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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: noom777 on November 08, 2012, 09:00:55 AM
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Hi to everyone!
I am the storyteller of an upcoming Dresden Files campaign and one of my players wants to build a character who will be son of the mighty god Thor. What supernatural abilities do you suggest he must take, how is it possible to construct abilities and apply some sort of restriction about using them(I am thinking about a stress track for using lightning etc.)?
Note:He has supernatural powers but in a restricted format because he knows nothing about his father.The refresh level of our campaign will be 9 points.
Any help would be much appreciated! Excuse me for my poor English.
Thanks in advance!
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Hrm...
Inhuman Strength -2
Supernatural Toughness -4
The Catch (???) +?
Item of Power - Mjolnir +1
Breath Weapon (Lightning) -2
That's a total of -7 refresh assuming a +0 catch. If you get at least a +1 Catch, he can upgrade to supernatural strength. Also, you could start with supernatural strength and no Mjolnir until later when he learns his identity and the refresh level may have risen.
Note: I went with breath weapon because it's aimed with the Weapons skill and affords better synergy than channeling would. Don't see much need for a custom power here.
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Going by the myths, a lot of Thor's power would've been from Items of Power. There's Mjolnir, for a start, and he had a belt that gave him the superhuman strength necessary to lift the hammer.
As for a stress track for lightning, I'd say make it Channeling linked to an Item of Power. Ditto with Strength--that can be a way of giving him the powers gradually, he finds the items bit by bit.
As for a Catch, in the myths, Thor is killed fighting Jormagandr, specifically he dies of the poison from the serpent's bites, so that could be one Catch.
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A question about the rules: Why the Mjolnir in your example has a + 1 refresh value? Maybe I am a little confused about the rules for the Items of power.
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Poison is a good catch.
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Ditch Mjolnir - if he's the son of Thor, and doesn't know it, why would he have Thor's hammer, or any specific Thor related items of power.
Strength, toughness, recovery, catch (magic) - breath weapon (lightning)
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I am interested in the rules about items of power (in this instance the Mjolnir) because in the campaign the player will acquire it so I have to build it,rulewise.
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Check out the custom item of power thread.
The one listed here has +1 one time discount because it's externalized. It might be +2 since it's probably not easily concealable, but you can't have a have a discount equal to the items refresh.
So +1-2=-1
Breath weapon -2
One time discount +1
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I am also interested in this:
Item of Power - Mjolnir +1
I have made a bunch of items of power and they have to be at the least a -1 cost. I have seen Mjolnir in this forum but not at a +1. I am wondering what powers you used to make it a +1
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I'm pretty sure the +1 is the one time discount
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Oh so the breath weapon is on the IoP? That makes sense.
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I think given the OP wanting a restriction for using lightning means that channeling makes more sense--you'd have a finite limit on how many times you could throw it around, but the power would be flexible. Presumably not all of Thor's lightning bolts are of the same power, and he could probably crank up the voltage when he wants, not something possible with Breath Weapon.
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Plus it would be the same refresh rate
Alternativly you could use this one that is already written (though it does have a higher refresh cost)
MJOLNIR [-3]
Description: Thor's hammer. Enough said.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. If the wielder is not worthy, Mjolnir becomes too heavy to lift.
[-0] It Is What It Is. A weapon 3 hammer.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. It's a big hammer. Not easy to hide.
[-1] Never Far From Reach. Mjolnir can be thrown as a weapon up to 2 zones away (instead of the standard 1). Upon striking or missing, it returns to its owner's hand on the following exchange. This ability only works when the hammer is thrown. If the hammer caught, stuck, or taken from the bearer the hammer will not magically return.
[-1] True Aim. Mjolnir is a superlative weapon. So long as its bearer is worthy, it provides a +1 bonus to all Weapons rolls.
[-3] The Bigger They Come... Even the World Serpent must fear the impact of Mjolnir. When facing an opponent, the wielder may spend a fate point to ignore all of that opponent's defensive powers and mundane armour for a scene.
I think that Bigger They Come is a ACaEBG power which Addicted and I have gotten into discussions about.
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[-3] The Bigger They Come... Even the World Serpent must fear the impact of Mjolnir. When facing an opponent, the wielder may spend a fate point to ignore all of that opponent's defensive powers and mundane armour for a scene.
It does seem that way. Although for fun it would be interesting to see it only work on things that are bigger than you are.
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Indeed, The Bigger They Come is an ACaEBG knock-off. As such, its balance is somewhat questionable. But it probably won't be a problem in most games.
That aside, putting Breath Weapon on an Item Of Power is kind of silly. You don't have to pay for the fact that your weapon has a weapon rating.
The range might be worth paying for, though, if it goes beyond what is normally possible for a mundane item.
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It does seem that way. Although for fun it would be interesting to see it only work on things that are bigger than you are.
That would be interesting. I feel you should get a refresh back though, -2 instead of -3
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You can do that with the Limitation custom Power.
I wouldn't, though. I don't recall anything in the myths that said Mjolnir was especially effective against big things. I think that's just the name the item's writer chose, not a thematic statement.
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Well, yeah. I was just saying it could be interesting.
Also, one thing everyone seems to forget when writing up Mjolnir is that it could change size.
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Hmm, so are you talking Thor - actual norse mythology, or Thor, marvel comics version (if the actual norse myth, i'd disregard anything that Mjolnir does in the comics and check out something like the following:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mj%C3%B6llnir
(and considering the information there, i'd put the lightning control (channelling) and strength power in the hammer)
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While I agree with the statement that channeling can be much better than breath weapon, I picked that in my write up because it keeps the character from needing conviction and discipline to use it effectively. And I do agree that it seems odd to have a power on a weapon which provides a weapon rating to characters without a weapon, I think it's worth it for the range and the fact that you could do a lot of maneuvers with lightning, not to mention it may satisfy a catch that the hammer itself doesn't... Though technically the hammer would be holy... So there is that to consider too.
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You don't need to spend Refresh to get a narrative descriptor like "lightning". And 2 Refresh for one zone of range is nonsense. Even 1 Refresh is questionable, honestly, when you consider that Weapons weapons can have range for free.
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I disagree with the lightning damage being a narrative descriptor that you could get for free. A character with no supernatural power can't say that his baseball bat/bullets/rubber chicken is charged with lightning when he realizes that the iron golem he's fighting is weak to electricity.
Also, yes, you could throw any hammer one zone away for free, but then you have to go get it to use it again. I also give my players leeway on the one zone range for breath weapon because I feel it's a poorly written power (as has been mentioned on this forum before).
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A question about the rules: Why the Mjolnir in your example has a + 1 refresh value? Maybe I am a little confused about the rules for the Items of power.
As someone else mentioned, an item of power's discount and the refresh of the powers attached to it must be at least -1. If there were at least three refresh of powers attached, the discount would be +2 for an obvious item.
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I disagree with the lightning damage being a narrative descriptor that you could get for free. A character with no supernatural power can't say that his baseball bat/bullets/rubber chicken is charged with lightning when he realizes that the iron golem he's fighting is weak to electricity.
Not what I meant.
My point is, a taser costs no Refresh. And it's electrical. Mjolnir's electrical-ness should likewise be free.
Just because the narrative tags attached to items are free doesn't mean you can swap them out whenever you want. It just means you need not spend Refresh on owning items with them.
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If I were statting up Mjölnir, here's how I'd do it:
Mjölnir [-4]
Guided by Thought. You may call Mjölnir back to your by a simple effort of will. This is normally a free action, meaning that the hammer can return immediately after being thrown. If any attempt is made to prevent the axe from returning, it is opposed by your Discipline. Additionally, gain +1 to any Weapon rolls made using the axe.
Pinnacle of Dwarven Craftsmanship. Mjölnir is a Weapon:4, instead of the usual Weapon:2.
Mountain Crushing Blows. Mjölnir is capable of decimating mountains in the right hands. Once per scene, for a Fate point, you may add your Might skill as additional stress on a successful attack. Additionally, if you have Strength powers, add double the stress bonus from those abilities when using this effect.
Shrinking. Mjölnir is easily concealed. Thor could shrink it so that he could easily fit it in his tunic, but when drawn it became a massive war-hammer. Because of this, Mjölnir only receives a +1 rebate for being an item of power.
Járngreipr Gloves. The hammer may only be wielded by someone wearing the Járngreipr Gloves (these are not items of power themselves, as they simply allow one to wield the hammer Mjölnir).
This is based on the mythological hammer, not the Marvel comics one.
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You forgot to say how much each power costs.
Also, typo in the first power Guided by Thought, you called it an axe.
I don't know about doubling stress from strength powers, those are pretty brutal already.
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I don't know about doubling stress from strength powers, those are pretty brutal already.
It's only 1/scene and costs a FP. Do you have to use it before you know you hit, or can you activate it after you know the attack succeeds?
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Mountain Crushing Blows is a bit worrying. Powers that scale according to skills and other Powers tend to hard to balance, and this one could easily add a ton of damage to an attack. Even if costed perfectly, it might disrupt play since anything that can take a Mountain Crushing Blow will shrug off normal hits.
How long is the range of Guided By Thought? Can I call it to my hand after leaving it at home? And does it remove the normal need for a supplemental action to draw one's weapon?
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Not what I meant.
My point is, a taser costs no Refresh. And it's electrical. Mjolnir's electrical-ness should likewise be free.
Just because the narrative tags attached to items are free doesn't mean you can swap them out whenever you want. It just means you need not spend Refresh on owning items with them.
Ok, now we are on the same page.
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Any ideas about constructing a supernatural power which allows the user to shoot lightning strikes from his hands without the help of an item and without playing like a wizard.Also, how this power can be restricted with a strees track but give the player more times to use it before the track fills.Recharge using street lamps maybe?
Last, I want something more powerful than the Breath Weapon mentioned in the book.
Sorry for my storm of questions but I have no experience constructing abilities.
Thanks for your support!
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Any ideas about constructing a supernatural power which allows the user to shoot lightning strikes from his hands without the help of an item and without playing like a wizard.Also, how this power can be restricted with a strees track but give the player more times to use it before the track fills.Recharge using street lamps maybe?
Last, I want something more powerful than the Breath Weapon mentioned in the book.
Reflavored channeling, with declarations. That's really the simplest way to do it.
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Reflavored channeling, with declarations. That's really the simplest way to do it.
Take a stunt to move the spell-casting skills from discipline and conviction to Endurance and Fists/weapons.
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Channelling is indeed appropriate, but not perfect. Channelling involves items, is quite wizard-like, and doesn't let you recharge.
You could avoid those issues by using Natural Weaponry or Incite Effect, but it'd probably be better to mess around with Channelling. Maybe use something Blood Drinker-like for the recharge.
The discussion starting here (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,19934.msg1048378.html#msg1048378) might be helpful, I dunno.
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Well, what I meant as far as declarations goes was, as Noom suggested, declaring that there's a transformer or something there you could tap into--tag that for effect to remove some of the stress you've taken from casting.
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I guess...
But that's pretty powerful. Most people can't do that with a Declaration and a tag, barring special circumstances. I don't think that being able to do that regularly ought to be free.
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Channelling is indeed appropriate, but not perfect. Channelling involves items, is quite wizard-like, and doesn't let you recharge.
You could avoid those issues by using Natural Weaponry or Incite Effect, but it'd probably be better to mess around with Channelling. Maybe use something Blood Drinker-like for the recharge.
The discussion starting here (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,19934.msg1048378.html#msg1048378) might be helpful, I dunno.
Where is incite effect? I've looked for it and can't find it.
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I guess...
But that's pretty powerful. Most people can't do that with a Declaration and a tag, barring special circumstances. I don't think that being able to do that regularly ought to be free.
Well, a declaration still has to make sense, so it's not gonna apply if, say, they're fighting in a forest or something.
I suppose another way to play it might be just to tag such a declaration for a single attack/action.
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I have pondered having a Scion of the Aesir before. The best catch that I could come up with came from the old Baldur myth, Mistletoe.
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I have pondered having a Scion of the Aesir before. The best catch that I could come up with came from the old Baldur myth, Mistletoe.
I believe I've seen that one Catch come up before, so don't think you can't make it work
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I believe I've seen that one Catch come up before, so don't think you can't make it work
I don't see why it would not work. Just because something is a catch, it doesn't mean the catch itself has to cause the damage. Maybe the mistletoe just needs to be tied to a weapon, or maybe a small blessing is said as its tied. It's more the presence of the catch and intent of weilder.
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We actually have a character in our game who has that as his catch. He is Odin Blessed. He later took potent catch, which allows mistletoe to be weaponized but, it does work.
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Any ideas about constructing a supernatural power which allows the user to shoot lightning strikes from his hands without the help of an item and without playing like a wizard.Also, how this power can be restricted with a strees track but give the player more times to use it before the track fills.Recharge using street lamps maybe?
Last, I want something more powerful than the Breath Weapon mentioned in the book.
Sorry for my storm of questions but I have no experience constructing abilities.
Thanks for your support!
I use this for my descendant of Thor.
Thundering Blows [-1]
Musts: You must possess Physical Immunity to electricity and thunder, such as that possessed by Thor’s descendants.
Effects:
Natural Weapons. Your fists can be charged with lightning or produce thundering booms, acting as Weapon 2 when making attacks. This bonus stacks with stress increases due to Strength abilities, but not other Weapon effects, per the usual stacking guidelines.
Charged Strikes. You may also charge the melee weapons you wield, dealing +1 stress on a successful melee attack. This bonus stacks with stress increases due to Strength abilities, but not other bonuses, per the usual guidelines.
Ranged Strike. [-1] You may throw your thunder and lightning up to two zones away as a Weapon 2 attack (using the Weapons skill). Additionally, you may increase the Weapon Rating by inflicting physical stress upon yourself. Increase the Weapon Rating by 2 per point of physical stress inflicted.
You could probably remove the physical immunity requirement. This costs the same as breath weapon, but is a bit more useful.
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One of my characters (a Valkyrie) also has the mistletoe catch. When I first came up with her, the GM mentioned that a weapon soaked in the juice/oil from the plant would also work. I think his suggestion at the time was soaking bullets in it.
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One of my characters (a Valkyrie) also has the mistletoe catch. When I first came up with her, the GM mentioned that a weapon soaked in the juice/oil from the plant would also work. I think his suggestion at the time was soaking bullets in it.
Interesting. I had never thought of that. When my player took it I couldn't think of a way to weaponize it, so I made it a +0 on that option, since it would require something like a god forging a mistletoe spear to make it work against them. But yeah that probably would have worked too. Oh well. Potent catch is way more fun. Christmas themed games are going to be a blast.
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If the Declaration is something the character can maybe do sometimes when it's cool, no need to pay. But if it's meant to be somewhat reliable and a part of the character's power, it can't be free.
Not sure why you'd use Potent Catch for mistletoe. IIRC the mistletoe was no more deadly to Baldr than to anyone else, it's just that everything else in the world had promised not to harm Baldr.
Thundering Blows seems iffy to me. Obsoleting both Claws and Breath Weapon is hardly ideal (unless you're actually trying to replace those Powers), and the stress-based weapon boost just might be crazy powerful. Can I really inflict 8 extra stress by filling in my fourth stress box?
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If the Declaration is something the character can maybe do sometimes when it's cool, no need to pay. But if it's meant to be somewhat reliable and a part of the character's power, it can't be free.
Not sure why you'd use Potent Catch for mistletoe. IIRC the mistletoe was no more deadly to Baldr than to anyone else, it's just that everything else in the world had promised not to harm Baldr.
Thundering Blows seems iffy to me. Obsoleting both Claws and Breath Weapon is hardly ideal (unless you're actually trying to replace those Powers), and the stress-based weapon boost just might be crazy powerful. Can I really inflict 8 extra stress by filling in my fourth stress box?
Potent catch as a way of making it weaponize, so it gets more refresh back. For our game it was purely a mechanical decision.
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Wasnt it a player mechanical decision too? His character has it as a potent catch, not necessarially all of Odin's Scions
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Thundering Blows seems iffy to me. Obsoleting both Claws and Breath Weapon is hardly ideal (unless you're actually trying to replace those Powers), and the stress-based weapon boost just might be crazy powerful. Can I really inflict 8 extra stress by filling in my fourth stress box?
Honestly, I rewrote breath weapon because most of my players kept saying that there was no reason to take it instead of channeling. This was an example of that.
The +2 damage from stress was a typo that I didn't catch. It's meant to be +1. Oops.
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There's plenty of reason to take it over Channelling. For example, maybe you don't have much Lore, Discipline, and Conviction.
I mean, Breath Weapon is pretty weak. But there are many situations where Channelling is even worse.
While I like the idea of upgrading Breath Weapon, I think the upgraded version should remain generic. Claws and Breath Weapon are extremely broadly useful, so they end up on all kinds of characters.
And if the upgraded version is as niche as this one, then it's not useful for the vast majority of those characters.
I took a shot at Claws and Breath Weapon with Natural Weaponry, which is honestly still pretty conservative power-wise. I've considered making it weapon 3 base, because that's what good mundane weapons offer. I don't think it would break anything.