So here is my first attempt at the ward I would like.  Please tell me if I am way off.

•   Duration of a few months, 5 shifts
•   Basic barrier / power 8, 8 shifts
•   Gravity Sink Landmine (persistent block against movement – bullets and flying things are pulled to the ground as well as people without they key will be pulled to the ground and held by extreme gravity – not crushed just held), 12 shifts consisting of:
•   Four zones (10 feet of yard around house on 4 sides), 8 shifts
•   Persistent, for 3 additional rounds of time, 3 shifts
•   Total of 36 shifts, at 15 minutes per exchange it will take 9 hrs to cast trickling in 1 shift of power per exchange.  If 2 shifts are put in it will take 4.5 hrs.
•   With a lore of +5 I would need 31 shifts to be made up through declarations, Aspects and what not.

Does it look right?  Or am I way off.

Here is the set up:
When a wizard casts an evocation attack he decides how much damage he wants the spell 'weapon to be, right?  So say he decides to put 7 shifts of power into it - making it an effective weapon:7 attack.  He can control that much due to ability and bonuses to specialization and focus items, so he only takes the one stress.  He then needs to make a discipline check to control and target with.  Let's say he has a +4 on his discipline and rolls +3 on the Fate dice, for a total of +7.  The target rolls not so good and only come up with a +3 total to defend against it.   
Here is the question:
If I understand the mechanics then the target takes the 7 stress from the weapon/spell and the 4 stress for the difference between attack and defense roll, for a total of 11 shifts of stress/damage the target would take.  Is that right?  I ask this because there was some debate about it in our last game, and I think I am right, that is the way I have always read the rules.  So let me know if I am really off base please.

Thomas for example can open portals to and from the NN at locations he has a connection to(i.e. strip clubs and brothels).  Butters learned how to make magic circles easily.  Thomas even learns a tracking spell in one of the Short Stories.

I picture this as a simple lore role and not Ritual, with maybe a tag to an aspect if it applies (like in Thomas' case of finding entrances to the NN).  Am I right on this, or way off?

On a side note I think it mentions how hard it is to open a way to the NN, but I do not have books handy - anyone know?

I know there was a thread floating around a while ago about Bulldogs, the new FATE Sci-Fi game out there, but I did not want to raise it from the dead.

This is more of a question for those that are familiar with the Bulldogs game, but would the resource system from Bulldogs work with Dresden.  My players miss the 'loot' they get from other games, and I thought that this would be a good fix.

I just read though it quickly first, and at first blush it seems to me that it should work.  Basically it separates resources out from the skills and there are resource aspects that you can use to affect your resource skill. 

I like what I read and just wanted to bounce the ideas around here on the forums to see what you all thought.

I believe that not all wizards take cold showers and such.  A water Mage, or even a fire mage,could figure out a way to heat up water with out modern technology.  A air Mage could probably figure out a way to harness lightning for power even.  Anyone done things like this before.  The whole candlelight thing is ok, but I just cannot imagine not having a hot shower.  Any ideas on how to do this?  I am looking for more background stuff for my wizard in an upcoming game.  I just need to exlain how he can take hot showers.

I know all conflicts work like physical combat, but I am having some player's get confused.  They think it is wierd to socially 'attack' someone and what not.  Do any of you know - or have any good examples from your games that I might use to shed some light on social encounters for my group.  I want to have one in my next adventure and want it to be done well.

They get invited to the Whate court stronghold and get involved in a social encounter with the head White Court Vamp (think a Lra Raith type character - maybe not quite as powerful but close).  It will lead to the clues for the rest of the adventure, so I do not want them taken out nessesarily, but I want it to be challenging.

Can a spell do damage and have a 'secondary effect'?  For example a 'windstorm' spell that does damage and make those effected make a check to keep things from being pulled from their hands?  I thought there was something in the books about an option where they could do both, but I am not finding it this morning.  I guess this could be spin on a good roll, but it just makes sense that things could get lost in a windstorm. 

I also believe you can do damage and place an aspect on a target - it would just be the damage you want to do plus 3, at least, for an aspect, right? Like a lightning spell that does Weapon:3 and place the aspect 'tazed' on the target would be at least a power 6 spell, right?

I am thinking about playing a blind Wizard in an upcoming game.  His High Concept will be something like 'Blind Wizard of the White Council with Supernatural Senses' or something.  Instead of refinement he took the Disability Superpower that I found here on the forums and then he maxed out Supernatural Senses for -3 refresh ,it will use Lore.  The story being he lost his sight helping the WC against some bad thing, losing it later in life and compensating by using mystical means to give him up to 12 types of senses that are hightened.  He has Wizard Constitution - but does not know if his sight will ever come back, at least in terms of Game Time (he might get it back years down the road). 

I have a couple of questions:

1 - How exactly does the supernatual sense power work?  I assume from reading it that the character has to make a Lore check in this case to 'see' or sense anything.  Which I am fine with when someone only has 1 Super Sense, but what about 12 senses?  Not not all 12 will come into play all the time - but theoretically the character would have 12 chances to sense something?  I mean it is a 3 refresh power so it is a pretty hefty one.  Or would he just get 1 roll to sense something - in which case the power seems way to costly at 3 refresh.  I kind of picture him as a Supernatural Daredevil character.

2 - My second question deals with how to play with a blind character in the game.  How do you?  I mean I think having a 'blind' aspect could be a Fate point mine as it could, and should, get compeled often, but living with a disability is a struggle - I know I work with people with disabilites daily in my profession - and I don't know if it would be fun in game terms.

Any ideas?  I seem to recall a character posted on the boards that was blind and I found a spell that put an aspect on the person to counteract a blind aspect.  So I know it has been talked about and I apologize bringing it up again if it has, biut any help would be appreciated.