the "spirit" of the rules...  Comments?

What would be an appropriate cost?

Many thanks for any help/insight/etc.
 

59
DFRPG / "Teleported Elsewhere" / etc vs. "Taken Out"
« on: October 31, 2013, 07:22:34 PM »
Like the topic says.

By FATE convention, "Taken Out" means no-longer-an-actor-within-the-scene (rather than something simple like "Dead," or "Bleeding Out") .

But what about various all-or-nothing narrative tropes:  teleported elsewhere, fell into a deep trap (see you 3 floors lower), etc?  Many would seem to apply the "Taken Out" consequence as their ONLY possible (or at least likely) effect.  Do you say they need to get enough Shifts to "Take Out" the victim (or they have no effect)?  Or...?

Thanks!



60
In case anyone doesn't know it, Ars Magica (ArM) suggests each player have (at least) TWO player-characters:  one "magus" and one "companion" (there are also "Grog" pc's, a pool of low-level grunt/mook/comicrelief PC's (also lotsa fun to play!)).  Many of the tropes in ArM are similar to DFRPG in many ways, including that magi are notably more-powerful, but suffer inescapable "issues" with moving through larger society (in DF, it's mostly the tech-hex; in ArM, it's social penalties for their "creepy" magical Gift; both suffer from "so much magic-focus that in other spheres of action they're rather naive, only moderately competent, etc).  In any play-session / story-arc, ArM players will pick EITHER their mage or their companion for play, with typically only one (or a few) magi, and mostly Companions (supposedly; I know many Troupes regularly have 50%-or-more magi) on their expeditions.  Certainly the source novels focus on Harry + non-Wizards (with occasional exceptional scenes e.g. with Elaine, Ramirez, etc) in this way, and from reading online it *seems* that many (not all!) DFRPG groups follow the "one-or-few full Wizards / preponderance of other types" schema.

It has struck me that the similarities between ArM and DFRPG are strong enough that many elements from one game would "play well" in the other game, including ArM's "Magus/Companion" (and even "Grog") tropes in DFRPG.

So... has anyone done this?  Run a DFRPG campaign with 2+ PC's per player, with the specific PC's coming up per-story as seems most-fun / most-appropriate?

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