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Message no. 1
From: The Deb Decker <RJR96326@****.UTULSA.EDU>
Subject: Flare's Question
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1993 16:04:33 -0500
I'm quoting from a private one from Flare, cuz I think it's an
important question:

>>But - and here's the big one- what's the difference between an AOE and a
>>single-target spell grounded through a quickening?

>>My understanding is that there _IS_ no difference: the spell can only affect
>>the point the quickening is bonded to, and nothing else, and that the spell
>>type must be physical, not mana.

No. With both Spell Locks and Quickenings, an AoE spell affects everything
within the AoE of the spell that the mage can see from his position in Astral
Space.

Also, to clarify things: In all cases the attacking spell must be physical,
but the target spell type is irrelevant. You can ground a fireball through
a locked Mond Probe, but can't toss Manaball through anything.

All of this is my best guess; this is the first time I've read up on magic,
and with the added confusion of the errata, I could be wrong. BUT, it makes
sense to me.

J Roberson
Message no. 2
From: "Richard C. Osterhout" <rcoster@*****.NET>
Subject: Re: Flare's Question
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1993 17:07:50 -0400
i still stick by my position that i posted last night with the page refs
from SR2 sourcebook, in that in order to ground, there must be a physical
component that is present on both planes, astral and mundane...

mages cannot cast spells at other spells...when grounding, you are casting
the spell at the aura of the spelllock...it is the spell lock that you
have to overcome before the spell will ground, not the spell that the lock
is sustaining...you can spelllock a level 16 armor spell if you want, but
an astral mage will use the target number for the spell lock, not the spell...

summary:
ground through a spell lock ok
ground through a dual natured creature ok
ground through a mage using astral perception ok
ground through a weapon/power/etc focus ok
ground through a quickened spell no

i read the passage again, and as you can see from above, i came to some
interesting conclusions...since a mage using astral perception has opened
his senses to the astral plane, he is "opening a bridge" between his meat
body and the astral plane...similarly, a dual natured creature, such as a
barghest, exist simultaneously on the astral and mundane plane, and
therefore provide the bridge; because of this, that corp guard with the
trained barghest is in for quite a surprise when an astral mage drops a
fireball spell on his doggie's aura!

i think this also helps with the problem i am/was/whatever having with the
mages in the party being more powerful than the samurai...being able to
hit them when they are astrally perceiving (they tend to do it almost
constantly, they don't care about the +2 mod for all TNs) with grounding
spells will even things up a bit....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| rcoster@*****.net Currently in Baltimore, MD |
| Richard C. Osterhout but hope to be home in |
| professional nerd Orlando, FL soon!!! |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 3
From: "Stephen R. Wilcoxon" <wilcoxon@****.EDU>
Subject: Re: Flare's Question
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1993 23:48:20 -0400
rcoster@*****.net said:
> i read the passage again, and as you can see from above, i came to some
> interesting conclusions...since a mage using astral perception has opened
> his senses to the astral plane, he is "opening a bridge" between his meat
> body and the astral plane...similarly, a dual natured creature, such as a
> barghest, exist simultaneously on the astral and mundane plane, and
> therefore provide the bridge; because of this, that corp guard with the
> trained barghest is in for quite a surprise when an astral mage drops a
> fireball spell on his doggie's aura!

I agree with your summary with the exception of quickenings. In the
description of quickenings in Grim II it says "the spell is given a
permanent 'circuit' into astral space that keeps it running". To me this
translates as "in lieu of a spell lock, the quickening causes the
individual the spell is quickened to to act as the physical 'anchor' for
the spell". For a spell to stay around there are three ways of continuing
its effects: 1) the mage concentrates on it (sustaining), 2) the spell lock
"anchors" the spell to itself, or 3) the quickening "anchors" the
spell to
the person. So, you can ground a spell through a quickening (IMHO). This
should keep people from quickening spells using only 1 Karma as well.
Hmm, looking at what I just wrote, it seems that spell anchoring could
be described as just an extension of the above...


Twilight

The Crystal Wind is the Storm, and the Storm is Data, and the Data is Life.
-- The Player's Litany

Further Reading

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