 2 Newbie Questions, Spellcasting & dice rolling |
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  Dec 20 2003, 06:00 AM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 20-December 03 Member No.: 5,923  |
I've been reading here and in the shadowrun core rulebook (v3) for about three days now, and i'm very impressed with the game system. But I have some (probably stupid) questions. 1. This one came up when I was GM'ing an improvised campaign yesterday. The party had a mage (street mage copied directly from the book). The 2 non-mage party members triggered the alarm and the mage decided she wanted to take out the 3 guards patrolling the apartment hallway. She is a hermetic mage, so does that mean she has to draw out a casting circle to cast mana bolt? This looks like it would make her a lot less powerful than the 2 gunslingers. 2. I've seen examples in the book and here (idiot's guide to the Matrix thread) where characters roll more than 6. How is this possible on a six-sider? Example follows:
Thanks in advance |
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Dec 20 2003, 06:03 AM
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#2
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,156 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Fresno, CalFree Member No.: 4,252 |
I don't really know about number 1, but for number 2, theres a thing called the Rule of Six. It doesn't apply to all rolls, but it applies to most.
The Rule of Six is that, if you roll a six on a die, you get to roll again, adding the result. So rolling a 6 and a 2 would have a result of 8, which is how you beat TNs of 7. |
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Dec 20 2003, 06:08 AM
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#3
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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 |
There are no stupid questions. :)
No. If the mage knows the spell, then he or she can cast it at any time with no need for any visible trappings. |
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Dec 20 2003, 06:29 AM
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#4
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Target Group: Members Posts: 85 Joined: 28-August 03 Member No.: 5,551 |
1> As far as casting spells goes, the character basically has to just want it cast, and it happens. Drawing a circle is done only for more involved tasks, and the only one brought up in the base book is actually summoning an elemental. (Not calling one that's already been summoned to you, keep in mind.) Most magical actions are pretty easy to pull off in the moment of a shadowrun, though.
2> As said before, any time you roll a 6 on your D6, you get to roll it again and add to your previous number. So if you roll a 6, you re-roll and take whatever that roll is plus six, if you get another six you re-roll and add twelve, etc. |
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Dec 20 2003, 06:36 AM
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#5
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Target Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 20-December 03 Member No.: 5,923 |
Thanks for the replies everyone! :yay:
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Dec 20 2003, 08:42 AM
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#6
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Grand Master of Run-Fu Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,840 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Tir Tairngire Member No.: 178 |
Not *quite* anytime. The rule of six doesn't apply on initiative rolls, for example. It also doesn't apply when testing for magic loss. There are probably a few others. However, it applies to skill rolls and attribute tests, which will cover about 90% of the times you'll need to roll. |
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Dec 20 2003, 09:08 AM
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#7
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,008 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
In general, if you see a dieroll in the format #d6 (in canon books only, as gamers themselves use all sorts of notation), the rule-of-6 does not apply. Otherwise it's pretty much everything.
~J |
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