Extended Perception Check, How long does it take to notice something? Options

[Thorguild]

Apropos of nothing: How long before a mage who occasionally astrally perceives notices strange things around him?

Scenario 1: A university mage has a secretary named Sue who is a secret Technomancer. The mage has a total of 8 dice in Assensing, and has no idea there's anything weird about his secretary. It takes 5 successes to find a TM.

He goes about his daily work, which includes spell research, publishing, fundraising, grading papers, teaching, and office hours. He uses assensing in short bursts on a regular basis, and has no reason to assense Sue. Sue works in the same small office and is up and around while he works. He chances to glance at her occasionally while assesning other things.

So the rules would say that he never notices that there's something strange about her, as he never Observes in Detail. A Hand Wave says that he gets it when the plot calls for it.

Does anyone have another take on it?

Scenario 2: A security mage does irregular sweeps for invisible intruders. He walks through the cafeteria while 50 workers are eating. He's not looking at them specifically, but sweeping over EVERYTHING in an alert but perfunctory manner. What's his chance of catching Sue?

Scenario 3: A student mage has a crush on Sue and takes every opportunity to watch her. Sometimes he assenses her in detail for a long time. He has 5 dice. His chance to get 5 successes are about .004. His Glitch chance is at least 4x that. Does he get any bonus because he's staring at her doe-eyed for a long time? Like an extended test?

What do you think?

Thorguild

[Thorguild]

I've wondered about this for diagnostic medical mages too. A mage attached to the radiology department at the university's teaching hospital has 8 dice of assensing. He sees three patients an hour for 10 minutes each. He sits and observes in detail for the entire time. He never spends edge, because he needs that to keep losing money at poker each night (30,000 NY in Debt).

How many successes does he average? He has about 2% chance to get 6 successes, and .3% to get 7 on each roll. 200 rolls means a lot of 6's in each appointment, and a 7 every other appointment. That's if each one is taken separately.

But what if he takes 1 minute to get a general view of the patient, then spends several minutes doing *especially detailed* review of anything he though was suspicious in the first pass?

BTW, what could the hospital do to give give him extra dice? (I've always pictured a surgery room as giving +4 to +6 dice in bonus, as they prepare it to give every advantage possible. Great lighting - +2. 4 Assistants - +2. Expert tools - +1. Etc.) Some sort of astrally null or uniform background?

Thorguild

[CanRay]

Astrally null background? In a hospital? Full of people suffering and sick, some dying? Sure, the Corporate Hospitals are probably magically cleansed regularly, but the Public Ones?

Even IRL Critical Care and ERs will set off sensitives as far too tense and negative. In the Sixth World? They'd be near toxic.

...

*Headdesk* Now I got ideas again, damnit.

[Thorguild]

I dunno. Put a nice potted plant in the corner. That should clean it up, right?

Seriously, it can't be as bad as all that or eventually all hospitals would start being haunted tombs. And birth centers (theoretically great joy) would become super-shrines?

(I hope this doesn't derail the thread)

Thorguild

[Irion]

Yes, perception rules are a mess in this instance. What you cant see in one action (0.75 to 3 seconds) you can't see at all.
Thats kind of a mess, because it gives no credit to any kind situational boni or mali.
Like:
Like having faked your aura either gets you through every control possible or even a short look will blow your cover.
I would go like double the amount of time and get 1 bonus dice. Max. 6 times (or max= skill).
So if I stare at those cyberlegs for 2 min, I get +6 dice to realize they are synthetic.


@Thorguild
Well, I would say it would stay between one or two.
The Problem is, that the BC description is like 1-5 in every day situations and 6 is Auschwitz.