Reminds me of a saying about Brisbane's weather: Beautiful one minute, pissing down the next! Maybe we can make that into an Aspect.
I Don't Believe In Faeries!: A Quest of the Dresden Files
- Thread starter Username Redacted
- Start date
-
- Tags
- dresden files
Fierdin
Hell if I know.
That combination seems like a pretty nice place for a quest. Though any protagonist would need to be pretty damn good at what he does to stay alive without brushing too many toes. Discretion is a valuable currency here.
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm thinking Melbourne's utterly unpredictable and odd weather should definitely be supernatural in the world of DF.
Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
Well, apparently Global Warming was caused by the summer fae having the edge, so... it probably is.
Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
It looks like everyone's generally alright with playing in Melbourne, so I'm going to close voting in the next few minutes. I have put together a spreadsheet that will allow us to see who has yet to vote and who voted for what.
@Fierdin, @nick012000, @WanderingEye, if you've got a different vote to make, now would be the time. I'd like to get the next round up for you guys before I go celebrate the last day of class, so I'm closing this round in half an hour to an hour. @Surprisingly Clever Name, don't worry if you don't know what's going on. At this point all we're really doing is saying "the kind of game I want to play has X in it, but not Y, and it takes place in Z."
Just so you guys know what to think about, here is the sheet that we are going to be working on populating. The next step (and therefore the next round of voting) will be picking three themes or threats that will describe our setting. We're going to do this by having everyone vote for two themes or threats they would want to see and one theme or threat they would not want to see. This will be entirely write-in, but I would like everyone to vote if you can. The more people whose preferences I know, the better I can make this for all of you.
To give an example, let's say I like the idea of playing in a mob-owned town with a seedy, disreputable magic community. I also really don't like the idea of dealing with mundane politics. I could vote like this:
If anything's unclear, please let me know! I will gladly clarify whatever I can.
@Fierdin, @nick012000, @WanderingEye, if you've got a different vote to make, now would be the time. I'd like to get the next round up for you guys before I go celebrate the last day of class, so I'm closing this round in half an hour to an hour. @Surprisingly Clever Name, don't worry if you don't know what's going on. At this point all we're really doing is saying "the kind of game I want to play has X in it, but not Y, and it takes place in Z."
Just so you guys know what to think about, here is the sheet that we are going to be working on populating. The next step (and therefore the next round of voting) will be picking three themes or threats that will describe our setting. We're going to do this by having everyone vote for two themes or threats they would want to see and one theme or threat they would not want to see. This will be entirely write-in, but I would like everyone to vote if you can. The more people whose preferences I know, the better I can make this for all of you.
To give an example, let's say I like the idea of playing in a mob-owned town with a seedy, disreputable magic community. I also really don't like the idea of dealing with mundane politics. I could vote like this:
We are not yet voting on themes, but I thought I would give you all some time to think about what themes you're interested in.
If anything's unclear, please let me know! I will gladly clarify whatever I can.
Given what I remember about Melbourne's criminal past (look, I never did see Underbelly, okay?)…
[X] Theme: The various gangs are always in a level of conflict.
I'm going for theme because this has been a thing since forever. Funnily enough, Underbelly (the tv series that depicted the gangland wars) is still not legal for release in Victoria.
Oh whoops. I didn't see the 'not voting yet', sorry.
[X] Theme: The various gangs are always in a level of conflict.
I'm going for theme because this has been a thing since forever. Funnily enough, Underbelly (the tv series that depicted the gangland wars) is still not legal for release in Victoria.
Oh whoops. I didn't see the 'not voting yet', sorry.
WanderingEye
smol skeleton
[X] Melbourne
Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
"Everything started in Australia. Melbourne. I was in --"
"Hold on," I said, cutting it off. I started scribbling on my notepad, then looked up at Bob's shelf. "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up. Our guest is here, and I need some background information." The skull's eye sockets flickered to life.
"Sleepyhead. Funny. Real clever. Oh my sides." He paused for a moment. "Who's the new guy?"
"Messenger construct. What do you know about Melbourne?"
"Melbourne, Australia? Nothing first-hand. Nice place to visit, shitty place to live. It's in Australia, chief. Pretty dangerous stuff. They've got spiders more dangerous than a Rampire over there."
"Rampire?
"Yeah. Red court vampire." His eye-lights flickered in laughter.
I sighed, then turned back to the summoning circle. "Before you tell me about yourself, can you tell me a bit about Melbourne?"
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We're on to part two of three before you get to make with the smiting (or casting, or sleuthing, or whatever you decide). Now we need to decide what themes and threats the city will have. This vote will substantially inform the foci of the quest. What you need to do is vote for a total of three themes or threats: two themes/threats you want the game to have and one that you do not want the game to have. Your vote will be like this:
"Hold on," I said, cutting it off. I started scribbling on my notepad, then looked up at Bob's shelf. "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up. Our guest is here, and I need some background information." The skull's eye sockets flickered to life.
"Sleepyhead. Funny. Real clever. Oh my sides." He paused for a moment. "Who's the new guy?"
"Messenger construct. What do you know about Melbourne?"
"Melbourne, Australia? Nothing first-hand. Nice place to visit, shitty place to live. It's in Australia, chief. Pretty dangerous stuff. They've got spiders more dangerous than a Rampire over there."
"Rampire?
"Yeah. Red court vampire." His eye-lights flickered in laughter.
I sighed, then turned back to the summoning circle. "Before you tell me about yourself, can you tell me a bit about Melbourne?"
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We're on to part two of three before you get to make with the smiting (or casting, or sleuthing, or whatever you decide). Now we need to decide what themes and threats the city will have. This vote will substantially inform the foci of the quest. What you need to do is vote for a total of three themes or threats: two themes/threats you want the game to have and one that you do not want the game to have. Your vote will be like this:
And one of those spiders is actually aggressive, too!
Now that voting is actually open.
[X] Theme: The various gangs are always in a level of conflict.
There be no Johnny Marcone here, son.
Now that voting is actually open.
[X] Theme: The various gangs are always in a level of conflict.
There be no Johnny Marcone here, son.
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
Ooh, first quest for me, wish you had pinged me Username Redacted.
[X] Theme: Melborne is a comparatively young developed western city on the ocean, and its surroundings are further bounded by the Murray-Darling River. It helps keep the native wild things out--and our own factions, mundane and otherwise, bottled in.
[X] Threat: House Malvora and House Rath both have a presence in Australia, Beautiful people and scary scary wildlife. (And scary aboriginal NeverNever critters, if you are in the know)
[X] Avoid: Real Life Politics, especially Abbot and racial tensions.
[X] Theme: Melborne is a comparatively young developed western city on the ocean, and its surroundings are further bounded by the Murray-Darling River. It helps keep the native wild things out--and our own factions, mundane and otherwise, bottled in.
[X] Threat: House Malvora and House Rath both have a presence in Australia, Beautiful people and scary scary wildlife. (And scary aboriginal NeverNever critters, if you are in the know)
[X] Avoid: Real Life Politics, especially Abbot and racial tensions.
Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
Meant to, but I'm on my phone and couldn't. Apologies
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
Meant to, but I'm on my phone and couldn't. Apologies
It's okay, I got here in time to chip in.
*poits at a character concept.*
[x]Theme: Sometimes old strange thingsappear, quite lost on being in the city be it from the outback, the dreamtime or things from under the sea.
[x]Threat: Winter is fighting to break the strangehold that summer has on the city.
[x]AVOID: Threat:There are no shapeshifters around ,something tends to eat them.
[x]Threat: Winter is fighting to break the strangehold that summer has on the city.
[x]AVOID: Threat:There are no shapeshifters around ,something tends to eat them.
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Theme: Melborne is a comparatively young developed western city on the ocean, and its surroundings are further bounded by the Murray-Darling River. It helps keep the native wild things out--and our own factions, mundane and otherwise, bottled in.
[X] Threat: With the arrival of the Red Court, various gangs and other criminals are branching out into the supernatural. Sometimes, this means inexperienced practitioners poking things they shouldn't. These things that lie in slumber, creatures more terrifying and ancient than those that dare reach for them could possibly imagine.
[X] Avoid: Real life politics, especially Abbot and racial tensions.
I liked Nemi's Avoid and Theme, but I came up with my own threat.
[X] Threat: With the arrival of the Red Court, various gangs and other criminals are branching out into the supernatural. Sometimes, this means inexperienced practitioners poking things they shouldn't. These things that lie in slumber, creatures more terrifying and ancient than those that dare reach for them could possibly imagine.
[X] Avoid: Real life politics, especially Abbot and racial tensions.
I liked Nemi's Avoid and Theme, but I came up with my own threat.
WanderingEye
smol skeleton
[x]Theme: Sometimes old strange thingsappear, quite lost on being in the city be it from the outback, the dreamtime or things from under the sea.
[x]Threat: Winter is fighting to break the strangehold that summer has on the city.
[X] Avoid: Real life politics, especially Abbot and racial tensions.
[x]Threat: Winter is fighting to break the strangehold that summer has on the city.
[X] Avoid: Real life politics, especially Abbot and racial tensions.
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
In terms of character options, what refresh level are you thinking of starting us on UR? Additionally, there are going to be some complicating factors to playing in Australia in terms of gear availability. For those of you who don't know, Australia has very strict gun control. Whilst I'm not an expert on such things, getting a gun of some sort illegally could be possible for a decent amount of money; but it will probably not be very high quality and we'll have to be careful to conceal it properly. However, criminals are likely to have guns - at least some of them. This pretty much makes magic a necessary investment, but there's a lot of options with regards to that - whilst full evocation is nice, I could live with only channeling for now. Other supernatural powers and are probably worth looking in to, as well as considering stunts, but we'll need to have an actual character concept before we start to flesh those out.
Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
I've actually not decided yet -- it's going to be Tuesday at the earliest before I can get the next little bit up, because I've got ~16 pages to write for Tuesday
EDIT: @horngeek: you can still vote for one more theme/threat if you like, as well as for one theme or threat that you want to avoid.
Everyone else: I've got the Vote Tracker spreadsheet so you can keep track of what you and others have voted for. Green is for, red is against. I've also got a City Information Sheet that I will update as we go. I have a character information sheet too, but we don't have any characters yet, so...
These links will be in my signature.
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Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
Ladies and gentlemen, the City of Melbourne. The city of Melbourne is a relatively young city, all things considered. It doesn't have the same accumulated magical weight and heritage of, say, London or Jerusalem, but the isolation of the region (bordered as it is by the ocean and a major river) has caused some serious magical power to build up. It's there, if you know where to look.
Make sure to take a look at the link up top! That's the city information sheet. Also, here are a couple of character sheets I'm putting forward as suggestions. I'll go ahead and open up the vote, but I intend to add a couple more character sheets, and provide some explanation for each of them. Bear in mind that your choice of primary character will influence the options available for other members of the party -- the Clued-in lawyer, for instance, has access to a bodyguard/driver/paralegal, while the Protector of the City may need to either make some friends or convince concerned citizens to help him out. Bear in mind also that if you think "protector of the city" would be fun if you changed quality x, we can discuss that.
Message me or post if you have any questions!
[ ]Name: write-in
[ ]Gender: Male
[ ]Gender: Female
[ ]Character: Clued-in Lawyer
[ ]Character: Protector of the City
[ ] character: write-in
Theme Aspect: Now is the Winter quite discontent.
The summer court has traditionally dominated in Australia. It's had a solid edge in Melbourne for some time, but the Winter court has launched a concerted (though perhaps unofficial) offensive to erode that edge. Tomorrow's weather is sunny with a chance of hurricanes.
Faces: Without more knowledge of the workings of the courts, it's impossible to say why Melbourne has become a battleground -- but both sides seem committed. Fix, the Summer Knight, will occasionally be seen in the area, commanding and bolstering Summer's forces. Mab has proven resourceful in overcoming the... incapacitation... of her Knight. The high Sidhe of the Unseelie have begun creating quasi-Knights of their own -- call them Devotees of the Fae.
The summer court has traditionally dominated in Australia. It's had a solid edge in Melbourne for some time, but the Winter court has launched a concerted (though perhaps unofficial) offensive to erode that edge. Tomorrow's weather is sunny with a chance of hurricanes.
Faces: Without more knowledge of the workings of the courts, it's impossible to say why Melbourne has become a battleground -- but both sides seem committed. Fix, the Summer Knight, will occasionally be seen in the area, commanding and bolstering Summer's forces. Mab has proven resourceful in overcoming the... incapacitation... of her Knight. The high Sidhe of the Unseelie have begun creating quasi-Knights of their own -- call them Devotees of the Fae.
Threat aspect: I'm not trapped in here with you...
The geography of Melbourne and the surrounding land has peculiar effects on the flow of magical energies. The state of Victoria is very nearly an island in its own right, and this has caused a gradual concentration of magical forces. For some reason, most of these forces are negative. There is an intangible aura of despair or depression in the state of Victoria, perceptible only to the very most sensitive. It's thin and fragile, but it's definitely unfriendly.
Faces: Some White Council members in the area have suggested that the concentration of malicious energies is the result of conscious action by a minor power. It seems like it would be an awful lot of investment for a very minor payoff, but it's possible. Let's call this hypothetical power the Shadowy Cabal of Dark Shadows, or something else appropriately dismissive.
The geography of Melbourne and the surrounding land has peculiar effects on the flow of magical energies. The state of Victoria is very nearly an island in its own right, and this has caused a gradual concentration of magical forces. For some reason, most of these forces are negative. There is an intangible aura of despair or depression in the state of Victoria, perceptible only to the very most sensitive. It's thin and fragile, but it's definitely unfriendly.
Faces: Some White Council members in the area have suggested that the concentration of malicious energies is the result of conscious action by a minor power. It seems like it would be an awful lot of investment for a very minor payoff, but it's possible. Let's call this hypothetical power the Shadowy Cabal of Dark Shadows, or something else appropriately dismissive.
Theme aspect: Have you seen the house prices?
The other side of that concentration of magical energies is that there's a whole lot of magic going on. Magical artifacts come by with surprising regularity, and heavyweights within the magical community spend more time in the area than you might expect (at least they have the good grace to keep to themselves, usually). In short, Melbourne is pretty popular among the upper crust of the magical community -- but it has its thriving underbelly, too.
Faces: Daniel Rue, proprietor of the Arcanist's Closet, is an important local contact of the White Council. The Arcanist's Closet is a combination shop, library, and warehouse for the arcane, and Rue keeps an eye on everything from emo "occult community" show-magic to grade-A weaponized rituals. The Arcanist's closet is also the closest thing the local magical community has to a community center.
The other side of that concentration of magical energies is that there's a whole lot of magic going on. Magical artifacts come by with surprising regularity, and heavyweights within the magical community spend more time in the area than you might expect (at least they have the good grace to keep to themselves, usually). In short, Melbourne is pretty popular among the upper crust of the magical community -- but it has its thriving underbelly, too.
Faces: Daniel Rue, proprietor of the Arcanist's Closet, is an important local contact of the White Council. The Arcanist's Closet is a combination shop, library, and warehouse for the arcane, and Rue keeps an eye on everything from emo "occult community" show-magic to grade-A weaponized rituals. The Arcanist's closet is also the closest thing the local magical community has to a community center.
Message me or post if you have any questions!
[ ]Name: write-in
[ ]Gender: Male
[ ]Gender: Female
[ ]Character: Clued-in Lawyer
[ ]Character: Protector of the City
[ ] character: write-in
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NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
Okay, up to your waist power level...I should be able to hack together my character sheet later today. (today is stressful)
I'm thinking of going magical mini-theif. Lots of good magical control, and probably should be picked up by the White Council, but we know how slow they are.
I'm thinking of going magical mini-theif. Lots of good magical control, and probably should be picked up by the White Council, but we know how slow they are.
[X] Name: Jeremy Narishma
[X] Gender: Male
Not entirely sure what to choose for character. I'm thinking someone getting caught up in the conflict, but I'm not sure how to phrase that.
[X] Gender: Male
Not entirely sure what to choose for character. I'm thinking someone getting caught up in the conflict, but I'm not sure how to phrase that.
Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
@NemiTheNen just FYI, this one's a quest: collective voting on actions rather than one character per player. If you want to suggest that as a pov character or party member, feel free, but you might also rather save it for the traditional game I'm going to run next so you can play as him or her
Fierdin
Hell if I know.
[X] Name: Jeremy Narishma
[X] Gender: Male
[X]Character: Clued-in Lawyer
... Just because I want to be a Lawyer in the land of Dresden, where rules-lawyering is one of the most potent strenghts one can get. Then again we'd need to know the rules and if we don't have a source it could be problematic. Oh well. Lawyer is good.
[X] Gender: Male
[X]Character: Clued-in Lawyer
... Just because I want to be a Lawyer in the land of Dresden, where rules-lawyering is one of the most potent strenghts one can get. Then again we'd need to know the rules and if we don't have a source it could be problematic. Oh well. Lawyer is good.
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Username Redacted
I am a beetle for Christmas.
Phrase it however you like. A workable high concept/trouble combination is all we really need to establish the general idea behind a character. If you're saying that you just want a character who's getting caught up in the conflict (I assume you mean the Summer/Winter conflict, and please correct me if that's wrong), then it should be really easy to manage that.
The Protector of the City, for instance, could be trying to prevent open war from breaking out in his streets -- or he could be compelled by the city itself to get the Sidhe to take their entire conflict elsewhere. NemiTheNen's thief could be tasked with stealing an artifact to shift the balance of power between the Courts, or he might need to plant/find evidence of wrongdoing to influence Unseelie Accords arbitration. The Clued-in Lawyer might be trying to influence mundane law enforcement to act against one of the courts, or he might be arbitrating a conflict under the Unseelie Accords. If we wanted to make it really deep, maybe the White Council wants to enact a judgment on a mortal servant of the Fae who has killed someone with magic, and the Lawyer is employed to figure out a way for them to do it.
Are you saying we'd need to know the text of the Unseelie Accords/other relevant documents, or are you saying that you don't have a copy of the rules of the game? Because either one of those is pretty easily remedied.
Those of you who don't have a copy of the rules: PM me, please. I can work together a supplement to the (free) FATE rules that will help you understand what's going on.
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- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X]Character: Protector of the City
Name and gender don't really matter all that much to me, apart from the name not being silly, but damnit I want magic.
Name and gender don't really matter all that much to me, apart from the name not being silly, but damnit I want magic.
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
@UsernameRedacted
Thanks! I'll keep the shiny to myself, though...Hmn, idea!
[X] Name: Marcus (Daku) Crocker
[X] Gender: Male
[X] Write In: The Ear to the Sand. Descended from the Stolen Generation, he is of indigenous decent and a part time bookie to the various gangs in the city. While he is fully in support of the rights of the Aborigines and the preservation of their culture, he himself is not personally interested in it; mostly because ever since he went to a cultural festival some wild shits have been talking to him. The Rainbow Serpent or whatever can fuck the right hell off.
Thanks! I'll keep the shiny to myself, though...Hmn, idea!
[X] Name: Marcus (Daku) Crocker
[X] Gender: Male
[X] Write In: The Ear to the Sand. Descended from the Stolen Generation, he is of indigenous decent and a part time bookie to the various gangs in the city. While he is fully in support of the rights of the Aborigines and the preservation of their culture, he himself is not personally interested in it; mostly because ever since he went to a cultural festival some wild shits have been talking to him. The Rainbow Serpent or whatever can fuck the right hell off.