The Dresden Files: Caught in the Undertow

For most other things, sure, the Wee Folk have a huge short-term memory.

But not for Pizza.

Plus, we've seen that the Wee Folk have a knack for finding people.

'M fairly sure all the fey are like that, actually. I mean, Dresden says Mab will have forgotten him in a week if he dies.

Also, now she'll want to kill Sanya, what with him being helpless and all, and her havinfg the clear advantage, and Fix will be deprived of his chance to gloat.

To compound the differences between the swords and the Coins:
The coins only give you power when you want and ask for it.
The swords only give you power when the attending celestial spirit wants it, regardless whether you ask for it or not.
This reflects the difference between the two. The coins offer an easy way to gratification, the swords set you downa selfless path of never-ending adversity.

Right. Attendant guardian angel.
Should have seen that coming.

Yeah! Daoist Deity up yer bumhole!

And I warn you Draxx: n'er ye underestimate the power of Pizza.

Depends what sort. I happen to live near a local business that makes 'Viking pizza', for example. And it tastes even better then it sounds. But by contrast, I find takeaway pizza that arrives cold to be quite unpalatable.

And alas, I am adrift in a city without any truly good pizza at all.

I feel your pain, senor.

Cracklord, I'm pretty sure Lara knows about Ivy. Whether or not she'd tell Sartorius is another question, though.

Of course she wouldn't. She's only taking him because he's expendable (indeed, it's in her interest to kill him, based on their way of politics), the best of her kind in a fight that's easily on hand, and figures keeping the information in reserve is more useful in mannipulating the poor guy.

Oh, if Nicodemus and Lara get together, it will be like a subtler version of Black Hat Guy and the Woman.

And now Cowl is talking smack. This will be an interesting night.

industrious wrote:Oh, if Nicodemus and Lara get together, it will be like a subtler version of Black Hat Guy and the Woman.

Light and Misa Yagami. Almost, anyway.

...of course, Cowl isn't exactly one to talk about past failures.

EDIT: No...Misa really wasn't all that manipulative, and she was obsessed with Light. Lara's far too independent for that to happen.

Who said Lara was Misa? She's the one with the empathetic 'love me' powers.

And as for Misa not being mannipulative, she did more for Light's cause then he did towards the end. She's smart, and the smartest thing she did was appear not to be a threat. Which is why she survived, and Light didn't. Take it from her first appearence. Who figures out the others identity? Misa. Then take the whole deal when Light had lost his memory. L said she was so obvious she couldn't possibly be Kira. Boy would his face be red if he'd won.
Sure, she acts like a ditz. And as a concequence, everyone underestimated her, thinking she was beneath suspicion. And so, the second task force never even considered her. Hell, if Light had kept her on the board, he probably would have won.

Point to Cracklord.

I have to say, I was skeptical about giving Sanya a Daoist Sage Patron, but it's actually been working out in a very interesting way: my kudos.

Next, I suppose, you'll be bringing in Jiang Shi and Rakashatka.

I expect a Chairman Mao joke at one point. Just warning you.

And once the party's over, and Ivy's up, Vlad is getting one big shock.

Explanation of the items:
1. Oedipus Rex. Guy kills his father and marries his mother. Ivy's just taking the page where it describes him killing his father.
2. Bridal Veil: True love. Bane of the White Court.
3. Shard from Chitzen Itza: Former home of the (former) Red Court.
4. Dracula: Book that made the Black Court wither and fade away, at least mostly
5. Sticky Rice: Bane of the Jade Court

Vlad is the father of all 4 Vampire Courts, after all. This is going to be one big fat depowering spell.

6. Drop of Kincaid's blood. Just in Case Ivy needs to find him again.
7. Cookies. She likes cookies.

Also, just got the Dresden Files RPG. The fluff is very, very good. Still working on the system, though.

Yeah, I read up on it. I quite liked it.
Of course, being myself I then wrote up my own cosmology only tangentially connected to it.

I've actually had the DresFiles Rpg since last December, and GM'd a game with my College friends:

The Black Cat Files: Casefile 1: 'Forget Me Not'

It's set in the seventies, and concerns the adventures of the senior detectives (and their allies) of Chicago's 13th Precinct, the Black Cat Investigators. One of Papa Raith's expendable sons tries to steal a strange artifact containing a Bob-esque Spirit of Knowledge in order to depose Dad, and winds up disrupting the Annual Policeman's Ball at a Mansion at Prairies Avenue. The Black Cats investigate, and wind up kicking paranormal ass.

It was pretty fun. We got to play secondary characters such as Collin Murphy (Karrin's dad), and a young Mortimer Lundquist, as well as original characters such as a young female forensic technician who can sense electrical currents, Blaxploitation homage character Johnny Hayes, Jive Half-Ogre Private Eye, as well as Charm, a character with the Third Eye that kept Soulgazing things she really shouldn't have. And I worked in a plot mechanic wherein they journeyed through each other's memories, leading to some interesting backstory.

...But yeah: I really liked the DresFiles Rpg setting. Good, flexible mechanics that flesh out both characters and their environments: additionally, the setting encourages the sort of delving into non-European Mythologies and Folklore that Cracklord's been complaining about (Emissary of Power really encourages some interesting choices).

And to round out my enthusiastic ramblings, I'll lay out Bartholomew Dee's character sheet:

Bartholomew Dee

Main Concept: Rogue Paranet Street Magician
Trouble Aspect: Actually Faking It
Other Aspects: My First Magic Kit, Legerdemain Legend, A Warlock's Voice, The Show's Just Beginning, Friends in Mystic Places

Majors Skills (Pardon me if I'm too lazy to lay out the actual skill ranks): Performance, Athletics, Conviction, Discipline, Lore, Presence

Stunts:

Occultist (Lore):
Performing Magician:
"Dee, The Great and Terrible": Dee can use Performance to make intimidation rolls.
"The World's a Stage": Dee can use Performance to make a roll to set up Equipment or Lighting in an Area and thus Create an Aspect that gives a bonus to Peformance or Stealth rolls.

I am sorry, but that explanation misses out on the most important detail. i.e: Why would this little girl be important to Marcone? I mean, it's not like he broadcast what he was doing with the Shroud, it's not like he widely advertises the one regret he has. Quite the opposite, actually, he threatened to kill Dresden if he ever told anyone. And I doubt very much he keeps a diary.
Hell, even if we assume he has a receipt of arriving in her room or something (which is really unlike him) it still wouldn’t suggest that when the more pragmatic explanation exists. All in all, I’ll play with it, because we can assume she asked some demon or something (And if she did, shame on you for not roleplaying that, because that would be awesome), but lets try to keep character knowledge set, alright?

And my complaint is more when he does go into mythologies, European or otherwise, he doesn't research very well, but rather then just make up his own thing he simply asserts and hopes nobody checks him up on it (sort of like Dan Brown, although at least Jim Butcher isn't afraid to admit he can be wrong), we then get a sort of American Gods/Jungian rip-off that's horrifically inconsistent and poorly explained for the most part (If gods are created by belief, why are the Faerie courts even relevent?), and that it’s all so god damn provincial because Dresden never leaves Chicago, yet the apparently global White Council hinges on the exact same things Dresden does.
Don't get me wrong. I can understand that he’s partly making it up as he goes along and can’t just go back and rewrite the stuff that doesn’t mesh, I'm more guilty of that then most. But he doesn’t even bother to justify it most of the time, and that grinds my gears.

Ivy knows because she has the data. Marcone has managed to create "Jane Doe," and through a network of subsidiaries and dummy corporations, hid her away from view.

The problem being that Ivy can trace through all the fog and clutter because she knows all written data. If "Jane Doe's" medical bill is paid by Company X who is owned by Company Y who is owned by Company X who is owned by...who started operation just after the disappearance of "Jane Doe," she'd know it.

Plus/Alternatively, the RPG establishes that Dresden, at least, keeps a series of files. So Ivy knows through him.

I mean, Ivy's a creepy character who Dresden rates on the level of a Faerie Queen, but without an equal force to counter her. Knowing things is sort of her area of expertise.

EDIT: Cowl's ploy might not be the best one. The Paranet really only seems to be loyal to two, maybe three people: Dresden, Elaine, and possibly Carlos.

Do not mistake my manners for impotence. He's quite capable of forcing them to do anything he wants if he needs to. It's just he prefers a peaceful, nonviolent situation.

And didn't Marcone's predecessor set up that deal? I know Marcone continues to pay it, but that's not exactly the same thing.

I know Cowl prefers the nonviolent solution. I'm just saying he probably won't get it.

Frankly, Cowl would have had a better chance of persuading these people to go along with him...if he wasn't dressed in Ringwraith Robes and not using the magical equivalent of a speech voder.

...Actually, I could totally see Cowl alleviating some suspicion if he revealed his face and/or real voice.

Just a suggestion, Draxx.