| From: | Simon Fuller sfuller@******.com.au |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Blind and Astrally Perceiving... |
| Date: | Sun, 23 Apr 2000 10:07:28 +1000 |
From: Atis K. <oogis@******.net>
To: shadowrn@*********.com <shadowrn@*********.com>
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2000 9:02 AM
Subject: Blind and Astrally Perceiving...
>Greetings to the Glitterati...
>
>A question for all, as I am not quite sure how to resolve this issue. Any
>input would be appreciated:
>
>I have recently worked up a dwarf bat shaman character. In the interest of
>role-playing, I gave him the "blind" flaw ("+2 to target mods for
visual
>tests based solely in the physical world."), as well as the
"perceptive"
>edge ("-1 target mod for all Perception tests, including Astral
>Perception."). The idea is that in "real-life" this character is
fairly
>helpless without sight. However, he is quite comfortable at home in the
>astral, whether perceiving or projecting. However, Astral Perception
>confers "+2 to any target number for purely mundane activity while astrally
>perceiving."
>
> My question to the list is, what is considered a "visual test based
>*solely* in the physical world" (reading? spotting a pedestrian in a
>crowd?); and what is the overlap between the aforementioned tests and
>"Perception tests"? In what cases could bump the negative modifier down
>to -1? And then, to further complicate things, what is considered a
"purely
>mundane activity" (shooting? The target has an astral presence...driving?
>seems like it, but am I missing something?) in regards to the Astral
>Perception modifier?
>
> I realize that this is a wide-open question. But any input would help
>me figure out how to roleplay this character's strengths and weaknesses
>better. If you can add any possible permutations of these situational
>modifiers, please do.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Watcher in the Darkness
>
Firstly, good concept. It is impossible to read using astral perception, all
you can get are vague emotional feelings, but the text is illegible from the
astral. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it is based on real
life recollections of astral travel (This is just an observation, please do
NOT go into if you think its real or not, I believe that is one of the
forbidden subjects, everyone).
Finding a single aura in a crowd would be like trying to hear a fountain in
a rainstorm. Whatever target number you put on this, it should be very high.
I also think that while you are astrally perceiving, the modifiers for that
would supersede any others, since you are not using your flesh eyes at all.
I think that any test based solely on the physical world means basically
anything nonmagical. It is hard to target vital areas on a person when all
you can see is a big glowing blur of an aura, and although you can see
nonliving objects, they may have a very different appearance astrally than
they do mundanely. A car may look like a wire frame construction, you can
see the edges, and even the surfaces if you concentrate, but it all looks
very insubstantial.
Is there anything that says that perception of the astral has to be visual?
Why not have the bat shaman use a kind of astral sonar? I think the only
difference would be the descriptive. For example, instead of saying that a
mage has a bright aura, you'd say she had a solid aura. Cyberware would not
look like dark patches, instead it would 'feel' (there are no words for the
experience of the sonar sense) like there were soft spongy patches. I
believe that a lot of how you experience the Astral depends on your outlook,
so for a bat shaman it might make sense that the astral would be the last
place that they have sight, because that is where they are closest to their
totem.
