Optimising a Magicians Way Adept for Melee, Just what could one do? Options

[GentlemanLoser]

Hi all, the Magician Way Adept thread go me thinking just how one could be applied to melee (ranged would be easier to do).

I don't think the following could be achieved at character generation but something close could.

Attributes;
For the moment, only worried about Strength. Didn't worry about body, as this character should never be hit in melee. To be honest, I've ignored combat pool and quickness entirelty, this was only a quick look. So Max Str for what ever race you want.

Edge: Ambidextrous

Wanted Spells;
Increase Attribute: Strength. Force as high as you can. Sustain this by summoning an Elemental.
Increased Reflexes (+3). Force 1. Sustain with a sustaining focus. (Why not have this...)
Armour. Again, as high a force as you can, sustain by an elemental.
Flame Aura. Force 1 (Higher force would be nice, additional damage, but this is great for the +2 Power). Sustain with a sustaining focus.

Adept powers. Those that you run out of points for, get or increase with the use of infusion focuses.
Improved Ability (The 1 handed weapon of choice) - Main power
Mystic Armour.
Magic Power. (if it's not as high as your largest spells, be prepared for physical drain.)
Counterattack. Just becasue you can...
If anything spare, could always get Sidestep.

Cyber/Bioware.
The usual. I've only listed some Bioware. Get as much as you can, and geasa off the loss.
Suprathyroid Gland
OrthoSkin
Enhanced Articulation
Reflex Recorder (Weapon of Choice)
Muscle Augmentation (+4).

Weapons focus (1 handed weapon of choice) x2. Dikoted.

With the amount of dice to be rolled, the Adept should never be hit.

Now, the fun really starts when you look at initiation.

Initiate twice for Centering (melee). Either use it to reduce TN's or gain sucesses.

Take Anchoring and have fun with an anchored Redirect Spell. If you do for some reason fail a H2H attack roll and get hit, you can use your spellcasting (including spell pool) to bounce the attack back at your attker as a ranged attack...

Look to making an anchoring focus that activates when you hit (or draw blood, or something else) that casts Decrease Body on your opponent.

Take Item Attuenemnt for a -1TN.

I've not got the CC, so haven't included anything from there (apart from Ambidextrous).

But max skill + Bioware Dice + IA Dice + Large Str + +2 Power + Weapon Focus Dice + 50% str bonus from two weapons + Counter strike + Centering + Item Attuenment + Large Armour (if even hit...). Phew.

I don't think I've missed anything, but I'm sure there are ways of improving on this...

[James McMurray]

[GentlemanLoser]

"What about when someone shoots him?"

*Shrugs* I was really concnetrating on more of a melee fight. If you want to be prepared for ranged, pump your sidestep more and sustain (though and ele) a Deflect spell.


"Do you get conjuring as a magician adept?"

Yeah. :) You can also choose to be a shaman or Hermatic on your mage side.


"If you're never going to get hit in melee, what's the point of this one?"

Just because it was available... It's probably not necessary, but if you've got the points spare it can't hurt...


"At least once out of every 4 runs, this should really ruin your day, or at least make it painful."

Just think of the other three... ;) Besides. Talisman...

But I was considering more of a gladitorial encounter for this.

[BitBasher]

Primary rule of a starting adept: you never have points to spare. :)

[toturi]

Essential spells:

Improved Reflexes 3: Force 1 (Fetish): No spell point used - check
Flame Aura 1: Force 1 (Fetish): No spell point used - check

Essential Powers:

Magical Power
Combat Sense (you never know when you'll need to beat a Surprise)

Essential Items:

Sustaining Foci
Weapon Foci

Armour spell may be replaced by armour. Hostile spells can be spell defended (no spells to cast in combat anyway).

[James McMurray]

[James McMurray]

[Glyph]

I still think the build that I came up with is the cheesiest. Take Resources: A (obviously, you can't do this with the Priority System). Get a Force: 6/Reach: 0 Weapon Focus (such as a dikoted katar), and a Force: 6 Manabolt Focus. For powers, take Magical Ability: 4 with Gesture Geas and Improved Ability: Edged Weapons: 6. Spend 18 of your spellpoints to bond the weapon focus, and the remaining 6 to buy Manabolt: 6 (Exclusive to lower the Drain to an effective Force of 4). Get the Ambidexterity (6 point) Edge, and buy Sorcery: 6 and Edged Weapons: 6 (also get Pentjak Silat high enough to have Close Combat for Edged Weapons). For Totem, pick Dragonslayer.

With Ambidexterity, the weapon focus, and the improved ability, you will be rolling 27 dice before Combat Pool. Also, you can toss 9 dice plus Spell Pool into a Manabolt with 2 (Damage Level) Drain, and you are only 6 Karma from adding 6 more dice to that.


For a powerful adept of the magical way a ways down the road, don't forget the conjuring side - the combo of Invoking and Channeling can create a truly near-invincible berserker.

[GentlemanLoser]

I was just focusing on melee, so here's an example of a more overal M-A.

Attributes and Race
Not too worried, whatever floats your boat.

Edge: Ambidextrous

Spells;
Increased Reflexes F:1 - Sustaining Focus
Flame Aura F:1 - Sustaining Focus
Deflect F: Max - Sustain Via Elemental
Enhanced Aim F: Max - Sustain Via Elemental

Powers;
Improved Ability (Pistol): Max
Improved Ability (Clubs:Pistol): Max
Magical Power: Low
Improved Sense: Vision Mag
Sidestep: Gain from infusion Focus
Spell resistance: Gain from Infusion Focus
Counterattack: Gain from Infusion Focus

As karma increases, swap out infusion focuses for buying the powers.

Bioware. (geas away loss to magic)
Enhanced Articulation
Reflex Recorder Full (Pistol)
Reflex Recorder spec (Clubs:Pistol)

Equipment
2 x Pistols. If you can get them weapon focused. No, this won't help when shooting someone, but will when you pistol whip / gun butt people with them.

The damage of the pistosl in melee isn't important. The amount of dice you roll (and TN's are).

Ranged combat;
You roll more dice than anyone else when shooting, with twice as many shots per pass. All at a TN2 (thanks to Vision Mag and E. Aim)
When being shot at, you have loads of dice to dodge the shot with. More than anyone else could.

Melee combat;
You roll more dice than anyone else, so should never be hit. TN's from facing people with longer reach can be reduced with initiation (more on that to follow). Damage doesn't really matter if you hit every attack, and have more chance of scaling your small damage code up. WIth your pistols being weapon focuses, you can also smack up any spirit that comes your way. (on spirits, if you really want to know whats going on in astral space, summon a watcher. Not being dual natured or atrally perciving, they can't interact with you unless they manifest. In that case, go to town and whip them into oblivion with your spirit damaging pistol clubs...)

Spellcasting.
Never cast a spell in combat. Ever. Shoot people or hit 'em with your guns. Save spellcasting dice + Spell Pool + Spell resistance for well, resisting spells cast at you.


Inititation.
Fun. Aim for Item attunement first. This gives you another -1TN with your pistols. Works while shooting with them, or clubing people with them.

Centering 2&3 (Ranged/Melee) will help getting rid of any other modifiers that aren't covered by enchanced aim (for ranged - this is a broken spell. Mages are the best gun users in the game. period.) for example. multiple opponent/firing in melee, etc. If none of those apply, just use it for even more sucesses...

Anchoring. Have fun with all sorts of anchored focuses. Look for Redirect for melee safety. Treat (when I reach deadly physical damage) for longevity. Hell, pay someone to tattoo you with a couple. let them take the drain...

Quickening. Tired of paying for killing elementals to sustain your spells? Want to free up a few more focus slots for infusion focuses / anchoring focuses? Quicken you big spells. Hell learn flame aura to max force for additional damage in melee, but be prepared to set everything around you on fire. For ever.

Shielding / Reflecting. Want to be even more secure versus enemy spell casting...

This is purely a look at the game mechanics. I don't care about cries of munchkin, explaining geas, how this would fit into a characters background, what runs it could be used on, or anything of the sort.

Wanna play a face as well. Add in the social breaking stuff as mentioned by other people. Kinesis, Cultred Pheremones, some edges, Mind probe, etc...


Have fun with your 1 man running team. Just remember to hire a decker.

Hell, install a geased away datajack, learn computing and have/steal enough money to purchase a good deck...