Ok, so we all know that adepts can center for many skills, but all of them learn to center athletics and stealth.
now, I am playing an adept, and I have to decide what skill to make my centering skill.
Any incantation is out, since it's hard to enhance your stealthyness by talking out loud.
and if I want to center athletics, I can't be playing a musical instrument.
So I guess my two options left are meditation and dancing.
meditation is overused, and it's not at all in character.
so looking at dancing, I could center combat like that (i.e. capoera), but how do I use dancing to center my athletics(running)? also, is dancing a specialization of athletics? and if so, wouldn't I be using athletics to center athletics? Dancing as a knowledge skill just sounds a bit odd.

with my adept i used chanting in salish as my centering skill. IIRC the book suggests the gm choose something that requires an extra knowledge or active skill that's generally rarely used. doesn't the book also say it should be the gm's choice and not the players'? some logic along the lines that each character's link to magic is different and doesn't always link itself to something the character knows yet. i personally liked the idea of chanting in an old native language so i convinced the gm to let me use that.

You could take a gesture centering skill, like hand motions and such.

gesturing like a kata or something? I don't think so. Say someone is using Athletics to make a running test. If he was running along, frantically making hand gestures - quite frankly, I would think he was stupid or retarded or something.

Plus how are you supposed to make hand gestures while climbing or something. Nah, doesn't work I think.

both of those work great for casters, but how do I chant in an ancient language to move more quietly (i.e. enhance stealth)? and how do I do hand gestures when using my hands (i.e. enhance athletics(climbing))?

I think I'm going to take dancing, either that or a form of meditation that I'll call "induced revelry" where the character just gives himself over to a state of mind where his emotions are in complete control.

The centering skill need not be a Knowledge skill. It may also be an Active skill. Pistols, unarmed combat etc can all be centering skills.

No, nowhere does it say that the GM chooses the centering skill. Furthermore, it mentions that the character can invent a new centering skill. In the past ive had players choose things like "rythmic breathing," and the meditation section specifically mentions katas, so some other form of ritualized gesturing should work as well. Something like "music appreciation" would work too... listening to some fine (or not so fine) music in your headphones and focusing on all of the detail... Hell, I'd even let a player take "drinking" as a centering skill (some people really make drinking seem like an art form...and it kinda fits with a drunken master sort of character) basically, anything that can be used as a means of focusing your attention on a very specific thing can be used as a centering creative skill... the only thing that matters is that it not be an otherwise particularly useful skill.

Well it is possible that the character can go through a routine of gestures, Katas, a dance, or chant something as a complex action and then perform his centering test.

One of my players had a centering skill that was linked to poetry with a specialization in Shakespearre. Every time he was about to cast a spell he would use an action to recite a short poem, or quote some shakespearre that would pertain to the spell he was casting. The cool thing was the player was a shakespearre buff and would do the recital and everything for us.

There is no canon reason I know of where a character must be performing the linked skill while centering and casting. They can be seperate actions, but are linked through the metamagic technique.

Just my thoughts and how I rule it. Plus it allows for more possibility for choosing really unique centering skills that aren't awkward to use.

Veracusse

that does seem a bit lame.

Actually I wasn't referring to the poetry thing. That is fairly inventive IMO.

Rather I was referring to Yum-yum's comment where he used the example of someone using shooting to center a stealth roll, or something like that. Seemed pretty silly.

An adept in my group who was a re-enactment of Billy the Kid (improved heavy pistols 6 + Quick Strike) and who was a big western old flicks fan had following Centering skill:
"Recite greatest western citations of all time".
Of course he had Knowledge skill: western gunslingers lines at level 6 + Eidetic memory.
He also had to develop Active skill: Acting, coz if the tone was not right, he had to tell it again in the right way...
Very funny when people didn't understand what he was rambling about and all the players were going for Delayed Actions.
"it's now between you and me, sherif"
"now it's personal"
"give me your horse, your boots and your fire"
"what rules we use, George?"
"the dust hasn't settled yet in the sierra, amigo"

An adept of mine had Gesturing: glyphs tracing (he would gesture symbols in the air of what was going to happen to ennemies or about some emotions).

Another, an Apocalypse Now fan, had his adept run an air check (Improved Scent + Knowledge skill: Chemistry) to ascertain the "mood of the moment and of the place" to be in symbiosis with it. Yeah, it smells like napalm this morning!

I have got one: Vulgar Language(Gestures) 6( 8 ).

Imagine giving the other guy the beating of his life while cursing all the time.

had a character whose centering skill was Poetry(Haiku) - whenever she used it she had to make a new haiku that related to what she was tryng to accomplish - her centering focus was a little book she would write the haiku inside - granted she couldnt always use her centering in ever instance she may have wanted the bonus, but imo centering is kinda like a geas - where it is there to enhance roleplaying, break up the sameness of the game, and add flavor - imo it is better to pick a centering skill that would be fun to play than to worry too much about getting every last ounce of usefulness from the particular skill

3Threes
(yeah most of the haiku were really bad - but once in a while you get inspired, and it was always fun)

I think part of the idea of centering is to take yourself out of the moment and distance yourself from your needs and the urgency and stress of the situation, allowing you to act with a zen-like calm and control. So, anything substantially different from what you are actually trying to accomplish should be an ok centering skill as long as it is sufficiently distracting but not so different that you can't then perform the action. Try thinking of what would relax your character.

Any kind of knowledge skill could be used as a form of centering. I can see an ex-cop going over police procedures in his head because they comfort him and bring his mind to a place of order; a Professor of Mathematical Magic reciting the Taylor Series for Sine because it connects him with the mathematical nature of the world; a ninja using finger exercises to give his mind balance and tempo; an athelete running to clear his head (dunno about the others, but this one works in RL btw); an assasin with a knack for art who focuses by drawing the intended victim (because he is kinda sick); or a gang leader who flashes gang signs to center himself or goes over his turf in his mind because it reminds him who and what he is.

There isn't an everyman centering skill as proven by all the different scenarios proposed by the responders.

That means your centering skill should reflect your character's theme or schtick -- something unique and meaningful to your character.

For all practical purposes, a character could argue for "Flame and Void" centering trick (shamelessly stolen from tWoT) which is nothing but a mental discipline.

Athletes today take deep breaths to steady and center themselves -- Breathing as an Active/knowledge skill?

"Quick! Make a breathing test!"

"Oh frag, I fai.....ack...gasp...wheeze..."

-Siege

I kinda liked Unarmed Combat as a centering skill, representing going through tai chi calming motions or something. Obviously, you can't center and actually engage in unarmed combat at the same time, but it's a change of pace from dancing, meditating, etc.

I can see it now...
"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the mind-killer. Ki-ya!"

Centering only takes a free action, right? I reckon those Tai Chi movements are fine. If someone wants to use Katas or something in our game its fine with me, but I make them buy it as a specialisation of the martial art, or they can't use it as their centering skill. You have to spend karma on it, amigo!

If you have difficulty imagining how it might fit in, then say for a moment you have learned Centering for Unarmed Combat Skills. You have Tai Chi 6. You also have distance strike and for the sake of argument killing hands (L). FOr the sake of argument you learned Tai Chi (Katas) when your main skill was only base 5, so both skills are at 6.

Forgive me for a moment, I'm going to get all geeky and draw strange comparisons for a moment Bear with me:

Now, think Street Fighter 2. Rrryu-Ken! Ahem. Right before Ken lets of that ranged energy bolt thing (which is simply the visual 'special effect' of a Distance Strike/Killing hands combo in SR), he does a wind up movement. You even have to bash out a particular sequence of buttons. In SR terms he's Centering, focusing his energy and thoughts into the attack. See?

That's our game though, and our interpretation. Its designed to be fluid. Just don't let it get out of hand. Spend karma on the centering skill, even if its a skill you buy before you get Centering but rarely use, and then have to improve. Don't try to get 'round' it, try to make something that fits the character.


In your case, if meditation doesn't work (I agree with you, it is overused), I see no reason at all why a form of dancing wouldn't. It would be more like tumbling to avoid detection and that sort of thing. Rather than think of it as conspicuously prancing about, look at it from a different perspective - perhaps you're just incredibly graceful in the way you move, and lightfooted because of it, see? Buy traceless walk to go with it and that's a perfectly reasonable combination and a bit more consistency in the character.

hope that was of some use.

The ninja use the finger magic techniques (according to fiction, anyway)
There's a Chinese form of active breathing -- check out "The Corrupter" with Chow Yun Fat for a thirty second aside when he does this.

I always found working kata, even short forms, to be very calming.

Basically, any action you associate with inner calm, peace and focus can be used -- frag, smoking a cigarette could be used.

I could even make a case for shooting someone, but for game balance, let's forgo that, shall wel?

So the Streetfighter pause before unleashing a super attack could easily be termed centering -- or the required "anime entrance" of any character. (You know, 'strike a pose, recite our team chant' and so on).

-Siege

As long as they don't link three in a row after a damn guard break

heh. that'd be a pretty cool creative skill--Special Moves.

"Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start," the adept mouths silently, recalling the Infinite Lives code from Contra XII before leaping out from behind cover to dart and dodge his way safely through a hail of lead.

Popular 20th century movies...

Recalling the Matrix, Adept A leaps into action, dodging the hail of lead...
"Kung Fu... I know Kung Fu."

indeed. that sort of thing falls under 'meditation', i guess. my own adept uses Looking Good in Shades.

Heh.

Actually, if you follow MitS and use the idea that magic manifests around the person, I find it completely believable that some kid would manifest after _way_ too many hours playing Streetfighter.

-Siege

Am I the only person who would contemplate taking "wanking" as a centering skill?

I would usually allow a knowledge skill to be used as a basis for meditation, and the meditations from that knowledge skill to be applied in several different ways.

For instance: A mage has a knowledge skill Arcaine Symbols 6 he could use that to gesture and draw arcaine symbols in the air or to meditate upon the symbols. An adept probably wouldn't be able to use it tho.

I think pistols is fine as a centering skill too. You just have to bear in mind that they don't actually shoot. It's the act of aiming the pistol on the target that they center themselves in. Obviously that's hard to do if you want to use it with unarmed combat but hey: no cenetring skills are perfect.

Essentially: If you want to be able to center in every circumstance; you're probably going to need to take centering multiple times attuned to different centering techniques.

[edit] and thunderchild: Yes [/edit]

That's why Zen Meditation is so useful. It is almost useful in any given circumstance.

Can you really meditate zen style when you're running? I must admit that I'm no expert but it strikes me that zen meditation is not really an option for adepts.

ignore the pain, blank out the tiredness, focus only on your breathing, see with your mind's eye the rthym of your legs

That's really more like yogic meditation, blanking out pain and fatigue whatnot. During zazen your senses feel downright sharp; physical stimuli don't have any diminished effect.

Atheletes talk about "finding the zone" and reaching a "oneness" in thought and deed.

Not unlike the "Zen in the art of Archery".

But some GMs will take that as two benefits where only one is intended and rule the Centering skill cannot have an obvious double benefit. (I.E. you can't use unarmed combat or handgun as a centering skill)

Although if you're going to perform exhaustive physical activity, I'd suggest penalties to Centering target numbers.

-Siege

I've never understood that limitation. I've always allowed characters to use "active" skills as the artistic skill for Centering as appropriate, especially for standard magiciains. Shooting a gun still takes a Simple or Complex Action whether you're centering with it or not, so using it to center for a spell is a moot point since that requires a Complex Action in and of itself. Centering is a Free Action that's incorporated into what you're doing; it's not an extra action.

But if you want to do the whole Zen Archery/Shooting aspect (ie, going through the motions of aiming and focusing), that's perfectly all right in my book and falls well within what you do.

imo a weaker version of Centering should be available to all characters

Time for another stupid noob question by joker. If youve red my posts youll notice I have several of them . What is centering and what does it do?

it's a metamagical technique that can help lower your TN (or add dice) for casting, summoning, or drain. for adepts, it can lower TN / add dice on different skills and skill areas.

After reading all of this, has it occured to anyone that the idea of centering for active skills is just silly, or is it just me?