Magic Gun Drone, 'Cause Push was awesome Options

[Socinus]

I was thinking about this the other day, what would you have to do/cast to have a gun levitate, move around, and fire at targets without the mage seeing the gun or the targets?

Levitate for the gun, Magic Fingers to turn and fire the weapon, and Clairvoyance(?) to see targets and aim?

What kind of stats would you use in that instance?

[HunterHerne]

Magic fingers works for both levitating the gun, and firing. Clairvoyance could let you see the opposition, but if either Levitate or Magic Fingers leaves your sight, it stops. If you do this, I would use the rules for Indirect fire from Arsenal, Weapon skill+ intuition -6 for not directly seeing the opponent +1/hit on a perception test -2 for magic fingers -2 for each maintained spell. As a more immediate benefit, that would make it possible to shoot the opposition without having to shoot through the wall, hopefully.

[Tanegar]

Alternatively, summon a guardian spirit, give it the appropriate weapon skill, and let it go to town. Spirits are the magical equivalent of drones, after all, except you can't rig them.

Sometimes they can rig you, though. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Kirk]

Magic fingers works for both levitating the gun, and firing. Clairvoyance could let you see the opposition, but if either Levitate or Magic Fingers leaves your sight, it stops. If you do this, I would use the rules for Indirect fire from Arsenal, Weapon skill+ intuition -6 for not directly seeing the opponent +1/hit on a perception test -2 for magic fingers -2 for each maintained spell. As a more immediate benefit, that would make it possible to shoot the opposition without having to shoot through the wall, hopefully.

Use a smartgun with smartlink, add a pilot and propulsion (flying). Wear a visual sensor (a monocle for style) and add targeting autosoft so there's a chance of actually hitting something. Issue command does not require skill.

Note that this 'solves' a minor pain for TMs and riggers. Take off the flying (neat gimmick but has other problems) and just treat the thing like a hand-held drone for the times when you can't have shooty drones around.

[HunterHerne]

Use a smartgun with smartlink, add a pilot and propulsion (flying). Wear a visual sensor (a monocle for style) and add targeting autosoft so there's a chance of actually hitting something. Issue command does not require skill.

Note that this 'solves' a minor pain for TMs and riggers. Take off the flying (neat gimmick but has other problems) and just treat the thing like a hand-held drone for the times when you can't have shooty drones around.

Yeah, but the OP was asking about ways to do it magically. That is still an option, though.

[Kirk]

Yeah, but the OP was asking about ways to do it magically. That is still an option, though.

I wasn't really sure if s/he was insisting on doing it magically, not with the "do/cast" in there. Instead, just something a mage could to to shoot at targets without the mage seeing gun or targets.

[Mayhem_2006]

I'd go with the hybrid method of magic fingers/levitate to move and fire the gun plus a wireless smartlink linked to a monacle for the aiming.

[Aerospider]

I'd go with the hybrid method of magic fingers/levitate to move and fire the gun plus a wireless smartlink linked to a monacle for the aiming.

With Magic Fingers in effect Levitate is pretty redundant if all you want to manipulate is a firearm. If anything the two would probably get in each other's way.

It would only make sense to emply Levitate if the firearm in question was a large heavy weapon and you wish to avoid the penalty for having too low a Strength – I think you need 8 (Arsenal?), which is a lot of hits required on the Magic Fingers spell.