From: | shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken) |
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Subject: | Force 1 Mask (was: rules question - mask and physical mask) |
Date: | Thu Feb 14 05:10:01 2002 |
> Damion, by "average joes", I meant non-shadowrunner or high-level NPC
> characters. 6 or 7 successes (depending on how the rules actually read)
> means that the smartest unenhanced (mentally, that is) metahuman cannot see
> through the spell. The average "average joe", with Intelligence 3, will be
> unable to see through any spell that gets 3 or 4 successes. Which means, on
> average, 6 or 8 dice - not so many if you're putting in spell pool as well.
I still don't see much of a problem. Lets take two examples, one average,
one well above average.
An average magician (Sorcery 3, Intelligence 3, Willpower 3, Magic 6 ->
Spell Pool 4) casts a Force 1 Mask/Invisibility/etc spell. They throw
everything that they can into the spell (7 dice), and only have 4 dice for
drain (being a Force 1 spell, they'll probably be OK). With a TN of 4,
they'll probably get 3 or 4 successes. Resisting this spell is an average
Joe with Intelligence 3. He'll need 2's and will probably get 3. So, on
average, an average magician will fool an average Joe with a Force 1 spell.
Sometimes the caster will get 2 successes, sometimes 5, and sometimes the
average Joe will get 3 successes and see through the spell. Usually he will
be fooled.
However, the same magician could almost never fool an exceptionally alert
individual (Intelligence 6) with the same spell. To do so, the magician
would need to roll all successes or so on all of his dice. Needing 4's this
is possible, but rather unlikely.
However, an exceptional magician (Sorcery 6, Intelligence 6, Willpower 6,
Magic 6 -> Spell Pool 6), will be able to fool this exceptionally alert
individual with about the same chances as the average magician fooling the
average Joe. Such a good spellcaster would be able to fool an Average Joe
pretty much every time, guaranteed.
So, average spellcasters can fool average people, and good spellcasters can
fool good people. Where's the problem, exactly?
--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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