BURNED CIRCLE - City/Character Creation Thread (DFRPG)

[Dragonwriter]

I managed to work out my skills, Powers, and Stunts to where I like them.

[sblock=Skills and Stuff]
Great (3): Contacts, Deceit, Conviction (12 ranks)
Good (3): Weapons, Endurance, Might (9 ranks)
Fair (4): Craftsmanship, Discipline, Alertness, Resources (8 ranks)
Average (6): Intimidation, Presence, Rapport, Driving, Athletics, Guns (6 ranks)
35 ranks total

Supernatural Powers:
Glamours (-2)
Inhuman Strength (-2)
The Catch is Cold Iron (+4 due to your decision) affecting:
-Inhuman Toughness (-2)
-Supernatural Recovery (-4)
If Supernatural Recovery is deemed unfit (as Ogres normally have only Inhuman Recovery), I'm perfectly willing to switch it over to Supernatural Toughness instead.

As the book encourages making up Stunts, I figured the "Family" one here would be OK and thematic.
Stunts:
My "Family" is Everywhere (Contacts): +2 to Contacts when used for the Know People trapping.
Wall of Death (Weapons): Able to use close-quarters weapons to make spray attacks against enemies in the same zone. (YS156)

Total Refresh Cost: -8
[/sblock]

I think I'll go ahead and go with the "Winter Court is Pissed" Trouble, rather than the Protector. Protector will become an Aspect from his first case. And it still remains to be seen what Aspects he will pick up from his guest starring bits.

 

[Thanee]

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.

Correct.

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?

Havn't given that part much thought, yet. Still working on the background mostly.

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.

I kinda see what you mean, but I think you are overthinking it.

I believe it simply means she has 7 (8 in beast form) boxes.

I don't think those extra stress boxes are special in any way (well, other than that The Catch circumvents them), they are exactly the same as those you get from a higher Endurance.

Bye
Thanee

 

[ThirdWizard]

Okay, lets get Phases 3, 4, and 5 going! I've detailed how we'll handle it below. You can read over the Phases in "Your Story" on page 60 for ideas on how to pick a first adventure and how much you'll need. If you have any questions about how the process works, just ask. I'll do my best to expound.

Phase Three: What Was Your First Adventure
First, everyone post up your First Adventure summary. It doesn't have to be long. Two or three sentences are sufficient. Think of it as the intro to your first adventure. This story will be completed in the Fourth and Fifth Phases by the other two players, so leave an opening for them to jump in.

Pick a title for the adventure.

Pick an Aspect to go with the Phase. You can change it before we start playing if you decide you don't like it.

Phase Four: Whose Path Have You Crossed
A guest star will appear in your adventure, as follows:

• Thanee will guest star in Dragonwriter's adventure.
• Dragonwriter will guest star in Shayuri's adventure.
• Shayuri will guest star in Thanee's adventure.

Remember, this Phase is still for creating an aspect for your own character, even though your'e guest starring in someone else's adventure. You add a complication, a solution, or both to the adventure.

Now, pick an Aspect to go with Phase Four. Again, you can change the Aspect before we start play if you aren't happy with it.

Phase Five: Who Else's Path Have You Crossed
A second guest star will appear in each adventure, completing the adventure. It will be as follows:

• Thanee will guest star in Shayuri's adventure.
• Dragonwriter will guest star in Thanee's adventure.
• Shayuri will guest star in Dragonwriter's adventure.

Take your second guest starring role and make an Aspect out of it. Ditto for changing it later.

 

[Shayuri]

Question...are we guest-starring in one another's first adventure?

That is, when planning my 'first adventure' (phase 3), should I leave narrative 'space' for Dragonwriter and Thanee to appear?

Or do they and my character cross paths on later, separate adventures?

 

[ThirdWizard]

That is, when planning my 'first adventure' (phase 3), should I leave narrative 'space' for Dragonwriter and Thanee to appear?

Exactly this.

 

[Shayuri]

Okay, to make sure I don't get ahead of myself then, let me sizzle a basic concept to make sure it passes muster. If so, I'll develop it out to its logical end.

Adventure Numero Uno: "The Trouble with Dribbles."

Synopsis: During a routine call, Atlanta's finest finest (that's me), realizes that something's amiss with one of the kids shooting hoops in the backlot of the apartment building. The kids call him 'dribbles,' for two reasons; he's got some kind of brain thing going on...can't talk much, constantly zoned out and drooling, and because in spite of the first reason, the kid can keep the ball bouncing and nail hoops from a block away (or so they claim).

Idiot savant, right? Yeah, maybe not. Something's off with him. And it doesn't sit right either, him being played on by the others like that. This isn't a situation where a disadvantaged kid with a special talent gains the respect of his peers. No. He's a freak in a freak show. It's sick. (Cue Aspect: Tough Hide & Tender Heart).

Even though it's not the kind of thing police are meant to do, I decide to take a closer look in line with my 'other' job. The neighborhood folks are pretty upfront about him. No one knows who his family is. He showed up, stumbling out of the park around the garden and now just kind of aimlessly wanders around the block...like he's looking for something he can't find.

All this is a case for human services, except for one thing. There's a 'thin' place in that park, in the garden. Even closed, the feel of the otherworld is thick there. And I know that all it'll take to open it is something with some power strolling by, or a mild cosmic alignment, or any of a number of things.

Fortunately though, the area already had someone watching out for it. (Enter werepanther) With a little help, we were able to figure out that something -had- come through the gate before this watcher had the job...and the timeline fit for when Dribbles had first appeared.

That's when we found out we weren't the only ones looking for the guy. Turns out that, among the other places on the other side of the veil, that's where the Fae hang out when not ensnaring mortals or causing mischief. Being mischeivous and, as a rule, pretty hot, it's not unusual for half-fey mortals to be born. Most of them stay Earthside and grow up here. A few don't adjust too well to the 'reality' thing, and stay in Faerie.

Guess which kind Dribbles is. No really. Wow, you're good.

Fey families look out for each other though, at least sometimes. Dribbles had a brother...or, half-brother? Cousin? Second removed? Who knows? Anyway, big fella. Huge. (enter the Ogre) He'd heard about me asking questions and looked ME up. Trick was that Dribbles, during our respective investigations, had stopped showing up at the ball court.

Took a little doing, but we found the kid, stolen away by some not so much mischeivous as psychotic little fey things who wanted to use him as bait, or leverage or...who can understand these squeaky guys? Anyway, it got the giant mad, and even though the critters were a lot meaner and stronger than they looked, we managed to lay a couple out and drive the rest away. Dribbles went back home...where I am told he is much more responsive, though 'lucid' is not a term for things in Faerie. I closed the case, knowing the garden portal is covered...which is nice because it's a bit out of my way to patrol it...and I learned about a family which is somehow, against all odds, even more messed up than my own. And that's what I call a win.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Okay, to make sure I don't get ahead of myself then, let me sizzle a basic concept to make sure it passes muster. If so, I'll develop it out to its logical end.

My bad. I don't think I explained very well. I should use examples. You'll write Phase 3 of your adventure. Then you'll write Phase 4 of another character's adventure (depending on the list I made). Then you'll write Phase 5 of another character's adventure, finishing the adventure (depending on the list I made).

Example from the book:

Dresden's Player starts his adventure "Storm Front."
"When a series of gristly supernatural murders tears through Chicago, Wizard Harry sets out to find the killer. But will Harry succeed when he finds himself pitted against a dark wizard, a Warden of the White Council, a violent gang war, and the Chicago Police Department?"

He gives himself the aspect "Not So Subtle, Still Quick to Anger."

Dresden's player passes this to another player, who writes in Phase 4 on their own character sheet. Their Phase 4, thus, is Dresden's Phase 3 + Whatever the new player adds to it. She picks an aspect for herself based on what she writes in as guest starring in Dresden's adventure.

Dresden's player recieves another character's Phase 3. This one reads:
"When a child is missing, beat-cop Karrin Murphy goes looking for her. But will she succeed with a troll comes into the picture?"

He looks it over and asks himself how his character will act when he gets on the scene. He writes:

"Harry Dresden gets right up in the troll's face, trades some quips with it, and unloads on it - using its own weapon to smash it open!"

Then he gives himself an aspect based on his own guest star role ("Epic Wiseass").


So here is how it will work.

You will all write Phase 3: an adventure introductions and read over each other's adventure intros.

For Phase 4, you will each write a guest star role of your own character in the assigned adventure. This will go on your own "character sheet." I know we don't literally have character sheets, but it helps to visualize.

For Phase 5, you will each write another guest star role of your own character in the assigned adventure. Again, this goes on your own "character sheet."

So, your Phases will consist of:
Phase 3: The introduction of your first adventure.
Phase 4: Another character's intro, plus you jumping in to do something.
Phase 5: Another character's intro, plus another character's jumping in, plus your character wrapping the whole thing up.

Each of these will have an aspect you choose based on your own role in the given adventure.

Does this make sense or does this just confuse everything even more?

 

[Shayuri]

Ahh! Yes, that helps. Boy, I got that wrong.

Alrighty then, I think I get it.

*wad wad wad...toss*

Back to the grindstone!

 

[Thanee]

How extensive should those background parts be?

Just a sketch of what happened there (like in the examples in the book)?

For me, the idea is (probably quite obvious from the parts I have written down so far), that she will have her first big adventure by going through that gateway into the Nevernever (against the will of her parents, of course; not that they expect anything else, though). I am not entirely sure how everything looks like there on the other side and what will happen there.

Bye
Thanee

P.S. And as a heads-up, I will be on vacation for about two weeks (starting next week). I will have internet access during the travels, though, at least during the evening hours, so I should be able to continue here.

 

[Dragonwriter]

Just using the quickie template from the book for this and sticking with my initial First Case idea.

Title: Beat the New Boss
When a Red Court servant starts pushing a drug (derived from the Red Court narcotic saliva) to the neighborhood kids and teens, Logan takes notice. And when his "little (pixie) sister" Bethany is approached, he resolves to shut down the scumbag and his whole operation. But will Logan even survive when the vamp behind the plan takes charge and brings in extra muscle to track down and get rid of the meddlesome ogre-kin?
Aspect Gained: Protector of the Weak

I'm going to full-on change the Trouble over to Pissed Off the Local Reps of Winter.

And now up to you, Thanee. Give an Ogre a hand?

And Shayuri, even though that particular story didn't work out, I still found it a good read. I look forward to seeing what you come up with to replace it (and I get to join in on).