| From: | Marc Renouf renouf@********.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | A Few Questions |
| Date: | Tue, 9 Feb 1999 10:14:08 -0500 (EST) |
On Mon, 8 Feb 1999 NercoLythe@***.com had a couple of questions:
> 1. Would I be able to anchor a spell, say Powerball, to my katana and the
> trigger would be anytime it draws blood? Or perhaps a throwing knife?
Anchored combat spells work *once*. After they are triggered,
they must be re-anchored to the item. So yes, you could anchor an
powerball to your katana, so long as you designed the trigger properly
(which pretty much tends to be GM discretion).
However, this poses other problems. For instance, "Powerball" is
an area-of-effect spell. So you're swinging your katana, you hit your
opponent, and you draw blood. Suddenly, *WHAM!* a six (or whatever the
Magic attribute of the anchoring mage was) meter radius area
centered on the sword erupts with crackling magical energy. But you're
hanging on to this sword, so you get hit too, as does your buddy standing
beside you and the innocent bystander cowering under a nearby parkbench.
Further, it is entirely likely that the spell will damage
or destroy the sword itself, meaning that you've just destroyed the focus
for your anchoring, which means a whole lot of wasted time, material, and
karma.
So yes, you can do it. But why would you want to?
> 2. Would I be able to take a sample of a critter's DNA and clone it in order
> to domesticate it?
Cloning and domestication are two totally different things. In
the Shadowrun universe, cloning is a pretty advanced science, so yes, you
could conceivably clone a critter if you had a blood or tissue sample that
you could get a good DNA sample from, as well as a facility in which to do
the work (i.e. a full-blown medical lab, with all the bells, whistles,
vats, computers, gadgets, and a machine that goes "ping").
But now that you have a cloned animal, what are you going to do
with it? Just because you have raised the animal from a pup/kitten/chick/
whatever doesn't mean that the animal is domesticated. Domestication is a
long, slow, grueling eugenic process, by which traits considered to be
"wild" are selectively bred out of successive generations of whatever
animal you're trying to domesticate. The Springer Spaniel didn't happen
overnight. The Sharpei was not an accident of nature (though it may look
like it). The Black Angus is the product of centuries, if not milennia of
selective cattle breeding.
And if you simply clone an animal and raise it from birth, all you
have is a wild animal that's used to (i.e. not afraid of) humans. It is
for this reason that "wild" animals tend to make shitty pets. Their
instinctive natural behaviors are still present. Proper training will
help, but may not offset the animal's natural tendencies. Look at the
number of "pet" wolves that need to be put down every year because they
have become too dangerous to either their owners or their owners'
neighbors.
Again, you could do it, but why would you want to?
> 3. How is essence figured out?
Everybody (all metahumans, that is) starts with 6 Essence. Every
piece of cyberware you get subtracts from this Essence. Essence is
closely tied to one's magic rating if one is a mage. As such, cyberware
and magic are at some level mutually exclusive. The more cyberware you
get, the weaker your magic becomes.
Also, creatures with the paranormal power of "Essence Drain"
(like vampires) can remove Essence from you. No fun.
There is no way to increase your Essence. Once it's gone, it's
gone for good.
> 4. Can I have more than one ally?
There's nothing that I can find that says no, so go for it. But
realize that when you create an ally as part of initiation, you don't get
the bonus magic point. Further, ally creation/improvement costs buttloads
of karma. Being a mage takes enough karma as it is, so be careful how
much you'll be giving away to your allies.
In other words, you could do it, but why would you want to?
> 5. I killed a Juggernat, cut its head off, burnt off the flesh and grafted the
> skull onto my bike. Now how much armor would that be and also how would the
> handling and speed be affected?
As someone else pointed out, a Juggernaut skull is pretty huge
(i.e. probably bigger than your bike). Mounting it to a motorcycle is not
really feasible, and even if it was, the benefit would be dubious at best
(especially considering that anyone shooting could target you instead of
the motorcycle, so in that sense it doesn't matter how armored your bike
gets).
> 6. If I create a homonclus for my ally spirit would it make sense to give it
> other forms, would it be able to use them, is my ally forever bound to its
> host body.
If I remember correctly, homonculi are permanently bound to their
physical form.
> 7. Exactly how would I be able too find a critter for my ally to inhabit, do I
> have to tame a critter, beat it senseless to the point where it lingers above
> death? What critters can I use for my ally to inhabit?
The rules for inhabiting a creature's body are pretty much
explained in the appropriate section on creating allies.
> 8. Can I give my spirit the skill to drive cars even if it inhabited a hell
> hound?
You can give an ally pretty much any skill you want. Whether the
ally can use it effectively is an entirely different matter. I *could*
give my pet snail ally a 12 in Pistols.
But why would I want to?
> 9. What is blood shaman? Can I be a blood shaman? And can you give me any
> other information on blood shaman?
Blood magic is described in the Aztlan sourcebook. It was
intended to make meaner, nastier NPC's to torment players with.
Basically, it is a way for a mage to offset drain by inflicting wounds on
sacrificial victims (or in some dire cases, upon him or herself). If
I remember correctly, every box of damage inflicted is a success on the
magician's drain test.
Whether or not you can play a blood mage is entirely up to your
GM. It depends on the setting and the kind of campaign they are running.
Most GM's say "hell no" and leave it at that.
> 10. Can you give me a list of book out and coming out?
Check out FASA's website at www.fasa.com
> 11. The spell Firewall is it stationary? Can I ride on the back of a friends
> bike and put a wall around us while we ride around and just hit people with
> the wall?
I've always ruled that barrier/wall spells are stationary once
cast, but there is some ambiguity in the rules on this point. Again,
check with your GM before assuming anything.
I hope this helped.
Marc
