From:	TopCat <topcat@***.NET>
Subject:	Force Points for Initiation (was Re: The Chromium Mage)
Date:	Wed, 30 Jul 1997 00:41:52 -0500

At 01:17 AM 7/30/97 -0400, George wrote:
> Also, for those of you who (are crazy enough, IMNSHO, to) allow expenditure
>of force points for initiating, and since you can buy more force in the point
>generation system, what's your response to a physad blowing build points on
>force to start as an initiate?

He'd have to spend a LOT of BPs on force points in order to do so. Since
physads only get (magic) amount of force points to begin with and those are
to be strictly distributed for physad abilities (see pg. 21 SrComp) he'd
have to spend...

9 BPs for level 0
11 (20 total) BPs for level 1
12 (32 total) BPs for level 2
14 (46 total) BPs for level 3

...and so on. I, personally, wouldn't allow anyone to initiate during
chargen unless there were some seriously compelling campaign issues at hand
(e.g. characters are all playing experienced members of a magical order).
Even if they were, the cost of this would be absolutely enormous and, in my
eyes, not worth it. It'd be even less worthwhile at chargen where spell
force limits are in effect.

I appear to be one of the few people playing SR who doesn't fawn over
initiation. Maybe everyone else has seen something that I haven't, but it
costs tons of karma that I feel could be better spent elsewhere. As the
rules are, level 0 is the only level really worth striving to attain.
Unless you have Geasa, then it's worth it to initiate as many times as
needed to remove your Geasa. Add in the "gradual initiation" rules and it
becomes a karma pit of minimal return.

I'm also one of the few who doesn't like foci of any sort. Nice benefits,
but the downside is a killer and the cost is staggering. Why spend all that
karma and money to get a focus when you can spend that karma filling out
your spell repetoir and that money buying you the finest library/lodge
around or more contacts or better equipment? Plus, you don't have that
grounding/thievery thing dogging you around wherever you go.

What are the opposite opinions and the bases for them? I'm not going to
attack anyone on this, I just want to know why people like locks and foci so
much (aside from the obvious) and why initiation is so popular?
--
Bob Ooton
topcat@***.net