When a mage moves a sustained spell, how quickly can he move it?
For instance, if he is using a sustained barrier spell to move a team off a rooftop, but is being chased by a helicopter, how fast can he make the team move?
Full Version: Sustained Spell Movement
There is no speed limit as long as it remains within LoS, and as long as the fall does not kill the runners in your case 
Just remember it takes a complex action so your mage does pretty much nothing else while piloting the flying carpet.
Just remember it takes a complex action so your mage does pretty much nothing else while piloting the flying carpet.
QUOTE (Traul @ Oct 1 2011, 09:14 AM) 
There is no speed limit as long as it remains within LoS, and as long as the fall does not kill the runners in your case Just remember it takes a complex action so you mage does pretty much nothing else while piloting the flying carpet.
Just remember it takes a complex action so you mage does pretty much nothing else while piloting the flying carpet.I'm not sure that barriers (or any area spell) were intended to be movable like that. If they are, the next time I'm in a warehouse I'll create a physical barrier and use it smack enemies... should be roughly equivalent to getting hit by a truck moving at a speed of "however quickly I can flick my eyes at the target".
You can move it, but that says zero about *hitting*. Magic is magic, not physics.
QUOTE (Yerameyahu @ Oct 1 2011, 03:12 PM)
You can move it, but that says zero about *hitting*. Magic is magic, not physics.
That's where the Chaos mage comes in 
QUOTE (Stalag @ Oct 1 2011, 03:46 PM)
That's where the Chaos mage comes in
He should be busy finding that damned butterfly!
Don't believe the hype: chaos magic is only hermeticism with an attitude. 
Punk Hermetic Magic. I LIKE IT!
For reference, the rules supporting Traul's post are:
QUOTE (SR4a p184)
If an area-effect spell is sustained, the affected area may be moved with a Complex Action, as long as it remains within line of sight. Characters who “drop out” of the affected area are no longer affected by the spell; characters who are “enveloped” by the area must defend against the effects of the spell as appropriate.
QUOTE (SM p160)
If an area Illusion or Manipulation spell is sustained, the affected area may be moved with a Complex Action, as long as it remains within line of sight. Characters who “drop out” of the affected area are no longer affected by the spell; characters who are “enveloped” by the area must make a Spell Resistance Test against the effects of the spell as appropriate.
In order to get a credible refresh-rate for a sustained illusion, you're going to have to limit the movement rate so that the illusion doesn't teleport unconvincingly down the road but only if you consider all area effect spells to be cast relative to the Earth. If the caster gets to choose what their position is relative to, you might not have to expend any Complex Actions to move the spell effect. Just cast a barrier relative to a rolled up newspaper and you've got your own flying Segway. Finally we can have the environmentally-friendly jetpack we've been waiting for so long.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.