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> Face Mage Spells, What are good ones
klinktastic
post Dec 29 2007, 06:54 PM
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I am considering a mage who is the party's face for an upcoming 350 BP SR4 set in a moderately magical fantasy setting. My question is, what are good spells to give myself an edge face-wise and in general?

Thanks
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Stahlseele
post Dec 29 2007, 08:12 PM
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obviously improved attribute spell for charisma . . maybe some spells to influence people, like mind controll or control feelings or alter memory or something like that . .
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Glyph
post Dec 29 2007, 08:13 PM
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The trouble with spells such as control thoughts, control actions, and mind probe is that they are pretty obvious. Someone looking for a magical edge in social interactions would be better served by control emotions or influence. Control actions is still good for situations that are too delicate for a stunbolt to fix - someone holding a gun to a hostage's head, for example. Mind probe is still useful for interrogations. Alter memory is another good spell to cover your tracks when you have to resort to more obvious mind alterations.

Beyond the mind-affecting spells, spells such as detox (hangover cure), healthy glow, fashion, and makeover would be good choices. Translate is not as good as knowing the language, or even having a decent linguasoft, but it is better than not understanding someone at all. I prefer the trid entertainment spell over the orgasm spell, which I find to be a bit... crass. Plus, people will be wondering why you need a spell to do that.


For more general usage, I would start with stunbolt, and leave the other useful combat spells to pick up later, if combat is not this character's main thing. But you do need at least one combat spell - and this one is nonlethal and low Drain. The heal spell is a must-have. Physical mask for disguise, and improved invisibility to either be much harder to see in combat, or stay out of it altogether. Finally, levitate is ultra-useful, from snagging small items, to getting over obstacles, to running away very fast.
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Whipstitch
post Dec 29 2007, 08:59 PM
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Someday I'll figure out why people are so fascinated with Improved Attribute. You either need to get enough out of it to offset the sustaining penalty or have to spend bps on getting the focus to run it in the first place as well as pay 3 bp for knowing the spell to begin with, which also counts against the total spells you can begin play with as well. And if everything goes right eventually you end up with like 3 whole extra dice. Woo.

Anyway, I echo Glyph; utility spells that do relatively unique things are generally the way to go for any mage. One of the detection spells like Detect Life or Detect Enemy are always worth considering as well.
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Ravor
post Dec 30 2007, 11:07 PM
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Pesonally my advise would be to never bring any type of mojo to the table, it is far to easy to detect and is likely to cause the other party to walk away.

However with that said, any spell that lets you fit in and doesn't leave an aura to give you away is a must-have, and always have at least one physical AoE spell to use if things go sour.
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Riley37
post Dec 30 2007, 11:56 PM
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For face purposes, use magic that you cast on yourself, not on others. If they see there's a spell on you, they might be on guard; if they resist *your* spell, then diplomacy is gonna be uphill at best, and they're likely to immediately go to full hostility.
For Con purposes, Mask is good: consider the target, figure out what kind of person they'd deal with most favorably, and mask yourself as that kind of person. Some GMs might rule that Disguise skill helps you pull off a particularly good Mask, and/or is necessary for impersonation.
Phantasm might help Con with props or misdirection. If you go to the front gate of a Humanis chapterhouse, use Con to convincingly say "Let me in, a gang of trolls is chasing me!", and there's a good phantasm of a gang of trolls chasing you, then they might open up the gate first and ask questions later... and perhaps that's long enough for you to drop the Neuro-Stun inside the gate.
Detect Emotions might help you sense whether a good deal is possible, when the other party is really tempted by the deal, and when to change topics, if it can see through a "poker face".
For any deal that the other side is gonna be happy with in the long run, you need to actually deliver value, and for generally doing favors, Heal is darn useful. Any street doc customer would rather have their sutures heal magically immediately, than wait overnight or longer; making street doc customers happy may also make street docs happy.
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Narmio
post Dec 31 2007, 12:25 AM
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I think people are looking at this backwards. Don't try to use magic to make yourself better at being a face, we already know it's ludicrously easy to get insanely good social dice pools, even as a mundane.

I'd focus on things that can't be done without magic. Or at least, can't be done instantly and without special equipment. Just flipping through the book, I'd look into:

Analyse Truth
Physical Mask
Trid Phantasm
Mob Mood
Influence
Shapechange

And on into Street Magic...

Mindnet
Thought Recognition
Alter Memory
Compel Truth
Fashion
Interference
Makeover
Sterilise


Obviously, some of those are more situational than others, but you get what I'm going for: the odd spells that can make a face's life a hell of a lot easier if used at just the right time.

Spells like Improved Invisibility could also be incredibly useful. You might want to keep the usual Increase Initiative/Heal/Stunbolt trio because the team will expect it, unless there's another spellcaster around.
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