What are the physical aftereffects of being hit by a spell, I know spells with elemental secondary effects will have lasting marks but what about other spells?

Example. Joe Security guard is killed with a Power Bolt by a Street Mage. The corp forensic team will find:

A) Joe is dead, no evidence what killed him.

B) Joe is dead, he was killed by a Power Bolt (or Mana Bolt or insert non-elemental spell here) you can tell because of........

Thoughts?

Powerbolt causes physical damage. Manabolt too, but only to a living body. Typical affects of such damage are probably known to the forensic community, and can be identified during autopsy. They may not know what spell did the damage, but the fact that damaged occurred physically, inside the body, without entry wounds, should be a dead giveaway.

There is also an 'astral signature' left where the caster performed the spellcasting, which can be assensed. See Astral Signatures, SR3.172.

The exact injuries caused by a spell is really a matter of flavor and depends on who you envision the spell. It could possibly varry from spellcaster to spellcaster, since how magic manifests may be influenced by individual expectations.

That being said, I envision manabolt to be a subtle overloading of the organs and nervous system and powerbolt to completely pulverize bones and internal organs without causing any surface wounds. I envision mana ball as being similar to bolt, just over a wider area. I see powerball as causing the target at the center of the area of effect to completely explode as a wave of energy rushes outward in all directions.

So how do you deal with Powerballs that don't get staged up to Deadly?

~J

The same, only the energy of the spell exets the target's body through smaller wounds.

Light Damage migh tbe repersented by blood oozing from countless tiny wounds, barely pinpricks, dirtrubuted across the target's entire body.

I always figured that Power class combat spells punched holes in things or physically rent the flesh apart. And that Mana class combat spells microwaved things. No real reason for the second one, other than manaball sterlizes tissue samples, et cetera, and I'm fond of the idea of a manaball exsanguinating everyone in the area of effect.

I personally just have things tend to fall apart under Powerbolts, and people just die under manabolt. I'm of the stated opinion that people being hit with stun- or manabolt or -ball may very well not realize that they are under attack.

~J

I think you are aware you are being attacked. Wounds hurt. If they didn’t you would not take wound penalties (see pain editor). You may well not know the cause of the injury.

I think of power ball being a wave of concussive force out from a point. You cant see the wave but it will ster up dust and shred papers and leaves, strip paint from walls. Wounds would be shock based. Possibly similar to what you would get is you where near a underwater explosion but not within range of shrapnel. It would be recognised as magical at an autopsy.

This of cause is only the default description. Whenever a new spell formula is written its descriptive elements may be chosen by the creator (within reason). Any spell casters that learn a spell from a signal formula must have the description based on that formula.

Edward

Heart attacks and strokes can be hard to notice as such, but they'll kill you just as dead as a D Manabolt.

You're well aware of the fact that you really don't feel well, but not necessarily that you're being attacked.

~J