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Message no. 1
From: Jeremiah Stevens <jeremiah@********.EDU>
Subject: Re: New Physad Metamagic Power
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 22:13:27 -0500
I have been thinking about new metamagic abilities for physads that would
be unique for the role played by physads and this is what I have come up
with:

SPECIAL WEAPON ENCHANTMENT

With this metamagic ability, one melee weapon of the physad's choice is
'initiated' so to speak, enchanting it in a way similar to a weapon focus.
The weapon functions like a normal weapon focus with a few exceptions.
First, the weapon need not be bonded- the cost is included in the
initiation.
Second, the weapon may not be bonded to another character.
Its magical powers work only for the character with whom it initiated.
Third, the weapon may not be grounded through. In this respect, it
functions like a quickened spell. It has an astral presence and may be
attacked astrally, but not grounded through.
Fourth, the weapon is inherently masked.
Fifth, the weapon may be a thrown weapon like a knife
or ax, or even a projectile weapon like a bow, slingshot, or blowgun.
Mechanical weapons like guns cannot be enchanted in this manner.
Sixth, the physad can sense the presence of the weapon within one
kilometer per level of enchantment.
Seventh, the physad may call the weapon into his hand. This power works
requires LOS, and is effective for 10 meters per
level of enchantment. The weapon has a strength of (Physad Str.)+
(Enchantment level) for breaking bonds, grips, etc. when the physad
calls it. When called, the weapon will land safely and gently in the
physad's hand, although it moves at 10x(level)meters per second. Calling
the weapon is a simple action.

For each grade the initiate gains, the weapon gains an enchantment level,
or the physad may enchant an additional weapon. Thus, a grade 3 initiate
may have one level 3 weapon, 3 level one weapons or a level 2 and level 1
weapon.

Weapon focuses may be enchanted in this fashion, but the character must
intitate to a grade higher than the weapon focus. A physad initiating from
grade 3 to 4 enchant a level 3 weapon focus, but not a level 4 focus. If a
weapon focus is enchanted in this manner, it still functions as a weapon
focus, and may be grounded through and is not inherently masked, although
the extra level of enchantment is so masked.

The creation of a weapon of this sort is not an easy task. While the
powers are gained through intitation, the weapon must first be prepared.
Weapons to be enchanted in this manner are usually hand made or specially
commissioned to master weaponsmiths. The weapon requires at least one unit
of orichalcum.

Next, the weapon must be named. Naming a weapon is no easy task, as the
true name of the weapon is the key to its power. An exception, then, to
the second quality listed above, any character who knows the true name of
the weapon may use it. However, the character to whom the weapon was
initially linked will automatically know when another is using the weapon.
Once the weapon has been named, the physad must transfer a point of
essence to the weapon, permanently tying the weapon to his aura. The naimg
and transfer of essence happen almost simutaneusly, usually after long
periods of meditation, fasting and other rituals. Metaplane quests, if
available, are also used to name a weapon. Shamanic physads are almost
always visited by their totem when naming the weapon.
The physad must be an initiate to name a weapon.

Once the weapon has been named, it may be enchanted when the physad next
initiates.

Over time, the weapon begins to reflect the personality of the physad. A
particularly vicious and bloodthirsty physad will have a weapon that kills
indiscriminantly, while a physad that uses violence only in self-defense
will have a weapon that gears itself more towards defensive maneuvers and
will only kill when absolutely necessary. A physad who avoids killing at
all costs will have a weapon which inherently avoids inflicting lethal
damage. While the physad may not notice the weapon acting in this fashion,
anyone else who learns its name and is able to activate it will find their
actions directed by the weapon.
Message no. 2
From: Jonathan Hurley <jhurley1@************.EDU>
Subject: Re: New Physad Metamagic Power
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 00:53:34 -0500
This reminded me of the power I just wrote up for a physad in my campaign:
Weapon merge.

Weapon Merge: Cost:0.5 Effects: The physical adept with this power has the
ability to 'project' a limited part of his awareness into a weapon he is
holding - melee or ranged. It takes a simple action for the adept to merge
with the weapon. Once merged, he is more aware of the weapon, giving him a
-2 bonus to any tests taken with the weapon. There is a significant
disadvantage, however; any actions taken that do not directly involve the
use of the weapon are at a +2 penalty. Furthermore, it takes a simple
action to unmerge from the weapon safely. If the weapon that the physical
adept is merged with loses contact with the physical adept's aura, the
physical adept must resist 4L Stun damage with Willpower if it is a weapon
the adept intended to throw or drop, or 6M if the loss of contact was
unintentional. If the weapon takes damage, the physical adept must resist
stun damage with willpower, against a damage code determined by the
gamemaster, based on the amount of damage taken by the weapon. (If a sword
is chipped by hitting a metal-laced bone, it might be Light damage, while a
baseball bat splintering over a troll's cyberskull would be Deadly). While
merged, the weapon is treated as being included in the physical adept's
aura for spell-targeting purposes (i.e. the physical adept's aura
'surrounds' the weapon while the physical adept is merged with it.)

--
Quicksilver rides again
--------------
Those who would give up a little freedom for security
deserve neither freedom nor security
-Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, I have Attention Deficit Dis - Hey, look at that butterfly!
Jonathan Hurley (mailto:jhurley1@************.edu)
Message no. 3
From: Adam Treloar <guardian@*******.DIALIX.COM.AU>
Subject: Re: New Physad Metamagic Power
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 17:05:54 +1100
On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Jonathan Hurley wrote:

> This reminded me of the power I just wrote up for a physad in my campaign:
> Weapon merge.
>
> Weapon Merge: Cost:0.5 Effects: The physical adept with this power has the
> ability to 'project' a limited part of his awareness into a weapon he is
> holding - melee or ranged. It takes a simple action for the adept to merge
> with the weapon. Once merged, he is more aware of the weapon, giving him a
> -2 bonus to any tests taken with the weapon. There is a significant
> disadvantage, however; any actions taken that do not directly involve the
> use of the weapon are at a +2 penalty. Furthermore, it takes a simple
> action to unmerge from the weapon safely.

Not too bad... Except I'd maybe change it to -1/+1, or negation of one
penalty (eg visibility, wounds etc) against +2 or +3. Otherwise sounds
pretty reasonable.

> If the weapon that the physical
> adept is merged with loses contact with the physical adept's aura, the
> physical adept must resist 4L Stun damage with Willpower if it is a weapon
> the adept intended to throw or drop, or 6M if the loss of contact was
> unintentional.

Doesn't sound too bad.

> If the weapon takes damage, the physical adept must resist
> stun damage with willpower, against a damage code determined by the
> gamemaster, based on the amount of damage taken by the weapon. (If a sword
> is chipped by hitting a metal-laced bone, it might be Light damage, while a
> baseball bat splintering over a troll's cyberskull would be Deadly). While
> merged, the weapon is treated as being included in the physical adept's
> aura for spell-targeting purposes (i.e. the physical adept's aura
> 'surrounds' the weapon while the physical adept is merged with it.)

It's a good idea, but how many of us use weapon damage rules of any kind?
Except where acid-based spells and effects are concerned, of course.

Guardian

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indestinguishable from technology.
So there."
Adam Treloar aka Guardian
s777317@*****.student.gu.edu.au http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1900/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 4
From: Jonathan Hurley <jhurley1@************.EDU>
Subject: Re: New Physad Metamagic Power
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 01:40:05 -0500
Adam Treloar[SMTP:guardian@*******.DIALIX.COM.AU] wrote:
> On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Jonathan Hurley wrote:
>
> > This reminded me of the power I just wrote up for a physad in my
campaign:
> > Weapon merge.
> >
> > Weapon Merge: Cost:0.5 Effects: The physical adept with this power has
the
> > ability to 'project' a limited part of his awareness into a weapon he
is
> > holding - melee or ranged. It takes a simple action for the adept to
merge
> > with the weapon. Once merged, he is more aware of the weapon, giving
him a
> > -2 bonus to any tests taken with the weapon. There is a significant
> > disadvantage, however; any actions taken that do not directly involve
the
> > use of the weapon are at a +2 penalty. Furthermore, it takes a simple
> > action to unmerge from the weapon safely.
>
> Not too bad... Except I'd maybe change it to -1/+1, or negation of one
> penalty (eg visibility, wounds etc) against +2 or +3. Otherwise sounds
> pretty reasonable.

If you like. But a -1 bonus can be obtained with a laser sight. This is
intended to be an equivalent to smartgun links/enhanced aim spells. I feel
that the +2 penalty balances out the fact that *any* weapon can be merged
with. Wound penalties can be ignored by a physad anyway, as can many of the
vismods.

[snip]

> > If the weapon takes damage, the physical adept must resist
> > stun damage with willpower, against a damage code determined by the
> > gamemaster, based on the amount of damage taken by the weapon. (If a
sword
> > is chipped by hitting a metal-laced bone, it might be Light damage,
while a
> > baseball bat splintering over a troll's cyberskull would be Deadly).
While
> > merged, the weapon is treated as being included in the physical adept's
> > aura for spell-targeting purposes (i.e. the physical adept's aura
> > 'surrounds' the weapon while the physical adept is merged with it.)
>
> It's a good idea, but how many of us use weapon damage rules of any kind?
> Except where acid-based spells and effects are concerned, of course.

Roleplaying effect, more than anything else. That's why I leave it up to
the Gm's discretion

--
Quicksilver rides again
--------------
Those who would give up a little freedom for security
deserve neither freedom nor security
-Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, I have Attention Deficit Dis - Hey, look at that butterfly!
Jonathan Hurley (mailto:jhurley1@************.edu)
Message no. 5
From: Adam Treloar <guardian@*******.DIALIX.COM.AU>
Subject: Re: New Physad Metamagic Power
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 19:27:55 +1100
On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Jonathan Hurley wrote:

> > Not too bad... Except I'd maybe change it to -1/+1, or negation of one
> > penalty (eg visibility, wounds etc) against +2 or +3. Otherwise sounds
> > pretty reasonable.
>
> If you like. But a -1 bonus can be obtained with a laser sight. This is
> intended to be an equivalent to smartgun links/enhanced aim spells. I feel
> that the +2 penalty balances out the fact that *any* weapon can be merged
> with. Wound penalties can be ignored by a physad anyway, as can many of the
> vismods.

I didn't think of that. If that's the case, why not get a smartlink
instead? It costs .25 essence (therefore .25 magic), IIRC, which is less
than the cost of the power. However, I personally prefer to leave some
areas to the cyberware alone. There's some things that only magic should
be capable of, and some that only technology should be able to do. A
similar power would have been included in the rules if the powers that
be thought that it was appropriate. If I allowed this power in any game I
was running, I'd probably exclude it's use with firearms and other similar
weapons. HTH, bows, crossbows and thrown weapons only. Maybe not even
bows and crossbows. As I said, though, it's my personal choice and
opinion.

> > It's a good idea, but how many of us use weapon damage rules of any kind?
> > Except where acid-based spells and effects are concerned, of course.
>
> Roleplaying effect, more than anything else. That's why I leave it up to
> the Gm's discretion

Fair enough then.

Guardian

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indestinguishable from technology.
So there."
Adam Treloar aka Guardian
s777317@*****.student.gu.edu.au http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1900/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 6
From: Lehlan Decker <decker@****.FSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: New Physad Metamagic Power
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 08:38:40 -0500
On Tue, Dec 02, 1997 at 10:13:27PM -0500, Jeremiah Stevens wrote:
> I have been thinking about new metamagic abilities for physads that would
> be unique for the role played by physads and this is what I have come up
> with:
>
> SPECIAL WEAPON ENCHANTMENT
>
> With this metamagic ability, one melee weapon of the physad's choice is
> 'initiated' so to speak, enchanting it in a way similar to a weapon focus.
> The weapon functions like a normal weapon focus with a few exceptions.
> First, the weapon need not be bonded- the cost is included in the
> initiation.
> Second, the weapon may not be bonded to another character.
> Its magical powers work only for the character with whom it initiated.
> Third, the weapon may not be grounded through. In this respect, it
> functions like a quickened spell. It has an astral presence and may be
> attacked astrally, but not grounded through.
> Fourth, the weapon is inherently masked.
> Fifth, the weapon may be a thrown weapon like a knife
<SNIP>
Interesting concept. Anyone read the SwordDancer series by
Jennier Roberson. (Tiger & Del). If not its a good read, and I've
often thought of creating a weapon similiar to a jivatma (sp?).

Further Reading

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