From:	Seth Scott <seth@***.UOREGON.EDU>
Subject:	No grounding through quickenings?
Date:	Fri, 30 Oct 92 08:00:38 -0800

On 10/30/92 Steve Mancini writes

"Quickenings which nullify the
threat of Grounding that Spell Locks incur?"


This brings up a few questions that I had about Quickenings-- namely, _is_ a
quickening so safe? I'd agree that no spell can ground through one-- no
physical artifact for the spell to use-- but when I played my first Initiate,
my GM basically told me that if I tried to Quicken a heavy-duty reaction increas
spell, it would be possible for astral nasties to attack and break it; looki
ng
back, I see that the threat was real, but it was mainly a game-balance
maneuver. What are Quickenings good for, then? Presumably, one could make
a Quickening that's harder to break than the rating-1 Spell Lock; also, the
Quickening lacks the dangerous physical component. I seem to recall my GM
also threatening to attack me with something 'via the thread of energy linking
me to my Quickening'-- didn't see that one anywhere in the rules, and looking
back, this seems unfair. Opinions?

While I'm on the subject-- those troublesome Increase Attribute spells! I
just rule that making a semi-permanent Increase Reflexes (that's SRII's name
for it chummers) spell is too unbalancing -- back to the bioware Edge mages
thing again. Still, the designers left those spells in the second edition.
I'd like to hear what other GMs and players have experienced with these things,
and what measures have been necessary or unnecessary for game balance.

Lastly: is it me, or is Shielding _way_ waywaywaaaaaay too powerful? Get a
high-grade Initiate (yeah it's costly, but the London Sourcebook makes mention
of GRADE 12) and you've got someone who can punch those T#'s up a healthy
ten or twelve... I dunno, it just seems a lot, when added to Centering,
Dispelling, Great Form conjurations, Quickenings, and Masking...

Thanks for the feedback, folks-- and thanks for the recent slowdown in traffic,
down to a brisk yet reasonable level. People are also seeming much more
considerate to me, and I really appreciate that.

Seth Scott aka Woodsy, Owl

My Kingdom for a .sig!