The Dresden Files RPG

Our series on character types concludes with the one you’ve been waiting for — the wizard.  Read on!

Wizard

The full wizard in action is a terror to behold. His is an ancient bloodline, heir to the magics of old and able to command their full array; given enough time and preparation, there is very little to limit what a wizard can accomplish beyond the fetters of his own belief in what he can do.

In short, a Wizard of the White Council is a lean, mean, arcane ass-kicking machine.

HARRY: Boo yah!

The power comes at a price. Wizards are practically walking contraband, the way their own White Council watches over them. The Council’s policemen, the Wardens, are particularly vigilant (or at least were until things got… interesting) about making sure that all known wizards walk the straight and narrow. The Laws of Magic were laid down for a reason, and it’s the capabilities of the mortal wizard that made them necessary.

Plus there’s that little problem of a raging, ongoing war between the vampires and the wizards, brought on by one of the White Council’s own members. Players of wizard characters who are not active in their support of the White Council’s war efforts will need a damn fine reason for why they aren’t off fighting the good fight. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of such reasons — but the war is so big, so far-reaching, it simply can’t be ignored.

Every wizard is different, with his or her own special aptitudes and approach to magic, but they are all potentially powerful individuals with a common core set of abilities. They stand with a foot in each world — the mundane and the magical — and are the object of deep interest by a variety of organizations, from the White Council of Wizards, to the Courts of the Faerie and Vampires, to the mortal police and the mafia, and more.

Musts: A wizard must have a high concept aspect that declares his or her nature as a wizard (e.g., WIZARD FOR HIRE or FAVORITE SON OF THE WHITE COUNCIL). In addition, the character must take the following supernatural abilities:

• Evocation
• Thaumaturgy
• The Sight
• Soulgaze
• Wizard’s Constitution

See the power descriptions for more details. Players of spellcasting characters should take some time to work out their most often used, practiced spells before play.

Options: Wizards may (and in fact, should at least once) take the Refinement ability as many times as they can afford, even multiple times for one particular mode of spellcasting (Thaumaturgy or Evocation).

General characters

Today we continue our trip through the White Court as we talk about those who haven’t yet gone over to the darker side of White — the Court’s virgins.

White Court Virgin

White Court vampirism is a hereditary condition, passed along even when interbreeding with humans, always breeding true. But the condition doesn’t truly take hold until the “virgin” would-be White Court vampire has killed for the first time, with his or her emotion-feeding abilities.

Some vestiges of ability — enough to excite emotion and feed on it — exist prior to that point, and a White Court virgin fully aware of her condition might be able to finesse making use of it in a mostly safe way. Sadly, many pre-adolescent White Court scions are kept in the dark about the true nature of their family-it makes it easier for them to stumble into that first kill, and thus harder for them to fight the reality of their genes. Once the kill is made, this character template is swapped out for the full White Court Vampire template.

There is an escape clause, however — an unblooded White Court virgin does not have the weaknesses of a full vampire. She can experience true love, and if she does — if she experiences true, deep, reciprocated love with another — the curse of her heritage is broken, and she may live life as a normal, regular human. But should she fall in love, however real and true, after her first kill, there is no remedy.

Musts: White Court virgins must take a high concept aspect indicating their heritage and predicament (e.g., WHITE COURT FAMILY SECRET or I WAS A TEENAGE WHITE COURT VIRGIN). This aspect may be compelled to bring the character’s heritage to the fore, triggering a sudden buried urge to feed, etc.

Unless it’s not known for some reason, the player should determine and at least sketchily detail the character’s house — family is terribly important to the White Court, if only in a “know thy enemy” sort of way.

• Emotional Vampire
• Incite Emotion (Touch Only)

Options: If the GM agrees, you can slowly slide your way down the path to your heritage, taking on one or two abilities from the White Court Vampire list-but using them will leave you ravenous and in some pretty dire straits in short order. If doing this, you must take Feeding Dependency as well.

In two weeks we conclude this series with the one you’ve been waiting for — the wizard.

General characters

White Court vampires walk the line between humanity and monstrousness.  Many of them cross it, towards the latter.  Those who don’t can work as PCs… at least for a time.

White Court Vampire

Of all the known vampire courts, the White Court vampires perhaps appear to be the weakest, but they are no less deadly. They are also the closest to mortals in behaviors and predilections-but they might best be seen as a separate race, able to interbreed with humans (White Court vampires are born, not made — it’s hereditary). They feed on the strong emotions of their victims, though not always to the point of death, and they can excite these emotions in them as well. Adept at manipulation, White Court vampires rarely take action directly, preferring to act through catspaws and patsies.

The truism “you are what you eat” is rarely more accurate than with the White Court. It’s easy to see the White Court as sex vampires, but that’s only because the majority of those encountered — at least within the clan of House Raith — choose the dark intensity of lust as their primary food-source. As such, the Raiths are masters of seduction, and it’s no mistake that a few of their number have established a presence in adult films. But other dark, intense emotions are viable as well for the White Court: fear, despair, and wrath would all likely work for such creatures, and may well be at the root of the practices of other houses, such as Malvora and Skavis. In the Dresden casefiles, encounters with White Court vampires with other feeding habits are rare, but it’s not much of a stretch to suggest that their approach to life is just a bit different from that of the lust-seeking Raiths.

Regardless, some few of their kind are able to master — or at least, for the time being, resist — the demonic hunger that lives within them. To do so is to live a life of near-starvation. A few manage to find ways around this, feeding off a much larger “herd” in dribs and drabs rather than a single victim in quantity. These are those most likely to be viable as player-characters, as they grip onto the last vestiges of their free will, making the important choice not to kill, every day.

Musts: White Court vampires must take a high concept aspect indicating their heritage (e.g., BLACK SHEEP OF HOUSE RAITH or WHITE COURT DANCER). This aspect may be compelled to represent some of the White Court’s classic weaknesses — true love can burn them (leaving scars that don’t fade), and holy objects and displays of faith at least make them uncomfortable.

Unless it’s not known for some reason, the player should determine and at least sketchily detail the character’s house-family is terribly important to the White Court, if only in a “know thy enemy” sort of way.

In addition, a White Court vampire must take the following abilities:

• Emotional Vampire
• Human Guise
• Incite Emotion (Touch Only)
• Feeding Dependency, which affects the rest of the abilities listed.
• Inhuman Recovery
• Inhuman Speed
• Inhuman Strength

Options: White Court vampires may upgrade some of their listed abilities. They may take the more expensive versions of Incite Emotion, and can upgrade their Inhuman Recovery to Supernatural Recovery.

In two weeks we’ll continue our journey through the White Court, as we pause to look at its virgins — those who are not yet fully cursed by the court’s power.  See you there.

General characters

Were-creatures abound in the Dresdenverse, and many of them make for viable player characters.  Our conceit is that the Dresden Files RPG is being written by Billy, Georgia, and the other Alphas — so in this installment, we’ll get a little bit of Billy injecting himself into the text.  Check it out.

Were-Form

The Dresdenverse is rife with shapeshifters of all stripes, with very few of them human in origin. But there are those humans who have learned (or were simply born with the capability) to take on the form of a beast-when that beast is a wolf, we call them werewolves, but there are many other were-forms out there, I’m told. The animal in question isn’t supercharged or innately magical (other than the fact that it has a human intellect kicking around in its noggin), but with some practice, the shapeshifter can use it as easily as his or her human form, within the limits of what that animal can do. Unlike a few other types of beast-changers (lycanthropes and loup garou in particular), most were-form shifters are entirely in control of their change. There’s no full moon business going on with us.

The supernatural mechanism whereby a were-form shapeshifter takes on the shape of an animal varies. Harry Dresden looks at the thing my friends and I do when we turn into wolves as the casting of a specialized single spell, but honestly I think that’s more a case of everything looking like spellcasting to a spellcaster. I’ve watched Harry do magic, and it just doesn’t feel the same to me, not really.

For me, these days, it’s like a switch in the back of my brain. When I flip it, my human body gets optimized. My mind is still there — I still know who I am and all that — but the priorities flip around a bit. My senses and body align for the hunt, and the same goes for my friends. That’s why (and how) we’re taking back our corner of Chicago from the night.

Musts: Were-form shapeshifters must take a high concept aspect indicating that they are a shapeshifter-whether hereditarily or by choice-able to take on a single animal form (e.g., CRIME-FIGHTING WEREWOLF or WEREGOAT WISEASS). The type of animal must be specified at the time the character is created.

In addition, the following supernatural abilities must be taken:

• Beast Change
• Echoes of the Beast
• Mundane Form (Voluntary)
• At least two refresh points worth of abilities from the options list below.

The Beast Change ability allows the player to restructure his skills when in animal form. This second skill configuration should be worked out before play begins.

Options: The character may take up to two Inhuman abilities (Inhuman Strength, Speed, Toughess, and Recovery), so long as those abilities are in sync with the animal form he assumes. Similarly, abilities may be taken from the Creature Feature category or the Minor Talent category if they can be shown to be a part of the creature’s natural advantages.

Thus, a werewolf would have:

• Inhuman Speed
• Inhuman Strength
• Claws
• Pack Instincts (though not always!)

While a wereraven (were there such a thing) might have:

• Inhuman Speed
• Wings

Player and GM should work together to determine what advantages the chosen animal form has. Note, some advantages will be expressed already due to the Beast Change reshuffling of skills, so if an animal is more resilient or deadly, that might simply be reflected by boosting the character’s Endurance or Fists skill as a part of the Beast Change rather than going to the full extent of Inhuman Toughness, etc.

Toward the end of May, we’ll begin our journey into the White Court.

General characters

The Knights of the Cross don’t have the whole market cornered on faith-powered heroics.  They might be the big dogs, but there are plenty of other true believers out there willing to face down the darkness.

True Believer

Faith has power in the Dresdenverse, where the strength of your belief can-when focused properly-turn back the tide of darkness. There are special mortals among us whose belief is so strong that it crosses into the territory of true supernatural power. These mortals might be called true believers, for lack of a better term.

At their most extreme, true believers are among those actually called upon by a higher power to take action (and are better represented by the Champion of God). But short of that, these men and women of faith can still give pause to the creatures of the Nevernever, for the strength of their convictions is such that it is a palpable supernatural force.

BILLY: From my reading of the casefiles, this is where I’d put Father Forthill. He might not be a sword-swinging Knight of the Cross, but he’s still someone you’d want at your back when the demons come pounding on the door.

Musts: A true believer must have a high concept aspect that speaks to the strength of his or her abiding faith in a higher power or other similar construct (e.g., MAN OF GOD or ZEN PRIESTESS) — in short, a belief in something powerful and life-affirming beyond oneself. A high Conviction skill (Good or better) is highly recommended.

Additionally, true believers must take the following supernatural abilities:

• Bless This House
• Guide My Hand

Options: True believers may also have Righteousness, and a select few might even carry some holy relic, warranting a custom-design Item of Power agreed upon with the GM.

Tune in two weeks down the road to learn the shapes the were-form takes.

General characters

This week’s characters column features the sorcerer — not quite a wizard, but close enough to give them a run for their money.

Sorcerer

“Sorcerer” is a near-pejorative term that many on the White Council use to describe “full spectrum” spell practitioners who don’t have the bloodline, access, resources, and training that a Wizard of the White Council has. The inherent sneer has perhaps a little merit, as often these versatile spell-slingers are self-taught or-let’s face it-at least dabbling in some grey if not outright black areas of magic in order to get a leg up. This fairly common moral flexibility turns into a slippery slope in short order. Victor “Shadowman” Sells from the Storm Front casefile is one such example of a sorcerer gone too far into the nasty to make it back out with his soul intact.

As such, sorcerers are either known to the White Council and walking the straight and narrow, or tend to be in hiding from them (or at least hiding their talents) in the interests of avoiding the pointy proclivities of the White Council Wardens. Player characters may be of either type-but regardless, the White Council, even when stretched thin, cannot be ignored.

Nor, really, can one ignore sorcerers themselves. While not wizards, the can still be subtle, quick to anger, and all that jazz. They have incredible flexibility in their capacity for spellcraft, and while it is very rare to find one as broadly expert as a wizard, they can still specialize in a few areas and can in a pinch draw from the full range of evocation and thaumaturgical castings. And while they are watched over by the White Council in part, they are not a part of that club, and that lack of proximity does mean they can occasionally get away with doing something that the Council wouldn’t be too happy about.

For many sorcerers, lack of access to the White Council’s resources is just fine by them in exchange for this kind of freedom. And so long as they can keep their heads down (if not their noses clean), sorcerers are numbered among the bigger players from the mortal side of supernatural affairs.

Musts: A sorcerer must have a high concept aspect that declares his or her nature as a free-agent spell-slinger (e.g., SORCERER COP or SPELL-SLINGING TROUBADOUR). In addition, the character must take the following supernatural abilities:

• Evocation
• Thaumaturgy

See the power descriptions for more details. Players of spellcasting characters should take some time to work out their most often used, practiced spells before play-see page XX for the particulars.

Options: Nearly every sorcerer also takes up The Sight (and would be considered “flying blind” without it). Sorcerers may take Refinement once per spell-ability (once for Thaumaturgy, once for Evocation), but may not take it multiple times per ability — there’s only so far they can develop without being full on wizards.

Tune in towards the end of April when we talk true believers.

General characters

While Red Court vampires are automatically too monstrous and alien to work out as PCs, that’s not the case with those infected, but not yet turned…

Red Court Infected

Red Court vampires — nasty bat-things that live inside an apparently human (and typically gorgeous) flesh-mask, drool addictive narcotic venom, and feed on blood — are able to infect humans, putting them on a potentially inevitable path towards becoming a full-on vampire. These infected individuals possess some of the same capabilities as the monsters that bit them-at least at a junior-level capacity.

HARRY: When the victim is someone you love, it rips your heart right out. I should know.

But these empowered victims haven’t turned-they haven’t given up their humanity-yet. Not until they kill, though that often comes fast, as nigh-uncontrollable hunger for blood grips them. Still, it’s only nigh-uncontrollable — with the right amount of discipline, with careful choices about what sorts of situations they get into, these victims can hold out, at least for a time.

If they’re particularly lucky they may find their way to the Order of St. Giles — a secret organization bent on destroying the Red Court, particularly in South America. The Order has devised an extra means of controlling Red Court urges through the use of a magical tattoo process, normally invisible but flaring red when the hunger begins to take hold. It’s not a guarantee of control, but it can help.

It’s worth noting that characters of this type without the Tattoos of St. Giles will find themselves without their powers — and on the cusp of turning once and for all — in very short order. On the other hand, the Order can be very demanding of its members, and it doesn’t give the Tattoos away lightly.

Musts: A red court infected victim must have a high concept aspect that addresses the character’s infected status (e.g., ONCE BITTEN, TWICE RED or INFECTED INSURGENT). This aspect may be compelled to inflict watered-down versions of the Red Court’s weaknesses on the character-she will experience aversion to holy objects and sunlight, and when exercising her powers may even be damaged by them.

Further, the infected character must take the following abilities:

• Addictive Saliva
• Blood Drinker
• Feeding Dependency (which will affect all abilities listed below)
• At least one of: Inhuman Strength, Inhuman Toughness, Inhuman Speed

If at any point the character kills another human and drinks its blood, she must immediately “upgrade” the character to a full Red Court Vampire. This invariably results in turning the character into an NPC, and an evil one at that.

Options: Optional abilities beyond those noted above include:

• Tattoos of St. Giles
• Cloak of Shadows

Tune in in two weeks to learn the ways of the sorcerer.

General characters

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!

General characters

Lycanthropes in the Dresden Files universe aren’t quite what you might think they are…

Lycanthrope

Let’s get this clear up front: lycanthropes are not werewolves-though they share some traits in common. But where werewolves change their bodies to take on power, lycanthropes change only their minds, aligning their thoughts and senses with those of a beast. While this isn’t as scary as a man turning into a wolf right in front of you (at least at first), they can still mess you up all nasty-it’s thought that lycanthropes are what gave birth to tales of Viking berserkers. Add to this the fact that a pack of lycanthropes in close proximity to one another have a near-telepathic link, giving them a sort of group-mind advantage, and you’re looking at some serious badasses here.

So what keeps lycanthropes from taking over the world?

Well, to start, they’ve got a bit of a temper problem. Beasts don’t run governments very well. But beyond that, most of their powers aren’t fully in effect except for about five days out of every month-starting two days before the full moon, and ending two days after.

As such, players may find playing a lycanthrope to be pretty frustrating–having a lot of your power tied up and only available 5 days out of every 28 may not be a lot of fun for some. When faced with a lycanthrope PC, GMs will have to consider how often they’re willing to stage stories near the time of the full moon-and if so, how much of a restriction the Mundane Form (Involuntary) really represents. At the least, deciding that the full moon is not forthcoming may be worth a compel every time it’s relevant.

Musts: A lycanthrope must have a high concept aspect that references his or her nature as a mind-shifting beast-dude (e.g., LYCANTHROPE BIKER). In addition, the lycanthrope must take the following supernatural abilities:

• Pack Instincts
• Echoes of the Beast

The above abilities are always available to the lycanthrope, even when not near the time of the full moon. The lycanthrope should also take:

• Mundane Form (Involuntary)
• Inhuman Strength
• Inhuman Speed
• Inhuman Recovery

This set of abilities are affected by the Mundane Form, and are only available near the time of the full moon. Some lycanthrope concepts (particularly non wolf-derived ones) may not require all of these abilities, or may provide a different set of abilities during a particular time period or under particular circumstances. Player and GM should discuss any such possibilities if the player is interested.

Later this month we’ll be talking about the odd men out of the Dresdenverse — the minor talents.

General characters

Though rare in the Dresdenverse at large, a knight of one of the faerie courts makes for a powerful PC concept.

Knight of a Faerie Court

As far as we know, each Court of Faerie-Winter and Summer-have only one knight each, a mortal granted some measure of the power of his or her patron Court and charged with making certain the Court’s interests are well-represented in the world of mortals and beyond. For the Winter Court at least, the position is not generally known to be a long-term one, and employment is terminated on case of death alone.

The Winter Knight and Summer Knight are no lightweights, often catching the attention of the Queens of the Courts for their already well-developed supernatural capacity. But they are bound, body and soul, by deep compulsions to adhere to the word of the Mother, Queen, and Lady of their Court.

Still, the reason these knights exist at all is that they alone possess something unique among the members of the faerie Courts. They have mortal free will, and in this they are able to take action that is flatly impossible for the faeriekind, for the fae cannot act in any way other than accordance with their natures. As such, they are regarded with much more importance than might seem apropos to their (admittedly still potent) supernatural capacity.

Musts: A Knight of the Faerie Court must have a high concept aspect that names the title and mantle he or she has assumed (e.g., WINTER KNIGHT or SUMMER KNIGHT). No other character in the game may hold this same title at the same time as this character. The aspect brings with it all of the strictures and responsibilities the Mother, Queen, and Lady of that Court might place upon the character. It may also mean that the queens can occasionally exercise near-total power over the character-but them’s the breaks. It’s highly likely they know the character’s true name.

In addition, the character must take the following supernatural abilities:

• Seelie or Unseelie Magic
• Marked by Power

Options: Other options abound, such as mixing in elements of a Focused Practitioner, Sorcerer, or Wizard (take note of the potential discount on Seelie or Unseelie Magic in such a case). The character may carry an Item of Power, and may be able to draw upon the power of the courts to exercise Inhuman Strength, Speed, Toughness, or Recovery. Glamours may be possible as well, but are not a given. The player and GM should discuss any such options before the character takes them (and watch those refresh costs!).

Join us next in March as we discuss the lycanthrope.

General characters