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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Mr. Death on February 03, 2013, 04:49:12 PM
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So, out of idle curiosity, I'm wondering how exactly to price and model a Green Lantern Ring as an item of power. I'm thinking a +1 discount (it's distinct, but small and hideable), a sponsored magic (Hardlight as the evocation element, evothaum for constructs, tracking, translations, etc.), and Modular Abilities for things like flight, toughness, speed, and strength on the fly.
As for the charging, I'm thinking Human Form (involuntary) for the charge running out.
Any thoughts?
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Human Form (Involuntary) means you can use the ring about 1-2 days per month, which doesn't really seem fitting. Maybe attach Feeding Dependency on the abilities instead?
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Feeding dependancy seems to fit the ring pretty well. As it's almost identical thematically to how White Court vamps draw on their power. Though the rings usually seem to be able to last quite awhile between charges. I don't see it wearing out after 4 uses, maybe having an extended stress track power built into the ring?
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Speaking as a fan of the comics, Feeding Dependency makes the most sense.
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Human Form (Involuntary) means you can use the ring about 1-2 days per month, which doesn't really seem fitting. Maybe attach Feeding Dependency on the abilities instead?
No it doesn't. It means that there's an involuntary condition under which the ring won't work.
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Feeding dependancy seems to fit the ring pretty well. As it's almost identical thematically to how White Court vamps draw on their power. Though the rings usually seem to be able to last quite awhile between charges. I don't see it wearing out after 4 uses, maybe having an extended stress track power built into the ring?
The thing I have against feeding dependency is it takes so much -effort- to recharge it--if it's out of juice, you either have to sit out a whole bunch of scenes, or you have to do some equivalent to killing something, when in the comics, it takes the 30 seconds it takes to say the oath to recharge it.
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The thing I have against feeding dependency is it takes so much -effort- to recharge it--if it's out of juice, you either have to sit out a whole bunch of scenes, or you have to do some equivalent to killing something, when in the comics, it takes the 30 seconds it takes to say the oath to recharge it.
Hmm yeah seems a bit too easy if all you had to do was say you're skipping you next action to charge the ring and wipe your stress track.
Though, on second thought. What if it was more a quasi-feeding dependancy? You can spend an action at any time to recharge it, when the track fills up it automatically gives a sticky aspect like "running out of juice". So you can either recharge, getting rid of the aspect, or press you luck and keep fighting and hope the sticky aspect doesn't bite you in the ass.
I have no ideaif something like that would be even remotely balanced, just throwing out ideas haha.
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No it doesn't. It means that there's an involuntary condition under which the ring won't work.
If you are
only rarely able to take your powered form
(due to involuntary change, rare times of
the day or month or year, etc.), you regain
two points of refresh for taking this ability,
instead of one.
Emphasis mine. The only book example for Involuntary Change in play is the Lycanthrope: they get access to their powers for 5 days per month, and they do not get to choose those 5 days; they are set for them. The ring would have to be similarly restricted in usability in order to qualify for the rebate.
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This is exactly the kind of thing that Limitation is for.
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Emphasis mine. The only book example for Involuntary Change in play is the Lycanthrope: they get access to their powers for 5 days per month, and they do not get to choose those 5 days; they are set for them. The ring would have to be similarly restricted in usability in order to qualify for the rebate.
I think the involuntary change that death was talking about was losing the power though, not gaining it
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I think the involuntary change that death was talking about was losing the power though, not gaining it
And yet that's not what the power does.
The Involuntary Change upgrade to the Human Form power DOES NOT create an involuntary condition under which you LOSE your powers. It creates one under which you GAIN your powers. That condition must also be rare or otherwise inconvenient enough that it actually causes problems for your character. The Incredible Hulk (as depicted in the recent Avengers movie) should probably not gain the additional rebate. Yes, he can be involuntarily made to gain his powers, but he can also do so more-or-less voluntarily, and the involuntary gain only rarely causes meaningful problems.
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And yet that's not what the power does.
The Involuntary Change upgrade to the Human Form power DOES NOT create an involuntary condition under which you LOSE your powers. It creates one under which you GAIN your powers. That condition must also be rare or otherwise inconvenient enough that it actually causes problems for your character. The Incredible Hulk (as depicted in the recent Avengers movie) should probably not gain the additional rebate. Yes, he can be involuntarily made to gain his powers, but he can also do so more-or-less voluntarily, and the involuntary gain only rarely causes meaningful problems.
That's not, strictly speaking, true. Though I agree the Hulk wouldn't have it. Human Form [+2] covers any and all conditions where whether you have your powers isn't entirely under your control. Losing them when you are touched by sunlight is just as valid as only gaining them on the full moon (though I guess you could phrase that one 'when not touched by sunlight you gain your powers' but that's awkward as hell, phrasing-wise) or losing them when 'bound by man' ala early Wonder Woman. The point is that there's a condition under which your powers are simply unavailable...and that's what you get the +1 Refresh for.
That said...any battery type situation Human Form [+2] is wrong for, both because that's what Feeding Dependency is for and because that's the definition of a circumstance within your control (you can always keep your power by not using it).
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That said...any battery type situation Human Form [+2] is wrong for, both because that's what Feeding Dependency is for and because that's the definition of a circumstance within your control (you can always keep your power by not using it).
Well, that depends on which version of the GL Ring you're going under--right now, the continuity has it so that it loses charge as you use it, but it used to be a thing where it had to be recharged every 24 hours whether you used it or not.
Like I said, though, the thing about feeding dependency is that either it doesn't have much teeth to it (Discipline is going to be the GL's apex skill almost certainly), but at the same time when it does come into effect, the RAW has it so that recharging would be ridiculously slow. Any ideas on that?
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Any ideas on that?
Use Limitation.
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Human Form is inappropriate, Feeding Dependency is a pain in the neck, you probably already have Item of Power, and The Catch isn't applicable.
So no canon rebate Power will work well here. Use a homebrew one or just leave it to Compels.
That's not, strictly speaking, true. Though I agree the Hulk wouldn't have it. Human Form [+2] covers any and all conditions where whether you have your powers isn't entirely under your control. Losing them when you are touched by sunlight is just as valid as only gaining them on the full moon (though I guess you could phrase that one 'when not touched by sunlight you gain your powers' but that's awkward as hell, phrasing-wise) or losing them when 'bound by man' ala early Wonder Woman. The point is that there's a condition under which your powers are simply unavailable...and that's what you get the +1 Refresh for.
That would make more sense than what the Power actually does, in my opinion.
Human Form explicitly makes reference to shapeshifting...if you're not morphing, you can't really use it. But absolutely everybody ignores that.
And the +2 version says something like "if you can only rarely take your powered form", which doesn't apply to stuff like losing your powers when bound by man.
Of course, that's what Limitation is for.
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How about going the simplest possible way:
As Item of Power character has relevant aspect. Compel that charges run out when dramatically appropriate.
Similar to weapons needing reloading. No rebate but FP when it comes up.
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We did a one off Justice League game using DFRPG rules last year. Here's how I wrote up the ring:
Item of Power+1
Sponsored Magic (Oa, green light channeling, evothaum for conjuration, constructs, tracking, all focus items put into defensive enchanted items) -4
Modular Abilities (as many points as I could, minimum 1) -(x+2)
Stressful Change (custom power, on Modular Abilities, when changing abilities, take a point of mental stress for each refresh changed) +2
Total Cost -4 (minimum)
I handled recharging with compels, because in the stories it only comes up when the writer wants it to, which is what compels seem for (like how I handle reloading).
EDIT: It looks like a lot of this has been discussed, still this is the complete item I used.
I also gave an optional upgrade to stressful change (for -1) that made it a point of mental stress for every two refresh changed. So it would only give a +1 rebate. This required modular abilities with at least two form points.
NOTE: This is a bit of a stripped down version. We were playing a 30 refresh game (the minimum I felt I could make Superman at), so I had a ton of powers just listed as given and a boatload of refinement for enchanted items.
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Fate Core it. Dresden is GREAT for Dresden, poor for Super Heroes.
But for Dresden
For Green Lantern.
Make PC take a Green Lantern Related Aspect (I answer to Oa, Guardian of Sector 6543, ect)
Make then Roll Will skill for using Ring based skills
Catch of "Yellow"
Stunts
Use Will instead of Guns when making Ring Based Gun Weapons
Flight
I mean everything else I would write up is basically Wizard stuff, like Rotes, Evocation, thamutrgy and all that. Maybe use the "Hunger" skill track as how much "Juice' the Ring uses? Roll Will Power to see if your Ring runs out of energy (ugh, this is where I hate comics, In Some versions of Green Lantern the Ring needs to be recharged every 24 hours, and then sometimes its based on how much energy the guy uses, and then in others its based on something stupider)
Thats the Problem with Green Lanterns, Superman, batman ect is they are really hard to Stat.
I have an idea where basically you use Story games to do Super Powered Games. Reskin "In a Wicked Age", or use "Prime Time Adventures", or Fiasco, where the "Powers" are a given but the Story elements are more important.
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Fate Core it. Dresden is GREAT for Dresden, poor for Super Heroes.
Fate Core didn't exist when I played the game last year. Not really.
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Fate Core didn't exist when I played the game last year. Not really.
Time travel
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Never actually played DFRPG Supers, but I think it'd work pretty well.
I mean, I've had plenty of luck statting up superheroes outside of games.