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Cray74
Comments? Suggestions? Are any/all of the spells broken?

ChillMax
Type: P
Target: 6
Duration: S
Drain: +1S

This temperature-controlling elemental manipulation spell was developed by a hermetic mage with delusions of his elite decking skills. (He did show them! All those deckers who taunted him and laughed at his precise and frequent imitation of their most L33t 5p34K, he showed them all! Of course, no one’s quite sure how unleashing great form elementals on remote ass kicking services and ritual spells constituted a demonstration of his decking skills, but…)

The spell is somewhat misnamed (but that was typical of the originator). It actually maintains a temperature on a small target, fighting changes above or below “room temperature.” The high degree of control and elemental effects give it a surprisingly high drain for the small area of effect, but many deckers appreciate the effort. The effect is like Alter Temperature (pg146 MitS), adjusting a target object’s temperature by up to 5 degrees Celsius per point of Force toward room temperature (25C). Thus a Force 5 ChillMax spell could keep a target object at 25C if it was exposed to temperatures between 0 and 50C. At 53C, it would cool that object to 28C.

[edit] This effect is sustained. It may only affect a target of up to (Force) kilograms. Deckers (with really good initiate spellcasting pals) thus love to protect their decks with it (either for super-charged MPCP or for decks taken into extreme environmental conditions), and some riggers have found ChillMax to help take the edge off temperatures of some engine components. However, the vulnerability of these spells to hostile astral attack makes ChillMax less useful to shadowrunners than stay-at-home types.[/edit]



Bubble
Type: P
Target: 6
Duration: S
Drain: +2S

This low-powered barrier spell (with air elemental effects) provides an interesting means for water-loving spellcasters to take a break underwater – or literally part the waters. [edit]The spell creates a barrier of up to (caster's Magic Rating squared x 10) square meters. By default, this is an open-bottom hemisphere with a radius and height equal to the caster's Magic rating, like most barrier spells.[/edit]

However, the exact form of the barrier is fairly adjustable into simple shapes (cylinders, hemispheres, walls, etc.), hence the higher target number (“fine manipulation”). At its formation, the Bubble acts like the Oxygenate spell, creating an air-filled environment that, like Oxygenate, provides air without risk of diving dangers (nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness, etc.)

The Bubble spell is easily permeable to solid objects, allowing easy entry and egress by divers seeking fresh air. Bubble also tends to let unsuspecting fish flop through, but most sea creatures instinctively avoid the interface like they do the surface. Bubble is one-way permeable to “significant” amounts of water – large droplets, spilled drinks, etc. pass through the Bubble, but characters entering the Bubble tend to stay wet, and air tends to stay humid. The air-water interface is usually glass-calm despite exterior water agitation, but some variants of the spell create a rippling surface like a calm ocean surface. Air pressure within a Bubble spell will keep out water if formed into a dome or other shape with an open bottom, allowing a mage to be more thrifty with the surface area of the barrier. Finally, it is notable that Bubble is stationary against buoyancy forces and dynamic forces (wind, waves, currents). A Bubble spell cast in deep water will remain there against tide and current, not floating to the surface or sinking to the bottom.

For water-loving initiates with karma to burn for quickening, it is possible to create fantastic underwater networks of air-filled tunnels and chambers, glimmering silver palaces of naught but air surrounded by the sea. However, more frugal casters seeking permanent underwater residences tend to use the Shape Earth spell (MitS, about pg147) to form pressure-holding grottos and caverns, and then wall off the entrances with Bubble.

Because it is permeable to solid objects and stationary, a Bubble spell cast away from solid objects (the seafloor) or buoyant objects forces users seeking some fresh air to tread water at the bottom of the bubble. On the other hand, while the bottom of a Bubble doesn’t need to have square meters of barrier spent on it (see above), a mage who has formed an air-filled underwater grotto might consider covering the “moon pool” entrance with the Bubble barrier. Any trickles of water (such as from leaks in stone walls or outflows from toilets in the grotto) will pass out through the moon pool without raising the water level.

[added]

Energize
Type: P
Target: 6
Duration: S
Drain: +2M

This sustained lightning manipulation spell is typically cast on an electronic device or electrical system of a vehicle, and provides (up to) a number of PF equal to the caster’s Magic rating per hour. The spell only supplies electricity as needed, at a safe voltage and current (hence the fine manipulation target number). Thus a device that is turned off won’t be fried, and a small personal electronic item won’t be shorted out by PFs adequate to charge a small vehicle’s batteries. This spell is not particularly a good/fast way to charge a vehicle, but becomes more interesting for survivalists and people stranded in the wilderness when it is Quickened or Anchored.

Serious drain versions of the spell provide PFs per hour equal to Magic x Force, making them more applicable to vehicles. Intrepid spell designers who want to spend hours charging their rigger pal's electric car may consider specializing the spell to only affect vehicles.

Extended Clean (Element) - Extended
Type: P
Target: 6
Duration: S
Drain: +2M

Almost identical to Clean (Element) of MitS pg146, but Sustained (+1 drain power, -1 drain code) rather than permanent. The initial successes determine how effective the spell is at filtering the volume of the target element it is cast on. For example, if Extended Clean Water is cast on slightly murky pool with 3 successes, it will be cleaned up (only 1-2 successes needed, per MitS pg146). Muddy runoff from nearby land would also be dealt with for as long as the spell was sustained, unless a whole hillside fell into the pool (5 successes needed to clean out that much pollutant) or an Aztechnology Ice Cream truck spilled its wares into the pool (5 successes needed to handle the large doses of highly toxic and artificial chemicals in the Aztech ice cream).

The spell was originally developed to provide fresh air and water in polluted cities for pollution-sensitive spellcasters (or wealthy individuals who could afford initiate's services), but has since found use cleansing air in underwater habitats.. Extended Clean Water has gained a high reputation in the media when a shaman was seen using it to continuously desalinate a brackish stream. This provided countless thousands of liters of freshwater for a group of refugees numbering almost 100.
Kagetenshi
Haven't read them all, but quick comment: ChillMax is permanent? Permanent the way the Healthy Glow spell is permanent or does it keep the temperature there? If the latter, doesn't that seem to be opening a bit of a can of worms?

~J
A Clockwork Lime
Yeah, I have to agree. Permanent, when it comes down to it in practice, means "a spell whose effects don't revert to their original state after its cast." They're not meant to be a perpetually sustaining spell like your ChillMax and Extended Clean spells.
Herald of Verjigorm
The regular cleanse is a perfect example of a permanent spell. This one has an odd feature that should probably be a different spell entirely.

The temperature control should probably be sustained.
Zazen
I think these are great, but I agree with everyone about those permanent durations. Go with sustained, let people spend a few karma on Quickening or a focus.

Also, where does Bubbles area of Force^2 x Pi x 2 m^2 come from? That's way too much to calculate in the middle of a game and the formula is arbitrary as far as I can tell. I think it would benefit from something simpler, like say "Force x Magic" or some variation.

I think Bubble is a particularly cool idea, though. Nice work smile.gif
Cray74
Spells modified in light of above feedback.

QUOTE
Also, where does Bubbles area of Force^2 x Pi x 2 m^2 come from?

That's the area of a hemisphere. Many area barriers form hemispheres, or elongated hemispheres, with a radius and height equal to Force...oops, equal to Magic rating [scribbles correction]. If you just did something like "Magic x Magic square meters," then you'd only get a bit less than 1/6th of a normal barrier's area.

Now, if you can do "force x magic" or "magic x magic" in the middle of a game, how much harder is it to take it a step further and multiply by 6 (or 6.283... if you have a calculator)?

QUOTE
I think Bubble is a particularly cool idea, though. Nice work smile.gif


Thank you.

It looks like the others are going to have to be tweaked into Sustained spells that can be quickened. [edit]Done[/edit]
Zazen
QUOTE (Cray74)
with a radius and height equal to Force...oops, equal to Magic rating

Yeah, later on I thought "oh yeah, surface area of a sphere", but the force thing threw me off. nyahnyah.gif

QUOTE
If you just did something like "Magic x Magic square meters," then you'd only get a bit less than 1/6th of a normal barrier's area.


If you make a normal barrier into a wall, you get exactly Force x Magic nyahnyah.gif

QUOTE
Now, if you can do "force x magic" or "magic x magic" in the middle of a game, how much harder is it to take it a step further and multiply by 6 (or 6.283... if you have a calculator)?


Multiplying two one-digit numbers is decidedly easier than multiplying their two-digit product by 6.2 nyahnyah.gif Anyway, how about (Force + Magic) x 10? That's nice n' easy and gives plenty of area even at low force so that people don't have to spend much to get some good use out of it.

Then again, maybe I'm overreacting because of my group. I guess anyone who takes this spell will just calculate that number once, write it on their sheet, and be done with it. My players, however, will neglect this and stumble over it for 5 minutes before I get fed up, look up the formula, and do it for them.
Zazen
QUOTE (Cray74 @ May 18 2004, 06:25 PM)
Extended Clean (Element) - Extended

[deleted; redundant with Clean (Element) in light of initial feedback]

Hey, I think it's mighty useful as sustained. Rather than cleaning once, you get to have a perpetual filtering effect protecting you from gas attacks or letting you dive through murky water and still see. Now that's a cool spell, not redundant at all.
Cray74
QUOTE (Zazen)
QUOTE (Cray74 @ May 18 2004, 06:25 PM)
Extended Clean (Element) - Extended

[deleted; redundant with Clean (Element) in light of initial feedback]

Hey, I think it's mighty useful as sustained. Rather than cleaning once, you get to have a perpetual filtering effect protecting you from gas attacks or letting you dive through murky water and still see. Now that's a cool spell, not redundant at all.

Alright, some tweaking is in order. "Extended Clean (Element)" lives again.

Also, I like the Magic x Magic x 10 suggestion. That's actually closer to the area of a hemisphere with a flat, protected underside.
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