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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Tbora on November 11, 2010, 09:42:18 PM

Title: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Tbora on November 11, 2010, 09:42:18 PM

So in the short stories the Fomors appear to be immune to the standard "running water makes magic harder to do/use" .

I thought of running it as a form of physical immunity, but I don't know how to quite phrase it, and looking at it now I don't think it quite works best either.

Thoughts/Suggestions?

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Ryan_Singer on November 11, 2010, 09:46:19 PM

-1 Refresh Creature feature. Water doesn't ground/block their casting.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Richard_Chilton on November 11, 2010, 09:58:43 PM

I'd give them a different style of non-human magic.  Something on par with the seelie and unseelie magic but water based and able to transform creatures.

As an aside, there is a forum to talk about spoilers in relation to the game.  There are also spoiler tags - you put them around your text and it blacks it out until it is highlighted. 

(click to show/hide)

This is an example of spoiler tags.

Richard

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Tbora on November 11, 2010, 10:01:35 PM

Quote from: Richard_Chilton on November 11, 2010, 09:58:43 PM

I'd give them a different style of non-human magic.  Something on par with the seelie and unseelie magic but water based and able to transform creatures.

As an aside, there is a forum to talk about spoilers in relation to the game.  There are also spoiler tags - you put them around your text and it blacks it out until it is highlighted. 

(click to show/hide)

This is an example of spoiler tags.

Richard

I like your solution and I'd probably make Ryan's creature feature a trapping of it come to think of it.

I know about the spoiler forum, but I didn't think this was important enough in what it talks about to really need it.

Its not like I am giving away the plot or anything, just wanted to figure out an extremely minor tidbit.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Tsunami on November 12, 2010, 07:51:31 PM

I don'T think you even need a creature feature here... It simply part of the Fomors magic that it's not interrupted by Water.
I bet you dollars to doughnuts that they are highly vulnerable to fire, or maybe earth instead.

Theres also probably a lot of riverdwelling fairies who are likely not to be hindered in their magic by water in any way.

If i create an Fire Elemental creature, then i'd most like would not have fire be a purifying force on their spell constructs either...

Another thing: Inhuman beings don't hex tech on accident... same thing with the Fomor and Water, their magic works different.

So for Fomors, the affinity to water is simply part of their High Concept.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Papa Gruff on November 12, 2010, 07:59:44 PM

I'd probably just turn it around. As Fomors are water creatures their magic gets more difficult the further away they get from water.

Basically it comes down to no hindrance at all because in our modern society bodies of water are pretty much everywhere... 70% of the world covered by water sounds good for the Fomors as well.

Personally I like the idea very much.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: ralexs1991 on November 20, 2010, 04:53:15 PM

Quote from: Papa Gruff on November 12, 2010, 07:59:44 PM

I'd probably just turn it around. As Fomors are water creatures their magic gets more difficult the further away they get from water.

Basically it comes down to no hindrance at all because in our modern society bodies of water are pretty much everywhere... 70% of the world covered by water sounds good for the Fomors as well.

Personally I like the idea very much.

yeah that actually makes alot of sense to me in fact if i remeber correctly in aftermath the warehouse they were hiding out at was right by the water

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: mostlyawake on November 21, 2010, 02:38:26 AM

Has anyone tried to stat these bad boys yet?  'cause i need stats for them, and my dog ate my side jobs. (no lie.)

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Sanctaphrax on November 21, 2010, 02:54:08 AM

I can make some. As far as I can tell, they're just standard supernatural baddies with the Aquatic power, some weird equipment, and sorcerous leaders.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: mostlyawake on November 21, 2010, 04:39:33 AM

I didn't remember if they were super strong/fast/ect...

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Sanctaphrax on November 21, 2010, 05:01:58 AM

Murphy says that the ordinary ones were super strong and fast. She also says that the sorcerer kicks harder than he should be able to. "Nothing" is huge, obviously very strong and takes a lot of bullets without any real trouble. They have gills, and they use sonar. So here's how I see their powers:

Ordinary Fomor:
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Speed [-2]
Aquatic [-1]
Echoes Of The Beast [-1]

Big Fomor:
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
Hulking Size [-2]
Aquatic [-1]
Echoes Of The Beast [-1]

Fomor Sorcerer:
Evocation [-3]
Thaumaturgy [-3]
Fomor Magic [-0]
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Refinement [-1]
Aquatic [-1]
Echoes Of The Beast [-1]

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Papa Gruff on November 21, 2010, 10:55:21 AM

Looks pretty decent.

Couple of  things that seems strange: Hulking Size for the Big Guys. Can't think of a Fomor we have seen so far that would fit my imagination of this power. In other words: they seem not big enough to make Hulking Size plausible.

I'd probably put Supernatural Sense (Sonar) on top of Echoes of The Beast or strike the Echoes all together. To me they are more like a benefit to shape shifters then anything else. The Fomors are always (part) beasts. So why would they have just echoes of something? ... I know I know ... makes no real difference. It's just how I would stat them.

That said: on the "paper" they aren't overly impressive, are they? We probably don't know enough about them at the moment, but they seem no more bad ass then most others. Makes you think...

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Sanctaphrax on November 21, 2010, 05:31:02 PM

You're right. They aren't all that impressive. Which makes sense to me, since a mortal and a pair of werewolves were able to kill an entire team of them without casualties. Perhaps the higher-ups in the Fomor heirarchy are more powerful.

Anyway, here are the rationales behind the powers:

Hulking Size: The second in command Fomor in Aftermath is about seven foot five. That's a little small for Hulking Size, but he needed a boost to his durability and this seemed appropriate. He should get some mechanical benefit for his size, I think. (Plus, I wanted him to have more refresh worth of powers than the ordinary Fomors).

Echoes Of The Beast: I originally intended to give them Supernatural Sense, but then I realized that Echoes Of The Beast can give sonar too. I chose Echoes Of The Beast over Supernatural Sense because I felt that talking to fish and getting bonuses to Alertness underwater were fitting abilities for the Fomors to have. In my opinion, Echoes Of The Beast is not a shapeshifter thing. I think that the vast majority of mundane animals have it.

They're both judgement calls, honestly. If you don't like them, feel free to change them.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Papa Gruff on November 21, 2010, 06:09:19 PM

@Sanctaphrax: Oh, don't get me wrong. I can see the reasons for it, but I'd probably just raised his toughness to supernatural and let him keep the speed too. That would make sense because he basically is still a more powerful version of the ordinary Fomor. In my opinion we don't see any of the negative aspects of Hulking Size described in Aftermath... He even passes as a very very large human on the streets of Chicago... Ain't Hulking Size if you ask me.

In this special case it makes not much of a difference if you make it Echoes or Senses. In my opinion the trappings of Senses just fit better. It'd probably be appropriate to create a custom power: Fomor Senses for these guys thats a combination of Senses and Echoes...

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Sanctaphrax on November 21, 2010, 06:20:48 PM

Hmm. I hadn't thought about his ability to go incognito. I'll include your ideas as an alternate option for the Fomors. In case you're wondering, they're on the Generic NPC thread.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: sinker on November 21, 2010, 08:18:20 PM

Seems to me that the big one also wasn't any slower than any of the others, so you might still want to give him inhuman speed.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: mostlyawake on November 21, 2010, 11:29:00 PM

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Remind me, did they look human or not? Could they look human at will? (ie, do they need human guise?) I totally forget what they look like, and I have to describe them (using them in a game)

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: UmbraLux on November 22, 2010, 12:27:36 AM

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They looked human from a distance and in bulky clothing.  Up close the gills were noticeable.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: ralexs1991 on November 24, 2010, 04:21:03 PM

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Also if my memory serves me right Nothing said he used to be human 0_o

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: mostlyawake on November 27, 2010, 09:55:27 PM

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since the sorcerer thumped nothing like it was... nothing... should he be stronger? or do you just think it was his personal might score?

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Sanctaphrax on November 27, 2010, 10:27:42 PM

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I think that that was the result of Nothing's refusal to defend himself. I mean, he was kneeling in submission. Isn't hard to kick a guy while he's down like that.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: crusher_bob on November 28, 2010, 03:04:28 AM

If something is 'big' but not big enough to qualify for the hulking size creature feature, try giving it the No Pain, No Gain stunt, which gives it an extra physical minor consequence.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Sanctaphrax on November 28, 2010, 05:40:33 AM

Good idea. Alright, there's yet another alternate way to stat the big guy.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: zerogain on November 28, 2010, 07:57:58 PM

So I'm reading Aftermath again and this exchange leaped out at me, not sure if it'll impact anyone's game mechanics.

(click to show/hide)

Murphy:  "You aren't really human, are you?"
Nothing:  "Not anymore."

(click to show/hide)

Hmmm.  This implies that whatever Nothing and his boys are, they were changed.  Their outfits remind me of early 20th century sailors on shore leave.  Shipwreck victims?

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: mostlyawake on November 29, 2010, 02:54:21 AM

I ran these tonight basically as they were statted out here, where we played through our city's version of the events in Aftermath.   Worked well.  Their ability w/ regards to water is especially potent when facing other sorcerers; add in a sprinkler system for true fun.  However, my players just hexed those, then tossed area effect spells at them and took down the whole lot pretty easily; leaving the sorcerer to contend with.  Due to a big, fiery finish, no one knows if he lived or not.

Of course he did; my players metagame-ingly assume this (because what fun is it for the story if he died?)

I had the sorcerer pump shifts into a really big darkness spell, to maximize their sonar advantage. This also worked well; it was countered briefly (someone dumped a light spell with more shifts of power but less duration into the area, but didn't target this as a counter... so they just lit the area for a few rounds).

To sum up: add in sprinklers and a powerful darkness spell, and these guys are really in their element. 

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: lordoracle on April 03, 2011, 04:21:10 PM

This will be helpful. I'll be setting my game on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico so these guys make for natural foes.

Title: Re: Fomors... [Even Hand/Aftermath Spoilers Beware]
Post by: Blackblade on April 03, 2011, 04:29:48 PM

Thou shalt not reach beyond the Borders of Life.