Good Times Jake J - A wizard who is in many ways the opposite of Harry.

This was inspired by the amenities thread.  Note that he's not optimised for power but to have fun.

Name: Jake J Chambers
Template: Wizard
High Concept Aspect: Hedonistic Wizard
Trouble: Am I Having Fun Yet?

Background:
   Back in the 1920s the economy was roaring, but not for everyone.  Jake J (the J doesn't stand for anything; it's just a letter) was raised in a one-room tar paper shack, part of one of those large families that existed before effective birth control was developed.  Hunger was a constant companion and it wasn't because his family was too proud to take charity; in the opinion of the town they didn't deserve help.  Prohibition was on, but that never slowed either of his parents in their continual quest to drink away the food money while their children went hungry.  The only time the kids ever got "new" clothes was once a year when a charity lady would drop off heavily patched clothes so they would have something decent to wear to school.  Those well-worn clothes never lasted long, and most of the time the kids went around half-naked.  Not that it really mattered much, at their ages, and the weather was mostly warm enough that the kids didn't need to wear much.  Nor were they alone in their poverty, but their neighbours who didn't drink made out better - if they were willing to beg from the church committees.

   School was a different experience for Jake J.  One his first day he went to play with some kids he didn't know and a few of the older boys decided to teach him a lesson about trying to associate with his betters.  The teacher, when she heard the fight, reacted to "one of them no account Chambers boys causing trouble with his betters" and reached for the strap.  In short, he was quickly taught that him and his family were scum.  On the other hand, Jake J liked school.  There was always a chance that one of the kids would share a lunch with someone who hadn't eaten that day (and maybe not the day before).  Sometimes he had to do things for the food, but it was better than going hungry.

   Not that Jake J was destined to spend much time in school.  If there was work to do he did it, to bring money home.  Sometimes he would "steal" part of his pay to buy something to eat and other times he only worked for food.  And getting work was hard - his father was known to tell the most outrageous jokes (today he would have made a good shock comic) whose punch lines often included bestiality, incest, or interracial sex - and people held those wicked jokes against Jake J and the other children.  When he couldn't work he'd often scrounge for whatever he could find, mainly looking for food.  Most what he can remember of those days is being hungry.

Background Aspect: Grew up Hungry Out of Sight of the Tracks.
(used to go that extra mile or compelled in social situations to undermine his confidence)


Rising Conflict:
   Eventually, when Jake J was around 10, the county had no choice but to get involved.  Jake J's parents were given the opportunity of a lifetime - deliver some corn brew and they'd get to keep a ten gallon drum - with Jake J's mother going to help unload (and make sure her husband didn't drink everything before she could drink her share).  The bootleggers saw them as convenient cut-offs to deal with someone they thought might be a probation agent, the probation agent saw them as a "make due" arrest, and the DA saw them as "proof he was doing something about the evils of alcohol" while secretly accepting bribes.  As for the justice system, it saw them as trash that needed locking up.

   Jake J never saw his parents after they were arrested as neither lasted long in jail.  Years of hard drinking combined with neglectful prison doctors and resulted in his mother's death less than two years into her sentence.  As for his father, the jokes that the man told offended most of his fellow inmates and many of the guards - meaning there were too many suspects when he was stabbed to find his killer.

   When his parents were arrested and none of their relatives would take the children in, the county had to act.  The County Home, while sparse, was a step up for Jake J.  The food was plain and never plentiful, but it was more than Jake J had grown up with.  The uniforms were ill fitting but better than any clothes he had ever worn.  The staff was uncaring and strict, but (unlike his own parents) they usually only beat you if you did something wrong.

   But the county hated to have to pay to feed kids and when a stranger arrived and said he wanted to adopt the only question they asked was if he was a Christian.  Once that was confirmed they lined the kids up in front of him and he picked Jake J from the line.  There was never any thought given to keeping the family together, so that afternoon Jake J left with the stranger.  On the trip "home" the stranger introduced himself as Alexander Wellsworth.

   Jake J was awed by the wealth of his new home (a four bedroom colonial).  Not only did have a bed to himself, he had an entire room to himself! Unbelieving that anyone could live in such luxury, Jake J asked when the others would be moving in and was told that only Jake would be living here because only Jake had the talent to do magic.

   Alexander Wellsworth wasn't a cruel man, but he had never been a parent and often phrased things poorly.  When he decided that he wanted an apprentice he had selected one, and while he offered praise it was always for Jake J's talent, never to Jake J himself.  As Jake J came into contact with other members of the White Council that was how they phrased it too - saying that his magical talent was coming along nicely.

   Even though there wasn't much praise, there was food.  Jake J had a long delayed growth spurt and never went to bed hunger again.  His talent was keeping him fed and you had to respect anything that put food in your belly.

Phase Aspect: I'm The Guy With The Talent
(Note: there are all sorts of ways this can help him, but it can also be compelled to undermine his self-confidence).


The Story: Jake J's Back In Town - What Could Go Wrong?
   It takes years to train as a Wizard and by the time Jake J joined the ranks of the White Council the Roaring Twenties had turned into the Dirty Thirties.  Deciding to call on his old haunts, Jake J went all out.  He borrowed a car, wore the suit that Alexander Wellsworth had bought him as a graduation present, and conjured bling.  He conjured a gold "watch" (not the actual watch, just the casing) and a gold chain to link it to his belt, a pinkie ring, diamond studded gold cufflinks, an emerald tie pin - if it was a piece of jewellery that a man could wear he conjured it.

   Going home he found that his siblings were either dead or in prison, which dashed the hopes of impressing them.  Even the girls were gone - from childbirth, accidents, or domestic violence.  Unfortunately there others who saw him and hated the fact that he impressed them - none of those no account Chambers boys had any right to come back wearing better clothes than them and having more money, especially with the Depression on.  It wasn't right - it wasn't natural for a piece of trash to be their equal (or better).

   Jake's first knowledge of this resentment was when *Guest Star* burst into Jake's motel room with important news.

   (Note: If there isn't another long lived character then it's a character's grandfather or great-grandfather - and any sort of minority works well in this role, including a Catholic, Jew, or other "non-Christian".)

   The news was dire; the men of the town were gathering.  They hadn't decided yet if they were going beat Jake and take his money to teach him his place or beat him, take his money, and kill him as a lesson to others not to get above their place in life.  *Guest Star* was also on the mob's list, for another reason (one involving a lonely wife), and hoped that he could escape the county by however Jake was leaving.  Jake knew that most of his valuable would fade after another sunset, but by then he'd be dead.  With the mob already in sight Jake took the slightly less dangerous option and, along with *Guest Star* he escaped into the Nevernever.

   From the motel room they found themselves in a potentate's place.  Jake had thought his mentor lived well, but this place opened his eyes to a level of luxury that Jake had never previously been able to envision.  Adventures followed, including a chase bit that looked like scene from an Abbot and Costello movie as they were comically pursued through the seraglio.

   When the pair finally escaped and returned to the real world, they were fifty miles and three days away from where they had entered.  On returning to Earth, Jake made a vow - that he owed *Guest Star* his life and *Guest Star* (or his family) could cash that in for a number of lessor favours.  Secretly, Jake also vowed that he would live the good life - with his target set by the other world luxury he had just seen.
Aspect: I Want It All And I Want It Now!


Guest Star: Whose Path Have You Crossed? (Details to be filled in later)
   It depends on who you want him to work with.  Odds are you'll want the roles to be sometime recent, so here's a rough timeline for Jake J:

30's - vows to live comfortably - begins to use magic to do so.

40's - ignores the war; his upbringing not instilling many patriotic feelings.  Instead he uses powers to go prospecting, finding mineral deposits that provide wealth in the mundane world.

50's - posing as a semi-respectable businessman, Jake J transfers most of his wealth to a trust - allowing him to reinvent himself as needed.  His plan is to build a small palace/good sized mansion every couple of decades in a new city in a new state, making only local waves as he does so.  The buildings would have to be designed around Jake J's problems with technology, but a rich eccentric can be catered to.
This a plan that gets delayed a bit when Hugh Hefner opens the first Playboy Club - Jake becomes a member and later a visitor to the mansion, stopping only in the mid 70s when his unaging face attracts too much attention.

60's - as the counter culture spread, Jake J lost the respect of many on the White Council when he seemed to join it.  He never thought that the hippies could change the world but enjoyed their sex and drugs lifestyles for a while.

70's - it was the Swinging 70s, and Jake J swung with the swingers.  Jake J also reinvented his identity and moved into a new luxury home.

80's - Jake J had a small coke problem, but he beat it.  He also had a bit of an AIDS scare and developed a thaumaturgy ritual to protect himself from STDs, conjuring condoms until it was perfected.

90's - Jake couldn't take advantage of the Internet Bubble, but he had fun spending money and partying with the new millionaires.

The new millennium started off well, then disaster hit.  Not the dot com bubble bursting, his wealth is too diverse for that.  No, some idiot boy wizard pissed off an entire vampire court and wouldn't make it better.  Jake's first inkling of the problem was when his latest palace was attacked.  Of course he had mundane security to deal with the riffraff, but they were merely a speed bump for the Red Court assault squad.  But a useful speed bump - it gave Jake a chance to flee.  To run for his life, just as he had once ran from a mob.  All his money meant nothing as the Red Court took his luxuries from him.

Since then life has been relatively hell.  With many of his possessions in storage, Jake has had to live in existing mansions rather than custom built ones.  Of course this plays hell on the building's electronics (at least one of his rented mansions has caught fire) and existing this way frustrates the hell out of him.  He still has the money, but he doesn't have the entire lifestyle and the only reason he had the money was to live the lifestyle.

Sample aspects could include  "I'm Here - Start the Party", "Money Doesn't Buy Happiness But At Least You Can Choose Your Misery", "I've Got People For That", "Party Time!" - or anything else that makes sense to the group.


Power Level: Submerged
Skill Cap: Superb
Skill Points: 35
Starting Refresh: 10
Adjusted Refresh: 1


Skills
Resources: Superb (He likes his comforts)

Discipline: Great (he's still a Wizard of the White Council)
Lore: Great (Conjures more than he uses Evocation)

Conviction: Good (self-image problems)
Deceit: Good (He builds false lives out of webs of lies)
Rapport: Good (He's good at getting people to open up)

Athletics: Fair (keeps himself in fair shape)
Intimidation: Fair (loves to tear into supercilious people)
Presence: Fair
Scholarship: Fair (He never had much learning, at least not compared to most wizards)

Alertness: Average (he hates surprises)
Craftsmanship: Average (sometimes he has to build his own devices)
Fists: Average (early lessons that stayed with him)
Weapons: Average (mostly knives)
Survival: Average (childhood lessons that stayed with him)


Stunts and powers

Resources Stunt: Lush Lifestyle.

Invocation (-3) (Speciality Spirit (power bonus), Fire, Earth)
The Sight (–1)
Soulgaze (–0)
Thaumaturgy (-3) (Conjuration, for conjuring things he can't buy)
Wizard’s Constitution (–0)

Refinement (-1) - Air Evocation (power bonus) - giving him an element of surprise; since few wizards bother adding another element few suspect him of having four to call on.  Oddly enough, he generally keeps Earth as the surprise one.


Items

Invocation:
Classic Pinkie Ring of Spirit (Focus for Spirit (Power, offensive) +1)
   This wouldn't look out of place in the 1920s.  Today it's less fashionable but Jake J has a sentimental attachment to it.  This was the first piece of real jewellery that Jake J bought.  A small diamond sparkles on the ring.

<Missing Item>
Maybe another focus, but could be a couple more enchanted items, or an item and a potion slot.


Thaumaturgy
Focus Item
Cup of Wisdom (Conjuration Focus, Lore +1)
   When Jake J is about to conjure something he often sips from his cup of wisdom to cut prep time a bit.

Enchanted Items:
Jacuzzi Motor
   Jake J likes to soak in a hot tub (often with company), but hot tubs don't like him.  They are always burning out, water jets pumping too hard or too soft, things break down at the worse possible times.  After one too many hot tub failures he decided to replace it magic.  True, he could use a Thaumaturgy rite to get the water going, but who has time cast one of those when you want soak? Plus the duration is usually too short or too long.  No, he uses his Craftsmanship skills and magic to rip out the motor and replace it with this device/  And if he can't get a hot tub, the motor can be used to spruce up a normal tub (if its large enough).  Just tape this to the side of the sunken tub, small pool, what have you.  The problem is it doesn't work as well when used as in a makeshift way.  Without spouts built into the tub's walls the water just circulates.  Better than nothing, but not what he wants (and what's the sense of having cash if you can't get what you want?).

Water Heater Element
   Not being able to live in custom designed mansions means that water heaters don't always work.  Jake J detests cold showers, hating them enough to craft this item.  Jake J jury-rigs the device to the water heater and is thus ensured of hot water when the heater breaks down.  It's a magic item that doesn't help when foes are breaking down the door, but comfort is important.  Life has to be worth living to live, right?


Rotes:

Name: Spare Hand
Type: Air Evocation, maneuver
Area: What he wants to pick up
Jake J uses this rote to avoid getting up.  Minor magic might move light objects, but Jake J really doesn't like to get up just to fetch things.  Use Power in place of Might when lifting objects with this spell.  Note that this is the last of his comfort centric rotes and he refuses to replace it with something more effective in combat.


Name: Gotta Run
Type: Spirit Evocation, Defensive block (Veil)
Area: Self
Power: 4 - 3 for the block, 1 for extra duration
Duration: 2 exchanges
Opposed by: An observer’s Alertness skill
Lately Jake J has seen the need to be able to flee in safety.  Reluctantly he dropped one of his more entertaining rotes for this one.


Name: Die You Red Court Bastard, Die!
Type: Spirit Evocation, Attack
Power: 5
Duration: 1 exchange
Area: One target
A beam of energy that blasts his enemies.  Since the war began, Jake J has been forced to practice his fighting skills and this is the result.  He named the spell this because he views those he has to fight as evil bastards who need have dragged him away from the good things in life, forcing him to fight for his life.


Name: Don't Hurt Me I'm Rich!
Type: Spirit evocation, defensive block
Power: 4
Duration: One exchange
Effect: Deflects incoming attack. If overcome, it vanishes.
This is your basic shield spell.  Yes, Jake J often screams that when an attack is incoming.  Occasionally it's resulted in a bidding war - as he offers to pay low class thugs more than their current employer can afford.


Thaumaturgy spells:
   Most of his more practised spells deal with his own enjoyment.  He has one that protects him from socially transmitted diseases, ones to cook meals, ones to clean house, and so on.  Others deal with him conjuring the things that he doesn't want to (or can't) buy.  Unique objets d′art are present when he needs them and fade when he doesn't.  Waterbeds are added to rooms when he wants them.  Fresh clothes appear as needed.  Then there's the revenge thing.

   When Jake J feels like screwing with "the good people" (people of good breeding, like those who never allowed him to forget that he and his family were nothing but trash) he'll conjure something valuable.  A diamond bracelet, gold necklace, something along those lines, and pass it along.  Maybe he'll sell it to them at good price (to deal with a temporary cash flow problem), give it as a gift, or allow one of them to accidentally walk off with it.  In any case the item will only last a week - long enough to be appraised and insured, or to be sold to someone else.  Imagine, an expensive thing like that - gone! Maybe a servant took it or maybe it was another family member.  Of course it has to be an inside job - that was the only thing taken from the safe! Or maybe it's someone trying a bit of insurance fraud with a non-existent item? Jake J can get days of enjoyment from the fallout of one these "pranks".

   No, Jake J isn't always the nicest person in the world - and the old scars linger the longest.

I stumbled over this - and thought that the gamers amongst Butcher's fans would like it.  From Wikipedia:
In Turn Coat, the eleventh book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, the narrator mentions that there are in his universe "terrors that the Black-Goat-with-a-Thousand-Young wouldn't dare use for its kids' bedtime stories."

See the quote in context at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shub-Niggurath.

Richard

I realise that this is slightly off topic for this forum, but I couldn't find a place on the board where it fit as an on topic question...

Is it just me or has the forum's look changed a couple of time in the last day or so?

Richard

Evil Hat goes above and beyond what most other publishers do - far beyond!

I've just stumbled over this generous offer and I'm passing it along to anyone still using the pre-release PDFs.  Maybe the offer was posted here before, maybe it wasn't, but in case you haven't seen it:
http://www.dresdenfilesrpg.com/2010/05/03/dresden-files-preorder-pdfs-updated

- gives the details of how to get the release copy of the PDF if you bought the pre-release one.

A company giving you the final version of their product without charging more for it! All I can saw is WOW!

Richard

Cute and Harry doesn't always go hand in hand - but there's often some cuteness to break up the seriousness of the situation.  Even if it's just Toot-Toot reacting to another promotion.

I've posted some very nasty characters in the past, doing cute ones... That's more challenging...  I found when I was writing up "Envoys of Santa" that doing a cute, Disney flavoured one was harder than writing up a former 'muscle for hire' type who hangs around the Naughty and Nice strip when he's not working for the Fat Man.

So here's a thread for cuteness.  It has to be things that fit inside the world, but other than that cute rules!

And I'll start the ball rolling with a young teenage who just wants to dance at parties.

The Flower Child Changeling


Name: Patricia 'Petals' Jones
Template: Changeling
High Concept Aspect: A True Flower Child of a Flower Fairy
Trouble Aspect: Too Young For Fun

Background:
Once upon a time was free spirited teen name Kelly Jones, who loved to party.  She was open and secure in her sexuality - Kelly knew what she liked and went with it.  Some of that changed when she got knocked up, but not much.  But this isn't her story or even the story of the man (um, creature?) that knocked her up - this is her daughter's story.

Her mother named her Patricia but somehow everyone started calling her Petals.  As a child some people thought she had ADD while others thought her mother just let her run wild.  If she's ever had a time out or had a harsh word said to her then Petals doesn't remember it.  Not believing in rules, Kelly raised her daughter to a free spirit.  For example, if Petals didn't want to get dressed then Kelly would declare it a clothes free day to show Petals that there was nothing wrong with the nudist lifestyle.

When she was old enough to go to school, Petals found it depressing mundane.  She was a popular girl who didn't apply herself and it wasn't so much that she broke the rules as she seemed to forget them.  When ritalin was suggest her mother invented a religious reason against drugging Petals then went out and found a religion that would support her stance.  Kelly even went to a couple of their meetings (dragging Petals along to the "performance art" piece), just in case the school board ever investigated.  Her teachers, deciding that she had untreated ADD, lowered their expectations and ignored her.  Since she didn't cause disruptions in class they tolerated the pretty girl whose mind was often elsewhere.  Most thought that she would grow up to an airhead, but one pretty enough that it didn't matter.

Phase Aspect: An Unbroken Free Spirit


Rising Conflict:
No one stays a little girl forever; Petals stopped being a little girl during middle school.  As Petals blossomed into a young woman she went through more than most girls, because most girls don't have fairy blood running through their veins.  As things started to get really weird her father (Daft Dale - who claims the flower was named for him) even dropped by to say hi to her, ask her name, tell her that she was his daughter, ask her name, say hi, tell her that she was his daughter, ask her name...  Within minutes Petals realised that she was the adult in the situation, or at least the closest thing to an adult in the conversation.  Young as she was, she had questions.  Like how her six inch tall father could have dated her mother and, um, how the pair of them could "you-know".

Daft Dale smiled and showed her some of his fairy magic.  Somehow, as he was showing her how he could grow, Petals' clothes came off - but Daft Dale remembered that she was his daughter before they got could "you-know", turning things into a tickle game.

And a magic lesson.

And almost "you-know" before Daft Dale remembered that she was his daughter, so it went back to a tickle game, then a magic lesson, then a tickle game, then a magic lesson, then some kissing before she told him she was his daughter, so back to the magic lessons.

Petals had always heard that boys only had one thing on their minds, but the fairy who was her father took things to extremes.  Not that she thought he even had that one thing on his mind - most of the time he seemed as brainless as people seemed to think she was - but in a good natured way.  When he told her about the choice she decided not to choose, at least not for a while.  She didn't want to lose her ability to plan (or hold a thought in her head for more than five seconds) and this new fairy magic seemed cool.  Fun even.  Really, really fun!

Petals can't make herself grow, but she quickly mastered a great deal of magic.  She even got some help from pixies and fairies and other Little Folk who think that it's a great joke that she's so big.  Always outgoing, she made many knew friends among the lesser fae.

Her schoolwork didn't suffer from her devotion to the other side of her heritage - she's still a C- "pass her along" student.

For some reason the Summer Court never bothered applying pressure to her, leaving Petals mostly to her own devices.  She doesn't know enough about changelings to realise how rare this is or wonder why.

Phase Aspect: Girls Just Want to Have Fun


The Story: Don't Touch the Fairy!!!!
An adolescent girl with no boundaries and fairy magic? What could go wrong?

Plenty.

So she was at this party with some high school kids, dancing to some great music, when some college boys showed up.  The high school boys were fun but the college boys were ... insistent.  A couple of them were kind of scary.  Not that she left the party when the college boys started causing her trouble; Petals thought that everything would be okay if she did her dancing away from them.  Then she went to the deck to cool down a bit and one of the college boys followed her out.  One thing led quickly to another, with Petals saying things "Oh, you don't understand; I'm in middle school" and the college boy saying she looked old enough for him.  While she was trying to talk sense into him the boy decided to smack some sense into her.

His first punch caused a black eye and shocked her to the core.  Petals had never been in a real fight.  In pillow fights and tickle fights, sure, but she had never been hit.  This type of pain was new to her.

And she didn't like it.

Sometime between the first and second drunken punch, something changed.  Petals tried to pull on her fairy heritage to protect her and somehow it did.  His second punch hardly hurt at all and before he could throw a third one she was off in the shadows and climbing down one of the deck's support beams.  After a bit of a crying jag, Petals decided that she wasn't going to let him ruin the party for her.  Some would say that going back inside was a stupid idea but it made sense to Petals.  Luckily, before she could do that the police arrived to shut down the nosy teen party.  Which was just as well - Petals discovered that her clothes didn't really fit anymore.  That somehow they had grown and if she tried dancing she might have danced out of her pants.

Less than a week later Petals was at another party, wearing a belt and dancing up a storm.  When boys got too insistent she would use veils to sneak away or fade into the darkness, but she wouldn't let anyone spoil her fun.

And so it went.

By the time she reached high school she had lots of friends there - and all of them liked to party.

Then, in grade nine, Petals was at a party where she had to deal with something more than a grabby boy.  A thing was there.  Not a person, an icky, icky thing.  One that following some adult who for some reason was in the kitchen.  Maybe * Guest Star * was a relative of the person throwing the party (Petals didn't know who was throwing it - just that there was a party with good music and dancing) or maybe * Guest Star * was there for another reason, Petals didn't know.

She didn't care why it was there - but she knew that if something didn't happen soon the party would be ruined and then she couldn't dance to the great music.  Someone had to do something and that someone was Petals.  Through imaginative uses of glamour she was able to drive the thing off, then told * Guest Star * what she had before going back to dancing.  * Guest Star * was bemused to be rescued by such a young (and small) girl, even one who was changeling.

Phase Aspect:  No One Ruins the Party!


Guest Star: Whose Path Have You Crossed? (Details to be filled in later)
It depends on who you want her to work with.  I'm half considering making "The Cute Patrol" (a group of loveable teen characters) and she could easily link up with Billy J (Justice Knight) - who would probably get a crush on her.  Other than that, I see her guest star roles happening to around when someone needs her.  She could be sneaking out of a party as the police arrive - hugging the shadows and stumble over someone who needs help.  Maybe someone needs help while she's heading to a party, or an adventure that starts at the mall.  She could easily need rescuing, either from a monster or a mall cop who's perceptive enough to see through the seeming she put on that cute little sweater that she just had to have.  Or maybe she needs rescuing from a guy who wants to do more than just kiss a bit?

Same Aspects could be:  "Of Course All Fairies Are Friendly" and "I Was Never Here".


Power Level: Up to Your Waist
Skill Cap: Great
Skill Points: 25
Starting Refresh: 7
Adjusted Refresh: 2




Skills
Presence: Great - she looks cute and is a very outgoing girl; one with an eerie air to her, but nice.
Rapport: Great
Deceit: Good - she doesn't consider it lying, just describing an alternate (and better) version of reality
Athletics: Good
Contacts: Fair - everyone likes taking to her.  When she asks someone for help and gives them a pouty face, how could anyone say no?
Conviction: Fair - she knows who she is and likes herself just fine
Performance: Fair - she's really into art and performing; she might even make a living at someday,
Alertness: Average - she's not as quite as unaware as people think; she just doesn't care what's happening.
Burglary: Average - she's used to letting herself in and has no moral qualms using a five finger discount.
Endurance: Average - she jogs a lot.
Empathy: Average
Stealth: Average
(note: there are reasons why she doesn't have discipline or scholarship - and she isn't likely to get either of them soon.  Nor does she know much about the hidden world, so no Lore, but she's far more likely to pick up Lore than she is to raise her scholarship to average.)


Stunts & Powers

Ear to the Ground (Contacts): +2 Contacts when working the faerie info network.  They just like to talk to her.

Cloak of Shadows [-1] - the flowers are there at night too.  You might not see them but they can see you

Glamours [–2] - she considers this to be the sum total of fairy magic.  It lets her hide in plain sight and change what things look like - who could ask for more?

Supernatural Toughness [–4] - See the notes before you say "Huh?".  Petals thinks she just is better at dodging than she is, often not noticing attacks that only do 1 or 2 levels of stress have actually hit her.

Catch: Iron [+3] - easy to come by, well known.


Notes:
Daft Dale isn't your average fairy.  The average fairy is wyldfae while Daft Dale is a member of the Summer Court.  He isn't a pixie but a rarer breed - a flower fairy.  In some ways he is linked to daffodils around the world, but in most other ways he's not.  Power wise, Daft Dale has Greater Glamours, Cloak of Shadows, Claws, Wings, Supernatural Speed, Inhuman Strength, Mythic Toughness (with the traditional Fae catches), Supernatural Recovery, and is rumoured to be the guardian of a great Item of Power for a Sidhe lord.  If that last bit is true then Daft Dale may have forgotten where he hid it (or that he ever had it).

The more powers that Petals claims, the more she resembles her father.  She will shrink some as her refresh diminishes but not sprout wings until she chooses.  Until then her high concept can be invoked to make her more flighty than the average teenage girl.

Daft Dale might be watching over his daughter or he might be watching a flower grow.  Okay, he's probably off doing something else, but if he remembers that he has a daughter and learns that she's in trouble (or hurt, or dead) then he'll probably do something.  As long as nothing distracts from his mission he'll stop at nothing to - oh, look! An apple tree.  Maybe there are apple blossom? What do apple blossom smell like? Hey, a fire fly! What's a fire fly doing around an apple tree? Where's that fire fly going?

But even as Daft Dale gets distracted, side tracked, and loses his way, another of the Little Folk might do something to help their friend Petals.  If one notices.


When encounter her in a game, most PCs should feel protective about her.  She might be a changeling with ridiculous toughness but she's still just a 14 year old girl (a bit small for her age) who's never done more than kiss.  Parental instincts and Big Brother complexes should be the order of the day.  Especially if people realise that she's only a major panic attack away from taking so many faerie powers that she makes her choice.

In the meantime, she's a carefree fun loving free spirit who means well.  She doesn't have a mean bone in her body and uses trickery rather than getting into fights.  She doesn't have much emotional attachment to boys she dances with, but that could change.  In a couple of years she'll probably have the Sex Appeal stunt, but right now she's too young for it.  Morally she lacks a compass on the small stuff (underage drinking, shoplifting ("Isn't the greater crime me not wearing that sweater to the party?"), gaining access to places - typical teen shenanigans) but Petals would never take anything truly valuable and she would never knowingly hurt an innocent person or let down a friend.  She probably wouldn't even hurt a bad guy, at least not much, and would be horrified if one of her friends were to kill someone.  Horrified and nauseous.


Using her in a game:
The PCs are in the middle of something and Petals notices them.  She comes over and wants to join in the fun.  And if it's not fun then she tries to make it fun - who says you can't form a conga line on a stakeout?

The PCs are in the middle of a confrontation when a 40 ounce bottle of Colt 45 falls on the ground - dropped by the slightly drunk (or maybe more than slightly drunk) Petals who was veiling herself as she was sneaking past them to go to a party.  She goes "oops, sorry about that" as she picks it, then says "pretend I'm not here" - her presence changing the dynamic of the confrontation.

Something's happen in a mall and Petals is there - either window shopping or using her powers to update her wardrobe.  Either she lends aid or needs it.  Or she's just there, hanging around in her new Herring Red Sweater that looks so cute on her.

One of the Little Folk tells her something about her friends and she passes it on - giving the PCs a critical clue.

They get an urgent summons from Petals.  Rushing to the address they find a party going on; Petals thought they needed a break and insists they stay and have some fun.  And dance! Everyone has to dance!

Someone notices that the PCs are hanging around her and makes the normal assumptions of why adults would be hanging with a girl that age - and starts making trouble for them.

They are in the middle of fight and Petals stumbles over it.  She lends what aid she can - using Glamour to her best advantage to turn the tide.  How will the PCs react to being saved by a little girl? If word gets out, what will this do to their reps?

The PCs have something that the Big Bad wants and he proposes they make a deal.  He sends them the details of where to meet him and in with the details is a photo of Petals - bound up in iron chains and looking scared.

Petals is LOVE! Yes, the big one.  The first one.  Only thing is, she's chasing after a bad boy.  Maybe he's the stoner who deals weed at her school or maybe he's a White Court Vampire or other supernatural predator.  But don't worry - Petals is sure she can change him.

Petals is LOVE! As above, the object of her crush is a PC.  Unless that PC is a teenager then there's a really awkward situation that cannot end well.

Petals is LOVE! As above, but it's a 'nice' supernatural type instead of a bad one.

Petals has been arrested and calls needing help, lots of help - and don't tell her mom! The arrest could be anything from truancy to a minor amount of drugs or alcohol to shoplifting.  Hopefully the police will be satisfied with throwing a scare into her.

Petals has been arrested and calls needing help - as above, but the cop involved is a sadistic brute who won't be happy unless Petals is terrified of him.  They have to help her soon or the cop will start wondering why the "smack some sense in to her" routine isn't working.

Petals has been arrested and calls needing help - because she had been set up.  Maybe someone planted a kilo of coke in her locker or maybe it was the bloody knife used to murder the head cheerleader - whatever it was it's something that the PCs' enemies are behind.  Will the PCs save their sometime ally or will Petals face hard time for helping them?

Petals makes the cheerleading squad and invites everyone to the game where she's going cheer.  The PCs notice that they aren't the only supernaturals watching the game and some of the others don't look friendly.  Hungry, yes; friendly, no.

Petals makes the cheerleading squad and invites everyone to the game where she's going cheer.  Everything is normal except Petals, who panics and uses her fairy magic to make the cheers more impressive.  Someone had to get her to stop with the seemings - and that someone is probably the PCs.

Petals makes the cheerleading squad and invites everyone to the game where she's going cheer - including all of her little friends.  Good nature chaos ensues as the Little Folk prank the other team.

SHAZAM write up - inspired by another thread.

This is a sample character - one that makes a great background character for the city (or could be used as PC)

Name: William Justice Smith (Goes by Billy J Smith) or Justice Knight
Template: Scion (or other - he doesn't know for sure)
High Concept Aspect: I Am the Justice Knight's Disguise
Trouble Aspect: I'm Just A Kid

Background:
Long ago there was the embodiment of Justice, known as the Justice Knight... Maybe.  Or maybe there was an aspect of justice that was tied to an old god, or maybe it was something from the Nevernever.  The memories are vague and only come in dreams.

More importantly, this is the story of Billy J.

He was dropped off at a children's services office as infant.  The only clue to his identity was card that said "Hi.  My name is William Justice Smith.  Please care for me.".  After an inconclusive investigation it was assumed that he was the product of a teen pregnancy and he was sent into foster care.  Six months later he was adopted by the Smith family (was the name a coincidence?), and would have had a happy childhood, save for a car accident that happened when he was 7.  Billy J has no memories of that day or how he survived when the car had a head on collision with a semi, but his parents weren't so lucky.

After losing his parents, Billy J ended up with his mother's family, passed around between aunts and uncles and cousins.  Most of them living on the wrong side of town and couldn't really afford to support another kid.  It wasn't that they didn't like the boy, but Billy J wasn't a blood relative. 

Passed around, Billy J got used to being overlooked

Phase Aspect: No One Notices Me


Rising Conflict:
One day, when Billy J's cousins were being mean to him just cause, he broke into tears.  Finding a quiet place to hide he sob away, but then a sound penetrated his sorrow: gunshots.  Someone was shooting.  Power flooded through Billy J and with that power came a rush of memories.  Memories of another place.  Memories of being hunted, of needing to hide, of that hiding place being Billy J.

Something happened.  Billy J disappeared and in his place was an adult clad in glowing blue armour.  Justice Knight walked once more.

Justice Knight dealt with the shooters... Well, he chased the car that the drive by shooters had used.  He didn't catch it, but he drove the shooter off (actually they were leaving anyway and didn't notice him).   Once they were gone Justice Knight returned to where Billy J had hidden and Billy J was back.

Back with his clothes soaked through with gunk.   It was evil smelling and bad looking gunk.  As Billy J was trying to deal with the revelation that he was Justice Knight, one of his aunts found him and scolded him for getting so dirty.  The gunk didn't last long (it was concentrated ectoplasm) but it lasts long enough for Billy J to get a bath and clean clothes.

Phase Aspect: Justice Knight Is There When Needed


The Story: Justice Knight Steps Out
After that first time, Billy J tried to call up the powers of Justice Knight.  With practice he found that he could call the being out, but each time he changed back to Billy J he was covered with that strange gunk.  At least his clothes were.  A couple of times he changed nude behind closed doors and the gunk didn't appear when he changed back.  Billy J has thought about buying clothes for Justice Knight, but the roadblocks proved too hard to overcome.  In Billy J's mind, the problem is clear: "I don't have the money to buy clothes, and if I did then I wouldn't know the size to buy, and if I knew the sizes I'm not sure that the clothes would become blue armour, and even if I could do all that I don't have a place to change.".   There may be more problems with the idea, but that's the list Billy J made.

With the controlled shifts came dreams.  Dreams of a weird place, and of a different place, and of generally weird stuff.  Billy J hasn't been able to make sense of everything, but what he does know is that Justice Knight is hiding from something.  He's not sure if the Justice Knight turned into baby Billy J or Billy J is his son and is slowly growing into another Justice Knight.

Either way, it doesn't matter.  Billy J can turn into a cool adult at will and then rush out to save the day.  What kid could wish for more?

As he mastered his powers, stories started to spread about the head case dressing in plastic blue armour who stuck his nose in the wrong people's business.  A whacked out nut job vigilante who was going to get himself killed if he messed with the wrong people.

Roughly a month after he mastered his powers, he had the chance to impress someone.  *Guest Star* happened to take the wrong turn down the wrong street.  Maybe *Guest Star* could have handled the situation, or maybe not, but Justice Knight was there to save the day.  Justice Knight thumped the muggers and hit it off with *Guest Star*.

In short Justice Knight made a friend.  Billy J hadn't (and felt that *Guest Star* wouldn't accept him if he knew that Justice Knight was really a small boy) so for a while he was Justice Knight far more than he was Billy J.  For a week he spent most of his waking time as Justice Knight.

Then the dreams became real.  The hunters were out there and the longer Justice Knight was out the better the hunters could track them.  When he sensed them getting close, Justice Knight became Billy J and wouldn't come out again for a while.  That meant that he missed going for coffee with * Guest Star *, which in hindsight wasn't that bad since Billy J didn't have the cash for coffee and wasn't sure if they'd let him wear his armour in the coffee shop.

Phase Aspect: I Can't Be Justice Knight All The Time.
(Note: While this sounds great for self compels just for changing back, when it is used Billy J can't shift for at least a scene - possibly two.  A scene where his clothes are a mess and no force in the world can make him shift again.  At the end of that scene, have the player roll and if it comes up ---- then he can't shift for another scene.)


Guest Star: Whose Path Have You Crossed?(Details to be filled in later)
It depends on who he is going work with.  Most people who meet him get the impression that Justice Knight is a mentally slow, developmentally challenged man with odd powers.  There is debate whether his powers come from his armour or Justice Knight is just afraid to take it off.

At least one character should clue in on the fact that Justice Knight is really a boy in the 10-12 age range - otherwise it will be impossible to explain why Billy J is hanging around.  Said character should be sworn to secrecy about it to protect Billy J from reprisals earned by Justice Knight's vigilante actions.

Sample aspects for these roles include "Justice Knight For The Win" and "The Superhero From The Short Bus".


Power Level: Up to Your Waist
Skill Cap: Great
Skill Points: 25
Starting Refresh: 7
Adjusted Refresh: 1


Skills (as Billy J)
Billy J is, at best, a jack of all trades.  All of his skills are at average (it's impossible to justify them being higher than that).  Alas, there are only 25 skills listed, and some of them are a stretch.  Say he gets lore from his dreams, guns from an uncle who taught him to shoot, and while he can't see over the wheel he knows how to drive a bit if he has to.  Give him Fair deceit to hide his secret and take the extra point for that from resources (he has no money).


Skills(shifted to Justice Knight)

Might: Great
Endurance: Great
Fists: Good
Athletics: Good
Conviction: Fair
Presence: Fair
Discipline: Fair
Alertness: Average
Deceit: Average
Intimidation: Average
Lore: Average (comes from his dreams)
Stealth: Average

Stunts & Powers

"Other Change" [-1] - a custom non-animal version of Beast Change [–1].  He's either Billy J or Justice Knight - and that's it.

Human Form [+1] - Billy J doesn't have any powers - only Justice Knight does.

Inhuman Speed [–2]

Inhuman Strength [–2]

Supernatural Toughness [–4]

The Catch [+2] - leather (common, unknown).  Wrap a piece of leather around a baseball bat and it hurts Justice Knight - something that he discovered when fighting someone who had wrapped some leather around a bat to keep it from scuffing it when he whacked people.  Billy J doesn't know why leather and leather wrapped items can hurt him - he just knows to avoid them.

"Blue Armour" [+0] - When he changes, Billy J's normal clothing is effused with ectoplasm - turning it into something that looks like Blue Armour.  After Billy J turns back, this ectoplasmic residue is embedded in his clothing - looking like gunk and tagging him with the aspect "Eww - what happened to your cloths?".  While this power means he ignores the "you have to change clothes" bit that normal shapeshifters deal with, I think this is balanced because after he uses it he is at a disadvantage in his normal shape.  Plus you don't have to deal with a naked kid wandering around.


Notes:
Is Billy J a scion, spawned by a dying entity to be his replacement? Is Billy J the entity in hiding? The question is academic, at least for now.  Maybe when Billy J is older and has more powers he will have to choose between being Billy J or taking up the role for Justice Knight - or maybe he won't have a choice.  For now, he's a boy who can change into a superhero without having to say "SHAZAM".

Becoming Justice Knight doesn't change his aspects - the man in the blue armour is overlooked almost as much as the boy with the runny nose.

In the normal run of things, Justice Knight avoids those with guns and other killers, preferring to take on small time criminals.  So far (thanks to his toughness) he's avoided taking physical consequences - except for that time with the leather wrapped baseball bat.  That battle left people saying "Billy J, where did you get that black eye?".  With 2 armour and 8 stress levels, physical consequences are for other people.  Other people who have been punched by someone with inhuman strength, good fists, and great might.

Richard
(edited to fix an error in the skills)

Note: this character is designed to be a villain.  A flawed and possibly sympathetic villain, but a villain none the less.  And yes, this was partly inspired by the existence of a very exploitative show - Toddlers & Tiaras, which documents a very ugly facet of American life.


Name: was Monica Childs, but now goes by Monique (no last name)
Template: Focused Practitioner
High Concept Aspect: Tragic Mystic Model Agent (That might need work...Maybe: Mystic Former Toddler Queen? Mystic Reject of the Cult of Beauty? Something along those lines.)
Trouble Aspect: I Used To Be Pretty! (the scars dominate most of her life)

Background:
Most of Monica Childs' early memories are of walking on a stage and shaking her little booty for the judges.  A veteran of the child beauty queen circuit, Monica won her first pageant when she was eight months old and entered her last when she was 10.  During this time her mother taught her that beauty and winning were everything.  Monica sometimes liked to compete and always loved to win, partly because winning meant that she didn't get a sore bum for not doing her all to win.  Losing always meant a hard spanking because someone had to take the blame for the loss and that somebody wasn't going to be Monica's mother (Jennifer Childs).  The spankings never happened where one of the other contestants or mothers might hear it, and Monica always assumed that it was something that happened to all the losers.

All of this motivated her to always do her best - at least for the contests.  Her school work might have been neglected during this time, but she learned how to smile and flirt with the judges - even when her dog had died the night before and all she wanted to do was cry.  She learned that all that mattered was to be perfect for the judges.

Phase Aspect: Is Always Perfect When It Matters


Rising Conflict:
When Monica was ten and "too old" for the child beauty pageant circuit, Jennifer Childs lost interest in her daughter.  The shock of going from "everything we do is to make you pretty so you can win" to "stop bugging me - don't you have homework or something" left a lasting scar.  No longer told how pretty she was, Monica realised that she must be ugly.  She tried makeup, diets, clothes, and everything she could think of, but it slowly dawned on her that it was just that she was no longer "cute".  She might not be the ugliest kid in the world but she would never make it as a tween model or actress.  That being average meant she wasn't one of the "beautiful people", all of which left a deep emotional scar (See Trouble).

As she was accepting that she would never be perfect, Monica stumbled over the fact that most tots didn't get spanked for losing.  This double betrayal (her mother's losing interest in her and realising that she had probably been abused) sent Monica away from Jennifer.  If her mother thought that beauty was everything then Monica would be a brain.  She went from being a C or D student to an A student - excelling in a way that she knew would never win her mother's approval (and it didn't - Jennifer barely noticed Monica's grades), but in some ways it didn't matter.  Monica couldn't shake all those times she had been told 'to be perfect' and if her body couldn't be perfect than her mind would.

As a teen, her fragile self-image, the need to excel academically, and her budding power attracted the wrong sort attention.  She caught the eye of a minor practitioner who was only this side of being a warlock.  The creep was in his mid 20s and called himself Magic Man, after the classic Heart song ("Come on home, girl" he said with a smile / "I cast my spell of love on you, a woman from a child!"), and while Monica's body might not be perfect it was good enough (and young enough) for him.  At first she was with him to get back at her parents, but Monica's parents didn't seem to notice (or care) what she did.  Then she was with him because Magic Man convinced her that only he could unlock the True Power within her.

He enjoyed hitting her, but the physical side of the relationship was the least abusive part.  Soon Monica was accepting consequences anytime the Magic Man's rushed Thaumaturgy spells produced a backlash.  Often these were mental blows but sometimes they were social ones (i.e. social consequences like 'Emotionally Numb' or 'Unfeeling') which served to further isolate her from her peers.

But all the while, Monica was learning.  Learning more than Magic Man knew (he never planned on teaching her everything she needed to know).  The need to be perfect was still there.

Phase Aspect: Mentored Through Pain.


The Story: Monica's New Hope
Things came to ahead on Monica's 18th birthday.  Magic Man used a stick to give Monica her 'birthday spanking' and seemed to think she was in her 30s.  Then he had a good time rolling around on her, snorted some smack (he always told himself if he didn't inject then he wasn't an addict), and passed out.  Looking at her strung out mentor lay there barely able to breathe, it occurred to Monica that she wasn't perfect.  That realisation, more than the beating, caused what happened next.

It took Monica hours to put the rite together, and a while to make it work, but when she was done Monica was looking at the naked body of a beautiful woman.  Perfect face, perfect butt - everything about her looked perfect.  Monica smiled, knowing that even if she couldn't be perfect she could make someone that way.

When Magic Man woke up and found that he had gone from being a slovenly man to a beautiful woman, something snapped inside him.  Snapped hard.  Not that he was all that stable to begin with (let's say he had an extreme mental consequence - which explains why he was such a creep) but this was too much for his brain to deal with.  If he'd been sane then Magic Man would have started working a counter spell, but instead he jumped out the window of his loft.  The spell wasn't permanent - it wouldn't have survived the sunrise - but it lasted for all five floors that he fell.  The paramedics were a bit surprised to discover the "naked hot chick" who reported to have jumped was really a puggy naked dead man, but they put that down to wishful thinking on someone's part.

Armed with Magic Man's books and her occult skills, Monica branched out on her own.  The first thing she needed was money and she knew how to get it - by temporarily turning straw (average looking women) into gold (beautiful ones).  Her first 'clients' were prostitutes, but Monica didn't have the muscle to deal with possessive pimps.  Monica turned her back on her clients, ripped off a couple of pimps, and used the money start up 'Models by Monique'.  Reinventing herself the easy part; Monica ended up bringing someone to help run the business (book the talent, handle the books, make sure that state and federal withholdings happened, and all of the other day to day bits) while Monica (now Monique, no last name) recruited the girls.

Knowing that the magic doesn't really make you beautiful (or she would use it on herself) and hating the insecure girls who flock to her, Monique makes them pretty but not Perfect.  They look good enough for local jobs but will never grace the cover of a fashion magazine.  Monique tells herself that she does that to keep a low profile, but inside she knows that it's from her contempt of the culture of beauty.

After a lifetime of being a pawn, first her mother's then Magic Man's, Monique finally feels that she in charge of her life.

(Note: Yes, I know there's no guest star here - but it could be adjusted to include one.  Maybe her business partner, maybe a criminal type (pimp), maybe one of Magic Man's acquaintances or former students - the links are there to be had.)

Phase Aspect: Now I'm The Boss


Guest Star: Whose Path Have You Crossed?(To be filled out later)
Link her to whatever villains (or other dark forces) you want to.  She could easily link to Red Court or White Court as Monique doesn't really care about the survival of the girls she works with - and sending them there could tie up loose end ('relatives come looking' type loose ends).  The rest of the magical community either doesn't know about her or sees her as Magic Man's jail bait girlfriend (unless you want to link her to them) and she doesn't know much about them.  She doesn't know much about the Council but knows enough to keep away from them.

In one of her guest roles, Monique encountered her family (while aiding the other character) and used the opportunity to take revenge on her mother.  Jennifer Childs permanently became Jenny, a confused three year old.  Between the shock of the change and differences between adult and toddler brain structure, Jenny is viewed as either confused or developmentally delayed (with possible psychiatric issues).  The toddler is currently being bounced around between foster care and group homes.  Monique is keeping an eye on her mother, but isn't sure where to take her vengeance next.  Part of her wants to make Jenny a little beauty queen, but that would mean coming face to face with some old issues so Monique is leaving her mother in the hands of the state.  That story gives Monique a Law Breaker Stunt and the Aspect: I Always Get Revenge



Power Level: Up to Your Waist
Skill Cap: Great
Skill Points: 25
Starting Refresh: 7
Adjusted Refresh: 2

Skills
Discipline: Great (it would be higher if her skill cap was higher - all those years of beauty pageants left her with rock sold control for when she needs it)
Resources: Good (her business partner takes the rest of the money from the agency)
Deceit: Good (from the beauty pageant training)

Lore: Fair
Performance: Fair (took talent, music, and dance lessons until age 10; took belly dancing as a teen; often finds herself playing a role)
Presence: Fair (those comportment lessons were never forgotten)
Scholarship: Fair

Alertness: Average
Athletics: Average (she keeps in shape)
Contacts: Average (mostly connected to the fashion world)
Conviction: Average (representing her problems with her self imagine)
Endurance: Average (represents her stamina)
Intimidation: Average (mostly in social situations; think Alpha Girl, not Bruiser)
Stealth: Average


Stunts & Powers
Channeling (-2) - Air Only
Ritual (-2) - Transformation and Disruption
Lawbreaker (-1) - Second Law.  Only the once (so far...)
Wizard’s Constitution (0) - ironically Monica will keep her looks far longer than most women.


Items:

Channeling:
Diamond Ear Stud (Conviction (Power) +2, offensive, taking both slots)
When Monique tugs this ear stud it increases the power her spells.  Sometimes it makes her feel a bit like something out of Bewitched, but she usually needs the juice it gives her.


Ritual

Focus Item:
Mystic Brazier (Lore +1)
It's not convenient to lug around, but Monique has found that when she burns something (incense, potpourri, leafs, anything) in this brazier it opens her mind and expands her Lore.  It used to Magic Man's, and he generally burnt weed in it, but Monique uses nicer smelling things.


Ring of Monique (enchanted item)
When she reinvented herself, Monica decided that Monique had to look slightly different.  From the back they look mostly the same (and each could wear the other's clothes) but Monique's face and body differs slightly from Monica's.  Monica doesn't realises it but Monique is slightly better looking.  In theory, if things get too hectic, Monica ditches the ring and becomes another average looking girl that was taken advantage of by the Evil Sorceress Monique.

Note: this would be better as a Veil, but Monique doesn't have access to Veils so has to produce subtle changes in her form.
- 1 step for effect (effectively a maneuver giving her the aspect: Looks like Monique), 3 for duration (taking it from 15 minutes to a few hours). Monique is often down a level of mental stress from reactivating this item.


Potion of Jane Doe
Monique's other enchanted item slot is given over to a potion, usually a potion of Jane Doe.  It's more or less the same effect as above, but turns the drinker into someone who doesn't look like Monica or Monique.


Rotes:
Phantom B-Slap
It feels like the air just slapped you.  It's a weapon 1 attack that needs to be targeted.  It's not very effective in combat but it gets her point across to uppity models.


Goose:
Linked to her ear stud, this rote is a Power 3 maneuver that gives the social Aspect 'Goosed' as the air squeezes an inappropriate part of the target's body.  If the target is unaware that he/she is the subject of a magical attack then the target will often blame the person next to them for the inappropriate touching.

Note: Sometimes Monique will change her appearance and pull this one during "Miss Teen" style beauty pageants or while her own girls are modelling - just to throw the victims off when it's their turn to walk across the stage.  She can be nasty that way.  She doesn't use it at child beauty pageants because A) she can't face going to them and B) she can't picture tweaking a child like that (and if you don't believe in what you're doing then you can't do it with magic).


Spells

Monique's Model Maker:
Effectively, this is a Transformation and Disruption maneuver.  Since the change isn't permanent the target doesn't have to be taken out.  That's the good part.  The bad part? To make it last a week it needs 7 shifts for duration.  Added to that is the base effect.  The Aspect of "Looks Good Enough To Model" is probably 2 or 4 shifts.  I'd probably view the increase in looks on the same scale as consequences with "a bit better" being mild, "a lot better" being moderate, and "this woman now owns the cover of every magazine in the world - someone get her an acting role!" as extreme.  That's 9 to 11 shifts for preparation and Monique base is only 3.

That means that a big chunk of the income each model earns goes to buying things and otherwise making preparations for this spell.  Sometimes they'll even take a mild physical consequence to help get the spell going.  (Monica was raised with pain, trained with pain, and now Monique has no problems with sharing a bit of pain with those worthless girls who worship at the alter of beauty.  As long as the bruising fades before the next modelling gig or are somewhere no one can see them then it's all good in Monique's eyes.)

Note that this maneuver doesn't add to Presence or any other social skill and it might cause a bit of a drop in Conviction over prolonged use.  After all, thinking "I only matter when I look good and I only look good because of that spell" isn't good for the old self image.


Additional Notes:
Could Monica / Monique, with the right training, make it to full wizard status? Probably not.  She doesn't have the Sight or Soul Gaze.  Maybe she could upgrade her skills, but not by a lot.

Should the Council take notice of her they will probably be a bit disgusted but leave her (and her business) alone - the changes aren't permanent and the subjects are more than willing.  The more sexist members putting her actions down to 'the vanity of women'.  Training her won't be their top priority.  Of course they discover her mother's fate then Monica would be treated like any other Warlock, but until then they would see her as a distasteful minor sorceress making money in a disreputable way.


Ways to tie her into a game:
A mousy girl that a PC knows is now modelling.  A make over is one thing, but how can she look so different?

A friend or relative of one of the models looks for help.

The PC's discover that some monster (Vampire, ghoul, whatever) was feeding off a model - and it's one of Monique's discards whose beauty fades as the PC rescue her.

Treat it like a new drug - the drug of beauty.  If you want it bad enough you can see the woman, make the deal, then earn her money as you live the life of a beautiful person.  At least until she tires of you.

A model approaches the PCs trying to have them make the effect permanent.

Monique loses it and trashes a "little miss <insert name of your city>" pageant.  There's no real violence but the pageant is ruined.  No, this does not make her a hero.

You don't mention much to the PCs, but every time they pass a store/car dealership/display you mention something about the nice looking model/booth babe working there, until it slowly dawns on them that there is a steady stream of girls who have had that job.

Someone stumbles over Jenny and Sees what was done to her.  If they do research they might be able to see the resemblance between Monica (as a child she made the newspapers a bit) and trace Monica down from the family connection.

Part of her past comes back to haunt her - one of the pimps she ripped off or a hooker she set up comes looking for vengeance and the PCs get dragged in.

The PCs are at a local teen talent show/battle of the bands/beauty contest and notice some of the prettier contestants getting Goosed.  They might be surprises to find a woman doing it and might even buy Monique's explanation that she's trying to teach those girls that beauty is only skin deep.

A PC stumbles over Monique (using any of the means above), learns her story, and tries to redeem Monica Childs.  To turn her from a bitter woman to a slightly better adjusted sorceress.

That magic talent might be in the blood.  A relative shows up and tries (belatedly) to help her - enlisting the PCs in Monica's reformation.

That magic talent and her viciousness might be in the blood.  A big baddy shows ups.  The bad guy is related to her on her mother's side and he/she/it (could be from the Nevernever - making Jennifer a scion) shows up and tries to help enslave or otherwise dominate her.  Will the PCs save a nasty villainess from an evil villain? Alternatively they might not know about her - and the middle of fighting the big bad nasty some models rush in and do kamikaze attacks on it - alerting the PCs to Monique's existence.

Here's a question about style.

In the Dresden books, humans rarely die at the hands of the good guys.  By humans I mean sorcerers and minor talents as well as random people.  When the bad guy is a normal mortal he either walks, has problems with the law, or has a talk with Marcone.  That, or it's the White Council killing someone who cannot be saved.  At various times Dresden has problems brought on by him being associated with so many people who die or disappear.

In the Dresden game, there doesn't have to be much in the way of killing - taking someone out can easily be non-lethal, and I'm curious about the mortality levels of people's games.  Do PCs keep the violence to a minimum or do they treat mortal threats like they are orcs?

Richard