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Message no. 1
From: Drekhead <drekhead@***.NET>
Subject: Wards vs. Foci
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 12:01:51 +0500
I've read the books on wards vs. foci, and I just want to make sure I
am clear. Could someone tell me what happens when a mage carrying a
power focus tries to walk through a ward.

1)What happens to the focus?

2)What happens to the mage?

3)Does the mage know something is amiss before its too late?

4)Can the focus be turned off?

Thanks in advance, gang.

--

drekhead@***.net
++++
Sig file lost.
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Message no. 2
From: Les Ward <lward@*******.COM>
Subject: Re: Wards vs. Foci
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 12:15:41 -0400
Drekhead wrote:
>what happens when a mage carrying a power focus tries to walk
>through a ward.

>1)What happens to the focus?

If it is active, the ward attacks it.

>2)What happens to the mage?

Nothing, though any spells she is sustaining get attacked as well.

>3)Does the mage know something is amiss before its too late?

Mages know immediately if their active foci are attacked. Of course, the
initial attack does damage before the magician can do much, but if the
focus survives, the mage can go astral to defend.

>4)Can the focus be turned off?

SRII makes turning a focus on/off a simple action. Hmmm, maybe its a
complex, I don't remember, but it can be done.

Wordman
Message no. 3
From: Max Rible <slothman@*********.ORG>
Subject: Re: Wards vs. Foci
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 08:15:06 -0800
At 12:01 10/8/97 +0500, Drekhead wrote:
>I've read the books on wards vs. foci, and I just want to make sure I
>am clear. Could someone tell me what happens when a mage carrying a
>power focus tries to walk through a ward.

I'm going to assume that you're speaking of an active power focus.
If the mage hasn't got it activated, nothing will happen.

>1)What happens to the focus?

The focus and the barrier are both astral entities. They duke it out;
if the focus wins, it makes it through the barrier. If the barrier wins,
the focus is destroyed. Either way, the mage(s) who cast the ward know
that that ward is being attacked.

>2)What happens to the mage?

Nothing direct. They'll certainly notice when their focus goes away.

>3)Does the mage know something is amiss before its too late?

Probably not. Astral combats happen very quickly.

>4)Can the focus be turned off?

Yes.

--
%% Max Rible %% slothman@*****.com %% http://www.amurgsval.org/~slothman/ %%
%% "Before enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice. %%
%% After enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice." - me %%
Message no. 4
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Wards vs. Foci
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 21:11:00 +0100
Drekhead said on 12:01/ 8 Oct 97...

> I've read the books on wards vs. foci, and I just want to make sure I
> am clear. Could someone tell me what happens when a mage carrying a
> power focus tries to walk through a ward.
>
> 1)What happens to the focus?

It gets to defend against an attack with a damage of (ward's Force)L by
the ward, using the ward's Force in dice against a TN equal to the focus'
rating. At the same time, the focus attacks the ward in a similar manner,
BTW; read the rules on SRII page 147 and 148 for the details.

> 2)What happens to the mage?

Nothing. At least, if the magician isn't astrally active. A magician who
is astrally perceiving or projecting must fight the ward in order to get
through. Note that the Grimoire says that it blocks movement by astrally
projecting magicians, period, but it makes sense to allow a magician to
fight it like they can fight other magical barriers (again, SRII pages 147
and 148 have the full rules).

> 3)Does the mage know something is amiss before its too late?

Only when he or she is astrally perceiving; a ward is an _astral_ barrier,
not a physical one. You might want to use the Noticing Spellcasting rules
to check if the ward is visible from the physical plane as well somehow,
but this isn't in the rules (although it also isn't in the rules that the
ward _isn't_ visible from the physical plane).

> 4)Can the focus be turned off?

AFAIK only an active focus will trigger a ward's reaction. Any focus can
be turned on and off, so it could be switched off before the magician goes
through the ward, and back on when (s)he's on the other side. That leaves
a few vulnerable seconds inbetween...

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
The stupid is always possible.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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Message no. 5
From: David Mezerette <mezeretted@*****.U-NANCY.FR>
Subject: Re: Wards vs. Foci
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 07:49:25 +0100
At 21:11 08/10/97 +0100, you wrote:
>Drekhead said on 12:01/ 8 Oct 97...
>
>> I've read the books on wards vs. foci, and I just want to make sure I
>> am clear. Could someone tell me what happens when a mage carrying a
>> power focus tries to walk through a ward.
>>

>> 3)Does the mage know something is amiss before its too late?
>
i think the mage will probably notice it since she wouldn't be able to walk
through the ward if her focus is active: the ward will block the passage of
the focus, and therefore will block the mage too. If the astral combat
between the focus and the ward lasts long enough, she would be able to go
astral and fight the ward, or to turn the focus off, or whatever she thinks
about.
>
Message no. 6
From: Sebastion Wires <landsquid@*******.COM>
Subject: Re: Wards vs. Foci
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 11:33:02 PDT
>Subject: Re: Wards vs. Foci
>To: SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET
>In-Reply-To: <199710081557.LAA09512@www.ctghub.com>;
>
>Drekhead wrote:
>>what happens when a mage carrying a power focus tries to walk
>>through a ward.
>
>>1)What happens to the focus?
>
>If it is active, the ward attacks it.

Yes, but foci don't have any given damagecode. Isit likea spell
grounding, where ifthe focus wins, nothing happens? What if the ward
wins, but it does not "kill" the focus- since the mage is carieng the
focus and moving, does it "get away" and survive oK? What is the
focus's "body"?
>
>>2)What happens to the mage?
>
>Nothing, though any spells she is sustaining get attacked as well.
>
>>3)Does the mage know something is amiss before its too late?
>
>Mages know immediately if their active foci are attacked. Of course,
the
>initial attack does damage before the magician can do much, but if the
>focus survives, the mage can go astral to defend.
>

IIRC, the mage CAN lend dice (from magic pool) to aid his foci in astral
combat.

>>4)Can the focus be turned off?
>
>SRII makes turning a focus on/off a simple action. Hmmm, maybe its a
>complex, I don't remember, but it can be done.
>
Turning a focus ON is a simple. Theonly BTB wayto tuen a focus OFF is
to drop it or otherwise completly break comtact (just putting it in your
pucket won't do). Silly. we paly turning them OFF is a simple also.

Mongoose

>Wordman
>


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