Analyze Device : Power Focus 1, Godhood in 3 easy steps Options

[irinoxx]

First of all, a little hello for everyone here, I've been a lurker for quite some time now. :)

Here's something I thought about, and I found this amusing so I wanted to share it with you. :D
Have an average mage with 2 spell sustaining foci (SSF1 and SSF2), and one low-level power focus.

Step 1: Cast Analyze Device on the Power Focus, therefore getting extra dice for any roll using this focus. Have this spell sustained in SSF1.
Step 2: Do the same, but a little bit better, and have that spell sustained in SSF2.
Step 3: Goto step 1 until slowly bored into godhood. :sleepy:

If this is too slow or too boring, you can certainly use a few spellcasting-aiding bound spirits.
Or whatever.

[UndeadPoet]

A magical articfact is, by no means, a technical device.
And if the focus would be(radio-power focus as an example), then you would only enhance the device itself, like having a clearer sound. You would not enhance the magic power stored within it.
The way you describe it, well, that would be like you buy new tires for your car and suddenly it can launch rockets.
No, sorry, no abuse possibility here.

Hi, by the way!

[Cang]

im not sure what you are trying to get at with this but i would think that everytime you cast the spell, it would be a new spell and wouldn't stack. It would be like having the adept power of mystic armor 2 and having it casted on you at 3.. you will just have the highest force.

ps. hi as well.

[Serbitar]

UndeadPoet got the point. Cang didnt. The point is not to stack but to get better an better with evry spell because of more dice with the power focus due to the spell.

[The Jopp]

Why do i have this image of a Hacker Mystic Adept with Analyze Device.

Improved Ability: Hacking skills
Analyze Device: Commlink

Might work.

[irinoxx]

[Kanada Ten]

SR3 had the same issues (casting Decrease Attribute before casting Increase Attribute and then dropping the Decrease: NO!). But spells don't seem to stack. For instance, you can't cast Force 1 Armor 6 times and end up with an equivalent of a Force 6 Armor.

[hyzmarca]

There are other, more munchy, combinations. Analyze Device: Gun + Smartlink + Improved Ability: (Gun) + Enhanced Physical Atribute: Agility + Being an Elf = One fine shooter.

Recasting more more successes wouldn't work very well. You would suffer diminishing returns fairly quickly due to the fact that successes are limited by the force of the spell. Sure, you could get (Magic + Power Focus)X2 successes by repeatedly overcasting at maximum force but it is unlikely that you will max out your successes before killing yourself with drain.

[Jaid]

[Kanada Ten]

Cool, I guess I'll just have the army Quicken a few Force 12 Armor spells to a solider... :grinbig:

[phasmaphobic]

[phasmaphobic]

[Ancient History]

I don't suppose any of you see the limitation that operating a power focus is not governed by a skill, and thus the bonus die would not go toward anything?

[Grinder]

:rotfl:

[irinoxx]

[UndeadPoet]

[Edward]

Why would it not work on a gun or vehicle?

I just reread the spell. It states that “the spell allows the subject to analyze the purpose and operation of a device or piece of equipment within range of the sense.”

This would clearly include a gun or a vehicle including a drone (provided said drone was within range, force *magic meters)

It could even apply to a power focus (cant think of a good reason why not in the RAW) which brings up the very jaggy trick of bind high force spirit of man with analyze device spell, command it to cast analyze device (power focus) on you to the best of its ability and sustain the spell as a extended service. I have found that it isn’t too difficult to get a force 8 spell with 8 successes in this way. Your power focus would naturally be relatively natural in composition if you where to attempt this so OR 1. your force 1 powerfocus is now a force 8 powerfocus for the duration of the run, net cost, 4000 nuyen and the drain on summoning and binding a force 6 spirit.

Note, once you have done this once you summon and bind the next spirit while still under the influence of the spell, so you get the power focuses bonus dice to the summoning and binding tests.

My solution, house rule analyze device doesn’t work on magical foci. Of cause I will still be casting it on the team hacker before a dangerous matrix run, device is comlink and don’t think for a moment I wont have 6 or more successes.

Edward

[Ancient History]

I didn't say the spell wouldn't work, only that any bonus dice you receive would go toward the operation of the focus' form, not the enchantment.

[Edward]

And what do you use to justify that. Especially when the focus has no other purpose (most of them done)

[Ancient History]

You do not operate an enchantment. No skill governs it. You can't squeeze more dice out of a focus with this spell anymore than you could use it to fire more bullets from a gun.

That said, if your power focus happens to be an enchanted gun, you would obviously get the bonus dice for operating the gun. You just wouldn't get more power foci dice from it. Or bullets.

[Edward]

Personally I agree that it makes little sense to apply it to magic foci, and the baleens issue is more than significant. But then it is also highly significant when cast with the hacker as a subject and his comlink as the target. +8 could be achieved quite easily buy a starting spellcaster. That’s a +50% on the best a hacker could start with, it would allow a computing and hacking unaware mage to pick up the hackers comlink and out perform him. (the hackers best is skill 6 + specialization, the mage has no skill but doesn’t take a penalty for that and has +8 for the spell)

If you take this spell to an extreme in any situation it will be broken. What are you going to do, ban the spell entirely.

Edward

[Edward]

As to the focus on the word operate, if you take that rout then you can’t use this spell for repairing vehicle. You don’t operate a tool, you use it, and you’re not operating the vehicle, that would be driving it.

Nether could you use it for disarming a bomb, bypassing a maglock or climbing a wall.

No matter what tools you might have to do these take (electronics and microtronics toolkits, maglock passkey and advanced climbing harness) you don’t operate any of those things. It effectively becomes useful only on vehicles, weapons and rare complex machinery.

Edward

[Tarantula]

Firstly, the commlink issue isn't too bad. As you must overcome the object resistance with your spell first, and computers are listed at threshold 4+ at best a starting magician could get 2 dice on defaulting to use a commlink. 4 for the threshold, +2 net hits beyond which are the only ones that are added as bonus dice.

As far as Edwards examples are concerned... Analyze the bomb, get bonus dice to demolitions skill, for arming, unarming, preparing or anything else you can do with a bomb. Analyze a passkey, get bonus dice for using it to bypass a maglock. Analyze the maglock and get extra dice for your electronics test to bypass it with a kit. Analyze your climbing harness, and get extra dice for climbing. Of course, the thresholds for all of these things would be 3-4+ and thusly, you probably are looking at 1-2 extra dice, if any.

Oh yeah, one more thing... definition for operate:
1 : to perform a function

Definition for use:
4 : to carry out a purpose or action by means of

Yes, they aren't the initial definitions, but they're the ones that fit the discussion we're having. For anyone interested, they're from www.m-w.com

Anyway, they're similar enough that operate and use could be interchanged in the sentence without any change of meaning. As far as the power foci arguement goes. It doesn't add to the magical abilities of the foci, just the physical properties, such as adding club skill if your power focus was a stick.

[James McMurray]

[Edward]

Where in the RAW dose it say that it doesn’t help with magical foci.

I don’t think it should and would house rule against it but the RAW seems to let it past.

Edward