Characters: Minor Talents
Minor talents are the real odd men out of the Dresdenverse — the guys and gals you’re most likely to bump elbows with at the local mystic pub or bookstore. This write-up may be short, but that doesn’t make the minor talents of your game any less of a supernatural power player — though they might have to be just a bit cleverer than some to make it through alive!
Minor Talent
The Dresdenverse is filled with mortals who have small, limited powers, whether due to long-forgotten traces of inhuman bloodlines, exposure to the supernatural, or even simply the right combination of willpower and belief. These mortals can be referred to as “minor talents,” people with “one-trick” powers that don’t necessarily have a lot of mojo but which can be very effective in the hands of a creative and driven individual.
This template is a good option for someone who wants a little supernatural trickery up his sleeve-a mortal but with a little extra flavor, the kind you might rub shoulders with at the bar in McAnally’s.
Musts: A minor talent must have a high concept aspect that mentions the talent in some capacity (e.g., DEMI-DEMI-DEMIGOD, WEEPING CASSANDRA’S TEARS, or SON OF SHADOWS). The character may then take a single, one refresh cost (or, with approval, two refresh cost) ability from the Supernatural Abilities chapter. Specifically the Minor Talent and Psychic Ability categories should be considered, but the GM may allow the player to look further afield.
We’ll be rounding out the month of March with a look at the red court infected character template. See you then!
Should the high concept text be keyworded and explained at the beginning of the characters section or maybe in the choosing aspects/high concept section?
It seems redundant to have it mentioned in most templates.
hmm they would be somewhat useful if you formed small groups with helping abilities like someone that could use limited fire spells and someone who could shoot oxygenated air causing a mini explosion or huge fireballs if you will.
Sounds nice for an Everyman game. Sometimes it’s nice to play a group of more average characters, as opposed to Awesome Scions Of Awesome Awesomeness.
It’s great for a character you want mostly normal, but need for an ability that doesn’t fit any other character.
I personally would use a Minor Talent like, PROPHESY BOY.
Johnny One Spell…beware. This can be really deadly. Especially if it’s something like Suffocate, Blindness, Dehydrate, etc.
The problem with this is that with some players, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a great big nail. Hammer it hard enough and it’ll go down.
@Mostlyjoe and Hollis
I think the idea of a suffocate mage would fit better as a Focused Practitioner than Minor Talent.
And if you’re going the route of a Focused Practitioner, then you could suggest to your suffocate mage that she picked a focus on Air with an Evocation on Suffocate. That way she can still kill people at will, but she’ll still have lots of Air-related things when there’s no need for killing.
i had an idea for a minor talent,say you start at feet in the water,and then advance power levels for a while with your group, customizing all the while, technically, gm allowing you could make a wizard or sorceror. Starting as a minor talent could be useful, you would have a spell that no other wiz has, making you that much more powerful. You would just have to be creative untill then! just a thought, because dont most wizards start out minor talents? like molly?