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Message no. 1
From: Andy Gardner <A.Gardner@******.COM>
Subject: Elemental Powers
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 23:25:10 +0000
Here's a fun little query.
In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
meta-physical arguement can go either way.

Any POV's ?



Fox on the Net
ICQ UIN - 5239612
Message no. 2
From: Justin Pinnow <vanyel@*******.NET>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 07:56:45 -0500
> From: Andy Gardner <A.Gardner@******.COM>
> Date: Thursday, February 05, 1998 6:25 PM

> Here's a fun little query.
> In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
> necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
> just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
> background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
> dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
> the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
> examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
> That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
> meta-physical arguement can go either way.

> Any POV's ?

Of course. ;)

I'm not an expert or anything, but methinks walking into a cloud of white
phosphorous would be pretty suicidal. I mean, unless you LIKE burning your
flesh off or something.

Anyway, I believe that Elementals have some control over their element (I
mean, why not?), but I don't want to turn them into gods, either. I say
just stick with the book, unless you feel they need more power/diversity in
your campaign. I don't think they do.

> Fox on the Net
> ICQ UIN - 5239612

Justin :)
Message no. 3
From: William Gallas <wgallas@*****.FR>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 14:09:44 +0100
>Here's a fun little query.
>In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
>necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
>just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
>background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
>dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
>the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
>examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
>That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
>meta-physical arguement can go either way.
>
>Any POV's ?

I would say they're capable of reducing elemental intensity. They could
provide additional dices to resist damage or could reduce power by their
force.
However, I would also state that elemental spirit is capable of handling
the fire but NOT the source of this fire. In your exemple, it could
manipulate the fire but not the phosphorous emanation. That becomes
important if the agent creating the burning is on you. I would state it
continues to heat you and the elemental only acts on secondary effects (the
flames).

An argument to the fact that it's difficult for a fire elemental to reduce
efficiency of a fire is that it's easier in SR to boost a magic effect than
to reduce it (see increase and decrease of the area of effect of spells).
Anyway, you could have used the fire elemental to make you run more quickly
out of the fire zone, which is a standard SR power.


Cobra.

E-mail adress : wgallas@*****.fr
Quote : "Never trust an elf"
Message no. 4
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 07:07:28 -0700
Andy Gardner wrote:
/
/ Here's a fun little query.
/ In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
/ necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
/ just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
/ background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
/ dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
/ the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
/ examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
/ That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
/ meta-physical arguement can go either way.
/
/ Any POV's ?

I feel that elementals would *not* be able to diminish their
element. An elemental is a force of nature. They would have neither
the need nor the desire to diminish their element. They would
however revel in enhancing their element.

Having said that, a would allow the fire elemental to engulf the mage
without damaging him, and carry the mage through the fire and spew
him out on the other side.

-David
--
"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
--
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
Message no. 5
From: HAUPT ULRICH FB08 <sandman@****.UNI-OLDENBURG.DE>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 15:27:16 MEZ-1MESZ
On Thu, 5 Feb 1998 23:25:10 Andy Gardner wrote:

> Here's a fun little query.
> In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
> necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
> just fired into the corridor behind him.

<snip fire elemental thing>

Though I study physic and not chemistry white phosphorus is very
toxic. I think your mage has a good chance to die because of being
poisoned.
Any chemists among us ???

Sandman
Message no. 6
From: Lehlan Decker <decker@****.FSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 10:26:33 -0500
On Thu, Feb 05, 1998 at 11:25:10PM +0000, Andy Gardner wrote:
> Here's a fun little query.
> In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
> necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
> just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
> background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
> dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
> the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
> examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
> That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
> meta-physical arguement can go either way.
>
> Any POV's ?
Depends on the strength of the flames, and the level of the fire
elemental, but I would let you give it a shot. A resisted test
of some sort, Force vs "level of fire" (to be determined by GM and
circumstances).


--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Lehlan Decker 644-4534 Systems Development
decker@****.fsu.edu http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~decker
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Some people are alive, only because its illegal to kill them.
Message no. 7
From: Mike Bobroff <AirWisp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 10:56:44 EST
In a message dated 98-02-06 07:39:37 EST, you write:

> Here's a fun little query.
> In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
> necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
> just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
> background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
> dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
> the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
> examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
> That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
> meta-physical arguement can go either way.
>
> Any POV's ?

Fox, one of the things we do in the home game here in Lafayette is that we
expanded greatly the range of the Spirit Guard power to encompass a lot more
things other than protecting from the Accident power. We translated into
additionally as armor against similar types of effects (a fire elemental could
provide armor against fires at a rating equal to it's force), and other things
(guard for a water spirit / elemental could allow water breathing, and
increase the depth maximum for a diver) ...

Mike
Message no. 8
From: Predator Omega <ba1764@*******.BAYNET.DE>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 16:58:58 +0100
Andy Gardner schrieb:
>
> Here's a fun little query.
> In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
> necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
> just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
> background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
> dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
> the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
> examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
> That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
> meta-physical arguement can go either way.
>
> Any POV's ?
>

I'd say the elemental should be able to protect the caster, or any other
persons the casters wishes the elemental to do so, form the effects of
the fire, but not the material causing it. E.g. the damage due heat or
due burning could be prevented, but the character could suffucate due
the lack of oxygen.

Speaking in rules, perhaps the elemental could provide dices for the
damage resistance or lower the power niveau by elemental's force.

BTW, this is a bit off-topic but according to FANPRO (German seller of
SR) white phoshporus can do Elemental Damage. A spirit has only his
normal forces as protection against it, not it's doubbled force as for
defending against Normal Weapons (firearms). The Elemental Damage does
not come form the phosphorus itself, but form the fire caused by the WP.
Same for water cannons.

CU
Predator
Message no. 9
From: Zixx <t_berghoff@*********.NETSURF.DE>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 20:54:52 +0000
On 5 Feb 98 at 23:25, Andy Gardner wrote:

> Here's a fun little query.
> In a recent game my mage character decided that it was a good a
> necessary idea to walk back into the cloud of White Phos that he had
> just fired into the corridor behind him. (Fortunately in my
> background I said that my mage wasn't afraid of fire.) After that it
> dawned on me that I might be able to use a fire elemental to control
> the flames around me and avoid taking damage. Unfortunately all the
> examples in the books show elementals enhancing their element.
> That doesn't say it's not possible but it is a pointer and the
> meta-physical arguement can go either way.
>
> Any POV's ?

Check out the "Control Fire" spell from Awakenings.



Tobias Berghoff a.k.a Zixx a.k.a. Charon, your friendly werepanther physad.

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t+(++) 5+ X++ R* tv b++ DI(+) D++ G>++
e>+++++(*) h! r-- z?
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Message no. 10
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 11:44:49 +0100
HAUPT ULRICH FB08 said on 15:27/ 6 Feb 98...

> Though I study physic and not chemistry white phosphorus is very
> toxic. I think your mage has a good chance to die because of being
> poisoned.
> Any chemists among us ???

Once upon a time I was going to be, I don't know if that counts :) I'm not
sure if WP is toxic, but even if it is I don't think you have to worry
much about that side-effect, as it spontaneously ignites on contact with
oxygen at reasonably low temperatures (something like 35 degrees, IIRC
(that's degrees Celsius, for everyone thinking in Fahrenheit)) so you have
to be more worried about having it burn into your skin, clothes, and
everything else when it comes into contact with you.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html - UIN5044116
Do the Evolution.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

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Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
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Message no. 11
From: "Paul J. Adam" <shadowrn@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: Elemental Powers
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 23:22:20 +0000
In article <199802071043.LAA20174@*****.xs4all.nl>, Gurth
<gurth@******.NL> writes
>Once upon a time I was going to be, I don't know if that counts :) I'm not
>sure if WP is toxic, but even if it is I don't think you have to worry
>much about that side-effect, as it spontaneously ignites on contact with
>oxygen at reasonably low temperatures (something like 35 degrees, IIRC

One massive problem of WP is that it produces an intensely toxic
byproduct in contact with flesh, even if it's not burning at the time.
It's _nasty_. Also, any pieces of WP caught in your clothing (or in
your flesh) may re-ignite at any time, and burn until consumed,
producing a toxic acid byproduct as they do so.

There's also the minor issue of walking through a WP conflagration,
being "what am I breathing?" A good fire is consuming the oxygen, and
you need that stuff to live.

There's a _reason_ to be afraid of fire :)


--
There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable and
praiseworthy...

Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk

Further Reading

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