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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Brackenfur on December 24, 2010, 05:07:00 PM

Title: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 24, 2010, 05:07:00 PM
Hello! I remember reading somewhere on the boards about how you could use thaumaturgy to apply supernatural powers to a character for a temporary time. However, I'm having trouble finding it again. Was I crazy or just bad at using the search feature? Also is this mentioned in the text at all or just clever ideas cobbled together on the boards?

Thanks!
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Imp on December 24, 2010, 05:35:55 PM
thread linkage

Using magic to increase abilities (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,23179.0.html)


Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 24, 2010, 06:31:18 PM
Thank you but, is there a way to use it for supernatural powers not skills. Particularly if a wizard wanted to change her shape or fly both of these abilities are modeled really well with Supernatural Powers. Is there a way to temporarily gain this power through thaumaturgy?
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Richard_Chilton on December 24, 2010, 07:01:21 PM
It can't really give you the power, but it can mimic it.  For example, you can cast a spell that transforms you but you can't grant yourself shapeshifting.  You still lack the power of Shapeshifting but you've reached the same (or mostly the same) result - you've just used a different road to get there.

Sometimes characters do things that are very hard to map to magic - for example Gatekeeper's mastery of opening portals to the Nevernever.  The best way to represent something like that is to buy the power and explain that you're doing it through magic.

Richard
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 24, 2010, 07:17:37 PM
I agree. The character only wants to do it for a limited time though and doesn't want to be able to shapeshift so thoroughly. If it isn't represented in the text would it make sense to have her total a number of shifts equal to the powers cost? Or some variable of (2 x refresh cost, 3x, etc.)? 
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Richard_Chilton on December 24, 2010, 07:23:20 PM
To shapeshift you have to transform yourself, which means totally taking yourself out.  I think the book gives an example of that taking 23 shifts.

Which means you'll need a ceremony to do the rite and it will take a long time.

Richard
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 24, 2010, 07:30:47 PM
But when the book is using that example it references the law that it's breaking (second?). IIRC. So I inferred that the example was for a permanent transformation. What if I want a limited duration, down to a scene tops. Could I decrease the shift count by moving down the time ladder?
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: sinker on December 24, 2010, 07:40:48 PM
I would think that you could decrease the shift count simply by choosing to transform yourself. You don't have to take any consequences to be taken out and for that matter if you had to take the consequences to transform you'd be in a pretty sorry state afterwards. Why not simply cast a spell with enough shifts to deal more stress than you have, then choose not to take consequences. You are "taken out" and only for four or five shifts instead of twenty.
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: mostlyawake on December 24, 2010, 09:50:56 PM
By the rules, you also have to pay fate points equal to the refresh cost each time you cast it. 
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 24, 2010, 10:14:17 PM
I'm not sure, under that logic couldn't she just concede to her self in the first place and not take stress or consequences? Where do the Fate Points come into the casting, that sounds kind of familiar?
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: sinker on December 24, 2010, 10:35:25 PM
I'd say the stress is necessary, since without it there would be little or no shifts necessary for the casting, and besides that conceding to yourself seems a little like cheating.
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 25, 2010, 01:41:42 PM
Yeah that does make sense, and I definitely like it more. So she would need to deal enough physical stress to take her self out, then pay the refresh of the powers shes wanting, then pay the refresh value of them in fate points?
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: devonapple on December 25, 2010, 06:51:48 PM
Here's another thread on a similar discussion:
Trying to see in the dark (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,22413.0.html)
Title: Re: Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers
Post by: Brackenfur on December 25, 2010, 08:09:04 PM
Thanks guys! I think I have a decent handle on what to do. The links helped too.