Bit of a noob question considering I have been playing for so long, but I'd just like to get it right about this one.

An example here goes.

An adept with centering of 6 wishes to overcome the penalty of multiple foes in combat. The adept is currently facing 5 unarmed foes so is at a +4 penalty. He wishes to attack with his Katana

His base target number to attack is 4-1(reach)= 3
Is therefore the target number for centering 3+4= 7?
Background count affects this right?

The target number is equal to (TN of the test - Initiate Grade). Every 2 successes cancels 1 point of TN penalties, up to the "base" TN.

right. the TN for the centering test would be 7 - grade.

In the given example, assuming maximum successes, would Centering reduce the TN to 4 or 3? I could see it being argued both ways.

given that the adept only has Centering of 6, the maximum reduction would be to TN 4 [(4 base) (-1 reach) (+4 friends in melee) (-3 for 6 possible Centering successes)]. if the adept had Centering of 8+, the maximum reduction would be to TN 3, because Centering negates TN penalties.

that's the best way to remember how Centering works: it doesn't reduce the TN, it negates modifiers to the TN. you don't need to worry about what the original TN was, when determining what Centering can do; you only need to worry about how many points of penalties there are. if there are 2 points of penalties, you can use up to 4 successes for penalty negation. if there are 4 points of penalties, you can use up to 8 successes for penalty negation. the base TN doesn't factor into it.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Unless said adept begins adding Astral Pool dice to it...

you doubly can't do that. for one, astral pool can only be used while actually on the astral plane or in the metaplanes; i don't believe astral perception counts. adepts don't have much access to that, though these barriers can be overcome with the help of a friendly spirit and/or the limited projection metamagic.

for another, astral pool can't be used for magical skill tests. centering is a magical skill.

Excellent that has cleared it up. Thanks for the replies.

for those who figured out how to hack centering and do it twice a pass: you can't, at least not according to the FAQ.

if you go by the MitS wording, it's actually possible to center twice per pass, if you have the multitasking adept power (SOTA:64), since centering is a free action. the catch is, you can't use centering on the same test twice. however, if you're performing two different actions--say, firing a semiautomatic weapon twice--you could center on each.

the FAQ, however, says you can't do that.

Can't imagine why not.

i can't imagine why MitS didn't just say "you can't center more than once in a single pass", if that's what was intended.

That'd be too easy.