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DFRPG / Re: Technomancer
« on: July 31, 2011, 01:57:20 AM »huu fher V thrff ur pbhyq whfg "svar" at least for some values of "fine"
Ok now that's just damn funny.
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Ok now that's just damn funny.
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DFRPG / Re: Rethink my cunnin' plan!
« on: July 29, 2011, 01:18:40 AM »If it's an inexperienced wizard, or one with gaps in their education: the spell is flawed and only tracks the same part of the subject that you have a sympathetic link to, and the subject was shaved completely when they got to the processing area. So if you look around, you'll find a big pile of hair from all the victims.
Lol, that's a clever notion, but we've moved beyond that point.
Nah, I've decided he was moved trough the Nevernever and will be the bait in a trap meant to tie up loose ends and eliminate the wizard.
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DFRPG / Re: Rethink my cunnin' plan!
« on: July 28, 2011, 07:48:33 PM »A few options:
- Did they have the right hair? Or could it have been hair from one of the victims?
- Did he realize he was being followed and cast a ward circle to break the link? If so, they might find the circle nearby...
- If he's not a caster but realized they were following him via hair, he could have simply done some drastic dilapidation. Perhaps they'll find a used waxing kit somewhere nearby.
- Perhaps he simply moved into the Nevernever from here and the trail simply ends.
Yeah the wizard had the right hair. The person he's trying to find is a mortal and a victim in the matter.
I think I've worked out a plausible scenario for the victims second abduction.
I know I'm being vague. Trying to avoid giving away too much so as to maintain secrecy in the event of snooping players.
Just had to get my brain running with a community jump-start. If anyone wants I can pm them the details of the plot and see if they can poke any plausibility holes in it for me.
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DFRPG / Re: Rethink my cunnin' plan!
« on: July 28, 2011, 07:45:12 PM »
I think I'm settled on the idea that the magical opposition pulled him through the Nevernever. And on further thought, it occurs to me that this will be advantageous as the movers behind the scenes are intending to "slash and burn" the wizard, victim, and the potentially exposed enemy element in one fell swoop. So extracting the victim to set up the fall would be consistent with their intent to tie up loose ends (in a way that will avoid certain political entanglements with other supernatural forces).
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DFRPG / Re: Rethink my cunnin' plan!
« on: July 28, 2011, 06:31:38 PM »More detail needed, I think.
What were used as a symbolic links? Was research necessary? Did he get info from (possibly faulty) contacts? How did the spell lead the character around?
With what you have, I would say that maybe the target was further out in the same direction, but was killed or put inside a Ward at the moment the wizard got to the rail yard.
Yeah a symbolic link was used (hair).
My thinking was that the person WAS there earlier. I've been considering that the person was moved through the Nevernever shortly before the wizards arrival (as the enemy had knowledge of the wizards attempts to find the person) and there are forces involved that could easily veil a person or move them through the Nevernever.
The more I consider it, the more it makes sense that the enemy had him moved, and have the means to do it (that I'd already established in my back-story material). They stand to suffer some loses if they are connected to the human trafficking (which the missing person would), so they'd want to remove that person from the scene. The wizard already has reason to believe someone magically capable is involved since the train cars carrying the victims were warded and veiled to suppress noise and distract attention (not unlike Harry's "generic nobody" potion).
Besides, it gives me an excuse to introduce hints of the magical adversary in the plot.
But other than veils or world walking, any other "technical" ideas behind misdirecting or "fouling" a tracking spell?
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DFRPG / Rethink my cunnin' plan!
« on: July 28, 2011, 06:11:12 PM »
Ok, so running the first part of an adventure last week, the wizard used a tracking spell to track down a missing person to a rail yard that was moving human "cattle" for certain evil forces.
Thing is, when he got there the person was not among the "cattle". So now he's wondering why the tracking spell led him to where someone WAS rather than where they are.
As the GM, I have to tie up this loose end (as clearly I'd not thought it all the way through and was just running with the flow of the game).
I could have it be that the person was moved just after the wizard's arrival, but that seems a little too cheesy and simplistic an answer. So, what other things could make a tracking spell return a false positive, or in this case a somewhat "stale" positive?
Thing is, when he got there the person was not among the "cattle". So now he's wondering why the tracking spell led him to where someone WAS rather than where they are.
As the GM, I have to tie up this loose end (as clearly I'd not thought it all the way through and was just running with the flow of the game).
I could have it be that the person was moved just after the wizard's arrival, but that seems a little too cheesy and simplistic an answer. So, what other things could make a tracking spell return a false positive, or in this case a somewhat "stale" positive?
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DFRPG / Re: For "Standard" Gamers, Why Aren't Aspects Stunts?
« on: July 17, 2011, 05:54:47 PM »Don't we have enough games with stats and a feats list? Without Aspects there's really no reason to play Fate.
Edit: Houses of the Blooded pulls it off, but Wick has a whole narrative wagering mechanic in there to bring a different brand of awesome to the table.
Who cares if the guy with the aspect "best gunslinger in the west" is actually the best gunslinger in the west? Maybe he just thinks he is. Maybe he pretends to be. Maybe that's what everyone calls him. I can't for the life of me figure out why it would matter, but if it does the GM just asks the player to rework it until everyone's happy.
Well that aspect could come up in several ways. He could try to invoke it in social situations with a presence roll to impress the yokels in the local bar towards whatever ends. He could try to intimidate opponents in conflict, perhaps invoking with an Intimidation roll to make his opponent nervous and slip up (like making giving him an advantage in a quick draw because the opponent is all nerves). The GM could compel him with it when he hears news that someone else claims to be the best gunslinger. A compel could put him at a disadvantage when he meets the real best gunslinger. So on.
But yeah, you're right. FATE wouldn't be FATE without the aspect system.
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DFRPG / Re: The Line between declarations and Maneuvers
« on: July 17, 2011, 05:46:50 PM »
Fred had some things to say here as well:
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,26459.0.html
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,26459.0.html
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DFRPG / Re: Help with aspects and magical tattoo's
« on: July 15, 2011, 09:08:50 PM »Glad I could help.
Do be sure you talk to your group about lawbreaking and how it will be handled. It can be a touchy subject, with lots of interpretation going on.
That said, aspects like...
What Must Be Done
Laws Were Made to Be Broken
The Ends Justify The Means
or I'll Damn Myself to Save You
can bring in some really great conflict to the story.
I like that last one EoD. That's got some meat on its bones.
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DFRPG / Re: The deal with making stuff (especially magic stuff)
« on: July 15, 2011, 09:07:23 PM »Workshops are sort of a blind spot for me, but I think you automatically get one type of your choice, at the level of your Resources:
- Workshop for Craftsmanship
- Occult Library for Lore
- Magical Workshop for Thaumaturgy
If you want more types, or a better Workshop, you use a Resources Stunt which I think is in the book, or you make another Stunt, or you have to make rolls to temporarily boost your effective Workshop with Aspects.
Someone who is more experienced with them is free to correct me.
That's probably pretty accurate, and got me to thinking that the quality of the workshop probably acts as a restricting/complimenting factor on any skill uses in conjunction with that workshop. Meaning you can get better results from working/studying in a better shop than you can in a poorly furbished one. As per page 213-214.
Pages 139-140 and page 320 cover it in more detail, but for fast reference I just look at the workshop in the manner I mentioned above.
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DFRPG / Re: For "Standard" Gamers, Why Aren't Aspects Stunts?
« on: July 15, 2011, 08:55:25 PM »Thank you all for your comments, except for the person with the very scary mouth icon picture.
Let me try this a different way. Imagine a player selects "best gunfighter in the west," and selects a poor gunfighting skill. So, they can spend a fate point to shoot (slightly) better, and I can compell them by having them take all challengers. However, coming from outside FATE, this sounds silly - he/she isn't the "best gunfighter in the west." I'm a fan of the idea that constraints encourage creativity, but since aspects like this can be completely fake or overly broad, you can get people doing silly things with them just to get their 2+ bonus.
Awwww
I'm a sensitive eyeless mouth...
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DFRPG / Re: For "Standard" Gamers, Why Aren't Aspects Stunts?
« on: July 15, 2011, 06:41:44 PM »This is exactly why the book suggests that for every aspect your character has, you come up with three situations in which that aspect would apply. Generally, at least one of those should be a positive invoke situation and at least one should be a compel situation. By sharing these with your GM and the other players, you establish an understanding of what the aspect means and what kinds of situations it applies to.
Figuring out ways to apply your aspects to a situation is part of the fun of the game, too. A good GM will help you find justifications for invoking or compelling your aspects, but will also reject explanations that are too much of a stretch. This back-and-forth between players and GM helps keep the story rolling and entertaining.
And by presenting a mechanical benefit to using aspects, it allows the role-playing to pay off in "tangible" ways. Thus encouraging further use of the role-playing element. Thus improving the story. The RPG equivalent of the carrot and the stick. Only some times you give the player the carrot...and sometimes hit them with the stick...
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DFRPG / Re: Her Royal Majesty's Witchfinders
« on: July 15, 2011, 05:06:24 PM »This is my actual personality...
Wait, am I missing another reference here?
Open's Sanctaphrax's head : inserts humor module serial number 1-2LOL : closes head : flips the power switch : hopes for the best
/just teasing you Sanctaphrax
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DFRPG / Re: Help with aspects and magical tattoo's
« on: July 15, 2011, 05:02:24 PM »
Now this will get me stoned, but I like the Constantine of the movie better than the comics.
With that in mind, some movie Constantine flavored aspects pop into mind:
I've Sealed My Fate - suicide
Not on My Watch - deports demons that cross the line
Smoke'em if Ya Got'em - heavy smoker, lung cancer
You See Them, They See You - supernaturally aware
God Works in Ways I Don't Like - bone to pick with the Almighty
On a First Name Basis With Lu - knows Lucifer better than he'd like
Screw the Balance - doesn't believe in the status quo
With that in mind, some movie Constantine flavored aspects pop into mind:
I've Sealed My Fate - suicide
Not on My Watch - deports demons that cross the line
Smoke'em if Ya Got'em - heavy smoker, lung cancer
You See Them, They See You - supernaturally aware
God Works in Ways I Don't Like - bone to pick with the Almighty
On a First Name Basis With Lu - knows Lucifer better than he'd like
Screw the Balance - doesn't believe in the status quo
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DFRPG / Re: Scared to play as a Wizard
« on: July 14, 2011, 03:59:40 PM »same is true for shadowrun. i play a street mage because the casting rules are much simpler than the firearms stuff...
And you can get a ton of mileage out of a mana-ball.
...unless they send drones...damn drones...