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Botch
1. Does the invisibilty spell block thermal signatures? I always assumed it did, but some SR fiction (eg. Shapcano/Magespace) suggests that it doesn't.
2. Could a aura perceiving doc reduce essence loss using this skill or a new spell?
3. How do you calculate a reduced essense loss for externalising cyberware?
4. What does the fluff about Fomori being more magical mean, surely a minotaur has the best attributes for mage out of the troll variants.
5. What are troll horns, are they like - sheep/cow, deer or rhino and do troll need different RDA's to take account of this?
Tanka
4) (This is assuming you mean Bod/Qui/Str, if not , ignore this.) I don't think having a certain attribute mod makes you better suited to be a mage. I think they mean that there are, by and large, more magical Fomori than non-magical.
Kagetenshi
1) Invis does not block thermal signatures, though it does block thermovision. An important distinction.

2) I don’t see how a magedoctor would help reduce essence loss.

3) Externalizing cyberware? Is this canon, and if so where?

4) It probably just means that they have a higher percentage of Awakened amongst their ranks than typical.

5) Not stated. It is presumably taken care of in the increased amount of food they eat.

~J
Botch
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)


2) I don’t see how a magedoctor would help reduce essence loss.

3) Externalizing cyberware? Is this canon, and if so where?

4) It probably just means that they have a higher percentage of Awakened amongst their ranks than typical.

5) Not stated. It is presumably taken care of in the increased amount of food they eat.

~J

QUOTE
1) Invis does not block thermal signatures, though it does block thermovision. An important distinction.


Could you elaborate, please

QUOTE
2) I don’t see how a magedoctor would help reduce essence loss.


I guess it depends on how and how fast an aura is damaged, afterall good mundane surgery can reduce essense loss. Could an awakened doc increase this further?

3) Externalizing cyberware? Is this canon, and if so where?

Sorry, should have said "how could" and used another thread. Any suggestions on how externalising cyberware might reduce essence loss and no I know of no canon material on this subject.

Tanka
Well, the only way to "externalize" cyberware I know of would be binoculars/goggles for eyes and smartgoggles as a replacement for Smartlink. Drugs for various stat boosts... That's really about it.

Trying to put most of it outside of your body would (theoretically) reduce effectiveness and make it more susceptible to damage. That's just my line of thinking, though.
Botch
Um, and the oddity of having lumps of chrome sticking out.

Thinking more of replacing troll horns with headwear gadgets and various senseware could be disguished as dermal armour plates on a troll.
Kagetenshi
QUOTE (Botch)
QUOTE
1) Invis does not block thermal signatures, though it does block thermovision. An important distinction.


Could you elaborate, please

Thermal signatures vs. thermographics: thermographic vision is what vehicle passive sensors, cameras, metahumans, cybereyes, etc. use. They’re spoofed by invis (or improved invis, in the case of passive sensors and cameras). Thermal signatures are detected by the heat-sensing bioware I forget the name of and vehicle active sensors, and are unaffected by invis.

QUOTE (Botch)
QUOTE
2) I don’t see how a magedoctor would help reduce essence loss.


I guess it depends on how and how fast an aura is damaged, afterall good mundane surgery can reduce essense loss. Could an awakened doc increase this further?


I don’t see how. The ways you can be noninvasive are the same, and once it’s done it’s done.

~J
BitBasher
To sum up:

QUOTE
1. Does the invisibilty spell block thermal signatures? I always assumed it did, but some SR fiction (eg. Shapcano/Magespace) suggests that it doesn't.
It does if it's visual. If the sense detecting the person is visual at all, which thermographic vision is, then invis defeats it. If it's not visual like Heat Pits Bioware or ambiently measuring air temperature then no, it does not.

QUOTE
2. Could a aura perceiving doc reduce essence loss using this skill or a new spell?
Nothing in canon supports that he could, IE: NO.

QUOTE
3. How do you calculate a reduced essense loss for externalising cyberware?
No such thing in canon. Either you have the cyberware or you do not.

QUOTE
4. What does the fluff about Fomori being more magical mean, surely a minotaur has the best attributes for mage out of the troll variants.
IIRC a higher percentage of formori are magically active compared to other races. Vampires are the same way, higher instance of magical activity.

QUOTE
5. What are troll horns, are they like - sheep/cow, deer or rhino and do troll need different RDA's to take account of this?
Nothing is ever suggested like this, so no. Standard diet is fine. (Which for a Troll is a lot.)
Kanada Ten
Houserule: The cost for having a piece of hardware that mimics the effects of senseware is 1/2 the cyberware cost for devices that will be connected via a datajack (based on transducer), and 1/4 the cost for hand-held devices (based on Built-In Device rules).
littlesean
While I agree that there is nothing canon to support it, the Awakened Physician is an interesting idea. Since essence is a somewhat nebulous idea, generally taken to mean life force of some sort, I can see the benefit of being able to switch between astral and normal vision. While medical technology has gotten substantially better, the care of the spirit (chakra, chi, hara...) is not really addressed. A good surgeon CAN decrease the essence required for a given piece, but only by blind luck. So maybe an astrally perceiving doctor could nudge those dice a little more. Anyway, something to think about.
Cain
It's already factored in. Having access to magical care during surgery allows for a -1 TN, which in turn means a higher probablility of getting those extra options.

As for externalizing cyber... the closest thing I can find to that is the external smartlink option. Based on that, I'd say that you get half the bonuses for the external piece, depending on the situation.
Edward
1. the invisibility spell prevents you being detected by the sight of any living being. The thermographic vision of a dwarf or troll will be fooled any implanted sence wear payed for with essence will also be fooled. It will not fool any technological device. Somebody wearing low light of thermographic goggles will see you as will all security cameras.

The improved invisibility spell also prevents cameras including thermographic cameras weapon scope and vision augmentation helmets from seeing you.

2. there is a surgery positive effect that reduces essence loss. There is a modifier to surgery tests for magical care during surgery. This will account for what you want.
no canon reference. There are some items available but they often have reduced effectives.
Prospero
As stated in Man and Machine, it's not the actual fact of the cyber being in your body that reduces essence, but the fact that it's hooked up to your grey matter/nervous system/whatever. So it really doesn't matter if its internal or external - if it works for you, with your nervous system, it takes essence. The things that don't work with your nervous system and cost essence - like bone lacing or dermal armor - just screw with your body's systems pretty well anyway. And you couldn't really do them extermally. Well, I suppose you could, sort of. External dermal plating is called armor. nyahnyah.gif
lokugh
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
Thermal signatures vs. thermographics: thermographic vision is what vehicle passive sensors, cameras, metahumans, cybereyes, etc. use. They’re spoofed by invis (or improved invis, in the case of passive sensors and cameras). Thermal signatures are detected by the heat-sensing bioware I forget the name of and vehicle active sensors, and are unaffected by invis.


I don’t see how. The ways you can be noninvasive are the same, and once it’s done it’s done.

~J

Basically, imp invis protects you from all forms of thermographic detection, except those sensors that are passive in that they measure ambient temperature changes rather than directly detecting a heat source.

The reason for this is that all "heat sensing" abilities are based on the ability to read infrared radiation. And what is infrared radiation? It is light of a longer wavelength than visible light that is emitted by objects which have a temperature above absolute zero. Sense it is light, it is affected by the invisibility spells.

Canon rules say a thermosense organ allows you to detect invisible metahumans due to being able to sens their heat. However, I think whoever came up with that may be slightly confused (if they are on these forums, hopefully they will clear it up for me). The reason being that they are based on pit viper pits. Pit vipers sense heat by sensing infrared radiation emitted or reflected by an object via their pit organs, not through some mystical animal voodoo.

It could be argued that basic invisibility works on the mind of metahumans and thus would be targeted at eyesight and thus thermosensing organs, since they are not eyes, are not affected. Improved Invisibility though should take care of that, since it works against both eyesight and non-eyesight means of thermographic sight.

Of course, it is magic, so maybe the spell was just badly designed by whatever magician first wrote it and thus the exception.
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