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Kalvan
Two rather dog-eared (for recent hardback volumes) books in my collection are two ADND 3rd edition magic rules books: Magic of Incarnum and Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic.

I realize there are tremendous obstacles to the magic systems contained within those two books being integrated with Shadowrun, the the ADND concept of character levels being only the smallest problem.

I understand that, aside from the Elven Ways and Paths of the Wheel in Tir na n'Og and the implied following of the Earthdawn Passions as Idols in Tir Tairngire, Shadowrun has mostly (no, make that almost always) made use of real-life magic traditions and concepts, even if certain small liberties have been taken to make them more playable from a rules standpoint. That said, I remember on Shadowland (Back when I could get on the place: Internet Explorer 6.0 doesn't want me to accept their Java) an attempt (very playable, actually) to integrate the rules for the One Power from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series using the cover story of it being an obscure Zoroastrian and Manichean magic style and tradition.

If anyone would like to help, I would like to try to integrate the four magical styles mentioned within Magic of Incarnum and Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic as new magical styles/traditions for Shadowrun 4 Edition. That said, in a conventional campaign (with Runners, Fixers, Mr. Johnson etc) I realise that only Truename and possibly Shadow magic would be normally available to player characters, with the rest reserved for NPCs or Regional "Guest PCs." (And Binders [Let's call them "Spirit Channelers" instead, to avoid confusion] and Necrocarnates should be reserved for threats).

I already have a few Ideas, but if one could PM me or respond in this thread (or the one in Community Projects,) maybe this idea could evolve into a magical supplement (or four).

1: Based on the terminology used to describe it, Incarnum would have to be confined to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. (and Possibly Tibet and parts of China) practiced by brother-and-sisterhoods of Hindu, Buddhist, and possibly Sufi Muslim and Sikh magicians (Incarnates) and mystic adepts (Soulborns). In addition, a more animist/naturalist version is practiced in Southeast Asia (Especially what used to be Laos and Cambodia, as well as Indonesia and the philippines, but Lets call them Animists rather than Totemists). We will have to come up with a way of defining Drain for soulmelds, as well as how the Magic attribute interacts for soulmeld shaping.

As the Incarnate (Is there any appropriate Hindi or Sanskrit term instead?) and Animist are full magicians, they should have full access to the Astral Plane (and the metaplanes for the Initiated), but should be somewhat limited in their conjuring options: Incarnates may summon Spirits of Man and Ancestor Spirits, Soulborns may summon only one of the above (choose at character generation, and all conjuring skills cost double points at generation and double Karma afterward), and Animists may only summon spirits of two particular nature domains (choose at generation).

Because the concept of alignment doesn't work very well in Shadowrun, I would instead have particular groups of Incarnates and/or Soulborns embody abstract one word ideals (such as like law or order, honor, freedom, choice, compassion, cruelty, or even balance).

If it's done as a Jackpoint or Shadowland document, I think it should include mention of Necrocarnates as a threat (Make them like the Thugee Cult, Hashishim, or the Cambodian/Vietnamese Toc Faan) and some juicy color commentary Shadowtalk.

2: Pact magic could work similar to the rules of possession Magic Traditions (Except that the channeller is both Hougan/Mambo and mount.) A large plurality of Vestiges mentioned in the volume are disgraced archfiends, so maybe we could make some of them unique Earthdawn Horrors. (Such as some of them that managed to slip past Dunkie's Ghost and Assets Incorporated before the Dragon Heart was at full power [or something along those lines])

3: Because it relies on gestures rather than incantations, I would I think that Shadow Magic (As defined in section 2 of Tome of Magic) is the style of magic (okay, the casting style) used by those Japanese Ninjutsu Ryu whose style and methods are magical. Therefore, anyone using it in a Standard Game would acquire the Hunted Flaw similar to practitioners of the Elven Ways and Paths of the Wheel)

4: Truename Magic (as defined in Tome of Magic) sounds like how I always Imagined Sha'irs and Qaballists worked their magic (Although the concept of Lexicons strikes me as a more classically Hermetic development) It is the most flavorful concept in Tome of Magic. Too bad the rules are so clunky even for ADND. Still, I could Imagine the concept of Truename Mages, complete with the Lexicons, as an obscure Hermetic paradigm with ties to the Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, and Budapest Ghettos.

Making the rules playable and fun, though, could be something of a stretch.

I realise that we may have to wait for Street Magic before we can make the complete systems work, but is anyone interested, or am I just spinning my wheels?
Kalvan
Here are a few more things to get the ball rolling:

Incarnum

Advantages:

Soulmelds don't cause drain (except for those that are unshaped prematurely for a specific effect [There are some soulmelds like that in Magic of Incarnum but not that many] or when using Metamagic techniques to shape or bind soulmelds during a combat situation)

Soulmelds last at least 4 hours (up to 18 hours depending on one's magic attribute and Initiate Grade)

As Stated previously, Incarnates and Animists are Full Magicians with access to the Assensing and Astral Projection (Assuming they buy the appropriate skills) and the Metaplanes (If they Initiate). Nothing prevents Soulborns as Mystic Adepts from buying Assensing and Limited Astral Projection (Except maybe the lure of other powers more relevant to the character concept).

Incarnum users who Initiate gain the ability to increase the power of their soulmelds through Chakra Binds and/or the investmant of Prana/Chi (Essentia in Magic of Incarnum.

Disadvantages:

While there is more than enough of a selection of Metamagic Techniques available for meldshapers, the only ones they share with conventional spellsligers are Centering, Masking, and Cleansing. Incarnum users cannot attempt to change their Astral Signature when Initiating (Soulborns will have to wait for Street Magic before I can be sure of their status)

Once a Soulmeld is shaped, one must use Metamagic (and experience Drain) in order to unshape it prematurely. With only three of four exceptions, the duration of a soulmeld is set by the characters statistics and cannot be set for a lower length of time beforehand. (This can be very inconvinient in certain social circumstances).

Masking will only remove a souldmeld from mundane sight. It will still show itself in the Astral without an opposed check.

The Summoning and Metaplane selection of Incarnum users is rather limited. Incarnates are limited to Ancestor Spirits and Spirits of Man (Soulborns may chose only one type, and all skills from the Conjuring Group cost double the build points and/or Karma) and the metaplanes associated with the Hindu, Buddhist, or Judeo-Christian-Islamic-Zoroastrian-Manichean mythoi (Choose only one) while Animists are limited to Two Nature Domains, and the Nature metaplanes.

Chakras can be Blocked through the wearing of Items providing a material benefit (other than decent cover) as follows:

Crown:

Helmets, Masks (also Block the Brow Chakra) Electrode Skullcaps

Brow:

Goggles, Glasses

Throat:

Respirator

Shoulders, Heart, Waist:

Body Armor (if said armor dosen't limit torso mobility the shoulders and waist chakra stay open)

Arms:

Any Arm Worn Gadget. Any Firearm shot from the shoulder. Bow and Arrow (Unless the subject of a compatible bound soulmeld)

Hands:

Anything held in the hand (unless the subject of a compatble soulmeld)

Legs:

Greaves, Knee pads, Leggings, Wader Boots

Feet:

Shoes, Boots


Any Chakra point occupiedby cyberware (however partial) is permanantly closed and cannot have a soulmeld resting on it, let a lone bound.

Investing Prana/Chi in a particular soulmeld will only effect die rolls one step at a time (to maximum of one extra success).

There are no known Incarnum related foci, fetishes, or telesma, and there are no appropriate Incarnum related Gaesa. (So if you as an Incarnate, Soulborn, or Animist find yourself with any cyberware in you, you're screwed)

Any Incarnum users must at charecter generation take Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Thai, or some Mon-Khemer or Malayo-Polynesian language appropriate to the charecter's place of origin. Charecter must take an Enemy at charecter generation (Political or Magical) appropriate to the concept and not take the resulting points.

Questions? Comments? Flames?
Kalvan
Bump now that Street Magic is out.
LilithTaveril
Can I be the first to suggest we rename incarnum? It seems to be a take on mana anyway, so why not call it that?
SL James
Hindus... seem pretty cool with cyber according to SoA, so I'm not sure making cyber block chakras is a good idea.

QUOTE (SOA @ 59)

> This also reflects a trend in Indian, and occasionally Asian, society,
where augmentation doesn’t have the same negative
social and cultural connotations it has in the West. In a cosmology
where all are part of greater whole, implanting cyber frees a
part of one’s atman (soul) to return to the cycle, so it is not “lost.”
> Sahadeva


BTW, SL does work on IE6. It's probably your settings that are messed up. I suggest trying a different (any) browser.
Kalvan
It's a game balance issue.

(For the same reason, in Magic of Incarnum it is impossible for a soulmeld to be shaped where a magic item is being worrn without taking a very high level metamagic technique, with the sole exception of incarnum Weapon. It is possible to bond an item to a soulmeld, but that worked clsest to the Attunemet Metamagic Technique in Shadowrun.)

(And I say this as one who usually makes rulings in favor of flavor rather than balance)
Kalvan
QUOTE (LilithTaveril)
Can I be the first to suggest we rename incarnum? It seems to be a take on mana anyway, so why not call it that?

I was thinking of renaming it, but I don't know enough Hindi or Sanskrit to have any idea for a proper name for it.
LilithTaveril
The term "mana" is from Micronesia and surrounding areas. Maybe we should use their belief systems for an incarnum translation?

Edit: in the Hindu belief system, the term "prana" is a close match.
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