From:	TalonMail@***.com TalonMail@***.com
Subject:	Buildings, doors, maglocks, and magic
Date:	Mon, 12 Jun 2000 16:52:17 EDT

Gurth wrote:
>This was brought up by the player's character, a houngan, having learned

>an SR3 version of the SR1 spell Turn To Goo with the specific intention of

>turning doors or locks to goo to gain easy entrance to buildings or rooms.

Ah, Turn to Goo, how I love that spell. FWIW, I actually did write a version
of TtG in the SR3 magic chapter, but it was cut in the final edit, which is
why the dwarf mage in the "See How the Run" intro story uses it, even though
it technically doesn't exist in the game. Here's the version of the spell
that was cut:

-----
Turn To Goo
Type: P, Target: B or OR, Duration: S, Drain: +2S

Turn to Goo breaks down the target’s molecular cohesion, reducing it to a

puddle of sludge. The Threshold is half the target’s Body or Barrier
Rating.
So long as the material is kept together, the target will return to normal
when the spell ends. If the material is dispersed or separated, the target is
(messily) destroyed when the spell ends. Living targets are not conscious
while under the effects of this spell.
-----

As for TtG being a "killer" spell, the inclusion of a Threshold makes it no
worse than a powerbolt for killing most targets, and actually less effective
against the high-Body types (ex. a serious damage powerbolts needs only 2 net
successes to kill its target, for +1S drain. Turn to Goo needs 2 successes
for Body 4, 3 for Body 6, and 4+ for those Body 8+ metas. Plus TtG is
sustained so they're not dead unless you disperse the goo first.

As for using TtG on parts of buildings, I've always allowed it. The example I
use is if I walk up to a car, rap on its door and say to someone "what's
this?" the most likely answer is "a car". On the other hand, if I walk up
to
a house, put my hand on the front door and say "what's this?" the most likely
answer is " a door" not "a house" or "a building". Plus, of
course, it's a
game balance thing, and FASA decided that being able to target parts of
vehicles was too powerful because its very easy to take out a vehicle if you
are capable of pinpoint accuracy with a weapon that can't miss (like a
powerbolt). Buildings tend not to be as much of a problem, IMHO. In fact,
it's probably too powerful to let single-target spells affect entire
buildings without being massive area spells.

Hope that helps,

Steve Kenson

Talon Studio
http://members.aol.com/talonmail