Why did they make possession like it is now?, Or why is Second edition possession rules better? Options

[Zormal]

No, because the sentence would then be not make sense - lets add regarded instead of added to sentence

"Additionally, this armor rating is regarded to the damage resistance test as normal armor."

Is a totally nonsensical statement.

I was thinking more in the lines of

"Additionally, this armor rating is regarded as normal armor in the damage resistance test."

Adding armor rating to a test seems like something else to me.


But you do make a good point, as your way of reading it seems logical and balanced.
I'll have to think about it.

[Cthulhudreams]

That regarded would still be a bit weird - it's just finished talking about how if the damage is greater than the armour, you lose the ItNW property and it's treated (regarded) as normal armour for the purpose of AP reduction.

But yeah it probably needs an FAQ. To be honest until I came here and everyone was wringing their hands about possession mages, I didn't even consider that my reading could be wrong - it could easily go either way.

[Darkeus]

you're not changing anything. that's already how it works in practice, if not the exact explanation. it's not easier to understand, you're just making it harder to understand than it already was. (well, sonic may be different... i seem to recall sound bypassing full armor? every other elemental effect i can think of works like this already though).

Eh, I don't think it makes it harder at all.. It looks pretty simple to me.. I am not going to repeat it but it doesn't matter I guess. It makes sense to me and it works for me so you know.. It is not the explanation it gives in fourth edition at all. It doesn't even mention it in the Immunity to Normal Weapons section AT ALL. Read it again, if you see elemental effects mentioned there then I'll find a way to pay ya! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Since I am reading both Anniversary and the Fourth Edition core, I think I will win.. Now it may mention that with normal armor but the armor ItNW gives is hardly normal.

That is why I said earlier that somethings in Shadowrun need more than a simple explanation. They really need to clean up alot of things in the magic section.. I think things are more confusing there then in the Matrix setting!!

I mean come on, they didn't even have the rule for attacking spirits with Force of Will (Which was the only real way to do much back in earlier editions if you were mundane). It needs a FAQ and Street Magic did only so much to clear things up.

As it is now, this is why threads like this come up all the time and a nice big thread about Stick N Shock is going on right now.

I am going to contend that when it was written, they were not even thinking that other armor would come up. Anything that would have Immunity to Normal Weapons wouldn't have additional armor anyway.. Go ahead and look at you critters section and see if you find any of them in the core that have ItNW.. You will find none. I have looked quite a few times, over multiple editions. It isn't in any of them. Why do you have a power in the book that no creature starts out with in the first place? This is why possession in earlier editions did not use this. I don't think it was meant for that. Heck, even Spirits in the core do NOT have ItNW. What critters actually have it? I know of none. So why does a spirit grant a power when it possesses something that ALL of them do not have to start out with?

It is not very clear at all.. It needs a FAQ and it need cleaned up badly..

[Mäx]

Heck, even Spirits in the core do NOT have ItNW. What critters actually have it? I know of none. So why does a spirit grant a power when it possesses something that ALL of them do not have to start out with?

Read the damn book.

Physical spirits have the power of Immunity to Normal Weapons

[DireRadiant]

Look up a Spirit.
Spirits have Materialization Power.

Look Up Materialization Power
"Additionally, materialized critters gain Immunity
to Normal Weapons."

Look up Immunity Power
Armor Immunity acts as Hardened Armor.

Look up Hardened Armor Power
Find rules on how hardened armor work.

Look up Possession and Inhabitation Power
They act as Materialization.


It all there. Every last bit.

Critters, of which Spirits are a subset, get a certain set of powers, which may or may not include elements of other powers.

Every spirit could have all 3 or 4 natural effects listed once each time for each spirit, or they can save a little space and for one Power describe it as having hte additional effect of some other pwoers. Less yummy other stuff to read about.

[Jaid]

Eh, I don't think it makes it harder at all.. It looks pretty simple to me.. I am not going to repeat it but it doesn't matter I guess. It makes sense to me and it works for me so you know.. It is not the explanation it gives in fourth edition at all. It doesn't even mention it in the Immunity to Normal Weapons section AT ALL. Read it again, if you see elemental effects mentioned there then I'll find a way to pay ya! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Since I am reading both Anniversary and the Fourth Edition core, I think I will win.. Now it may mention that with normal armor but the armor ItNW gives is hardly normal.

it doesn't need to mention elemental damage specifically. elemental damagealready have armor modifiers built in. ItNW grants armor. therefore, against elemental attacks, you effectively get half of your ItNW rating in most cases (as i said, i think sonic works a little different, but it's relatively rare). that isn't complicated, it just requires that you read the rules that you have available (as DireRadiant already pointed out)