Using Foci without Bonding, More House Rules Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Derek]

So, I was thinking of the variety of house rules I enjoy, and also picturing scenes from various cliched fantasy novels where the hero grads the ROD OF POWER from the evil bad guy and uses it on him to win the bigt battle.

But you can't do that in SR. You have to bond the focus and that takes time and karma. So, I thought, how could I arrange a scene like the above, without destroying the karma bonding system, which I also happen to like.

Here's what I came up with:

Using Foci without Bonding:

A magical type character (one with a magic rating above zero) can use a focus without bonding it. Everytime he does so (uses the extra dice from a focus, whatever the type), he must make a resistance roll, using his magic attribute to resist, against the rating of the focus. The first three times he does this with a particular focus, the drain is deadly. The second 3 times (4-6), the drain is serious, the third three times (7-9), the drain is medium, everything after that the drain is light.

Not sure if this drain should be stun or physical. I kind of like the idea of a character possibly dying if he attempts to use a focus too powerful for him, but it seems like it might be too harsh for this to be physical.

The catch is that if he does not achieve any successes on this resistance test, the character must check for magic loss. This small but real chance of magic loss keps a character from continuing to use a focus without bonding without some risk, even if the drain is light.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Derek