Fighting with magic fingers.
Opponents dice pool
The spell clearly determines the dice pool the caster uses when he attacks with magic fingers. His own unarmed skill the spells agility (net sorcery hits) with a 2 dice penalty for unusual positioning and presumably any visual penalty that may applyand probably -2 for sustaining the spell.
What dice pool dose the victim use to resist this. I would assume it would be unarmed combat but what penalty for the absence of an actual opponent, not only can you not see to predict an angle of attack but you cant wave your weapon around hoping to keep your opponent at bay.
Edward
Full Version: Fighting with magic fingers.
You can do that?
I have to check the spell description but I think that magic fingers allows you to manipulate physical objects, but its a telekinetic manipulation like levitation.
For example I use magic fingers, to lift up a soda bottle. Someone sees this and tries to figure out why the bottle is floating. He feels all around the bottle but can't tell what's holding it up. That's because magic Fingers is a levitation spell that can move from object to object and that the magician controls through hand movements for as long as he sustains the spell. You can attack with Magic Fingers but the only way you can do it is to pick up an object and use it as a weapon. You can't attack directly because the magic fingers have no physical form or substance.
Now in the event that that the character wanted to cast a "Magic Fists spell". The fists in this case would behave like mini-physical barriers that could move. Furthermore they could be destroyed by an attack just like the physical barrier could. And finally like the physical barrier, they would be visible.
I have to check the spell description but I think that magic fingers allows you to manipulate physical objects, but its a telekinetic manipulation like levitation.
For example I use magic fingers, to lift up a soda bottle. Someone sees this and tries to figure out why the bottle is floating. He feels all around the bottle but can't tell what's holding it up. That's because magic Fingers is a levitation spell that can move from object to object and that the magician controls through hand movements for as long as he sustains the spell. You can attack with Magic Fingers but the only way you can do it is to pick up an object and use it as a weapon. You can't attack directly because the magic fingers have no physical form or substance.
Now in the event that that the character wanted to cast a "Magic Fists spell". The fists in this case would behave like mini-physical barriers that could move. Furthermore they could be destroyed by an attack just like the physical barrier could. And finally like the physical barrier, they would be visible.
I'd also be leery about letting the magician use magic fingers to break or damage a person or object without pressing it against another object or throwing it against another object or using it to strike another object.
As cool as a Darth Vader style
"You have disappointed me for the last time admiral"
might be, it could be very unbalancing and open to abuse.
As cool as a Darth Vader style
"You have disappointed me for the last time admiral"
might be, it could be very unbalancing and open to abuse.
I would let people use Magic Fingers to behave just like Clout -- instead of manipulating objects, you smack em one. You forfeit the ability to sustain it in the process; I don't think it would be too unbalancing, because the price you pay for flexibility (the ability to do both magic fingers and clout) is additional drain.
As a matter of balance, I wouldn't let you sustain it and use it to attack. You'll notice that attack spells are, invariably, not sustainable.
Alternatively, if you *really* wanted to do the sustaining, I would have it do like F/4 stun damage per combat turn (soakable), just so you could do the really cool Vader effect.
As a matter of balance, I wouldn't let you sustain it and use it to attack. You'll notice that attack spells are, invariably, not sustainable.
Alternatively, if you *really* wanted to do the sustaining, I would have it do like F/4 stun damage per combat turn (soakable), just so you could do the really cool Vader effect.
Isn't the one that lights you on fire sustainable?
You certainly don't want mages everywhere doing that.
But it would be cool.
Perhaps a custom magic, requiring a rare weapon focus, that a high-end initiate might manage.
I'm still kind of gutted that Yoda didn't wield lightsabers with his much-vaunted magic-finger-fu.
But it would be cool.
Perhaps a custom magic, requiring a rare weapon focus, that a high-end initiate might manage.
I'm still kind of gutted that Yoda didn't wield lightsabers with his much-vaunted magic-finger-fu.
According to the opening post the spell specifies which dice pool you use, so it seems like the ability to use it that way already exists.
| QUOTE (James McMurray) |
| Isn't the one that lights you on fire sustainable? |
You mean Ignite? I thought it was a Permanent?
Even better than sustainable. Grranted, it has a lot less general utility than magic fingers, but it makes up for it by being much more deadly.
Hmm... Nice one. I'd have to rule that if the magic hands were just being used to punch then it'd do a base (Spell's Str/2)S damage, and the defender probably wouldn't be able to defend unless they were astrally percieving (as they'd be unaware of the attack from the invisible hands). If the opponent was percieving then I'd let them roll normal melee defense.
As for choking an opponent, I think it's theoretically possible. You'd firstly need to grapple the opponent, which shoudl be fairly easy if they can't defend and have an OK strength on the spell. Lets say you have a force 4 spell with 4 hits on casting. You have -4 dice (sustaining and the -2 from magic fingers itself) so with a good skill I'd expect 1 hit, 2 on a good day. That means that the opponent is immobilised. On their turn they can attempt a Body+Strength check (with a threshold of 1-2) to break free. If they somehow fail to break free, then the character with magic fingers can 'choke' and deal 4 subdual damage (resisted with body and impact armor) or attempt to affirm the hold (in this case, the defender is aware and thus can resist so this is a bad plan). If you want to hold the opponent off the ground then the magic fingers woudl probably need enough strength to carry them normally (which could be quite high, and would require an incredibly tough castign test).
All in all, I don't see it as being broken. Your damage potential is higher by repeatedly stun-bolting your opponent, and stun-bolt has a low enough drain code that you're unlikely to take drain from it.
As for choking an opponent, I think it's theoretically possible. You'd firstly need to grapple the opponent, which shoudl be fairly easy if they can't defend and have an OK strength on the spell. Lets say you have a force 4 spell with 4 hits on casting. You have -4 dice (sustaining and the -2 from magic fingers itself) so with a good skill I'd expect 1 hit, 2 on a good day. That means that the opponent is immobilised. On their turn they can attempt a Body+Strength check (with a threshold of 1-2) to break free. If they somehow fail to break free, then the character with magic fingers can 'choke' and deal 4 subdual damage (resisted with body and impact armor) or attempt to affirm the hold (in this case, the defender is aware and thus can resist so this is a bad plan). If you want to hold the opponent off the ground then the magic fingers woudl probably need enough strength to carry them normally (which could be quite high, and would require an incredibly tough castign test).
All in all, I don't see it as being broken. Your damage potential is higher by repeatedly stun-bolting your opponent, and stun-bolt has a low enough drain code that you're unlikely to take drain from it.
Doesn't ignite require that the subject be flammable in some way?
that spell contradicts itself. First it says it is used to hold or manipulate then it says sure you can use your kung fu on a guy with it. It didnt cover combat either.
It doesnt say how much damage it would inflict on somebody if you hit them with it, it doesnt say how much "health" it has.
I would not let people melee or use firearms with it. I would let you eject the enemis clip or press buttons. Think of it only as a finger instead of a whole hand or a whole invisable combat version of the mage -2.
It doesnt say how much damage it would inflict on somebody if you hit them with it, it doesnt say how much "health" it has.
I would not let people melee or use firearms with it. I would let you eject the enemis clip or press buttons. Think of it only as a finger instead of a whole hand or a whole invisable combat version of the mage -2.
In response to the suggestoin that magic fingers be used to deal damage, I would suggest that you design a new spell for that.
While I'm all for unorthodox solutions, allowing a spell to have effects above and beyond those stated in the spell description is dubious. Magic Fingers is designed for remote fine manipulation and nothing in the description suggests it to be capable of the kind of strength needed to choke someone or pick them up and throw them around.
If it were capable of this there would be no point to clout or telekinesis. Before someone makes a point about reduced drain, note that the less potent versions of spells (for example invisibility as opposed to improved invisibilty) have been widely derided elsewhere on DS as useless, despite their reduced drain code, due to the increased utility of the more potent versions.
((EDIT I ought to state that I don't have the RAW with me, and I might be confusing the SR4 version of magic fingers with the SR3 version. If the SR4 description does suggest magic fingers be used to inflict damage then I offer my apologies))
While I'm all for unorthodox solutions, allowing a spell to have effects above and beyond those stated in the spell description is dubious. Magic Fingers is designed for remote fine manipulation and nothing in the description suggests it to be capable of the kind of strength needed to choke someone or pick them up and throw them around.
If it were capable of this there would be no point to clout or telekinesis. Before someone makes a point about reduced drain, note that the less potent versions of spells (for example invisibility as opposed to improved invisibilty) have been widely derided elsewhere on DS as useless, despite their reduced drain code, due to the increased utility of the more potent versions.
((EDIT I ought to state that I don't have the RAW with me, and I might be confusing the SR4 version of magic fingers with the SR3 version. If the SR4 description does suggest magic fingers be used to inflict damage then I offer my apologies))
| QUOTE (ornot) |
| Doesn't ignite require that the subject be flammable in some way? |
Not according to page 202 of your hymnal.
| QUOTE (Abbandon) |
| It doesnt say how much damage it would inflict on somebody if you hit them with it, it doesnt say how much "health" it has. |
Presumably it does damage as per a normal attack, since it has a strength score. Str / 2 would be the base damage from it.
It has no health, because it's not a creature. It would need to be dispelled, gotten out of range of, or had the caster smacked around.
| QUOTE (Abbandon) |
| that spell contradicts itself. First it says it is used to hold or manipulate then it says sure you can use your kung fu on a guy with it. It didnt cover combat either. It doesnt say how much damage it would inflict on somebody if you hit them with it, it doesnt say how much "health" it has. I would not let people melee or use firearms with it. I would let you eject the enemis clip or press buttons. Think of it only as a finger instead of a whole hand or a whole invisable combat version of the mage -2. |
Magic + Spell Casting becomes the spell's effective Strength and Agility. So the "easy" take on it would you can do anything with it your hands could do (even fire a gun) using your skill + spell str or agi - sustaining - 2 for the spell.
| QUOTE (Abbandon) |
| that spell contradicts itself. First it says it is used to hold or manipulate then it says sure you can use your kung fu on a guy with it. It didnt cover combat either. It doesnt say how much damage it would inflict on somebody if you hit them with it, it doesnt say how much "health" it has. I would not let people melee or use firearms with it. I would let you eject the enemis clip or press buttons. Think of it only as a finger instead of a whole hand or a whole invisable combat version of the mage -2. |
Just one finger, eh? Then why does the spell repeatedly talk about using hands?
| QUOTE |
| Magic Fingers (Physical) Type: P • Range: LOS • Duration: S • DV: (F ÷ 2) + 1 Magic Fingers creates a psychokinetic effect like “invisible hands” that can hold or manipulate items. The hits on the Magic + Spellcasting Test become the spell’s effective Strength and Agility. The caster can use skills remotely with Magic Fingers, but all tests receive a –2 dice pool modifier due to problems of fine control. Even simple actions like picking up a coin may require an Agility Test, at the gamemaster’s discretion. The caster can fight, pick a lock, or perform any other action, using the magic fingers as if they were real hands. The spell can reach any point the caster can see, and Clairvoyance or remote-viewing technology can be used to get a close-up of the scene as long as it is within the caster’s normal line of sight. This spell comes in very handy for disarming bombs and handling other hazardous work from a safe distance. |
So the caster can use skills, in-deed they can perform any actions they could with hands with the spell.
It is even explicitly stated that the caster can fight with them, and that the character can use skills with them. Okay, so I want to use the skill 'unarmed combat' with them. How is this resolved? Logically it's resolved like any unarmed combat test by an invisible attacker, Skill+Agility (the spell's in this case) -2 from the spell's special modifier, usually undedfended, dealing the attacker's strength/2 stun damage.
The fact that they're invisible means that attacks made with them would presumably be undefended unless the person attacked could see the spell in some other way (astral percepton is an obvious way, ultrasound may allow you to see them too). If the hands were attacking with a weapon (a gun or sword) then the attacked character could see the weapon and woudl be aware of the attack (unless they crept the weapon up stealthily, using the spell/charcater's Agility+Infiltration-2, presumably with a bonus as a floating sword is harder to see than a man with a sword)
@ornot: The sweeping statement in the spell dscription, that you can do anything with the magic fingers that you could do with real hands, is probably enough to allow you to punch someone with them or fire a pistol with them. Certainly they wouldn't gain any RC bonus from wielding a weapon with a stock, as they don't have shoulders, but I'll leave it to the firearm experts to discuss what penalties, if any, to give firing a longarm without it braced against a shoulder.
It is even explicitly stated that the caster can fight with them, and that the character can use skills with them. Okay, so I want to use the skill 'unarmed combat' with them. How is this resolved? Logically it's resolved like any unarmed combat test by an invisible attacker, Skill+Agility (the spell's in this case) -2 from the spell's special modifier, usually undedfended, dealing the attacker's strength/2 stun damage.
The fact that they're invisible means that attacks made with them would presumably be undefended unless the person attacked could see the spell in some other way (astral percepton is an obvious way, ultrasound may allow you to see them too). If the hands were attacking with a weapon (a gun or sword) then the attacked character could see the weapon and woudl be aware of the attack (unless they crept the weapon up stealthily, using the spell/charcater's Agility+Infiltration-2, presumably with a bonus as a floating sword is harder to see than a man with a sword)
@ornot: The sweeping statement in the spell dscription, that you can do anything with the magic fingers that you could do with real hands, is probably enough to allow you to punch someone with them or fire a pistol with them. Certainly they wouldn't gain any RC bonus from wielding a weapon with a stock, as they don't have shoulders, but I'll leave it to the firearm experts to discuss what penalties, if any, to give firing a longarm without it braced against a shoulder.
I would not make them undefended after the first hit. Whether you can see it or not you'd be trying to dodge. Perhaps a penalty should be applied, but making all attacks with them undefended makes it the ultimate combat spell: sustainable, indefensible, and capable of switching targets or performing noncombat action at will.
| QUOTE (James McMurray) |
| I would not make them undefended after the first hit. Whether you can see it or not you'd be trying to dodge. Perhaps a penalty should be applied, but making all attacks with them undefended makes it the ultimate combat spell: sustainable, indefensible, and capable of switching targets or performing noncombat action at will. |
True, but they should definately be at some form of penalty...
You're right, by some reading of the rules at-least. It seems that 'unaware of attack' can be read as translating into 'superior position' for the attacker once people are engaged in combat.
That seems a good way to do it. It's like being shot at by a sniper. After the first shot you may not have seen him but you're definitely going to kick it into gymnastics dodge mode and start jumping and flipping like an 80s ninja (or use regular dodge or just plain reaction).
Trying to shoot a gun from the hand would be really difficult, unless you had smartlink.
I've used magic fingers to apply explosive spray foam on a drone track.
I've used magic fingers to apply explosive spray foam on a drone track.
| QUOTE (Lagomorph) |
| Trying to shoot a gun from the hand would be really difficult, unless you had smartlink. |
Thats a very good point, or at least a laser pointer. (I guess you could also use clairvoyance to get a look down the top-sights as well)
One more reason for using wireless smarguns instead of skinlinked ones...
------------------------------------
Skaz rolled back behind the pallet full of bagged plascrete and groaned as his weight rested on the bullet wound in his thigh. Running for it obviously wasn't going to work.
"Throw down the gun and come out, Skaz... we just want to take you to see Eddie. That's why I had Mido here shoot you in the leg, not the face."
"And what if I don't wanna talk with Eddie?"
The volley of rifle fire was deafening inside the abandoned warehouse. Plascrete dust filled the air as Gilly's boys shot up his cover, more to make a point than anything else.
"If you don't wanna talk to Eddie, I guess that can be arranged... but he's gonna see you tonight, either way."
Frag me... why do I always get mixed up in drek like this? "Okay, okay, I'll come out... just please, don't shoot me."
"Throw the gun out, Skaz. Then we'll talk about not shooting you."
Skaz eyed the Ingram in his hands. The indicator on his AR read "22+1." Ought to be enough... "Okay..."
He leaned back against the bags of plascrete, grasped the gun in his left hand, and, focusing his concentration, imagined his right to be a few feet to the side, in the middle of the walkway. Auto, and the fire selector clicked quietly. Cam, and part of his vision became disjointed, filled with the view from the gun in his hand, rather than the eyes in his face. "... okay, here you go." His left hand tossed the gun out into the walkway, he fought a moment of vertigo as his view spun... and his "right" hand caught the gun a couple of feet off the ground, twisting it's "wrist" to bring the gun in line with the surprised-looking faces of the men standing across the warehouse. Fire...
------------------------------------
Skaz rolled back behind the pallet full of bagged plascrete and groaned as his weight rested on the bullet wound in his thigh. Running for it obviously wasn't going to work.
"Throw down the gun and come out, Skaz... we just want to take you to see Eddie. That's why I had Mido here shoot you in the leg, not the face."
"And what if I don't wanna talk with Eddie?"
The volley of rifle fire was deafening inside the abandoned warehouse. Plascrete dust filled the air as Gilly's boys shot up his cover, more to make a point than anything else.
"If you don't wanna talk to Eddie, I guess that can be arranged... but he's gonna see you tonight, either way."
Frag me... why do I always get mixed up in drek like this? "Okay, okay, I'll come out... just please, don't shoot me."
"Throw the gun out, Skaz. Then we'll talk about not shooting you."
Skaz eyed the Ingram in his hands. The indicator on his AR read "22+1." Ought to be enough... "Okay..."
He leaned back against the bags of plascrete, grasped the gun in his left hand, and, focusing his concentration, imagined his right to be a few feet to the side, in the middle of the walkway. Auto, and the fire selector clicked quietly. Cam, and part of his vision became disjointed, filled with the view from the gun in his hand, rather than the eyes in his face. "... okay, here you go." His left hand tossed the gun out into the walkway, he fought a moment of vertigo as his view spun... and his "right" hand caught the gun a couple of feet off the ground, twisting it's "wrist" to bring the gun in line with the surprised-looking faces of the men standing across the warehouse. Fire...
The spell specifically says you can use skills at -2 dice pool and specifically mentions using them to fight.
| QUOTE |
| The caster can fight, pick a lock, or perform any other action, using the magic fingers as if they were real hands. |
this would make there damage the same as normal unarmed damage for there strength.
I see no option within the RAW to disallow using magic fingers to deal damage. There is no clout spell in SR4 and the damage use of levitate is its secondary use, the primary being moving heavy objects around.
The most obvious modifier to apply to the defender in my mind would be the -6 dice for you cant see the attacker. Are there any other opinions.
Edward
Thinking back to the comments about a Vadar-esque choking manouveur... There are rules for subdual attacks, so using that with the magic fingers might get the same effect.
I like your piece of fiction there Shrike... Kudos.
I like your piece of fiction there Shrike... Kudos.
Danke. 
Sometimes, a blip of storytelling conveys a point better than a basic forum post.
Sometimes, a blip of storytelling conveys a point better than a basic forum post.
| QUOTE (Edward @ Jul 14 2006, 10:45 PM) |
| I see no option within the RAW to disallow using magic fingers to deal damage. There is no clout spell in SR4 and the damage use of levitate is its secondary use, the primary being moving heavy objects around. |
Yes there is. Check the combat spells, it's a ranged stun dealing indirect attack spell.
@Edward: There is a clout spell, but the damage potential of clout is so much greater that I don't see magic fingers getting a look-in.
| QUOTE (ornot) |
| Thinking back to the comments about a Vadar-esque choking manouveur... There are rules for subdual attacks, so using that with the magic fingers might get the same effect. |
That's what I suggested above, but I must admit that I used D&D terminology and talked about grappling.
To address your other point about drain codes that I missed:
To address your other point about drain codes that I missed:
| QUOTE |
| If it were capable of this there would be no point to clout or telekinesis. Before someone makes a point about reduced drain, note that the less potent versions of spells (for example invisibility as opposed to improved invisibilty) have been widely derided elsewhere on DS as useless, despite their reduced drain code, due to the increased utility of the more potent versions. |
That's only true if it's feasable to cast the higher-drain version of the spell. In some cases drain codes really do dictate what it's feasable to do with a spell, however. Sometimes, you can do more with a low-drain spell cast at a higher force. Consider the Shatter spell versus Powerbolt, for example.
Shatter has a drain code of (F/2)-1 means that a good mage can expect to cast it at force 9 (buying-off hits for drain). If the mage can overcome OR (well within most mages expected numbers of hits) then the mage can blast a 1m hole through a security door with it, or even solid concrete/structural metal beams if yoy score 5 hits on casting.
Powerbolt can be used anywhere within LOS, but the drain code is such that only a force 5 spell is really safe. Sure, it can make holes in some some basic things from range, but nothing that anybody'd really have trouble dismantling anyway. You're also screwed if you come up against a security door.
Something similar could be said of Magic Fingers versus Clout. The same mage as I mentioned above is probably limited to casting magic fingers at force 5 from drain, and assuming the same number of hits as above they've got a strength 4 or 5 magic fingers with a base damage of 2 or 3. With -4 dice from the sustaining and magic fingers penalties, even a caster with exceptional melee skills only expects 2 hits for a total damage of 4S or 5S. This is resisted with Body+Full Impact armor, meaning it'll ting off many opponents with nary a scratch, and after the first attack the opponent can dodge making the delivery of subsequent attacks unlikely.
Compare that to clout. The same mage can expect to buy-off the drain from a force 7 spell. It has 4-5 hits resisted by reaction. We'll be harsh and assume the opponent was a wired-up street-sam who scored 3 hits, giving damage codes of 8S or 9S. That is then resisted with Body+Half Impact armor. Even the toughest troll sam I could think of, with a body of 14 (includes exceptional attribute and cyber)+Toughness+FBA+Helmet+Riot shield+Orthoskin 4+Titanium Bone Lacing, doesn't expect 9 hits with only 26 dice to resist (they'd need 27).
Magic fingers also require an action to cast before they become useful, but a mage can rattle-off a clout spell even if they're caught with their trousers down. Also, this is combat here. The ability to deal 1 point of stun damage to your opponent per round means very little, as that gives your opponent a long time to kill you.
Now I'm not saying that people should buy clout and not magic fingers, magic fingers has many other uses, but it does not substitute for a casting of a combat spell.
Ok they moved clout and made it useless, why would you ever take it over stun bolt. The only difference is clout is a physical spell but considering anything with a stun track is alive your better with stun bolt and lower drain.
Magic fingers at least is persistent and has other uses. And you can overcast at force 9 once into a sustaining focus, spend edge on casting and drain and have 5S damage with a 4-7 dice advantage on the unarmed combat check for the entire run.
Magic fingers at least is persistent and has other uses. And you can overcast at force 9 once into a sustaining focus, spend edge on casting and drain and have 5S damage with a 4-7 dice advantage on the unarmed combat check for the entire run.
Where, pray tell, do you buy your Force 9 Sustaining foci? I would love to know, I'm in the market for one right now.
36R availability and 90,000 
is prety steep, but can be done. Availability isn't a single shot test any more, so you just keep rolling until it happens.
is prety steep, but can be done. Availability isn't a single shot test any more, so you just keep rolling until it happens.
I would add some penalty for range.
Sure the spell works on LOS, but it should be a lot harder to manipulate something nearby than 100m distant. Not sure what that would be. Barring Vis-Mag are there any range penalties to perception?
Sure the spell works on LOS, but it should be a lot harder to manipulate something nearby than 100m distant. Not sure what that would be. Barring Vis-Mag are there any range penalties to perception?
| QUOTE (James McMurray) |
| 36R availability and 90,000 is prety steep, but can be done. Availability isn't a single shot test any more, so you just keep rolling until it happens. |
True, but it's not available at character generation and would take a long time to get in game, not to mention the fact that it'll cost 18 karma to bond.
You'd probably need a negotiations pool of 11 or more dice, and the interval is 1 week meaning that given 11 dice, and given that it'd take you almost 3 months to get hold of one. You can probably get a fixer contact to do it, but then you have to pay a finder's fee on-top-of the price of the item.
And after all this is said and done, you'd still need an amazing casting of the spell to actually make use of the force. Assuming that the character is a really good spellcaster, with a pool of 16 dice (from 6 Magic, 6 Spellcasting, 2 Focus, and 2 Mentor Spirit), they're still not going to make the test on-average even when spending edge.
Now casting and re-casting the spell may be a non-issue for some spells. this is not the case for a force 9 magic fingers spell, as the drain code is 5P. It may not be too hard to take 5 drain on average, an elven shaman with focused concentration 2 could do it, but the variance is so high in the SR system that a bad roll could put you on some fairly serious damage. Yes, you can spend edge on this test too, but with no guarantee that any one casting is going to cast the spell well enough you could end-up burning through your karma to no effect.
I said it could be done, not that it was a good idea. 
In some campaigns you would rock, but in most you'd be screwed every time you walked into a decent level of security because you'd have to walk through a ward.
In some campaigns you would rock, but in most you'd be screwed every time you walked into a decent level of security because you'd have to walk through a ward.
| QUOTE (James McMurray) |
| I said it could be done, not that it was a good idea. In some campaigns you would rock, but in most you'd be screwed every time you walked into a decent level of security because you'd have to walk through a ward. |
True. In any case, even where there weren't wards I think you'd be better-off putting it in a lower-force sustaining focus (for all of the spell's other uses) and using the karma you saved to buy a combat spell (if you feel you need more combat Umph).
Perhaps, but if you can carry around a force 9 magic fingers you'll always have access to a good combat spell whose drain has already been bought and paid for. Assuming a character made to use it, youc ould have 15 dice for your attack rolls (9 agility + 6 skill + 2 specialization (Magic Fingers) - 2 from the spell. If your GM decides that your enemies get -6 dice a lot then you're even better off.
It's not the same as a gun, nor even as good as one in a lot of situations, but it could make for a fun character concept. Again, that assumes wards are few and far between on runs, because otherwise you're soaking 5 drain every time you walk through a door into a secured facility.
It's not the same as a gun, nor even as good as one in a lot of situations, but it could make for a fun character concept. Again, that assumes wards are few and far between on runs, because otherwise you're soaking 5 drain every time you walk through a door into a secured facility.
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