Focus Formulas, Dazed and Confused Options

[ghostapathy]

I am a new Enchanter and I'm lost on some of the basics.

1. What is Force and Resistance and when I'm asked for the force of something where do I find that?


2. There a several different types reagent, is there something specific about every reagent that gives it different properties then other reagent (can Dove feathers do something different then Crow feathers, can Silk do something different then Hemp)? Also when making a formula, do the reagents ( other that weither they are refined or radical) really have any significants. For example, Orichalcum + Radical Titanium + Radical Aluminum + Radical Silk; what will I get from this (what properties will this have)?

3. Makeing foci; completely lost. Ok, these are foci:

Centering foci
add their Force to the magician’s initiate
grade when she uses Centering metamagic on a Drain
Resistance Test.

Masking foci
add their Force to the magician’s initiate
grade when making an Opposed Test to pierce her masking.

What do they mean "add their Force to the magician’s initiate
grade"?

[Ancient History]

1. What is Force and Resistance and when I'm asked for the force of something where do I find that?

Force is a measure of how potent something magical is. Spells, spirits, and foci all have Force. For foci, Force usually determines the number of additional dice that the focus provides to the user, and is the focus' principal attribute. When you want to enchant something, you pick the Force you want it to be; the higher the Force, the longer and more difficult the enchantment.

2. There a several different types reagent, is there something specific about every reagent that gives it different properties then other reagent (can Dove feathers do something different then Crow feathers, can Silk do something different then Hemp)?

Reagents are the building blocks of most magical goods, but from a strictly mechanical viewpoint one reagent of a given quality (raw, refined, radical) is pretty much the same as one of reagent of another quality. Certain reagents because of their scarcity and/or high material value (gold, diamonds, unicorn's horn, etc.) may cost more or count as exotic telesma, but they are otherwise not functionally different than a much more common/low value reagent of the same quality.

Also when making a formula, do the reagents ( other that weither they are refined or radical) really have any significants.

Some traditions and cultures will value certain reagents over others as being more or less significant for certain workings, or with a more powerful symbolic meaning relevant to what they want to do with it, but in a pinch whatever is available will work unless the focus formula they are following asks for something very specific.

For example, Orichalcum + Radical Titanium + Radical Aluminum + Radical Silk; what will I get from this (what properties will this have)?

It'll be expensive! Other than that, if a focus or other magical good incorporates those reagents, then those materials should be considered when considering the physical properties of the item (for example, a blade alloyed from titanium and aluminum might be able to pass through a metal detector without setting it off), but from a magical standpoint there's no particular benefit from other radicals.4

What do they mean "add their Force to the magician’s initiate grade"?

Magicians who initiate have an Initiate Grade, which is a counter for how many times they have initiated. Often, the initiate grade is important for determining how effective their metamagics are - the character's add their initiate grade in dice to their dice pool for certain tests. These foci make those tests even more effective, because they add the Force of the focus to the character's initiate grade and add that many dice to their dice pool.
+ Initiate Grade vs. + Initiate Grade + Force of focus