Except the spell reads, "[t]his spell allows the subject to analyze the purpose and operation of a device or piece of equipment within range of the sense." Emphasis mine.

Player: "I cast Analyze Device on my Ares Predator."
GM: "It's meant to kill people by using a chemical reaction that projects steel-jacketed lead at them at really high velocities. It works on a 'Point and click' interface system."

Job done.

If we want to go down that road, I can do that too:

"Each net hit gives the subject a bonus die while
operating the device, and allows the subject to ignore any skill defaulting
modifiers for using the device while the spell is sustained." Emphasis mine.

A piece of equipment may be analyzed(as per CanRay's hillarious example), but only a device gets the dice bonus. That's why it's called Analyze Device and not Analyze Equipment.

And in that case, there's: "A peripheral device is a Matrix-capable appliance or piece of equipment that is wireless (or in some cases wired) but is not intended to be used for full-blown Matrix interfacing and processing. Security cameras, stoves, ear buds, medkits, firearms, children’s toys, doorbells, showers, biomonitors, cyberware, make-up kits, vehicles, coffee makers, store displays, electronic paper, drones, light switches, and many, many other items are all peripheral devices in Shadowrun." If it so much has a broken stealth tag that only operated one time before burning out, it's a "device." It just has to be capable, or even just potentially capable of interacting with the Matrix in order to qualify as a "device." Which means practically anything you can think of in the Sixth World, including foodstuff.

Nevermind that the first quote I gave included "or piece of equipment" into the following uses of "device" for the rest of the spell's description. Paragraphs have a funny way of working like that; they're a singular thought, not specific sentences where you ignore everything else being said. No matter how often people around here like to try and do that.

True, but that seems to be the theory you are espousing; that Analyze Device can be used as something other than intended due to specific interpretation of language. The old RAW v. RAI argument. If one wants to pull out specific lines and quotes to follow the rule entirely as written, I can do that. I don't like to, but it's necessary to counter argument from folks who want to take a spell intended for one thing and use it to throw more dice at something.
It makes it hard on writers to create anything of substance when everything creative they come up with is dismissed as broken because of a misplaced synonym.

The stealth tag would be the device. A wireless capable gun is still an Object Resistance of 5/6+

So...I have the shammy cast Analyze on my Ruger, he rolls up six hits, that's enough for three net hit (threshold four). Right?

Then I get an extra three dice when shooting with my gun as long as he keeps the spell up. Does that mean my gun is now astrally active and astral beings can do stuff to it, or can they only affect the spell?

Oh, one other thing: waaah, magic is overpowered, magicians can do anything, boo hoo. [/sarc]

Give out sustaining foci to your team, gear them up like little astral Christmas trees, and see how badly things turn out when you take a run against a target that listened to the rumour about the new magical supergroup and hired a couple of summoners to provide extra security. I'm all for using magic or 'ware or drugs or what have you to get an edge, but make it obnoxious and the world will hurt you.

The Object Resistance is in dispute, but I'd say it's closer to 6 than 4.

The spellcaster would gain the benefit, not you. He's casting the spell on the gun, so I fail to see how he could pass his ability to Analyze it on.

No. Nor are you astrally active when a spell caster casts Increased Body or any other spell on you. you are simply being affected by magic.

How about I just cast Analyze Device on my cyberarm, and get the bonus for half of what I do?

I'm pretty sure you're the one who decided to twist the spell's description and intent to be one of those "RAW" twerps...

Cut the Object Resistance (out of the quote) as that's one where YMMV. Not too worried about that, although it does bring up the interesting point that to successfully cast the spell with OR at 6 you need to hit it with Force 6, minimum. That's a nice balancer right there, I like that.

Casting the spell on someone else, this is RAW, the caster touches the subject who gains the extra sense and then you compare the Spellcasting result to whatever device you're attempting to use it on. This also seems to imply that you can then shift the focus of the spell (that being the object you're getting the bonus on) to anything in LOS limited by Force x caster's Magic in metres, no separate tests, etc p 198 SR4.

New question! Actually, two. Spells can be dispelled. An astrally projecting magician dispel a sustained spell, but can he use the spell as a target for another spell? Say, an area effect spell that could hit the subject of the spell and possibly buddies nearby? Or is this another flavour of Brazilian Shenanigans?

Harkening back to the old days again, does casting while astrally projecting cause physical drain, or have the mages of today figured that one out?

Grounding (using a dual-natured "conduit" to affect the physical plane from the astral) is removed in SR4, so an astrally projecting magician can only cast Mana spell at astrally active targets (dual-natured beings or objects, another astrally projecting mage, a spirit...).

But the drain is now Stun, unless you overcast.

Fine. I'll just send out a high-Force fire spirit and tell it to materialise and engulf the owner of the wandering Analyse Device spell. What are the penalties for being on fire?

Well, the major one is finding someone who cares enough about you to piss on you while you're on fire...

Let's strike a match and find out.

Thanks, Anthony Hopkins!

In summary...

Magic bullets: possible, but hella expensive.

Analyse Device: possible, but not easily so.

Fire: bad.

That is all.

Fire bad, beer good, Napster bad!

No, no. Fire bad, tree pretty.

And only net hits provide bonus dice so your Force needs to exceed the OR (as I said earlier).

See here and here for (house) rules and opinions on allowing astral-only mages to counterspell / dispel physical-only spells.

Sorry, old Metallica Meme from the Napster days. Should remember that I'm an old man now...

Which means I might have to start beating people with my cane...

*grin* "Well how about I share your girlfriend?"

So.... bullets can be anchoring foci and I can have magic bullets? Yes? No?

ASIDE: It's also probably best, that they're MY anchoring foci as IIRC, anchored spells 'take up space' equal to the caster and my aura could trigger the spell. Right?

Yes. If you're the kind of lunatic that wants to go through the pain and hassle of making one or more bullets into anchoring foci (which each cost Karma), and then spend the Karma to anchor spells into them - bearing in mind that once discharged the spell must be re-cast and the Karma cost paid again before the next use - yes, you can. Don't forget you can only have more foci bound to yourself than your Magic attribute and you must first learn Quickening and Anchoring (being a Grade 2 initiate) to be able to do it in the first place.

Just like Fringe and Ol' Scratch said in the first half dozen posts.

Exactly the sort of lunatic who wants to take on a dragon!

Great, the JFK Assassination just got even more complicated!

Thank goodness The First Dragon wasn't shot!

I'm pretty sure that meme is older than you.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/histor...rles_Sumner.htm

Anyways, I'm pretty sure fireball rounds already exist, and they're called HE minigrenades. I have yet to see any "magic bullet" that is more cost effective than a technological solution.

There absolutely no reason to make you bullets in to ancoring foci, you can just ancor the spells into normal bullets.

Here's hoping for an Overcast Stunbolt bullet?

You know, I think you're right. What is the point of anchoring foci?

Flashbang minigrenades in a tight corridor...or full auto stick-n-shock

In an attempt to pull off something like caster shells from Outlaw Star, I'd created to rules for how much a mage may charge you to anchor spells to bullets, using ball park estimates of money earned per run vs Karma Earned.

So say the average mission in your game pays out 5k, and you earn on average, without any roleplay or heroic bonuses, 3 karma.

5000/3=1,666 per point of karma.
Tack on probably 40% increase to the price because its a narrow market.
So, say 2,332 per karma.
So 13,992 for a force 6 spell on a bullet.
And obviously this gun would cost more, because that would be another way for this group of enchanter/firearms deals to make more money. They only anchor spells to bullets that work in their specific guns.

Bribing street contacts to find the Magical Firearms dealers: 1.000
Making magic bullets 13,992
Seeing the look on a free spirits face when you fire a Ruger Superwarhawk at him that explodes into a fireball: Priceless

Stealing an idea from "The Dresden Files" short story... Grab the lead taken from an famous man shot to death and endow it with power.

Imagine how much power you could dump into the bullet that killed President Lincoln? Or JFK's infamous "Magic Bullet"?

I didn't even think about that I'm a diehard Dresden fan.

One of the obscure short stories I found somewhere. Shows just what "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone thinks of Harry, and the lengths he's prepared to go...

Also shows the full depth of his bodyguard, which are quite deep despite the character's lack of talking. Harry has the guy completely wrong.

And you're numbers are low. 5k is a really really low per run payout, and a point of karma is worth 2.5k nuyen.

There is some things can't buy. For everything else, there's KarmaKard.

I based my numbers off of, a ball park of SR: Missions, which in comparison, pay chump change. Most are between 1k and 3k per runner + 1k x TR

A very valid point, but I wouldn't be able to drop 6 karma into a single bullet. Though the gunslinger being able to tear a spirit to pieces should I go down as the mage.