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Messages - JayTee

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106
DFRPG / Theory vs Practice, Character Concepts
« on: June 28, 2011, 11:43:49 PM »
I would like to invite you to join me in a thought exercise, submit a Character Concept that, In Theory, would be fantastically powerful or influential, but In Practice, would actually be little better than average.

For example:

Tom Dane, Barber to the Supernatural

In Theory Tom would be the most powerful member of the supernatural in the world. With only a single Fate Point Tom's player could Declare he has access to the hair of anyone from the Red King to The Merlin himself, allowing him to shape the world with little more than a Thaumaturgy spell.

In Practice anyone who WOULD get their hair cut likely wouldn't get it cut by anyone who they didn't trust implicitly. Besides, The Merlin is Bald, idiot.

Your turn!

EDIT: While left unsaid at first, I decided I would clarify that basic logic wouldn't be required, this is purely for fun.

107
DFRPG / Re: Is anyone else annoyed by Physical Immunity?
« on: June 20, 2011, 12:38:06 AM »
The way i've always seen Physical Immunity is the character is Immune to anything you could reasonably get your hands on, not Immune to everything, Period. I drew this conclusion based on two facts:

1) Looking at the other toughness based powers, they slowly and steadily make you Immune to things that could be carried by one person. Inhuman Toughness makes you invulnerable to small weapons, Supernatural makes you invulnerable to conventional weapons and Mythical makes you invulnerable to Military grade weapons.

1) In the Dresden universe magic follows the laws of physics, and if physics has taught me anything, its that everything breaks if you hit it hard enough.

For example, the Ogre who is Immune to Magic mentioned above. Throw that thing at a single Wizard and he's going to have to get creative with his spellcraft, as he simply can't bring enough mystical force to bare against the Ogre's resilience. On the other hand throw that Ogre at the Senior White Council members and a dozen Wardens, something you usually wont see in a game, and that Ogre is going to be blown to chunks, with those chunks blown to bits and then finally those bits pulverized into individual particles!

So, if I'm being chanced by something with Physical Immunity to physical damage, I'm not going to be able to hurt it with anything I can get my hands on with any degree of ease. What do I do? Look for the closest building I can drop on it, or drop it off of, bonus points for Invoking the Cube-Square Law if it has Hulking Size!

108
DFRPG / Re: Nukes
« on: June 20, 2011, 12:35:11 AM »
EDIT: Posted in the wrong thread, sorry!

109
DFRPG / Re: Possible Uses of Social Attacks in Combat
« on: June 20, 2011, 12:22:01 AM »
Spiderman and Deadpool, the Gods of mixing Social and Physical combat, accept no substitutes!

110
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 12, 2011, 08:56:02 AM »
Upon reflection of a few things, I've decided to use Bob's Build for this game (assuming we'll be having one). I also would like to thank Bob again for all the time and energy he's put into this.


111
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 11, 2011, 08:37:50 PM »
Yes, I know it says that for CHANNELING and RUTUAL you can only take refinements for items and such, but where does it say that for THAUMATURGY?

112
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 11, 2011, 07:33:36 AM »
You have one too many focus item slots listed here (3, instead of 2), assuming this is supposed to represent your 'base' focus item slots gaind from just thaumaturgy.

My error, everything under Thaumaturgy is indeed the "free" stuff you get for taking it. My brain saw "Focus Item" (Pocket Watch) and read it as "Refinement" for some odd reason. Thank you for pointing it out.

1
By the letter of the rules, people without the whole wizard package can't take refinement for more specializations.  They can, however, take refinement for more focus/enchanted item slots.

Wait what? Where are you getting this? I double checked but I couldn't find any mention of "Wizards only" for refinement. The closest thing I could find was the Options part of Thaumaturgy that says "Options: Casters whose template allows for it should consider the Refinement ability (Page 182)". Considering how the template is flat out "Thaumaturgist" I would think that it would be allowed.

2
You have too many bonuses (8) for three points of refinement  (should be 6).

You are completely right, I have no idea how Transformation and Disruption got in there.


(A bunch of stuff about my skills and refresh)

I keep forgetting how bloody useful Stunts are, and that you can indeed get a Superb Skill rating at Chest Deep. I'll go over it again and come up with a more efficient.

EDIT: Speaking of Stunts and their usefulness, I am considering dropping Rapport and taking a Stunt to  use Alertness for it instead, something like Social Cues That lets him pick up on body language and tone of voice for that kind of thing. If I gave it a -1 penalty for characters who are not within his line of sight and a - 1 penalty for dealing with more than one person, would it be reasonable to transplant the trappings of Rapport over to Alertness entirely?

113
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 10, 2011, 09:39:06 AM »
So, here is the (hopefully) full, final version of Ryan the Thaumaturgist. Feel free to rip it apart and dissect every single thing that is wrong with it, I'm looking for some scrutiny heavy feedback here!

Name: Ryan Green
Template: Thaumaturgist
Hight Concept: Practitioner on the Go
Trouble: Warden ex-girlfriend
Aspects:
Obfuscating Stupidity;
Terrible Planner, Fantastic Improviser;
A little Knowledge can be a dangerous thing;
Grey Magic for Fun and Profit;
Don't Mess with me and Mine.


Skills:
4: Discipline, Lore, Weapons
3: Athletics, Alertness, Endurance
2: Deceit, Conviction, Empathy
1: Presence, Fists, Rapport


Stunts:
Small Arms Expert: Use Weapons instead of Guns for Pistols


Powers:
Thaumaturgy - 3
Synchromancy (Complexity +1)
Pocket Watch, Synchromancy Focus Item (Complexity +1, Control +1)
2 unused potion slots


Refinement - 3
Wards (Complexity +1, Control +1)
Crafting (Frequency +1, Strength +1)
Divination (Complexity +1, Control +1)
Transformation and Disruption (Complexity +1, Control +1)


Refresh:  - 7

114
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 06, 2011, 05:06:16 AM »
I think you are short selling low skill levels a bit too much.  At skill level 2, you are capable of doing whatever it is, but you just aren't good enough at it to do it well under pressure.

Fair enough, thanks for pointing this out to me.

Ahhh. Like Columbo....
Got it thanks :)


Not a problem, glad it helped.  :)


Also, here is a modified skillset of the Thaumaturgist based on Crusher_Bobs suggestions, how is this?

Skills:
4: Discipline, Lore, Weapons
3: Athletics, Alertness, Endurance
2: Deceit, Conviction, Empathy
1: Presence, Fists, Rapport.

I've swapped around Conviction around with Weapons per Bob's advice on lowering it, but I feel it might be too low. I've also exchanged Resources for Rapport because why would a "Practitioner on the go" have high resources? xD

115
DFRPG / Re: What Makes A Play-By-Post Game Last?
« on: June 05, 2011, 07:29:49 AM »
I'm a player in Terror In Twin Cities.

There is a game set in the Twin Cities and I wasn't aware of this? I frigging LIVE there! XD

116
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 05, 2011, 07:20:16 AM »
Obfuscating Stupidity;
I'd like to see the story fragment that this one comes from to get my head around what you mean by it, because I can see a number of ways it could pan out.

I'll be completely honest, when writing them up I didn't fill in a story for each aspect, partially because when i tired i found I sucked at it and partially because I tend to use a kind of "Jigsaw puzzle" approach to character building. Meaning I have different names, histories, personalities and abilities that I like for characters, so i mix and match them whenever I need to make a new one.

That said, I'll break down each Aspect you mentioned so there is a better understanding of it.

Terrible Planner, Fantastic Improviser
The character is clever when adapting and improvising, but any time he is either engaged in a formal plan or simply thinking one out things go bad. Compelled to fail actions related to plans, "forget" to bring the proper equipment or just not think something through properly. Invoked for things that have been given no forethought or using minimal resources and materials.

A little Knowledge can be a dangerous thing
The character is nosey, and just likes knowing things in general. Not everyone likes the fact that he's always sticking his nose into their affairs, so this comes back to bite him. Compelled to have someone try to "silence" him, to try and overhear something that'll get him in trouble somehow or maybe even violate the Seventh Law by failing to resist temptation to read a particularly nasty looking occult book. Invoked to recall information about someone/thing, have a prior understanding about something or perform better on knowledge-based skill rolls (could also be used like Exposition and Knowledge dumping related to mystical stuff)

Obfuscating Stupidity.
The character, while being clever, does not like people KNOWING he is clever and will feign ignorance/incompetence at times. Compelled to fail a roll, have someone not take him seriously (who would believe an idiot?), deliberately disrupt something and making it look like an accident. Invoked for critical situations when failure is not an option.


Hope this helps!



I noticed that Mindflayer94 is starting up a Neutral Grounds game on the PbP forums. I'm sending him a PM to see if he'd be interested in running it as a tutorial of sorts for newbies.

I would love to join in if he's willing, thank you Sanctaphrax.



EDIT: Hitokiri, I would strongly suggest you take Crusher_bob's advice, skill ranks 1-2 suggest someone who only has some training (for example, someone who has gone to the gun range a few times would have such a skill rank in Guns). Skills at 3-4 imply someone who is well versed in that skill. (for example, someone who has been formally trained by a military organization such as the US Marines would have Guns at that level)

117
DFRPG / Re: Burgerking and the Nevernever.
« on: June 04, 2011, 05:22:41 AM »
Would all Burger King locations lead to the "Realm of the High Burger"? No.

Richard

I beg to differ.  ;)

City Name: Realm of the High Burger

Theme: War of the Burger Courts

Aspect: Big Mac vs Whopper

The Faces:

President For Life Ronald Mcdonald, Ruler of the Macdonald Oligarchy

The Enigmatic "King", Monarch of the Burger Crown.

Status Quo: Ronald and "The King", along with their respective Courts have been in a constant state of low-level warfare in the Nevernever since the mid-twentieth century, when the worship of the Burger started to rise to prominence worldwide. While there have been other contenders at times such as the Wendy's Aristocracy and the Hardee's Union, so far the ruling powers remain at their peak.

....I'll stop now before I get completely carried away.

118
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 03, 2011, 01:13:44 AM »
The problem with this build is that you've put almost all of your skill points into combat related stuff.

This was my intention, Hitokiri mentioned he was looking for an Action/Horror game, I built my stats accordingly as I'm basically just tagging along. xD

That said, your builds are much better and more flexible, I will likely be using them once I get a steady GM, thank you!

The rules for thuamaturgy aren't very well defined, so anytime you want to do something, you have to stop the game and have a (long) discussion with the GM.

This strikes me as odd, as from what I can tell Thaumaturgy seems to be nothing more (system wise) than a glorified Simple Action, Assessment, Block, Maneuver, Declaration, or Skill vs Skill roll with a few extra factors (such as Thresholds, Durations and Ritualwork. Is this just my lack of experience talking?


Thaumaturgy is a very versatile tool, which means that clever players will always be trying to use it to just to the 'end of the mystery' or whatever.

When running the game, try to make sure that using thaumaturgy to solve a problem is (almost always) the 2nd or third best solution, and should almost never actually be able to solve the problem outright.

I agree with this completely, I tend to view it as a support or fallback option rather than a means to an end.


EDIT: One other thing, can I get some feedback on my Aspects? I tired to make them either as neutral (so they could be invoked/compelled with equal ease) or as interesting as possible, comments?


EDIT 2: One other other thing, I am assuming this will play out like a standard game. That said, who will be running it, and what can I do to help?  :)

119
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: June 02, 2011, 04:42:23 AM »
Apologies for my late reply, a few personal issues took up my attention. As an apology, I've built not one, not two, but THREE characters at Chest Deep level for this exercise.


Name: Ryan Green
Template: Pure Mortal
Hight Concept: Hunter of the Strange
Trouble: Supernatural Magnet
Aspects:
Old Military family;
Obfuscating Stupidity;
Terrible Planner, Fantastic Improviser;
Prep and Skill Trump Magic;
Don't Mess with me and Mine.

Skills:

4: Fists, Guns, Weapons
3: Alertness, Athletics, Endurance
2: Discipline, Deceit, Lore
1: Presence, Conviction, Empathy

Stunts:
To be determined

Refresh: - 10

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Ryan Green
Template: Champion of God
Hight Concept: The Practical Parishioner
Trouble: Don't be a dick, Lord
Aspects:
Obfuscating Stupidity;
Terrible Planner, Fantastic Improviser;
A little Knowledge can be a dangerous thing;
Friends everywhere, Enemies everywhere else;
Risk makes things fun!

Skills:

4: Conviction, Guns, Weapons
3: Alertness, Athletics, Endurance
2: Discipline, Deceit, Lore
1: Presence, Contacts, Empathy

Stunts:
To be determined

Powers
Bless This House -1
Guide My Hand -1
Righteousness -2
Holy Touch -1

Refresh: - 3

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Ryan Green
Template: Thaumaturgist
Hight Concept: Practitioner on the Go
Trouble: Hot Warden chick wants my head
Aspects:
Obfuscating Stupidity;
Terrible Planner, Fantastic Improviser;  
A little Knowledge can be a dangerous thing;
The Laws Apply to Mortals only?
Don't Mess with me and Mine.


Skills:
4: Discipline, Lore, Conviction
3: Athletics, Alertness, Endurance
2: Deceit, Weapons, Empathy
1: Presence, Fists, Resources

Stunts:
Small Arms Expert: Use Weapons instead of Guns for Pistols and (at GMs discretion) SMGs

Powers

Thaumaturgy - 3

Refresh:  - 4


You May have noticed that other than a few details here and there the characters are more or less the same! This is because, quite frankly, they are. I've been Role Playing with Ryan for a good five years using collaborative writing and I have a fairly good grasp of his personality and thought process. The rest is just details!  ;D


I've left a few things unfinished simply because I would like to know which character others would be interested in using before I slam down the final details. I am most interested in playing the Thaumaturgist simply because I like the concept of Thaumaturgy a lot. That said I've noticed that the common consensus is that Thaumaturgy tends to disrupt gameplay, so to mitigate that I'll likely put every point of Refinement into focus items to help smooth things along.

Questions? Comments? Disparaging remarks about my mother?

120
DFRPG / Re: Tutor me please
« on: May 31, 2011, 11:57:21 PM »
I hope this isn't too presumptuous of me, but I would like to ask if I could get in on the whole "Tutoring" thing. I feel I have a fairly good grasp of the rules, but I just need some first hand experience.

That said Hito, feel free to use my character, Ryan, for one of your guest starring aspects. If this is okay with you I can stat him up right quick. What power level will we be playing at? (This is assuming it is alright for me to join up, if you have something else in mind, please ignore this post and let me just wish you luck!  :) )

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