From:	Mark A Shieh SHODAN+@***.EDU
Subject:	Spell Defense (was SR3... SpellCasting (and Game Balance))
Date:	Thu, 4 Mar 1999 14:50:41 -0500 (EST)

Scott Harrison <Scott_Harrison@*****.com> writes:
> Mark A Shieh <SHODAN+@***.edu> made my mailer see:
> -> I'm stating that they don't seem to exist any more than
> -> "Armed Combat" dice seem to exist.

> On the contrary. Here is the reference:

Many thanks for the references. I had missed the first part
of allocating Sorcery dice to spellcasting, making me think of Sorcery
as just another skill. I had no idea how important unarmed combat is
to an astral mage until now.

> Allocating Spell Defense dice is a Free Action. Once used, Spell
> Defense dice are lost until the magician's next Combat Turn. Spell
> Pool dice used in spell defense do not refresh until the next Combat
> Turn.

> It sounds to me that any dice that are allocated from the Sorcery dice
> that are *USED* for Spell Defense are no longer available until the
> next Combat Turn. However, it also sounds like one call reallocate
> those dice to another purpose (like spellcasting) later in the same
> turn.

Yeah, our group got hung up on the word "used" the same way
you seem to be. It seems that you can allocate and unallocate dice
every phase, and they don't get locked in until they get used up for
resisting a spell, or spellcasting. Even if you can't, you could
unallocate them on phase 1 (0?), so they are available next turn.

> It appears that the Sorcery dice are another pool. This pool refreshes
> at the start of the next phase, except for dice that were *USED* for
> Spell Defense.

Actually, this implication doesn't seem clear to me. If it's
going to be treated as just another pool, it should refresh once per
combat turn, not once per phase.
OTOH, it's not explicitly stated as being a pool, as all of
the pools are listed in the pools section on p.43-44, with a caveat
for the Karma Pool.
It seems to me that Sorcery dice function in a pool-like
manner, but aren't strictly a pool. If this is true, then there are
no hard rules for the rate of refresh.

> If that supposition is true, I think it would be best spelled out in
> the rules more clearly. There are lots of implications to it being a
> pool, like the fact that if one uses all the Sorcery dice in a phase
> to cast spells, one is not able to allocate any of the dice to Spell
> Defense until the pool refreshes in the next phase.

And even if they have to wait one phase, it could still mean
that the Sorcery dice are refreshing often enough to provide free
spell defense between the last action in the turn and the beginning of
a turn, when pools refresh.
It also has implications for two mages duking it out in astral
space, if it refreshes once per action instead of once per phase.

Mark