 What do most magicians spend their karma on? |
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 Jul 13 2007, 02:50 AM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 10-July 07 Member No.: 12,206  |
For people who play 2ed and 3ed, what exactly do you save your karma for as a mage/shaman? Do you save to raise your initiate level, buy foci, or raise your sorcery/conjuration skills?
And what the hell is the point of raising your sorcery past 5 if you can just buy a power focus for cheaper? Same with a Magic Rating, whats the point of having a high Magic Rating if you don't even have the sorcery skill to back it up? Its like a midget working out, you got the muscle, but so what? you're still a midget... |
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Jul 13 2007, 02:55 AM
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#2
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Hookers and blow.
Seriously, I spend some of it on meatspace skills, some on initiation (the first two to three levels are awesome from the metamagic options alone), some on a few new spells, and the question of skill vs. focus being "cheaper" is one that depends heavily on karma-to-nuyen ratio. ~J |
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Jul 13 2007, 03:09 AM
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#3
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
Initiation and spells, mostly. Foci, I try to get the GM to lt me pay my enchanter contact the 5000 :nuyen: /karma to bond a focus to me. Also to raise to 3 whatever Attribute I gimped so I could max out another.
You can allocate Sorcery dice to help with drain. You also allocate them to spell defense. At some point you have to worry about Focus addiction, which leads to at least one reason to raise your magic Attribute. Magic Attribute also determines if th Force of your spell od spirit is going to cause Physical or Stun Drain, it also limits the Force of the Spirit you can summon. Magic rating is important for Banishing Spirits. Magic Rating determines how many Foci you can have active without rolling for Focus Addiction. |
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Jul 13 2007, 04:13 AM
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#4
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Target Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 10-July 07 Member No.: 12,206 |
So in second edition, if you have a spell with a force greater than your Magic Rating it deals Physical damage as drain? Same with summoning a spirit? I never knew that...
Quick question: Can any ole mage destroy a spell lock or power focus or can he just turn them off? I was confused on just what mages can do to one anothers focuses in the astral plane. |
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Jul 13 2007, 06:10 AM
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#5
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
I would have to check concerning SR2, as Sorcery Skill was not directly rolled when casting spells, Spell Force was the primary dice pool. Actually I would check all your questions and my answers against SR2 rules. I was answering only concerning SR3.
The only way I can think of right off for other than the owner to deactivate a focus, other than destroying it, is to remove it from physical contact with the owner. The owner can deactivate as a free action. A magician can Dispell the spell in a sustaining focus or spell lock. IIRC in SR2, Dispelling was a metamagic, in SR3 it is a specialization of Sorcery. |
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Jul 13 2007, 06:28 AM
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#6
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 289 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,625 |
I'd say Initiation, at least at first. Not just for the higher magic rating, there are some very handy Metamagics.
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Jul 13 2007, 06:39 AM
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#7
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
I agree, my desire for Initiation is to get the metamagics. Usually I would be glad to trade a second metamagic for the +1 to Magic, if it were allowed. |
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Jul 13 2007, 06:43 AM
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#8
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Freelance Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 7,324 Joined: 30-September 04 From: Texas Member No.: 6,714 |
Mmm, Centering.
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Jul 13 2007, 07:08 AM
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#9
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
Mmmmm Centering, Evoking, and Channelling. In that order.
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Jul 13 2007, 07:23 AM
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#10
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
Evoking?
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Jul 13 2007, 08:13 AM
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#11
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Summoning Big Nasty Great Spirits™. |
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Jul 13 2007, 08:51 AM
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#12
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
Mmmmm great form....
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Jul 13 2007, 09:30 AM
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#13
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
Ahh, Invoking. I was hoping maybe there was another obscure metamagic. |
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Jul 13 2007, 12:59 PM
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#14
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
Meh, it was 3am. Evoking, Invoking... it happens.
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Jul 13 2007, 02:02 PM
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#15
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,598 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Hong Kong Member No.: 4,253 |
From what I remember about spell locks, it was the person who paid the karma to bond the lock that could activate and deactivate it. They could also be deactivated by losing touch with the person/thing they were locked to, and to be reactivated you needed the bonder again.
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Jul 13 2007, 03:29 PM
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#16
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
I agree with you. I was going by the SR3 description of owner used for the anchoring focus, I think as that was the last thing I re-read recently, and it is sometimes hard to figure out who the owner actually is.
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Jul 13 2007, 03:41 PM
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#17
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 993 Joined: 5-December 05 From: Crying in the wilderness Member No.: 8,047 |
Initiation and spells, then foci as when and if I ever get the chance for one.
Expendable foci are my friend. |
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Jul 13 2007, 06:59 PM
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#18
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Target Group: Members Posts: 49 Joined: 9-November 06 From: Doing surgery with shotguns Member No.: 9,810 |
As stated before, and in this order:
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Jul 13 2007, 07:04 PM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 470 Joined: 2-January 05 From: Quebec Member No.: 6,924 |
I'm playing a Sorceror, just spells. No summoning. I first spent karma on a couple stats and spells. Now I'm initiating, and then I'll start training up my skills. Especially since I had them at priority E or something, so very little.
Which Metamagics should I get? I'm assuming Mask, Absorb, and Reflect. Or something like that. Since I don't need money much, I think that I will also try to save up to buy/enchant a Level 1 or 2 Power Focus. |
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Jul 13 2007, 08:09 PM
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#20
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
What edition are you playing? This is kind of the default SR3 forum, but it seems every time I act out of that belief, I am wrong. I like Shielding better than Absorption or Reflection. It seems too difficult to get Absorption and Reflection to really pay off, but Raising TNs by your grade can quickly be real effective. I like Centering, too, and usually have a Knowledge or Language skill allocated for it when building the character. Centering can reduce drain, give extra successes, or at a decent Grade, can really bring down TNs. As a Sorcerer I would probably go with Masking, Shielding, and Centering. @ the original question, and reminded by a prior post, I once gave karma to Buttercup (I was in puppy love with her/Bacchus shaman and enthralled by her.) I used the conjuring ritual, trying to increase the exchange rate (but really trying to figure out what Force the GM was assigning her in the hope I might astral quest for a true name and bind her. :evil: ) |
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Jul 13 2007, 08:38 PM
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#21
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Target Group: Members Posts: 49 Joined: 9-November 06 From: Doing surgery with shotguns Member No.: 9,810 |
The only thing about getting masking as a level 1 initiate is that it really only works on non-initiated magicians. I think the way the rules work, the GM makes a test when a mage tries to see if you're magical. I'm not looking at the book right now, but I recall it being something like the GM rolls your magic attribute number of dice against a target of his initiate grade, and then his magic attribute number of dice against a target of your initiate grade. If he gets more successes than you, he sees through your masking. Definitely a meta-magic that gets more powerful as you initiate more. I kinda always liked shielding - it's a nice beginning utility spell that keeps a bunch of people safe. YMMV though. Big, powerful expendable spell foci are your friend, though. They're pretty cheap compared to what your buddies are gonna be buying, and 10 extra dice on a spell when you need it is just plain boss. |
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Jul 13 2007, 10:01 PM
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#22
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 470 Joined: 2-January 05 From: Quebec Member No.: 6,924 |
Yeah, this is an Sr3 sorceror mage. Unfortunately for me, in SR4 they gimped exactly the skills I had also trained for him, assensing and enchanting. Not to mention having to pay karma for initiation AND the magic point. I might as well initiate while I still can.
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Jul 14 2007, 02:56 AM
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#23
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,598 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Hong Kong Member No.: 4,253 |
The other guy specifically had to try to break your masking. So even low grade masking would get you past most security.
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Jul 14 2007, 04:00 AM
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#24
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,677 Joined: 5-June 03 Member No.: 4,689 |
One of the highlights of my now 1000+ karma PC was way back, just after her very first initiation, when she picked up Masking: just prior to us trying to spoof our way into Britain. (For those not in the know, Awakened types have to declare themselves at the border.) That PC was up against another initiate as the customs mage. I knew the odds were against me, the PC had no clue but stuck to passive shielding. Her reasoning was that if she were busted and only passively shielding, she could claim to be gleefully surprised. ("You mean I'm magical? Really? Cool!")
As it happened, the initiate rolled the only possible roll not to see through the masking. It stands as one of the memorable moments, especially when she finally realised what the consequences could have been. |
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Jul 14 2007, 04:16 AM
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#25
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 530 Joined: 11-June 05 Member No.: 7,441 |
In terms of spell defense, it cannot be stressed how unbelievably superior shielding is to anything else. It's been awhile, so maybe my memory is rusty, but as I recall: Allocate X dice to shielding. Select X targets to be shielded. Each target gets X dice to resist spells. Spells cast at target incur +X to their target numbers. X cannot be greater than your initiate grade. That's pretty much an "I WIN" button against spell casters. Or at least a reason why a little skill in something other than sorcery is mandatory. |
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