Character Creation Thread

Here is where you can get post character ideas and discuss whatever you need to complte your character. Feel free to ask questions.

I was thinking of going fairly boring as far as the type of creature goes, possibly just a normal cat with some sort of special pattern on its fur.

I like Fenwick over all. I have a small issue with your 2nd and 3rd Stunts. They seem to limiting. I'm going to break down what I am reading and give a suggestion to improve the flexibility. It will be up to you if you change it and you don't have to take my idea if something else come to mind after reading what I have to say...

Stunt #2- Currently it says Spend a Fate point to fill an area with small flying objects. That sounds like you are attempting to automatically Create an Advantage (a scene aspect) by spending a Fate Point. That's fine, but it seems limited in scope. You may not always have a bunch of stuff that would be useful, or it may hinder the other PCs some how. Keeping the idea...perhaps change it to "Create an Advantage using my telekinetic magic." The idea being you are still doing creating the aspect without needing to roll for it (you won't ever get a boost for this, or more than the one free Invoke) but you will always get the effect you want. In addition you have the freedom to use the environment more creativity.

3rd Stunt - I had an idea here, but now I'm not so sure it lines up with what you want. So let's discuss how this Empathy stunt is going to be used. First, I like that its a bit of a "charm" effect...that fits your character well. At first glance it seems limiting as well, it is a free Create Advantage/Aspect once per scene, all good there, but to what end? Is the empathetic enemy going to quit opposing your character and let you walk on by? If its a guard keeping a prisoner in jail and you want the prisoner out...is the guard just going to let them go because he feels for your character? Then we are getting to strong, I don't want "one-shot kills" so to speak. So...talk to me more about what you want to achieve with this stunt. I think you have a start that just needs to be tinckered with.

Also, something I'd like to see in your Backgrounds is a detail or two about your former master. Their magic is connected to yours, but what were they doing with their magic? What or why did they die? It doesn't have to be a novel, just a few details that I might incorporat later.

I like the change to stunt 2, and I agree stunt 3 needs work. I was thinking that the Empathy would create temporary reprieves from anger or negative emotions directed at Fenwick, a defensive "I'm helpless and you want to protect me" trick.

I've been adding backstory to the char sheet. I haven't got to the mages death yet.

OK...that gives me something to think about. So...would it be a quick one action reprieve? Like...a guy with a big axe is about to smite you and you cast your Empathy charm and he loses his one action. Or does he ignore you the rest of the scene unless you get in his face?

Yeah, one action, like a stun or daze defense when threatened. Enough time to Void an attack and try to escape.

OK! That is perfect...so once per scene you can ignore an attack regardless of the roll results. You will basically negate the action as far as it affects Fenwick. Your next action can be whatever makes sense...run or fight. You can use this stunt after we know the results, so use it anytime.

Still planning on getting a character going, may just need a couple more days.

Let me know if I can help with anything.

My notes disappeared from my char sheet, so I'll need to renter them.

I still see notes. But maybe you added some that I didn't see.

Hmmm. Must be all that crack I must be smoking.

I've updated the background.

foolsmask - continuing the conversation started in the Games Tavern about the issues you listed.

Issue 1 - No speaking. I can take or leave this aspect. I was thinking it would be a fun challenge for me to express thoughts and dialogue through body language and some magical means of shifting the color/intensity of the magic gems. It would also create some opportunity for interesting trouble or humor. But being able to speak would be simpler. If your preference is to have the characters speak I'm good with that. If no preference, I'll probably just let a die roll decide.

Issue 2 - Battle Form. This was something I was worried would break the story narrative. I was planning on it being a once per session stunt. Just to offer an alternative that may be a better fit with this story, instead of a battle form increasing size it could just change the shape of the familiar. Kind of like donning armor and weapons. I haven't fleshed out the thought but wanted to offer an alternative.

Thanks for bringing me into the game.

Yeah THEMeeple, both of those sound good. If you feel are a strong enough writer to work without a voice then we can try it. If it gets to hard we can alter it. And the Growing Battle form thing is a great stunt, just not an "at-will" ability. It sounds like you are good to go. So feel free to put that together.
And once again...everybody ask questions if you need my help.

I could probably ask a load of questions but I've been reading the fate-srd to try and keep me from doing that. I'm putting the PC sheet together now, planning on going with homunculi to round out the group on forms since it sounds like we have a fantastic type and an animal type.

So in the setting are Ioun stones a thing and would calling my character an Ioun Wyrd in the high concept work? Currently I have it as Gemstone Construct to be more generic.

I leave that up to you. I've never really user them in my D&D games, so they aren't really on my radar. I do think its a cool idea to have constructed a creature out of magically powered stones, as opposed to regular gems. In the end it just comes down to flavor and what makes the character shine for you. I will be happy to include Ioun stones as a thing in this world. It could even lead to some good conflicts in the story.

Cool, I'll stick with the Ioun Wyrd then. I'm not relying on the stones being like the D&D/Pathfinder version pther than naturally being magical so they can have some wiggle room on power and value.

I have submitted a character sheet but will be continuing edits, just thought it'd be easier to get critique and feedback that way.

@THEMeeples...First, I love your Trouble. That is exactly what I was hoping for. Expect lots of thrives and wizards to try and scoop you up if you go I to a busy town or city. Second, I like the idea of the wealth based guild. That's in the story now. Finally, your growth stunt...I put a lot of thought into it and my best idea is this "Once per session you may Create the Aspect Human Sized Stone Creature with two free invokes." So basically once per session you can automatically "succeed with style" on a Create Advantage without rolling. Then anytime before you declare you shrink back down you can claim two +2 bonuses to any roll where you feel being a living human-sized statue made of actual stone would help you succeed. You get go choose when to use the bonuses, you can use both on one roll or divide them up into two increments of +2, they do not need to be used right away. You can hold them until you go back to your normal size. I likely wouldn't force you to do that unless we had an "End of Session" event. Also...while big you can spend Fate points to invoke the aspect again, just like it were a normal aspect.

So how foes that sound?

That sounds awesome. Thank you.

I will try and get the rest of my character worked out soon, pretty sure I know what I want to do with what's been left off.

Oh, also so glad ya liked the guild. Looking forward to hearing more about the setting, I'm liking how fate let's ya incorporate player ideas.

Sorry everyone, going to have to bail on this one. Hope everyone has a good time with it!

Hi all! Like a few other people on here I've never tried Fate before but have always wanted to. I've started reading the rules but still trying to digest it. So anyway my initial character idea is a tiny automaton. Are we staying small the whole campaign? You see I imagine this little fella constantly trying to improve/augment himself. Yeah, I just watched Avengers: Age of Ultron haha!

First off...I am so envious that you live in a country that got Avengers before the US. Secondly, yes the idea is to be small throughout the campaign. However, the idea of a "self improving machine" is fine, but maybe the focus should be somewhere else besides physical form. Perhaps it could have the goal of proving itself the best at its type of magic? Or something else...maybe your master had a theory that others laughed at him/her for believing and you have dedicated your existence to proving it. Just some thoughts.

^Haha yes, I've seen it twice already :-)
^I'm thinking he's constantly adding stuff to himself like a swiss army knife. And yes, growing in his magical abilities as well.
^That's interesting. Yes, perhaps something along those lines.

To be honest, being totally new to Fate, I'm kind of struggling with the character creation. Reading the previous posts on this thread and how Fenwick the Faun and Torbern the oddity are being developed, I can't quite get a bead on where to put my Aspects and Stunts on the spectrum of epicness, of that makes sense.

Here are some of my ideas:

My master was once a sorcerous blue dragon who crafted a brass & steel body to contain his heart/essence. The shard of his power that has remained with me after his destruction (haven't worked that destruction part out yet) allows me to wield a portion of his Storm Magic. So for Stunts and stuff should I be thinking up minor stuff like magnetism or minor acts of telekinesis, or can I throw lightning bolts? How big or small should I go with this?

Here's what I've got so far.

Diginus, the brass & steel automaton

See that key? I'd like to work that in somehow. Maybe it's the only way to get into my master's tower and his rivals want it. Or maybe the key opens all locks in existence!

So sorry for being such a noob! Thanks in advance for the help. :-D

I'll copy over my charater for completeness....

Coco Nuts

High Aspect
Mindblowing Cockatoo who was his masters receptionist

Trouble
(Slightly) coocoo

Aspects
Imitation is the game
Vicious beak

Skills
Careful (+1)
Clever (+4)
Flashy (+3)
Forceful (+0)
Sneaky (+1)
Quick (+2)

Extras
Because Coco is a mindbender he/she can
- tell if you are lying,
- implant suggestions
- read feelings
- understand all languages

Stunts
Charm Human/Monster (once per session)
Human interaction specialist (+2 on cleverly overcoming in human interactions)
Perfect voice imitation (for 1 fate point perfectly reproduce previously heard sentence)

Background/Notes
* His mistress was the local witch specializing in healing mental issues with powerful telepathy and mind control
* Her cockatoo served as receptionist
* In some strange magical accident the mind of the mistress was completely wiped out leaving her a helpless hull
* Coco still lives with her in a small hut
* It is unclear if the humans help the old helpless lady out of kindness or are somewhat mentally steered to do so by her faithful familiar or both.
* Coco knows the mind and soul of the mistress is gone, he felt the bond break. But he still feels loyalty to the mindless remains.

I'd also like to clarify what "implanting a suggestion" means to me. I am thinking of a feeling, an urge, a tendency as opposed to a clear thought or command. It is a lesser more subliminal form of telepathy without words, talking to feelings and instincts.
Imagine someone Coco hates is on a stage givin a speech...
Telling him to make a fool of himself wouldn't work as a suggestion but somthing like "You feel a strong itch in your balls" might do the trick :-)
By understanding all languages I don't mean knowing the exact meaning and nuances of e.g. chinese words. This is an empathic/telepathic trick, too. Coco can get the general gist and intentions direcly from the mind of the speaker. This is the same way he detects lies. They cause an incongruency in the intentions and feelings of the speaker.

BTW: Coco is a little crazy... Working for a mindbender was not healthy in the first place and the severing of the bond did more damage to his sanity. Cockatoos are a little crazy anyway.
He is a typical cockatoo... He loves imitating for better and for worse, has a weird sense of humor and likes to play tricks on people. He has very a very vivid feather crown that constantly displays his exitement level. He likes to be the center of attention and is a real drama queen.

@Jabes.plays.RPG I think you are off to a good start here. No worries for noon questions. We all start somewhere. And Fate is a game where players ask questions, a lot.

The thing about aspects is they are intended to describe your character's thoughts, feelings, attitude, and outlook on the world. Or "The World's" thoughts, feelings, attitude , and outlook on the character. They need to be double edged swords. Meaning they are both good and bad for your character depending on the situation. For example let's look at Indiana Jones. He has a saying: "It belongs in a museum!" If this were to be one of his aspects (catchphrases totally work as Aspects), the player could use it to get a boost or re-roll any time he is dealing with a situation where an artifact is going to be locked away or sold for profit rather than going to a museum to be studied and admired. But let's say that artifact is surrounded by a platoon of soldiers with machine guns at the ready. The safe thing to do would be to walk away and let the bad guys keep it. The heroic thing would be to rush in there and grab the artifact. As the narrator I could offer Indy's player a Fate point to compel him into acting. The player does not have to take the risk, but would not gain the reward. Make sense?

So you have to decide what it is that drives Diginus to act. I think you've set yourself up for a great High Concept by being "An Automaton with the Heart of a Storm Dragon." We can both use that to make you act in scenes where ferocity and courage are needed.

You mentioned you might be the key to your former master's old citadel. Perhaps whatever killed the dragon left behind the hoard of treasure or some other great power or secret. Your Trouble could be "Key to a Hoard of Wealth and Power." I can only imagine this would be helpful when trying to get into the citadel, but thrives and explorers who learn your secret would be on your trail constantly.

You also spoke of self-improvements. That your character might be like a Swiss Army knife. That's another great aspect, although the Swiss Army doesn't exist in this world so maybe "Multi-Armed Tool-Clanker" might cover it. You get a bonus when a tool is helpful, I can compel you to say you don't have the exact tool you need at that time.

As you get XP you will get the opportunity to adjust these aspects as your character grows. Not physical growth mind you, but 'grows as a character'.

Stunts are a different ball of wax. You asked about how epic they can be...the answer is "pretty much as epic as you want without breaking the story." So, no you cannot transform into a god and end the world with a Stunt. That is an end game event that could happen, but not a thing you can do with a simple stunt. Some examples of the high end stunts we have so far are "Avoid one hit, no matter what." and "Get a free aspect with two invokes, no roll required." And now I'm trying to translate "Charm Monster" from D&D into Fate. So this is the type of thing you can do in a once per session type of Stunt. It can be epic but not world shattering.

Other stunts are a +2 in certain situations. They are like invoked aspects, but have a much more narrow application. So you pick an approach and a situation where you are good at using it. It might be Cleverly avoiding a melee attack, or Sneakily using one of your four magic powers.

The site Fate-SRD.com has a lot of examples. Feel free to look at Fate Core Skills&Stunts. They provide at least 3 examples with each skill. We are using Fate Accelerated but it isn't to big of a switch to change a skill into an Approach and tweek the wording. Some Stunts aren't appropriate, but if you like an affect from a stunt, we can work together to get you what you want within the game rules.

@chocokiko - Still think it looks good. Thank you for clarifying what you intended with the suggestion magic fact. It works for me. In game it might require a roll depending on how far your suggestion is pushing against their motives at the moment. Making someone flub up a speech isn't that big of a deal. Making an assassin who is sneaking up on his target bark like a dog and alert the target would be harder. But I think we are on the same page. If during play you think I'm being to hard on the difficulty let me know we can negotiate. The same goes for languages. I don't have a complete list but I will decide on four or five languages common to the area, you can have those for free. As they get more obscure then rolls to figure them out will be required and they will get harder as they get more obscure.

This is for everyone if there are any setting details you want to see that haven't already come up please feel free to speak up on the setting thread. For example I know that Goblins will be a common threat so Coco Nuts speaks Goblin with no issue.

Some awesome looking character concepts everyone!

If it helps others here is my High Concept: Spell storing Ioun Wyrd Battlemage of the Fulgurite Sodality.
And Spell Extras: Because Torbern is a battlemage he can animate weapons and objects, heal with a touch, create arcane shields and barriers, and imbue attacks with arcane energy.

I may drop the spell storing part if the two stunts associated with it aren't approved by foolsmask. And just so ya know the Dwarven Fulgurite Sodality is a loosely structured brotherhood that has the philosophy of: Magic brings Power, Power brings Riches, Riches brings Respect. The Sodality doesn't specify what type of magic or power is to be obtained but the members all seek to have the largest wealth. They are happy to share knowledge of magic but equally willing to stab another member in the back(secretly of course) if it means a gain in wealth. This group and Ioun Stones(magic gems) have been confirmed by foolsmask to be incorporated into the game.

@foolsmask, I think I have my character sheet done. Let me know if you think anything is unbalanced. I tried to leave a little bit of the background open ended to develop as we explore the world. I was thinking of putting my character in the library, or would you prefer we keep the characters sheets secret?

Nice :-) We seem to have two fighters an one who probably will better stay out of trouble (me). The classic roles a re filled. A meat (stone) shield, a rogue/artisan and a talker and the magician's slot is filled by all of us :-)
I haven't played the talky guy yet. This will be fun and a challenge since I am rather shy and quiet in real live.

Hello, folks!

Introducing Teasel, raven familiar of Lystera, Sorceress of Death! Charged to gather spirits and ghostly fodder for her mistress' rituals Teasel served Lystera until her death at the hands of a well meaning company of heroes. In a last ditch effort to save her mistress Teasel caught Lystera's spirit in her talons and returned the fragmented energy to her corpse. Unfortunately Lystera returned as a wrathful power thirsty lich rather than the poorly understood dabbler in necromancy she was in life. Teasel fled still grasping some of her mistress' spirit not in her talons, but suffusing her very flesh. Teasel expects retribution from her former master for the power she unwittingly took, but Lystera is more than happy to have her phylactery far from her in the case that heroes come once again for her head.

Aspects
Penitent Raven Soul Courier (concept is good, but I'd like nail down better wording)
Lich Lystera's Unwitting Phylactery
Between Realms of the Living and Dead
Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board

Magic
Because Teasel manifests Spirit Magic she can Reanimate Corpses, Speak with the Recently Departed, Read Psychic Impression on Places or Objects, and Bind Restless Spirits.

Stunts
Because I Commune with the Dead I get a +2 when I Sneakily Create an Advantage when reading psychic impressions in an area suffused with death or undeath, such as a graveyard or the scene of a murder.

Because I have Necromantic Vitality, once per session, at the cost of a fate point, I can reduce the severity of a moderate consequence that's physical in nature to a mild consequence (if my mild consequence is free), or erase a mild consequence altogether.

(additional stunt detailing how she can bind spirits, either changing her lead approach and gaining a temporary aspect detailing the spirit, or placing an aspect on a spirit to denote her control over it--what do you think would be best?)

Drawing inspiration from ravens and their magic as detailed in Secrets of Cats: Animals & Threats (supplement for Fate Core).

@THEMeeples Torben is completely approved. I don't know if Fred Hicks (the creator of Fate) would approve of the two "Spell Storing" stunts but I like them. You spend a Fate point to defend against magic, if successful you create a temporary aspect that activates the other stunt. The only change I'm going to suggest is that you add the last two Action types to it. Because of the limited nature of your Spell Storing I think you could use it to Sneakily Attack/Defend/Create Advantage/Overcome.

As for character sheets I would prefer to have them public, there seems to be little reason to keep them secret, but if a player wants to I won't object. However, last time I checked, the site default is to keep them secret form players in the same game. If you are a player (i.e. not the GM) you can't look at a character sheet even if it is in the library. If you paste the link into a post we can follow the link, but that's about it.

@amalthea Tease is looking good. Feel free to submit a character. You can keep tweaking it. One thing that would help ke is if you could describe a situation where your aspects might be invoked by you or compelled by me. Ive got a thought or two but would like your input on that matter.Also thanks for the built in villain.

Question for qralloq and THEMeeples...I've had a bit more inspiration hit me just now. I'd like to ask if we can connect your characters. Specifically using The Dwarven Fulgurite Sodality. qralloq would it be OK with you if your master was a member or at least in close contact with THEMeeples former master. Qralloq, you never mentioned the race of Fenwick's master...would Dwarf be OK? Or THEMeeples would you be willing to drop the Dwarven aspect...or make it in name only? Like it started out as a dwarven group but opened the door to others as a business strategy?

Question for chocokiko and amalthea...amalthea, we haven't really discussed why your character is in Barrelwaight. I would like to propose that your masters shared a connection. After the accident that turned Lystera into the Lich, her familiar felt drawn to Barrelwaight. The 'Why' isnt clear but you showed up at Coco Nut's hut with her mindless master and you knew you had come to the place you were searching for. The exact nature of that connection I would like to leave clouded for the time being, but I wanted to check with you two before I went ahead with my plan. It will be a big plot point of the story though and I think it will lead to some super cool story if you can trust me.
Chocokiko - I would like to make your maistress's hut the HQ for all the PCs, at least as we get started. Basically like you put in your background your mistress is alive nut mentally gone. A local farm girl comes and checks on her making sure she eats and is clean. She leaves everything alone except what she has to to help the witch. I figure your mistress saved her parents from something that the medics in Barrelwaight couldn't. They were never able to pay exactly so now the girl works to help out. Does this work for you?

Works nicely for me :-)

I thought the mindlessness to be something like only sou, spirit and will is completely gone. The witch is still human in intellect but will do absolutely nothing without some external push. Just sit in any position she is left and stare in the distance. She will walk if lead by hand and will eat while constantly surveilled and talked into exactly what she has to do. But there is absolutely no drive left. Coco sometimes steers her to open the cookie jar if nobody looks and in return makes her use the chamber pot sometimes so there is less cleaning (that would purely be fluff skills with no plot relevance) :-) Something along those lines. He cares for her in his own way but also found it really practical to use her hands :-)

I had some idea that the mind bending witch sometimes worked as a special kind of assasin, too. But with a neutral approach like classic druids. Always seeking to preserve the balance. Helping the mentally disturbed and occasionally reducing a local tyrant to a blabbering idiot. He is still there on the throne so he doesn't leave as much of a power vacuum but he is also not able to abuse his people longer. Maybe then a more level headed prime minister takes over the daily business... Always keeping the balance. Giving and taking, neither good nor evil. I don't know if this idea fits with your plans foolsmask. Please feel free to take it or not or to adapt it as needed. I am very exited about the big reveal and I don't want to spoil your idea.

Actually... THEMeeples...I would really appreciate if we could work on the Fulgurite Sodality. You called it the Dwarven Fulgurite Sodality. Would it be OK to drop the Dwarven, or we keep the Dwarven, but open membership up to anyone magically inclined who can pay the membership fees? Tell me more of your ideas behind it. I have ideas, I just want to make sure I don't ruin any plans you had.

I'm totally okay with Fenwick's master being a dwarf and a member of the Fulgurite Sodality, or any other faction you wish to slot him into.

Great. Now just need to hear from THEMeeples. I wish I could share my character interaction flow chart. To many spoilers though.

@foolsmask we can drop the Dwarven part, I didn't have anything planned except when my character was around dwarves he might have acted different but I can just apply that to anyone he sees using magic. I'd rather let ya run with your ideas. As others have said they are quite good.

I was just wondering if this group knew each other in some way before they all came together.

OK...Great! As for knowing each other, I've got plans for two groups of two as we are discussing here. Fenwick and Torbern are both familiars for members of the Sodality. Next we will talk about why they were in Barrelwaight. I've got an idea or two but don't have time right now to get into it. If you want to discuss it feel free.

Put my character in the library but for my fellow players here is a link to Torbern.

As for why I am in or headed to Barrelwaight, I was thinking it was the last place I remember my master went before going on the adventure that killed him. Torbern headed there because a chunk of his memory is foggy and he wants to learn if he needs to seek revenge for his master or if he can figure out what his masters last quest was so he can complete it.

Something like that, but I look forward to what you have foolsmask as it sounds like you have ideas on connecting us all.

@qralloq What are your thoughts? Any back story you wanna see, were our masters rivals or friends ya think?

I do, and your idea works perfectly. I want to hear from the others that they are on board with things and then we can get this game rolling I think.

I can't wait :-)

I'll post some stuff tonight, THEMeeple, and try and weave us together through a series of cleverly constructed ... er, well, I'll post something anyway that builds on your stuff.

I think I can work with that if THEMeeples is in agreement. Would you say Fenwick isn't sure if he can trust Torbern? That they are travelling companions more out of need than desire? Yes or no is fine I just want to establish the relationship at the beginning of the story.

I think that sounds fun! Would the familiars think the same as the masters? As in Fenwick would see Torbern as a friend, while Torbern is leary because he thinks of Fenwick as a rival?

I think familiars, especially freed but sentient familiars like your characters, would be free to decide for themselves. You are, or were servants to your masters. You had to do what they said because their will was part of what fueled your existence before they died. But in the end you are your own 'person'. Servants do what their masters say, but form their own opinion. Your master may have disliked another caster, but you may not have cared less.

So, I think you are free to choose how your character reacts to any given situation.

Apologies for my slow post rate but I'm visiting Chicago through the fifth and only have my phone to post. I am happy to run with the proposed connections and excited to see what will come about. It's also nice to see Lystera having some impact on the setting. Heroes will have incentive to hunt Teasel down and drive some compels.

As for aspects, here are some examples for invokes/compels:

Lich Lystera's Unwitting Phylactery
Invoke: channeling some of Lystera's power or knowledge
Compel: in order to truly kill Lystera Teasel must be destroyed as well, Lystera might have plans for her old familiar

Between the Realms of the Living and Dead
Invoke: sense, communicate with, bind, and etc. spiritual presences
Compel: vulnerable to intrusive spirits, haunting, charged with delivering messages and omens

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board
Invoke: partial rigor mortis from necromantic enchantments to extend her life and vitality make her stronger and more resilient than she appears at first blush
Compel: her body is stiff and less reflexive than it once was, the air of undeath can agitate more sensitive natural animals

Great image for Coco. And compared to Teasel it will be great...black and white.

OK...I think that's everything I needed. Don't hesitate to ask further questions after I've started the roleplay. If you want to tweak things or new thoughts come up we can still do so.

I will post either later today or tomorrow. Got a few things to do which include going to see Avengers:AoU, so it may be a few hours.

Have fun :-)

Hi all! I'm hoping to get my character fleshed out today because I fear I might be delaying the game and I certainly don't want to spoil anyone's fun! I already have a pretty good idea of my character's background, and what I want it to be able to do, but am still a bit confused what belongs where and how to phrase things better mechanically. As before, please forgive the noobness :-)

DIGINUS
Brass & Steel Automaton who served as its master’s Artificer and Master of Doors.



APPROACHES:
Careful (+3), Clever (+4), Flashy (+1), Forceful (+0), Sneaky (+1), Quick (+2)

BACKGROUND:
When the Storm Dragon Vrexoeis had reached his second millenium he resolved to craft a clockwork body that he could imbue with his life-force and his vast arcane power. He would shed his mortal form and inhabit this new body that he could improve and evolve, thus achieving immortality. But first he needed to experiment. He worked tirelessly in his sky citadel and created a miniature automaton of brass & steel, and infused it with his will and placed in it a shard of his Storm Magic. He named his clockwork homunculus Diginus and made it his Chief Artificer and Master of Doors.

So here's where I haven't set anything in stone because I guess this is where connections are made with the world and the other characters, directly or indirectly.

So:
Vrexoeis the Storm Dragon causes his sky citadel to descend. Where does he land it? Right next to Valarin? In the Waste of Dual'tioth? The Fire Fields? I'm thinking maybe up North on a mountaintop in the Dwarven Holds. He makes a deal with the dwarves: they provide him metals, he gives them wondrous machines.

Then:
In time, the dragon's new clockwork body is complete. But he never gets the chance to use it. The great wyrm goes out hunting one day and never returns. No one knows what became of him. His clockwork creation still lies lifeless in the citadel.

Or:
The dragon goes out and is killed in spectacular fashion. His clockwork creation still lies lifeless in the citadel.

Or:
The dragon sheds his mortal form and dons his glorious new body, then performs wonders for all the realm to see. His eventual destruction at the hands of sorcerous rivals is motivated by envy & greed.

Either way:
No one can get in or out the Storm Dragon's citadel because no one has the Key, and powerful magical wards prevent intrusion by force or cunning.

TROUBLE: Key to a Hoard of Wealth and Power

OTHER ASPECTS, STUNTS, AND EXTRAS:
So Diginus is basically three things: A Storm Mage, an Artificer, and a Master of Doors. (I just want to mention that I know nothing about the Artificer class from D&D, nor was I aware until a few minutes ago that there is such a thing as a Storm Mage prestige class also in D&D. So I am defining both those terms differently for our fiction.)

So:
As a Storm Mage Diginus can manipulate the weather, is immune to ill effects of inclement weather, can summon & command Storm elementals, and can manipulate metal objects, even from a distance. Yeah, hes Magneto and Storm rolled into one.

As an Artificer he has the right tool for every job. I have his idea for an aspect: "It Ain’t Broke But I Can Fix It!" He's really good at fixing stuff, including himself, but he has difficulty resisting tinkering with anything mechanical he comes across.

Besides being the Key to the citadel, as Master of Doors Diginus can unlock any door, even magically barred ones. In addition, he can create doors where none exist. He can grant passage to his allies, and deny it to foes.

I understand the Extras are tricks that can be pulled any time, Aspects need to be double-edged, and Stunts are limited-use or are activated at cost. So what goes where, and how? I assume the more powerful stuff should go in Stunts.

It's really rough so I am very very open to your ideas!

Thanks!

Jabes - Its looking good. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. If I say something that doesn't fit, that's fine we can talk it out. First, since the magic is sort of the thing with this game I will start there. What you put down for Storm Magic is great. You have four solid "traits" there that are fine with me. If you like it you can basically copy/paste that into the Extras box. There will be rolls involved in doing that stuff but these are things you can do that not many other people can. So if you want to make it rain, I might say "That is a +2 difficulty task." Then you choose your approach and make the roll. If the total is +2 or better you get exactly what you want. An enchanter can't do that without further circumstances. Make sense?

The Master of Doors could go in two places. If you used the Fantastic type form then you could make it a part of your "race" and all automatons like you would have that ability. It could also be a stunt. A good, useful stunt. I would suggest (if you choose to make it a Stunt) to make it a "spend a Fate point to bypass (overcome) any obstacle that functions like a door." This would mean you could never be locked up as long as you had Fate points to spend, but a rock slide would block your path as normal. Catching on? Stunts are sometimes tricky.

Finally you have two great Aspects and a great Trouble. The Artificer "It Ain't Broke..." is a good Aspect for representing your skill with machines and such. The sentence under your character name, above that awesome picture, is a great High Concept aspect. I've got ideas on how I can compel it. Do you have ideas on how to invoke it? We can talk about that more if need be. Your trouble is great, so don't change that. You have two more aspects you can fill in, but you don't have to. We can fill them in as you get into the game.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cool, cool, cool. Then I'm good with everything. Torbern and Fenwick will travel together, Tobern viewing Fenwick with caution as he remembers his master was a powerful rival but knows he needs allies.

Thanks for all the help!

Ok here's a thought: How about my former master, Vrexoeis, was destroyed by the Fulgurite Sodality? Because Power & Riches! Dun dun duuuun! Let's say not Torbern's & Fenwick's masters but some other faction in the organization. So they managed to kill Vrexoeis but his citadel is sealed up tight and no one is powerful enough to get in by force, magic, or cunning. Unless they get their hands on the Key. Damn, I'm making this a very dangerous world for Diginus! :-D Nobody knows he exists though (or do they?) and they don't know he's the Key (but they might find out!)

Well Jabes...I have one word for you in response to those ideas........

Spoilers.


If you're a fan of the modern incarnation of Dr. Who, you get that.

I've long wanted to get into Dr.Who but I find it so daunting! :-)

So for the backstory I'm leaning towards Vrexoeis did get to use his (humanoid) metal body for a few years before he was destroyed. I'm trying to come up with how Diginus met Teasel or Coco and how he/they ended up in Barrelwaight but I've got nothing yet.

As for the character sheet: would it be acceptable to split the Extras between Storm Mage and Master of Doors? Say, two of them are Storm Magic stuff and two of them are doorway things? At first I put all the Storm Magic stuff in that section but I sort of feel like summoning & commanding a Storm Elemental should at least be worth a Fate Point so I'm putting that in Stunts. Same with the weather control because I'm thinking call down lightning, a hailstorm, or a tornado. Stuff like that. So I'm thinking that should be once per session.

I don't know yet how I might invoke my High Concept. Right now it's looking like there's some redundancy? I don't know. It seems like anything I might want to attempt that might invoke being one of the three things in my high concept, it's covered by one of my Extras or Stunts.

Something I have in mind for Master of Doors is creating a door where there isn't one. So I need to get through a wall I just make a door through it. Or I could put a door in the floor. Someone's chasing me, I duck into an alley and put a locked metal door in their way. If I put a door in someone's chest it would be very, very bad for them. I imagine I'd have to touch something to be able to do this. And it would probably have to cost me something. So a Stunt, not an Extra. Wold it fit into the 1st template or would it have to cost a Fate Pt. or be once-per-session?

Oh, and Diginus is homunculus type.

I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to giving players what they want. I have approved Diginus but I am going to make one last attempt at persuading you to make some changes.

The Magic Extra is intended to represent one "school of magic" that your character can access to do supernatural things using the four action types: Attack, Defend, Create an Advantage, and Overcome. You get for "facts" to define your special affinity with this magic. Summoning Storm Elementals totally falls within the guidelines of what a "Storm Mage" could do. The most likely scenario i can for see would play out something like this: On your turn you state you want to summon an elemental, this would be Creating an Advantage. If you are trying to summon an elemental in line with the current weather, it would be a low difficulty (like +0). Assuming you are successful you would then have a scene aspect that you could use on future turns to spend Fate Points on gaining the usual benefit. You would not gain extra actions, but you would be able to describe how you and the elemental worked in tandem to zap an enemy with a lightning bolt or whatever else you and the elemental want to do. No one else would be able to describe having the elemental do what they command, but they could use it as an Aspect as normal. Maybe they shove somebody into the elemental or use it as cover against an attack.Your enemies would have to use Overcome the elemental to banish it or kill it, actions they wouldn't be using to attack you or your allies.

Next you say you want to be able to unlock and open doors, and shut them and perhaps magically lock them. That is a very cool thing that magic users would do, however, it seems rather limiting for a "magic fact" when looking at how it could be used in-game. Sure, opening a locked door is Overcoming a obstacle (scene aspect, perhaps). Shutting a door could be a defense if the door then separates you from your enemy. Magically sealing the door would qualify as Creating an Advantage as well. But, all of these lack the versatility you may desire. There will not always be a door to use. How would an attack action be used to with this type of magic? Of course you don't have to have all the action types covered with every "magic fact" but you need to think about this type of thing in order to make your character viable. Additionally, the 'magic facts' require rolls to accomplish the action associated with them. If you want to be able to do a thing reliably, that is every time you want to, you need a Stunt. As it is now you are only going to have a chance, not a sure thing. Spending Fate Points makes more sense to me. Manipulating metal could totally be a thing done with Storm Magic, but there may not always be metal present, except your character's own body.

You also talked about creating doors out of nothing. Another magic trick that would be interesting, but doesn't seem to be covered simply with being able to open and close doors. If however you wanted to make some changes, I might suggest that you change your Magic to something like "Portal Mage". Then you could make your 'magic facts' something like: Teleport (self & others)l; Create Doors from nothing; Lock and Unlock Doors, Magic or Mundane); Manipulate Objects from a Distance. Then you could have your Stunts deal with storm magic that your master used. You could totally have learned the trick of Summoning a Storm Elemental and instead of rolling dice like the above example, you just Create the Advantage without rolling. Additionally you could make Immunity to Inclement Weather a Stunt. It comes up so infrequently, that it provides a focused, limited ability. It would require no Fate points or rolls. your just are immune to high winds and rain. and it makes sense, because a dragon using rain with a metal automaton familiar, well he'd want to protect it. So in this case Stunts would represent little tricks you learned from your master.

So let me know what you think about these ideas.

As always, I really appreciate the input! To be honest I am still trying to grasp the game mechanics.. I never even considered framing the facts in the context of the action types. That's why my ideas are all over the place. It makes much more sense now, thank you! I will switch some things around.

Here's my question now: am I perhaps trying to do too much with Storm Mage, Portal Mage, and Artificer? Do you recommend I drop one?

Thanks again! :-)

Could we maybe start playing while ironing out the last details for Jabes? Maybe he'll get a better idea when we played a little. We'll start slow with the meetup and introduction anyway.

I'm cool with that :-)

Yeah... I got busy over the weekend. By the time I got some free time to respond to Jabes, that was all the energy I had in me and I had to go to sleep. Firstpost ssoon in the new RP subforum

So I'm thinking now that maybe I'm trying to do too much with Storm Mage, Portal Mage, and Artificer. I don't want to let go of Portal Magic but do you recommend I drop one of the others? What do you guys think? Thanks! :-)

Jabes.plays.RPG, I don't think it is too much to have all three. In my opinion the artificer role is great character background. It was a part of why your master had a familiar, to assist on his construct body. The aspect "It Ain’t Broke But I Can Fix It!" has some solid potential to help and hinder, and represents your history of helping your master. I'd personally make the storm magic the extras and the portal magic the stunts. I'm imagining the extras as things you gained from the shard of your masters power but you don't have complete control over, which is why you'd still be rolling on them. The portal magic as stunts are things you can do which is why you are the key to your masters tower, he built you to have this awesome power. Again just my opinion but RP wise this setup makes sense to me.

Is this thread freaking out for anyone else?

No? Freaking out how?

For like...two hours it would only show me the first page of this discussion. Only now am I able to see the individual pages again.

Well that's weird. Hopefully just a very short lived glitch.

Seems to be. And it was only this thread. So no big deal I guess.

@Jabes, don’t know if ya want more feedback but I got started thinking and had a few more thoughts.



1. Artificer – It occurred to me that we have two homunculus types in the group, Diginus and Torbern, in my mind standard healing isn’t going to be effective on them so your role as an artificer could be akin to a medic for them.

2. Portal mage stunts – I realized that one of your stunts could combine the portal and storm magic, because you are a storm mage you have a connection to the elemental plane allowing you to open a door to it and call forth a storm elemental. For the other two I’d suggest being able to teleport just yourself to any location in your line of sight, and then one that allows you to create doors anywhere that can be used by anyone(perhaps spend a fate point for that power). For the usefulness of door magic I’d point to the character Blueno from One Piece, he has door based powers and makes interesting use of them in combat.

3. And Storm magic, to replace the summon elemental if you use it as a stunt why not be able to send your voice on the wind. It could be used to send messages to allies and as a kind of ventriloquism to confuse enemies.

4. I have no idea how you will plan to divide up your skills, I could see any of the six applying to just about all your abilities. Both a plus and minus I suppose.



Apologies if this is too much, it’s your character do what feels right to you. Just wanted to help out, and I kind of love character creation.

I'd agree with THEMeeple's suggestions. Diginus is very intriguing character with the complexity of his several roles, but I don't think he's reaching too broad for proper balance.

Considering changing around approaches so that Careful is Teasel's lead approach. I think it's better suited to her focus and the method of observing and interacting with spiritual phenomena.

Thank you so much for all the input! Yes, I think I've got it straight now. So I've gone ahead and put Storm Magic in the Extras, and Portal Magic in the Stunts. I like the idea that Diginus has got Portal Magic & artificer stuff down pat because that's what he was created for but the Storm Magic still isn't fully in his control. In fact I think a good compel would be to have random weather disturbances unintentionally happening around him that could either help or hinder. Like maybe when he was on the River Swan he didn't mean to create that wind.

Please let me know if there is any fine-tuning or corrections needed on my character sheet. Thanks! :-)

Diginus looks good except for one minor point. You have 6 in your refresh. That should be 3. The formula is 6-(# of stunts you have) 3 is a good number to start with (and the general default) until you get more experience playing them. As you progress if you want to add more stunts you will have that option.

So just adjust that number and I'm happy.

Done! Thanks! :-)