[X] My Assistant

[Lilt]

My take on the rules:

[Sphynx]

Ack!!! My bad, guess I need to brush up on my MitS. I'll just acredit my erroneous comment to... uhm.... never having summoned one of those beasts? :P

Actually, in all my years of playing, I've only twice seen a player summon an Ally Spirit (and both times was the same player). It's just too Karma intensive for some of us (62 karma?!?). But it does make sense, double your spells (teach him all your spells and you can basically get double the spell-casting) without reducing his spell dice (Aid Power doesn't take his Sorcery Dice). So basically, 62 karma to cast twice as many spells a round, and get +5 dice to casting your own spells. Not to mention all the other benefits.

Makes me wish I wasn't a Sorcerer.....

Sphynx

[Lilt]

You don't need to spend that much karma on an ally, although if you are going to it's best to do it when you create it rather than later. Make it a familiar (an ally taken as an initiatory ordeal) and you don't even lose a point of magic (although you may lose one if it goes free).

Look at it this way: A force 2 or 3 ally spirit costs 5 or 15 karma and acts as a force 2 or 3 power focus when you need it to (also cosing far less in cash, and being far more capible than a power focus). To boot, if you are OK with treating it badly (or you only do it occationally), you can have it take the drain from any spell you cast.

[edit]Also: you don't get true doubble casting as it only has spell-pool equal to the spirit's force (not calculated by mental attributes)[/edit]

Oh yes and: My MITS-fu is superior :D

[Sphynx]

Yeah yeah, and can only cast spells at it's Force or less (if you're smart), but it's still double the spell. I know for a fact that his Force 5 has a high list of spirit-kills from targets that the owner hit first with a Serious or Deadly, even though they were only cast with a much reduced number of dice.

I would just never recommend anything other than a Force 5 Ally. 6 is too easy to lose via it's own Will to be free, and 1-4 are too easy to lose to bad situations gone worse. Force 5 is the only sensible Force. :P

Sphynx

Oh yes and: You may think whatever you want, little grasshopper. ;)

[Lilt]

How are forces 1-4 vulnerable? They can only be banished if they materialise (which they don't need to do to use aid-power) and they have exactly the same stats as the summoner's for purposes of astral combat.

My Mits-fu is so superior, I may as-well be a short, smiling, monk wearing a saffron-coloured robe.
8) (and sunglasses)

[Sphynx]

Because unlike the summoner, they don't have the option to be non-dualnatured, because unlike the summoner, they don't get Shielding and are thus weaker against spells like SpiritBlast, because unlike Summoners, they are still only Force 1-4 for penetrating things such as Wards and Barriers, oh mighty Monk Master of MitS-Fu. ;)

I know you were just testing me. :P

Sphynx, MitS-Fu Master.

[Zazen]

[Anymage]

[Zazen]

It is sustained, though. It doesn't need to activate the power every action.

I vaguely remember that the debate on whether an exclusive complex sustained power retained its exclusivity decided that it did not, because of some counterexample or something. I'll try and find it later when I'm not high as a kite.

[Guest_Artemis_*]

I vaguely remember the rules indicating that a sustained exclusive action requires the complete and total attention of the character for the duration of the activity.

And if that isn't stated somewhere in black and white, then it's my humble opinion that it should be. Cause that would be way to munchkiny otherwise, even for things other than the Aid Power vs. Spellcasting.

[Sphynx]

Actually, I think Anymage is quite right. Good to know too, as only him and the current GM have dealt with the rules, I'm quite sure that although I remember each action done, I don't recall him doing both in the same round. Regardless, since he would only need Aid Power against a being that the spirit's little Force 5 spells would be useless against, it's still a great trade off.

Sphynx

[Lilt]

Sphynx: I see you are but young in the ways of MitS Fu, but you can learn. Recite your herbal radical component list and prepare to begin afresh with a new mind.

[edit]The spirit cannot use any other powers whilst sustaining an exclusive power like Engulf or Aid-Power. He can, however, still perform mundane actions without penalty. That's why it can be useful to teach them other combat skills like martial arts or pistols.

[Guest_Artemis_*]

Interesting... where is this rule? I need to do more study work it seems.

[Sphynx]

If you're refering to the exclusive power of Aid Power. It's in the header of the Aid Power description where it lists the duration, etc.

Sphynx

[Hot Wheels]

[TinkerGnome]

[Fortune]

[TinkerGnome]

Many gnomes, when left in the yard, end up going on world tours. The number of garden gnomes currently in the possession of someone who takes pictures of them in bizare locations and mails them back to the original owner is estimated at 24%.

[Mongoose]

You don't HAVE to set all an Otaku's pysical attributes at 1. They can actually be fairly tough if they don't go for the bonus mental attributes. All they loose is 1 off the "top end" on thier physical attributes.

An Otaku troll could start with Bod 10, quickness 4, Str 9, and go higher than that with karma etc. There wouldn't be much points left for starting mental attributes, so his "living persona" would blow chunks, but he might not be bad at using a deck if you sank lotsa skill points into Computer skill. And raising low stats doesn't cost so much, though they would never get high enough to really be competative.

Just don't ask me how this bruiser even became an otaku in the first place...

[Zazen]

[Guest_Artemis_*]

No I wasn't referring to the Aid Power's exclusive trait, but to the concept behind that power and Power Foci in that... maybe I just wasn't interpreting what was said properly.

If one has 10 skill in spellcasting,
a Force 5 Ally Spirit,
a Force 6 Power Focus,
and 6 dice of Spell Pool,

could they potentially cast a spell on their first initiative pass in which they can use a full 27 (10+5+6+6) dice for successes?

[Herald of Verjig...]

[Guest_Artemis_*]

Good, I was starting to get afraid that I misread something. Thanks

[Zazen]

[Fortune]