So, I've been thinking of doing a set of videos about DFRPG explaining things about the system, inspired by video series like the Dungeon Dudes for DnD 5e.

So, what topics do you think would be useful for new players, or as rules clarifications?

The ones I have in mind are:
1. Aspects
2. What the skills do, and how the stacking system works
3. Combat and Conflicts
3a. Stress and Consequences
4. Spellcasting -- Evocation
5. Spellcasting -- Thaumaturgy
6. Powers
7. Stunts

So it occurred to me in discussing Brief Cases that the Svartalves -- beings from Norse mythology -- look more or less like Roswell Greys, but use glamours to look human.

Which sounded familiar...

Anyone else think this might be a reference?


For reference

So I got Brief Cases the other day, and when Luccio comes upon the necromancer card game, she briefly considers lighting them all on fire.

She dismisses the idea because the fire would probably burn the place down and the unspoken rule against using magic in front of civilians.

She does not, however, take into account that torching four men with magical fire would be breaking the First Law of Magic.

Harry has mentioned before a "self defense" clause, but I think this is the first time we have someone who is (or will be) a real authority on the laws and how they're administered considering using magic to kill.

What think y'all?

So a scenario that just popped into my head while writing up another post, I'm curious as to the board's thoughts.

Say a wizard is facing a bunch of ghouls. He wants to create a block, and decides to make that block a big wall of fire to keep them out.

One ghoul is at the head of the pack, and the wizard decides to time the raising of the wall of fire such that the ghoul gets caught in it and (hopefully) incinerated. Then, the block stays up and continues with some duration.

Doable within the rules? I'm thinking it might involve a compel or invoke of some aspect or another to get that extra mileage out of a single casting, at the least. Thematically, it'd make sense (after all, we've seen characters take damage, get injured, or even be taken out by running into blocks in the text of the books), mechanically I'm not quite sure.

I'm probably off on this, but I'm as allowed to get in a good WAG as anyone. And I fully expect the same level of scrutiny I show y'all, so bring it on.

Consider the following:
1. Per Word of Jim, effect is as important -- sometimes more important -- than intent when it comes to breaking one of the laws. I.e., if you mean to kill someone with a fireball, but miss, you're impacted less than if you mean to just trip someone with a wind blast and they fall and break their neck.
2. Harry already has Black Magic taint from using magic to kill; possibly not only Justin, but the deaths at Bianca's house.
3. When he cast the Red Court Explode spell, it affected half-vampires.
4. Some of those half-vampires were really old, and their losing their half-vamp-ness caused them to immediately die.
5. Ergo, Harry caused the deaths of humans en masse when he cast that spell.

So, post Cold Days, what are the chances that his sudden murderous tendencies aren't just the Winter Knight mantle -- what if it's also the Black Magic taint from killing dozens of humans with that spell messing with his head?

Discuss, prove me wrong.

So we've gone back and forth about whether taking backlash counts toward the targeting roll for an attack spell, and there's arguments for (a Weapon:5+ spell is mostly useless if it's only a 1 to dodge; taking the backlash logically means you're forcing the spell where you want it to go) and against (makes high-level magic nigh-impossible to dodge, while wizards are already overpowered).

I'm reading the Paranet Papers more closely today, and this example more or less settles things.

According to that example, if you roll a 6 and take 4 shifts of backlash to control a Weapon:10 spell, the attack roll is still a 6.

(And it would figure that I'd discover this limitation on wizards just as I'm about to start playing as one.)

So, I just got the book in the mail. Is there a PDF version available for download? I find them much easier to search through.

So this card game has me hooked, and like many other things that have had me hooked, I'm going to turn some of the characters into Dresden fodder. For whoever hasn't played, Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative superhero card game, with characters analogous to many existing comic book heroes and villains (Legacy, for instance, is basically a mix of Superman and Captain America).

So without further ado, here's the Freedom Five

Name: Paul Parsons VII, AKA Legacy
The quintessential American Hero, Paul Parsons comes from a long line of strong and courageous men who, since the time Joseph Parsons' superhuman danger sense warned of the British invasion in time to warn Paul Revere, have fought for liberty and justice in the United States and the world over. Each of the Parsons in the line added a new power, and Paul leads the Freedom Five not only with his strength and toughness, but with his inspirational presence.

Despite his power and fighting ability, Legacy's real role on the team is to defend his compatriots, taking blows so they don't have to, and galvanizing them to perform better in the field.

High Concept: America's Finest Legacy
Trouble: Family Man
Aspects: Take One for the Team; For Freedom! For America!; "You're an Inspiration, Parsons"

Skills (45 points spent):
5: Presence, Empathy
4: Conviction, Endurance, Might
3: Fists, Athletics, Alertness, Discipline
2: Resources, Scholarship, Lore, Rapport
1: Driving, Guns, Survival, Craftsmanship

Powers:
Supernatural Senses (-1): Danger Sense
Supernatural Toughness (-4)
The Catch (+1): Particular types of radiation
Inhuman Speed (-2)
Inhuman Strength (-2)
Flight (-1)
Incite Effect (-2): Courage, At Range, rolled with Presence

Stunts:
No Pain, No Gain: Extra Mild Physical Consequence
Bend and Break: When successfully breaking an object with Might, increase the effect by two steps
Mighty Thews: When determining lifting capacity, treat effective Might as +2
Leadership: Presence +1 to command a group, and efforts to coordinate happen one time increment faster than normal
Personal Magnetism: When rolling Presence for a passive reaction to you, add +2
Teflon Persona: Armor:1 against social attacks
The Weight of Reputation: Use Presence instead of Intimidation to scare villains

Equipment:
The Legacy Ring - A simple silver ring that's an heirloom of the Parson's family, passed down from father to son since Joseph Parsons. Aspect: "Furthering Your Father's Legacy"

Total Refresh: -18

Name: Dr. Meredith Stinson AKA Tachyon
Already an accomplished and brilliant scientist, when an experiment gone awry gave her incredible super speed, Meredith Stinson used her power to accelerate her scientific endeavors to new heights, conducting numerous experiments at once, and performing research in a fraction of the time it normally took. As a result, she's responsible for cars that get 60 miles to the gallon, cures for cancer, and establishing the first base on Mars.

While she's more at home in the lab, when Paul Parsons recruited her for the Freedom Five, she jumped at the chance -- after the government promised to fund her laboratory, of course. In battle, she's good at putting out fires, able to take out dozens of minions, create solutions to environmental hazards, or run around the world to build up momentum and deck a pesky alien warlord back into space. Pushing past her limits, however, has its price...

High Concept: The Quickest Woman Alive
Trouble: Sometimes Scatterbrained
Aspects: Processes At A Mile A Minute; More At Home In The Lab; I Wonder What This Does?

Skills:
5: Scholarship
4: Athletics, Alertness
3: Fists, Endurance, Discipline, Rapport
2: Resources, Lore, Craftsmanship, Driving
1: Presence, Empathy, Conviction, Guns

Powers:
Mythic Speed (-6)
Pushing The Limits (-1): Can take a second action per turn at the cost of 1 mental and physical stress**Pending Rewrite**

Stunts:
Is this yours?: On a successful Athletics defense, you can forfeit your next turn to redirect the weapon rating of the attack at another target, using your Athletics roll as the attack roll.
Capable Researcher: Any scholarly research is done two time increments faster
Scientist: Physics, Particle Physics
High Quality Workspace: Personal Workspace is at Resources, rather than -2 below
Faster Than You Can Blink: Can make zone attacks with Fists ** Pending Rewrite **
Move faster, hit harder: Fists are Weapon:2 against unarmored, Weapon:1 against Armor:1, nothing against higher armor.
Move faster, hit better: Athletics modifies Fists attack rolls by +1 ** Pending Rewrite **

Refresh: -14

Name: Maia Adrianna Montgomery AKA The Wraith
A prodigy, well on her way to graduating with a double major in college at only the age of 17, Maia's life was derailed when she and her boyfriend were attacked by street thugs. Her boyfriend was killed, and she spent months recovering, after which she vowed never to be a victim again. With the help of her parents, the CEOs of Montgomery Industries, she hired martial arts masters to train her in defense, excelling in combat as much as she had in her studies. When her graduation present was to be made CEO of her parents' company so they could travel the world, she used those resources to create crime fighting equipment and gadgets, from then on patrolling Rook City from the shadows as The Wraith.

Without powers, The Wraith uses her martial arts skills and razor-sharp weaponry to take down villains and their minions with ease. Her always-present utility belt contains everything she needs to answer any problem, making her a valuable member of the Freedom Five.

High Concept: The Wraith in the Shadows
Trouble: Can I Ever Fix Rook City?
Aspects: Strike from the Shadows; High-Society Alter Ego; "The True Crimefighter Always Carries Everything She Needs in her Utility Belt"; It's a Hive of Scum and Villainy, But It's Home

Skills:
5: Weapons, Resources, Stealth
4: Scholarship, Investigation, Presence
3: Athletics, Alertness, Fists, Intimidation
2: Craftsmanship, Might, Endurance, Conviction
1: Discipline, Driving, Contacts, Lore

Stunts/Equipment:
On My Toes: Alertness+2 for initiative
Acrobat: Athletics+1 to survive fall, also to dodging if described colorfully
Jury Rigger: Repairs last two scenes longer than normal when jury-rigging
Pilot (Helicopter): Driving +1 for aircraft, +2 for helicopter
Supreme Concentration: Discipline is Fantastic whenever it would affect another skill
Redirected Force: On Fists defense, can skip next turn to turn defense into maneuver
No Pain, No Gain: Extra Mild Physical Consequence
Quick Eye: First investigation roll when on scene for deeper details happens two steps faster
Scene of the Crime: Investigation +1, arrive at conclusions one step faster on crime scene
High Quality Workspace
High Tech Toys: Use Resources to create gadgets instead of Craftsmanship
Lush Lifestyle: Can be assumed to have anything that costs up to their Resources score instead of at -2
Swift and Silent: When Skulking, moving penalties are reduced by 2
Good Arm: Can throw weapons up to two zones
Off-Hand Weapon Training: Add 1/2 of Weapon Rating of offhand weapon when attacking
Wall of Death: Can make spray attacks with Weapons

Refresh: -14 (including Pure Mortal bonus)

Gear:
Infrared Eyepiece (Aspect: I see you... [Used to boost Investigation rolls])
Throwing knives: Weapon:1
Stun Bolt: Creates aspect, 'Stunned'
Grappling Hook (Aspect: See you on the roof! [Boost Athletics climbing rolls])
Smoke Bombs (creates Aspect, Can't Hit What You Can't See on zone)
Microtargeting Computer (Aspect: Pinpoint accuracy [boost Weapons rolls and/or damage])

Name: Lt. Tyler Vance AKA Bunker
A long-time member of the US Army, Vance is the latest to wear the Bunker combat suit, designed to act as its own battalion, with the armor and weaponry to match. After successfully using it on the battlefield, Vance was approached by Paul Parsons, who offered him a spot on the Freedom Five.

With an array of weapons, a modular design and thick plates of steel, Bunker's at his best when he's wading into fire and laying down tons of flak in return.

High Concept: The Indestructable Bunker
Trouble: The suit does all the work
Aspects: Still In The Chain of Command; Dakkadakkadakkadakkadakkadakkadakka; "You Call That A Hit?"

Skills:
5: Guns, Endurance
4: Alertness, Presence, Discipline
3: Conviction, Athletics, Fists, Driving
2: Intimidation, Rapport, Empathy, Survival
1: Weapons, Contacts, Investigation, Scholarship

Powers:
Item of Power: The Bunker Suit (+2)
   Supernatural Toughness (-4)
   The Catch (+3): Armor Piercing rounds
   Inhuman Strength (-2)
   Modular Weaponry (-5)
    Flak Cannon (-1): Weapon:3 attack on single target, used with Guns
    Grenade Launcher (-2): Weapon:2 zone attack, used with Guns
    Omnicannon (-3): Weapon:2+X single target attack. Player can add 1 to the weapon rating as a supplemental action each turn

Stunts:
No Pain, No Gain: Extra Mild Physical Consequence
Tough Stuff: Armor:1 against blunt blows
Target Rich Environment: Add +1 to Gun attack rolls when outnumbered
Turret Mode: Bunker secures itself and lets loose with everything it has at the cost of defense. Guns is rolled at +2 to attack, while all defenses are rolled at a -2 penalty.

Refresh spent: -10

Name: Ryan Frost AKA Absolute Zero
Ryan Frost's promising life came to a halt when his fiancee was killed by a drunk driver. He lost all motivation, forfeiting his dream job, and drifted until he became a janitor at a chemical plant. His life took another devastating turn when an industrial accident wracked his body, leaving him unable to survive at any temperature above freezing. After several years in a chamber specially made to keep him alive, he accepted the government's offer: Join the Freedom Five in return for using a special suit that would let him walk in the world once again.

Much more cynical and bitter than his teammates, Absolute Zero can be a juggernaut on the battlefield, using his ice blasts and the heat byproduct of his suit to freeze and burn whatever gets in his way. But every time he lets out a blast of cold, he risks damaging his own life support.

High Concept: Absolute Zero
Trouble: A Danger to Himself and Others
Aspects: Not In This To Save The World; Cold as Ice; Freezer Burner

Skills:
5: Discipline, Endurance
4: Fists, Presence, Conviction
3: Athletics, Alertness, Scholarship
2: Investigation, Empathy, Rapport
1: Resources, Weapons, Might

Powers:
Thermodynamics (-4) (Sponsored Magic equivalent): Absolute Zero can make Ice or Fire effects, rolling Discipline to control, and determining power and stress through his Endurance instead of Conviction. Any Ice effect is a +1 in power.
Inhuman Toughness (-2)
Feeding Dependency: Cold (+1)
Supernatural Recovery (-4)
Physical Immunity (-8)
Stacked Catch (+6) (Only immune to Cold)
Fire Eater (-1): When Absolute Zero takes stress from a fire-based attack, he can reduce the stress of his next Cold-based action through Thermodynamics by 1.

Foci: Suit Gauntlets: +1 to Cold Attack Control and Power (2 slots)

Refresh spent: -12

I tried to get these as close to the feel and mechanics of the card game, but Absolute Zero and Bunker were tricky, so I welcome thoughts and comments.