| From: | John E Pederson <lobo1@****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Astral Targeting <warning-grounding involved> |
| Date: | Mon, 14 Jul 1997 19:50:28 EDT |
<NAGELBH@******.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU> writes:
<<My take on spell targeting prior to hearing of the correction in the
3rd printing was this: All spells need a 'bridge' from astral to the
physical to affect the target.>>
With you so far...
<<In grounding, an active focus provides this astral-to-physical
bridge.>>
Still with you:)
<<Otherwise, something must provide it. In the case of my previous
understanding, wherein physical sight (not assensing) could provide this,
allowing the spell to travel to the target's aura and ground from it into
their physical form (doing damage or what-have-you).>>
Okay, now our opinions diverge:) I've always figured spells ground into
the auras of astrally inactive auras (like that of a mundane or inaminate
object) by traveling through a sort of 'limbo' somewhere between the
etheric and mundane planes. On further thought, this doesn't quite work,
but...
<<Something needed to provide this bridge. Now, if they reversed
themselves in the 3rd printing and decided that assensing *could* target
a spell for a target you could not physically see, well... Now there is
a gap.>>
I'm still not sure what you mean. The book doesn't say that you can
target something you can't see (except indirectly in the case of
area-effect Manipulations), but it does say you cannot directly target a
person that you cannot see, because you cannot 'see' their aura to synch
with it. The caster has to have LOS to the target (and yes, glass and
mirrors, as well as partial cover modifiers, count). As I said in
another post, if you have enough LOS to aim a gun at them (or their
image, in the case of mirrors), you can target them with a spell. The
advantage of Astral Perceiving is being able to ignore lighting modifiers
(under normal circumstances).
<<What forms the 'bridge' here? Their astral-aura-to-body connection?
No, because if they are a mundane, or a magician lacking active foci, you
cannot cast spells on them from the astral, can you? An active focus on
them would allow you to, because it is a constant bridge. When astral
(assensing or projecting) you could only cast at astrally active targets
(spirits, foci, barriers, et cetera).>>
Warning!
Grounding Ahead!
Warning!
Not so, because you are still active on the physical plane while
perceiving, you're still receiving info from those senses, they've just
been shoved a bit out of the way in order to give the astral information
dominance. Spells seem to be a special case, because they require that
the caster have a presence on the same plane as the target of the spell,
not that the spell itself be active on the physical plane (were it that
way, you'd only be able to cast physical manipulations at mundanes and
inanimate objects). Spells seem to create their effect by manifesting in
a very specific way which releases that energy on the target according to
the caster's desires. The spell effect is produced by the transfer of a
spell's astral energy to the physical plane, resulting in a *temporarily*
dual-natured entity, which almost immediately afterward becomes
single-natured (extrapolating this from the description in the Grimoire).
Sustained spells create a similar effect, but they must (seemingly)
remain dual-natured so long as they are sustained. Also, the act of
spell-casting connects the auras of the casting magician and that of
his/her target(s). Presumably, one can ground through a sustained spell
(or a sustaining magician) by nature of this fact (you know, for the
first time in my life, I begin to see the logic behind that stance), and
grounding in this manner could also hit the target(s) of the spell, as
well as hitting the spell and magician sustaining it. The reason you
can't ground through a sustained spell:
The spell construct is the same as the spell itself, and the channel that
the magician opens up to funnel astral energy into it is part of the
spell. They are one and the same and it is never implied (IMO) that they
are separate distinct entities in astral space. And a spell cannot target
another spell (p 148, SR2). This is also the only reason I can think of
for not being able to ground through a sustained Manipulation
(Manipulations seem (to me) to be dual-natured by the description I read
on 150 of SR2). Note: manipulations require a physical presence in order
to be cast.
This most recent insight also explains to me why a magician suffers Drain
from casting a spell: it's not the channeling of astral energy through
his body, he doesn't channel astral energy through his body or you'd have
a sustaining magician suffer drain *every*turn*the*spell*is*sustained*.
The Drain is the result of the act of will involved in making the astral
energy do what you want, the act of making it work according to the
formula of the spell being cast.
<<This is why I thought the way I did, and would like an explanation if
someone has one handy, as to how a bridge for the spell is formed without
physical senses finding the target.>>
The magician's physical senses still need to be able to locate and obtain
LOS to the target, they just don't need to be the dominant set of senses.
Disclaimer: this post may inflame certain sensitivities. This is not
intentional. All opinions expressed in this post are, by no means, the
only way of interpreting the rules as they are written. The expressed
opinions are mine, and mine alone, and, while they may be shared by other
members of this mailing list, they are still an opinion, nothing more.
--
-Canthros (Wow! I think that's the most reasoned statement I've ever had
on this subject!)
I had rather believe all the fables in the legends and the Talmud
and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a mind.
--Francis Bacon
http://members.aol.com/canthros1
