From: cpbeaure@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu (Chris Beauregard)
Subject: Re: SR: Non-animal totems
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 21:31:48 GMT

In article <mxr.716058623@neptune> mxr@neptune.dsc.com (Max "Detestable Lamia" Rible) writes:
>ins769v@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Veltyen) writes:
>>John M. Scheibeler (uplink@cwis.unomaha.edu) wrote:
>>: mxr@neptune.dsc.com (Max "Vicious Audacious Melon" Rible) writes:
>
>>: >(I wouldn't permit turning a modern rigged vehicle with lots of fancy
>>: >high-tech materials into an Ally, but having an antique-style hand-built
>>: >car has *style*!)  
>
>>:    Why not?  I think having your hand-built Eurocar Westwind 2000 (with 
>>: Turbo option) would be a neat idea.  But why a Rolls-Royce?  The 
>>: traditional symbol of freedom of the open road, the Pink Cadillac or the
>>: T-bird, would be even more stylish.
>
>> _American_ symbols of freedom.
>>In Australia if you want a car with style you get a Commodore HSV.
>>But thats just my opinion.
>>Anyway, ever seen a Cadi or T-Bird built by hand?
>>Get a Ferari, some of those are still handbuilt.
>
>The point is that there are too many high-tech materials involved in
>modern cars.  Something forged by a blacksmith is not going to be as
>good at holding together under stress as modern materials would allow,
>but those modern materials are too highly processed to enchant
>something out of.  You need more than just hand-assembled, you need
>to make sure the parts didn't even come out of a factory.  Mass
>production kills the telesma quality.

Well, if you worked at it long and hard enough you can enchant high-tech
objects to some extent.  Whycan't a high-tech object with a history of
exposure to magic have similar capabilities to any other chunk of magic?
Take, for example, a generic Rolls.  Give it a history of exposure.
Houdini drove it to work daily right up 'til death, when it was bought
by some gypsy type for use with her business.  Maybe this individual
drove it through some weird whit everyone in a while.  What next?
Someone drove it into a Dead Zone for a thrill, left it there, and
eventually some spirit in the car got sick n' tired of sitting there
(and besides, it needed a new paint job) and got itself out of there.  I
figure, as long as the new owner shares a similar magical lifestyle to
previous owners and treats it with a certain amount of pride and such
(like, doesn't sell it to some sarariman for commuting) it'll keep that
magical edge.

Same thing with a computer.  Who says that deck wasn't built from the
guts of the first Echo Mirage prototype (in which 12 deckers got their
brains toasted).  Maybe some spirit of a real pissed of decker kicked
around to help the younger generation in protecting the matrix from real
bad shit like that virus.  

The point is, exceptions can be made.  Just 'cause it don't look magical
doesn't mean there isn't magic in it.  And just 'cause the rules say it
isn't so...well, I'll let you finish that...

>| Max Rible   | mxr@dsc.com           | "Powerful big rats, gentlemen."       |
>|             | rible@vorpal.ucsb.edu |                         - Neil Gaiman |

Chris Beauregard                                cpbeaure@napier.uwaterloo.ca
Warning:  These premises protected by reality.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc