Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Darrian Wolffe]

Mike, how much downtime do we have, specifically, between the end of the last run and Feb 27th?  I'm looking at the potential of a solo initiation with the Mediation Ordeal, and the math is...harsh (and, ludicrously, the Ordeal gets easier the higher-grade you are, since the time you have available to try is your "desired grade x4 days").  Having at least a vague idea of how long I have to attempt it will heavily influence the decision to try.

Also, I can't find the rule anywhere about being able to "make up" a lost point of Magic Attribute by taking a Geas.  I know it existed in previous editions, and I know that there's canon 4e characters with it...but I can't find the rule anywhere in SR4A or Street Magic.

EDIT: One more question (an hour of searching SR4.com and Dumpshock later...) - are we using the optional rule from Augmentation (p23) that allows sufficiently-competent Cosmetic Surgery to raise your CHA attribute?  I ask because there's no other way to raise it via some combination of Cyber/Bio/Gene/Nanoware...unlike every other Mental and Physical attribute.

[agustaaquila]

The last run ended Feb 26 at about 2300 when you defeated the techothingy.  This was done to let me post up some stuff, not to influence your decision about downtime. 

2)  The Cannon 4e characters are....special.  Its not in the rules, so as I said FOIG.  Whats your arcana?

3)  No, because CHA is a lot more than your looks.  Some things money cannot buy.  (which I know bones you especially hard, but we can talk

[Darrian Wolffe]

No problem - I'm just trying to figure out what I can and can't do with karma (EDIT: and cash)  so our next game doesn't take forever to start up.  Anything we should know on that front?  I'm concerned because my ability to spend karma takes a lot of time and PITA (I've got 20+ karma sitting unspent).


Additional questions before you get back from work:
1) How common are high-force (6+) astral mana barriers?  I ask for two reasons.  First, if they're common at all, being dual-natured creatures, both myself and Brian's character are screwed (since simply passing through them alerts the caster, we'd basically always be setting them off even on a successful pass-though).  Second, if they're common, the Quickening metamagic becomes largely useless at best, and an active waste of Karma at worst (since it takes karma equal to the F of the spell to quicken something, and they can be blown out by any F2+ barrier).

2) Can you Quicken a spell that requires a target, or only one that targets you?  For example, the Control Emotions spell is sustained.  If I were to Quicken it on myself, would I basically have that spell "active" to use whenever I wanted?  The Quicken entry simply says that Sustainable spells may be Quickened.

3) Counterspelling Metamagic assists in Counterspelling Tests.  Do the dice this metamagic grant also apply to the "cover the team" counterspelling option?, or only for active "I'm deliberately going to try to counter your spell" Tests?

4) Just to be clear, spending karma to initiate and increase my Magic Attribute, would require 13 karma for the Initiation (10x[gradex3]), and then an additional 30 Karma for the increase of Magic Attribute to Rating 6?  I ask because initiation in 3e gave you a bonus +1 to your Magic Attribute in exchange for the karma cost to initiate...it didn't simply raise the maximum value and then expect you to buy it up yourself in addition to the punitive Initiation cost.

5) We briefly discussed this a LONG time ago: would wiping out a next of Bug Spirits have counted as a Deed for Initiation Ordeal Reduction?  I ran the maths on the Meditation thing: it will statistically take me 73 attempts (and approximately 180 days) to use the Meditation Ordeal as written, due to the whole "you only have 4 days available to you to try at Grade 1, and the interval for tests is 1 day.  On the first Extended Test, for example, I'm rolling 8 dice (Body + Will) and need to get 14 successes.  I can test once per day, and have 2 days to accomplish it.  So I have to get 7/8 successes...twice.  And that's just to beat the 1st test.

6) How far along this shopping list did we get?  I've got stuff written on my sheet through Day 20 (the ammo), but I can't recall if I ended up with the Lodge or not...I was holding off writing that down until I could track down a record sheet for magic lodge logistics.

7) Lastly, again, do we have any concept of roughly (approx 3 days?  approx 3 weeks?  3 months?) how much downtime we'll have?  Just trying to plan ahead for the session.

LAST QUESTION:  What the hell's "Arcana"?  That's not anywhere in the SR4A rulebook AFAIK.

[agustaaquila]

In order of my knowing and thinking about the answers:

6)  You stopped on day 21, as that was when the last mod happened.

7)  That's up to you.  There are some fixed events that will happen at certain times, but other than these you are now in control of your own destruction destiny. 

5)  Yes

4)  Yes, and remember I played both an initate mage and submission in Mission play.

3)  Ok, so lets talk about how Counterspelling dice work, as I have been running it wrong up to this point.  Counterspelling dice should only be rolled by Darrian one per spell

EX.  Onyx, Mary and Karasu are each targeted by 3 mages who attack them with powerbolt.  In this case, Onyx would roll her WIL and Darian would roll the counterspelling dice, Mary would roll her WIL and Darrian would roll a seperate test of counterspelling dice, same for KArasu.

EX 2:  After a round of geek the mage is employed, only one mage is left, who attacks the group with stunball.  In this case, each PC would roll their Wil, and Darrian would roll his counterspelling dice one, applying the result to reduce hits for each PC.

So it would apply to counterspelling tests made to defend against spells as well as active counterspelling.

2)  Quickening is the new spell lock, and I treat it as such.  So you can quicken self target spells on yourself, and also spells like increase atribute cast on another.  In a case like control emotions, it would be an already cast spell, so you could forever control an area and those people in the area (nasty suprise to do to a team hideout).  A Quickening is not a contingency spell, it locks an already existing spell in place.  Summery  its really up to me, you know my GMing style; try to be too cute will get you burned.

1)  Have I even thrown a mana barrier against you?  Although they are a thing.  To encounter a lot of high level barriers, you have to go someplace special:  Headquarters of RD for Manadyne, High temple in Tenectholon, etc.

Final question)  Street Magic (p24)  Arcana governs the practical aspects of a tradition's magical theory and the application of magic in creative new ways.

[Darrian Wolffe]

OK, here's my preparatory timeline.

Day 1-3) Finish getting materials for the lodge as per the Shopping thread.
4-6) Off.  Reconnect with contacts, spend time with team, etc.
7-14) Create Force 7 Shamanic Lodge (requires 7 days) - no test necessary
15) Off.  Get to know lodge, recover from ritual.
16) Initiate at Grade 1 (Solo Initiation w/ Deed Ordeal).  Select Quickening Metamagic.  11 Karma
17) Cast Quickened F4 Increase CHA on Self.  Buy successes.  4 Karma
18-24) Improve Summoning Skill to Rank 2 (Threshold 2, 1 week interval).  4 Karma
25 - ?) Ask group what spell they'd like me to have which I already don't.  Acquire formulae, learn spell (will cost 5 Karma to learn, which is all the Karma I have left at this point).

[agustaaquila]

Darrian, do you have the grid of your group base, or do I need to search for that as well?

[Darrian Wolffe]

Darrian, do you have the grid of your group base, or do I need to search for that as well?

I believe that is with B&B's stuff at their house.