BURNED CIRCLE - City/Character Creation Thread (DFRPG)

Dragonwriter

First Post
"Protector of the Weak" probably isn't troubling enough to be a trouble. It's easier to see how that could be used for an invoke than a compel. You should probably look to why or how everyone always comes to you for help as a trouble or why you always help those in need. So something like "My Muscle Is Taken For Granted" or "Can't Say No" would be more appropriate.

I was debating whether to make the "Protector" the Trouble or an Aspect. The idea was that if he saw somebody smaller and weaker than him in trouble or danger, he would damn well do something about it. Or if it was something he couldn't fix himself, he'd find someone who could. It can still absolutely be changed, I'm just explaining my thought process. :) (Incidentally, the entry in Our World for Ronald Reuel has a very similar Trouble.)

You might want to rework "Really Good With A Hammer." You're not going to get many compels off of that, so its probably a liability. It's fine to have one or two only good aspects, but make sure to have some easy compels in there, or you're going to be FATE starved.

I was looking mostly for good applications with that, but also tying in to the business that he's something of a handyman for his house and neighborhood. Hm... Got a new idea for a Trouble: Pissed Off the Local Winter Crew. Some troubles can be external/brought down upon yourself after all. I can imagine you having plenty of fun compelling that one. ;)

I like the first case idea, as well as the powers. I'd go with Cold Iron (+3) as a Catch since you haven't made your choice between Winter or Summer yet. Keep in mind we're going 10 Refresh, so you could easily pick up a Supernatural Strength, Toughness, or Recovery with some stunts, or you could even do all three (leaving you with only 1 Refresh, of course...).

I thought Changelings were limited by the powers of a full-blooded Fae of their heritage. Not that I wouldn't mind taking some of those. ;) But I was looking to keep my Refresh a bit higher and take a couple of Stunts.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Shayuri

First Post
I don't know how far you are in the novels, but without going into anything too spoilery, there is basically a character of True Faith who is agnostic. So, it isn't wholly inappropriate for your character to make use of those powers, as long as there is something important you believe in. In particular you might want to look at the supernatural powers of Righteousness and Holy Touch (page 188), in your case dealing with things that should be dead (like Black Court vampires and zombies).

As for being a cop, that could be hard on your character depending on how you decide to go with it, but it could be very interesting. Here's how the police structure breaks down for the Atlanta PD.

99% of the police force for the city doesn't know about the supernatural and doesn't believe in it. There is no equivalent of the Special Investigations unit that unofficially deals with the supernatural.

However, Deputy Chief John Brady (one of five deputy chiefs for the city) knows quite a bit about the supernatural world and is always trying to learn more. He and his men operate in a gray area. They shake down businesses some days and they hunt down threats to the city another. They're definitely in it more for their own benefit than to protect and serve, though.

So, if you're a police officer in the know, you'd have to choose your relationship with Brady and his men.

Hmm! Good notion on the Faith then. I'll check it out. She definitely needs ways of dealing with wayward undead and spirits, since that's a big part of the 'job' she's been given.

As for coppage, my sense was that the character is fairly new to town...within the past few years, so not a total newbie...and that she's keeping her supernatural nature under wraps, including on the force. She may or may not yet be aware of the Deputy Chief, but if she was aware she'd have a dim view of it. As long as she didn't have a personal issue, and felt that he was doing more good than harm, outright conflict might not come up...but she wouldn't want into that circle, and would take it on herself to try to watchdog them as best she could.

It's entirely possible that being a police officer would not work out for her in the mid-to-long run, as she's not a political person, and ultimately views her supernatural role as more important than police duties. It's just that mundane crime and spiritual crime are sometimes linked, so it seemed (to her) like a natural synergy. That doesn't mean she's correct in that assumption, of course. :)
 

ThirdWizard

First Post
I thought Changelings were limited by the powers of a full-blooded Fae of their heritage. Not that I wouldn't mind taking some of those. ;) But I was looking to keep my Refresh a bit higher and take a couple of Stunts.

Yeah, I don't know if I would recommend going to Refresh 1, but I thought I'd point it out as an option. And, I don't believe there is any kind of limit. You can surely surpass your faerie parent. But, stunts can be awesome, and I wouldn't want to inadvertently dissuade you from grabbing a couple.

It might be interesting to keep some Refresh so just so that you could burst out some new Changeling powers when needed. For example, your Inhuman Toughness could become Supernatural Toughness in a moment of great danger or something. Something to consider.

As for coppage, my sense was that the character is fairly new to town...within the past few years, so not a total newbie...and that she's keeping her supernatural nature under wraps, including on the force. She may or may not yet be aware of the Deputy Chief, but if she was aware she'd have a dim view of it. As long as she didn't have a personal issue, and felt that he was doing more good than harm, outright conflict might not come up...but she wouldn't want into that circle, and would take it on herself to try to watchdog them as best she could.

That sounds good. He's become somewhat of a player in the local supernatural community, so you'd have heard of him. But, if you haven't been up to anything big yet in the city, he probably wouldn't have put two and two together with you yet. He's much more interested in practitioners. There has been no White Council Warden in the city for about the past two years. A new one just arrived, so the field is about to get shaken up a bit. He's got his hands full as it is.
 

Shayuri

First Post
Okay...had a chance to go over book stuff finally.

I need some consultation regarding powers. I'm doing an Emissary of Power setup, with "undead slaying police officer" as the high concept (though that's a bit of a simplification).

The lineup I have so far is as follows:

Worldwalker (-2) - This is for two reasons. One, she needs a power to enter and leave the 'underworld' when needed. Two, she needs an ability to sense rifts between the two worlds. This power gives both. That it weakens the veil is unfortunate, and makes her only use it when absolutely necessary.

Righteousness (-2) - Prereq for Holy Touch, which seems like a good one for the concept. The 'special purpose' of these two powers is the same "enforce the boundary of life and death." This isn't just slaying undead...it's also helping confused or lost spirits pass on peacefully.

Inhuman Recovery (-2) - I had originally intended to get a panoply of physical boosts, but that's simply not practical with the other demands of the powers. Recovery was chosen because one of the key attributes of the Sun in this mythology is how it represents the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. I need help deciding on a good Catch though.

Holy Touch (-1) - A combination of barefisted holy attack and exorcism, this power practically defines my concept for this power set. The purpose of course is not just 'slapping undead things silly,' but rather making sure that dead things stay on the dead 'side' and live things stay on the 'live' side. If she's in the Underworld, that means herding mortals back out again too. Or...aheh...seeing to it that they belong there. (Jaguar isn't picky about morality on a human scale...remove the living person, or make the living person dead, it's all the same to Him).

Ghost Speaker (-1) - If your job description is putting spirits to rest, it helps to be able to see them, hear them and talk to them.

--

That all adds up to the -9 which is the max.

Any thoughts on these? I'm planning on skills like:

Weapons
Lore
Might
Stealth
Fists
Guns
Intimidation
Investigation
Alertness
Athletics
Conviction
and Discipline.

No idea how many of those will make the final cut, or at what level.
 

Thanee

First Post
Here's my current skill/power write-up.

Code:
Skills: 		HUMAN	BEAST

        Alertness	[+3]	[+4]
        Athletics	[+3]	[+5]
        Burglary	[+1]	
        Contacts	[+2]	
        Conviction	[+1]	[+1]
        Craftsmanship		
        Deceit		[+2]	
        Discipline	[+1]	[+1]
        Driving			
        Empathy		[+2]	
        Endurance	[+1]	[+3]
        Fists		[+1]	[+4]
        Guns			
        Intimidation	[+2]	[+2]
        Investigation	[+2]	[+2]
        Lore		[+2]	[+2]
        Might			[+3]
        Performance		
        Presence	[+3]	[+1]
        Rapport		[+3]	
        Resources	[+1]	
        Scholarship	[+1]	
        Stealth		[+3]	[+4]
        Survival	[+1]	[+3]
        Weapons			

                      	5         =  5
                      	4 4 4     = 12
        33333     = 15	3 3 3     =  9
        222222    = 12	2 2 2     =  6
        11111111  =  8	1 1 1     =  3
        ==============	==============
        TOTAL (35)  35	TOTAL (35)  35

Stunts: --

Powers: Beast Change [-1]
        Echoes of the Beast [-1]
        Human Form [+1]
        - Claws [-1]
        - Inhuman Speed [-2]
        - Inhuman Strength [-2]
        The Catch: Silver [+4]
        - Inhuman Recovery [-2]
        - Supernatural Toughness [-4]
        Cloak of Shadows [-1]

Adjusted Refresh: 1
 

Thanee

First Post
I like the trouble. I can compel that pretty easily. Especially considering one of the City's aspects is "Trouble Around The Corner." A character who just can't stop turning those corners is going to be great fun indeed.

Yep. I figured it would be both fitting and fairly easy to fit in.

The background is good. Your character, then is a kind of scion, with your mother being a natural shape shifter of some kind and you inheriting the trait? Or would you rather leave your mother's exact qualities to be explored later?

Yep, the mother is a natural shapeshifter (with the classic vulnerability of silver). Her powers would likely be pretty similar to the ones I have selected. Most of these (pretty much everything but the Toughness stuff and the Cloak of Shadows) are the standard package for shapeshifters.

Bye
Thanee
 

ThirdWizard

First Post
[MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION]
I think you left out Marked By Power from the list, but you did account for it in your calculations. Also, with a Catch, you'll regain some Refresh. I have a few thoughts on your Catch, with a few different ways you can go.

The first way is that you only have protection against the undead. Your calling is specific, and the powers you were given were only for that purpose. With this option, any damage from a ghost, zombie, Black Court vampire, or so forth, regardless of how the damage is dealt would utilize your Recover power (and Toughness when and if you get it in the future).

A Black Court vampire, for example, thus could never satisfy the Catch regardless of if it used claws, guns, magic, etc. To get by it, they would have to employ a human or use some other completely indirect means of harming you. This would be worth +5 because of the very specific nature of it. It can't reduce more than +1 for now, but with extra Refresh gained from milestones over time, you could make use of the full +5.

The second way is to pick something that specifically bypasses the Catch. My idea here is that it could be something that wasn't as common back when the rites were created for your order. Iron could be an option, much like faeries. Another option is True Magic, since historically speaking the common use of magic by mortals is much more than it was.

Anything along these lines would be thematic while still giving you protection from most undead (albeit unless your enemy knows the Catch or utilizes it naturally). This could be either +2 or +3 depending on how easy it is to obtain the Catch. Research would be required to learn of it, since your order isn't exactly well known.

How much do you know about ghosts in Dresden? I'd suggest reading this wiki page for some background information. The main things to keep in mind are:
  • Ghosts mostly exist in the Nevernever
  • Ghosts can cross over to the mortal world within limits
  • Ghosts are destroyed by sunlight
  • Ghosts are an imprint of the deceased's memories
  • Ghosts vary a *lot* in power
  • Ghosts are not the literal souls of the deceased
  • What happens after death to the soul itself is unknown

There are some things that bypass these rules, of course. To really get the meaty juicy bits of ghosts (and there are a lot!), you'd have to read Ghost Story, Book 13, or be willing to be spoilered. ;) Suffice to say the bullet point list above will handle 99% of cases. If anything ever would break with that, I'll consider your character an expert on the subject and reveal further information based on a Lore roll.

On Worldwalker. It fits. You might have to chase ghosts into the Nevernever, you might need to see what's on the other side occasionally as well. I would warn that it is dangerous. If you don't know for certain or have reson to believe you know what's on the other side (and you can roll a skill for this) then it could get you killed. I just want to add that disclaimer so you aren't surprised when you're killed by a pack of eight foot tall preying mantises with human heads or something after crossing over later. Just... be careful.

I'd like to add that you picked a very thematic set of supernatural powers. Very nice.

As for skills, you probably don't want to invest too heavily into a variety of offensive skills. It's fine to get Good Guns and Average Fists or something like that, but your character would benefit from things like Investigation, Contacts, and Presence as well. Try to stay well rounded.

[MENTION=478]Thanee[/MENTION]
I think I can tell from your chart, but to make sure: Claws, Inhuman Strength, and Inhuman Speed turn off in Human Form, only working during in Beast form. The other powers: Inhuman Recovery, Supernatural Toughness, and Cloak of Shadows all work in Human or Beast form.

Again, thematic!

Echoes of the Beast has a beast trapping or +1 in a special circumstance to an existing trapping. Any idea what you want that to be?

This next part assumes that your Supernatural Toughness is active in Human Form. If not, disregard.

Your character hits one of the rules aspects I've been wracking my brain over. In human form, you have Average Endurance (three physical stress boxes), but when you change into beast form, you have Good Endurance (four physical stress boxes). Normally simple.

But, with Supernatural Toughness, you gain four more boxes on top of that. Which conceptually, means you're "losing" a stress box in the middle, I think.

So, if you are in beast form, and your stress looks like this:
Code:
O O O O (O O O O)

And you change, it becomes this:
Code:
O O O [O] (O O O O)

With the beast's fourth "hidden".

[MENTION=54988]Dragonwriter[/MENTION]
It's odd, the Catch of iron in "Our World" is usually +3, so that's what I said before. But reading over it, it really should be +4. I don't know why the book uses +3 for characters, but I'll go with what the rules actually say so you get +4 for your catch. It might not make a difference for now, depending on what you go with, but it could matter in the future.
 

Shayuri

First Post
Question: You say if there's a Catch, it reduces the cost. Does that mean the Catch is optional?

As for the nature of it, while the calling is fairly specific in its scope, it's recognized, I think, that fulfilling it may require broader abilities. Protection specifically against undead only isn't really how I see it working. It's too easy to get around. Plus, this empowerment is the origin of the entire 'ruling lineage' system that endured for centuries...so it can't be -entirely- focused on the supernatural. The ruler-priests were subjects of awe because they had abilities beyond the human norm as well as the power to protect people from the ravages of monsters from beyond the grave.

So if a Catch is not optional, I'm thinking it should be something that reflects its origin. Something antithetical to the Sun. Darkness doesn't make much sense, but maybe silver...as a metal related to the moon? Or gold, the 'sun's blood.' Or maybe something more abstract... Magic is possible though it seems like wizards and the like are one major way that undead are made/allowed through, so...well, I'll mull it.

As for Marked by Power...yes, bit of an oversight. I was wondering if it was appropriate or not, experimented with a build that lacked it, forgot to include it back on the list.

I haven't read any of the books. I've been limited to the TV series. Don't worry too much about spoilers...I'll still read them. I'm planning on getting a Kindle and they'll be on the list of downloads. :)

The revelations about ghosts is interesting...they put things in a new perspective. Ghosts are still technically under the purview, since they invade from the spirit world...but that does absolve one of the guilt from destroying one...in theory at least. I also like the detail about the sun destroying them. Fits in very nicely with the mythology I'm trying to add. :)

I'll keep your advice about skills in mind. My goal is to be good with fists...for use with holy touch and nonlethal confrontations, and pretty good with guns. The rest will be noncombat.

Oh, and thanks for the warning about the Nevernever. :) She really is mostly interested in the sensory powers there...since portals are two-way and disrupt the boundary, her prejudice is to open one only when necessary, and only with precautions in place. Other PC's may figure prominently in the 'precautions' department. :)

I have the aspects done now, up to the point where other PC's enter the picture. Need to do those still. How?
 
Last edited:

ThirdWizard

First Post
Question: You say if there's a Catch, it reduces the cost. Does that mean the Catch is optional?

I didn't mean to imply that the Catch is optional. Unless I'm mistaken, the "if" I meant was to keep in mind that if you get Inhuman Toughness (or Supernatural, or Mythic), then it will fall under the same Catch.

Plus, this empowerment is the origin of the entire 'ruling lineage' system that endured for centuries...so it can't be -entirely- focused on the supernatural. The ruler-priests were subjects of awe because they had abilities beyond the human norm as well as the power to protect people from the ravages of monsters from beyond the grave.

An interesting side note is that in the novels, the Knights of the Cross (basically the BIG Champions of God in the world) are all descended from kings.

I have the aspects done now, up to the point where other PC's enter the picture. Need to do those still. How?

I will make a post about that later today. [MENTION=82765]GandalfMithrandir[/MENTION] appears to be MIA. I've tried PMing him, but no response. We'll have to continue without him if he doesn't jump in today. We can still do Phases Four and Five with three players.
 

Shayuri

First Post
Ah! Okay gotcha. Yeah, that's one thing too is that Juno is still fairly new to this empowerment. It may be that the gifts mature over time and experience. I didn't realize you could get more things in the future. Still haven't read that chapter yet. :)

The notion of the divinely chosen/empowered king is one of those unifying elements of human history it seems. From the pharohs of old to the emperor of feudal Japan and China...to the divine mandate of the European kings... And of course the Mayan ruling lineage from which I borrow a lot of my pseudo-mythology; considered the descendents of the hero-twins who ascended to godhood after defeating the forces of the Underworld.

It's all neat stuff. In the Dresdenverse, it seems likely that a lot of these gods and divine figures are just masks of a related set of movers and shakers...who may ultimately be expressions of a singular force. Whether or not that force is 'God' or something else (the personification of the collective faith of mankind perhaps) is one of the capital-M Mysteries of the fiction.

Hooray!

I'll look forward to the post regarding meddling in each other's stories like certain kids who prevent people from getting away with it.
 

Remove ads

Top