Okay, I wanted to find out how many bp's to put into assensing for my utility shaman. So, I had a look at some of the assessing material in SR4A, and then Street Magic. Then I shook my head and did it again, because it was sooooo difficult to get everything straight between the two books. It's late (as I'm posting this I'm watching the sun come up), but here's a consolidated summary of definitions / rules / tables / possible actions regarding assensing between sr4a and street magic. EDIT: Also scoured Augmentation, Runner's Companion, Unwired (Nothing) and Digital Grimoire. Also cleaned up format a little.

Please let me know if I'm missing out on something, or browse for your enjoyment and revel in how much I've lost it.

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DEFINITIONS

Astral Signature - Astral residue left over from use of magic
Astral Link - Astral 'Cord' connecting magcal things to their owners. Examples: Magic Lodge Connected to Activator, Unconscious Body connected to astraly projecting person, summoned spirit connected to summoner
Aura - Astral Representation of non-awakended characters/things on the astral plane
Astral Form / Body - Representation of Character while astrally projecting
<street magic pg 57> Psychometry - Scratch n'Get Psychic Impressions from objects, places or people
<street magic pg 58> Sensing - Detect General Changes in area mana centered around the caster

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ASSENSING TEST (INCLUDING COMPLETE MODIFIERS AND RESULTS TABLE)

Assensing Test = Assensing + Intuition

Astral Visibility Table
<street magic pg 114)>
Background Illumination Modifier:
Sterile (clean room, hospital) +2
Barren (city streets) +1
Developed (suburban area, desert) 0
Cultivated (park, light forest) –1
Teeming (jungle, forest) –2
Aura Noise
Devoid (no living traffic) +2
Sparse (scattered, occasional bystanders) +1
Moderate (frequent presence of living creatures) 0
Steady (regular movement of living creatures) –1
Crowded (packed with living creatures) –2
Other Factors
Shadow Clutter –1 to –4
Background Count Inverse of Rating*
Aerosol FAB cloud (p. 126) –2
<steet magic somewhere>subject is an extraplanar spirit (evanescence) -3
* For example, a Rating 7 mana warp confers a –7 visibility penalty,whereas a Rating –4 mana ebb confers a +4 visibility bonus.

Information Gained Based on Net Hits
0 none
1
subject's health (healthy, injured, ill, etc.).
emotional state or impression (happy, sad, angry).
mundane or Awakenedillusion or not
<street magic 96> Spirits that are inhabiting a vessel
2
presence and location of standard cyberware implants.
type of magical subject (fire elemental, manipulation spell, power focus etc.)
recognize signatures already seen
<street magic 96> recognize binding between spirit and summoner if both are assensed at the same time
<street magic 107> determine metaplane for a spirit by assensing spirit
<street magic 127> identify ward anchor
3
presence and location of alphaware
essesence/force (higher, lower, or equal to mine)
presence of diseases or toxins
astral signatures present
<street magic 107> notice true name (as an astral signature) of a free spirit implanted on an object, person, or place in the spirit's vicinity when it first breaks free.
<street magic 125> notice an alarm ward
<street magic 125> differentiate charged alarm ward from regular alarm ward
<street magic 125> notice a masked ward
<street magic 125> notice a polarized ward
<street magic 127> distinguish FABIII cloud from low-level background
4
presence and location of bioware / betaware cyberimplants
exact Essence, Magic, and Force
cause of astral signature (combat spell, hearth spirit)
<Augmentation 70> Detect Symbiotic Organism
5+
presence and location of deltaware implants, genetreatments and nanotech
diagnosis of any disease or toxinstechnomancer or not
<street magic 96> how many spirits a subject has bound
<street magic 107> determine metaplane for a spirit by assensing astral signature

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ASSENSING ACTIONS


Astral Tracking (following an astral link to its source)
= Assensing + Intuition (5, 1 hour)


Noticing an Astral Signature
- signature lasts for a number of hours equal to a magical effect's Force
= logic + willpower (determined by gm) to remember the signature)
= Assensing + Intuition(3) + 2 for astral beacon signatures -2 for astral chameleon signatures


Notice Ritual Spellcasting
= Assensing + Intuition(20 – spell Force, 1 hour) Extended


Aura Passthrough Test - Detects when an astral form passes through character's body
= perception (+ 2 for awakened) + intuition (4)


<street magic 115> Navigate after Pushing Though Astral Earth
= Intuition + Assensing (3)
-failure means character is lost in astral earth, and Astral Tracking(meters to surface) test required to get back

EDIT: Free spirit identifies previous cruelty to spirits by Subject (thanks Sephiroth!)
<runner's companion 92>
= Assensing + Intuition (1)


Look Past a Masked Ward
<street magic 115>
= Assensing + Intuition vs. Ward Force x 2


Noticing Masking or Extended Masking (Initiation)
<street magic 61>
= Assensing + Intuition vs. Intuition + Magic + initiate grade
success means being able to see both the modified aura, and the masker's true aura
masking is changing the appearance of aura/astral form to look mundane, look like Magic is higher or lower, or look as though different astral creature.


Noticing use of 'Flexible Astral Signature' (Initiation)
= Assensing + Intuition (3 + Subjects Initiate Grade)


Mystical Healing (optional rule)
<Augmentation 123>
= Assensing + Intuition Skill test instead of medicine test for long term healing. each net hit gives + 1 to healing


Psychometry (Initiation)
<steet magic 57>
detect lingering emotions, astral signatures, and sometimes even residual sensory impressions from objects, places or people
= Assensing + Intuition + initiate grade
- requires touch

Situation Modifiers
Time since impression
Less than 1 day +0
Less than 1 week –2
Less than 1 month –4
Less than 1 year –6
Less than 1 decade –8
Each additional decade –2
Subject has a strong connection to element depicted in the impression (wedding ring, beloved toy, etc.) +2
Initiate has a strong connection to subject in the impression (friend, childhood home, etc.) +2
Impression of violence or powerful emotions +3
Impression of violent death +4
Subject is a bonded focus +(Rating)*
Subject is a place –2
Chaotic or noisy surroundings (difficult to concentrate) –1
Subject carries more than one significant impression –1 for each Astral signature(s) relating to impression has been erased –1
Cleansing metamagic has been used to remove impressions –6
Each subsequent attempt to read the same object –2
* Modifier only applies to impressions related to the person to whom the focus is bonded. Stacked foci only grant the highest rating as a bonus.

Information Gained Based on Net Hits
0 None.
1 Flashes of insight, superficial and disjointed impressions.
2 Longer and deeper insights
3 Greater detail, multiple sensory feedback,more coherence.
4+ Lengthy sequences, multiple senses, significant information.


Sensing (Initiation)
<steet magic 58>
= Magic + Intuition + Initiate Grade
- range = initiate grade x 500 meters
detect the following changes in mana field and astral terrain
mana ebbs and surges
mana storms
astral rifts and shallows
voids
alchera
background count
other aspects of the astral terrain and mana field
- use detection spell results table to help determine results

SR4A pg206
detection spell results
Information Gained Based on Net Hits
1 Only general knowledge, no details.
2 Major details only, no minor details.
3 Major and minor details, with some minor details obscured or missing.
4 Completely detailed information.

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OTHER ASSENSING STUFF:


False Impression Spell, Manascape Spell
<Digital Grimoire>
(Realistic, Multi-Sense)
creates illusions designed to change the impressions gained from Assensing, the Psychometry or Sensing metamagic, the Astral Window spell and Magic Sense. Can't create false auras or forms
<Augmentation pg 163> Assensing Rejection Quality The character is unaware of results of assensing tests. Still roughly aware of the presence of spirits and other astral forms.
<sr4a 195> Enhanced Perception Adept Power
Each level provides an additional die for all Perception Tests and Assensing Tests. You cannot have more Enhanced Perception dice than your Intuition attribute.
<sr4a 196> Kinesics Adept Power Cost: Each level also adds +1 to assense for emotional state
<sr4a 200>Dark King Mentor, +2 to Perception and Assensing
<street magic 24> Astral Sight Quality - allows character to take assensing skill
<street magic 26> Aspecting Qualities - Aspecting in anything other than astral provides -4 to assensing
<street magic 29> Symbolic Link Creation - Creating a symbolic link then the creator has assensed the target has a threshold of 4
<street magic 56> Assensing Required for Divining
<Augmentation 131> Mana-Active Aura Deficiency Syndrome (MADS) spread by contact or astral assensing. reduces magic dice pools, can potentially result in the loss of all magic ability

Enjoy it. I caught it a few hours ago. WOW.


As for the actual topic, everything seems spot on.

This makes no sense to me

Ah, great catch, thanks. That's a leftover from when I fed my character's stats into the above mess to determine my dice pools. Made an edit. It's what I get for doing my best insomniac impression. Much appreciated.

I always like to have at least 3 unless I'm going groggy.

A free spirit is able to discern if a person has previously been cruel to spirits with a successful Assensing Test (RC 92)

Awesome stuff! Made an edit, thanks!

Ewww, groggies are gross!

Groggy means 'aspected', apparently.