Author Topic: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!  (Read 7389 times)

Offline Troy

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #15 on: October 18, 2020, 04:00:44 PM »
What's the difference between Ectomancy and Necromancy?

Now that I'm on the topic of Lawbreaking I'm wondering what the differences would be between such magical disciplines? Mortimer deals with ghost, which are the shades of the dead, once living people. Necromancy let's you do that... and more? Is the qualifier for Necromancy using actual human bodies? I say human bodies because we know there's a loophole about animals and dinosaurs and stuff like that. What other loopholes are there?

From what I've been able to find in my research, necromancers do all sorts of things that are withing the purview of other disciplines. They get information from dead brains and control people (which I've seen psychomancers can do). They do all the things ectomancers do with ghosts. They can also make zombies out of corpses. They also seem to be able to find ways to cheat death and that's the real Lawbreaking, right? They bring people back to life? Or they prevent themselves from being killed by re-animating their own bodies or by switching bodies (which might also be Transforming Another lawbreaking)?

Basically, I'm looking for what is iconic for a necromancer, what's necessary? If there was a Focused Practitioner who was a necromancer and they couldn't do X, you'd be like, "This isn't a necromancer!"

Thoughts?

Thanks for your time!
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #16 on: October 22, 2020, 09:00:12 AM »
To me, the core of necromancy is the creation of zombies. That's what separates necromancers from ectomancers.

I'm not sure we've ever seen an FP necromancer. All the necromancers I can think of were / are full wizards, and rather powerful ones. Which raises the question: how much of what they do is necromancy, and how much is other kinds of magic? Given that breaking the Laws changes a wizard, a necromancer's non-necromancy magic is still gonna be rather death-y.

Offline Taran

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #17 on: October 26, 2020, 04:35:51 PM »
I think ectomancy is just dealing with existing spirits:  speaking to them, letting them possess you(possibly giving you some of their abilities), getting information, bartering with them to get them to do things for you.

Necromancy is actually using the Power of Spirits to fuel your spells, along with animating corpses.  Necromancy doesn't deal with spirits, it destroys them and uses them.  Animating corpses doesn't deal with spirits at all (I think) and is the purview of necromancy.

So, both might accomplish the same goal - Divination, for instance:  "I summon this spirit and get information from it."  One barters with the spirit the other tortures and destroys the spirit.

Ectomancy can't animate a corpse but it could allow you to take over a living body.
Necromancy doesn't allow you to take control of a living body but can animate a corpse.

My 2 cents

Offline Troy

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #18 on: November 01, 2020, 07:49:00 PM »
Hm. Seems any further questions I have would be better answered in Law Talk or something.
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Offline Troy

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2021, 02:39:42 AM »
Linguomancy
Linguomancer: Some believe that the universe was created by the utterance of a single sound, a word -- The Word. And there is no doubt that humankind’s mastery of language has helped give them a dominant position in a world filled with shapeshifters, faeries, and stranger things. The linguomancer is a sorcerer who specializes in the magic of language, in all its myriad forms. Some practitioners are born with this Talent, while others study a lifetime to master it. You are able to understand, speak, and write in any language, no matter how alien or obscure. When you encounter a language that you’ve never seen before, it is a simple overcome action using Intellect to decipher it and decode all of its secrets.

Ill Communication: Mark Exhausted. For the rest of the scene you can use your linguomancy in strange and unusual ways. You may extend your gift to others, creating a spell where everyone may be understood regardless of the language they use or vice versa. You can confuse or confound by rearranging a subject’s understanding of language or just robbing them of its use entirely. You can create a cipher intended for a specific person which only she can understand. The is a create an advantage action using Intellect; you get +2 to these rolls. If you attempt to use Ill Communication to place an aspect on another character (giving them a nickname which becomes real, for example), they can oppose your action using Focus. At the GMs discretion your linguomancy gains the benefit of Supernatural Scale.

Logomachy: Mark Burned Out. Your words, your will. For the rest of the scene you may use your linguomancy to perform any of the four actions with any approach, just as if you had Evocation. You might overcome a locked door by telling it to open for you. Perhaps your name becomes a killing word and you may directly attack an enemy with but a whisper. You can reshape your environment and change minds by making a suggestion to the world. At the GMs discretion your magic gains the benefit of Supernatural Scale.

Stunt Suggestions

Body Language: If you spend a few moments watching an opponent in melee, you understand their fighting style and how their body telegraphs their movement. You get +2 to defend using Intellect as long as you are engaged in a melee conflict with an opponent you’ve studied in this way.

Lie Whisperer: Without rolling you can tell if another character is lying to you as long as their Guile is equal to or lower than your Focus. Your magic reveals to you the truth or falsehood of any words you see or hear. If the falsehood comes from some supernatural source that has Scale over you (a mendaxomancer, for example), you won’t be able to tell if they are telling the truth or lying.

Subtext: When talking with someone, you notice all the micro expressions and minor inflections in their voice and can discern things about them whether they’d like you to or not, revealing one of their aspects to you. If you continue the conversation and reveal one of your own aspects, you may learn an additional aspect of your subject.

Notes: Overpowered? Let's talk about it!
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Offline gog

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #20 on: January 28, 2021, 10:50:05 AM »
On first reading this one does seem overpowered, for the following reasons
  • that with Ill Communication the ability to or just robbing them of its use entirely will remove a lot of power from a lot of things, which for only Exhausted seems very powerful - though you would also have to deal with the powerful thing afterwards.
  • that the Logomachy becomes very general in scope, rather than being specific.


I can also see use of these powers been seen a violations of the Laws easily - and possible even some of the more zealous Warders going for a pre-emptive strike.

Would possible go for the following:
Ill Communication: Mark Exhausted. For the rest of the scene you can use your linguomancy in strange and unusual ways. You may place an aspect on the scene that extend your gift to others, either allowing everyone to be understood regardless of the language they use or that no one can understand anyone else.
You can create a cipher intended for a specific person which only they can understand. The is a create an advantage action using Intellect; you get +2 to these rolls, a symoblic link with the recipient is required.
You may place an aspect that has a linguistical bases (giving them a nickname which becomes real, for example) on another character, they can oppose your action using Focus. At the GMs discretion your linguomancy gains the benefit of Supernatural Scale.

And on thinking about it Logomachy, works as it has the limits of Evocation on it, so does have some restraints, and as long as opposing or defending rolls are allowed should be fine.

Also see lots of potential to have things come back and deal with you from using these powers.

Offline Troy

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #21 on: January 28, 2021, 10:52:57 PM »
Thanks for the feedback! I think I agree with you. I love the addition of the symbolic link, very appropriate, very thematic and I can't believe I've not been considering it. I think it's because I associate it with rituals and stuff like that. But it totally makes sense that if I'm writing a note that only you can read, then I need a photo of you or a personal item or piece of you, stuff like that. Thank you so much!

Also, in my mind, I'm thinking everyone can defend against everything done to them in the way they see fit unless the Stunt or Power specifies the sort of Defense roll required. So, in the event that language is taken from you... that's just an Aspect which can be overcome in whatever inventive way the character can. The most irksome obstacle would be the Scale benefit.

I'm not worried about Law Violations. :-)

But I do tend to be in the camp that it's not your power that breaks the Laws, it's what you do with it. A pyromancer can heat a homeless encampment or burn them all alive. It's not the pyromancy, per se that's Lawbreaking. My psychomancy variations on the other hand... there may be no way around those.
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Offline whitelaughter

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Re: [DFA] Focused Practitioners!
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2021, 04:58:57 AM »
I found that creating an Entropomancer makes an easily understood DFRPG spell caster.

Start with the Mana Static Ability [-1] point.
Add a Refinement for two Focus Slots [-1], both for hexing.

Now the same cost as Channelling, so upgrades to using Hexing against everything, not just tech.
Get upset when the GM has you accidentally Hexing anything
A post of "I don't understand" will be ignored. The comment needs to say *what* bits you don't understand, and what bits you think you do, to be be worth responding to.