Full Version: Turn to Goo
This came up in a general why we loved SR1 discussion a couple weeks ago. Me and my friends where talking about this spell and why it was so broken. Ever since they took it of of SR when SR2 came out I've missed it and my friends pitty my power-munchkin habits of gaming. I'm just looking for the general opion of a good SR community. And maybe a SR3 conversion since I lost my SR1 collection to a mastiff.
I never particularly saw it as a munchkin type of spell, but that might just be me. I think Steve Kenson came up with a 3rd Edition version of it somewhere, but a quick search of his website didn't reveal it to me. It shouldn't be hard to find with a Google, though.
What did it do?
Exactly what it sounds like.
~J
~J
It eliminated the cohesion between your atoms, causing you to literally turn to goo. If memory serves, however, it left your cyberware intact, making it VERY valuable.
I thought it just turned all of you to goo, period.
The answer Steven Kenson came up with when the subject of "turn to goo" were discussed on the ShadowRN mailing list back in 2001:
| QUOTE |
In a message dated 2/8/01 12:10:31 PM, "LPVOID" <lpvoid@tampabay.rr.com> writes: > So why not bring back Turn to Goo? Why was it taken out anyway? I always > loved that one... I did my best. Turn to Goo was in the final draft of the SR3 magic chapter I sent to FASA, but it mysteriously got cut at the last minute. Strange thing was, I put it in the draft of MitS and the same thing happened  Gremlins in the FASA offices, clearly. FWIW, here's the version I wrote: Turn To Goo Type: P * Target: B or OR * Duration: S * Drain: +2S Turn to Goo breaks down the target’s molecular cohesion, reducing it to a puddle of sludge. The Threshold is the target’s Body or Barrier Rating. So long as the material is kept together, the target will return to normal when the spell ends. If the material is dispersed or separated, the target is (messily) destroyed when the spell ends. Living targets are not conscious while under the effects of this spell. Major Physical Change (S), Physical Spell (+1 target), Sustained (+1 target). Shake well and enjoy! Steve Kenson |
\cth
Sooo....
You cast it at a Force high enough to affect the Body of the target but low enough not to match the OR requirements for the cyberware...
Spotless 2nd hand cyberware is only one side benefit of this (and yes, I did know a group that goo'd dead enemies for rapid retrieval of valuable cyber <shudder> ); the question tapping persistently at my brain is, what happens when - after you've snaffled the cyber - you drop the spell and the target reconstitutes..?
You cast it at a Force high enough to affect the Body of the target but low enough not to match the OR requirements for the cyberware...
Spotless 2nd hand cyberware is only one side benefit of this (and yes, I did know a group that goo'd dead enemies for rapid retrieval of valuable cyber <shudder> ); the question tapping persistently at my brain is, what happens when - after you've snaffled the cyber - you drop the spell and the target reconstitutes..?
Wasn't the term 'messily dead' just used somewhere else a minute ago?
The parts that contained cyberware are blank. Figure out what problems apply on a per-case basis. I can't think of any, short of a cortex bomb, that would leave a person in a condition to be glad to be alive.
| QUOTE (DrJest) |
| Sooo.... You cast it at a Force high enough to affect the Body of the target but low enough not to match the OR requirements for the cyberware...? |
Nope. The OR of your cyberware is reduced to that of the rest of your body when you pay for it with essence. This is also why you cant target pieces of cyberware specifically with spells - as far as magic is concerned, you and your ware are a single entity.
The spell isn't too bad, but the description is. Molecular Cohesion? WTF. You don't describe Shapechange in terms of molecules, why start with another transformation manipulation?
| QUOTE |
| Nope. The OR of your cyberware is reduced to that of the rest of your body when you pay for it with essence. This is also why you cant target pieces of cyberware specifically with spells - as far as magic is concerned, you and your ware are a single entity. |
The OR isn't exactly "reduced" but simply irrelevant. As you said, "as far as magic is concerned, you and your ware are a single entity." And while that doesn't translate perfectly because of astral projection and (IIRC) regeneration, it's a good rule of thumb. Once you're dead I would think it counts OR as per material.
| QUOTE (Kanada Ten) |
| The spell isn't too bad, but the description is. Molecular Cohesion? WTF. You don't describe Shapechange in terms of molecules, why start with another transformation manipulation? |
Describing molecular activity isnt exactly without precedent. A more analogous spell than Shapechange/Transform is Petrify, which is described as the transformation of living tissues into calcium carbonate. Likewise, the Ignite spell is described in terms of accelerating molecular motion (which is redundant given the actual definition of temperature, but it makes it sound cooler).
| QUOTE |
| The OR isn't exactly "reduced" but simply irrelevant. As you said, "as far as magic is concerned, you and your ware are a single entity." And while that doesn't translate perfectly because of astral projection and (IIRC) regeneration, it's a good rule of thumb. Once you're dead I would think it counts OR as per material. |
Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
| QUOTE |
| Describing molecular activity isnt exactly without precedent. A more analogous spell than Shapechange/Transform is Petrify, which is described as the transformation of living tissues into calcium carbonate. Likewise, the Ignite spell is described in terms of accelerating molecular motion (which is redundant given the actual definition of temperature, but it makes it sound cooler). |
Meh, I still think it's dumb and unnecessary.
...which is a fair and reasonable opinion, I'm just pointing out that the description is thematically consistent with those of other canon spells. Whether those descriptions are *good* is another matter entirely.
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