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Topics - computerking

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16
DFRPG / Fun with the Mundane
« on: October 07, 2011, 01:32:15 PM »
What fun things have people experienced regarding "Mundane Effects" in game?

While not the big showy stuff done in magic battles, what little effects your character does is another way to show a little bit about their personality in game. From glowing notes in mid air when working out a spell, to "Flickum Bicus", to accidentally changing the color of the paint on the walls in a moment of ecstasy, these can be fun to roleplay.

17
DFRPG / Noob Questions
« on: September 12, 2011, 07:51:54 PM »
Yeah, I'm going to ask a few questions that will make me look like a noob. Because I am one. Here goes a few things I'm scratching my head about...
Can a rote be established for Spell Prolongation (For any spell)?

Does a person in a full magical block (against all actions) still get rolls to avoid incoming attacks?

Do Zone maneuver aspects based on basic conditions (example, “slick footing” from a Water evocation) stay Sticky based on success on the roll, or based on magical Duration?

Thanks in advance...
And feel free to put your own noob questions in here, too, if only to make me feel better :).

18
DFRPG / Conjuration Question
« on: September 06, 2011, 07:50:03 PM »
Ok, aside from the book's assertion that if you want a sword, "Go out and buy one, already", I am considering a character making an enchanted item that conjures a sword. The character's Lore is Superb, so at a base level, he can make a 5-point EI. The book mentions being able to make "typical handheld weapons" with a 3 complexity, and that if left alone, the sword will disappear at sunrise. If a character wanted to conjure a sword (3 Complexity), didn't care if it looked ephemeral/unreal(0 complexity towards believability), but wants the sword to have a Weapon rating of 3 instead of 2 (making it, perhaps as sharp as a Warden sword?) would the total complexity be 5 (assuming +2 complexity for the damage upgrade)?

Or would it be more fitting to have the summoned sword have the aspect Unnaturally Sharp, for a total of complexity 6 (assuming +3 for addng the Sticky Aspect)?

In response to Billy the Werewolf's suggestion to just go buy a sword, I ask why buy a sword when you can have one whenever you need one wthout having to hide it in a trenchcoat all the time or worry about it getting confiscated?

19
DFRPG / Meeting Complexities
« on: September 01, 2011, 07:21:08 PM »
A few questions about Meeting the Complexities of a thaumaturgical spell:

I understand that you can do a “mini-scene” and set up aspects via declaration to meet the complexity of a spell, but I’m a little foggy about how far you can go with that. Can you do this multiple times per Skill, or are you limited to using any particular skill only once? Also, does a declared Aspect roll for a ritual have to net enough successes to be Sticky so it stays around beyond the initial “tag” (I'm assuming that the free tag is represented by the +2 boost toward meeting your complexity requirement)?

This last question may be a little bit off topic, but if any of those aspects are Sticky (irrespective of the answer to the above questions), do they remain on-scene during the ritual, available for Fate point Invokes in case a control roll fails?
These answers will greatly help me visualize how Thaum works, so thanks in advance.

PS, one more question. Are those same aspects available for antagonists to invoke for Effect? ("Oh, he's using Oil of Palm for his ritual? How about he spills a little and slips in it on his next control roll!")


20
DFRPG / Transformers
« on: August 29, 2011, 11:36:34 PM »
OK, I'm looking at the Margin text between Harry & Billy, and I  read:
Quote from: YS283
(Harry's Text) Billy, I’m thinking about the transforming stuff on the previous page. What does it take to transform yourself into a form with new powers? Or someone else for that matter?

(Billy's Text) The simplest answer is that transforming a target is like killing a target, with the taken out result being that they come back in a new form with different powers (that they have to pay refresh points for). Transforming yourself is either about producing a temporary, short-term, specific spell-effect with an obvious shift cost, or it’s about acquiring new powers with spent refresh (or temporarily—see page 92—using fate points and tags)

Which lead me to the temporary Powers rules, which say:

Quote from: YS92
In  rare  circumstances,  it might  be  appropriate for a character to temporarily take on supernatural powers. Usually, this happens when a supernatural entity imbues someone with  power  for  a  short  time  in  order  to take on  a  threat or  fulfill  some part of  its agendas. (Murphy taking up a Sword of the Cross temporarily in the Small Favor case might be a good example of this.)
Regardless of the circumstances, temporary  powers  should  be  dealt  with  in  a similar  fashion  to  mid-session  upgrades, but with less cost—the player has to spend fate points equal to the power’s usual cost, but not permanent refresh. As with normal mid-session upgrades,  the player can “owe” the GM some compels if there aren’t enough fate points to pay for it.
Once  again,  this  should  only  happen under  rare circumstances, and  the benefits shouldn’t  last  longer  than  a  scene—most things  that  can  bestow  power  only  do  so temporarily, when the situation is extremely dire,  and  when  there  isn’t  really  another option.

Would a Houserule (Or GM Allowance) be required for a Thaumaturgist transforming himself to bestow a power that lasts longer than a scene? As-is it sounds like you are forced to cast the spell right before a conflict, or it'll be wasted on the scene right after casting.

Also, could a variation of the "Thaumaturgical trap" be used, wherein the caster sets himself up with a power that doesn't manifest until some pre-determined thing happens(like he is injured)?

21
DFRPG / What’s good for the geasa…
« on: August 12, 2011, 09:14:44 PM »
I am considering a changeling character concept who is half Sidhe, and I was wondering if anyone has figured out a rules-related way to simulate Fae Geasa. I’ve read the Oathbreaking sidebar in regards to the topic, but it, much like the fae themselves, gives a lot of information without giving a lot of helpful information. I wanted to see if anyone else has run into the same stumbling block and overcame it before I take a hard try at it myself.
 
To make it more specific, The concept is a Half-Sidhe Lawyer. He works as a defense attorney, and in initial conference with his clients, he negotiates a deal: If the client is 100% honest in answering his questions, he will represent them pro bono, and make sure to get them the best sentence possible, depending on the evidence. But if the client lies to him, even just once, They owe him a year and a day of favors. He gets them to swear 3 times to uphold the deal, then starts asking questions, starting with (of course) “did you do it?”
 
If the client lives up to the oath, Everything’s jake, and the Lawyer upholds his end of the bargain. But if the client breaks the oath, The lawyer would know, and be able to compel the client for a year and a day. Has anyone come up with a good way to model this “power”?

22
DFRPG / Werespider
« on: July 27, 2011, 01:25:12 AM »
I'm working on a Spider Were-Form character concept, and I was considering using Echoes of the Beast's Beast Trappings to represent web spinnerets.  It would be a trapping of Might, that could only be used after a successful grapple. A Might roll would be required to wrap the target in webbing, and they would be considered to be continually grappled by a block of 2 less than the Might roll, representing the webbing. Does this sound good, or is it too powerful?

Also, I know that Beast trappings extend to the Human form, but I like the idea of the character retaining his spinnerets. I picture them transferring to his elbows.

23
DFRPG / Crafting and the Focused Practitioner
« on: July 26, 2011, 04:36:09 PM »
Note: Bold for emphasis in the following quotes is mine.
From YS181:
Quote
Channeling comes with two free Focus Item Slots (page 278). You can design the items that fit into these slots now, or later on during play. A single Focus Item Slot may be traded in for two Enchanted Item Slots (page 279). You may gain more Item Slots as one of the options on the Refinement
ability (page 182)—but you may only buy Refinement for that purpose. All items created for those slots must be in keeping with the elemental theme you’ve chosen for your power.

 And from YS182:
Quote
Ritual comes with two free Focus Item Slots (page 278). You can design the items that fit into these slots now, or later on during play. A single Focus Item Slot may be traded in for two Enchanted Item Slots (page 279). You may gain more Item Slots as one of the options on the Refinement ability (page 182)—but you may only buy Refinement for that purpose. All items
created for those slots must be in keeping with the single application you’ve chosen for your power.

I take these entries to mean this: If you do not have Evocation, your character cannot craft enchanted items outside of the 1 element your focused practitioner has chosen, and if, perchance, you make a Focused Practitioner that only has Rituals(Crafting), and no Evocation or Channeling, your character cannot craft anything that isn't just a crafting enhancer.

I believe this is wrong, because it just sounds silly to me, but if it is correct, then noone can make a Focused Practitioner Crafter that can do anything useful without having to buy Channeling or evocation.

It would mean there's no game option to play the "Potionmaster" who can't cast anything, but has pockets full of useful potions.

It would mean that a Channeler remains a 1 trick pony, who can only make (Or use) enchanted items that do what he does already.

Now, I understand that by sacrificing 1 point of power when crafting an enchanted item a crafter can make it usable by anyone. Does this override the "must be in keeping with" rule, so that a Wizard-level crafter can make an armor trench coat(using Spirit) for the Fire channeler, and the Fire channeler can use it? And is the only way for a focused practitioner to have enchanted items outside of their specialty for them to have a Wizard friend?

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, there are way too many instances of "Crafting" in the search results...

24
DFRPG / Transmutation?
« on: July 25, 2011, 04:16:40 PM »
Is Transmutation of matter solely the realm of Thaumaturgy, or is (extremely short-term) transmutation possible using Evocation?

My concept:
After drenching foes in water somehow (Perhaps just from a mundane maneuver like turning on sprinklers) a character (From an adjacent zone) uses Water magic to transmute the water into gasoline (With shifts dedicated to duration, encompassing the whole zone and involving an exotic substance) as a maneuver to give all the foes or the zone in general the aspect "Drenched in Gasoline" where previously the aspect involved was "Drenched in water". The change in the aspect would only last the duration of the spell, of course, but opens up different possibilities than the original aspect.

Would this be possible?

I thought it might be, because Water Evocation can also be used to control exotic liquids (And because the definition of Water magic mentions that it is "the element of entropy and change"),  but the complexity of changing one thing into something else may bump it over into Thaum-only territory.

25
DFRPG / Odd Effects (or, "That Flavor Tastes weird")
« on: July 22, 2011, 07:23:53 PM »
OK. I’ve tried phrasing this question 3 times, and I can’t seem to get something that is easy to understand. So I’m just going to phrase it the way it’s rolling around in my head. In general, it is a question regarding allowability and the “flavor” of a spell’s effects. Here goes:

Let's say a player adds flavor to a fire spell effect description.  For example, instead of the standard gout or ball of fire flying at its target, the player wants to describe it as miniature imp-shaped flames flying from his hands. Without any prerequisite action like a Summoning spell, would a GM have to disallow this, although the player doesn’t intend to have the fire do anything different than normal fire, just look different?

In a similar vein, a Forzare-type Spirit spell  could just pile driver a target with invisible force, but could the same effect (But visible) be done by a Nichtomancer (Shadow-based Focused Practitioner) making a column of solid shadow to smash someone? Or would solid shadow be disallowed?

I used to play a lot of Mage: The Ascension, and coming up with weird unique spells still comes easily to me, I just haven’t fully sussed out what is allowable in the Dresdenverse.

Final example: Since Earth magic is linked to Electromagnetism, can an Earth based Block against leaving a zone be created by magneto-gravitically manipulating a flock of pigeons (who navigate via an ability to sense magnetic North) into kamikaze divebombing the zone borders (Lots of dead pigeons, ew)?

Yeah, I'm an odd sort of guy. You're just lucky I erased the post attempt involving spells from a Copromancer...

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