From:	me@******.net (Hexren)
Subject:	Legal Magic
Date:	Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:17:55 +0200

> snicker@*********.net wrote:
>> Ubiquitous [mailto:weberm@*******.net] wrote

>>> Perhaps this is a silly question, but how would someone know a mage knows an
illegal
>>> spell?
>>
>>I seem to recall reading somewhere that every spell cast has an astral
"fingerprint" as
>>it were, and certain forensic magics would be able to detect that fingerprint, as
well
>>as associate it with the casting mage (ala ritual magic). I'm thinking something
similar >to psychometry or perhaps an astral-only form of clairvoyance...

> I play a 2nd edition game (but am slowly incorporating 3rd edition stuff) but
remember
> them introiducing that concept to the game. However, ir requires a mage with some
sort
> to make a Sorcery(spellcasting:forensics) test to detect the signature. I'm not sure
> if it can detect the Force of the spell, but that doesn't help if the spell was not
> cast at the highest Force (yeah, as if a player mage would do THAT...). :-)

---------------------------------------------

The mage must be witness to the spell beeing cast. Witness as in
"being perceiving astraly and spending a complex action in the combat
turn the spell is beeing cast to analyze the signature" he can then
analyze the signature to learn things about (where mage was thaught,
by whom, things about how he views magic) there are no hard rules
given for this. The hard gules given enable the analyzing mage to make
a perception test if he ever again is witness to this mage casting a
spell to realize that he "knows" that mage.

Or that is how I remember it from "Awakenings"

Regards
Hexren