From:	Brian Moore <mooreb@****.FAC.COM>
Subject:	Re: focus & karma
Date:	Fri, 15 May 1998 17:08:49 -0400

Gurth <gurth@******.NL> said:
> Jens Schmitt said on 22:31/14 May 98...
> ...
> > Somewhere in the Grimoire it is said that for the first bondage you can
> > reduce costs by using orichalkum, for example.
>
> True.
>
> > Does this mean that
> > A) The Guy who gets the focus first can reduce the karmacosts to nothing
> > B) He´ll have to bound it for the first time (finishing the enchantmen=
> t),
> > but it has to be bounded again using the standard cost.
>
> The cost reduction applies to the fist bonding only, and the Karma cost
> cannot be reduced to 0 -- per the Grimoire, page 26, the lowest possible
> Karma cost for first bonding is 1 point. (Although this is disputable, I
> know -- however this is my interpretation of that line.)

My interpretation is slightly different. The First Bonding costs are all
listed as X*rating, with the items divided into base cost (8*rating IIRC
for a Weapon Focus), and modifiers (-1*rating for each Orichalcum unit).
I set the minimum cost at 1*rating, i.e. karma cost equal to focus rating.
I thought that's what the rules said, but I can't check from work.

And NO to B) above, the First Bonding is considered to bind the focus
to the Enchanter (if he's the only one involved) or to the person who is
to receive the focus (he has to be there at the end of the enchanting
process). There is no need to pay the standard bonding cost unless
someone else wants to bind the focus.

In a perfect world, no one would ever pay the Standard bonding cost.
Everyone would get their foci directly from enchanters, and would pay
the (significantly reduced) First Bonding karma cost. In the ShadowRun
world, the standard for runners is to "acquire" (loot) foci from "people
who don't need them anymore" (dead bodies), so the runners end up paying
the Standard cost.

> Once it's been through its first bonding, the full cost must be paid as
> per page 27 of the Grimoire. This cost can also be reduced by making an
> Enchanting test, as explained there. However the modifiers for the first
> bonding don't apply.

Correct, but this is only if someone else wants to bond to the focus.

In my campaign, my PC is a mage with a good Enchanting skill. He does
the enchanting for the party. Everyone pays karma = focus rating for
the things he makes because he uses enough radicals or Orichalcum to
get the karma cost to (my) minimum. Note that having a PC enchanter
can significantly increase the magical power of the group. If you
aren't comfortable with a "high magic" game, you might want to put your
own limits on enchanting. The rules as written allow enchanters to
make foci quickly for very little money or karma.

--
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