| From: | Louis Barrera <lbarrera@****.NASA.GOV> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | To C or N, Again |
| Date: | Mon, 3 Apr 1995 15:26:04 -0700 |
> Yep, but the trick here is that you cant take the focus with ya. You still
>do more damage when attacking, but you use the power of the weapon
>focus rather than its physical shape. I hope this makes it clear why a
>mage cant simly throw his spear weapon focus in the astral.
Yes you can. Read the Rules. Your foci project with you. Even your
fetishes go with you, at least their essence does. No, it doesn't clarify
anything.
Feanor (the Bringer of Light to the Void) writes:
> I hate to tell you, but this is wrong. I dont have a page reference, but
>check out the nover Shadowplay (I think) were this boy (Falcon - latent
>shaman) and this girl (dog shaman) go for a ride in the astral. The
>description explisitly states that the astral is very clear, as a matter of
>fact its clearer than the physical plane. It sez something about all
>images being crisp and clearly visible no matter what time of day etc.
No need for the page reference, I remember the story. Well, gosh, if it's
written in a fictional book..... That's a story with artistic license. DLoH
tells me FASA allows them to take some leniency, just because if you
have 12 viewers, there's going to be 13 stories (the 12 opinions plus
what really happened.) This is/was a Rules discussion. The book is the
authors opinion, and not to be taken as FASA TRUTH. They don't censor
the books. If anything, the perverse gremlins enjoy the confusion they
bring. The case in point could have several explanations. Do you want
me to list them all?
Feanor (Slayer of Munchkins) writes:
> As I see it evasion means speeeeeeeeed :) You just run away and
>hope that your opponent is slower.
Both characters have speed. The Rules rely on successes, using either
Quickness, Magic Rating, or Force. What the sucesses reflect is the
question. My take is that it represents a character's ability to get lost in
the "noise", or as THE BOOK says leave the area. If you can see
forever, what does leaving the area mean??? Deep space. Ooops,
can't do that. Into the Earth. Nope. What other choices do you have. If
your not in a sprawl, you can't go thru much.
Feanor (the Dispenser of Wisdom) writes:
> Well I generally agree with this argument :) but in this case I'll have to
>disagree. Treated like a ranged attack means that you simply use the
>rules for it, not that you throw something at you opponent.
Yes, but in the etheric, spells are something. They exist. They have an
aura, a presence, and can be intercepted and destroyed. Sure fits all my
criteria for the definition of "something". They are as real as anything in
the etheric. Because, as I mentioned before, this is vague, by fiat (or
Volvo, or Renault), depending on the circumstances, I allow a mage to
cast only within normal astral combat range, which is four times astral
Quickness. It gets rid of all those "what-ifs". If you have a better, Rule
reliance idea, I long to hear it. This doesn't include Ritual Magic.
Feanor (the Crafter of Legends) writes:
> The answer is WYTIWYG (What You Think Is What You Get) the
>mages own common sence tells him that something like that would be
>preposterous and so he himself sortof blocks his sences and forces
>himself to use physical plane "visibility rules".
I don't buy the WYTIWG theory. (Meta)humanity is not powerful enough
to impress reality. And the Rules specifically state that you can not
perceive through walls, regardless of whether the mage "thinks" he has
superman's x-ray vision. It would make delusional people (and
chipheads) extremely powerful, as they would not obey any rules other
than what they believed.
Feanor (just plain) writes:
> I dont quite understand the bais of you logic here, does this mean that
>certain physical properties of the object allow this to happen? Or do
>you have something else in mind ? something more magical in nature ?
> This explains glass and mirrors, but what if someone discovers some
>weird substance that can be used as glass and is only transparent
>when light hits it. What would be its effect in the astral ?
I agree the concept is slippery. It is not per se, a physical property. You
might be able to say that physical properties are mundane manifestations
of the object's nature. And its nature is what governs how it behaves
on the etheric plane. It is kind of a karmic/metaphysical thing. It is the
objects "essence". As to your question, well, it would be what I classify
as a "high tech" item, so any assensing thru it would receive a TN mod.
Then, whether you could see thru it or not would depend on what phase
of it's "being" it was in. A live body has an aura. A dead one does not.
Etheric manifestations are not limited to one "state" of being.
And I never said you couldn't project through a sandstorm, although if
dense enough it would slow you down, just as a jungle would be a real
problem. You can't brush stuff aside, and if it has an aura, you can't go
thru it. Concrete is man-made, so you are comparing apples and
oranges. I do say that you cannot project through natural, unworked
rock. I will give you the Rule reference if you wish.
The Hunter and Prey reference you gave was the only story by that
name that I knew of, which is why I was confused. It has nothing to do
with space. The discussion in it is referring to astral planes, not orbit. I
checked with DLoH when it first came out. So ka?
Next.
