Magical Traps?, One Ring To Rule Them All Options

[DragginSPADE]

Another option would be to use the rules for runic enchanting from SOTA:64. These let you apply geasa to foci, i.e. the focus only works in sunlight, or when the user is drunk, or whatever. This wouldn't inflict a nasty LOTR type charm effect on a thief, but it could keep them from using it. As an example take a Power focus 6 which only works when the user is chanting in ancient Sanskrit. I don't believe the focus even has to make it obvious what conditions would be necessary to make it work.

[DocMortand]

I don't own 2064 yet, and most of the time I'd veto any of it until we got closer in the timeline and I'd read it thoroughly. Heck, I don't even have SOTA 2063 yet... I'm still waaayyyy back in 2059.

I'm paying attention...what other options are out there? (I may do something against the PCs as well...and I'm curious what can be done)

[tisoz]

What is the beneficial purpose of the focus for you? Or, what spell do you want anchored and what force?

[DocMortand]

um...this is originally a theme about traps, not beneficial things.

so how do we trap 'em with a ring, and make 'em do our bidding?

Like upon wearing, the ring can't be removed while simultaneously casting a force 9 hot potato spell....

[tisoz]

Um...ok.

I thought he said he wanted his foci to be trapped if someone were to take it from his presumably unconscious body. So there is some reason he is using the focus, then there is probably a trigger and trap.

He was complaining about needing to resist drain while already at deadly stun. Also the problem of magic is not sentient/self-directed. Also the cost and TN of making such a focus.

That is why I was asking what the beneficial purpose was. There are several types of useful foci. Then I was considering figuring out how to feasably build one.

All using canon rules, not D&D enchanted items.

[TeOdio]

I may get flamed to hell with this, but I'm pretty damn sure I read this in multiple places. Magic is still an evolving thing in Shadowrun. Some of the magical items that have shown up in SR (Elemental Scrolls, Teachdaire's ring) are definitely "NON-CANON" from a pure rules standpoint. But as a GM, you have a very rich magical history to mine(2nd and 4th worlds). Since players are "trapped" by the conventions of magic that have been "re-discovered" since the Awakening, I wouldn't allow them to create mega twink game breaking stuff, but as a GM, you could easily justify it with the simple line,it might be a relic from the 4th world or some such crap like that. The books actually seem to encourage this in some places as a way to keep magic strange and exciting, not just a rote bunch of mundane rules to observe and follow. It's not physics or biology... It's MAGIC!!
That being said, magic items with charges ???? :please:
:D
:nuyen: :nuyen: :nuyen:

[toturi]

Guys, the SOTA power curve has really gone through the roof. Refer the virtuso thread in the 2064 subforumsfor more details.

[tisoz]

[LinaInverse]

Toturi, let me see if I can make it clear what I was shooting for.

Shadowrun has a lot of rules for making beneficial foci. Any enterprising player can make his own foci for their own benefit. The drawback is, if the foci is stolen or otherwise lost, the thief can wield the item you put in all your effort.

My idea, taken from the long history of other game systems (not to mention fantasy history) is to specifically build an item that would work fine for the original creator, but if it is attempted to be wielded by someone else, they get punished for it.

The problem, as I detail above, is that Shadowrun doesn't support being able to build a foci that will work without being bonded and/or uncontrolled by the person wearing it (presuming that it's not the original builder). The closest (Anchoring) is severely hampered by its inability to work without forcing a Drain test upon activation. If this were SR2 rules where the Drain would work upon creation, then this wouldn't be a problem, but SR3, this fails.

The other problem with Anchoring, or other Foci solutions (ie, Sustaining Foci, etc) is that any of these would add Force to the Foci, which would directly contribute to Foci Addiction. For the "curse" to have any kind of teeth whatsoever, the spell would have to be substantially powerful. Unfortunately, this basically means that the foci, even for the original caster, is basically rendered worthless, because of the huge Addiction issue. If there's no room left for any Force for the Foci's actual intended use, then that defeats the whole purpose of having a Foci whatsoever.

The other idea, to create a spell that doesn't go off right away, but is triggered by conditions, doesn't exist in the standard MITS spell creation rules. If someone could negotiate one with their GM, I suppose one could design a (Trigger, +1 Drain Lvl) or something like that, but that's not a Canon ruling, and our campaign (Doc's the GM) is mostly Canon.

[toturi]

OK, let me put it this way... with a Virtuso-ed foci, the original creater can boost his Magic rating through his personalised background count.

Anyone else who picks it up to use it even after rebonding is going to have problems because of that same Background count.

[tisoz]

You can buy a reusable bonded anchor with triggers. Multiple spells should not be a problem, just makes it more expensive. A magician selling such a focus will probably not have more than one or two at large to avoid focus addiction.

It would be good to use a free spirit casting the spells into the focus since they take no drain if their force exceeds the force of the spell. So they could care less how often the spell gets triggered on and off. The downside is they need to bond the focus and still need to look out for focus addiction. It seems like a good way for a free spirit to bargain for some karma, plus they would want karma to learn the spell (increasing their spell list and their power base) and would want karma needed to bond the focus.

Another good part about this kind of anchor is free spirits have the potential to live longer than many mortal magicians, so the anchor and spell could be around a long time. Also if people keep feeding the spirit karma, it can increase its force and its magic rating and be able to bond more foci without becoming addicted.

Not really covered by the rules but not unrealistic either is that if the person the spirit made the deal with had the focus stolen, the spirit might not feel they are obligated to have the magic item be in circulation any longer. They could use their astral link to go retrieve the focus and cause a little trouble for the person who liberated it.