| From: | "J. Keith Henry" <Ereskanti@***.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: [SR3] Spell Rituals |
| Date: | Wed, 9 Jul 1997 18:59:43 -0400 |
writes:
>
> That said... here's another idea for the list to chew on. How about
setting
> the Drain for spellcasting at Force, but offering options spellcasters can
> use to reduce the Force for Drain purposes. This way, spell-slingers who
are
> prepared under ideal conditions have less Drain while characters throwing
> spells under more difficult conditions, where they can't use the various
> magical rituals, tend to take more Drain.
>
> RITUALS
Is the following material then using a term for "Real World Magic" Steve?
What you describe initially below sounds more like Conditional Geasa
(described more in the Awakenings Book).
> Normally, spellcasting requires the caster do nothing more than
concentrate
> on the desired effect to manipulate the astral forces and cast the spell.
A
> sorcerer can simply stare at a target and cause him to burst into flames
or
> turn into a toad. This sort of spellcasting is very tiring, however,
causing
> a great deal of Drain when casting high Force spells, so magical
characters
> have rituals, things they do to help focus their concentration and channel
> magical forces more easily. They help reduce the wear and tear on the
> spellcaster caused by Drain, allowing a character to cast more powerful
> spells more often for less Drain.
>
> When casting a spell, the caster chooses whether or not to apply any
rituals
> to it. Each ritual used in the spellcasting reduces the Force of the spell
> by
> one for the purpose of determining the Drain Code and for determining if
the
> Drain of the spell is Physical (wound) or Mental (fatigue) damage. The
> caster
> can still only cast the spell up to the maximum Force known and the
rituals
> do not affect the Spell Success Test in any way, only the Drain Resistance
> Test.
>
> Rituals cannot reduce the effective Force of a spell for Drain purposes
> below
> 1. Ritual modifiers are applied before Drain Code modifiers. If the final
> result is less than 2, the Drain Target Number is considered to be 2. For
> example, a Powerbolt spell has a Drain of +1S. If the spell is cast at
Force
> 5 with two rituals, the effective Force for Drain is reduced to 3. The
final
> Drain Code for the spell is (3+1) = 4S.
>
> Rituals can only be used while the spellcaster is in physical form (
> including
> while using astral perception) because they rely on physical things and
> actions. Astrally projecting characters are made up of nothing more than
> Magic and Willpower and must use only those to resist Drain for any spells
> cast in astral form.
>
> The following rituals can be used for spellcasting. Shadowrun players are
> free to come up with new rituals for their magical characters but, as
always,
>
> the gamemaster has final say on whether or not any ritual is appropriate
for
> the campaign.
>
> Exclusive
> The spell with this ritual applied cannot be cast in combination with any
> other spell and the caster cannot maintain other spells or use other
magical
> skills while casting or sustaining this spell.
I have long since had this one argued over by more than a couple dozen
players over the years. Exclusive Spells vs. Exclusive Actions seem to be a
bit in the gray area at times. Shielding is considered one of these (I
forget which one off hand) for example. Also, how about turning on/off an
Anchoring? It isn't actually utilizing a skill, but does require some
measure of concentration.
>
> Fetish
<SNIP>
> Gesture
> The caster must gesture, dance or make similar movements while casting the
> spell. This requires the caster to be free to move. Such movements are
> easily
> noticed and preclude the use of Stealth.
Okay, then what about Kuji-kiri (spelling) the Ninja gesturing/hand dancing
mentioned in the Underworld Soucebook? Those gestures are designated as
Stealth oriented...I also have a Spider Shaman who uses a variation on
weaving (jacob's ladder toys) as a Centering technique...my request is, by
preclude the use of Stealth, what about Stealth itself?
> Incantation
> The caster must speak, sing or chant in a loud, firm voice while casting
the
> spell. This requires the caster to be free to speak. Such incantations are
> easily noticed and preclude the use of Stealth.
from Klingon Opera to Yak Yaking (Martians beware)
>
> Talisman
> The caster must have a material component, which is not consumed in the
> spellcasting. A talisman must be worn or carried to be useful. Talismans
> must
> be magically prepared for use like fetishes. Pre-made talismans are
> available
> from talismongers. Like fetishes, talismans are specific to a certain
> Category of spell and may be used for any spell of that Category.
>
> Example 1: Sammy the Burned-Out Mage has a Magic attribute of 2. He wants
to
<SNIP>
> Example 2: The manaball doesn't take out all of the gangers and they kick
<SNIP>
Question arises concerning Power Foci, or for that matter, any kind of
foci...
> GEASA
<SNIP>
> CENTERING
> Centering is the initiated version of rituals; a metamagical ability using
> an
> artistic Special Skill to focus the user's concentration and provide
> additional dice to reduce Drain. Centering requires a Simple Action to
> perform the required skill. Some Centering Skills can also fulfill geasa
or
> act as a ritual (see above). For example, an initiate who centers by
> chanting
> the medicine songs of his people could also fulfill an Incantation geas
and
> perform an Incantation ritual while centering. No more than one Centering
> Skill can be used at a time.
A question has come up by some of my players here, to which most of the time
I have said "NO", but what about using two different Centering Skills for an
overall complex action, such as summoning a Spirit in Great Form?
The books states that Centering for the Great Form quest is allowable, as is
summoning for drain initially. Help?
