From:	jaimie.nicholson@********.otago.ac.nz (Jaimie Nicholson)
Subject:	Re: Magic on the astral
Date:	Thu, 26 Sep 1996 12:38:53 +1200 (NZST)

Nightblade:

>How
>did Ronin get tricked out of his body anyway?

Did you spot sjwelch's thing on the spirit's story? It was Evita to
Edgewood... couple of days back. Anyways, there was Ronin stuck in the
zone, bleeding to death, and he wandered into the home terrtory of a
spirit, which (through a combo of astral gateway, home ground, and
possession powers) forced him into astral combat, and snatched his body. It
healed him up, and made a break out, leaving the astral form of Ronin back
in the zone (d'oh!).

Mark:

>That's a bit like expecting a person immersed in the ocean for a long time
>to develop gills, don't you think? =)

I prefer to think of it as someone swimming at the surface of the ocean for
a long time to learn to pick up a handful of water and throw it at someone
:P

Wadswat:

>We could also continue the genetics look at this. If the "Magus Gene"
exists,
>and the system posits that it does, what is to stop a mundane aura trapped
>in the astral from having a single-generation mutation and adapting itself to
>its new environment? Survive or die....

Why should the aura have the limitations of the genetic structure of the
body? As far as I interpret the rules, the magus gene forms the link from
astral to physical, and that's all. It doesn't give the ability to shape
mana when it arrives (that requires learning a spell, and a sorcery skill
helps).

Mark:

>Not silly, but not balanced either...

It's taken a pretty damn rare combination of circumstances, and it's
costing Ronin his body. And remember, he'll always be taking physical
drain, and if he ever does get his body back, he won't continue to have
magical ability.

PLAYTHING OF A CRUEL GOD
JAIMIE NICHOLSON