| From: | Lloyd Vance ljvance@*******.edu |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Area effect and spell targeting, cover your eyes |
| Date: | Mon, 09 Aug 1999 11:37:35 |
>At 09:48 AM 8/9/99 +0700, Arcady wrote:
>:A mage is casting an area effect spell like powerball in a small
>:contained room...
>:
>:To limit who gets hit he covers one eye and cups the other such that
>: he only sees some of the people.
>:
>:How would you rule it?
>
>"No sir; I don't like it." -- Mr. Horse, Ren & Stimpy
>
>Now, here's why:
>
>SR2 Grimoire, p.110, How Spells Work:
>"Spellcasting is a matter of intention and mental control. For
>example, brash young sorcerers often attempt to aim an area-effect
>spell through a pinhole to limit the effect to a single target, and
>then wonder why the spell misfires under such circumstances. Might as
>well ask a painter wearing tinted lenses why the color values in a
>painting are false. How can a magician capture the universe-embracing
>exaltation of spirit that is the key to magic when he is playing such
>mind games with himself?
>...
>One definition of magic is the ability to go mad in a very specific
>way for a limited time. From the psychological viewpoint, a spell is
>an induced neurosis or even a psychosis, created for a split second
>to channel psychic energy in a particular way. Confusing this
>delicate process with calculating, rational thought may leave the
>magician unable to do much else."
>
>An outdated source, perhaps, but there wasn't anything listed in
>either the BBB3 or MitS that contradicts this description. A
>spellcaster who attempts to "blinder" himself when casting an area
>effect spell is screwing with the "intention" of the spell, that
>being (IMO) to indiscriminately fill a particular volume with
>specific magical energies.
I've got to agree with RP on this one. The area affect rule has balances
in it. One of them is that you affect everything (I know, not really
everything, but I'm emphasizing) withing the radius of effect. To make it
easy for one to negate those penalties, would throw off game balance. IMHO.
>
>If you'd like a hard numbers rule mechanic for this, I'd suggest a
>+12 to the spellcasting target numbers for every 45 degrees of the
>spellcaster's normal field of view that he deliberately tries to
>obstruct at the time of casting an area effect spell. (Of course,
>that number is partially from my dislike of this sort of thing)
I'd disagree on this one. I'd be more likely to say you can't do it, and
if the player tries, have some sort of mana surge randomly hit someone
else. Some kind of bad thing, with 2X drain or something.
-The Hamm
"I want my, I want my, I want my Turn To Goo!"
-To the tune of I want my MTV
