ParanetOnline
The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Smaug with OCD on March 18, 2016, 03:44:08 AM
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This is pretty simple actually, though it probably suggests that I need to get a full night's sleep. I was looking through the rules to make sure I can run an upcoming campaign with some of my friends, and got distracted by the spellcasting section. Specifically, I started looking at the elements and thinking of different ways to apply them.
With fire, water, and spirit I didn't have that hard a time thinking of interesting ways to use them. Water we see from both Ramirez and LTW in the series, and then the section specifically mentions entropy. Spirit covers all sorts of things like mind magic, kinetomancy(though personally I think this should fall under fire), and tons of other stuff. Earth magic you can manipulate metal and earth, electromagnetism, gravity, etc. Fire has heat manipulation, lasers, and probably a bunch of other stuff I can't pull out of thin air because I'm running on two or three hours of sleep. But, when I got to air I thought maybe pressure manipulation, and then... I kind of blanked.
So, what interesting things have you guys done with air magic that aren't immediately obvious?
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http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,38633.msg1896576.html#msg1896576 (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,38633.msg1896576.html#msg1896576)
Look at her rote spells, and you've got a pretty good idea. They all are air element.
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-Effortlessly crossing a zone or two in any direction with a casual step thanks to a precisely focused wind that carries you where you need to go.
-Exciting the air around you to create lightning.
-Making a tornado or hurricane.
-A solid blast of wind to knock an opponent off their feet. Or a building.
-Creating fog.
-Dispelling smoke. Possibly creating smoke.
-Creating toxic or noxious fumes.
-Reducing the concentration of Oxygen, Nitrogen or Carbon Dioxide in an enclosed space.
-Sensing air currents/air pressure when vision is blocked by darkness.
-Getting a bonus to listening checks.
-Actively pulling the air out of a target's lungs.
-Air blast to shield from physical attacks.
-Snuffing out fire. Or flaring it up backdraft style.
-Cooling or heating the air's temperature around you.
-Super-ventriloquism- whispering to someone a few hundred feet away if you have line of sight to them.
-Filtering light to create rainbows.
(Some of these are water manipulation or fire manipulation, but there is overlap)
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In relation to the series, an air mage in my latest story was able to tap the power of a storm more efficiently to fuel other spells, and used a pulsing beat of air magic to control thousands of zombies over miles.
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I'm fond of razor wind. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RazorWind
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The philosophy of the elements section from the Paranet Papers is an awesome read up. Just pure awesome. Air, according to it, is the element of intellect and control. So think in terms of precise, narrowly defined bursts of power giving you exactly the desired effect.
Forget that Dresden would build an air block as a burst of gale-force winds. An air specialist might just call up small gusts of wind that interfere with each opponent in turn. It's not that he keeps that one spell going (which is mechanically what he does). He throws dozens of smaller, weaker spells with *just* enough oomph behind them to spoil his opponents aim. Or on the offensive, to trip them up and knock them down.
Think control, think precise, and think of air effects like lightning, fog, wind. From there... just define what your goal is (attack, manuever, counterspell) and come up with a narrative that fits.