How often do you use Astral Background Count?, And how strong and where is it in your game? Options

[Fuchs]

How does your group handle Astral background counts?

[Aaron]

In my games, there's almost always a background count, but its rating is "less than one." I usually use it for mood and the like.

[bjorn]

I used it once to limit the dice pool of one of my PC mages.

[JeffSz]

What -IS- background count? I don't recall it; must have glossed over it when I read the rulebook.

So I suppose -my- answer is never...so far.

[HentaiZonga]

In my game, nearly everywhere is a Domain of some kind or other. Now, a lot of these Domains are pretty shallow (BG 1 or 2), and oftentimes they're aspected so generically as to be helpful rather than harmful. For example, just about every Corp site has a background count of 1 to 2, usually aspected to pro-Corp sentiment. The Barrens has a background count of 1 or 2 as well, usually aspected to suffering and survival - although in a lot of places, especially places where there are street mages, the background gets slowly aspected to be friendly to them. I also tend to award good RP with bonus dice, and sometimes a positively-aspected Domain are a good way to do that.

RP example:
"I know these streets. Every street light, every mailbox, every trashcan is my friend. Every one of these buildings knows me. That one over there? I grew up in it. That one's where Tommy and I used to play 'Niel the Ork Barbarian' for hours after the sun went down. This spot we're sitting on is where I had my first kiss. These streets know me, and they love me. You're about to find out what that means."

(player begins summoning up a Spirit and requesting for it to use its Accident and Alienation powers)

[Aaron]

What -IS- background count? I don't recall it; must have glossed over it when I read the rulebook.

So I suppose -my- answer is never...so far.

You're looking for Street Magic.

[JeffSz]

I have Street Magic. I know it's mentioned in the spell description for Mana Static, but do you have a page number for me for more details or is that it?

[CanRay]

Background Count is, basically, Astral Smog. It's the twisting of astral space towards, or against, the flow of mana.

Various things affect the Background Count, ranging from strong emotions, history, to just plain the unknown.

Example: A bar like Freeloadin' Freddie's Fighthouse would have a positive Background Count as people are having fun, living life, enjoying themselves. Sure it's violent, but it's a friendly violent. That's part of life.

A bar like Hookers and Boomsticks would have a negative Background Count because the clientele are there mostly Humanis Policlubbers, who like to share in hate and prejudice.

So, let's say they both have a Background Count of 2.

An Urban Shaman and a Toxic Shaman are calling up magic for fights in both bars (It's a roving fight). While in Freeloadin' Freddie's, the Urban Shaman is able to tap into the Positive Background Count and gets a +2 to his Magic Stat, while the Toxic gets a -2 to same.

Now, the fight heads on into Boomsticks and Hookers, where the concentrated Hate helps out the Toxic, and he gets +2 to his Magic Stat, and the Urban Shaman is at -2.

PS: Oh, yeah... Street Magic, Page 117.

[HentaiZonga]

Also, I believe all Lodges that have been set up in a particular area have a Background Count equal to their Rating, aspected towards their owner's magical tradition.

[Particle_Beam]

Background Count is, basically, Astral Smog. It's the twisting of astral space towards, or against, the flow of mana.

Various things affect the Background Count, ranging from strong emotions, history, to just plain the unknown.

Example: A bar like Freeloadin' Freddie's Fighthouse would have a positive Background Count as people are having fun, living life, enjoying themselves. Sure it's violent, but it's a friendly violent. That's part of life.

A bar like Hookers and Boomsticks would have a negative Background Count because the clientele are there mostly Humanis Policlubbers, who like to share in hate and prejudice.

So, let's say they both have a Background Count of 2.

An Urban Shaman and a Toxic Shaman are calling up magic for fights in both bars (It's a roving fight). While in Freeloadin' Freddie's, the Urban Shaman is able to tap into the Positive Background Count and gets a +2 to his Magic Stat, while the Toxic gets a -2 to same.

Now, the fight heads on into Boomsticks and Hookers, where the concentrated Hate helps out the Toxic, and he gets +2 to his Magic Stat, and the Urban Shaman is at -2.

PS: Oh, yeah... Street Magic, Page 117.

Only if these places have been modified with a geomantic ritual, however. And it depends if the background count really is suited to the tradition of the magician. Also, it has to be one really long and intense place to build up background count.

[Apathy]

Background count is more than just a straight dice modifier. Everything magical (except stuff tuned in to that particular type of orientation) that enters an area gets it's force/power/magic reduced by the that amount. So the mage steps into the serial killer's basement, and his magic goes from 5 to 4. The mage then tries to cast a stunbolt to knock the maniac out, but the highest he can cast without taking physical drain is force 4. The force 4 stunbolt is then reduced in effectiveness down to a force 3 (even though the mage takes drain for a force 4). Spirits and foci that get reduced to zero are disrupted or forcibly deactivated.

This is part of what makes CZ's so indistructable: with 4 points of background count, a mage with magic 6 is reduced to magic 2. Even overcasting, his maximum force spell is force 4 (2xmagic), which is then reduced to an effective level of 0.

[CanRay]

Only if these places have been modified with a geomantic ritual, however. And it depends if the background count really is suited to the tradition of the magician. Also, it has to be one really long and intense place to build up background count.

Hense my Statement of a Urban Shaman and a Toxic Shaman. Those areas would be aspected to them.

(Urban Shaman would be dealing with the Good Vibes of Good Urban Life in a friendly bar. Toxic Shaman would be dealing with the Negative Vibes of the Hateful Urban Life in the unfriendly bar.).

As for long and intense place, I guess you've never been to Freeloadin' Freddie's. It's INTENSE! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[ornot]

Background count is more than just a straight dice modifier. Everything magical (except stuff tuned in to that particular type of orientation) that enters an area gets it's force/power/magic reduced by the that amount. So the mage steps into the serial killer's basement, and his magic goes from 5 to 4. The mage then tries to cast a stunbolt to knock the maniac out, but the highest he can cast without taking physical drain is force 4. The force 4 stunbolt is then reduced in effectiveness down to a force 3 (even though the mage takes drain for a force 4). Spirits and foci that get reduced to zero are disrupted or forcibly deactivated.

This is part of what makes CZ's so indistructable: with 4 points of background count, a mage with magic 6 is reduced to magic 2. Even overcasting, his maximum force spell is force 4 (2xmagic), which is then reduced to an effective level of 0.

I'm not sure that's quite how I'd interpret the rules. I'd only impose the magic reduction from background count once.

If the mage was standing outside the area subject to background count, any spells they cast into the area would be reduced. Casting within the area would be tougher (character magic rating reduced, lower thresholds before taking physical drain), but the spell would operate at the expected level. It might be worth making indirect spells unaffected by passing into background count areas (the fireball is generated outside the area and thrown into it) as a means of boosting the attraction of indirect spells, but this is a tenuous proposition. This might not be an issue for most people but most mage PCs I've seen take manabolt over firebolt every time, as it's harder to avoid the effects and the drain is lower.

CZs are still dangerous as hell, and if they hang out in the same area for a long time, they can buff their (non-magic) allies, but they can be affected by a mage of sufficient power.