Hi. I know that a focus will hold the astral signature of a character who bonds with it and can be used to astrally track the focus.
My question is this. What happens when the person who is bonded to the focus dies?? Does the astral signature remain or does it fade??
Full Version: Astral signature and foci question
Interesting question. When someone dies, their bond with the focus is kaput. I suppose their astral signature mgiht remain on the focus until someone else bonds it.
Ninj, just a nit, but the astral signature is separate from the link back to the character. Both exist. The signature can be assensed and recognized later (SR3.172). The link can be tracked (SR3.177) back to the owner, or from the owner to the item.
I agree with AH, that the link goes away when the owner dies, but the Signature remains.
I agree with AH, that the link goes away when the owner dies, but the Signature remains.
New question: If I am unconscious or dead and some enterprising runner grabs my focus, can my magical group use me, unconscious or dead, for reverse ritual sorcery on the poor guy who swiped my focus?
Don
Don
Reverse counter ritual sorcery... cool.
I'm assuming it would work based on reserve ritual sorcery targets links. If the thing is a viable link, then it's a viable target. Not sure if it would impact the person. Worst Case senario: I/my group can destroy the possibly valuable focus before Mr. Upstart can bond with it.
Don
Don
Or they can trace the focus and send some spirits to fuck the thief up.
The link dies, the focus becomes mundane until someone else bonds it and reactivates it, and the signature fades at the standard rate of (Force) hours.
I don't think it's ever been addressed but after the owner dies, there is no link (cause he's dead) and I don't think it would be trackable, that's just me though. Given a competent argument I may be persuaded otherwise, but it's never actually come up.
| QUOTE (BitBasher) |
| I don't think it's ever been addressed but after the owner dies, there is no link (cause he's dead) and I don't think it would be trackable, that's just me though. Given a competent argument I may be persuaded otherwise, but it's never actually come up. |
But along those lines, the focus would then go inert, wouldn't it? Logically extrapolating from the enchanting rules, all foci require karma in order to become foci. Thus an enchanter must pay the karma, which is then repaid by someone who has bought and bound him or herself with the focus. Killing a sec mage with a focus would quite possibly render the focus inert, barring the circumstance that the thief has the requiste karma in supply (either as good karma or through cash for karma) to bond with focus.
@Necrotic Monkey: Where are you getting that? It has no basis in canon, as the duration of all links is GM discretion per its omission in MitS as well as per the FAQ.
Don
I disagree. you can have a focus that's not bonded after the first bonding. The bond can be broken, and someone has to pay karma to rebond it. To my knowledge there are no rules about any foci "going inert" from a similar scenario. It's entirely possible to have unbonded foci. many adventures have notes such as "if the party kills NPC XXX they can get his uber expensive power foci to fence or for the magic user to rebond if he has the karma".
Okay. I'll meet halfway. In the event, however, that übermage XXX survives and the focus is not rebound, he or his magical group respectively, could in theory cast a spell at the focus per reverse ritual magic using him to target his own ritual links, as which the focus in question qualifies.
Don
Don
| QUOTE |
| @Necrotic Monkey: Where are you getting that? It has no basis in canon, as the duration of all links is GM discretion per its omission in MitS as well as per the FAQ. |
All inert, non-active astral signatures fade at the rate of (Force) hours. The focus will still function as a really good ritual link, like that of any other beloved item treasured by the target, but it won't have its Force rating applied after the time has elapsed. Or more correctly, it shouldn't as far as I'm concerned.
Now the real question: would a focus bonded to a magician be useful in a cybermantic ritual targeted at said magician? 
Do weapon foci leave behind astral signatures on the things they've damaged?
Doubtful, since they're only affecting their owner's innate abilities. They don't create a magical effect themselves beyond being treated as magical weapons against spirits and whatnot. They just let the character focus (hence the name) his abilities.
'Course, logically, spells like Invisibility and Clairvoyance should splatter a magician's astral signature all over the place (since they directly affect every target that witnesses/is witnessed by the subject).
'Course, logically, spells like Invisibility and Clairvoyance should splatter a magician's astral signature all over the place (since they directly affect every target that witnesses/is witnessed by the subject).
| QUOTE |
| 'Course, logically, spells like Invisibility and Clairvoyance should splatter a magician's astral signature all over the place (since they directly affect every target that witnesses/is witnessed by the subject). |
And in many games, they do. They leave PILES of targets.
One of the older incarnations of Dumpshock (I think it was the Brown Age) had a huge 'discussion' on that topic where they basically claimed that interpretation was complete bullshit. I think Mike or Rob (again, I can never keep them seperate in my head, but I'm pretty sure it was Mike) even responded to an email on the topic and said it would only leave the signature on the subject or some such. 
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