New edge for comment
Astral adaptation

People have mentioned that duel natured critters don’t take a penalty to physical actions while viewing the astral (always) so I prepose this edge.

Astral adaptation. 2/4 points
Magical characters with perception only
The character has spent vast amounts of time carrying out daily tasks while astraly preserving and is not as distracted by it.
The 2 point version reduces the penalty for astral perception to +1 to physical TNs. The 4 point edge eliminates the penalty as if the character was dial natured.
Characters with this edge will likely rarely not use astral perception, probably only in arias of high background count.

What do you think? Should it cost more/less/exist at all?

Edward

edit typo

I guess my question would be is there a flaw/edge for dual naturedness (if so how much) and if not, is this flaw "always on" like being dual natured?

If not, i think it's a bit powerful, to always be able to snap on perception, and not have any penelties, and then be able to snap it off when the astral drek starts hitting the fan.

Maybe the cost should be 3/6 points, or 2/5. Four points for a -2 modifier is a bit too cheap. Not as powerful as getting rid of the sustaining penalty, but still a bit much

There is a surge flaw duel natured witch is always on and worth 8 points (I think)

My point of comparison was perceptive (one point for -1 to perception TNs) you are however correct, focused concentration would make a better benchmark and 3/6 would be a fare cost for astral adaptation.

Edward

Perhaps you should state that the vast majority of the characters time should be spent in astral space barring extremely bad circumstances. Something around 80-100% of the time.

I'm meaning a hard percentage, something for the GM to stick in a munchkins face. That way a munchkin can't argue that his character thinks a BG count of (whatever) is high and so he'll stop perceiving for now. Maybe something along the lines of "Characters will always be astrally perceiving except when in the presence of a mana warp." That might be a bit better for it.

I think that's a bit much, if you're going to charge 6 points for the edge...essentially, you're having the character take an 8 point flaw that can be deactivated, and then limiting the times the character can deactivate it quite severely.
How do you rule for wards and so on then? A strict reading of your suggestion would imply that the character with this edge is pretty shafted by wards...which makes it almost as much of a liability as being dual-natured.

If you're worried about munchkins taking it, make it more expensive. The dual-natured flaw is 8 points, iirc. I don't think that's necessary: if the character isn't using astral perception most of the time, they lose the advantage for which they paid...in which case, where's the problem? Its a bunch of points that they can't put into "Sorcery/Insert Munchy specialisation here"...

My example was a bit exaggurated yes. But its better by a large portion than they should usually most of the time will rarely not astrally perceive. I mean, talk about vague.

IIRC, the Dual Natured SURGE flaw is worth -10 points for non-Awakened, and -5 for those that are Awakened.

This is supposed to be an Edge. If you are going to force someone to spend 90%+ time Astrally active, then they might as well take the Dual Natured Flaw instead.

How about a cost of 2/5, and anytime they snap out of preceiving/projecting and then return the TN penalties return for 24 hours. Or maybe 24 hours for each hour, or portion of, not in the astral? So turn it off for a couple minutes and the TNs return for a day. Sleep at night while not astral and the TNs return for a week. Stay out of Astral for a day and you are pretty much hooped for the month.

I had a situation in my group with a physad whose geasa was only while astrally perceving. So we worked it out that he spent all of his time astrally perceving, so he gets the +2 to target numbers when he isn't perceving. (He's from Amazonia, so I made him have a back story that put him near a Locus.)

This flaw seems like a good idea to me, and if you put a requirement that they have to spend most of the time perceving, and then balence it point wise with the flaw, ie making it 5 points, it looks okay from here. Yes, mundaines with the always on flaw then get screwed, but you're a mundane on the astral. You are going to get shafted. It's like taking borrowed time or full amnisia. You get a lot of points, but it ends up screwing you.

Just my 0.02

Hmm. I like the idea of halving the penalty, such as with Focussed Concentration, but eliminating it altogether, even for a lot of points, is not such a good idea.

I'd consider permitting the level one version for two points, based on comparison with Focussed Concentration, but we really have nothing in the canon that *eliminates* a similar penalty. Comparisons cannot be made with the Dual Natured SURGE effect, as it's got a truckload of disadvantages. With this, don't impose any mandatory perception amounts, any more than you would impose a mandatory time spent sustaining spells with Focussed Conc.

That said, this then becomes another Focussed Twinkcentration, and every mage grabs it at chargen. Sensitive System, Bonus Point Willpower, Focussed Concentration, Astral Empathy.

But if you're going to allow this, or for that matter, let players get away with minmaxing like the above edge/flaw list, then make them JUSTIFY it in their background, and ROLEPLAY it in game. Don't make them spend 80% of their time Percieving, just make them WORK to keep their munchiness.

I would have considered a background count of 1 enough to turn it off.

In most games a mage is assumed not to be preserving unless the character states otherwise.

A character with this edge would be preserving unless the player states otherwise, I would expect that if the GM< says “you are aproching a background count of 1” the player would respond “I stop preserving until we ar past it, I will check each room after we have cleared it”

The disadvantage it that when you walk into a high class bar without saying otherwise you are astraly preserving and thus noted by the security mages/spirits.

Worst case scenario, at one run a month and max 5% of the time viewing the world with mundane eyes that is 36 hours per run you can justify turning it of for.

Edward