61
DFRPG / Re: Name for magic for magic of the autumn/spring courts?
« on: June 08, 2010, 12:06:21 PM »
I just call it Autumn Magic and Spring Magic. 
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
62
DFRPG / Re: The Grey Cloak and Those who wear it.
« on: June 07, 2010, 01:49:17 PM »
This does give me the idea for a similar messaging spell, though...
A wizard writes a letter, then folds into the form of a paper airplane (or an origami crane, or simply puts it in an envelope), then uses a variation of a tracking spell to have it seek out the designated recipient. Provided that they are not in a sealed room, the letter will fly right to their hand at the speed of plot.
A wizard writes a letter, then folds into the form of a paper airplane (or an origami crane, or simply puts it in an envelope), then uses a variation of a tracking spell to have it seek out the designated recipient. Provided that they are not in a sealed room, the letter will fly right to their hand at the speed of plot.
63
DFRPG / Re: Champion/Knight of Autumn Court
« on: June 07, 2010, 03:19:27 AM »Well both Spring and Summer are times of rebirth and growth, so I think Biomancy for both would be fine. Autumn and Winter are times of dying and death, so likewise I think Entropy would be fine for both. No need to overthink it too much.
As for elements, that's more up to you. Don't have my pdfs on this computer, but I'd think of Autumn as mostly similar to Unseelie magic with one or two aspects of Seelie.
I seriously considered playing the Last Champion of Autumn at one point, so I spent quite some time thinking about what Autumn Magic would be like. This is what I came up with: wildness, fear, harvest, calm/cool, and storms.
Wildness, because all fae magic is essentially wild.
Fear, because of Halloween and everything that goes with it.
Harvest, because it's that time of year. Plants may sprout in Spring and bloom with Summer, but they are collected during Autumn. Also, Oktoberfest!
Calm/Cool because autumn is a very mild time of year, largely pleasant with only a hint of the Winter to come. Their magic is great for counter-spells.
Storms, because mighty storms rage at the start of autumn (last half of the Atlantic hurricane season, for one). Lightning is the primary offensive element of Autumn, but they can also wield the wind and rain.
64
DFRPG / Re: Jim Running DFRPG
« on: June 06, 2010, 06:37:34 PM »
I think it'd be more interesting to see Fred run a session with Jim and a few other players, then turn it into a series of podcasts. After all, the Penny Arcade podcasts did wonders for 4e D&D and I'd love to see something like that done for the DFRPG (with or without Jim).
65
DFRPG / Re: How would a healing power work?
« on: June 06, 2010, 06:29:48 PM »
Oh, I know how Reiki works, I just don't see how it is compatible with the Biomancy text I referenced, since the spell explicitly reduces recovery time of a moderate consequence (or even a severe consequence, with more shifts).
That said, I think that healing magic is one of those things that should be addressed during the "setting the dials" phase, since attitudes towards the scope of such magic vary greatly between tables. Or, in other words, one size doesn't fit all. The effectiveness of healing magic should vary from table to table depending on where they want to be seated on the range between "grim-noir" and "pulp-swash", or even all the way up to "D&D cure spells".
That said, I think that healing magic is one of those things that should be addressed during the "setting the dials" phase, since attitudes towards the scope of such magic vary greatly between tables. Or, in other words, one size doesn't fit all. The effectiveness of healing magic should vary from table to table depending on where they want to be seated on the range between "grim-noir" and "pulp-swash", or even all the way up to "D&D cure spells".
66
DFRPG / Re: How would a healing power work?
« on: June 05, 2010, 09:45:11 PM »
On a related note, I wonder how to reconcile this...
with this....
...since Reiki is clearly shortening the recovery time from 1 full session to 1 full scene.
Quote
BIOMANCY (YS284)
"Remember, the recovery time can’t be shortened with these kinds of magics—the target still has to go through the healing naturally."
with this....
Quote
REIKI (YS300)
Effect: The spell reduces a moderate physical consequence to mild for the purposes of recovery. The consequence still occupies its original slot.
...since Reiki is clearly shortening the recovery time from 1 full session to 1 full scene.
67
DFRPG / Re: Hunger Stress Track and Consequences.
« on: June 03, 2010, 10:54:37 PM »
No disagreement there. I was just scratching my head as to why a "physical/mental mild consequence - hunger only" was better than just a "mild hunger consequence".
68
DFRPG / Re: Hunger Stress Track and Consequences.
« on: June 03, 2010, 07:38:41 PM »It would make more sense to me that if your Discipline was Superb, you'd still get the extra consequence. Basically just write "Physical/Mental, Hunger Only" on the sheet next to the extra slot. That way, you're still taking the physical or mental consequence, but you get the same benefits for having a high resistance skill that everyone else does.
How is that any different from just calling it a Mild Hunger Consequence? The different types of consequences only come into play when a character has a Superb fortitude skill or a Stunt like No Pain, No Gain. Specifying "physical/mental" in Feeding Dependency just means that the otherwise specific extra mild consequences of those types may also be used to soak Hunger stress.
69
DFRPG / Re: Savannah Aspects
« on: June 02, 2010, 01:43:59 PM »
I went to college in Savannah, so here are a few suggestions:
Be sure to use Bonaventure Cemetary, the most creepy-awesome boneyard I've ever been to. Perfect home for a powerful Black Court faction.
IMO, Red Court should be very strong there; a bastion of any Old South vampires still left over from before the Civil War. Hell, the White Court would fit here, too, for that matter. Vampires love Savannah and Savannah loves Vampires.
Government corruption is a problem there... one time when I was at school there, a hurricane was threatening to come through and the mayor ordered the entire city to be evacuated. From I have heard, that evacutation effectively prevented the mayor's political rivals from submitting their electoral paperwork in time to be on the ballot, so the mayor ran unopposed that year.
The college I went to (the Savannah College of Art & Design) is a major player in the city and they are responsible for the restoration of many, many buildings in the historic district. They get kickbacks from historical societies and governments for preserving historical buildings and do it all on-the-cheap by using the practically-free labor of their architectural students.
I'll suggest more later.
Be sure to use Bonaventure Cemetary, the most creepy-awesome boneyard I've ever been to. Perfect home for a powerful Black Court faction.
IMO, Red Court should be very strong there; a bastion of any Old South vampires still left over from before the Civil War. Hell, the White Court would fit here, too, for that matter. Vampires love Savannah and Savannah loves Vampires.
Government corruption is a problem there... one time when I was at school there, a hurricane was threatening to come through and the mayor ordered the entire city to be evacuated. From I have heard, that evacutation effectively prevented the mayor's political rivals from submitting their electoral paperwork in time to be on the ballot, so the mayor ran unopposed that year.
The college I went to (the Savannah College of Art & Design) is a major player in the city and they are responsible for the restoration of many, many buildings in the historic district. They get kickbacks from historical societies and governments for preserving historical buildings and do it all on-the-cheap by using the practically-free labor of their architectural students.
I'll suggest more later.
70
DFRPG / Re: Powers to get sponsored by
« on: May 31, 2010, 05:28:26 AM »
Champion of the Phoenix.
In my 'verse, Phoenix spirits are a kind of genius loci that are spawned when a location is ruined by fire. As the location rejuvenates, the phoenix spirit grows with it; the stronger and more powerful the renewal, the stronger and more powerful the phoenix spirit becomes. The cities of London, Chicago, Atlanta and many others all have a powerful phoenix spirit nesting in them. New Orleans had one, too, from the Great Fire of 1788, but Hurricane Katrina killed it several years ago. The agenda of the Phoenix mainly involves protecting its 'nests', inspiring or causing change and growth, and to opposing the schemes of the Thunderbird/its Champions.
Similarly, Thunderbird spirits are also genius loci, but they are spawned when a location is flooded instead - there's a new Thunderbird Champion living in New Orleans right now, having slain the Phoenix Champion. As that city recovers from the damage, so does the Thunderbird increase its power.
The enmity between the Phoenix and the Thunderbird is rooted entirely in the opposition of their base natures of fire and water.
Powers of the Phoenix Champion include Marked by Power, Supernatural Recovery (the Catch being the trappings of Thunder; i.e., electricity and running water), and an Item of Power (Phoenix Feather) that grants Physical Immunity: Fire (the Catch being not-fire). Sponsored Magic is also an Option, covering ground similar to Seelie Magic without the plants (i.e., change, life, growth, renewal, fire).
Other spirits in a similar vein could be ones created by earthquakes or blizzards or even a new and terrifying radioactive kind at Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Chernobyl.
In my 'verse, Phoenix spirits are a kind of genius loci that are spawned when a location is ruined by fire. As the location rejuvenates, the phoenix spirit grows with it; the stronger and more powerful the renewal, the stronger and more powerful the phoenix spirit becomes. The cities of London, Chicago, Atlanta and many others all have a powerful phoenix spirit nesting in them. New Orleans had one, too, from the Great Fire of 1788, but Hurricane Katrina killed it several years ago. The agenda of the Phoenix mainly involves protecting its 'nests', inspiring or causing change and growth, and to opposing the schemes of the Thunderbird/its Champions.
Similarly, Thunderbird spirits are also genius loci, but they are spawned when a location is flooded instead - there's a new Thunderbird Champion living in New Orleans right now, having slain the Phoenix Champion. As that city recovers from the damage, so does the Thunderbird increase its power.
The enmity between the Phoenix and the Thunderbird is rooted entirely in the opposition of their base natures of fire and water.
Powers of the Phoenix Champion include Marked by Power, Supernatural Recovery (the Catch being the trappings of Thunder; i.e., electricity and running water), and an Item of Power (Phoenix Feather) that grants Physical Immunity: Fire (the Catch being not-fire). Sponsored Magic is also an Option, covering ground similar to Seelie Magic without the plants (i.e., change, life, growth, renewal, fire).
Other spirits in a similar vein could be ones created by earthquakes or blizzards or even a new and terrifying radioactive kind at Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Chernobyl.
71
DFRPG / Re: Hotlanta, GA
« on: May 29, 2010, 08:56:19 PM »
You'd think so, but not really. Most major cities are next to coastal areas or mountains that prevent circular interstates from forming, but there are a few others out there... interestingly, one of them is Baltimore the Sample City (695) and another is Washington DC (495).
72
DFRPG / Re: Compelling a Hex
« on: May 29, 2010, 08:30:47 PM »Again though if there is no way the person with the aspect will be inconvenienced then, from a story perspective, why should there be a compel?
Simply put, because wizards fry technology. It is simply a part of the setting.
As far as I'm concerned, the issue is settled. I realize now that my original question was based on an erroneous premise - that the GM was compelling the wizard's high concept. This would not, strictly speaking, be the case. Instead, having a wizard in a zone creates a scene aspect for that zone (My Friend the Wizard, Hexing Aura, Murphy's Law of Magic, etc). When the GM wants to make life difficult for tech users, s/he compels that scene aspect and gives the fate point to the targeted character's player.
73
DFRPG / Re: Hotlanta, GA
« on: May 28, 2010, 08:22:13 PM »
In our game, the CDC has a small handful of 3-4 clued-in scientists who get handed the "x-files" of the bureau, with a relationship similar to Chicago PD and the SI Dept. The other scientists want to get rid of those "gutter-science miscreants", but the upper-level bureaucrats remind them that spending cuts in one year just mean budget cuts the next year. So, until it becomes politically popular to cut the CDC's budget (not gonna happen), the Gutter stays. Thus, since they exist no matter what, the other departments find it convenient to shunt their "messy" cases to the Gutter and artificially inflate their success statistics.
Our PCs have yet to actually meet them, but we'll do so sooner or later.
More later, going home now.
Our PCs have yet to actually meet them, but we'll do so sooner or later.
More later, going home now.
74
DFRPG / Re: Hotlanta, GA
« on: May 28, 2010, 06:09:26 PM »
Cool, my friends and I are also staging a game here in Atlanta (we're all natives), so poaching ideas from each other could be fun. I'm not the GM, so I don't have the notes with me, but here are a few of our ideas:
THEME: Just Passin' Thru
Atlanta is and has always been an important Crossroads in America, starting out as the railroad hub of Terminus and now as home of one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. A lot of supernatural wierdness comes through Atlanta on its way to elsewhere in the mortal world, as well as mundane threats like the drug trade and smuggling. The border with the Nevernever is particularly thin here.
THREAT: Summer in the City
Atlanta is also known as Hotalanta for a reason -- the Summer Court dominates Atlanta (it is considered a major offensive if Winter manages to put snow on the ground for two whole days), based out of the Botanical Gardens. They are represented by a treant and its dryad symbiote. Winter is only represented by a feeble Winter Squire at the Georgia Aquarium, protected somewhat by its massive amounts of running water.
Papa Limbo, a voodoo priest whose Waffle House serves as Atlanta's MacAnally's.
Little 5 Points is the home of our "Ordos Lebes", a collection of young gothy witches, minor talents and focused practitioners.
House Cadiz (ka-deez), a White Court clan of fashionistas (they feed on Envy) with a stranglehold on the Buckhead club scene. House Raith wants to take these upstarts down a peg.
Los Lobos, a gang of latino werewolves/lycanthropes that are among the top dogs of the gang scene. ;-)
"Order of the Lone Gunmen" (i don't recall their actual title), a club consisting of Georgia Tech students who have all witnessed supernatural events... and completely, utterly misinterpreted them. They see the world in terms of conspiracy theories, alien infiltrators, corporate empires, and shadow governments. Everyone knows that Magic doesn't exist! There's a rational explanation for everything!
"The King", unofficial leader of Atlanta's homeless population, who 'holds court' at Centennial Olympic Park (the park is also a site of Accorded Neutral Ground). Impressive source of information about what is really going on.
"Our Lady of the Interstate", aka the huge Church of the Apostles along I-75. Serves as Atlanta's "St. Mary of the Angels" church and beacon for wayward travelers in need of aid. Father Guthrie serves there as the "night shift priest".
The spirit of General Sherman (not just his ghost, his actual spirit) is bound to Stone Mountain as a sort of genius loci... and he's rather pissed about it. Stone Mountain also serves as a major confluence of ley lines.
"Holy Grounds", a combination coffee shop and religious/occult book store run by a True Believer.
The idea of I-285, aka the Perimeter, as a big damn magic circle that binds SOMETHING to the area, is one that our group has considered, too.
THEME: Just Passin' Thru
Atlanta is and has always been an important Crossroads in America, starting out as the railroad hub of Terminus and now as home of one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. A lot of supernatural wierdness comes through Atlanta on its way to elsewhere in the mortal world, as well as mundane threats like the drug trade and smuggling. The border with the Nevernever is particularly thin here.
THREAT: Summer in the City
Atlanta is also known as Hotalanta for a reason -- the Summer Court dominates Atlanta (it is considered a major offensive if Winter manages to put snow on the ground for two whole days), based out of the Botanical Gardens. They are represented by a treant and its dryad symbiote. Winter is only represented by a feeble Winter Squire at the Georgia Aquarium, protected somewhat by its massive amounts of running water.
Papa Limbo, a voodoo priest whose Waffle House serves as Atlanta's MacAnally's.
Little 5 Points is the home of our "Ordos Lebes", a collection of young gothy witches, minor talents and focused practitioners.
House Cadiz (ka-deez), a White Court clan of fashionistas (they feed on Envy) with a stranglehold on the Buckhead club scene. House Raith wants to take these upstarts down a peg.
Los Lobos, a gang of latino werewolves/lycanthropes that are among the top dogs of the gang scene. ;-)
"Order of the Lone Gunmen" (i don't recall their actual title), a club consisting of Georgia Tech students who have all witnessed supernatural events... and completely, utterly misinterpreted them. They see the world in terms of conspiracy theories, alien infiltrators, corporate empires, and shadow governments. Everyone knows that Magic doesn't exist! There's a rational explanation for everything!
"The King", unofficial leader of Atlanta's homeless population, who 'holds court' at Centennial Olympic Park (the park is also a site of Accorded Neutral Ground). Impressive source of information about what is really going on.
"Our Lady of the Interstate", aka the huge Church of the Apostles along I-75. Serves as Atlanta's "St. Mary of the Angels" church and beacon for wayward travelers in need of aid. Father Guthrie serves there as the "night shift priest".
The spirit of General Sherman (not just his ghost, his actual spirit) is bound to Stone Mountain as a sort of genius loci... and he's rather pissed about it. Stone Mountain also serves as a major confluence of ley lines.
"Holy Grounds", a combination coffee shop and religious/occult book store run by a True Believer.
The idea of I-285, aka the Perimeter, as a big damn magic circle that binds SOMETHING to the area, is one that our group has considered, too.
75
DFRPG / Allies, Minions, Cohorts, Apprentices, and similar
« on: May 24, 2010, 04:44:50 PM »
Forgive me if this has been discussed/explained before, but what rules (if any) govern the 'use' of NPCs allied with PCs. I thought an aspect would cover it, but Harry's sample sheet doesn't have a "Bob the Skull" aspect or anything on it. It wouldn't necessarily be Contacts, either, since I mean specific NPCs and not just a faceless collection of info-spigots.
For example, I have a character who is a Pure Mortal monster hunter. In his "off hours", he runs a Kendo dojo. I want him to have an assistant or top student who is capable of managing things when my PC has to run off to kill vampires or something.
Similarly, I have a wizard PC in mind who lives in Atlanta, GA. Anyone who has been in the South knows that life without AC is constant hell, and so my wizard wants to strike a bargain with a frost pixie; magic-powered AC in exchange for a regular order of pizza.
Do NPCs like this need to be represented on my sheet in any way? IMO, they are beneficial, but not quite beneficial enough to warrant being an Aspect.
For example, I have a character who is a Pure Mortal monster hunter. In his "off hours", he runs a Kendo dojo. I want him to have an assistant or top student who is capable of managing things when my PC has to run off to kill vampires or something.
Similarly, I have a wizard PC in mind who lives in Atlanta, GA. Anyone who has been in the South knows that life without AC is constant hell, and so my wizard wants to strike a bargain with a frost pixie; magic-powered AC in exchange for a regular order of pizza.
Do NPCs like this need to be represented on my sheet in any way? IMO, they are beneficial, but not quite beneficial enough to warrant being an Aspect.