From: covin@tartarus.uchicago.edu (David Covin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SRUN: Toning down mages
Date: 28 Jul 92 19:38:45 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago Computer Science

In article <ward1.712333221@husc8> ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward) writes:

   chem7l@elroy.uh.edu writes:
   >First, I treat any item or effect (including Quickening) that a mage has put 
   >karma into as a suitable link for ritual magic.

   Then why bother Quickening?  If I can pay 1 karma point to lock a spell
   or many karma points to quicken a spell for the same effect, why pay more.
   It can't be the money; any moron can make a spell lock for near nothing.

Well, quickening still makes it astrally tougher.  I can't see either
rule coming into play much, though-- in order to use a bonded thing as
a material link to you, your enemies have to get it from you first.
You're sure as hell gonna know about it; and if they can get close
enough to you to steal a broach off your cloak or a wand from your
belt, they could probably steal a lock of hair anyhow.

Things like the Quickening example in the Grimoire (setting a Stink
spell on a bar) get a bit more dangerous; if someone wants to set up a
ritual sorcery team in the middle of the bar, then under this rule
they could nail the Rat shaman who cast the foul spell.  If he didn't
hide his link to it in the Meta-planes, of course.

Quickening still gets you the advantage that a Quickened spell has no
physical part-- astral guerillas cannot ground a fireball into it and
expect to nail you.

   >Second, I consider any sustained spell to be astrally active, and therefor  
   >vulnerable in astral space. 

   The rules do to.

   > Spells can't be used on them of course, but they
   >can still be destroyed.

   Spells .can. be used against them, they just can't .ground. through them.
   A spell can be cast an any astrally active object (mage, foci, other spell)
   and will engage it in astral combat.  [ clever tactic deleted ]

Well, the SRI rules state explicitly that spells cannot be used to attack
other spells in astral space; they ignore each other.

   >Third, I make the shift to astral projection or perception take one action.

   This becomes offcial in SRII.

I thought it was official in SRI.

   >Most importantly, my NPCs (and PCs) take advantage of the vulnerablility to 
   >sudden astral attack.  However, I also rule that foci are not actually astrally
   >active except when in use.  This keeps people from being killed by their power
   >focus while asleep.  (Spell locks, however, are always in use...)

   I didn't used to agree with the last sentence, but I've been persuaded (and
   so has FASA) otherwise.  In SRII foci (including spell locks) can be turned
   on and off.  I'm still not sure I like that.  I completely agree with that
   first line.

Um, there's a bit in SRI about having to activate a focus before it
can be used, activating it taking an action, and activation causing it
to have an astral presence.  There's also a limit on how many *active*
foci you can have at once.  It seems implied that at other times foci
are "off."

   >Just my personal ideas on how to control mages.  How does everyone else do it?

Well, in the game I'm currently playing in, we're not (controlled).
I'd guess that putting more emphasis on the Force with which a spell
is actually cast would help. (Why should I bother to learn Increase
Reaction +4 at Force-6 when I can learn it at Force-1 for 1 karma
point, cast it at Force-1 and dump my entire Sorcery pool into it for
the requisite 1 success, then lock it?).  Also, the Increase Attribute
spells need to scale up in difficulty with higher pluses, which they
really don't.  Yes, Increase Attribute +4 has Deadly drain, but even
if I were casting it at Force-6, which there's no reason to do, I'm
not going to take physical damage, and if I'm going to lock it all I
care about is reducing the drain one stage so I can lock it
successfully before taking a long rest break.  Why would anyone learn
the +3, +2, etc. versions?  There's no difference in price, either in
karma or nuyen.

--
David Covin                           covin@despair.uchicago.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc