If a mentor spirit gives, say, "+2 dice to spirits of man", does that apply only to summoning or also to binding and/or banishing?

It would apply to all three, just as a bonus to a spell category applies to spellcasting, ritual spellcasting, ad counterspelling.

Many thanks. I thought so, but I had to be sure

On a side note, I wish mentor's didn't cost BP. It just seems to excessive. I liked how it worked in the older rules... sigh...

- J.

you get to pick 2 bonuses and 1 drawback from a list of what will mechanically optimise your character. and many of the drawbacks just encourage you to act a certain way. mentor spirits are, generally speaking, worth it.

The drawback is usually either a)minor compared to the bonuses, or b)more role play then anything else, and the bonuses are quite good. My current character is running moon maiden(+2 illusion, +2 negotiation, -1 combat). The bonuses to illusion and negotiation help make me the front man of the group, and are generally fairly awesome. The -1 combat hurts(especially on counterspelling), but I have overcome it by specializing in combat spells with both spellcasting and counterspelling(turning my -1 penalty into a +1 bonus).

You are getting a powerful bonus, and a useful ally as well, mentor spirits have this habit of popping up sometimes with very useful, if cryptic advice.

Ouch, I hadn't realized that the penalty to Combat spells applied to Counterspelling them.

Nor had I. Does it apply to Drain as well?

The good thing about positive Mentor bonuses is that they apply to every aspect of the function they affect. The bad thing about negative Mentor bonuses is that they apply to every aspect of the function they affect. So, yes.

Peter

Where does it say that mentor bonuses affect drain.