Have to say I agree BW is worth more than Claws and not as much as Inhuman Strength.  I'd allow players some creative flexibility to make up for it.  Allowing area attacks, split targets, and suppressive fire as well as maneuvers and single target attacks goes a long way towards making it up.  Even sustained attacks might work.  That said, it would be up to the player to make it fit the story.

If it allowed...it should say it explicitly...

Have to say I take the opposite approach these days.  I don't have time for systems which try to create rules for every situation.

1) Hard to give the PCs fate points - They use them quickly and it's hard to give them some kind of inconvenience every scene so they can get them back.

Remind them to self-compel.  Off load some of the responsibility.    Also, don't forget playing their character's flaws can often be seen as a self compel.  When Bob tries to rescue a bystander, is it a random act or a self compel of some 'heroic' aspect?  

2) Having to use fate points to gain bonuses - So one of my characters wants to take cover in a fire fight but he has no fate points to tag the aspect 'crates.' As I understand it, you can't use an aspect unless you have fate points. Seems very counter intuitive.

First, my version of the official reasoning - you're simulating a scene in constant motion.  He rolled behind cover in one exchange and kept rolling (or his opponent moves to negate it) by default (unless there's another fate point spent).  It's a system that, in my opinion, actually works better if you leave combat abstract and don't map it.  Finally, don't forget the free tag on maneuvers.

For an alternative, you might look at Strands of Fate.  It uses a sticky aspect concept which allows free tags of an aspect across multiple exchanges.  Sticky aspects are more difficult to create but it makes sense to me.

3) Complicated magic system - anytime the wizard wanted to do something, it took a while. And I have to admit, I often got fuzzy on how if you succeed on a evocation, do you add in the power to the success of the casting? I just felt like it could have been made simpler.

This, in my opinion, is caused by the overly verbose writing style used.  I rewrote the evocation rules to fit on a one page pdf.  Thaumaturgy takes a second page.  

4) Looking up powers - it was tough looking up stats for villains. there was sort of a little cheat box at the bottom, but I had to go to the other book to look up what powers they used. I ended up making my own monster sheets with power descriptions included.

I suspect this will go away with familiarity but it is worth a short sentence / reminder on your villain's sheet.

Edit:  There's also a two sheet powers reference downloadable from Evil Hat.  There's also a short 'reminder' version of the spellcasting rules.

Anyhow, I don't see why Accorded Neutral Ground should be harder to get than becoming a Member of the Accords.  If anything it should be easier (though getting the signatures is probably easier).  I also don't see why there'd be a limit to the number of places in a city that could become this.  Theoretically, I think a City Itself could become Accorded Neutral Ground at least all public areas, if the Mayor was Clued In.

Having a few locations accorded neutral ground should be fairly easy - though there will probably be some politicking over which locations.  However, an entire city (or even too many locations) is unlikely. 

Remember, neutral ground is useful for places to meet and discuss differences.  It's also a potential disadvantage to predatory powers as a potential refuge.  So those powers will almost certainly sign off on one location.  A few more are possible for convenience.  At some point they'll say 'enough - these are cutting into my hunting ground'.

The "script" index cards are going to be my method of initial exposition...

It's not scripted because you're using note cards, it's scripted because you have "...the entire route and attendant complications plotted out beforehand..."  That's what I recommend seeking player agreement on. 

As for potentially entertaining complications, language and (mis)translation potential abounds.  You could add gardeners to some of the plant scenes.  You have a couple environments they may not be dressed for and the goblin market could be selling anything or even anyone. 

Several options:

• Use 'On the Fly' character creation
• Retroactively insert the character into others' stories
• Promote an NPC already in the game (he's already in the stories, just need to select aspects)
• Just create aspects for those while ignoring other characters' stories

What I *would* like to hear more about is the sticky qualities and how those are envisioned. Umbralux, could you please illustrate an example of both a Sticky Defects and a Sticky Quality, as pertains to the GM, Fate Point expenditure, etc.?

In brief, I was pulling in an idea I've heard attributed to Strands of Fate.  A "sticky defect" would be an aspect the GM can compel or invoke at any appropriate time without giving the player a fate point and a "sticky quality" would be an aspect the player could tag or invoke without paying a fate point.  Since I'm working from secondhand information it's probably not quite the same as Strands, but it seems like a cool method of utilizing aspects.

Here's my take on it: 

• Summer
  • Unrestrained Growth
  • Heat / Fire
  • Light / Day / Sun
  • Purification
  • Agitation / Activity
• Winter
  • Unchanging Stasis
  • Decay
  • Death and Rebirth
  • Cold / Ice
  • Darkness / Night
  • Stillness / Solitude
  I treat them as themes more than specific agendas.  However, any agenda in sync with the court's themes might be pushed by a given member of the court.  This way there's plenty of room for politics and infighting...  :)

PS: I think it should be possible to summon things without taking defects.

I agree.  That said, I don't see 30 shifts as all that difficult.  The seven aspects I threw out in an earlier post are +14 and it wouldn't be difficult to come up with more.  Particularly if it's a group effort.  Add that to the four or so you have from Lore, the potential of accepting or inflicting up to 20 or so consequences (potentially a lot more for NPCs willing to kill), and one per scene skipped for PCs.  Thaumaturgy is powerful!  No reason to make it more so. 

On a side note, I've been going through the Thaumaturgy rules to make a cheat sheet...and noticed something I hadn't paid much attention to in the past.  One of the sidebars on YS:273 alludes to summoning corporeal entities.  I'd definitely require that to 'take out' the summonee - and without defects.  I'm somewhat curious also, could you summon a human without breaking the fourth law?