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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: TheRedBaron on June 02, 2010, 03:40:14 AM

Title: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: TheRedBaron on June 02, 2010, 03:40:14 AM
Because I'm a tad unclear after reading the book, though I've spoken authoritatively to my players. It'd be nice to have Fred or someone else in here commenting on them. Confirm for me or argue about the following:

1) Sponsored Magic does not allow Refinements to be taken to upgrade the magic (as Refinements are specifically for Thaumaturgy, Channeling, Ritual and Evocation, and Sponsored Magic is none of those, and as it specifically isn't your magic, but that pulled from an outside source)...

2)...but it does allow rotes... (since the rote rules don't specify either way)

3) ...and allows a mortal to "break" the Laws of Magic (this one I'm actually dead certain of; I just put it here because I'd like to hear people back me up. It's not mortal magic you're using to break the Laws, but immortal magic from an outside source. You don't get the mystical feedback mortal magic does, so it's effectively like a magical gun - nothing more than a tool in your hands, not an innate part of you. You'd be no more likely to develop an aspect from repeated killings as you would from repeatedly killing people any other way).

Am I correct?
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: luminos on June 02, 2010, 03:46:21 AM
2 is true for certain.  1 I'm not certain on.  3, I disagree with you.  I don't think Jim has ever stated that getting your magic from a sponsor gets you out of the laws, and it wouldn't make sense to make that the case for the game.  Part of the drawback of using magic is being restrained by the three laws.  If sponsorship got you out of it, then everyone who ever plays a focused practicioner is going to look for some obscure source to make his magic sponsored.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Archmage_Cowl on June 02, 2010, 03:48:49 AM
1.) not usually
2.)yepo
3.) depends. like if you use hellfire you'll probably get lawbreaker cause they want you to. normally i would say no. thats how i rule it.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Michael,HandofGod on June 02, 2010, 04:24:22 AM
1 and 2 look right, but I have to disagree on 3.

Like it says in the books, the Laws of Magic are often about the spirit of the law.  Even if you don't technically use mortal magic, you are a mortal using magic to kill.  By some definitions, the fact that it is a mortal using the magic makes it into 'mortal magic.'  Either way, the Wardens aren't going to care that the fireball you fried some person with was powered by Summer.  They're just going to care that you used a magical fireball to kill someone.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: TheRedBaron on June 02, 2010, 04:36:20 AM
The Wardens might care, but like I said, it's not your magic - it's someone else's. You'd get a sword to the neck for tossing around hellfire, maybe, but not a Lawbreaker stunt (though you'd already be a monster if you're using hellfire).

The Lawbreaking aspect comes from the subtle magical change in your soul and aspects - once you break a Law, it becomes easier to see that as the solution to all of your problems. While, yes, you might get the same idea from a gun, magic is something a little more fundamental and far more personal to you. But Sponsored Magic adds, again, that impersonal removal from the source of the magic.

Still, if Fred or Jim stops by and tells me otherwise, I'll be happy to revise my statement. I'm only going by the game rules.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Michael,HandofGod on June 02, 2010, 04:38:52 AM
I guess you could argue that, since you are the one directing the sponsored magic, it is still a part of you, but I guess this one is better left up to GM discretion (unless, like you said, Word of God tells us otherwise).
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: luminos on June 02, 2010, 04:43:02 AM
You still have to use your conviction to power the spells right?  I see no reason that having a non-standard source of the power will prevent bad uses of the magic to change the PC.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Deadmanwalking on June 02, 2010, 07:08:14 AM
1. Untrue, I think. It's explicitly a specific variety of Ritual and Channeling. You can thus get Refinement for it for extra items...though not for anything else.

2. True enough.

3. No. Just no. Harry was MORE effected mentally and spiritually by using Hellfire than by using his normal magic, why would that be different if he killed someone? Or different for other sources of magic? You still need to believe completely to use it, so it still grants Lawbreaker.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Wordmaker on June 02, 2010, 08:06:16 AM
It may depend on the kind of sponsored magic you have.

For example, Kemmlerian Necromancy is about as evil as you can get, and in narrative terms is really just a very powerful school of mortal magic. So yes, I'd say using that to break the laws would change your soul and get you Lawbreaker.

Hellfire and Soulfire aren't independent power on their own. They enhance and alter your existing magical talents. So you're still using your own magic, you're just getting a boost from the infernal or divine realm. As such, definitely Lawbreaker for using it to break the laws.

Where things get murky is fae magic. Now, most of the beings using fae magic are going to be changelings or actual fae, so they wouldn't be affected in the same way. But envoys granted power from the Courts, such as the Summer or Winter Knight, are mortal. Since their purpose is to allow the fae courts an emissary who can directly deal with mortals, they would most certainly be expected to kill to protect their queens. I'd rule that in those cases, the power you use, since it's not actually your own, you wouldn't get Lawbreaker for breaking the laws.

Granted, being a Knight of the Fae Courts has problems all of its own...

Of course, things would get even murkier if it was a wizard who became a Faerie Knight, since then the sponsored magic is really just adding to his own power.

Perhaps that's a good way of looking at it? If the character is a magic-user in their own right, then they're subject to the Lawbreaker stunt for violations, but if they're just a mundane human without it, they're exempt?
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: JustinS on June 02, 2010, 08:10:09 AM
With regard to 3, there are two different questions:
Will the wardens be after you for breaking the laws?
Will you need to take the Lawbreaker stunts?

Both are separate things you need to discuss with your GM, or your player.

With the wardens, if you are human, you need to follow the laws, but are also protected by them. If not, then wizards are free to fry you to crispy bacon. The quick question to ask is if you are covered by the unseelie accords, and if so, by who? If you are under the white council umbrella, you most certainly are at risk of warden.

With Lawbreaker, you need to figure out how you and your magic relate.
I can see pure sponsored magic avoiding lawbreaker in some situations, but that the cost and limits of it being only at the whim of the sponcer should be a similar set of limits and drawbacks (I've had the discussion here before), but it also seems from the books that if you have your own magic, sponsored magic adds a boost on top, and you are still fully libel. The one or two points you saved by already having mortal magic are the points that would have carried the ignore lawbreaker with this specific power only effect... (the effect you get with the vampire feeding and mind control powers as already priced in)
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: toturi on June 02, 2010, 09:13:06 AM
If sponsorship got you out of it, then everyone who ever plays a focused practicioner is going to look for some obscure source to make his magic sponsored.
There is a difference between a Lawbreaker and a lawbreaker. A wizard that is thought to use magic to kill is a lawbreaker. A wizard that actually uses magic to kill is a Lawbreaker.

Thus in game terms, if Hades sponsored you his touch and you use that sponsored Death Touch to kill people, I do not think you'd get a mystical feedback that is the Lawbreaker stunt but the Wardens may still come after you if they think you are a warlock. So insofar as the rules are concerned, I think the RedBaron is right.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: luminos on June 02, 2010, 09:21:24 AM
And I disagree.  It doesn't matter who's gun you are using, it matters that you are the one using it. 

On the point about the wardens, I think Sponsorship actually reduces the likelihood they go after you.  After all, council politics means that they frequently don't want to rock the boat with major supernatural powers by beheading their lackeys.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: toturi on June 02, 2010, 09:23:38 AM
And I disagree.  It doesn't matter who's gun you are using, it matters that you are the one using it.  

On the point about the wardens, I think Sponsorship actually reduces the likelihood they go after you.  After all, council politics means that they frequently don't want to rock the boat with major supernatural powers by beheading their lackeys.
Yes, as you have said.

And as I have said, I agree with Red Baron. It doesn't matter that you are the one using it, it only matters (to the metaphysics of the Dresdenverse or at least the way the rules of DFRPG are concerned) whose gun it is.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: TheRedBaron on June 02, 2010, 01:10:37 PM
Quote from: Wordmaker
For example, Kemmlerian Necromancy is about as evil as you can get, and in narrative terms is really just a very powerful school of mortal magic. So yes, I'd say using that to break the laws would change your soul and get you Lawbreaker.

Hellfire and Soulfire aren't independent power on their own. They enhance and alter your existing magical talents. So you're still using your own magic, you're just getting a boost from the infernal or divine realm. As such, definitely Lawbreaker for using it to break the laws.

Yeah, you're already a Lawbreaker if you're picking up Kemmlerian Necromancy. Although, if Sponsored Magic doesn't Lawbreak across the board, it might be a good way to preserve some of your aspects while still utilizing necromancy (not that the Wardens would pay that distinction much heed).

If you've got hellfire, you're probably a monster already who doesn't care about invading minds; if you've got soulfire, you probably care quite a bit about not killing people.

I can see pure sponsored magic avoiding lawbreaker in some situations, but that the cost and limits of it being only at the whim of the sponcer should be a similar set of limits and drawbacks (I've had the discussion here before), but it also seems from the books that if you have your own magic, sponsored magic adds a boost on top, and you are still fully libel. The one or two points you saved by already having mortal magic are the points that would have carried the ignore lawbreaker with this specific power only effect... (the effect you get with the vampire feeding and mind control powers as already priced in)

And I can agree with that - if you're using it as a boost to your own magic (narratively), then you'd be subject to Lawbreaker stunts. But if you're a Knight of a Faerie Court - designated specifically to mess around with the humans the Ladies and Queens can't touch - I don't see why you couldn't fireball some guy with a gun.

I guess the discussion is a bit more fruitful! The general consensus seems to be:

1) You can't take Refinements.
2) You can take rotes.
3) Up for debate.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: feliscon on June 02, 2010, 03:30:37 PM
I'd say you can take refinements, but only for item slots, the same as Channeling and Ritual, since the book says that Sponsored Magic is built on the idea of it being a special form of the above powers.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Falar on June 02, 2010, 04:07:33 PM
And I can agree with that - if you're using it as a boost to your own magic (narratively), then you'd be subject to Lawbreaker stunts. But if you're a Knight of a Faerie Court - designated specifically to mess around with the humans the Ladies and Queens can't touch - I don't see why you couldn't fireball some guy with a gun.
Oh, I think you'd definitely get the power - but there's nobody around to tell you it's bad. You're not under the laws of the Wardens anymore - you're being governed by the Fae Court. So I guess instead of the slide so much into evil, the getting of the power this way would be the slide more into service of the Fae Courts. But I can see there's a ton of disagreement on this point, so it's pretty moot and pretty much the way you play your game.

Hey - as an aside - does Sponsored Magic still side-effect hex stuff? My gut says "yes, definitely", but I've seen people say, "lol, no, of course not."
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: digital3lf on June 02, 2010, 04:16:24 PM
1) Correct
2) Correct
3) Up to your group/GM.

Mechanically, referring to Lawbreaker stunts, it is recommended that you discuss this and reach a decision before it comes up. Personally, I think it's a matter of the character involved. If they break a law out of necessity, by accident, or if there is some grey area they are unsure of, it's possible for them to pick up the stunt. If they feel remorse for having done it, and don't intend to do it again, I'd be more forgiving about forcing the stunt on them. On the other hand, if it was intentional, they are glad to have broken the law, and/or plan to do it again when the opportunity presents itself, they're a lawbreaker, sponsor or no. Again this is just my personal approach, I'd like to see it be character driven rather than hard and fast rules.

Story wise, the Wardens oversee all magic users who are mortals. White Council members might get the stink eye from them more often, but I am certain that no Warden would have any hesitation about cutting down a sponsored magic user if they were blatantly breaking laws. If you have an argument to the contrary, that can be roleplayed at the table. Most likely at swordpoint. ;)
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: ballplayer72 on June 02, 2010, 04:33:28 PM
1) Correct
2) Correct
3) Up to your group/GM.

Mechanically, referring to Lawbreaker stunts, it is recommended that you discuss this and reach a decision before it comes up. Personally, I think it's a matter of the character involved. If they break a law out of necessity, by accident, or if there is some grey area they are unsure of, it's possible for them to pick up the stunt. If they feel remorse for having done it, and don't intend to do it again, I'd be more forgiving about forcing the stunt on them. On the other hand, if it was intentional, they are glad to have broken the law, and/or plan to do it again when the opportunity presents itself, they're a lawbreaker, sponsor or no. Again this is just my personal approach, I'd like to see it be character driven rather than hard and fast rules.

Story wise, the Wardens oversee all magic users who are mortals. White Council members might get the stink eye from them more often, but I am certain that no Warden would have any hesitation about cutting down a sponsored magic user if they were blatantly breaking laws. If you have an argument to the contrary, that can be roleplayed at the table. Most likely at swordpoint. ;)


Actually wardens only fool with mortal magic users.   Fae knights don't sling mortal magic, they sling fae magic.  They are not subject to the Laws, just like the Denarians.   Whether this applies to the mechanics of the world is another story though.    The wardens can't hunt down the summer knight because he offs someone with a fiery butterfly.  He's not subject to their laws, only titania and the accords.       Whether killing another human with magic twists him into a monster or not is really up to jim (canonwise) and iago and company (game mechanics wise for the "real game") or your GM (house rules style)
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: TheRedBaron on June 02, 2010, 05:00:47 PM
Hey - as an aside - does Sponsored Magic still side-effect hex stuff? My gut says "yes, definitely", but I've seen people say, "lol, no, of course not."

Absolutely not. This is backed up by source material - Fix still rides motorcycles, for example, and Nicodemus - maybe a Hellfire user? - drives around in a car. Ronald Ruel had clocks. Fix driving a bike is still the big one, though.

Unseelie Magic can be used to deliberately hex something, though.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: digital3lf on June 02, 2010, 05:33:44 PM

Actually wardens only fool with mortal magic users.   Fae knights don't sling mortal magic, they sling fae magic.  They are not subject to the Laws, just like the Denarians.   Whether this applies to the mechanics of the world is another story though.    The wardens can't hunt down the summer knight because he offs someone with a fiery butterfly.  He's not subject to their laws, only titania and the accords.       Whether killing another human with magic twists him into a monster or not is really up to jim (canonwise) and iago and company (game mechanics wise for the "real game") or your GM (house rules style)

I understand this distinction but I read "mortal magic user" as a mortal who uses magic of any sort. Fae Knights are partially mortal, are they not? I thought their semi-mortality was what made them so valuable to the Courts. Or does Fae Knight refer to something else? I was assuming the "Knight of a Faerie Court" template in the book. Following that, they are part mortal, so I'd assume a Warden could be obliged to remove whatever portion of their head that the Fae don't claim as "theirs". Is there stuff in the books about Wardens not doing so? I'm only on the 3rd one so far. I don't mean to be argumentative, I would really like to know if that's the case - although I don't like it if it is.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: John Galt on June 02, 2010, 06:01:23 PM
Knights are 100% mortal.  They are specifically granted power To do the Queens' dirty work.   Wardens are not stupid enough to attack a Fae Knight and incur a Faerie Queen's wrath.  Sponsored magic operates outside wc law when the sponsor is a member of the accords and is powerful enough to challenge the council itself.  If you think you can kill with magic sponsored by a lesser dragon, you'll probably be tasting Warden steel by breakfast.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: CMEast on June 02, 2010, 06:09:31 PM
I was literally just about to post that John Galt. I think that sponsored magic (magic that's not your own) might not always break one of the rules of the universe, but it may well break the rules of the wardens and, unless you have protection from the wardens by a member of the accords that they aren't at war with, they'll chop your head off if they can.

Plus, if you read the lawbreaker stunt, it states why those laws exist. Even with a sponsor, I think the first four laws will still stain your 'soul' and the last 3 laws will still break the natural order, no matter where the power originates.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: digital3lf on June 02, 2010, 06:36:39 PM
Sponsored magic operates outside wc law when the sponsor is a member of the accords and is powerful enough to challenge the council itself.  If you think you can kill with magic sponsored by a lesser dragon, you'll probably be tasting Warden steel by breakfast.

Nice. I like that solution a lot. It's ambiguous and brings in all sorts of political maneuvering and repercussions. Thanks guys!
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Deadmanwalking on June 02, 2010, 08:26:52 PM
1) You can't take Refinements.
2) You can take rotes.
3) Up for debate.

More or less, though I and others think you can take Refinement for extra Item Slots only.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: ballplayer72 on June 02, 2010, 09:52:28 PM
I understand this distinction but I read "mortal magic user" as a mortal who uses magic of any sort. Fae Knights are partially mortal, are they not? I thought their semi-mortality was what made them so valuable to the Courts. Or does Fae Knight refer to something else? I was assuming the "Knight of a Faerie Court" template in the book. Following that, they are part mortal, so I'd assume a Warden could be obliged to remove whatever portion of their head that the Fae don't claim as "theirs". Is there stuff in the books about Wardens not doing so? I'm only on the 3rd one so far. I don't mean to be argumentative, I would really like to know if that's the case - although I don't like it if it is.

I think youre taking "mortal magic user" the wrong way.   Its not simply someone who's human and uses magic.  its someone human who uses HUMAN magic.  least thats the way I  see it.   

For a knight of the fae the WC wardens can't hunt them for law violations.  The magic used is summer or winters, not joe wizards.  not mortal magic, not the wardens problem. (at least im' fairly sure).

Now if you had a wizard that got sponsored magic (not a knight mantle, just a deal for some umph. say he traded a baby for it or something) and he offed someone with it, the wardens could surely lop his head off.   Because he's not part of a court he's still under their jurisdiction.   At least i'm fairly sure.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: ballplayer72 on June 02, 2010, 09:54:02 PM
I was literally just about to post that John Galt. I think that sponsored magic (magic that's not your own) might not always break one of the rules of the universe, but it may well break the rules of the wardens and, unless you have protection from the wardens by a member of the accords that they aren't at war with, they'll chop your head off if they can.

Plus, if you read the lawbreaker stunt, it states why those laws exist. Even with a sponsor, I think the first four laws will still stain your 'soul' and the last 3 laws will still break the natural order, no matter where the power originates.
i think the stain your soul bit only applies if its YOUR magic, not you just channeling titanias or mabs magic..  but idk.   we'd need a WOJ for that i think.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: CMEast on June 03, 2010, 09:00:26 AM
I would argue that any act, magical or not, has an effect on your 'soul', but the vast majority of acts are negligible in game terms. Killing people without the use of magic still makes you a bad person, but using magic is using a part of who you are to do it, thus magnifying the effect it has. I'd say that using summer magic to kill would turn you more summer-y and winter magic more winter-y, both of which would make you less human, more monstrous and so more likely to do it again. Hellfire would obviously leave a mark on your soul and soulfire is your pure soul itself used as fuel.

I think the point of the first four laws is to make sure wizards aren't turning in to monsters (losing refresh level in game terms), especially as monsters that are just following their evil nature are more likely to break the last three laws, the ones that upset the natural balance and open the doors for the outsiders.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Bubba Amon Hotep on June 04, 2010, 12:56:47 AM
I have been reading and listening to this one.  And I think there is a point some are missing. 

Sponsored Magic.  Means someone is lending you magic.  You call on them and they either GRANT or DENY you power.

If a dragon sponsors you, and while not on a specific duty for the dragon you toast someone, or abuse your magic, I would think the dragon would simply DENY you that power you are attempting to summon.  Think of it. 

You go in for the killing blow and the sponsor DENIES you power.  So there you are, powerless, and the foe you had been attempting to kill now has the upper hand.

Just goes to show that all power needs to be used responsibly.  Why does the spider man quote always pop up in my head.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: TheRedBaron on June 08, 2010, 01:27:32 PM
Bump for a week.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Viatos on June 09, 2010, 03:57:58 PM
I have been reading and listening to this one.  And I think there is a point some are missing. 

Sponsored Magic.  Means someone is lending you magic.  You call on them and they either GRANT or DENY you power.

If a dragon sponsors you, and while not on a specific duty for the dragon you toast someone, or abuse your magic, I would think the dragon would simply DENY you that power you are attempting to summon.  Think of it. 

You go in for the killing blow and the sponsor DENIES you power.  So there you are, powerless, and the foe you had been attempting to kill now has the upper hand.

Just goes to show that all power needs to be used responsibly.  Why does the spider man quote always pop up in my head.

It's notable that the rules explain how a Sponsor can cut you off for incurring too much debt, but don't talk about this happening normally. I think the reason they don't is so that GMs don't try to use this to control their players. Players have compellable High Concepts already; they can resist those compels without losing access to their magic. Best example is that the Faerie Knights can always say 'no' but don't stop being Faerie Knights until their mantle is yanked (which should be an Extreme Level 2 consequence of a social conflict with a Queen at BEST). Sponsored Magic provides a unique debt mechanic to play with, but the basic power it grants should not, in my opinion, be yoinked this way.

I agree that the Laws apply (both WC and metaphysical versions) only to mortal humans using their own innate magic. If you use Faerie Magic to murder a dozen infants, you do not become a Lawbreaker and the Wardens are only licensed to stop you because you're assaulting humanity, not because you broke one of their Laws (you didn't, they can take it up with Titania or Mab if they don't like it). Sponsored Magic is not the magic of your soul and you take no metaphyiscal backlash for using it in ways that your soul would rebel against; there's no connecting thread. Sponsored Magic is not human magic and is not subject to White Council control, although if you become a threat to humanity you can be dealt with as normal.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: TheRedBaron on June 09, 2010, 05:19:42 PM
(which should be an Extreme Level 2 consequence of a social conflict with a Queen at BEST).

Not even that; not to go into spoilers, but I'm fairly certain that the mantle can only be revoked upon the death of the Knight. This was a plot point.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: Bubba Amon Hotep on June 09, 2010, 10:03:35 PM
Not even that; not to go into spoilers, but I'm fairly certain that the mantle can only be revoked upon the death of the Knight. This was a plot point.

again not to get into spoilers but an interview with mr. butcher stated that not even in death.
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: JosephKell on June 10, 2010, 02:52:24 AM
again not to get into spoilers but an interview with mr. butcher stated that not even in death.
Because
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Sponsored Magic - just for confirmation's sake...
Post by: troubles third son on June 10, 2010, 04:34:43 PM
is it possible to get a confirmation on that being a fact from a transcript or video?