[X] My Assistant

[Bodak]

The best houserule i've seen for some variation of Impromptu Spellcasting on dumpshock is actually Freecasting. By... tanegar, i think? Not sure, been a while.

That looks pretty good. Oddly, the Arcana page lists distances in that archaic measurement system peculiar to D&D: she can knock them back 1d6 feet before they fall down.

In SR3 you could always learn all the spells available at Force 2 with the Exclusive limitation or Force 1 with the Fetish limitation for no karma expenditure. This prevented you using them at high force but also meant you had a small collection of utility cantrips you'd never justify spending actual karma to get. This wouldn't exactly be "spontaneous" casting for all possible / custom / NPC spells (you'd need the knowledge skill Spell Design, and to assense the spell being cast, then make the formula, then learn the limited spell for no karma, which would take time) but it would allow a caster to cast all spells (albeit at low Force and consequently (if ported to SR4) low net hits).

[Kesendeja]

I'd still like to see this worked up as a metamagic.

[Fringe]

I'd still like to see this worked up as a metamagic.

Here's my hack at it:

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Spontaneous Casting (Advanced Metamagic)
Prerequisites: Filtering (and thus Cleansing), Masking, Reflecting (and thus Shielding) (All of these reflect techniques that shape local astral space around the caster. This therefore cannot be learned before grade 6.)

This highly advanced metamagic technique allows the magician to create astral constructs that mimic the effects of spells, without having to learn the corresponding spell formula. This technique is limited to a particular category of spell (Combat, Detection, Health, Illusion, or Manipulation), which is selected when the magician learns this technique. This technique may be learned at more than one initiate grade, in which case the magician learns to spontaneously cast another category of spells. The magician can cast any existing spell in his/her selected spell category without needing a spell formula, and may design new spells on the fly. If designing a completely new spell on the fly, the magician must design the spell using the normal procedure (Street Magic, 158), except that the interval for the design test (Arcana + Logic) is changed to an interval of 1 Complex Action. It is assumed that a magician of such high initiate grade (at least grade 6 upon learning this technique) knows enough about existing spells to forego the design test. In all cases, the magician must then spend a Free Action and succeed at an Arcana + Intuition (drain DV) test to create the astral construct before he/she can actually flow mana through the construct and cast the spell. (Note that the magician commits at the construction test to cast the spell at a particular Force.) A critical glitch on the construction test causes the spell to malfunction, having the opposite effect (e.g., a combat spell is cast on the magician and/or allies). None of these tests results in a lasting spell formula; if the magician later wishes to design the formula and learn the spell, he/she must start from scratch and pursue the normal processes of designing and learning spells.

This technique is much more difficult and dangerous than casting a learned spell. A spontaneously cast spell is cast at a penalty of -5 to Magic rating (this affects the allowable Force of the spell as well as the Spellcasting dice pool and all other applications of Magic rating). Further, the drain DV is increased by 5. A glitch on any test during the spontaneous casting (design, construct, casting, drain resistance) reduces the caster's actual Magic rating by 1 until the next sunrise (or sunset, if the magician is of a nocturnal tradition).

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Note: A GM who wants to allow more spontaneous casting might alter this technique in the following ways:
1. Calculate the additional drain DV as if the Force were 5 higher instead of DV +5.
2. Reduce the number of prerequisite metamagic techniques to allow learning at lower initiate grades.
3. Reduce the Magic rating penalty during casting.
4. Remove the requirement to spend a Free Action for the construct test.
5. Reduce the interval on the design test to 1 Simple Action instead of 1 Complex Action, which allows two intervals per initiative pass for on-the-fly design.

Warnings: Allowing on-the-fly spell design at all requires fluency (not just familiarity) with the spell design rules and may slow down game play at critical junctures. The GM should encourage players of spontaneous casters to have their spell designs ready before their turn in the IP.