 Geomancy w/o pre-exisiting Background Count, Building on NeoJudas' comments elsewhere |
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 Aug 13 2006, 10:27 PM
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Neophyte Runner  Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364  |
The Toxic Metamagic of Taint also suffers from this to some degree. While it can increase a background count, it can only do so in areas that are already aspected towards Toxic magic. One possible solution that I can think of would be to rewrite the Mana Static spell with a variant formula that was sustained instead of permanent. Then figure a way to sustain it over the duration of time required for the geomantic ritual (sustaining focus, quickening, spirit with the Innate Spell power told to sustain it and then placed on long term year-and-a-day binding). However, this raises the question of whether or not the background count generated by Mana Static is suitable for using Geomancy on. |
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Aug 13 2006, 10:39 PM
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#2
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 750 Joined: 9-August 06 Member No.: 9,059 |
Geomancy is only appropriate for long term background count. Long term background count, as described in the astral space section of SM, requires big events or long term emotional/psychological activity. Players should not be able to create it themselves. Especially not with a sustained use of Mana Static. Now, a quickened use...I'd still say no, the emanation of background count from the spell is constantly refreshed and can't be shaped by Geomancy. Because if you let people do this, it would be way too easy to set up a rating 5 or 6 domain in your basement, bring along a few friends for ritual magic, and terrorize the world. No thanks.
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Aug 13 2006, 10:48 PM
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#3
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panda! Group: Members Posts: 10,331 Joined: 8-March 02 From: north of central europe Member No.: 2,242 |
hmm, ley/dragon/whatever lines?
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Aug 13 2006, 10:59 PM
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#4
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 750 Joined: 9-August 06 Member No.: 9,059 |
Oops. My other post on this subject in the metamagic thread covered that - "random "natural" effects of the astral terrain." You can aspect 'em, but you can't make them. |
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Aug 14 2006, 03:49 AM
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#5
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 984 Joined: 15-June 06 Member No.: 8,717 |
So is there any way to set up your own little low-level domain?
Being a stationary location is a balancing factor... |
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Aug 14 2006, 03:54 AM
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#6
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 750 Joined: 9-August 06 Member No.: 9,059 |
Torture people for a few years? Have intense bible studies there for more than few years?
Probably easier to buy one. Get Sensing and nice GM to let you find one hidden away that you can buy or take over. See SM example of a rating 2 site in a barrens basement. Maybe the prior owner kept his child chained down there or something... |
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Aug 14 2006, 04:04 AM
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#7
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,589 Joined: 28-November 05 Member No.: 8,019 |
Or maybe had a puppy he played with and loved every day soooo much... :(
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Aug 14 2006, 05:42 AM
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#8
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364 |
One of the ideas I've been toying around with for a while is a group of mages who offer comprehensive anti-magic countermesures on a contract basis. The fluff already supports mages who go around putting up wards on contract, but the problem with wards is that they're a perimeter defense only. What I'm really looking for is area denial. There should be plenty of demand for this kind of service, given how paranoid mundanes can be about magic.
I'd like to be able to take this Sanctuary Society, and have them be able to walk up to any building, and turn it into a Level 1-3 domain aspected against all uses of magic except counterspelling and the proprietary manufactured tradition used by the society itself. However, if the only way that they could do this on a site with a neutral background count, is by pouring years of intense emotional energy into it, that's going to narrow the scope of their mission. They might not be able to do the entire apartment building, but I imagine there's a chance the bedroom suites in each apartment have at least a Natural Background Count of 1. Not exactly how I first envisioned it, but still workable, I suppose. Still, after looking over the text for Geomancy again, I notice certain parts of the tests involved say they're based off of Natural Background Count, and others just say Background Count. Did they mean to say Natural Background Count for all of it, or do you think they're allowing for a site to have a Natural Background Count that's different than the Background Count when the geomantic ritual is performed? Earlier in the thread, I talked about using Mana Static type spells to artificially raise background count, but background count can be manipulated in the other direction as well. Would it be possible to perform Geomancy on a site where the background count is so high that you must perform Cleansing metamagic first just so you can even work your mojo? |
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Aug 14 2006, 06:04 AM
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#9
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 750 Joined: 9-August 06 Member No.: 9,059 |
I'm pretty sure the rules explicitly state that anything up to a rating 6 background count can be aspected if you can pass the tests and put in the time. Mana warps and ebbs can't be aspected. |
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Aug 14 2006, 06:20 AM
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#10
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364 |
I know that. However if the magic attributes of everyone on the geomantic ritual team have been dropped to the 1s and 2s due to the background count, the force of the ritual can easily end up exceeding 2x the ritual leader's magic rating, unless you allow for some cleansing to level the playing field. My question is, would that cleansing have any effect on the threshold you have to hit for your ritual. |
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