I was just thinking, can a mage use turn to goo as an infiltration spell? Such as sending the adept up onto the roof with a small vial of acid, pouring it down in the corner of the roof and getting a small hole, then turning the adept to goo and letting him drip down the hole?

The 4th edition version is less a puddle and more a bag of jello, could push him through a mid sized hole maybe hehe.

I have thought about this before, but turn to goo is a bloody strange spell. What happens when it stops being sustained? It's not terribly clear.

Of course you don't need turn to goo at all. Shapechange the adept into a snake. Don't even need that high a force. What's the body on a python? And it can still squeeze through drainpipes. Of course, your adept would be naked... best send a mage with Fashion...

Now I have this idea in my head of carrying somebody into a mega compound in a biohazard-marked waterbottle, The 6th Day-style. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

The spell's description doesn't really say what the viscosity of a target who has been turned to goo is, but the fluff does say "sticky" and "glue-like". I'd imagine it could be done, but would take a while for the gooey adept in your example to seep in. And then they'd be all nakedy. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

It says sticky glue-like substance. Glue in bottles flows through a hole about 5mm thick or so (guesstimate)... which seems to be considerably more advantageous than say, a snake, which would need a hole a few inches big.

It also gives a barrier rating on the goo, which would indicate to me a certain level of difficulty in squeezing through holes.

I think the barrier rating is more for purposes of determining how easy it is to damage a character while in goo form, less about its malleability.

it's probably more of a non-newtonian liquid . . like certain forms of quick-sand . . or this icky slime stuff . . as long as you excert force onto it, it keeps its form more or less . . as soon as you stop doing things to the stuff it starts to drip like glue

Best example, cornflower + water.

Or youtube for the mythbusters walking on water episode.

Now, that's a really interesting idea. I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

The only possible issue is as others have pointed out: the adept wouldn't have any gear.

As ornot pointed out, maybe shapechange would be better, though. Turn the subject into an ant so that he can fit through very small openings and can climb most surfaces. That is, if the spell allows you to do that. I'm not sure if you literally have to choose a critter in the books, or if any animal within the Body rating limitation is allowed.

So is this stuff like the liquid metal on the T-2000? Self-seeking? What happens if it's divided in half when the mage drops the spell?

hmm . . turn to goo . . would the goo be affected by SHAPE WATER or something like that?
non refined material, in the case of an adept magical, virgin stuff for matters of resistance . .

The spell says, "...any damage suffered by the gooey form affects the target normally." Although that's not specific damage in the normal game terms, that's basically chopping the person in half. It wouldn't be pretty when the mage ends the spell.

I'd have the character make a strength test to seperate the goo, as the goo is at least as cohesive as the persons body + net successes on the spell.

As far as shapechange goes, if you wanted something that small (Body 0?) you'd need to have an adept with body of 1-2 in order to be able to. With goo, you could have your Body 10 troll adept drip down the ceiling.

The spell says, "The subject can only assume the form of a critter whose base Body rating is 2 points greater or less than her own."

So, if you have Body 3, that means you can assume the form of a critter whose Body rating is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. At least, that's how I read it.

Yes, and as I said, if you wanted something as small as an ant (Body 0?) then at most, the adept could have a body of 2.

I wasn't clear in my example. I should have used Body 6 as the example. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.

But, I read the description a few more times, and I see what you're saying. You're saying the critter's Body has to be up to 2 more than yours, or a minimum of 2 less than yours. I was thinking it was 2 more than yours, or anything less than yours.

After reading it again, I agree with you. So, Turn to Goo is the best bet.

Edit: Fixed the example--forgot to include 7 and 8.

Exactly. Body 6 would let you shapechange to critters with body of 4-8.

so, if one were to hack the goo in two . . and put the two halves into a bucket so they melt together again . . what would happen if you empty the bucket into one large puddle again and end the spell?

The only problem with Turn to Goo is that the Force must equal or exceed the target's Body. So, if you used it on your troll adept example with Body 10, that means you need Force 10! The drain will be 12P, unless you have Magic 10 or more. Ouch!

Well, hacking the goo in two would be attacks against the goo, and I'd probably rule that it wouldn't split entirely in two until the character had exceeded his damage boxes. Thusly, you put it in some buckets, and then you stop sustaining the spell, and you get someone who was messily ripped in half.

Drain on a Force 10 Goo would be 7(S or P depending on magic rating). F/2 = 5 + 2 = 7.

The description isn't clear on such a case. So, the answer depends on how mean your GM wants to be. The GM could rule that the goo was damaged by being split, so the character takes appropriate damage. Or, the GM could say that since you rejoined the goo before ending the spell, the character is okay. I don't know which one is supposed to be the proper interpretation.

I'm going to guess that damage to the goo is generally from things such as fire that actually burns away part of the goo. I figure that poking a stick into the goo or dividing it then rejoining it wouldn't do any real damage. So, if I were to rule, I'd say the split then rejoined character would be okay.

Oops, you're right. I'm totally not with it today. I'll blame it on the flu that I'm fighting off. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

incidentally, shapechange plus increase body and decrease body can remove some of those pesky limits on what you can shapechange into (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)