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Dresden Files RPG - The Catch and its permutations.
So, I have a question for the other GMs out there about Costing Catches. Mostly this comes from my understanding of the FUDGE role play system (first played in 1998) and FATE.
So, in general, you're looking at a 1 in 81 chance of getting either a +4 or a -4 (1 in 81 each), 4 in 81 of either -3 of +3. 10 in 81 of +2 or -2. 16 in 81 of +1 or -1 and 19 in 81 of 0.
So, 19 = 0, 16=+1, 10=+2, 4=+3, and 1=+4.
This gives us a general understanding of the exponential nature of the dice in the system, which is the reason most common supernatural abilities are in the -2 range of cost and capability, and the reason why toughness scales so quickly from Inhuman to Supernatural to Mythic: It is not a linear progression.
So, in looking at this, we are given +0 for you're not gonna get it, +1 for rare, and +2 for most people don't carry it.
The first time I realized there was a problem was when a player took a catch of "Human Ash"
It was a thematic choice for the character, so just changing it hurts who we see the character as. Not going into the precautions that the character had to go through to protect himself from accidental exposure (it was 1928 and there are no hepafilters. Dust is made out of people much like soilent green) This is something he can accidentally run into. This, in my opinion is a +4 catch all on its own. Since it was not possible to learn it without knowing him (he destroyed any reference of it in text), he ended with a +4 catch.
Same character comes up with a catch for a new character (Nephilim, you know, half angel) Of Sin and Corruption. So it is something anyone can have access to (meaning a sinner bypasses his catch) at any time and would always have it with him, which theoretically would be +3. As the lesser of the two corruption (rust, tarnished silver, maggots) would be a +2 and overwritten.
Is my math right here? Even if it is, should a character be able to go beyond the standard +2 for material. Should I just rename the catch to say it only protects against purity...but then it suddenly becomes a +6 catch (only 1 item, easy for people to find a way around it, anyone who knows he's a Nephilim knows it) instead of the +5 I am currently giving him.
I'm looking for input here.
So, in general, you're looking at a 1 in 81 chance of getting either a +4 or a -4 (1 in 81 each), 4 in 81 of either -3 of +3. 10 in 81 of +2 or -2. 16 in 81 of +1 or -1 and 19 in 81 of 0.
So, 19 = 0, 16=+1, 10=+2, 4=+3, and 1=+4.
This gives us a general understanding of the exponential nature of the dice in the system, which is the reason most common supernatural abilities are in the -2 range of cost and capability, and the reason why toughness scales so quickly from Inhuman to Supernatural to Mythic: It is not a linear progression.
So, in looking at this, we are given +0 for you're not gonna get it, +1 for rare, and +2 for most people don't carry it.
The first time I realized there was a problem was when a player took a catch of "Human Ash"
It was a thematic choice for the character, so just changing it hurts who we see the character as. Not going into the precautions that the character had to go through to protect himself from accidental exposure (it was 1928 and there are no hepafilters. Dust is made out of people much like soilent green) This is something he can accidentally run into. This, in my opinion is a +4 catch all on its own. Since it was not possible to learn it without knowing him (he destroyed any reference of it in text), he ended with a +4 catch.
Same character comes up with a catch for a new character (Nephilim, you know, half angel) Of Sin and Corruption. So it is something anyone can have access to (meaning a sinner bypasses his catch) at any time and would always have it with him, which theoretically would be +3. As the lesser of the two corruption (rust, tarnished silver, maggots) would be a +2 and overwritten.
Is my math right here? Even if it is, should a character be able to go beyond the standard +2 for material. Should I just rename the catch to say it only protects against purity...but then it suddenly becomes a +6 catch (only 1 item, easy for people to find a way around it, anyone who knows he's a Nephilim knows it) instead of the +5 I am currently giving him.
I'm looking for input here.
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Comments
I love DFRPG and FATE, after all we've been doing "Dresden Files Dallas":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/dfd for going on our 2 year mark this fall, but you've got to be able to roll with the system weaknesses in exchange for the storytelling fluidity. :)
Personal Commentary:
That said, I've found with Catches, it's better to go off of how often your antagonists are going to use it against the PCs. That does not mean just thematically - I mean deliberately used to go through his/her Toughness to inflict Physical Stress (Bad guy with human ash in shotgun shells or dusted on to a baseball bat)... Anything else is best modeled as an Aspect (i.e. "Human Ash in the Air Bothers Me" - Invoked for bonuses to protect people being downtrodden or Compel to make it harder to defend against attacks laced with the stuff, etc. etc.).
0 - You're going to have to specifically come up with a plot reason the antagonist knows about the catch and it'll be a focus in the game
1 - Basically nobody knows about this catch but it might come up maybe once or twice in a year's worth of play
2 - This Catch is just really rare but there's an antagonist group or two in the campaign that might leverage it - the default
3 - Pretty common Catch, you as GM plan to bring it up most of the time
4 - Just about every single encounter group that knows about the supernatural nature of your foe is going to come "loaded" (Iron vs Fae - I know sample characters show a -3 but it's not, Holy vs Demons and most evil critters, etc.)
Re: Sin and Corruption - Seems like you modeled it correctly as a 4 if you intend to let any sinner, tarnished metal, or scavenger/parasite go through it
Re: Purity and +6 - "easy for people to find a way around it" - guess that depends on your meaning of "purity" and what you mean by "easy for people to find a way around it" in your campaign. A 6 is a single item that shows up a lot in YOUR campaign. So the example is the Ogre from the Our World book... the stacked catch on its Physical Immunity vs Mortal Magic is "everything else" ... even a rock picked up from the ground bypasses it... so you're saying with a +6 that your Purity catch will be satisfied even MORE commonly in your setting than the +5 for an Ogre's Physical Immunity. With a +6, everybody in the game has access to Purity and will use it regularly once they find out about the character - they can do the thematic equivalent of picking up a rock and bypass the Catch (is there an NPC that sells Purity items? Are they handed out like candy from local priests? etc.)
Hope that helps give you another POV.
I was nice and helped him with it. He liked his catch a lot more afterwards.
As for the guy with the human ash problem, it was priced in there partially because they were going against a lot of gansters, and one of the characters liked to set everyone/thing on fire. There was going to be a lot of it where the players were, some generated by friendly fire.
Mostly I was looking for some sort of confirmation of my logic, so I appreciate your post. I recognize the soft nature of the system and use it to the advantage of play most of the time.
i.e. - "I as GM am not sure if this is a 2 or 3 point Catch" so give it as a 2. If you find that it's being used a lot, at the Mid-Season, up it to 3. The player will feel like it's an early Christmas. :)
Anyway, best of luck! Any campaign setting with the potential for friendly fire involving human ash sounds awesome.