From:	Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject:	SR3... SpellCasting.
Date:	Tue, 2 Mar 1999 09:51:19 -0500 (EST)

On Tue, 2 Mar 1999, Protokol13 wrote:

> I have recently gotten the 3rd edition rulebook for Shadowrun, because I
> have started GMing for it again. Besides Matrix rules now relying
> solely on what was cover in Virtual Realities 2.0, it seems Spellcating
> has changed.

In addition to Gurth's excellent explanation of the new spell
mechanics, I'd just like to toss out a few other observations on the
subject.
First off, an easy way to think of it is that finally, magic works
pretty much like everything else. Consider the following:

Pistols Ares Predator
Computer Attack 6S
Sorcery Manabolt 4D
Armed Combat Wallacher Combat Axe

The second column is the "weapon" and the first is the skill used
to wield that weapon. So as Gurth said, you roll a number of dice equal
to your Sorcery skill, with Pool dice up to your Magic Attribute. Your
opponent resists your "weapon" using the weapon's power level. In the
case of a spell, this is the force rating, chosen by the mage at casting
(up to the maximum level he or she has learned the spell at).
"But what about spells that aren't resisted?" you ask. If you
look at the descriptions of most spells, you'll find that if something is
truly passive (like Heal, for instance), it has a maximum benefit that is
related to its force. Hence, a force 3 Heal spell can Heal no more than 3
boxes, regardless of how many successes the mage gets (all extra
successes over and above 3 must be used for reducing the time). Gone are
the days of buying spells at force 1 and pumping scads of Magic Pool into
them to get the desired effect. Now exercising power requires you to
<gasp> risk taking drain! Perish the thought!
I went around and around with my mage players about the new
system. One of them is just plain stubborn and didn't want to change
'cause he's a wanker, but the rest of them very quickly saw that not only
was the new system easier to learn and use, but it curtailed some of the
more flagrant abuses of magic that one could get away with in SR2.
I encourage you to take the time to read through the new magic
section carefully, and consider all the changes as a whole rather than one
at a time. I think you'll agree that it's an improvement over the SR2
rules once you get the hang of them.

Marc