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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Fetishes and Foci

Posted by: Hasimir May 4 2006, 02:55 PM

Under the new SR4 rules...can I use a tatoo as a fetish to use limited spells?
And what about foci...can a Focus be the powder used for a tatoo or a body-scaring?

And what happens when I suffer physical damage?
Will the signs on my body disappear/break and loose functionality?
And will they heals as I do?

Thx to anyone

Posted by: Moon-Hawk May 4 2006, 03:02 PM

I think you're in "ask the GM" territory, here.
My knee-jerk response is to say no to both.
Then I think maybe it might be reasonable, if the person creating the fetish or power focus is actually the tatoo artist, and the processes are done together. Part of the game-balance is lost, because they can't be dropped or taken from you, so they'd need to cost more or something to help balance that back out.
As for losing them with damage, standard damage doesn't have hit locations, but your GM could be cruel if you botch a damage resistance test or something. That might be game-balancing, right there.
Hmmmm, it sounds like a neat idea, but there are a lot of balance issues, there. I'm torn.

Posted by: mintcar May 4 2006, 03:03 PM

It depends on whether or not the GM conciders a tatoo an object or not. Regardless, you would not want a focus tatoo, as you can't leave it behind. You would be a constant beacon to astral senses and you would have a hard time with astral barriers.

Posted by: Cang May 4 2006, 03:26 PM

That gave me a great idea for a talismonger tatoo artist npc. There are many societies who consider tatoos magical and sacred. He could be a famous talismonger/tatoo artist is very good at what he does. He would have to charge alot if a player would want one of his tatoos. I would say maybe 3x the averge price of a focus/fetish. He could also get in a heap a trouble and would make a great run.

Posted by: Aaron May 4 2006, 04:08 PM

QUOTE (Hasimir)

If I was running a game, and a player asked me this, I'd say that yes, you could use a tattoo for these purposes. However, as mintcar points out, it would be a constant astral nuisance. Also, I'd warn that it could be destroyed by physical damage, say, whenever you rolled a glitch on a damage resistance roll.

Posted by: bustedkarma May 4 2006, 04:14 PM

How would a ward interact with a Tattoo Foci?
Would it just try seperate the astral construct from the ink, or would it try to shear the entire arm off?

Posted by: mdynna May 4 2006, 04:16 PM

I would say it couldn't be a fetish but it could be a Focus. Splitting hairs maybe. I think the game balance is there because although the Focus could never be dropped or left behind, it is astrally active and thus if you run into a barrier or start attracting astral attention the Focus can't be dropped or left behind. Double-edged sword that one.

Posted by: Aaron May 4 2006, 04:52 PM

QUOTE (bustedkarma)

How would a ward interact with a Tattoo Foci?
Would it just try seperate the astral construct from the ink, or would it try to shear the entire arm off?

There are rules for that in the BBB. I don't have it here at work, so I can't give you a page number, but it's under Astral Barriers. Basically, when it comes to a make-or-break situation, either the barrier is breached or the astral entity is disrupted (foci go boink, spirits go home, dual-natured beings go to sleep).

Posted by: Hasimir May 4 2006, 07:15 PM

Actually my main interest was on tatoo fetish.
Foci were an idea popped to mind while I was typing ^_^

Wasn't there somewhere a kind of magical tradition that specifically used "tatoo magic" in the past SR editions?
I think someone talked about Aztlan magic or something...but the forum search isn't helping on this

Posted by: hyzmarca May 4 2006, 07:22 PM

Tatooing was a metamagic that was related to Quickening. I believe that Quickening was a prerequisite for it. Basicly, the tatoos would be used to make the Quickening more powerful and more difficult to dispell. It was popular amongst the Yakuza, I believe.

Posted by: emo samurai May 4 2006, 07:24 PM

Did breaching the barrier alert the creator?

Posted by: Aaron May 5 2006, 11:16 AM

QUOTE (emo samurai)

Did breaching the barrier alert the creator?

In the BBB, you mean? Yes.

Oh, and it's page 185-186.