Wanderer I am not a fan of the pyramid system for the same reason. It's especially bothersome at high refresh skill levels. The powers/stunts kept characters unique. There is so much overlap between characters due to skills.

I thought the role of the summer/winter knight was in part to kill humans? Harry references historical figures of terror that were Winter Knights. Slade was very definitely a ruthless and brutal murderer. The White Council does not represent as the defenders of humanity for the Accords. So I don't see how Wardens could/dare to police the knights as they work Seelie/Unseelie magic. You really think a Winter Knight who did not start as a wizard would hesitate to kill with magic? Harry certainly blew an ogre to bits in a horrific fashion to make an example as a knight, implying winter influence.

Just as Lawbreaker caps Wizards, the Sponsor should be sending thematic compels that are from dangerous to inconvenient. If memory serves Harry almost raped due to the predatory influence of Winter. Game mechanics wise I'd see that as a huge compel. Give me a fate point or get a fate point for indulging Winter. I see it as a GM obligation to throw narrative curveballs at sponsored magic. The Magic urges use to its agenda. The knights who play in my game go through constant grief due to the fae in the form of inner compels or blatant sponsor saying do this or else. The way I see it a Sponsor would eyeball when a knight is near mentally consequenced out to push its will.

Honey Badger Don't Care

The game I am in has a few greek scions: Artemis, Ares, and Athena.

The play and rules sort of evolved over time. We used aspects and compels on aspects to reflect the tidal pull of the parents on the scions.

Artemis:

Female player/character was a virgin. Hunted "evil" in the name of Artemis. Sort of an eco-feminist thing. The GM had her struggle with the sentiment/philosophy call of her mother with the vicious man-killing reality of her sisters. So she had a difficulty in discerning what was the right course of action as given by her aspects and her people. Her character did not really get interesting until the GM fleshed out a culture that forced her to make choices with tough consequences to her choices. She had a mixture of compels, betrayals, and violent scenes. Oh...and White Court Vampires trying to get into her virgin pants. Her powers were speed, incite fear after plugging the prey with an arrow, and bow skills. As she was a new player to DFRPG she decided to play a scion that was sheltered on a Med island with other Artemis scion's and constantly played up the culture clash driven by the interpretations of proper behavior by her people. She did find out that other scion's are not the best interpreters of Artemis' will. The GM would compel the scion a lot around bad male behavior. Especially the ubermale scion of Ares.

Ares

For Ares we went with a chimeric father who had sired a few thousand bastards and was uncaring of their fates. As the scions evolve they find themselves adept at one or two aspects of war. Not all scions are created alike. They had a few commonalities: strength, speed, and toughness. Ares manifested in different forms largely dictated by the greatest bloodletting/war that happened in the region (a nod to American Gods). So Ares in South Bend took the form of a genteel union/confederate general. In Europe more like a Nazi/Ruski form. All scions of Ares had a form of cassandras tears. Visions of war/conflict that draw them to conflict like a piece of meat draws flies. All scions of Ares need to perform an act of glory/fame (via Hellenic Code) to gain the notice of Ares. Then the problems really begin as Ares agenda is complex, unknowable, and generally demonizing an in awful way. To flesh it out the scions of Ares had the goal of becoming "300" an elite force of scions who do the bidding of the gods. Until the scion attained the status of being a "hero" the scion is mortal (as in can die of old age). At a certain point scions do gain a long life. Most don't as the vast majority of scions die young via war and their addition to the most dangerous trade. In one story arc scions of ares were near like roach/xenomoprh status. Hordes of deadly things that you squish in numbers before they squish you. Scions of Ares in the game were generally disliked and seen not too dissimilar than ghouls (minus cannibalism).

The scion in the party was a master of weapons ("The Use of Arms") and manifested the aspect of butchery in war(Honey Badger Don't Care). So warfare would incite a bloodlust that would clash with humane aspects of the character ("Take the Grenade"). The character was molded on Yato of Noragami. A little stray cat godling trying to swear off calamity yet being drawn back in again and again with some seriously bad social habits. To aid in this the scion had a game mechanic flaw. Whenever he used supernatural speed he would gain a mild mental consequence of bloodlust/adrenaline high that represented the peril of addiction to his heritage as he took on an inhuman form. This flaw was readily taggable to characters/monsters that play on emotions. He got taken out by a wrath oriented WCV zapping him during bloodlust and assessing "Honey Badger Don't Care". The scion had a bit of a drinking problem vis a vis PTSD/Horror at his actions ("Children's Eyes that Hate You, Broken and Mad"- Siegfried Sassoon.) As the arc continued the scion was the son that Ares would give the most morally questionable jobs. His package was Strength, Speed, Toughness, Cassandras Tears with a sort of human form and mild mental consequence when using speed (a nod to Guts from Beserk while wearing the armor of the beserker). As the arc continued the agenda of Ares was revealed: For the White Council to go to war and to rescind the first law as the scion was with a party of wizards. The Ares arc created by the scion was not the main arc of the game. It was still a reality vs outside the fae really suck story.

Athena:

That character had an interesting use of 4 pts into supernatural senses. She had the ability to see the truth in conflicts, the ability to divine the best tactical solution causing the least harm, and a sort of call on the GM for a bit of wisdom power. The scion of Ares had a grand old time ignoring the scion of Athena's input. Sadly the scion of Athena's input would more wise, humane, and generally "good." As the party was heavily influenced by a war like mindset the party did not really trust in the scion of Athena. That and the player had her as a scion of Athena and daughter of Morgan. The word "snitch" came to mind many times.

Scions of Whatever "Wiki" can be really cool additions to a game that uses aspects, compels, and GMs willing to flesh out culture pieces beyond Dresden Files. The introduction of Hades in Skin Game sure juiced the campaign. The above posters are right in that its fun to play the Call of the parent on the scion and the struggle that it creates as the agenda of the parent is inhuman. Some of example on fortune and Dionysus I am going to steal.

Important information left out on Intellectus.

1) only has been used for military vehicles. That is at most a one point stunt: can use military vehicles.

2) the sponsored Magic makes no sense. Declarations about leading come from Presence and not from a fighting skill. Declarations/assessments about physical combat come from a fighting skill. For instance a declaration like "hitting the flank" has the fate point expenditure. All three skills (fist, guns, weapons) can create a flank maneuver. Your interpretation of declarations and assessments are too restrictive. Any character can do so with fate points, requisite skill, and GM assent. Should not have to spend two refresh to be able to make declarations and assessments when other players can do so without refresh expenditure.

3) said character possesses skills of guns, fists, and drive and skill points were spent. It does not give access to trappings without having the skill to get trappings. Only helps on "attacks."

4) as Sancta pointed out 3 refresh to power is not equivalent to 3 stunts. 3 refresh is a considerable investment for a character.

5) party is at 16 refresh. Fights beings that are at 20+ refresh with frequent mental attacks. So party fights at challenging level of npcs.

6) before you cry "broke" or "munchkin" consider this fact: with foci/specializations the four wizards in game aim at +8 to + 10 with weapon 5 to 6 attacks via rote. More times than can be counted four wizards hit for 11 to 16 shifts of damage at range and sometimes zone AS PER RULES. Context is very critical in power balance. Mind you the poster is doing such wizardly damage with soulfire and it's accompanying toughness downgrades. Wizards quite simply overshadow physical based characters. The physical characters do great vs cannon fodder, lieutenant monsters. They struggle vs boss monsters and the tougher baddies. In very particular they get beat by magic users and incite emotion.

7) get down to it stunt wise it costs three for fists, guns, drive military weapons. One for capacity to drive military weapons. Maybe 1 for making tactical assessments.

poster grumbled at another character doing wall of death with a sword of cross type item on cannon fodder minions. Dresden needs to be more than a wizard game with a group of six players.

Context is key.

I don't know what your talking about Potestas. My post was not what a GM has to do. Though as a GM I don't like to have a starting fight in a game night wipe out the hierarchy of consequences at the outset unless I am setting up a mood of desperation (desperation is a common emotional tool in Dresden books) My comment about pacing was about what a player should do. A typical Dresden book has numerous scenes over a couple of days. I was pointing out when you have two to three scenes for a day (typical to a Dresden book) and your conserving energy you can still throw out a lot of spells. A smart player maybe takes a mild consequence to throw out more spells. Dresden books show Harry getting exhausted over many scenes. In fact one thing that characterizes Dresden is exhaustion after throwing out spells. What the original poster was proposing is balance breaking in my opinion. Good discipline rolls with a 2 to 3 shift weapon over and over and over with a ranged component plus 3 shift veils over and over and over again with 3 shift blocks or 1 shift armor over and over again with no stress cost is not a minor boost. And it defeats the purpose of willpower running out.

Between scenes a smart player does things to justify recovery. What if the player did an equivalent of the Reiki Hands biomancy ritual except with the mind? What about the potion in the book that refreshes the mental stress track. There are tools all over for a wizard to beef up/prepare.

Wizards are not just about throwing evocation out. The point of evocation is that its a crude blast of will that wears you out. That is the point. A smart wizard can use exchanges to make assessments, maneuvers, and use of skills to better manage the battlefield. In fact its wise battlefield management with a well placed attack that is queen of the battlefield. In my experience with a sizable party five to six exchange combat is typical. Six exchange fights are not going to tap out/exhaust a wizard unless his mental pool is getting hit. Throw in assessments and maneuvers a wizard can easily cast 4 spells and do a few maneuvers and acquit themselves well. A wizard is more that pew pew pew. Belials example I don't see as cheating (I am sure Belial was being ironic/sarcastic with cheating comment). Its smart playing. For longer battles with 10 to 15 exchanges you run into issues with other templates. Usually at that point the melee/speed/toughness/str are getting beat to crap with physical consequences mounting up.

Then there is the rest of the party. The wizards shine in the party of the game I am in because the melee guys do stuff like grapples to help wizards fire off their 1 stress spells with no chance of miss. They operate as living shields for the wizards. Dresden books have plenty of examples of companions force multiplying the damage Harry does. 

I know on DFRPG resources there are excellent suggestions for powers and stunts that can give wizards more staying power: mental stoicism, mental resilience, and the endurance stunt that gives extra mild consequences for evocation.

Can a foci have more than one rote attached to it?