No problem. I got the idea of new metamagics from Ellery's list a while back. It makes things more interesting if there are some rare metamagics out there that people don't always recognize and can't always plan for. This goes for both PCs and NPCs.

There's an old saying about the technological race between Warhead and Armor and how the Warhead usually wins. I think the same thing can be said nowadays, and in Shadowrun, about the race between Stealth and Sensor and how the Sensor usually wins.

Mages have almost always been initiate vs initiate. The guy with a few grades is always going to have the advantege. That's the point.

Right now, as was mentioned at the head of this thread, masking is very far ahead of any means to break it. How many successes does it usually take to find something about a magic item anyway? The most you ever need for successes on assensing is 5. You get to a certain point in initiation using the normal skill cap rules, and it's unbreakable.

As an example, say you've got someone with max assesensing of 7
Intuition of 6
And we'll say specialized in Aura reading.
15 dice. That gives a quick average of 5 successes.

Then you get say a 3rd grade initiate who's built his magic up to 9.
Add an intuition of 4.
That gives you 16.

So you've got the best of the best in assensing vs a strong mage, with good intuition, and they'll be breaking even on average, without use of edge. Now how does that make sense? Best you can be at assensing, vs Very good, and they break even. Then there's masking foci (pg 85 SM). Adds their rating to masking. You have a stong mage putting a little effort in to masking (Masking Foci 3) and now they're likely to beat the best assenser (Unless they have Dark King for a Mentor Spirit).

QFT

Too easy, and too glib. Doesn't this bring us back to square one, with those that feel masking is too powerful? Unless of course you then introduce Assensing Foci of some sort. Which I suppose would be square zero.

So for those that want masking to be balanced by some new perceiving foci, you'll need some sort of boost to perceiver's side. For myself, who likes things as they are, masking foci are just a solution to a problem that we ourselves are creating, and it's much cleaner not to create the situation in the first place.

The availability of strong masking opens lots of plot doors. Easy counters close them.

-K.

how high of an initiate grade are you worrying about?

you shouldn't really be facing much more than maybe grade 3 or 4, i would say, as long as you're talking about simply reducing penalties. i don't really see any amount being a problem... the value will never exceed the strength of your enemies anyways, it can at best counter it, so there isn't really anything to worry about, imo. (and after all, there's still *mundane* methods of disguising oneself and hiding).

From a game stand point on the Masking foci, you were concerned about Masking be too easy. A Masking Foci can help tip the scale a bit more towards masking, and it's also balanced on it's own more by making the initiate use even more karma to have the extra coverage. I don't see the problem. Seems like it would be just what you're looking for.

I'm not trying to be glib. Sometimes the simplest solution is the right one.Unveiling goes a long way to balancing out the arms race on masking. In a world where magical R&D departments exist to come up with the latest metamagical technique (Filtering for example), and security is the focus of a lot of it, how would something like this not come aronud eventually? Especially since Masking is the type of metamagic people would only take if they had something to hide (read:shadowrunners). It wouldn't make any sense for corps, like say, Knight Errant who could use it to pierce a bug's masking, to not try to develop it.

Well I was concerned about it being too easy to penetrate once you add in the Unveiling metamagic. Saying that masking foci are a solution to my concerns doesn't work because it is simpler to not add in the Unveiling metamagic in the first place. And for those who do want Masking to be effectively countered such as yourself, you'll need to introduce some sort of unveiling foci or you are returned to an imbalance between masking and unveiling. Do you see what I mean?

This is where we differ - I'm saying that there isn't a problem in the first place. Firstly imbalances of power are what make Shadowrun different to D&D. It's easier to shoot someone and cause damage than it is to resist it, it's easier to cast a spell and hurt someone than it is to resist it. Imbalances of power lead to all the interesting situations and the dependence on tactics and treachery that makes Shadowrun feel so vulnerable. Masking is an aggressive tactic. It's the Agi+Longarms roll, not the Body + Armour resistance check.

Also remember that due to the nature of masking, there are two factors to consider: Firstly, without some degree of confidence in the power it is worthless. Nobody's going to be putting themselves in danger on a fifty-fifty chance. Secondly, it's not a case of individual vs. individual. It's individual vs. group. If you want a dragon, or a shadow spirit or a mantid to be living or operating in society secretly, it's not a case of fooling someone, but fooling everyone including those magicians that have taken Unveiling. One failure and everyone knows.

Same goes for trying to fool the players. One player that takes the unveiling metamagic and there go half of your plot options. Players aren't stupid (no, really). The moment they suspect a character is significant, they start scanning auras:

Do you really want a fifty-fifty chance of your intricate conspiracy being blown wide open at the initial Johnson meet?

Maybe it can't. After all, it's the initiate learning how to alter their very own aura. Perhaps the only counter really is learning to spot tiny mistakes or tell-tale traces (assensing skill). At any rate, nathanross put it very simply... the player should get something for their karma. Masking is not the same sort of power you get from Centering or Anchoring and in normal games, the player is only ever going to get to choose a handful of metamagic techniques for their character. Anyone who chooses Masking should get something they can rely on and this is especially so as in order to get the best use out of the technique, they're going to need to spend two slots by getting extended masking as well.

But besides... there already are effective counters to masking. It's just that they're fun ones like detective work and suspicion.

You know nathanross if your character were to take Unveiling then he/she would still be able to assense better then anyone.

Well knasser, that sounds more like a metagaming problem to me then a rules problem if your Mages start Assensing everyone around them if their Plot Sense starts tingling because of a slightly more detailed description. Reminds me of KotDT and shouting out "I shoot them in the head!" with the same exact reasoning.

Besides as you yourself has stated, a character is only going to get a chance to choose a handful of Metamagics throughout her lifetime anyways, and with the exception of character's like nathanross' whoes concept is to be the best at Assensing or players who play in campaigns in which the DM is forever throwing Masked Opponents at them I don't really see the ability to pierce someone elses Masking as being anywhere near the top of the list.

As for Masking PCs, well with Unveiling it comes down to who is the most versed in the Arcane Arts as opposed to having a 'I win' security blanket. Personally I prefer the feel of the former as I don't like the idea that anyone should ever be able to feel secure in their defenses, and yes, whereas you consider Masking to be Offensive in nature, I view it as Defensive.

Besides, as long as the DM is playing fair, the majority of the time the PCs shouldn't have serious concerns that their Masking will be pierced due simply to the fact that even with Unveiling the average Dicepools of those involved should tend to favor the PCs, but at least in my opinion, in a Cyberpunk setting they should always have a tiny voice in the back of thier head whispering to them that maybe this will be the time that their Masking will fail them.

*Edit*

Also why would the Mr Big of whatever intricate conspiracy the DM has woven for the players to unravel ever do something as risky as personally meet a group of loose cannons known to shoot people in the face for money unless his hoop was between a rock and a hard place? Even under the current Masking Rules, there is always a chance that a noisy Mage might get lucky or that the 'Plot Senses' would cause a Player to throw her Edge into the test 'just to be sure'...

I can think of endless reasons, speaking personally.

-K.

This is more or less where I'm coming from. Knasser I think we just have different views of how our game world should be. I don't think you're being overly critical at all. Feed back is good, even if it's criticizing because that makes people think and re-evaluate. Honestly I think we just want and expect different things from our Masking.

Touche'

Although of course I'd argue that any Mr. Big worthy of the name would understand the risk that he's taking by doing so and take any appropriate countermeasures to limit his exposure, whether it be wireless, magical or otherwise, but that's just speaking personally.

Countermeasures like... Masking? Ooops - it's just been balanced, hasn't it?