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Message no. 1
From: Shane Courtrille <hardware@*******.DATANET.AB.CA>
Subject: Magic: A basic question
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 01:02:05 +0000
Now... I have read magic a few times.. and have gotten confused over
this.. I guess its because of my major AD&Destroy experience. Now
when you cast hellblast.. what exactly happens? Its an area effect
spell so any aura (living things are the only things with auras as
far as I know) you can target gets hit correct? So ok... now
elemental effects come into play (well maybe hellblast dosen't have
ellemental effects.. I am not sure.. its late and my books are at my
friends) so.. is there a GIANT fireball that encompasses everyone?
or is everyone affected seperatly.. maybe a minor fireblast around
them? I have always been confused about this... :)

And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits
the persons aura... there is no visible light or anything between you
and them correct? Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very
visible..


hehehe Help!!!
*wave*
Shane Courtrille - hardware@*******.ab.ca
HTTP://www.datanet.ab.ca/users/hardware
http://wwp.mirabilis.com/360126 for my ICQ Pager
Message no. 2
From: Bull <chaos@*****.COM>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 06:17:27 -0500
At 01:02 AM 1/29/01 +0000, Shane Courtrille wrote these timeless words:
>Now... I have read magic a few times.. and have gotten confused over
>this.. I guess its because of my major AD&Destroy experience. Now
>when you cast hellblast.. what exactly happens? Its an area effect
>spell so any aura (living things are the only things with auras as
>far as I know) you can target gets hit correct? So ok... now
>elemental effects come into play (well maybe hellblast dosen't have
>ellemental effects.. I am not sure.. its late and my books are at my
>friends) so.. is there a GIANT fireball that encompasses everyone?
>or is everyone affected seperatly.. maybe a minor fireblast around
>them? I have always been confused about this... :)
>
Most magical effects like this are, IMO, up to the GM and the player. I
always saw it as one big-ass fireball... It encompasses the whole area. I
don't really see "Aura's" coming into effect here... This is a physical
spell, so you can use this to, say, blow up a helicopter... (espeially one
with two people in it we needed alive at the time... *sigh*)

>And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits
>the persons aura... there is no visible light or anything between you
>and them correct? Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very
>visible..
>
Once again, this is mostly up to the GM and player... Magic works how you
think it does, so if the mage sees his spell as being visible, his version
would be visible. I can't remember off hand, and am too lazy to go dig out
the rulebook, so is the manadarts spell physical? If so, then as a GM I'd
be inclined to have it be visible. As a player, my mage character, Chaos,
prefers his spells visible (and Flashy!!) so once again, it would be
visible, like the magic missile example from above...

Bull
--
Now the Offical Shadowrn mailing List Welcome Ork!
Fearless Leader of the Star Wars Mailing List

=======================================================
= Bull, aka Chaos, aka Rak, aka Steven Ratkovich =
= chaos@*****.com =
= "Order is Illusion! Chaos is Bliss! Got any fours?" =
=======================================================

"I finally find a guy I like, and you got to go and kill him!"
-Kom, "Outlanders"
Message no. 3
From: Ray & Tamara <macey@*******.COM.AU>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 21:54:08 +1100
> Now... I have read magic a few times.. and have gotten confused over
> this.. I guess its because of my major AD&Destroy experience. Now
> when you cast hellblast.. what exactly happens? Its an area effect
> spell so any aura (living things are the only things with auras as
> far as I know) you can target gets hit correct?

Anything with an aura is attacked, but everything has an aura. Mana spells
are the ones that only affect living targets (and magic targets and the
like).

> So ok... now
> elemental effects come into play (well maybe hellblast dosen't have
> ellemental effects.. I am not sure.. its late and my books are at my
> friends) so.. is there a GIANT fireball that encompasses everyone?
> or is everyone affected seperatly.. maybe a minor fireblast around
> them? I have always been confused about this... :)

Hellblast has an elemental effect, but being a combat spell (as opposed to
a damaging manipulation), and hence the elemental effect only effects those
that are damaged by the spell anyway. The fire therefore probably appears
on the targer, not as a ball of fire. However, the walls, bookshelves,
floor, maybe even the dust in the air are all valid targets, so it may
APPEAR to be a large ball of fire.

> And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits
> the persons aura... there is no visible light or anything between you
> and them correct? Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very
> visible..

This is correct, though someone that is looking for it may make a
perception test with a target number equal to 10 (or maybe 8) minus the
force of the spell. If they make it, they see a shimmer racing through the
air.

Ray.
Message no. 4
From: "Q (not from Star Trek)" <Scott.E.Meyer@*******.EDU>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 12:28:13 -0600
On Sat, 1 Mar 1997, Bull wrote:

> Once again, this is mostly up to the GM and player... Magic works how you
> think it does, so if the mage sees his spell as being visible, his version
> would be visible. I can't remember off hand, and am too lazy to go dig out
> the rulebook, so is the manadarts spell physical?

No, the manadart is not physical. That's why it's called a _mana_dart.
The physical version is the powerdart. Whether or not this has any
bearing on whether the spell is visible or not is up to you.

If so, then as a GM I'd
> be inclined to have it be visible. As a player, my mage character, Chaos,
> prefers his spells visible (and Flashy!!) so once again, it would be
> visible, like the magic missile example from above...

In that case, i'd suggest he learn powerdart. Again, imho.

-Q

---------------------------------------
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human
stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein

Scott "Q" Meyer
Scott.E.Meyer@*******.edu
http://johnh.wheaton.edu/~smeyer
Message no. 5
From: Bull <chaos@*****.COM>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 17:19:37 -0500
At 12:28 PM 3/1/97 -0600, Q (not from Star Trek) wrote these timeless words:
>On Sat, 1 Mar 1997, Bull wrote:
>
>> Once again, this is mostly up to the GM and player... Magic works how you
>> think it does, so if the mage sees his spell as being visible, his version
>> would be visible. I can't remember off hand, and am too lazy to go dig out
>> the rulebook, so is the manadarts spell physical?
>
>No, the manadart is not physical. That's why it's called a _mana_dart.
>The physical version is the powerdart. Whether or not this has any
>bearing on whether the spell is visible or not is up to you.
>
Hey, I wrote that at 3 in the morning... Cut me some slack...:):):)

You are correct, so in that case I'd say it was generally not visible...

> If so, then as a GM I'd
>> be inclined to have it be visible. As a player, my mage character, Chaos,
>> prefers his spells visible (and Flashy!!) so once again, it would be
>> visible, like the magic missile example from above...
>
>In that case, i'd suggest he learn powerdart. Again, imho.
>
Yeah, but powerdart doesn't go against *most* street punks low
Willpower...:):):)

I don't see why a mage learning a spell such as this couldn't tweak it so
that it made nifty little glowing green trails through the air...

Just my twp scents, though...

Bull
--
Now the Offical Shadowrn mailing List Welcome Ork!
Fearless Leader of the Star Wars Mailing List

=======================================================
= Bull, aka Chaos, aka Rak, aka Steven Ratkovich =
= chaos@*****.com =
= "Order is Illusion! Chaos is Bliss! Got any fours?" =
=======================================================

"I finally find a guy I like, and you got to go and kill him!"
-Kom, "Outlanders"
Message no. 6
From: Calvin Hsieh <u2172778@*******.ACSU.UNSW.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 10:28:20 +1000
On Mon, 29 Jan 2001, Shane Courtrille wrote:

> Now... I have read magic a few times.. and have gotten confused over
> this.. I guess its because of my major AD&Destroy experience. Now
> when you cast hellblast.. what exactly happens? Its an area effect
> spell so any aura (living things are the only things with auras as
> far as I know) you can target gets hit correct? So ok... now
> elemental effects come into play (well maybe hellblast dosen't have
> ellemental effects.. I am not sure.. its late and my books are at my
> friends) so.. is there a GIANT fireball that encompasses everyone?
> or is everyone affected seperatly.. maybe a minor fireblast around
> them? I have always been confused about this... :)

I believe hellblast is a physical spell with elemental side-effects. So,
the way I play it is that no-one actually sees the spell travel to the
target (unless they astral percept), but then a big fireball-like thing
fires at that point. Remember, it burns inanimate objects as well.

> And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits
> the persons aura... there is no visible light or anything between you
> and them correct? Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very
> visible..

I have always played it that only damaging manipulations have a
'physical' presence in transition to its target (like the magic missile).
All other spells can only be seen in astral (unless the force is very
high, in which case, people may see ripples etc etc).

> *wave*

Wave back.

Shaman

_________________________________________________________
In Real Life: Calvin Hsieh
In Neo-Arch Real Life: Shaman

Neurological problems 101:
Kluver-Bucy Syndrome.
Occurs with the bilateral removal of the temporal lobe,
including amygdala.
Symptoms: Overattentiveness, hyperorality, psychic
blindness, hypersexuality, absense of emotional response.
_________________________________________________________
Message no. 7
From: Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@******.GWEEP.NET>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 22:44:06 -0500
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

>>>>> "SC" == Shane Courtrille
<hardware@*******.datanet.ab.ca> writes:

SC> Now when you cast hellblast.. what exactly happens?

First of all, you really should get a copy of the Grimoire and pour over
the "Mechanics of Spellcasting" section a time or three. This is a brief
summation of it.

* Caster opens himself up to the etheric plane in order to draw in mana
(magical energy) to power the spell.
* Caster synchronizes his aura with that of the target of the spell. Since
this is an area of effect spell, he must have line of sight to all
targets that he wishes to affect directly by the spell.
* Caster attempts to cast the spell, Force + Magic Pool vs. appropriate
target numbers; defenders resist with Body + any Spell Defense or
Shielding dice they may have. Anyone who cannot resist the force of the
spell takes appropriate damage.
* Elemental effects come into play. Anyone within the area of the spell,
whether or not they were affected by by the direct damage, may be
affected by the elemental effects. Defenders resist elemental effects
with Impact Armor + Body + Combat Pool, modified by whatever cover is
available.

SC> And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits the
SC> persons aura...

All spells, other than damaging manipulations, hit the target's aura.

SC> there is no visible light or anything between you and them correct?
SC> Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very visible..

No, there is not, because mana dart is a mana spell. There is no physical
effect, so there is no physical effect to see.

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--
Rat <ratinox@******.gweep.net> \ When not in use, Happy Fun Ball should be
PGP Key: at a key server near you! \ returned to its special container and
\ kept under refrigeration.
Message no. 8
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 01:19:48 +0000
|And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits
|the persons aura... there is no visible light or anything between you
|and them correct? Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very
|visible..

There is a *slight* distortion in the air....

If you've seen Babylon 5, think of PPGs.
When you fire them, a "blob" of distorted air shoots from the gun to the
target. With Mana spells, it's a similar thing.

The higher the force, the more visible the distortion...
--
______________________________________________________________________________
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell | |
|Principal subjects in:- | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
|Comp Sci & Electronics | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 9
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 01:22:13 +0000
|the rulebook, so is the manadarts spell physical? If so, then as a GM I'd

Bull? Wakey Wakey.....

Mana....> Mana
Power...> Physical

Simple....

--
______________________________________________________________________________
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell | |
|Principal subjects in:- | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
|Comp Sci & Electronics | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 10
From: Mark Steedman <M.J.Steedman@***.RGU.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Magic: A basic question
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 11:52:50 GMT
Shane Courtrille writes

> Now... I have read magic a few times.. and have gotten confused over
> this.. I guess its because of my major AD&Destroy experience. Now
> when you cast hellblast.. what exactly happens? Its an area effect
> spell so any aura (living things are the only things with auras as
> far as I know) you can target gets hit correct?
Its a physical spell so ANYTHING is quite valid, this blows up this
like helicopters quite nicely thankyou. (well i prefer fireballs,
same result less drain)

> So ok... now
> elemental effects come into play (well maybe hellblast dosen't have
> ellemental effects.. I am not sure.. its late and my books are at my
> friends) so.. is there a GIANT fireball that encompasses everyone?
Well thats probably what it looks like, GM's discretion depending on
force.

> or is everyone affected seperatly.. maybe a minor fireblast around
> them? I have always been confused about this... :)
>

> And another thing.. lets say you cast manadart.. now since it hits
> the persons aura... there is no visible light or anything between you
> and them correct? Unlike an AD&D magic missile which is very
> visible..
>
I would say depends on force.
There are rules for seeing the spell cast but nominally combat spells
are quite invisible between the caster and target as they fly between
the two in the astral plane, however big thing even truely astarl
show up as a physical shimmer (see the noticing astral spirits rules)
so throw stuff over force 6 andthey night see a trail they can trace
back.
The results seen at the target depend on damage done, killing someone
with a hellblast probably results in them colasping convulsing, with
there body catchingfire and burning merrily, really overdo it and
they probably explode redecorating the vicinity with lumps of charred
flesh, still smoking nicely.
Manabolts might at the most make the target jerk,c ollapse and start
leaking blood//brains out of the mouth and ears.



Mark

Further Reading

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