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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Ghostfreak on December 24, 2018, 12:13:30 AM
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So after 3 years my character in my dm's game has finally kicked the bucket. An I am now tasked with making a new characted. 19 refresh and 46 skill points. I am interested in building a modern day jedi knight of the cross whose faith is in the living force.
I would like some sound advice/opinions in this venture and a few examples of how faith abilities like the potent prayer in righteousness work exactly. An I want to know what would entail in being a wielder of the sword of faith?
Much thanks in advance!
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you know its kinda ironic as the guy basically can create white council oil sheik in his tea break asks the forum to create himself a discount waldo butters with more jedi and less deadly doctor.
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To be honest I am not a fan of playing wizards or spellcasters of any nature. Unless I am forced to do so, which thankfully I am not. Not to mention I always wanted to play a kotc once I understood the system a bit better. Though due to the crappy faith powers they get in the book, it made them a bit less appealing to me.
Though the sword was the main selling point. If my dm is not close minded then I'd run some of the faith powers for him to see if I can use them or not.
Also wanted to know, in the book grave peril. When Kelly, one of the vampire twins touched Michael and her arm bust into flames. What is that considered? A conviction attack? A compel?
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To be honest I am not a fan of playing wizards or spellcasters of any nature. Unless I am forced to do so, which thankfully I am not. Not to mention I always wanted to play a kotc once I understood the system a bit better. Though due to the crappy faith powers they get in the book, it made them a bit less appealing to me.
Though the sword was the main selling point. If my dm is not close minded then I'd run some of the faith powers for him to see if I can use them or not.
Also wanted to know, in the book grave peril. When Kelly, one of the vampire twins touched Michael and her arm burst into flames. What is that considered? A conviction attack? A compel?
I think it was out an out holly burns evil plus a bit of true fatherly love kicked in as Micheal was I remember trying to protect Molly thus his knight power kicked in and hurt the vampire. and I think it was stealth compelling of several aspects on both of sides ( knight of the cross is certainly invoked in that book because Michael was on the clock thanks to Harry.)
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well, Jedi need to be trained. Fortunately, you have a Jewish Knight of the Cross who can do so.
Both Waldo and your PC will believe that a Jedi needs and more importantly can make a lightsaber. Given the Swords can be rebuilt, there's no particular reason why Waldo's Sword shouldn't be able to bud off the components necessary for the PCs blade.
While the Faith powers are pretty weak, simply put Holy Touch and Righteousness into the blade gives you a 1pt weapon that is pretty hard core, since the mundane and holy abilities now stack.
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Very true indeed. Though I wonder, what would the complexity be to build/create a lightsaber if one were to use tehcnomancy and parts that are less likely to be hexed. Like ww2 parts or materials or something? I am curious.
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“I feel a disturbance in the Force.” = Guide My Hand
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I made sure to note down powers that would closely resemble influences of the force. Like guide my hand, cassandra's tears, still on the fence about psychometry though.
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still on the fence about psychometry though.
give it is star wars canon that different Jedi have different powers, it would come down to individual PC design.
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Channeling= force lightning
Domination=“ these are not the droids you are looking for”. Or channeling mind magic.
Stunt to deflect ranged attacks with your sword
Actually, you could do a lot with Sponored Magic: The Force
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Hmmm, I never thought to use sponsored magic since its a huge refresh sink. It does have an appeal however.
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Hmmm, I never thought to use sponsored magic since its a huge refresh sink. It does have an appeal, however.
ah hello they are basically knight of the cross of star wars verse with a small problem which they don't have a Micheal carpenter in their ranks before luke skywalker era. if you need proof look no more then butters he is basically someone who has too much faith in a force that becomes a knight of the cross.
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In terms of skills and powers/stunts; this is what I have going on. If there is room for improvement then please share thoughts and opinions.
20 refresh
47 skill points, still capped at Superb. Cap will be raised at Fantastic once we make it to 50 skillpoints.
Superb: conviction, weapons, discipline
Great:lore, athletics, investigation
Good: endurance, scholarship, alertness
Fair: rapport, contacts, empathy
Average: pressence, might, craftsmanship
Powers/Stunts (5)
Guide my hand -1
Righteousness -2
Holy touch -1(not the canon power, the other one that works for weapons)
Wizard constitution -0
Cassandra's tears -0
The sight -1
(Dm does not want pc's to touch much less go near the swords of the cross, which I wished he'd told me much sooner rather than later. But what can do you?)
Stunts (5)
Warrior: +1 to weapons attack when using a bladed melee weapons.
Edge soul unity: +1 to weapons defense when using bladed melee weapons.
Opportunist: when tagging a consequence or maneuver you have inflicted on a target in a physical conflict, get +3 instead of 2. When tagging for a reroll, keep one of the best die rolls and reroll the rest.
Not easily broken: when an opponent tags or invokes a consequence or maneuver inflicted on you in a physical conflict; they only get a +1 instead of 2. If they choose to tag for a reroll, I can lock down one of their dice and leave them to reroll only 3.
My weapon makes me powerful: when in possession of a sword weapon you have crafted, gain +3 to discipline for mental defense.
Side note
My weapon makes me powerful, opportunist and not easily broken were stunts made in mind for people/creatures that would be much more powerful than me. An I despise have to deal with mental consequences as they take much longer to heal than physical consequences. An we are now coming against creatures who like to use incite emotion powers, so the padding from it is a huge help. Also to avoid being ganged up on by creatures who are able to inflict consequences quickly and tag for near impossible defense and to give me some level of power to survive.
Dm is not following Dresden's canon so there is some room for flexibility. An since I can't get a sword of the cross, I'll have to buy a sword or make my own following the process of the force imbued jedi katana. Which I found extremely interesting and flavorful.
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I like it, although with that discipline and conviction, that’s not how I’d go about it. I’d go soulfire with crafting. I’ll write something up today
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In terms of skills and powers/stunts; this is what I have going on. If there is room for improvement then please share thoughts and opinions.
20 refresh
47 skill points, still capped at Superb. Cap will be raised at Fantastic once we make it to 50 skillpoints.
Superb: conviction, weapons, discipline
Great:lore, athletics, investigation
Good: endurance, scholarship, alertness
Fair: rapport, contacts, empathy
Average: pressence, might, craftsmanship
Looks like you've got two skill points left over.
Stunts (5)
Warrior: +1 to weapons attack when using a bladed melee weapons.
Edge soul unity: +1 to weapons defense when using bladed melee weapons.
Some GMs will let you take True Aim from the Sword of the Cross as a [-1] Power. Worth asking about, I think.
Actually, why not have a lightsaber as an Item of Power? If you can't have a Sword of the Cross, it's the next best thing.
As for the stunts, I think "bladed melee weapons" is rather broad. Even "swords" is a pretty easy condition to satisfy. That said, I'm pretty sure the "only +1" limitation on stunt bonuses is for attacks only. For defence rolls, I think you can have +2.
Opportunist: when tagging a consequence or maneuver you have inflicted on a target in a physical conflict, get +3 instead of 2. When tagging for a reroll, keep one of the best die rolls and reroll the rest.
Not easily broken: when an opponent tags or invokes a consequence or maneuver inflicted on you in a physical conflict; they only get a +1 instead of 2. If they choose to tag for a reroll, I can lock down one of their dice and leave them to reroll only 3.
Applying these to both maneuvers and consequences might be a bit broad. It's not really going to break anything, but I think it'd be better if they were each one or the other.
My weapon makes me powerful: when in possession of a sword weapon you have crafted, gain +3 to discipline for mental defense.
I'd limit this to +2. It's not exactly a hard condition to satisfy.
An we are now coming against creatures who like to use incite emotion powers, so the padding from it is a huge help. Also to avoid being ganged up on by creatures who are able to inflict consequences quickly and tag for near impossible defense and to give me some level of power to survive.
I think it would be reasonable to take Toughness, either physical or mental, with the flavour that God/the Force is protecting you.
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Only a couple changes in your skill tree: I swapped Discipline and Lore.
I left out Cassandra's Tears because Divination is the kind of thing that would fall under The Force (Soulfire) or Guide My Hand if it is to help someone or further the agenda of the Light Side.
Superb: conviction, weapons, lore
Great:discipline , athletics, investigation
Good: endurance, scholarship, alertness
Fair: rapport, contacts, empathy
Average: pressence, might, craftsmanship
-5 Sponsored Magic: Soul Fire (Light Side of The Force
-3 Refinement
-2 Righteousness
-1 Guide My hand
-1 Holy touch (probably unnecessary with Soulfire)
-1 The Sight
Sunts
-5 in random stunts.
18/20 refresh
Foci: X 10. I haven't built a caster in ages so my numbers are probably all off. I'm sure someone will correct my calculations. In any case, this is just an example. Essentially, you are making a crafter with Soulfire. Since Jedi craft their own sabres with crystals and use crystals to attune to the force, I used that as the fluff for your items.
(Adegan: Pontite)Crystal necklace: +2 Soulfire (Light-side Force) control (2 slots)
(Kasha) Crystal ring:(2 slots) +2 Soulfire (Light-Side Force)Power
Lightsabre Crafting tools(4 slots): +2 Frequency; +2 Power
Enchanted Items X4: (2 slots)
Light Sabre:
Weapon 7 attack: X3 uses
Athletics: 7 X3 uses (fluff is that you cut through a wall or door and pass through). It could be a Might skill check or Burglary too...depending on what kind of utility you want.
Deflect Attack(Power 7 Block): X3
Mephite Crystal: Power 7 Potion slot, usable X3 times
Essentially, you are a Crafter/spellcaster with The Light-side of the Force as your Sponsored Magic (soul-fire because it costs 5 instead of 4 refresh so it should give you the ability to down-grade toughness, which makes sense since lightsabres cut through everything).
Spell casting: Accuracy 6(or 7 with righteousness); Power 7
Your Rotes could use the typical tropes:
Levitate (athletics skill replacement)
Attack: use the force to telekinetically throw things - although, that might be under the purview of the Dark side (same as force lightning)
Block: to deflect attacks and protect allies
Jedi Mind Trick: Influence people by creating powerful maneuvers like: 'these are not the droids you're looking for'
Veil: creates a sound that distracts people and makes them look the other way so you can shut down the death star's shields
TL; DR
Jedi are essentially space wizards.
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......this works. Definitely gonna have to read up on soul fire but from your explanation, it actually works pretty well. Wow. This cuts through all of the bs and gets straight to the point and I love it. Thank you so much!
Also, does killing with an enchanted item break the laws of magic or no?
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you know between Darth bathrobe and your Jedi knight of the cross there is not much difference in star wars cannon as both sides are clear dunce heads cannot comprehend the balance means you need to have both sides of force learned to archive it not destroying the other side to archive it. that's why when Harry used Fuego with soulfire it worked since thanks to lash he was channeling the true balanced side of force around that time onwards.
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......this works. Definitely gonna have to read up on soul fire but from your explanation, it actually works pretty well. Wow. This cuts through all of the bs and gets straight to the point and I love it. Thank you so much!
Thanks. Also, your light-sabre is, essentially, a regular sword It's probably weapon 2 or 3.
Also, does killing with an enchanted item break the laws of magic or no?
Yes, normally because it's magic but, in this case, it's Soulfire, so your Sponsor lets you skirt the laws. But, that said, your character has to be in line with the Sponsor's agenda. So, if you go around killing people with your light-sabre willy-nilly, you may find that you lose access to the Light Side. In fact, story-wise, you might cross over to the dark side. So, use all the rules for Hellfire but I'd replace the boost to fire with Lightning (Force Lightning). And lets not forget that Wardens might start hunting you down.
Edit: So what that means is you will need to have aspects that tie in to your powers and you will get compelled on those aspects. Compelled to make sure you don't kill someone out of anger, always controlling your emotions to your detriment or whatever.
You need one related to Righteousness for the purposes of spending Fate Points to gain the +1 to skills. One for Guide My Hand and, you will need one related to the force(Soulfire). Maybe 2, if you see your character more like Anakin and is drawn to the dark side. But you could easily be a 'pacifist' in this game. If you take someone out, you can dictate the take out conditions. If some alien gets in your face, you can take him out by cutting his arm off(instead of cutting off his head). Or use An attack spell to throw someone across the room, go through a wall and get knocked out.
I actually think it might be more fun to play it that way. The 'tempted by the dark side' trope is kind of over-used. (Harry Dresden, Darth Vader etc...etc...
Be more like Yoda!
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Also, does killing with an enchanted item break the laws of magic or no?
If you head over to the Law Talk (https://www.paranetonline.com/index.php/topic,36777.0.html) thread, you can see plenty of discussion on that point.
Warden swords are definitely okay, though, so if you're asking specifically about the lightsaber it should be fine.
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Warden swords are definitely okay, though, so if you're asking specifically about the lightsaber it should be fine.
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I thought that what made the Warden-swords "ok" to kill with was that -- as a tool for killing -- they're ... just swords. Very finely-crafted, ultra sharp like they're fresh off the whetstone... but swords. If you get stabbed somewhere fatal, they kill you; if you get stabbed somewhere non-fatal, they don't. Are they written up in the DFRPG system with extra +StabbyKilly ?
As tools I think they are ultra-tough, harder to break than an ax or other heavyweight chopping-tools, etc.
But it's mostly their anti-magic that makes them fearsome to wizards.
Have I overlooked some extra +StabbyKilly ?
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Can you help me understand the math? Because I read that your foci should not be higher than your Lore and from the looks of it. The total is much higher than 5, unless I am misunderstanding something.
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A focus gives you a bonus to power or control
A crafting focus gives you a bonus to crafting Power or Frequency.
So, for casting spells, +2 power makes your conviction effectively two points higher for drawing power.
For crafting, Power makes your Lore effectely two points higher for the purpose of all your enchanted items.
When I get some time, I can do a more detailed(and accurate) tally of enchanted items
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I would definitely like to see that as I felt its easier to jot all of this down in my notebook for ease of use.
Also what are the limits of what I can do with soulfire? Is there a resource of someone here who used it to great effect?
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Also what are the limits of what I can do with soulfire? Is there a resource of someone here who used it to great effect?
Soulfire works exactly how Thematic spellcasting(YS pg. 284) works - like Kemlerin Necromancy, Biomancy, Diobalism, Ectomancy etc..
Lets say you have Ectomancy. You have access to all forms or Ritual Casting and Channeling(Spirit)but the Narration and flavour of your casting involves ghost.
So, you could place a ward that does mental damage skinned as binding a ghost to guard the area and who manifests to intruders, scaring them to death.
Or you could use conjuration but only on Spirits and ghosts. Divination but it takes the form of a seance where you ask ghosts for information.
Soulfire is the same way. (Read sponsored magic on Page 287 and Soulfire on 292)
All your rituals and evocations will have to be in line with the Sponsor's agenda and the flavour of the spells will take a form related to the White God. Or The Light Side of the Force. A good idea is to read up on the Jedi Code:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_Code
And let that inform you on the kind of stuff you can do. Ultimately, IMO, I think the Light Side and SoulFire are, essentially, the same. Dresden Canon would imply it, based on Butters wielding a Sword as a lightsaber.
I played a half-fomor who used soulfire...You might be interested in reading it to get ideas but that character's soulfire was much more 'holy-white-god' type magic.
https://www.paranetonline.com/index.php/topic,39379.0.html
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... ?
I thought that what made the Warden-swords "ok" to kill with was that -- as a tool for killing -- they're ... just swords. Very finely-crafted, ultra sharp like they're fresh off the whetstone... but swords. If you get stabbed somewhere fatal, they kill you; if you get stabbed somewhere non-fatal, they don't. Are they written up in the DFRPG system with extra +StabbyKilly ?
As tools I think they are ultra-tough, harder to break than an ax or other heavyweight chopping-tools, etc.
But it's mostly their anti-magic that makes them fearsome to wizards.
Have I overlooked some extra +StabbyKilly ?
Yes. As explained on YS 303, Warden Swords are weapon 6 when you spend a "charge".
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So math would the math look like this?
Sponsored magic: soulfire (grants 4 focus items)
Base focus items (4 slots)
+2 to offensive power
+2 to offensive control
Refinement (2) gain 4 focus item slots
Lightsaber crafting tools
+2 crafting frequency and +2 crafting strength( I've searched up and down the focus item and enchanted item section for power and all I saw was strength.)
Refinement (gain four enchanted item slots)
2 slots
Lightsaber
Mephite
Item creation math
Superb Lore:5
Crafting power: 2
For a total of : 7
Note: saw something in book 3 in regards of getting a +1 bonus to power or complexity when it comes to pure creation. I would like to know do I get the bonus for both or do I pick over the other?
Uses per session
Base: 1
Crafting frequency: 2
Total for 3 uses per session
Am I on the right track so far?
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So math would the math look like this?
Sponsored magic: soulfire (grants 4 focus items)
Base focus items (4 slots)
+2 to offensive power
+2 to offensive control
Refinement (2) gain 4 focus item slots
Lightsaber crafting tools
+2 crafting frequency and +2 crafting strength( I've searched up and down the focus item and enchanted item section for power and all I saw was strength.)
Yes, it's strength. It's been a long time since I made a spellcaster and I'd forgotten the term.
Refinement (gain four enchanted item slots)
2 slots
Lightsaber
Mephite
Item creation math
Superb Lore:5
Crafting power: 2
For a total of : 7
Looks good. You put all your spellcasting foci in to offense. Which means casting blocks will be at your straight Conviction/discipline. But you can probably rely on your enchanted items for defense.
You could have 4 different items - one for each slot or several effects in one item, if I remember correctly.
I'd save one slot for potions. Potions are super useful in that you can use a declaration to have any type of potion you want.
The other thing you can do is reduce the amount of items you have (say you only want 2), you can use the other two as another focus or you can use 1 them to boost frequency of one item by 2 or use one to boost Strength by 1.
Note: saw something in book 3 in regards of getting a +1 bonus to power or complexity when it comes to pure creation. I would like to know do I get the bonus for both or do I pick over the other?
I don't know because it doesn't mention it in YS. Remember that your Soulfire is reskinned as The Light Side of the Force. If the creation theme fits, then talk it over with your GM. It's a pretty narrow specialty. I'd imagine creation has to do with birth and life and not 'fabricating' items or conjuring stuff. Maybe along the of Immaculate Conception?
Uses per session
Base: 1
Crafting frequency: 2
Total for 3 uses per session
Am I on the right track so far?
Yes, it looks good. Depending on how your DM tracks 'sessions', you may want to invest in more 'uses'.
What enchantments are you planning to put on your items?
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What are my options when it comes to enchantments? Personally I've never done it before but if I had to I would invest in defensive/healing items, armor and if possible holy on my lightsaber. As my gm has a bad habit of using creatures that tend to hit beyond what the average person can defend/defend unless they spend alot of fate points to dodge.
But if you have suggestions I am open to them.