I have 3 questions aroused by one of our players.

1) Do Mentor Spirits help in resisting Drain? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, since it says they help with 'casting', but don't see anything more definitive, and with how 3rd Edition allowed it, have to ask. The fact that Concentration as an Edge is so expensive, tends to agree with the No answer.

2) Power Foci, do they help in Drain? I see that Spell Casting Foci do, but see nothing to suggest Power Foci do...

3) Do Power Foci increase your Magic Rating to determine Physical vs Stun drain? Again, I assume not, since it later says it applies to 'Magic Tests', but the wording does leave room for questioning.

I have a guy that wants to see just how strongly he can resist Drain. Aiming to survive a Force 12 FireBall with only Light Drain (3 or fewer boxes) that he can 'Heal'. So, are there any other Drain resisting possibilities? He's thinking of doing a Mystic Adept since there's the 35 point limit on Edges (10 for Mystic Adept, 5 for Mentor Spirit, 20 for Concentration)

PS. Lookng for legal Min-Max advice here, not people telling me about 'theme' and 'role' playing. I'm currently under the impression that the best Drain resistance you can get at Char-Gen is 14 for Attributes, +2 for Concentration; +3 for a SpellCasting Focus for 19 total.

Sphynx

actually, i think you can get 15 on atttributes. although it would be kinda expensive...

you would have to be an elf, resist drain with willpower+charisma, and have the exceptional attribute edge for either willpower or charisma.

and then you have to put your charisma to 9 starting off.

which is pretty crazy.

you could also potentially do it using cyberware to boost your logic if you resist drain with logic...

Well it is all about your "theme" and the way you "role"play . Sorry but i could not resist.

Back to topic.

@1) Well the wording is "A magician gains bonus dice when acting or using Sorcery or Conjuring skills in accordance to the mentor’s ideals." So i would read that as "No they don't help with drain, only with Sorcery Skill tests."

@2) Since they say "A power focus adds its Force to all tests in which the magician’s Magic is included. ", and drain doesn't use Magic in it's test, i would rule: "No, a Power Focus doesn't assist in a drain test."

@3) Two sentences this time: "Possession of a power focus feeds a magician’s Magic directly, making her eff orts more powerful in all forms of magical ability." and "A single power focus can increase a magician’s ability to cast spells, call on and control spirits, and bypass astral barriers." So i'd like to say: "Yes, they "increase" the Magic Attribute for the purpose of determining if the drain is stun or physical.

Jaid: With the limit of 35 BP in Edges, you can't be a Magician, get 2 levels of Concentration, and have an Exeptional Attribute.

Anything else that could help with Drain?

You can'tt start with more than one attribute at your natural maximum. But you can be a Dwarf with a Willpower of 7 (10) and a Logic of 5 (7) by getting a Sustaining Focus 3 (carrying Increase Willpower), and a Cerebral Booster 2.

So you can start with 17 dice for Attributes as a Dwarven Hermetic, and then pick up +2 for Concentration, +3 for a spellcasting focus, for 22 dice total.

-Frank

hmmm... well, there's still the option of being a dwarf (7 willpower) mage (with logic 6 plus rating 2 cerebral booster) which will give you 15 dice from attributes. mind you, you lose some magic, and it costs some money, but them's the breaks.

add on to that a rating 2 adrenaline pump (which has a small chance of KOing the character, but adds 2 to willpower when it is working) and you've got 17 dice from attributes.

although, at this point you're looking at very large amounts of money, a fairly hefty essence (and therefore magic) cost, and a rather crappy yet expensive piece of bioware (the adrenaline pump just really ain't all that great, really). but it's possible.

anyways, depending on how you interepret it, bear gives +2 dice to resist damage. drain may or may not apply, depending on your interpretation of whether drain is damage or not until after it is resisted.

that's about all i can think of.

Frank, 22? I don't see that. Dwarf (assuming he went hermetic with Cerebral Booster) would have a Willpower and Logic of 7 for 14 total (7 and 5 +2 CB) for a +19 total after Focus and Bio, though using Bioware means not casting the Force 12 spell in the pre-requisite until way after initiation (not a bad thing) or until a Power Focus is also purchased.

[Edit]DoH! Missed the Sustained Increase Willpower.[/Edit]

Sphynx

Speaking of drain, would the Bear totem +2 dice to resist physical damage apply to physical drain?

I have so much to learn about this new system

as i mentioned previously, there is a more or less unresolved discussion on whether or not bear gives +2 dice to resist drain.

essentially, the discussion revolves around whether drain is damage or not when you resist it.

if drain is damage when you resist it, then bear will give +2 dice. if drain is not damage until after you have attempted to resist it, then bear cannot help you (since you don't resist the damage caused by the drain under this interpretation).

as with most rule ambiguity, you will have to get the GM to rule on this one how (s)he feels about it.

It comes down to: "Is Drain different from Damage?"

If they're the same thing, then Bear and Dark King will have modifiers to deal with Drain. You'd also be able to use First Aid and the Heal spell to recover from Drain taken. Platelet Factory would offset one point of Drain if you take at least two points. Bear magicians that overcast and don't soak the Drain completely would go berserk (and be hostile to themselves?).

If they're different, then the mentor spirit modifiers would not apply and you couldn't use First Aid/Heal to recover from Drain taken. The mentor spirits that flip out when injured wouldn't go nuts from overcasting and failing to soak it all.

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The way we play, Drain is different until just after it's applied to your Damage track, then it's treated as Damage. As such, mentor spirits and Platelet Factory don't affect Drain soaking in any way but you can still recover with First Aid and Heal as appropriate.