Just noticed this. The Spring and Autumn courts are quite prominent in my game, though currently I'm keeping them pretty mysterious.

I have the King of Autumn being the Reaper (aka Samhain, but Reaper is his most common name these days). He's a terrifying figure dressed all in black, resembling Reverend Kane from Poltergeist II. He is utterly without mercy, but also without cruelty. It is his job to end things and he does it. He is, however, pretty bad at political games and often leaves unintended loopholes in his edicts which his Prince exploits.

Jack is the Prince of Autumn. Which Jack? All of them. Jack Frost, Jack O'Lantern, Jack the Giant Killer, etc. He was once a mortal, but he tricked his way into power in the court when he trapped the Reaper King in a magical sack. He wanted immortality, and got it as a Sidhe. He also cannot be killed or significantly harmed by any forces of Autumn, including, unfortunately, the Reaper King, which makes his ambition to become Autumn King dangerous. He looks like a surprisingly ordinary young man dressed in slightly old-fashioned "country boy" clothes.

The Spring court hasn't been dealt with much, but they're currently courting (no pun intended) a PC to be the Knight of Spring. She also happens to be Jack's daughter, which would be a huge insult to to Autumn. Their representative is a certain Robert Goodman, who is a slightly sleazy but charming man in a suit who lives on deals and tricks. He's actually Puck, and the Prince of Spring. Naturally, Oberon is the King, though he has yet to appear "onscreen."

Given the entire point of the piece was her struggling with making the decision, and emphasizing it was her decision, I really disliked her externalizing it like that. Turning the entire point of the work into an edict from on high just fell really flat to me. That is, of course, just my opinion.

Well, I signed up for FanStory. I think you're wrong about it being free, as even after building up a ton of points through grinding reviews, I still couldn't figure out how to post my story without upgrading my membership.

So I did. I look at prices in terms of the latest video game release, and two years' membership at FanStory costs less than Borderlands 2+Mechromancer DLC. Probably better for me in the long run as well. I've posted a short story over there that I have to turn in tomorrow for a class and submit for publication. It's getting five and six star reviews, but I still have niggling doubts.

Here it is if you want to take a look and shoot me a review:

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=560732

Never got a response back from the other site. Oh well.

All very good points. I think I'm going to have to say no to a "warden sword," unfortunately. It just breaks setting and established rules far too much. I really do hate saying no to players, especially when they have an interesting idea that fits their character.

However, I'd like to keep my stunt on the table for him. The character has, if not actual magical talent, at the very least magical awareness manifesting primarily as a "spooky sense," so it would make sense if he had some ability to use enchanted items. I think it should be possible to take them without giving up the mortal bonus, provided you spend other character sheet resources.

As is, is the stunt up there balanced? It's not an Item of Power, it's significantly weaker than Ritual or even Bag of Tricks (giving only two slots instead of four), but does gain the inherent flexibility of Stunts and could allow a mortal to get a couple enchanted items. I'd veto the Warden Sword, but would probably allow a stripped-down "Deputy Sword" or something.

I managed to finish my first 10 page short story set in my fantasy universe. I finished it for a writing class and we're supposed to be submitting it for publication on Monday. Wish me luck!

There's also the fact that under the very next header it says it emulates Evocation and Thaumaturgy. So as to the exact limitations of Sponsored Magic:



"I've heard it both ways."

I'll pin it down to Resurrectionist giving things related to life or creation, Annihlationist giving things related to destruction. That's about as specific as the given examples.

If you're in a DFRPG game set in Asheville, please do not read this thread.





I posted a thread of this title earlier about whether or not introducing science fiction elements to the Dresden Files would work. I decided ultimately, as long as they are of a Lovecraftian "alien/unnatural magictec" type, it worked. So now, for Halloween, we're coming up on my next major plotline with the rise and fall of the Shonokin, and it's a real monster mash.

The Shonokin are an ancient race predating human habitation of North America. They were nearly wiped out by megafauna-riding invaders who nowadays we know as Native Americans (a term the Shonokin reflexively get angry about, they were here first dammit!). They are immortal unless killed, and now survive in small enclaves scattered around the country, pursuing their own ends and hoping to end all human life so they can rise again. Problem: Their numbers are so small they could barely fill the stands at a minor league baseball game, and they have no females. Solution: Create female Shonokin.

To this end, they have taken over a research lab in the local area that was built on the site of an asylum fire where a hundred women died. The lab is actually a real place locally, and the asylum fire is real history. I have a friend who works there and it's actually pretty boring, but calling the place Genova is just too ominous to pass up. Anyway, there they have been conducting all sorts of experiments on kidnapped homeless people, attempting to create more Shonokin. The results have been failure. Attempts to transform a human into a shonokin have created monsters. Attempts to implant human women with (female) shonokin fetuses have resulted in the death of both. Still, research continues, and their strange mix of science and sorcery is close to yielding results thanks to harnessing the angry spirits of the location.

The Shonokin fear death, eschewing anything risky and not even touching dead bodies, so to get their test subjects and dispose of failed experiments, they've contracted with a local mobster nicknamed The Old Man. He's a former associate of Marcone who Marcone lets live only as an insult. The Old Man is, as noted, quite old, in his late 70s-early 80s, and knows his own time is short. The Shonokin have promised him immortality once their research is complete, which he knows is bull but still wants to see where this goes. His right hand man (or woman, as it were) is a werecoyote named Will who one of my players has a history with. He honestly sees her as an apprentice of sorts, since he is more of a trickster and manipulator than a badass ala Marcone. He's somewhat secured his legacy through Will, but the promise of immortality is still tempting.

The two tricksters have set up the Shonokin, and are trying to kill two birds with one stone. The shonokin's latest experiment is their riskiest yet. They decided that if human females were too weak to survive, though implantation does occur, then they could turn to a near-human. Will and the Old Man have therefore gone after the local White Court, and kidnapped someone who they told the Shonokin was a nobody, just a minor unimportant and rebellious member of the White Court. Turns out though she's actually the daughter of the local head of the court, Pastor Will Buncombe (aka Guillarme Bellacroix), and when he finds out she's missing he's going to go through no expense to find the people responsible. He's a Wrath vampire, so he'll burn down the whole city if he has to to rescue his daughter.

The Old Man and Will's goal is to wipe out the two biggest supernatural players in the city, since there is no official Council rep, the paranet just had a crisis of leadership, and there is also no Red Court (yet). Hopefully this will leave a power vacuum they can step in, and if The Old Man gets immortality out of the deal, bonus!

They didn't count, however, on the Autumn Court. They are about dying and the ending of the seasons. The Reaper King no likey the Shonokin Resurrectionists. It's well past their time to die. So, he tells his troublesome Autumn Knight "All Shonokin within this city must be dead by the end of All Hallow's, or your life is forfeit." "What's a Shonokin?" "Did you think I would make it easy?" Again, two birds with one stone.

And now, if you squint, you can just barely make out Frankenstein vs. Wolfman vs. Dracula. Maybe the Reaper King could be called a mummy, but it's a stretch. What's funny is this was entirely unintentional, it just came about thanks to trying to tie everyone in.

Now that my next plotline is about to start up and I'm building the main antagonists, I figure the easiest way to represent the powers of their sorcerers is to give them a special kind of Sponsored Magic. Also used for the few corrupt humans who they manage to get on their side:

Shonokin Magic [-4]
Description: The Shonokin are a most ancient race, predating human habitation of North America. In their heyday, they practiced great magic alongside technological might that humans are just now beginning to reach. When the Invaders came and wiped them out, they lost much of their power. However, they filled in the gaps by contracting with unsavory entities the world has largely forgotten.
Sponsor: Shonokin Magic is sponsored by the ancient race of Shonokin, and their dire masters from beyond. When choosing this though, specify whether your magic is sponsored by the "regenerationist" faction or the "annihilationist" faction of Shonokin.
Agenda: The Shonokin are primarily concerned with recovering their lost power. The two main factions have very different ideals on how to do this, though. Annihilationists believe in bringing down the wrath of their forgotten gods and wiping humankind (as well as their gods) off the face of the earth. Regenerationists believe in finding some way to restore their race's fertility, which is hampered by the fact there are no surviving Shonokin females. This may seem more noble, but they're willing to go to any ends to do this, including subjecting humans to horrific experiments. Also, they still believe in wiping out mankind, it's just a question of which should come first.
Evocation: Shonokin magic calls upon most ancient gods, but also technology long-lost. Regenerationists lean more towards odd technology, such as devices that warp and twist human bodies, while annihilationists lean more towards calling on the forgotten gods. Either way, the results are unnatural, alien, and disturbing.
Thaumaturgy: Regenerationist rituals often use technology, such as advanced lab equipment and humans rendered into stem cells (it is still magic though). Annihlationist rituals  look more magical, but follow precise fractal designs.
Evothaum: Regenerationist magic allows the use of biomancy at evocation speed. Annihilationist magic allows the use of entropomancy at evocation speed.
Extra Benefits: Using either form of Shonokin magic allows you to interact with the actual Shonokin without penalty despite their alien nature. Also, your magic does not cause any problems with technology.
Drawbacks: If you are not a Shonokin, you gain their penalty to social interactions. People can just sense the otherworldliness surrounding you. (treat as "Dude, you're dead!" under the "Living Dead" power, without the additional effects of physical consequences)

Despite the fact I'm treating them as two different factions, they're actually not very different. It's merely a matter of priorities, and relations between the two are pretty cordial because there aren't enough left for any ideological conflict to be worth it.