From:	Phil Smith phil_urbanhell@*******.com
Subject:	Limited spells vs. masking (restricted target combat spells)
Date:	Wed, 28 Jun 2000 17:25:39 GMT

>From: Steve Collins <einan@*********.net>
>How about making it a new Metamagical ability. Call it Alter Aura, every
>time you select this as your new metamagical ability you "learn" a new
>specific form (can be any living creature you are familiar with including
>a spell or magical construct but obviously if the mage sees a human with
>his eyes and you have your Arua Altered to be a Dog he's going to know
>something is up) and for specific spells they affect your new astral form
>(for example if you are an Elf and have your Aura altered to appear as a
>Cat and someone casts detect Elf they do not see you but if they cast
>detect cat they do), not your base. Alternately add the Initiate grade to
>the TN for the specific spell. You can sustain the effect for Initiate
>Grade X D6 X 10 minutes and can change to each form known once per day.
>Also use the rules to see through Masking for another initiate mage to
>see your true Aura.

This has potential for more than that; say, for example, you didn't want
your cyberware to show up in your aura or even make it appear like another
individual's for the purposes of recognising an aura. Obviously, this would
be a bit powerful.

You could choose a false piece of information you wanted to appear in your
aura like emotional state, race, physical state, the presence of cyberware
ect. If anyone assesnses you they will gain that information instead of the
normal stuff, unless they get more successes than your initiate grade in
which case they know that you have altered your aura.

Bear in mind that you sacrifice the chance to learn another metamagical
technique to change your aura and even then it is difficult; astral
perception is (bar masking) the only unbeatable method of detection in SR
and should be messed with using a lot of caution at best.

Phil
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