Crimson Jack
Feb 2 2005, 08:02 AM
It seems that most initiates have Masking. The ones I write as NPCs do. My players all do. In fact, my players always take Masking as their first Metamagic technique. Is this true for everyone? I know there are some other nice "first technique" choices out there, but it does seem lucrative as the first one. Agree or no?
Crimson Jack
Feb 2 2005, 08:15 AM
I'm glad there's at least one panda vote.
Fortune
Feb 2 2005, 08:27 AM
Your fault ... you added it as an option!
Synner
Feb 2 2005, 09:21 AM
In my experience 80% of Initiates take either Masking or Shielding before any of the other options (and in most cases these will be the first two metamagics taken).
toturi
Feb 2 2005, 09:24 AM
The Panda metamagic is uber. You can turn all the people targeting you into Pandas.
Actually Centering would be my first choice.
tisoz
Feb 2 2005, 09:37 AM
Play mostly shamen, so I snag Invoking. Then centering or channeling.
What's so great about masking at grade 1?
Crusher Bob
Feb 2 2005, 10:27 AM
You can appear to be completely mundane to the average look over, an attempt to break masking requires 'targeting' somone specifically. In addition, non-initiates can't attempt to break masking (iirc).
Luca
Feb 2 2005, 11:45 AM
CLEANSING!!!!!
Backlground COunt is so diffused in Shadowrun WOrld taht without Cleansing normal or low-level spelcasters cannot do anything useful!!!!
Moirdryd
Feb 2 2005, 12:01 PM
Being as I currently soley GM for my group and i`ve never had a magic char in previous games that lasted long enough for me to initiate. I`ve had to base my answer off my groups actions. (which was a NO btw) . Centering seems to be their favorite, especially when it comes to our Gun Adept (who`s just hit Grade 2) and can now Center for his pistols..which is pretty nasty.
Grinder
Feb 2 2005, 12:40 PM
I rarely have seen characters chosing anything else than centering at first grad of initiation. Only one chose masking first. Didn't make it to seond grade... grenades are not good for human mages
hahnsoo
Feb 2 2005, 01:02 PM
Depends on the character. One mage was a former Shasta gypsy, and chose Divination as her first metamagic. Masking is a popular one, but only to hide some of the big-ass foci that the mage lugs around. Centering is usually a 2nd grade choice, only because it takes Karma to build up a Centering skill.
tisoz
Feb 2 2005, 02:09 PM
QUOTE (hahnsoo @ Feb 2 2005, 08:02 AM) |
Masking is a popular one, but only to hide some of the big-ass foci that the mage lugs around. |
By big-ass I guess you mean Force 1 at iniitiate grade 1?
That and having non-initiate mages not be able to id you as a magician through astral perception seems kind of tame compared to some other metamagics.
[edit] Noticed that was without effort, but how often does deliberate masking succeed? [/edit]
Thistledown
Feb 2 2005, 03:51 PM
I've never seen a single person take masking. Why bother? If somebody sees you and you're not supposed to be there, it doesn't matter if you're a mage or not, they shoot you anyways.
Our physads tend to take centering first, although we also have a houserule that you can skip a metamagic and get astral perception as a metamagic on your next initiation. Some people go that route.
As for our mages, Anchoring and Quickening are the big ones. Followed by absorbtion and cleansing.
JongWK
Feb 2 2005, 04:01 PM
Some players in the group I currently run have an initiatory group. Their first metamagics were:
JIS Gun-Fu adept: Masking.
TnO Phoenix shaman: Centering.
PCC Eagle shaman: ack, can't remember! It wasn't any of the above two, anyway.
Personally, it would depend on the character I was playing.
Mr Cjelli
Feb 2 2005, 04:02 PM
My only awakened character at the moment is an obeyifa, and he's carrying around a ton of force 5+ gris-gris at any given time. Given the rules for masking, it doesn't afford him much protection at all, but I might take it for him later when he initiates just to make masking wards.
In general, though, he doesn't have too many options when it comes to metamagic. A great deal of them only work for people with sorcery. Anyone else wish there were more metamagical techniques centered around conjuring?
i'd imagine that most adepts go for Centering first, followed by Centering for a second skill area (if their focus is on something other than athletics and stealth).
Lindt
Feb 2 2005, 04:04 PM
2 words. Channelling, invocation. Or, how your 115lb Unicorn shamen can drop Bubba the cyber troll like a ton of bricks.
SentineloftheMountain
Feb 2 2005, 04:08 PM
I took masking for my hermatic mage in the game I am in right now, so I could use it in conjunction with the possession metamagic technique.
I'm waiting to use it to sneak in behind the enemy defenses and attack from behind on the physical world.
Dizzo Dizzman
Feb 2 2005, 04:54 PM
I am surprised nobody mentioned quickening. It definitely seems to be a popular choice in the games I have played in.
Garland
Feb 2 2005, 05:13 PM
The only Awakened character in my campaign that has expressed an interest in a metamagic mentioned Divination. And the otaku wants Info Sortilage. Guess they put a pretty high priority on information.
tisoz
Feb 2 2005, 05:31 PM
QUOTE (Thistledown) |
As for our mages, Anchoring and Quickening are the big ones. Followed by absorbtion and cleansing. |
What/how are they using Anchoring to make it such a priority? They seem like expensive/glorified sustaining foci. If they were like 2nd edition where you didn't have to withstand drain every activation, I could understand it better.
quickening's okay. that and anchoring are generally more useful to magician's way adepts, though.
Kanada Ten
Feb 2 2005, 05:36 PM
QUOTE |
I've never seen a single person take masking. Why bother? If somebody sees you and you're not supposed to be there, it doesn't matter if you're a mage or not, they shoot you anyways. |
Yeah, but if your stalking some mark with astral bodyguards being abel to hide that fact you're astral as well can be a big help. Along with many similar situations. Plus Masking is the only way to pierce a spirits aura Masking and it's always nice to know your fixer is a bug. Finally, with Masking one can enter a warded area while having active foci without astral combat or alarm (not to mention one can make Masked wards and Alarm wrds with it).
Masking has always been one of the first, but usually only for those with Astral Perception.
plus, it's not like the security mages at a given facility will necessarily know every aura of every worker there, unless they've taken the time to assense each and every worker--and all the delivery guys, and all the repair guys, and all the transfers, and so on. if you're a mage or physad, and you're sneaking into a facility in disguise, masking will be pretty damn useful.
The White Dwarf
Feb 2 2005, 06:01 PM
Depends on the character. Due to the tn forumal for using masking, even if its going to be a mainstay ability its not always useful as the first technique; depending on what kind of opposition you typically face. Regardless, you get a panda vote.
Critias
Feb 2 2005, 06:06 PM
Most of the time I've seen Centering as someone's first. It's nice to have a little less Drain to worry about (for most mage/shaman types), and every Adept likes a few more dice to toss around to keep up his stealth/athletics ninja reputation.
Crimson Jack
Feb 2 2005, 07:34 PM
I guess I have a few more paranoid mages/shamans in my group. They all like to appear mundane. Interesting results, panda aside.
TeOdio
Feb 3 2005, 03:22 AM
QUOTE (Crimson Jack) |
I guess I have a few more paranoid mages/shamans in my group. They all like to appear mundane. Interesting results, panda aside. |
Invoking is an odd one to take first because it kinda sucks at grade 1. That extra drain test is fearsome until you get some grades (at which point it is nothing). A watcher can do most of what a really low force great form would be usefull for.
Shielding is easily worthwhile though, useful even when it is just 1 super duper spell defense die for yourself.
But I have definately played in games where masking wouldn't be very useful because it was all hack and slash anyway and you might as well wear a t-shirt that said "shadowrunner", or where every awakened npc has twice your initiate grade, or where there are lots of foci in use.
Masking at grade 1 doesn't really let you penetrate anybody elses masking (the odds are really good that that guy you tried to unmask is just a better initiate than you), or mask many useful foci or spells (other than twinky game bug spells like increased reflexes 3 at force 1). It's basically just for masking yourself against non-initiates. Often all masking as a mundane does is tell everyone that you are an initiate.
Kanada Ten
Feb 3 2005, 04:15 AM
QUOTE (Rev @ Feb 2 2005, 11:05 PM) |
Masking at grade 1 doesn't really let you penetrate anybody elses masking (the odds are really good that that guy you tried to unmask is just a better initiate than you), or mask many useful foci or spells (other than twinky game bug spells like increased reflexes 3 at force 1). It's basically just for masking yourself against non-initiates. Often all masking as a mundane does is tell everyone that you are an initiate. |
While we could argue that "the odds are really good that that guy you tried to unmask is just a better initiate than you" until we die of exhaustion, I've had a Grade 1 PC unmask a Force 13 Mantis Mother and a Grade 4!! Initiate in the two times she used it to unmask. One can "usually" tell if you're an initiate without Masking judging by you're MA. And Deliberate Masking, while really limiting, can extend the Masked Foci greatly. None of that changes the fact the synchronizing auras of Masking is necessary to pass a ward without raising alarm for those with active foci or spells. And one can create alarm wards, polarized wards, and masked wards with it. Plus, it only gets more powerful as the initiate get more Grades.
I do agree that Shielding is good, but you have to have spell casting abilities to get that.
Pistons
Feb 3 2005, 02:22 PM
For my combat-focused mage, Centering was the first metamagic taken. It's useful all around. Second and third choices were Shielding and Masking. If I were to give her more, I would take Quickening and Absorption.
Even with deliberate masking at grade 1 you can mask 2 force of foci or spells. It could just be useful for a power or weapon focus. At grade two masking foci deliberately can get good, but for a sustaining focus the math doesnt work out since you would have to mask the focus and the spell to blend in, or at least it seems to to me (though I guess you could protect the focus). Good point about the ward stuff, I don't think I have ever used it so I forgot it existed.
I think I took sheilding first once on a combat mage, then masking, but usually I take masking first then shielding, centering, or invoking depending on the charachter.
A wierd astral projection specialist might take posession, and a real role player might take divining or some other wussy metamagic.
Sketchy
Feb 3 2005, 06:54 PM
Anyone have any ideas for a Panda Shaman?
Elfie
Feb 3 2005, 09:09 PM
I just created a Sky Father Shaman (full mage) and chose Centering as my first (and probably only) metamagic. I don't have that much experience with playing mages, and I just thought that centering against drain would help me out more in a pinch than trying to look mundane.
Crimson Jack
Feb 3 2005, 10:27 PM
QUOTE (Sketchy) |
Anyone have any ideas for a Panda Shaman? |
Heh, I looked up some panda stuff online. Pandas are slow creatures on the ground, but agile climbers in the trees. They have to eat tremendous amounts of bamboo (or other vegetation) for sustenance. Their colors represent a polarity of energies, good and bad, and are revered for their nuetrality by Eastern philosophies.
They also make good plush toys.
Brazila
Feb 3 2005, 10:32 PM
I like MMs a lot, and think the change from SR2 where you got them all at grade one was a good one. It is too bad that they are so unbalanced, some like Centering, Sheilding, Invoking and Channeling are just leaps and bounds better than the rest (Cleansing). Not to say that cleansing is not cool, but you could just center away the penalties with a good centering. Anywho Shielding is fantastic for protecting your team, and in a world where info is power Masking is a must have, so one of those is usually my first.
hahnsoo
Feb 3 2005, 10:38 PM
QUOTE (Brazila) |
Not to say that cleansing is not cool, but you could just center away the penalties with a good centering. |
Well, it is the prerequisite for Filtering, which is quite useful in certain situations. Also from a roleplaying perspective, someone who was very eco-conscious is likely to get Cleansing. You can also think of Cleansing as Masking for areas, as it clears away the background count and astral signatures of the horrible deeds you've done in a particular area (good for dodging the Mage Police).
In our group, we don't allow folks to Center away penalties for a permanent background count, mostly as a balance against the overwhelming power of magicians in Shadowrun (we also continue to use a variation of the 2nd Edition Grounding rules for the same reason). This doesn't come up very often, though.
TeOdio
Feb 3 2005, 11:44 PM
QUOTE (Brazila) |
I like MMs a lot, and think the change from SR2 where you got them all at grade one was a good one. It is too bad that they are so unbalanced, some like Centering, Sheilding, Invoking and Channeling are just leaps and bounds better than the rest (Cleansing). Not to say that cleansing is not cool, but you could just center away the penalties with a good centering. Anywho Shielding is fantastic for protecting your team, and in a world where info is power Masking is a must have, so one of those is usually my first. |
Thistledown
Feb 4 2005, 02:56 AM
QUOTE (tisoz) |
QUOTE (Thistledown @ Feb 2 2005, 10:51 AM) | As for our mages, Anchoring and Quickening are the big ones. Followed by absorbtion and cleansing. |
What/how are they using Anchoring to make it such a priority? They seem like expensive/glorified sustaining foci. If they were like 2nd edition where you didn't have to withstand drain every activation, I could understand it better.
|
Mainly putting small health type spells on reusable anchored focuses, or putting a big boom of some sort on a bullet and giving it to the street sam.
QUOTE (Rev) |
But I have definately played in games where masking wouldn't be very useful because it was all hack and slash anyway and you might as well wear a t-shirt that said "shadowrunner", or where every awakened npc has twice your initiate grade, or where there are lots of foci in use. |
Yeah, that pretty much fits most of our games too.
Eyeless Blond
Feb 4 2005, 03:16 AM
QUOTE (Thistledown) |
QUOTE (tisoz) | QUOTE (Thistledown @ Feb 2 2005, 10:51 AM) | As for our mages, Anchoring and Quickening are the big ones. Followed by absorbtion and cleansing. |
What/how are they using Anchoring to make it such a priority? They seem like expensive/glorified sustaining foci. If they were like 2nd edition where you didn't have to withstand drain every activation, I could understand it better.
|
Mainly putting small health type spells on reusable anchored focuses, or putting a big boom of some sort on a bullet and giving it to the street sam.
|
Eh. The problem here is that you don't take Drain until the spell is cast, which limits the number of these sorts of uses. I'd actually be more satisfied if you could pay a point of karma and take the Drain beforehand, so you could do stuff like this without worrying about too many people using your anchors at once and knocking you out.
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