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[Dentris]

In my offline campaign, I have a player who created a mundane character without any cyberware. In order to survive, he bought an edge value of 8 and a magical resistance of 3. While we play, i realized magical resistance is a quality that awakened character may not take, making me wondering if magical resistance is a passive form of awakening in itself. After a few moves of search-fu, i stumble upon the null adept and the nega-mage. From that moment, i wanted to adapt the rules to fit the 4th edition and to be able to adapt from the magical resistance quality.

NEW POSITIVE QUALITY:

Nega-mage (5 point quality)

A Nega-mage is an awakened character specialized in dispelling magic in all its form. A Nega-mage character starts with a special attribute called Nega-Magic with a rating of 1. A Nega mage is similar to a normal mage except that he cannot cast spells, summon spirits or enchant items. The only awakened skills he can learn is counterspell and banishing. Also, he does not have access to the astral plane. He may bound to counterspelling focus, banishing focus and power focus only. However, like any other awakened character, he may join magical groups (although nega-mage often face prejudice) and initiate like any normal magician. Nega-magic functions as magical resistance for the nega-mage equal to its rating.

The cost to increase nega-magic is equal to normal magic and function just like a magic attribute for skills and it's relation with essence.

NEW METAMAGIC:

Astral Blending (Nega-mage only)
The awakened character astral form is slowly fading away to ressemble those of mundane object: an astral shadow. Any awakened character with a magic equal or lower than the nega-mage initiate grade is unable to assense the nega-mage at all. He appears to be an unliving mundane object to their eyes.

Astral Immunity (Nega-mage only)
Pre-requisite: Astral Blending
The awakened character astral form is almost a shadow. The character is now immune to all Mana Spells with a Force equal or lower than the nega-mage intiate grade.

Astral Ebb (nega-mage only)
The character is a living astral oddness. His only presence in the astral space is enough to modify the ambiant mana level. In a radius equal to the character's Magic times Initiate Grade meters, space is considered a mana ebb with a rating equal to the intiate grade divided by 2 (round up)

Astral Domain (nega-mage only)
Pre-requisite: Astral Ebb, Geomancy
The character is able to modify the ambiant mana level with ease. His ''portable'' mana ebb is now an unaspected domain with an equivalent rating. The character may use it's geomancy metamagic to shift this domain to any aspect he desire.

Comments?

[Kyoto Kid]

...hmmm, I like.

Been looking for a good foil to mage characters

Wasn't there something like this back in SR2 -3?

[Fortune]

Unofficially ... I believe it was in Challenge magazine.

Don't much like the old version, but this is somewhat better. My question would be why these guys are better off than all those other Aspected Magicians, who have to buy both the appropriate positive and negative Qualities?

[Moon-Hawk]

That was my first thought too, Fortune, that this should be more similar to the Aspected Magicians. You know, in the interest of SR4 streamlining and all.

Of course, the problem with that is I'm not crazy about how aspected magicians work in SR4.

[Konsaki]

And lo, the Sam of the world rejoiced and turned to the new anti-magic with the 'Latent Awakening' quality.
Question - Would this stack with 'Magic Resistance' quality?

[BlueRondo]

I don't believe awakened characters are allowed to take Magic Resistance in the first place.

EDIT: Nevermind, it says characters with the "magician, mystic adept, or adept qualities," not "awakened."

[Serbitar]

maybe add a meta technique, where he generates negative magic background count by sucking it out of the surroundings

another thing: make magic cost the same as normal (streamlining and such), but let it function as additional dice for spell defense.

[Konsaki]

[Serbitar]

Well, thats why he is called nega-mage

[Butterblume]

You can still drop a dumpster on him :D.

[Konsaki]

Ah, the many uses of the Levitate spell. :D

[lorechaser]

[Dentris]

NEW METAMAGIC:

Astral Ebb (nega-mage only)
The character is a living astral oddness. His only presence in the astral space is enough to modify the ambiant mana level. In a radius equal to the character's Magic times Initiate Grade meters, space is considered a mana ebb with a rating equal to the intiate grade divided by 2 (round up)

Astral Domain (nega-mage only)
Pre-requisite: Astral Ebb, Geomancy
The character is able to modify the ambiant mana level with ease. His ''portable'' mana ebb is now an unaspected domain with an equivalent rating. The character may use it's geomancy metamagic to shift this domain to any aspect he desire.

[MYST1C]

[Ravor]

Well personally I like the idea, but I think I'd make his anti-Magic stat cost normal without any special perks, and I'm not sure about the Astral Shadow meta-magic, although I imagine that unless the Nega-Mage was able to toggle it on and off it'd be akin to a death sentence.

However, I really like the idea of Nega-Mages using Meta-Magic to become a Mana-Ebb (And in theory possibly a Mana Void at higher power levels.)

Still, his anti-Magic stat should do something in order to encourage players to raise it as well, hmm, possibly allow all Nega-Mages to become Mana-Ebbs/Voids equal to their Initation Grade, but have the range completely dependant on their anti-Magic. I'm thinking something along the lines of 1 meter radius per anti-Magic or something normally with the abitlity to suffer Drain in order to extend it further, either in range or level of the Ebb/Void, but I have no idea how to balance the Drain possiblities...

[Dentris]

Nega-magic would also be used to banish spirits and dispel sustained spells...

[Kyoto Kid]

...I agree, keep the costs the same as for regular mages.

[Dentris]

I edited the first post.

The cost for nega-magic is the same as any other attribute, but is essentially the equivalent of a magical resistance quality with a rating equal to its value.

(Mixed with astral immunity, it means only the most powerful magicians are able to use mana spells against him and physical spells have a reducd chance to work...but the dumpster on his head is just as effective).

[mrslamm0]

OOO I like this even more then then what I was trying to cook up..I may have to use this in Saturdays game...nice job!


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[DocTaotsu]

Oh yeah, nega mage is delicious and will be added to my campaign. I wonder if looking at him astrally is painful?

Thee nega mage as "Someone that barghests shirk away in fear of." Outwardly normal he doesn't have an astral signature so much as a hole where it should be.

Do the metamagics mean that he normally projects a "typical" astral signature?

[HentaiZonga]

Oh yeah, nega mage is delicious and will be added to my campaign. I wonder if looking at him astrally is painful?

Thee nega mage as "Someone that barghests shirk away in fear of." Outwardly normal he doesn't have an astral signature so much as a hole where it should be.

Do the metamagics mean that he normally projects a "typical" astral signature?

*twitch* I have a Serious Allergy to Nega-Mage, caused by one of my characters (the same one who enjoyed loading up DMSO/Stim into Ares Squirts to turn mages mundane in one barrage, or kidnap characters, fill them full of 5.98 Essence worth of second-hand datajacks, and then let them go). I'd have to see some seriously quality roleplay to wash the taste out of my mouth.

[DocTaotsu]

Ah, nega mage as an actual character class? Yes that'd have to be an incredibly interesting and entertaining character concept to justify that sort of power.

Nega mage as a shadowy magical anomaly that specializes in ruining the lives of mages who attract the wrong kind of attention? Why yes, yes I do think I can find a use for that in a campaign.

[nathanross]

I am more for a Counter Aspected mage. Of course, I use Frank Trollman's rules for Aspected magicians. I would say can learn Conjuring and Sorcery (in fact he must learn them to be useful) but can only counterspell and banish. He can assense, but cannot astrally project. I disagree on making this "nega-mage" completely different and counter to full magicians, and I REALLY disagree with the metamagics proposed. This is just my take though.

Also, since this person is awakened (and by RAW, aspected must be Mystic adept or Full Magician), they are in ineligible for the Magic Resistance Quality.

[DocTaotsu]

So he'd be more like a walking background count? Except that he can learn how to wield it and control it to some extent?

That'd be a fairly playable character I think.

[Muspellsheimr]

I like the concept, but will do some editing before I bring it up with the GM. Doubt I will ever play a character like it though. I would do away with the Immunity & Shadow metamagics, and I don't think you can aspect a negative background. Nor is there a point if you could.