Metamagic, which vodoo do you do? Options

[Mortax]

K, so another thread got me thinking. What metamagics do you think are the most important? I made this a poll as well as a thread so people could spend as much or as little time answering. If I don't have your fav, my apologies. :-)

[Critias]

I gotta go with Centering on this one. For one spellcaster's metamagic technique, it does an awful lot -- granted, it requires a lot of karma to be good at, but the fact is you get a lot of options for one technique. You can play it more offensive (lower casting penalties, extra casting dice), you can play it defensively and sling spells all day long (extra Drain successes). It frees up Spell Pool and can definately help with whatever it is you want your spellcaster to be able to do.

That, and for the non-spellcasters, (read: Adepts), it's absolutely golden. Lower shooting TNs, extra successes in melee, extra dice for stealth/athletics, whatever it is you're after. Again, at the cost of quite a bit of karma (and, in the Adept's case, multiple levels of Centering), but it can be very nasty.

All that said? Masking is a close second. This is a game about professional criminals or (at the very least) Robin Hood wannabe guys who still operate well outside the law. Stealth is important. Masking plays a part in that.

[Smiley]

Centering... MIGHTY!

[hahnsoo]

Dispelling is a metamagic? I thought anyone can do it now.

My vote is for Masking. Takes no additional Karma (unlike Anchoring, Centering, Quickening, and Divining), is useful when you first get it, and continues to be more powerful as you go along. I also enjoy Shielding, but that's a bit more limited.

[fistandantilus4....]

Centering is great because, as sad before, mulit-purpose. It can even reduce target numbers.

After that, I'd go with shielding. Works like spell defense dice, as well as incresing the target number. Combining the two (spell pool into shielding, centering to make up for the lack) is even better.

[mintcar]

Masking. Not having it is like constantly waring your guns above your clothes.

[Mr.Cato]

no contest... sheilding.

the protection it offers to you and your team... put 4-6 dice here and your team will not have to worry about emeny spellcasters. THAT is usefull.

[fistandantilus4....]

I believe dispelling was a meta in 2nd edition

[Charon]

For a runner, I would say Masking should always be taken first. The amount of grief it avoids for a runner is just too great.

For a corp/military mage, probably centering or shielding.

For a cop mage, sympathetic link. The TV serie "Without a trace" wouldn't be quite as entertaining if those FBI agents could track down missing little girls just on a photograph and a ritual, eh?

[fistandantilus4....]

And if not , second.

To make up for not taking it before.

[Smed]

Shielding is the most important Meta-magic for my spellcasters as it greatly reduces the effectiveness of enemy Spellslingers. Masking is a nice second choice. Its so critical to be able to mask foci.

After that, I'm kind of fond of Invoking. Great Form Spirits are great options for a variety of situations.

[Critias]

Wow. So Centering doesn't even make the cut, huh?

I guess I tend to focus more on spellcasting (quite a bit more) than on summoning, though. Most of my mage-types, now that I think about it, are aspected sorcerors (which might be why I tend to skip over several of the metamagics entirely)...a trend I've recently tried to reverse, but I can see how it might color my ranking of usefull metamagics, upon reflection.

[Smed]

L like Centering, but I hate waiting long enough to get enough karma to get the Centering to a decent level.

Now if I'm playing an Adept, it is usualy the first one I get.

[Snow_Fox]

Centering-as i view it it shows you're better able to manipulate the mana, making your magic more effective.

[Snow_Fox]

double post

[akarenti]

Symbolic Linking is definitely got potential for abuse. I'm amazed you don't hear more "So, my magician found this picture. . ." stories on the boards.

[Eyeless Blond]

LOL.

Alternatively, is symbolic linking only for regular photographs, or do they apply to digital pictures too? Specifically I'm thinking high-res Sensor output, eyecameras, and other digital pictures. Where is that metamagic from, anyway?

[DragginSPADE]

I have centering for the sheer versatility, and the next I get will be divining for character reasons (I am the true karma black hole!). Masking and shielding are best for pure utility though.

[Kagetenshi]

Cleansing. It is the precursor to Spell Matrices, and is the primary hope for restoring our polluted manasphere.

~J

[Mortax]

I almost always get centering first, followed by masking. Sometimes I take masking first. But since I mostly play shamans, masking can sometimes be a bit moot, since anyone with eyes or a nose can usually pick up on it. :-) Well, I take that back. My cat shaman got masking first. It was hard to tell she was a shaman.

My current shaman smells of kerosine, though. :-)

[MagicalGirlPrett...]

Masking, Masking, Masking. Always the first I take, always the most important to me. Nothing as advantageous as being able to (if not totally), at least conceal yourself for the most part. It gets especially juicy when you can start concealing foci with it. I'll usually take Cleansing second, as I do like not leaving much of a trace of me behind. Used in a group setting, espeically if you're initiating in a group, complimentary and specialized metamagics when you start getting up past 2nd and 3rd-grade initiates I've found to be particularly useful. The group I'm referencing to has both an established and specialized defender, and someone designed to clean up after everyone.

Course, things do go wrong, usually all the time. :spin:

[Cynic project]

I think I go with Invoking, great things for the Voodoo types.

[Mr.Platinum]

I must say Masking has been most usefull for my charcater .

[toturi]

I really depends on the type of shaman or mage or even adept you play. But for all round plain vanilla usefulness, it is Centering. Consider that even(especially) adepts get a massive boost from Centering.

[FlakJacket]

Masking, Centring and Shielding are the holy trinity for me most of the time. Which order though as much depends on the character as anything else.