QUOTE
Arcane Arrester: When affected by a spell, the character treats Force-based effects (damage, paralysis, etc. at half (round down) actual strength. Note that the actual Force of the spell is not actually reduced. For instance, a character with Arcane Arrester targeted by a Force 5 spell would resist it as if it were a Force 2 spell, though the spellcaster could still add hits to improve the effect.
OK, I get that if someone throws a force 5 power bolt, it does a base of 2DV instead of 5DV. What ELSE does this ability do, if anything? The last sentence I quoted leaves me unsure how many net hits a caster can use on said power bolt, and almost every non-damaging spell has NOTHING based on Force except for the cap on net hits. Does it affect Net Hits cap? Anything else?
Examples:
Say a caster throws a force 5 Manabolt at a fomori, and scores 7 successes. Normally only 5 of those successes would count anyway, then the Fomori would roll Willpower to resist. Say the Fomori rolls only 1 success. Does the Mage now apply 4 Net Hits to his (effective) Force 2 Spell, or is he capped at 2 Net Hits vs. the Fomori?
Say said Fomori with a Body of 8 gets targeted with a Petrify spell. The Spell's Force must equal or exceed the target's Body, same as Increase Attribute. Does a Force 8 spell work on him, or must it be Force 16 to have a chance?