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Messages - umdshaman

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1
DFRPG / Re: Magic Shields vs. Incite Emotions
« on: May 07, 2014, 07:33:03 PM »
As far as I understand the RAW you can put up ANY kind of block, period (within the confines your GM allows, of course). The downside to a universal block is that anything one might do can potentially bypass it, increasing the options to break the block without expending resources.

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DFRPG / Re: Need Help With Maneuver Focus Item
« on: April 29, 2014, 06:46:53 PM »
maneuver spells take a +3 shift

Speaking of math, I thought I'd throw this in. Maneuvers are only 3 shifts if they're on the scene (or target friendlies, I guess). If the target is an unwilling sentient, then you need a number of shifts equal to their appropriate resisting score. (Athletics for a maneuver meant to trap them, for instance.)

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DFRPG / Re: Physical Consequences for Players
« on: April 29, 2014, 01:09:05 AM »
I think in this case it just constitutes a compel on his OUT OF CONTROL GEEK aspect to fail his Performance roll.

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DFRPG / Re: Grappling (poke a stick at these house-rules)
« on: April 28, 2014, 06:42:23 PM »
Apparently I misunderstood what you were looking for. I was just giving you my thoughts and suggestions on how the current grapple rules could solve your problem.

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DFRPG / Re: Grappling (poke a stick at these house-rules)
« on: April 25, 2014, 06:38:55 PM »
Couple of points.

Supplemental actions are very minor (relatively speaking). You can't take non-supplemental actions without breaking the grapple.
The defender IS capable of doing whatever they want, provided their relevant roll beats the grapple check. So theoretically, under the current rules, you can grapple back while grappled... then you can both take the supplemental actions. Of course, if you're both damaging each other for 1 a turn its going to come down to stress so its probably not the best option.
Grapple is intentionally restrictive. In fact, grappling should probably be called "wrestling". You are trying to keep your opponent in a lock and as anyone who's ever done martial arts can tell you, those can be pretty painful (stress). Some leave both combatants on their feet, which allows you to use the pain of the lock to maneuver your opponent (movement). If what you really want to be doing is some sort of maneuver and release martial art (essentially throws) then you're probably looking at a straight Might (or Fists) attack.

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DFRPG / Re: Ideas for a pyromancer's Death Curse
« on: April 22, 2014, 05:58:24 AM »
I feel like death curses would generally tend to be much more malicious than that. Important factor I thought of though is that a Death Curse is essentially a Thaumaturgy ritual that uses all your stress and consequences (or arguably just what you have left), so maybe just try to figure out what those shifts get you in terms of effect and time. Just a thought.

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DFRPG / Re: Ideas for a pyromancer's Death Curse
« on: April 21, 2014, 09:47:18 PM »
You might want to expand it to any kind of fire hexing.  You wouldn't want them to use the power to put out fires to become a fireman or something.  So, at times when it would be convenient to douse a fire, it instead goes wildly out of control, or changes colour etc...
Considering that most wizards don't exactly have a lot of time to think through their death curse, that actually sounds like the perfect sort of unintentional consequence... it's generally bad but rarely it might be beneficial. Give them a Fire Hexing related aspect, you can compel it for bad stuff and they can invoke it when it might be beneficial.

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DFRPG / Re: Need Help with Sword Magic NPC
« on: April 20, 2014, 06:46:02 PM »
Thank you Umd for those rote ideas. You gave me the visual I need with the mechanics. How do focus items boost skills?
It's contextual. You use Weapons as your 'targeting' roll for magical attacks, so where if your sword is a +Power Focus Item you are effectively increasing the potential Weapon rating of your attack (without taking additional mental stress), when your sword is a +Control Focus Item you are increasing the accuracy of your attacks. If you're not doing magic it doesn't help at all; hence my comment about using stunts instead of magic.

I was thinking of looking at Butchers other series. If I remember correctly one of the characters had a metal spirit and was a swordsman.
Indeed. They basically use it to enhance the metal, as far as I can tell. So they an make it harder and sharper to the point where they can cut through normal steel like butter (basically, what you'd be doing with a magic-as-swordplay attack). You might be able to get some other ideas out of it though. I've only just started Cursor's Fury, myself.

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DFRPG / Re: Flesh Mask vs. Clothing, Armour, etc.
« on: April 19, 2014, 06:08:38 PM »
How do you people approach the Flesh Mask power? Does it generate a naked "body" and the character then has to wear something, or is the clothing a part of the Mask? Can such ectoplasmic "clothing" be taken off, then?
Yes. It's pretty much just a conjured ectoplasmic 'costume', so however you decide it works is probably fine.

What about wearing armour under a Flesh Mask?
Technically.

I mean, a smart RCV could probably go with KevlarTM on its belly to protect its vulnerable spot.
Again, technically, but they probably wouldn't. The Flesh Mask is a layer of 'skin' over whatever the creature is underneath (including what they're wearing, holding, etc). That means that the Flesh Mask's appearance can't be any smaller than whatever's under it. If you've ever seen an on-duty police officer in person, you'll know what I'm talking about; kevlar basic doubles their size. So unless they wear it all the time, someone who knows them without it is DEFINITELY going to notice. Plus most human-eating baddies like to be attractive. It's a very effective lure... the Flesh Mask is like the bobble of an angler fish. The other problem from a narrative standpoint is that kevlar does not stop edged weapons very well anyway. I hope that helps.

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DFRPG / Re: Need Help with Sword Magic NPC
« on: April 19, 2014, 10:08:22 AM »
PS: What do you mean by "better-than-stunts"? Moving a trapping in all cases is a standard stunt effect.
YS implies that they should be restricted when describing it but the examples don't bear that out. I'm not sure I'd allow it unrestricted in a game I was running (it feels a bit too powerful) but, meh. I concede the point where the RAW is concerned.

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DFRPG / Re: Amusing Power Ideas
« on: April 18, 2014, 08:25:28 PM »
You know, that might actually work as a serious Power.
Work, yes; serious, no. Dresden Files does not need a musical episode. :P

Disney Music Number (-2): You can make a performance roll to sing an epic song, anyone else in the scene has to roll discipline or they too must start singing, singing counts as a supplemental action (-1) and all actions in a Disney Music number are modified by performance.
Suggested 'fix':
Disney Music Number (-2): At the start of scene (or with an action) you may spend a Fate Point and make a Performance roll. Anyone who can hear or see may make a Discipline roll to resist. Those who fail immediately join the song and dance. Their actions are restricted by Performance for the remainder of the scene. You also gain a free tag of the scene Aspect PERFECT CHOREOGRAPHY which may be used to compel individuals to copy each other's actions (subject to all the normal rules for compels).

Pun-hit Wonder [-4]
* You may perform any form of magical effect imaginable (using the relevant rules; with Performance instead of Discipline), provided a pun is somehow involved. However, every additional time you make the same pun (for as long as the other players can remember) your magic rolls are at a cumulative -1. After all, a pun used to often isn't exactly punny anymore. You also receive 8 potion slots, which must be items that are in some way a pun.
* +2 to Rapport rolls when dealing with old-world types.
* You gain a +2 to the Provocation trapping and may use it with Performance instead of Intimidation.

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DFRPG / Re: Need Help with Sword Magic NPC
« on: April 18, 2014, 07:31:59 PM »
Okay, so before I get into trying to help answer your questions (and meaning no offense to the original author) remember that this is a homebrew power. Personally I think tacking on 2 better-than-stunts (switching the skill trappings in ALL cases) as "extra benefits" for no additional cost is a bit much. IMO, if your GM even allows it it should probably be -5 or even -6.

How does metal based evo and thaum work?
That's kind of up to you. Obviously any "summoning" type effect is going to use metal (as opposed to fire evocation blasting with fire, a metal evocation might send a wall of blades; a shield make take the form of a literal shield). On the other hand, more conceptual effects (water is entropic, for instance) would depend on the properties of metal as an element. You could just go from the properties of metal or you could try taking it as Metal from Wu Xing. Wu Xing is similar to other 5 element systems but replaces Air and Spirit with Metal and Wood. Wood has strong spiritual associations but in Japanese culture (if L5R is to be believed; I couldn't find any quick support so I'm not positive) the katana is one of the few non-human things that contains significant elements of Void (Spirit) and thus Metal could be considered Spirit. I can't really say which set of associations feels "right" to me, but if you decide to go that route pick a pairing, borrow the appropriate DF associations with the given element (Air or Spirit), and explain it to your GM.

Does evocation work in concert with melee (if the focus of the magic is swordsmanship based)? If so how would it work? If not how should I use magic to enhance melee or melee to enhance magic?
No. Or yes. So, with few exceptions (reflexive blocks; the question of which already has several threads dedicated to it) any sort of magic is an action and you can only perform one action per exchange. However, what this particular form of Sponsored Magic appears to represent is the idea of using melee AS magic. When you cast a spell, you're not doing either; you're doing both... you're just doing it using the mechanics for casting a spell. Another way to look at it might be the idea of "secret techniques" or ninjutsu often found in anime. And, hey, you can use Focus Items to (effectively) boost your Weapons skill above the normal possible. eg...

Death of 1000 Cuts: Attack evocation. In a normal attack you use your weapon's Weapon rating. Since you use Weapons as your Control(/targeting) skill, this is essentially an attack with a Weapon rating equal to your Power (Might); unless you choose to define it otherwise.

Blade Wall: Block evocation. In melee, you might be able to 'dodge' with your Weapons skill normally but with this you can even block incoming projectiles or magical attacks (in theory).

As for enhancing ordinary melee, the best way to do that is Aspect maneuvers. Of course, you're probably better off not wasting your magic on this since you can do it mundanely...

Overall if you just want better melee you might be better off with Stunts, but I hope the above helped give you some ideas of how magic and melee might work together.

What rotes would you suggest for this sponsored magic to work cinematically and mechanically?
The above would be good places to start.

What thaum should he use...biomancy...divination...crafting...summoning etc (I see the line about summoning spirit warriors). What would "tapping" into "legends" look like?
Erg... okay, so biomancy is a field of study. You can't do biomancy. You might be able to do some of things biomancy does, but you can't do biomancy. For the rest... yes. The real question of magic (sponsored or otherwise) isn't "What can it do?" but "How can I make it do what I want?" Divination? The combined wisdom (or ghostly senses or whatever is relevant to the situation) of thousands of legendary swordsmen. Crafting? You're probably pretty good at making swords... what might a legendary sword be capable of? (maybe start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_magical_weapons). Summoning? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_teeth_(mythology) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army It's all in the imagination.

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DFRPG / Re: Defensive Voodoo doll?
« on: April 17, 2014, 07:04:32 AM »
Yeah, I went with granite because while Marble is great at representing arrogance, arrogance isn't what was wanted here. What was wanted here was durability. Basalt would've been the best, but granite is easier to work with. Besides, it attracts less attention to order a block of granite.
Item of Power - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai  :P

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DFRPG / Re: Vampire Powers
« on: April 16, 2014, 08:40:39 PM »
Then again, if you must NOT use a power you bought in order to stay alive, you've done something wrong in character creation. Not to mention, it takes the fun out of the game.
I take your point, but the game actually does this a fair amount. Of course, not all powers are going to be useful in all circumstances (which is why you get to trade FATE points for them) but more there are a number of powers that do this explicitly and don't scale well (like Human Form's Rare or Involuntary Setting). "The Catch" is another good example; you get the same buyback for your catch no matter how much you had to spend on the ability (and no matter how improbable narratively speaking, inevitably the GM is going to throw something at you that satisfies the catch just because he knows what it is).
But really, think of it like this; if you're dependent on an outside source of energy and you're going all out all the time you're pretty much inevitably going to run out of energy and probably in short order. You can always spend consequences to reduce the stress (and avoid takeout), plus the attack is reduced by a discipline roll so even 10 points of Powers with a 5 point Discipline doesn't mean a takeout without using consequences. It might mean only using them every few scenes, though. I would probably reinterpret it as a takeout triggers a feeding frenzy (undeniable compel to feed) or remove the track and just treat each attack as a maneuver for feeding frenzy with an automatic compel.

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DFRPG / Re: Player Run Business
« on: April 16, 2014, 07:21:30 PM »
Money is being tracked for the bar/loan cost purposes, each 'month' they have a quota they have to meet. They can still roll resources to cover the costs if the bar falls short, except the one player who is tapped out for awhile. Works well to set them up to take a job for the paycheck if I am having difficulty getting them hooked otherwise.
FATE avoids hard definitions (such as dollar signs) like the plague, so I see what you're going for but I'd suggest against it. Here's my analysis of the situation.

* One player has made a faerie deal. Technically as a mortal they can renege, but doing so would have some pretty hefty narrative consequences (and possibly mechanical, depending on what they are and how they swore).
* One player has an extreme consequence. That's literally all he needs to represent the debt. Do keep in mind, though, that it is an aspect and if you're going to use it prevent him from rolling for resources he probably deserves a FATE point each time. Plus, unless he takes those paychecks, he can't really have started the "healing" process so he's got a pretty big incentive.
* If the rest don't have deals or aspects based on this then in the FATE system they're still narratively "in hoc" but not to a degree that affects their day-to-day. Any impact for them should probably be a mild inconvenience and not mechanical at all.
* If the bar wasn't a location in the city, add it. Obviously it is something that's important to the characters.
* Either way, give the bar a (new) theme - not threat! - and aspect. It's changed hands after all and that's not going to be superficial. Now you can use your new aspect to get the players to do what you want (although you have to compel each of them separately if that's what you want so get ready to drop some FATE points).
* Offer the players the opportunity to change the theme and aspect if they pay off the bar (make an arbitrary number of 'paychecks' in your head). Maybe let each player create a permanent scene aspect for the bar as a means of 'designing' it. (The carrot)
* Put an arbitrary minimum (once per significant milestone?) percentage of the time that they have to pay the principle (take a job for the 'paycheck') or they lose the bar. And if they lose it, there's probably going to be a god waiting in the wings to snatch it up with far less trouble than before. (The stick).

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