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Must have been SOOOOOOO many assassination plots, but considering what it took to take down just one dragon, all ineffective. But people are ambitious, short sighted and inventive, so there must be always someone plotting some new strategy.
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May 1, 2018 16:18
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Is it possible to learn multiple types of magic in the setting? Could someone be an Adept and a Mage, or will trying to use two schools of magic make you explode?
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May 1, 2018 16:51
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There are very rare people who can have both adept powers and the ability to cast spells, but ability at one comes at the expense of the other mechanically. Not sure how it works in current editions, but in 3rd you have to buy every point of your effective "magic stat" as an adept power, meaning you gave up powers for low-level spells usually.
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May 1, 2018 16:53
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Mystic Adepts can cast spells, summon, and have adept powers (which they buy with BP at character creation) but can't see astral stuff unless they buy adept powers for it. They can never astrally project - only a full Magician can do that. The most powerful thing in world remains a good summoner, because spirits are extremely powerful.
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May 1, 2018 17:02
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White Coke posted:Is it possible to learn multiple types of magic in the setting? Could someone be an Adept and a Mage, or will trying to use two schools of magic make you explode? Yeah, but it's the equivalent of trying to become a gymnast and and a bodybuilder at the same time. It takes an absurd amount of effort and you're never going to be very good at either of them because you're working at cross purposes to yourself.
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May 1, 2018 17:34
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White Coke posted:Is it possible to learn multiple types of magic in the setting? Could someone be an Adept and a Mage, or will trying to use two schools of magic make you explode? One's magic tradition largely stems from one's belief in the nature and super-nature of the world. You can't really be a mage that starts cross-classing into shamanism, but you can practice an odd hybrid of the two like Deitrich does if that's the way your mind works. There are magicians who borrow rituals, symbols, and bits of esoterica from all kinds of different traditions, hoping to put together a unified or optimal magic system. There are also those who treat magic like programming and aim to hack reality by learning the "code" underlying everything. This is generally referred to as "chaos magic", and it's as legitimate a magic tradition as any other, driven by the beliefs and passions of its practitioners, even if they insist all this "belief" crap is bunk.
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May 1, 2018 19:08
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IMJack posted:One's magic tradition largely stems from one's belief in the nature and super-nature of the world. You can't really be a mage that starts cross-classing into shamanism, but you can practice an odd hybrid of the two like Deitrich does if that's the way your mind works. Can you elaborate on this? Having never played the tabletop game, the technical details of the magic system are a little fuzzy to me. I get that mages like Rosa basically treat magic like a science and shamans get their power from a totem spirit, but how does that work functionally speaking? And why would you call Dietrich a hybrid?
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May 1, 2018 19:44
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Fighting Trousers posted:Can you elaborate on this? Having never played the tabletop game, the technical details of the magic system are a little fuzzy to me. I get that mages like Rosa basically treat magic like a science and shamans get their power from a totem spirit, but how does that work functionally speaking? And why would you call Dietrich a hybrid? There's little mechanical difference between Rosa and Dietrich - they're both Magicians (which is a Big Deal because full Magicians are rare), they just happen to follow different traditions and know different spells. Dietrich also has a Mentor Spirit, the Dragonslayer. In Dragonball, the Shamanic tradition equals the Sham class and the Hermetic tradition equals the Mage class, but as far as the tabletop is concerned they're just two ways of wielding the same power.
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May 1, 2018 19:58
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communism bitch posted:The dragons didn't all reappear at once, they emerged singly or in small numbers seemingly at random (but associated with the return of magic) and even up till the modern day of the setting new ones are appearing - like Ghostwalker. And unlike our current world you can't really go and found your own company and hope to make it huge, because said dragons will murder you for leaving even if you could avoid being murked by the AAs who are in the niche you're aiming at. At best you could hope to build your new company to a level of success where you get bought out by your old company, and then you're stuck working for a dragon again.
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May 1, 2018 20:05
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Fighting Trousers posted:Can you elaborate on this? Having never played the tabletop game, the technical details of the magic system are a little fuzzy to me. I get that mages like Rosa basically treat magic like a science and shamans get their power from a totem spirit, but how does that work functionally speaking? And why would you call Dietrich a hybrid? As far as game mechanics go, the difference between mages, shamans, and whatever other tradition comes down to two things: what stat you roll to resist drain, and how you get services from spirits. The drain thing is pretty straightforward. All magicians roll their Willpower and one other stat together to reduce drain. Mages and other "magic from the head" types roll their Logic. Witches and other "magic from the heart" types roll their Intuition. Shamans and others who believe magic comes from a power outside of them roll Charisma - the drain is a toll extracted for services performed, and the drain resistance check is a last minute attempt to negotiate the fee.  How you get services from spirits depends on what you believe about spirits. Mages see spirits as tools, and like any tool they have to be prepared. They have to summon and bind spirits proactively, but then they can call upon their prepared spirits from anywhere. Shamans see the sprits inhabiting any place they go. They can contact the local spirits to make an ad hoc deal, but if they leave a spirit's domain, the spirit won't follow and any remaining deal is off. Most traditions do it one way or the other; a few traditions, like voodoo and hedge witchcraft, can only get services from spirits if they let the spirit possess them or a willing accomplice. I say Dietrich is a hybrid because, though he has the trappings of a hermetic mage, he believes his magic is a gift from the Dragonslayer. Totems or mentor spirits used to be the exclusive domain of shamans in earlier editions, but now any magician can take a mentor spirit for the associated bonuses and roleplaying quirks. Whether you believe your totem/mentor works magic for you, gave you the gift of magic, or simply helped you realize your own potential, is part of your character.
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May 1, 2018 21:16
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Is there any CHIM sort of spellcasting, like the one that Smug Elf shop owner seems to have? No prep, no woo, just will and the art of want.
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May 1, 2018 21:34
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Which was the explanation given for why Jake Armitage went from a game-breaking whirlwind to just kind of a guy between games. His spirit got irritated and split.
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May 1, 2018 21:35
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ThatBasqueGuy posted:Is there any CHIM sort of spellcasting, like the one that Smug Elf shop owner seems to have? No prep, no woo, just will and the art of want. Yes, probably. The fourth possible drain resistance stat is Magic itself, and if I recall correctly it's only used by dragons and those who get their magic directly from dragons.
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May 1, 2018 21:49
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Using Mag+Mag for your drain is extremely powerful, and the sort of thing regular people without access to secret knowledge can't do.
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May 1, 2018 22:14
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Algernon, meanwhile, clearly follows the rare smugness tradition, which resists drain using willpower + willpower
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May 1, 2018 22:18
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ThatBasqueGuy posted:Is there any CHIM sort of spellcasting, like the one that Smug Elf shop owner seems to have? No prep, no woo, just will and the art of want. No, but you can get really loving high on super cocaine and summon the biggest fire spirit ever, which is almost as good.
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May 1, 2018 22:27
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DeathChicken posted:Which was the explanation given for why Jake Armitage went from a game-breaking whirlwind to just kind of a guy between games. His spirit got irritated and split. But the REAL reason is because he went from a protagonist to an NPC.
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May 1, 2018 22:30
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quote, not edit, etc.
Fighting Trousers fucked around with this message at 22:40 on May 1, 2018 |
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May 1, 2018 22:37
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Quorum posted:those who get their magic directly from dragons. Wait, that's a thing? Like, a dragon can give someone a part of their magic and then that person can cast spells and all that? Good lord, I can't even imagine the sort of dragon fuckery you'll have to deal with in exchange for that favor.
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May 2, 2018 00:34
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Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:Wait, that's a thing? Like, a dragon can give someone a part of their magic and then that person can cast spells and all that? Magic isn't really something you can transfer from person to person, but if anyone could do it it would be the Dragons - and that does seem to be how their students draw on their power, much like a dedicated Shaman interacts with their totem. What it really means is that drakes (and perhaps a few others) follow the Draconic magical tradition, which involves all the refinement and power that their masters have developed over an incredible length of time practicing. It has very few restrictions and seems to break the rules other traditions are bound by in a lot of ways, but the drakes find it hard to progress without their teacher's help and lose a lot of their power if they fall out of favor.
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May 2, 2018 02:57
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IMJack posted:As far as game mechanics go, the difference between mages, shamans, and whatever other tradition comes down to two things: what stat you roll to resist drain, and how you get services from spirits. One other thing, at least in older editions was a little squishier of a rule, and different groups could decide to use it and how much. Basically, since a shaman's totem embodied a particular set of ideals, GM's were encouraged to give bonuses and penalties to a shamans magical actions depending on how much they are embodying those particular ideals (subject to broad interpretation) So for example, Oak totem is about protecting the weak and helpless and so the GM might give an Oak shaman a fat bonus if he is trying to protect wageslaves from becoming collateral damage in a firefight. Conversely, Shark totem is about ruthlessness and the strong consuming the weak, a Shark shaman would get huge penalties for the same action. In extreme cases, the GM could strip a shaman of their magic entirely if they piss their totem off enough (Oak shaman bombs an orphanage).
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May 2, 2018 03:55
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I dont know posted:Conversely, Shark totem is about ruthlessness and the strong consuming the weak, a Shark shaman would get huge penalties for the same action. Oh man, I bet a Shark Shaman would do GREAT in a corp environment.
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May 2, 2018 04:21
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Yeah, but everyone would tell there's something fishy about Dave from marketing.
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May 2, 2018 04:31
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It's the lack of a neck, isn't it?
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May 2, 2018 04:36
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Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:It's the lack of a neck, isn't it? That, and a handshake that'll scrape your fingerprints off.
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May 2, 2018 05:05
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Lemniscate Blue posted:That, and a handshake that'll scrape your fingerprints off. Well, yeah. If you do it wrong.
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May 2, 2018 05:50
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Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:It's the lack of a neck, isn't it?
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May 2, 2018 07:11
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Fish Noise posted:Are there mantid sorts, because it sounds like they'd get along swimmingly Most Insect style totems are generally bad juju, because of the whole, y'know, Insect Spirits trying to consume the world thing. I think the only one that's been accepted by most Shamanistic traditions is Spider, because of the whole connection to ancient myths thing providing enough of a basis to work off of, but most Spider Shamans spend a ton of time loudly denying that they are Insect Spirit infiltrators. Also, was poking through a recent sourcebook in Forbidden Planet last weekend waiting for a non sold out screening of Avengers, and holy poo poo, NeoNET was stripped of AAA status and it's Corporate Court seat and broken up into it's constituent corps (basically Novatech with the remains of Fuchi and Matrix Industries, plus the Corp Court seat that belonged to JRJ Corp as one of the founders of the CC; Transys-Neuronet; and Erika, a merger of Ericcson and Nokia that survived into the 2060s and is basically responsible for the wireless Matrix 2.0 following what happened with Deus and his attempted apotheosis during the Novatech IPO between 3rd and 4th Editions) following a lawsuit by the UCAS adjudicated in the CC after what happened with CFD and the fallout of the Boston Lockdown, and now Spinrad Global is to become the newest AAA by cutting a deal with Novatech for the JRJ guaranteed seat? EDIT: got a ton of details wrong, ignore the stricken part and look down the page for clarification GhostStalker fucked around with this message at 22:12 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 07:47
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GhostStalker posted:Most Insect style totems are generally bad juju, because of the whole, y'know, Insect Spirits trying to consume the world thing. I think the only one that's been accepted by most Shamanistic traditions is Spider, because of the whole connection to ancient myths thing providing enough of a basis to work off of, but most Spider Shamans spend a ton of time loudly denying that they are Insect Spirit infiltrators. They're mostly accepted if only due to the fact that they absolutely DESPISE, and will hunt them down at any costs, insect shamans and insect spirits. They're also as cold as loving ice. Also, calling a spider shaman an insect shaman is either a quick way to get into a fight or suffer an hour long lecture on the difference between an arachnid and an insect 
mauman fucked around with this message at 08:14 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 08:09
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mauman posted:
The fight is your slightly less painful option.
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May 2, 2018 08:37
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Are there any CEO shamans? That is shamans who are CEO's not shamans whose totem is CEO.
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May 2, 2018 10:42
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There's also Mantis shamans who are.... occasionally, maybe slightly tolerated?
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May 2, 2018 11:16
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The Lone Badger posted:There's also Mantis shamans who are.... occasionally, maybe slightly tolerated?
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May 2, 2018 11:44
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GhostStalker posted:
No offense, but pretty much this whole section is wrong on background details. NeoNet's CEO is/was Richard Villiers. Lanier was head of security for Fuchi and later Novatech. Fuchi was hollowed out to form Novatech through elaborate but conventional corporate shenanigans. The Nanosecond Buyout was how Damien Knight took over Ares. Celedyr(who owned one of the corps to form NeoNet and sat on its board) is fascinated by tech, but the datajack was installed in his buddy Eliohann. Celedyr is keeping a low profile, but isn't missing. Eliohann was lost in the Matrix during Crash 2.0 NeoNet was always a bit of a Frankenstein Corp anyway, and SOMEONE had to take the blame for Boston, why not the Corp who was headquartered there?
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May 2, 2018 14:12
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Xander77 posted:Because they eat other insect shamans in between eating humans? Got it in one. Mantis spirits are weird, they seem to desire nothing other than to hunt down and kill other insect spirits/shaman, but they still are summoned to the world in the same metahuman sacrificing manner as other insect spirits. They aren't really tolerated, but you could maybe temporary ally with them to take down a hive of a different type of insect spirit. I think they only really show up in places like Chicago, were their is already an abundance of prey. Fun fact, Chicago turned into Bug City after Ares detonated at a nuclear bomb in at the site of a major infestation. There was a weird interaction between the nuclear explosion and insect magic which resulted in bugs overrunning the city. The event was called Cermak Blast after the street were the bomb was detonated. In real life Cermak street in Chicago was location FASA's headquarters. The entire bug city/insect spirit story line was a giant injoke about how lovely, and bug infected their rented office space was.
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May 2, 2018 14:34
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Zeniel posted:Are there any CEO shamans? Skyfather is a totem spirit, yes. Traditionally he's more the white robes, gigantic beard, booming voice, occasional thunderbolts type, though, and Skyfather is BIG into tradition.
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May 2, 2018 17:54
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Zeniel posted:Are there any CEO shamans? Depending on which rumors you believe, the CEO of Aztechnology is Awakened, probably a shaman of one of the Aztec gods. That is, if he's still alive. The Aztech splatbook is from '95 and I'm not sure if there's been a substantial update since then. The book is written as mostly rumor and hearsay and the room to let any GM do what they want with it, under the excuse that Aztech works hard to keep its deep-darks deep and dark, to borrow a phrase from the book.
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May 2, 2018 18:23
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paragon1 posted:No offense, but pretty much this whole section is wrong on background details. NeoNet's CEO is/was Richard Villiers. Lanier was head of security for Fuchi and later Novatech. Fuchi was hollowed out to form Novatech through elaborate but conventional corporate shenanigans. The Nanosecond Buyout was how Damien Knight took over Ares. Celedyr(who owned one of the corps to form NeoNet and sat on its board) is fascinated by tech, but the datajack was installed in his buddy Eliohann. Celedyr is keeping a low profile, but isn't missing. Eliohann was lost in the Matrix during Crash 2.0 Also, isn't the CEO of Wuxing Awakened, or at least heavy into geomancy and feng shui as befitting the megacorp most heavily into talismongering and researching magical phenomena? GhostStalker fucked around with this message at 22:15 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 21:25
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GhostStalker posted:Also, isn't the CEO of Wuxing Awakened, or at least heavy into geomancy and feng shui as befitting the megacorp most heavily into talismongering and researching magical phenomena. Not awakened so far as anyone knows, but Dunkelzahn left him and his wife an artifact each, which are likely responsible for a lot of Wuxing's success since then. His wife got the Third Coin of Luck, which bestows fertility and growth, resulting in both the growth of his company and the fact that they had quintuplets a few years later. And he was left the Jade Dragon of Wind and Fire, which is mostly an unknown, but believed to be a geomantic amplifier of some sort. Hence their obsession with feng shui.
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May 2, 2018 21:43
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It's not really an obsession if it actually works, and Wuxing feng shui works really well.
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May 2, 2018 21:57
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