Getting Ready, or A Thaumaturgic Preperation

Cheat Sheet: Magic in DFRPG, Part Four

Posted by Rick Neal in Dresden Files RPG, What's he playing?, tags: Dresden Files RPG, magic

Based on the comments from my last post on magic in DFRPG, it sounds like
people are looking for a cheat sheet with a range of examples of how to prepare
for rituals and some example spells, so those are the first two posts I’m going to
do. This one is all about preparing for the ritual. I’ve broken this down in a list
format: there’s a heading for each type of consequence and each skill, along with
a few examples of the type of preparatory action you take for each, and the
Aspect each action gives you. This Aspect is either the consequence (for the
consequences) or an Aspect on the spell that you tag to make up the Lore deficit.

Now, these are meant to be examples; the list is not exhaustive, and you’ll come
up with better ideas as you sit around the table. I’ve tried to come up with one or
two fairly standard things for each item, as well as one or two less obvious
thoughts. Some skills, though, are a bit of a reach, and you need to keep that in
mind. Your GM may pull you up short if you try one of these things. Hopefully,
though, they’ll give you some ideas to try, and a starting point for your own
creativity.

Some of the suggestions below don’t directly affect the spell itself, but instead
affect other preparations for the spell. That’s okay. The Aspects they place still
get placed on the spell, paying down the Lore deficit. It’s all part of the story of
the spell, whether you’re making a Contacts roll to find someone who knows
something or using Resources to hire a detective to find someone who knows
something. Basically, what I’m doing with a lot of these is choosing one moment
in a longer event, and using that for the Aspect – so, if Harry’s trying to convince
Bob to help him with a potion, he can use Contacts to represent knowing him, or
Rapport to persuade him to help, or Resources to bribe him with porn, or
Empathy to know that Bob wants some time running loose, etc.

Time-wise, some of these take longer to pull of than others. The amount of time
you have to make the spell happen is something you have to work out with the
GM, but thaumaturgy can sometimes take days or weeks to get everything in
place to actually perform the ritual, so I’ve given a wide range of time frames in
the examples below. If you’re concerned about spending too much time on
getting just one Aspect, try negotiating with your GM to see if the task can be
broken down into subtasks within the time frame, then come up with a way to use
each subtask to give you the opportunity to stick on another Aspect.

Ready? Good. Here we go!

Physical Consequences

 Spill some blood to help power the ritual – Deep, Bleeding Cut
 Burn foul substances and breathe in the noxious fumes – Hacking Cough
 Sleep on a bed of nails – Pinpricked Back
 Walk around the perimeter of the city to define the area of the spell –
Really, Really Sore Feet
 Fast for three days to purify yourself – Weak With Hunger

Mental Consequences

 Performing difficult calculations to compose the spell – My Brain Hurts!

 Cross-checking ancient manuscripts, translating from multiple languages –
It’s All Greek to Me. Or Maybe Akkadian.
 Take mind-altering substances to change your perceptions of the world –
Tripping Balls
 Delving deep into your dreams for hidden knowledge and revelation –
Sleepwalking Through the Day
 Matching wits with a spirit of intellect for a secret chant – Thinking in
Circles

Social Consequences

 Ignoring personal hygiene for a few days while you research – What’s
That Smell?
 Dropping out of sight for days at a time while you work on the spell –
Ignoring My Friends
 Trading favours with one of the fey – In Debt to the Summer Court
 Getting arrested doing a little nude graverobbing – Unsavoury Police
Record
 Watching everyone you meet to see if they’re spirits sent to attack you –
Weird Stalker Vibe

Alertness
  Finding six dimes with the right dates on them to use in the spell –
Matched Money
 Spotting a bit of marginalia in a book that provides an important key – Lore
of the Doodle
 Catching a fly with chopsticks – Can Accomplish Anything
 Knowing what to look for when the spell starts to turn – Ready For
Anything
 Checking out the pattern of stoplights blinking to red to help with your
timing – In the Zone

Athletics

 Scaling a cliff to get a feather from a falcon’s nest – Merlin’s Feather

 Running from the gang when you’re caught asking questions on their turf
– Working Hard For It
 Chasing down a fleeing informant – Caught You!
 Dodging the cars in the middle of the busy street as you paint a targeting
sigil – That One Almost Got Me!
 Making a parkour run over the rooftops, tracing a ley line – Charted Power

Burglary

 Stealing a personal item for a symbolic link – My Foe’s Hairbrush

 Scoping out the museum to find the pattern of the guards’ patrols – Guard
Schedule
 Solving the secret of the puzzle box – Power Unlocked
 Breaking into a meet between two foes to overhear their plans and
weaknesses – I Heard Everything
 Stealing a famous painting to trade to a faerie lord for help – For Services
Rendered

Contacts

 Finding out personal information about your target – I Know You

 Spreading a rumour to rattle your target and get him on the defenses –
Vicious Gossip
 Getting a warning when your target is ready to act against you – Every
Move You Make
 Getting a friend to share his lore with you – Borrowed Wisdom
  Co-opting a target’s circle of friends to isolate him – You’re All Alone

Conviction

 Seek the blessing of your priest – Blessed Undertaking

 Psyching yourself up to attempt the spell – I Can Do It!
 Steamrolling over others who tell you what you’re about to do is
impossible – I Think I Can, I Think I Can
 Letting your can-do attitude affect those around you – Confidence is
Contagious
 Holding true to your goals in the face of someone trying to argue you out
of them – You Won’t Change My Mind

Craftsmanship

 Carving a small figure to represent your target – Voodoo Doll

 Crafting your own magical implements for the ceremony – Hand-Made
Tools
 Sound-proofing your workshop so the street noise doesn’t distract you – A
Quiet Haven
 Creating a miniature diorama of the city to help with location spells – Little
Chicago
 Examining a target building to see where to focus the destructive power –
Weak Spots

Deceit

 Convincing an apprentice Wizard that they should give you access to their
master’s library – Lore of the Master
 Getting the fire department to show up to your rival’s house to draw him
away from a ley line you need – Ill-Gotten Power
 Disguising yourself as a security guard to get access to the museum’s
Egyptian exhibit – Mummy Dust
 Convincing one of the fey nobles that “John Doe” is your true name as
payment for knowledge – Duped Fey Lord
 Acting contrite when the cops question you so that they don’t search your
car and find the stolen spell materials – Hot Merchandise

Discipline
  Maintaining a complex mental image during the creation of the magic
circle – Focused Visualization
 Fasting for two days to purify yourself – Cleansed
 Meditating to find your centre before beginning the ritual – Centred
 Facing down a fierce river spirit to get some water from its sacred river –
Old-School Holy Water
 Keeping your ego in check when groveling for a favour from a hated rival –
Eating Crow

Driving

 Charting the quickest route between five points of a giant pentacle centred
on City Hall – Magic Street Map
 Chasing down one of the Erlking’s Hounds to get a special material
component – Fey Dog Drool
 Getting safely out of gang territory after a meet with a contact goes badly
– Home Free
 Spray painting a magic circle around a city block at speed – Mobile
Tagger
 Winning a drag race with the scion of Hermes, and thus earning his favour
– Mercury’s Respect

Empathy

 Sensing the weak spot in your target’s psyche – Chink in the Armour
 Linking your emotions with those of the target – Simpatico
 Understanding what your informant isn’t telling you – Listening to the
Silences
 Not falling for the con man’s lies and getting the real newt’s eyes instead
of tapioca – Discerning Customer
 Getting a sense of what the cops want to hear when you have to explain
your presence in the evidence locker – Say the Right Things

Endurance

 Pulling an all-nighter to work out the complex sigildry for your magic circle
– Cram Session Calculations
 Maintaining a lotus position on top of a pole while performing the ritual –
Yoga Power!
  Crawling through a faerie bramble of razor-sharp thorns to get a special
flower – Nevernever Bloodrose
 Surviving a mystic toxin after being poisoned by a spirit angry at your theft
of its power – Ghost Scorpion Survivor
 Performing a six-hour chant without needing a break – Ritual Stamina

Fists

 Snatching a handful of hair from your target – Sissy Sympathetic Link

 Triumphing in a ritual battle with a spirit, gaining its help – Wrestled With
an (Almost) Angel
 Breaking out of a ring of gang members unimpressed with the mystic sigil
you painted on their clubhouse – Arcane Tagging
 Counting coup on a buffalo spirit – Blessing of the White Bison
 Showing the proper respect to a traditional martial artist and getting him to
teach you a special Chi Gong technique – Master’s Teaching

Guns

 Using a paintball gun to hit your target with a special mixture to help you
focus the spell – Painted Target
 Casting the special alloy bullet you need to imbue with magical energy –
Mystical Gunsmithery
 Grazing a gryphon on the wing to gather the blood – Gryphon’s Blood
 Using a holy-water-filled water pistol to trace a protective sigil on a door
from a distance – God’s Supersoaker
 Finding a collector to sell you a wheellock pistol owned by Edward Kelley
– Kelley’s Gun

Intimidation

 Scaring a straight answer out of a contact – Extorted Knowledge

 Getting a fey lord to lose his temper so that he owes you a favour –
Pissed-Off Elflord
 Facing down the guardian of the sacred spring and getting your drink –
One Drink at the Hippocrene
 Getting safely through a bad neighbourhood to the spot you need to cast
the spell – …For I am the Meanest SOB in the Valley…
  Scaring off a rival who wants to poach the power from a ley line you need
– Mine, and Mine Alone

Investigation

 Double-checking the information you got from an old book – Confirmed by

Independent Sources
 Uncovering blackmail material to get the help you need from a rival – Dug-
Up Dirt
 Surveiling the target to learn her routine – Creature of Habit
 Running a background check on the target to find a weakness –
Uncovered Connections
 Finding the secret message hidden in the illustrations of a grimoire that
unlock real power – Deciphered Keys of Power

Lore

 Spending time researching the spell you want to cast – Well-Documented

Ritual
 Knowing the name of the fey spirit who knows the most about this type of
ritual – Expert Advice
 Uncovering the proper invocations to call the attention of powerful spirits –
Names of Power
 Finding the recipe for the proper pigments with which to craft the magic
circle – Enhanced Circle Paints
 Having a mystic secret to trade for one that you need – Arcane Bartering

Might

 Breaking through a locked door to snatch something personal of your

target’s – Smash and Grab Sympathetic Link
 Winning a wrestling match with a snake loa to get it to help you –
Dhamballa’s Aid
 Physically holding two mystically attracted pieces of stone until the correct
moment in the spell – Atlas’s Task
 Holding a door shut in the face of an angry troll after you stole his club –
Grimbash’s Maul
 Ceremonially snapping a sword in half to curse your foe in battle –
Swordbreaker
Performance

 Painting an intricate protective pattern within your magic circle – Detailed

Glyphs
 Using a Native American medicine dance to help focus your magic – The
Blessing Way
 Singing a song to calm the three-headed dog guarding the way out of the
Nevernever after getting information from the spirits – The Orpheus Trick
 Using complex dramaturgical rites to walk the Monster of Glamis through
the performance of MacBeth* – Curse of the Scottish Play
 Playing a sad tune on your instrument to harness the emotions of the
audience to power the ritual – Dirge of Power

Presence

 Gathering a small band of folks together to help with the ritual – My Very
Own Cult
 Getting a hearing at the local practitioners’ coffee klatch to solicit advice –
Peer Reviewed Ritual
 Letting your target know you’re coming for him, and then using the worry
that generates to help target the spell – My Reputation Precedes Me
 Not backing down when warned by very frightening demons that you
shouldn’t proceed – I’m My Own Man (or Woman)
 Having someone tell you a secret to try and curry favour with you – People
Like to Help Me

Rapport

 Getting the bartender to open up to you about the movers and shakers in
the area – Local Power Structure Scoop
 Convincing the wee folk to do some snooping for you – Little Spies
 Having friendly Wizards willing to offer some advice on constructing the
ritual – A Little Help From My Friends
 Not letting the spirits you’re bargaining with for information know that
you’re intimidated – Poker Face
 Getting a partner for a sex magic ritual – Tantric Power

Resources
  Buying enough silver to make a strong magic circle – Sterling Protection
 Having the ingredients for the ritual on hand – Well-Stocked Workshop
 Hiring a private investigator to find information about your target – Target
Dossier
 Spreading money around on the street to gather information – Money
Talks. And Listens.
 Flying to Prague to check out the Sedlec Ossuary for necromantic sigils –
Lore of the Bohemian Necromancers

Scholarship

 Tracking down a complete transcript of Dutch Schultz’s last words to

unlock their mystic secrets – French Canadian Bean Soup*
 Translating a medieval Latin grimoire to find the name of a demon that you
can bind to your service – Solomon’s Key
 Knowing enough about physics to be able to focus the least amount of
energy for the greatest effect – Optimized Force Calculations
 Checking the stars for the appropriate sidereal configuration to empower
the spell – The Stars are Right
 Bandaging the cuts you got from crawling through the junkyard to find
enough copper wire to wrap the stone that’s going to hold the lightning to
power your spell – Blood-Bought Conductor

Stealth

 Sneaking out of the library with their copy of a rare book – “Borrowed”
Necronomicon
 Hiding in the underbrush with your prize as the goblins chase past you –
Goblin Arrow
 Following your target home to help you target the spell – I Know Where
You Live
 Mugging a dark fey for his headgear – Red Cap
 Hiding in the office building until after hours in order to work your
divination in the right place – Johnny on the Spot

Survival

 Finding the rare herbs you need for the ritual – Real Mandrake Root
 Befriending cats to use as a pattern for your shapeshifting – Live Models
  Finding the hidden grove with the magic pool – Unspoiled Place of Power
 Convincing the big cats in the zoo not to eat you as you pluck one of their
facial hairs- Tiger’s Whisker
 Keeping your seat on a faerie horse as you join the fey hunt to curry
favour with their lord – Riding to Faerie Horns

Weapons

 Slicing off a piece of a Minotaur’s horn to use in your ritual – Heroic

Picador
 Performing a ritualized weapon pattern to harness and direct your
energies – Magic Kata
 Dueling another Wizard over a rare magic herb – The Last Really Magic
Mushroom
 Impressing a collector with your knowledge of Renaissance rapier makers
so he loans you a rare one – Medici Rapier on Loan
 Winning a game of darts with a leprechaun to get him to give you some of
his treasure – Faerie Gold

So, there’s a big list of 140 different things you can do to help make up that
pesky Lore deficit. If you can’t find what you need on it, I hope it at least gives
you a starting point for coming up with your own ideas.

Next post, I’m going to look at putting together a few spells, using everything I’ve
been talking about in the previous posts, and explaining the decisions at each
step. If there’s a particular spell you’d like to see me put together, let me know in
the comments of this post or through Twitter (@Neal_Rick), and I’ll see what I
can do. If you can give me the Lore, Conviction, and Discipline scores of the
Wizard creating that spell, all the better – it’ll give me some hard numbers that I
don’t need to make up.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll work out every spell request posted, because I think that
the post will be plenty long enough if I just do three or four spells. So, if you want
to make sure that your spell request gets used, make it interesting.

*Apologies to Ken Hite for stealing this one. But I try to steal from the best. Back
*This Aspect really only makes sense if you’ve read Dutch Schultz’s last words.
Back