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Message no. 1
From: Sandman <SANDSJO2@******.JUNIATA.EDU>
Subject: Turn To Goo
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 17:46:14 CET
Query: How is this spell sustained? I mean, once you hit a guy with it
(and get enough success to make it work) then he turns to goo. Does he
slop into a puddle? If so, what happens when the mage drops the spell?
Does the puddle reform into the guy, or does the goo change back to flesh,
just in a puddle shape rather than a humanoid shape? Seems to me that would
be pretty deadly. I would think the spell would be permanent. Perhaps
you would have to hold the spell for a certain number of rounds or something,
and then the person/object you were 'gooing' would slop apart.

Any suggestions? I'm running a Combat Mage in our campaign here, and he
was thinking of getting that spell...

See you all around. Sandman
SR: SilverStreak
Message no. 2
From: 92804168@***.UWPLATT.EDU
Subject: Re: Turn to Goo
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 12:11:00 CST
My opinion on turn to goo:

Turn to Goo is a sustained spell, so it will only last as long as the caster
maintains it. As soon as the spell is released, the target will reform into
their original body and shape, and will be in the same physical condition as
when they were transformed (No physical healing will have occured, regardless
of the time spent as goo. Recovery from mental drain will have happened
at the normal rate) as long as the goo itself was not harmed. They will know
what happened, and how long they were changed, but will not have been able to
see, hear, or smell anything during that time. (They will have felt any
handling of the goo, however.)

There are a few things to note about this spell. First of all, cyberware is
not transformed. It will be seen floating in the goo. When the person is
changed back to normal, the cyberware will be return to its normal place in the
person's body, and will be functioning normally. A person could however, go and
take all the cyberware items out of the goo before the person is changed back.
Depending on how invasive the cyberware was, the effects of this could be
slight to deadly.

Secondly, the goo will only reform properly if all the goo is in the same
place when the spell is dropped. If you put half the goo in one spot, and the
other half across the room, and then drop the spell, the person will die
instantly.

Lastly, this spell can be used to help the runners, in that you can have a
player be oozed under a door, or smuggled somewhere in a container that a
person could not occupy normally. Also, do to its effect of sustaining the
person's physical condition, this could actually be used to keep someone alive
long enough to be taken to a hospital or other medical facility.

Please note that most of this is in my opinion; I do not have the rulebooks in
front of me, so I don't know if this is "according to the rules."

***************************************************************************
* David L. Hoff | Secretary of E-mail Correspondence *
* Internet: 92804168@***.uwplatt.edu | Platteville Gaming Association *
* Bitnet: 92804168@******* | Univ. of Wisconsin - Platteville *
*____________________________________|____________________________________*
* "When old friends get together, all else fades into insignificance." *
* -- War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death *
***************************************************************************
Message no. 3
From: 92804168@***.UWPLATT.EDU
Subject: Re: Turn to Goo
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 12:10:00 CST
My opinion on turn to goo:

Turn to Goo is a sustained spell, so it will only last as long as the caster
maintains it. As soon as the spell is released, the target will reform into
their original body and shape, and will be in the same physical condition as
when they were transformed (No physical healing will have occured, regardless
of the time spent as goo. Recovery from mental drain will have happened
at the normal rate) as long as the goo itself was not harmed. They will know
what happened, and how long they were changed, but will not have been able to
see, hear, or smell anything during that time. (They will have felt any
handling of the goo, however.)

There are a few things to note about this spell. First of all, cyberware is
not transformed. It will be seen floating in the goo. When the person is
changed back to normal, the cyberware will be return to its normal place in the
person's body, and will be functioning normally. A person could however, go and
take all the cyberware items out of the goo before the person is changed back.
Depending on how invasive the cyberware was, the effects of this could be
slight to deadly.

Secondly, the goo will only reform properly if all the goo is in the same
place when the spell is dropped. If you put half the goo in one spot, and the
other half across the room, and then drop the spell, the person will die
instantly.

Lastly, this spell can be used to help the runners, in that you can have a
player be oozed under a door, or smuggled somewhere in a container that a
person could not occupy normally. Also, do to its effect of sustaining the
person's physical condition, this could actually be used to keep someone alive
long enough to be taken to a hospital or other medical facility.

Please note that most of this is in my opinion; I do not have the rulebooks in
front of me, so I don't know if this is "according to the rules."

***************************************************************************
* David L. Hoff | Secretary of E-mail Correspondence *
* Internet: 92804168@***.uwplatt.edu | Platteville Gaming Association *
* Bitnet: 92804168@******* | Univ. of Wisconsin - Platteville *
*____________________________________|____________________________________*
* "When old friends get together, all else fades into insignificance." *
* -- War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death *
***************************************************************************
Message no. 4
From: IP25331@********.BITNET
Subject: Turn to goo
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 16:07:59 EST
Dave, I must disagree with you on your view that the person who got turned
to goo will reform. In "Never Deal with a Dragon" , the first SR novel, a Tir
Elven Mage turns on ork to goo, and when he releases the spell, the ork stays g
oo. I would say that you must sustian the spell for a # of actions = targets w
p, resisiting drain each action, and then the spell is permament.

Predator
Message no. 5
From: Chris Siebenmann <cks@********.UTCS.TORONTO.EDU>
Subject: Re: Turn to goo
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 17:27:19 -0500
I don't like 'Turn to Goo'. It doesn't particularly fit in with a
number of things in my worldview, and it raises a number of annoying
problems. I think I'd just say that none of the 'Turn to X' spells
exist in a game I ran.

- cks
Message no. 6
From: Maze <JKF7477@****.TAMU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Turn To Goo
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 92 02:36:44 CET
All the expierence that I have had with this spell has bee that when
the caster releases the spell the Goo returns to Flesh and blood. This does not
necessarily mean that the person will reform as he was before. If the Goo was
stirred or in any way tampered with then the person would probably not reform
correctly. This was used as a way to eliminate a terminator in the first
campaign that I was in. Our mage turned it to Goo then we spread it across
about two miles of moutainous region.
Like all sustained spells the price for sustaining it is an increase
to you target numbers. (Just magical, I think, and the increase is a +2).
I tend to agree with the others that have said they don't like this
spell. It screams very bad things at me, and I would prefere that my players
stay with Shape Change and Transform, and leave all this turn to (whatever) out
of the system completly
Maze
Message no. 7
From: Micah Levy <M.Levy@**.UCL.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Turn to Goo
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 23:05:21 +0100
Yup, TTG was one of my faves as well, but the question is, isn't this spell
getting the effect of a Permanent even though the rules say it's sustained?

Anyway, my favorite SR2 spells are:

Single Target Sleep (At Force 10, you only resist TN 4)
Control Actions
Physical Mask
Increase Initiative +3D6 (Look out Samurai!)
Heal (Well, everyone uses it, don't they?)
Message no. 8
From: MILLIKEN DAMION A <u9467882@***.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: Turn to Goo
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 13:19:05 +1000
> Yup, TTG was one of my faves as well, but the question is, isn't this spell
> getting the effect of a Permanent even though the rules say it's sustained?

Is it? I always thought you were only goo while ever the mage sustained the
spell. Which is usually until the rest of your team geeked him (not long in
the majority of cases).

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong e-mail: u9467882@***.edu.au

(GEEK CODE 2.1) GE -d+(d) H s++:-- !g p? !au a18 w+ v(?) C+(++) US++ P? L !3 E?
N K- W+ M@ !V po@ Y(+) t+ !5 !j R+(++) G(+) !tv(--)@ b++ D+ B?
e+ u@ h* f(+) !r n--(----) !y+
Message no. 9
From: Marc A Renouf <jormung@*****.UMICH.EDU>
Subject: Re: Turn to Goo
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 13:29:19 -0400
On Wed, 14 Sep 1994, MILLIKEN DAMION A wrote:

> > Yup, TTG was one of my faves as well, but the question is, isn't this spell
> > getting the effect of a Permanent even though the rules say it's sustained?
>
> Is it? I always thought you were only goo while ever the mage sustained the
> spell. Which is usually until the rest of your team geeked him (not long in
> the majority of cases).

Back in first Edition, one of our favorite tricks was to turn a
goon to goo, then take an egg-beater to him and scatter his gooey parts
to the four winds. Kind of like being shattered while turned to stone.
Or better yet, since it was a mana spell, just root through the goo for
all the nifty cyberware, you know, eyes, headware phones, dermAl plating,
etc. Too bad in SRII since you have paid Essence for it, it can be
affected by mana spells. I had a friend who had a character
who specialized in this sort of thing. He called himself the "Goo-ru"

Marc
Message no. 10
From: "Craig S. Dohmen" <CSD108@*****.PSU.EDU>
Subject: Turn to Goo
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 10:36:00 EST
As I understand it, the reason they got rid of it was that there
were too many problems/questions with it. For example:

What happens if your turn someone to goo, scoop up the slop into
empty coke bottles (to be used as silencers) and then de-sustain the
spell?

What happens if the goo soaks into the carpet and you de-sustain?

How about if part of the goo gets washed down the drain?

Mix in some ketchup and mustard and de-sustain?

Feed it to a dog?

etc.

They decided it was too complicated and dropped it. Of course, if
you really want it, there's nothing stopping you from designing your
own version. >;)

--Craig
Message no. 11
From: shadowrn@*********.com (shadowrn@*********.com)
Subject: Turn to Goo
Date: Thu Feb 8 14:35:01 2001
In a message dated 2/8/01 12:10:31 PM, "LPVOID" <lpvoid@********.rr.com>
writes:
>So why not bring back Turn to Goo? Why was it taken out anyway? I always
>loved that one...

I did my best. Turn to Goo was in the final draft of the SR3 magic chapter I
sent to FASA, but it mysteriously got cut at the last minute. Strange thing
was, I put it in the draft of MitS and the same thing happened ;-)

Gremlins in the FASA offices, clearly.

FWIW, here's the version I wrote:

Turn To Goo
Type: P * Target: B or OR * Duration: S * Drain: +2S

Turn to Goo breaks down the target’s molecular cohesion, reducing it to a

puddle of sludge. The Threshold is the target’s Body or Barrier Rating.
So
long as the material is kept together, the target will return to normal when
the spell ends. If the material is dispersed or separated, the target is
(messily) destroyed when the spell ends. Living targets are not conscious
while under the effects of this spell.

Major Physical Change (S), Physical Spell (+1 target), Sustained (+1 target).

Shake well and enjoy!

Steve Kenson

Talon Studio
http://members.aol.com/talonmail
Message no. 12
From: shadowrn@*********.com (kawaii)
Subject: Turn to Goo
Date: Thu Feb 8 14:55:00 2001
>From: <TalonMail@***.com>
>Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 2:33 PM
>

>Turn To Goo
>Type: P * Target: B or OR * Duration: S * Drain: +2S
>
>Turn to Goo breaks down the target’s molecular cohesion,
>reducing it to a puddle of sludge. The Threshold is the
>target’s Body or Barrier Rating. So long as the material
>is kept together, the target will return to normal when
>the spell ends. If the material is dispersed or separated,
>the target is (messily) destroyed when the spell ends.
>Living targets are not conscious while under the effects
>of this spell.
>
>Major Physical Change (S), Physical Spell (+1 target),
>Sustained (+1 target).
>
>Shake well and enjoy!
>
>Steve Kenson
>
>Talon Studio
>http://members.aol.com/talonmail

Only Major Physical Change? Isn't there a Drastic? :) I mean, you are
breaking down the molecular cohesion here! :)

I figure drain would be something like +2D, rather than S. :P

Ever lovable and always scrappy,
kawaii
Message no. 13
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Scott W)
Subject: Turn to Goo
Date: Thu Feb 8 18:05:01 2001
> If the material is dispersed or separated, the target is (messily)
destroyed when the spell ends.

Ewww... that's pretty disgusting. Thanks very much, Steve.

====-Boondocker

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Message no. 14
From: shadowrn@*********.com (lpvoid)
Subject: Turn to Goo
Date: Thu Feb 8 18:25:01 2001
>So why not bring back Turn to Goo? Why was it taken out anyway? I always
>loved that one...

I did my best. Turn to Goo was in the final draft of the SR3 magic chapter I
sent to FASA, but it mysteriously got cut at the last minute. Strange thing
was, I put it in the draft of MitS and the same thing happened ;-)

<snip>

Yummy! Thank you for reposting the stats. I sure am glad none of my
players are on this list <evil grin>
Message no. 15
From: shadowrn@*********.com (shadowrn@*********.com)
Subject: Turn to Goo
Date: Fri Feb 9 13:15:33 2001
In a message dated 2/9/01 10:47:56 AM, "kawaii" <trunks@********.org>
writes:
>Only Major Physical Change? Isn't there a Drastic? :) I mean, you are
>breaking down the molecular cohesion here! :)
>
>I figure drain would be something like +2D, rather than S. :P

Well, your milage may, of course, vary, but Major Physical Change is as high
as a Manipulation goes for a single physical target. Turning someone into a
pile of sludge isn't all that different (conceptually) from changing their
shape (Transform is a +1S spell), and it's more draining than simply killing
them outright (a Serious Powerbolt is also +1S and needs two successes to
kill its target, while TtG needs Body/2 successes; for many targets that's
going to be more than 2).

But it's your game, so if you think it's +2D Drain, then it is. It's not like
the spell even exists... officially ;-)

Steve Kenson

Talon Studio
http://members.aol.com/talonmail

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Turn to Goo, you may also be interested in:

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Thwap!