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Message no. 1
From: Alfredo B Alves <dghost@****.COM>
Subject: Meditational Centering
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 23:23:42 -0500
I don't remember if I suggested this to the list already but ...

How to use Meditation for active/instant effect skills:

Simple. Allocate X amount of time per 24 hr period for meditation (ie, 1
hr). During this time, all the character does is meditate. (This is not
as obvious a statement as you might think.) IOW, this is an exclusive
action. At the end of the time period, no roll is made. When the
character, within 24 hrs of the last meditation, wants to center for such
and such effect, THEN roll the meditation skill. This represents using
meditation to become "in balance" and then seeing if you and the action
are "in balance". (The explanation is worded poorly, but hopefully you
get my meaning.)

Optionally, at the end of the meditation, you can roll and use that
result for the center. However, the roll would have to be done secretly
by the GM or you'll get something like:
"Do you want center?"
*thinks, sees that the day's roll would give no successes against the T#*

"Nope."

This can also be used for other centering skills like prayer.

D. Ghost
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
o/` Trideo killed the Video Star ... o/`

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Message no. 2
From: Tarek Okail <Tarek_Okail@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: Meditational Centering
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 02:59:20 -0400
D. Ghost--

>Simple. Allocate X amount of time per 24 hr period for meditation (ie, =
1
>hr). During this time, all the character does is meditate. (This is no=
t
>as obvious a statement as you might think.) IOW, this is an exclusive
>action. At the end of the time period, no roll is made. When the
>character, within 24 hrs of the last meditation, wants to center for suc=
h
>and such effect, THEN roll the meditation skill. This represents using
>meditation to become "in balance" and then seeing if you and the action
>are "in balance". (The explanation is worded poorly, but hopefully you
>get my meaning.)

Ick. It's a lot easier to think of this as being "moving
meditation" than it is to believe that a period of 24 hours of meditation=

is going to help anyone pick a lock / sneak past a guard / beat the crap
out of someone. =

Meditation does not necessarily mean sitting zazen and humming to=

yourself. A meditating person can be quite active. Some martial artists
practically put themselves into trance states in the course of a practice=

session, simply by letting the body move as it's been trained to do.
The Japanese have a word for this, meaning "The state of no mind.=
"
Zen archers do this, and the goal of Kendo is to get to the point where y=
ou
can make the perfect strike without thought; you just react.

Shadowmage
Message no. 3
From: Alfredo B Alves <dghost@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Meditational Centering
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 03:19:04 -0500
On Sun, 23 Aug 1998 02:59:20 -0400 Tarek Okail
<Tarek_Okail@**********.COM> writes:
>D. Ghost--
>>Simple. Allocate X amount of time per 24 hr period for meditation (ie,
1
>>hr). During this time, all the character does is meditate. (This is
not
>>as obvious a statement as you might think.) IOW, this is an exclusive
>>action. At the end of the time period, no roll is made. When the
>>character, within 24 hrs of the last meditation, wants to center for
such
>>and such effect, THEN roll the meditation skill. This represents using
>>meditation to become "in balance" and then seeing if you and the action
>>are "in balance". (The explanation is worded poorly, but hopefully you
>>get my meaning.)

> Ick. It's a lot easier to think of this as being "moving
>meditation" than it is to believe that a period of 24 hours of
meditation
>is going to help anyone pick a lock / sneak past a guard / beat the crap
>out of someone.
>
> Meditation does not necessarily mean sitting zazen and humming
to
>yourself. A meditating person can be quite active. Some martial artists
>practically put themselves into trance states in the course of a
practice
>session, simply by letting the body move as it's been trained to do.
> The Japanese have a word for this, meaning "The state of no
mind."
>Zen archers do this, and the goal of Kendo is to get to the point where
you
>can make the perfect strike without thought; you just react.
>
>Shadowmage =

I think I know what you mean ...and what I was thinking is different ...
What you are thinking of would, IMO, be a more mundane but special skill.
What I was proposing is a special skill to represent spending time
attuning yourself to, in this case, astral energies. (this was intended
for Physical Adepts and/or Mages [After all, mundane chars don't center
per se. ;].)

Another RPG I play (Rolemaster) has an Oriental Companion that listed a
couple of skills that could be what you are referring to ...
Kuji-in (Hand gestures used to focus power during combat ... gives bonus
to hit and to defense/dodge.)
Body Posture (advanced body postures utilized in combat)
Fu (Wind) Primarily a receiving posture. User automatically gains
intiative against attacks directed against him/her. (I think the
intention was MELEE attacks ...)
Ka (Fire) Offensive posture. Improves the effectiveness of the users
attacks.
Sui (Water) Defensive posture. Bonus to defense/dodge.
Chi (Earth) Natural Posture. (?) Aids in assuming one of the other
postures.
Ku (Void) Stance normal people use.
Ko-Ashi, Yoko-Aruki, and Nuki-Ashi all aid stealth attempts (well,
technically, the first aids stealth, the last two hinder oppents
perceptions ... The effect is similar.:)

What I based the Meditational Centering skill off of was the Martial
Balance skill. If, after spending 1 hour meditating, the skill roll was
successful, the user got a +5 to all OBs, DBs, and RRs for the day.
(Since Rolemaster is a 1d100 based system, theoretically, the skill means
the user has a increased 5% chance to succeed. [Well, +5 DB means his/her
opponent is theoretically 5% more likely to fail.]) In SR terms, a -1 T#
is WAY too much for this skill, btw. (maybe +1 die ...)

Other spiffy skills from the Oriental Companion?
Holy Mantra (aids spell casting and meditation attempts. Only works for
followers of Shintoism and Budshism)
Exorcism (Basically a skill for banishment of spirits ... but gives a
sizable [automatic!] bonus to resist spirit possession.)

Do I reccomend adding these skills to SR converting straight from
Rolemaster? No. Rolemaster is a high fantasy game. SR isn't. Do I
reccomend picking up the Oriental Companion or the newer Martial Arts
Companion? Hell yes! They are both good reference books (for RPGs, that
is.) Rolemaster is very good, IMO, about putting in background
information in with the rules and stuff. RM/RMSS (RM = Rolemaster, RMSS
= Rolemaster Standard System [The newest incarnation of RM.]) books are
good reads and even alot of the rules are fairly easy to follow since the
system is based off a 1d100 (ie, percentages... 1d100 = 100%, etc. :).
(it helps to have the main book for the other rules, though. ;) <end ICE
plug ;>

Actually, the Martial Arts Companion gives an excelent (IM[mildly
trained]O) desriptions of the different Martial Arts styles. (Sorry
Adam/Bira, no Capoeira [sp?], just a bunch of Chinese styles [Eight
Drunken Faeries?!?], 3 Indonesian styles, 3 Japanese styles, 2 Korean
styles, Karate [Okinawan], and Savate [French].) It also has a Weapon
Styles system that is, IMO, wickedly cool. (Imagine a version of the
house rules that exist for martial arts in SR applied to wepons.)

<okay, -Really- end ICE plug ;>

D. Ghost (Who wishes he could find someone to play with ... Rolemaster I
mean, you pervs! ;)
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
o/` Trideo killed the Video Star ... o/`

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Message no. 4
From: "Ubiratan P. Alberton" <ubiratan@**.HOMESHOPPING.COM.BR>
Subject: Re: Meditational Centering
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 18:16:19 -0300
Alfredo B Alves wrote:
>
> I don't remember if I suggested this to the list already but ...
>
> How to use Meditation for active/instant effect skills:
>
> Simple. Allocate X amount of time per 24 hr period for meditation (ie, 1
> hr). During this time, all the character does is meditate. (This is not
> as obvious a statement as you might think.) IOW, this is an exclusive
> action. At the end of the time period, no roll is made. When the
> character, within 24 hrs of the last meditation, wants to center for such
> and such effect, THEN roll the meditation skill. This represents using
> meditation to become "in balance" and then seeing if you and the action
> are "in balance". (The explanation is worded poorly, but hopefully you
> get my meaning.)
>
> Optionally, at the end of the meditation, you can roll and use that
> result for the center. However, the roll would have to be done secretly
> by the GM or you'll get something like:
> "Do you want center?"
> *thinks, sees that the day's roll would give no successes against the T#*
>
> "Nope."
>
> This can also be used for other centering skills like prayer.


This may be good for ritual centering (what about that? :) ), but
for normal magic I'd say that magician meditates or prays for a
very short time (wich may seem very long to him), before casting each
spell.

Bira
Message no. 5
From: Nexx <nexx@********.NET>
Subject: Re: Meditational Centering
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 16:22:48 -0500
----------
> From: Ubiratan P. Alberton <ubiratan@**.HOMESHOPPING.COM.BR>

<snip centering once a day>

> This may be good for ritual centering (what about that? :) ), but
> for normal magic I'd say that magician meditates or prays for a
> very short time (wich may seem very long to him), before casting each
> spell.

I actually do use meditation to "center myself" (obviously I don't lob
fireballs, but it makes it a hell of a lot easier to give a speech if you
center), and once you know what you're doing, centering only takes a
couple seconds. I can see someone meditatively centering themselves in a
brief instant before they cast a fireball... and I can see them doing it,
for mental comfort's sake, before they give a presentation on their latest
research before the Board of Directors (sure, there's no bonus for a
social skill, but it will still give them comfort).

Nexx
Message no. 6
From: "Ubiratan P. Alberton" <ubiratan@**.HOMESHOPPING.COM.BR>
Subject: Re: Meditational Centering
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 21:00:24 -0300
Nexx wrote:
>
> ----------
> > From: Ubiratan P. Alberton <ubiratan@**.HOMESHOPPING.COM.BR>
>
> <snip centering once a day>
>
>
> I actually do use meditation to "center myself" (obviously I don't lob
> fireballs, but it makes it a hell of a lot easier to give a speech if you
> center), and once you know what you're doing, centering only takes a
> couple seconds. I can see someone meditatively centering themselves in a
> brief instant before they cast a fireball... and I can see them doing it,
> for mental comfort's sake, before they give a presentation on their latest
> research before the Board of Directors (sure, there's no bonus for a
> social skill, but it will still give them comfort).
>
> Nexx


That's what I meant... for casting the quick and dirty spells, the
magician
centers for a coupla seconds (maybe even less), and rolls the dice.

The ritual centering would be a separate ritual to gain bonuses on
ritual
magic... Fasting, hours of meditation, prayers, etc...

Bira
Message no. 7
From: Tarek Okail <Tarek_Okail@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: Meditational Centering
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 22:37:45 -0400
D. Ghost--

>I think I know what you mean ...and what I was thinking is different ...=

>What you are thinking of would, IMO, be a more mundane but special skill=
.
> What I was proposing is a special skill to represent spending time
>attuning yourself to, in this case, astral energies. (this was intended=

>for Physical Adepts and/or Mages [After all, mundane chars don't center
>per se. ;].)

Except that what you described not the way it currently works in
SR2 / SR3. Meditation can be, and often is, taken as a Centering Skill, a=
nd
it acts as described under Centering. It's a simple and established
mechanic. Why complicate SR with yet more "special case" rules? <g>
This may change with the next edition of the Grimoire, Magic in t=
he
Shadows, but until it does, you already have a perfectly good mechanic in=

place.

Shadowmage

Further Reading

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