Could someone explain Magic Background Count to me and how it effects players in the game.
Thanks
Full Version: Magic Background Count
It's like using a radio in an electromagnetic storm. 
There are distracting influences, which can be light or strong depending on the rating of the background count.
It gives penalties to all magical actions (including perception on the astral).
Bye
Thanee
There are distracting influences, which can be light or strong depending on the rating of the background count.
It gives penalties to all magical actions (including perception on the astral).
Bye
Thanee
Mana is psychoreactive - it responds to thought and emotion. In some places, such as the site of a murder or a great act of magic, the intensity of the emotion can imprint itself on the astral plane in this place. Usually, this is only temporary. But truly powerful events or repeated exposure can permanently change the nature of astral space. Because the flow of mana in the place is changed, it becomes more difficult to perform magic there.
That's one explanation. Others might tell you that mana is just another type of energy and places with a background count are the magical equivalent of irradiated zones, magical "hot spots" of power that interferes with a magician's ability like static cutting through a radio broadcast.
That's one explanation. Others might tell you that mana is just another type of energy and places with a background count are the magical equivalent of irradiated zones, magical "hot spots" of power that interferes with a magician's ability like static cutting through a radio broadcast.
In case you are looking for a SR4 rules reference, it isn't in yet. It is though pretty much a lock to be included in Street Magic as the SR3 counterpart to that book, Magic In The Shadows, is where it was previously found.
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| Mana is psychoreactive - it responds to thought and emotion. In some places, such as the site of a murder or a great act of magic, the intensity of the emotion can imprint itself on the astral plane in this place. Usually, this is only temporary. But truly powerful events or repeated exposure can permanently change the nature of astral space. Because the flow of mana in the place is changed, it becomes more difficult to perform magic there. That's one explanation. Others might tell you that mana is just another type of energy and places with a background count are the magical equivalent of irradiated zones, magical "hot spots" of power that interferes with a magician's ability like static cutting through a radio broadcast. |
Given some of the examples in the previous editions magic books (the Grimoires, Awakenings, MITS) I've gotten the impression that low level (1-2) background counts are fairly common. In my games they are present almost universally in Sterile Lab Facilities, automated factories, Cube Farms, Hospitals, Sports Arenas, Churches, Prisons, and pretty much anywhere else you regularly get very intense, or long term homogenized emotional states, or great effort has been taken to sterilize or dehumanize an environment, or where significant pollution is present.
| QUOTE (stevebugge) |
| Given some of the examples in the previous editions magic books (the Grimoires, Awakenings, MITS) I've gotten the impression that low level (1-2) background counts are fairly common. In my games they are present almost universally in Sterile Lab Facilities, automated factories, Cube Farms, Hospitals, Sports Arenas, Churches, Prisons, and pretty much anywhere else you regularly get very intense, or long term homogenized emotional states, or great effort has been taken to sterilize or dehumanize an environment, or where significant pollution is present. |
This is my interpretation, also. I'd almost say some of those - some churches, depending on size of congregation and specific uses of the church; prisons where torture took place on a regular basis for a long period of time; sports arenas with particularly rabid fan bases - would be higher than 2.
But aren't power sites a positive Background Count? Such as the power sites in ley lines in Britian and the Dragon Lines in China? Don't they give a positive bonus to casting?
They only add a bonus if you are of a suitable tradition to be keyed into the twist they give mana ie a druid using british leylines to boost himself.
| QUOTE (Ophis @ Mar 7 2006, 10:09 AM) |
| They only add a bonus if you are of a suitable tradition to be keyed into the twist they give mana ie a druid using british leylines to boost himself. |
There are neutral mana sites; but cults and organizations tend to "aspect" them towards their tradition, thereby limiting or outright denying its use to other magic users.
Exactly. For example, a radioactive wastedump would be aspected towards a toxic shaman. Conversely, don't even think about slinging mojo in Mecca unless you're aspected towards Islam. I seem to remember that the entire city has a BG count of, like, 3.
The potential for corrupted magicians to aspect themselves toward a particular type of background count is the premise of one of my favorite ideas - Sterility Shamans in Space.
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