Please clarify some magic stuff, Some questions I've been wondering about Options

[Gray Vagabond]

I'm new at this Shadowrun stuff and GMing, and I've had a few questions about magic things. I hope I can ask all of them in this post and not have to bother everyone after this, but... Here goes.

First, the Shamanic Mask. The only thing the RAW says about it is that some magical traditions have it, and it makes it easier for others to notice that the mage is casting spells. (+2 dice to perception test). What determines whether or not your mage has a shamanic mask -- is it just possessing a mentor spirit? Is the shamanic mask then just a disadvantage built into having a mentor spirit?

Then I have a question about the Heal spell. It says the Drain value is (Damage Value) -2. What is the Damage Value, is it the number of boxes of Physical damage the target has taken? Or is it the number of boxes the mage is trying to heal? Since you use the Drain value to determine how long you must concentrate to make the healing permanent, it could make a big difference.

Thanks for all help you can provide.

[Ol' Scratch]

Shamanic Masks: This is a trait of the Shamanic Tradition (SR4 p. 170) and is assumed to exist whenever a Shaman uses their magic. It's only really noticable when they throw out high Force magic, however. But it's only really really noticable when someone succeeds at on the Notice Spellcasting test. Other traditions with a mentor spirit do not have a Shamanic Mask, though, unless they specifically mention it in their description.

Heal: Yes, the Damage Value it's referring to is the total number of boxes the target currently has (not total damage healed). It's completely separate from the amount of damage the spell actually heals. And yes, the duration required to make the effect varies based on the Drain Value. So if someone has five boxes of Physical Damage, the Drain Value is based off those five boxes even if the spell only heals two.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

[Ryu]

IIRC its up to the shaman if he wants to have a mask. Major coolness, but less sneaky. Rotbarts suggestion is a middle ground I could live with.

[Ravor]

Personally I even allow non-shamans to have one if they want, but then again I figure that a semi-invisable "mask-like" effect is part of what mundanes are actually sensing when they make the perception test to detremine if they notice who is casting magic.

[Buster]

A 5 BP negative quality "Shamanic Mask" would be a perfect buyoff for the Mentor Spirit quality.

[Dashifen]

That's not a bad idea, Buster....

[Moon-Hawk]

If you want to make it even more tempting, you could make an alternate Mentor Spirit w/ shamanic mask as a 0 point quality.
Same final cost but doesn't contribute to the 35 point limit on qualities. That is, if you wanted to make the shamanic mask even more tempting without actually changing the cost from what was already suggested.

[Gray Vagabond]

Thanks for the feedback, omaes.
...and that's another question, how do you pronounce "omae?" I've been sticking with "chummer" just because I don't know.

[Fortune]

Oh-may. :D

[Strobe]

[Talia Invierno]

Depends.

Colloquial among more or less equals, it's a diphthong -- o-mah-e (as in "air"). Try for pure vowels in each part (difficult for native English speakers, I've found).

A slightly ruder variant is omee -- o-me (again as in "air", but lengthened).

Both are slightly iffy for women: the original intent is to an equal or light subordinate, with the "o" prefix "polite-ening" it.

[Ol' Scratch]

How are you translating "e" or "me" into sounding anything even remotely like "air?" I'm just not getting it.

[Talia Invierno]

How would you pronounce the "e" in "effing", or "endure", or "men"?

[Ol' Scratch]

"A soft E," "eh," or by using any of the examples you just cited. :) Thanks for the clarification, I didn't understand what you meant. :D

[Talia Invierno]

It's the nasty thing, in English, about just saying "it's pronounced like an 'e'." Even soft "e" wouldn't completely cover it ... and very technically, the "e" sound in those examples isn't the same.

But, as the professor explaining Xeno's paradox using a male and female co-ed said, it's close enough for practical purposes.

[Gray Vagabond]

Thanks for the replies -- here's another question I had, concerning casting from astral projection:

If I'm reading the RAW correctly, p 173, an astrally projecting magician can cast spells on things with an astral presence only (including dual-natured characters/critters). They cannot cast spells on targets in the physical world at all. I have been telling my player that he can cast spells on physical beings if he manifests (p 184, an astral form can interact with the physical plane if it manifests, though it cannot make physical attacks) -- after re-reading p173 though, I think I was wrong about this, and the astral caster can't cast spells on the physical plane at all, even when manifesting. Which is right -- can they cast spells on purely physical forms when manifesting, or no?

[odinson]

[Buster]

[Buster]

Also, remember that manifesting is not the same thing as materializing. Manifesting is a purely astral phenomena. Materializing is only for spirits with the Materializing power. A materialized spirit would cast spells into the physical plane, but a manifested spirit would cast spells into the astral plane.

[BookWyrm]

OK, how does one pronounce "corp" when refering to Corporations? Is the 'p' at the end silent or not? (and you can just forget the obvious jokes that brings up, tyvm)

[Ancient History]

With p.

[Buster]

Fun with English:

Corps (more than one corp) is pronounced "corps".
Army Corps or Corps cadaver is pronounced "core".
Corpse (as in a dead body) is pronounced "corps".

And don't get me started on the tomb/comb/bomb nonsense. Harry Harrison promised we'd all be speaking Esperanto by now!

[Ophis]

Damn our languages creolised routes. Thats a proper linguistic term that.

[BookWyrm]

Thanks. :)