| From: | Chris Maxfield cmaxfiel@****.org.au |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Combat mages (was Re: Magic) |
| Date: | Fri, 06 Aug 1999 20:12:18 +1000 |
>In one game, I'm running this combat mage (my first fully Awakened
>character) who has a distinct style: she can destroy a lot of stuff in
>a very short amount of time (and does it often). How fast? One of
>her spells starts with the mock-incantation, "Darkness from twilight,
>crimson from blood that flows; buried in the flow of time..."
In my game, combat is usually over by the time someone can chant all that
out. :-)
>And then combat's over, and she's usually unconscious. It was funny
>the first three times, but...well, I need more options. But she
>survives, which, in my mind, is always a good thing. Problem (or is
>it a good thing?) is, she almost always moves last in combat, which
Why last? Are you using SR3 initiative rules. If so, she goes on the first
pass like everybody (unsurprised) else.
>If she casts Physical Barrier in an enclosed space, how much damage
>would it do to someone who's suddenly found themselves in the path of
>the equivalent of a brick wall? Can I use a Physical Barrier like,
Use the Impact Damage table under Vehicle combat on page 147.
>say, a really big riot shield, and push my opponents around with it or
>maybe bash them with it? If understand this correctly, elemental
I don't think you can move a Barrier. I think it remains in exactly the
place you created it as long as it is sustained. Actually, the rules aren't
explicit on this but the spell description emphasizes it's just like a
physical wall and you can't move physical walls around.
>manipulations don't go in or out of a physical barrier, am I correct?
Says so in the spell description.
>And now for the big question...
>
>No matter how many times I read the book, I still don't have a grasp
>on the "sustained bonded foci" thing. Are these things like spell
>locks (which I do understand), or do they "deactivate" after a while?
>How long does the spell stay active? Say I use a sustained bonded
>foci for Increase reflexes +3 on myself; does this mean I'm always
>going to have this spell on me, or am I still sustaining this thing?
>Or does the foci do the sustaining for me? Help, this thing is
>confusing me...
A sustaining focus permanently sustains a spell for you as long as it is
not deactivated. The magician may deactivate it at will, anytime, but it
otherwise requires no participation from the magician.
You buy a sustaining focus for a particular category of spells (combat,
detection, etc.) and at a particular force rating. The sustaining focus's
force rating is the maximum force of a spell that can be bonded to it.
Karma is paid and the sustaining focus bonded to a particular spell at a
particular force (of no more than the sustaining focus's force).
Thereafter, it will only ever sustain that chosen spell unless it is
re-bonded again (with more karma spent).
To activate the sustaining focus, the spell is cast and handed to the focus
to look after at whatever effectiveness the casting achieved. Activating
the focus costs no karma.
The spell on the sustaining focus is always active until the focus is
deactivated. To reactivate it, the spell must be cast again and handed to
the focus at whatever effectiveness this new casting achieved. This does
not require re-bonding or more karma but is not often possible in the
middle of combat. :-)
Chris
