QUOTE (Mordinvan @ May 2 2009, 09:55 AM)
I fail to see how a focus is ever anything more then a tool. They are very expensive tools, but there is nothing in their description indication they contain a pleasure fulfillment mechanism needed to cause an addiction.
QUOTE (Street Magic p.26-27)
A magician or adept who relies too much on
the power granted by foci eventually forms a mental and spiritual
dependence on them, even to the point of becoming magically
impotent when they are dormant or missing.
QUOTE (Digital Grimoire p.8 )
When a magician relies too heavily on foci, they become
a “crutch� that begins to undermine the magician’s abilities.
Prolonged (ab)use of more foci than the magician can safely
handle can burn out their Talent.
Focus Addiction (p. 26, Street Magic) uses the Addiction
rules (See Addiction quality, p. 80 and Substance Abuse p. 247,
Shadowrun, Fourth Edition). The gamemaster can call for a Focus
Addiction Test at any time she feels the player is abusing foci; a
good guideline is whenever a character has a total Force of active
foci in excess of twice their Magic attribute. When a character fails
the Focus Addiction Test, she gains the Focus Addiction Negative
Quality (See Focus Addiction, p. 26–27, Street Magic). Treat focus
addiction as a Mental addiction with a Threshold of 2.
Neither are 'Optional' rules.