[Dakka]

Can a Qi Focus improve an Adept power to beyond their Magic attribute in levels?  For example, does an adept with Magic 4 who already has Mystic Armor 4 benefit at all from a Mystic Armor Qi Focus?

Foci are, by there nature, designed to push the limits of magic.  Within the Magic x5 total force of bound foci and no more than Magic total foci limit of course.  This leans me towards yes they should be allowed to exceed magic rating in a given power, but I'm not sure.

[firebug]

They can, I don't believe there's any rule against it.  It doesn't seem like it'd be unbalancing to me either.

[RHat]

They can, I don't believe there's any rule against it.  It doesn't seem like it'd be unbalancing to me either.

There is a rule against Adepts having more ranks in a power than they have Magic, and there is no exception made for Qi Foci so far as I know.

[Kanly]

RHat is probably right since if Qi Foci were an exception you could run around with things like Force 30 Combat Sense Foci and never get hit... sounds pretty broken.

[Dakka]

You need a Magic of 30 to bind a Force 30 foci.  Good Luck with that.   Force 6-8 is the maximum reliable level of foci you can use.   I don't personally see the broken of allowing a Magic 8 Adept with Combat Sense 8 binding a Force 8 focus with Combat Sense 4 having a total Combat Sense of 12 and a Reaction/Intuition of about 9 or so.

[Kanly]

Thanks I was looking for a rule restricting Foci Force to Magic but didn't see it.

It is unclear if the Qi's levels count towards the limit.
"While the focus is active, you
get the power contained in it, or if you already have
the power the focus’s levels are added to your own"
'added to your own' can honestly suggest either that your 'own' levels are treated differently and that you have to add them up.

[RHat]

You need a Magic of 30 to bind a Force 30 foci.  Good Luck with that.   Force 6-8 is the maximum reliable level of foci you can use.   I don't personally see the broken of allowing a Magic 8 Adept with Combat Sense 8 binding a Force 8 focus with Combat Sense 4 having a total Combat Sense of 12 and a Reaction/Intuition of about 9 or so.

I believe he meant 30 total Force, which while risking Addiction would be very possible.

And Combat Sense 12 with Magic 12 does sound kinda broken to me.  Take that same Mystic Adept, and give them Reaction/Intuition 5 and Improved Reflexes 2.  They have a base of 12 defense dice, which is a pretty solid defensive pool to be working with.  Combat Sense 12 would double that; effectively, it would take a number of hits beyond the accuracy of almost any weapon to hit them on average.

[JackVII]

You need a Magic of 30 to bind a Force 30 foci.

I believe you would only need a Magic of 6 to pull that off, but it would be hilariously expensive both in money and karma.

You can’t bond more foci than your Magic attribute, and the maximum Force of all your bonded foci can’t exceed your Magic x 5.

[Forrest]

I'd have to go with the focus adds to yr levels means that y can't have more than your magic rating after adding the levels from the qi focus.  Which is nice if you wanna boost up an ability or two

[redwolf]

You need a Magic of 30 to bind a Force 30 foci.

I believe you would only need a Magic of 6 to pull that off, but it would be hilariously expensive both in money and karma.

You can’t bond more foci than your Magic attribute, and the maximum Force of all your bonded foci can’t exceed your Magic x 5.

so you do say it can't be done 1foci at your magic attribute and no more, the magic time 5 is for more then one

[samoth]

You need a Magic of 30 to bind a Force 30 foci.

I believe you would only need a Magic of 6 to pull that off, but it would be hilariously expensive both in money and karma.

You can’t bond more foci than your Magic attribute, and the maximum Force of all your bonded foci can’t exceed your Magic x 5.

You would suffer horrible focus addiction negatives at that point, unfortunately.

[Michael Chandra]

Looked through this a few months ago and I'm siding with RHat. The way Qi Foci and the maximum are phrased, they add to your ranks while your ranks are limited by your magic, so it's quite reasonable to read that as "they're part of your ranks so still limited".

[Top Dog]

On the other hand, it could just as well be read that while your own ranks are limited by magic, Qi foci add to your own ranks, so the limit doesn't apply there.

Given the two options, though, I'd go with the limit being in place for Qi foci too, if only for balance reasons.

[JackVII]

You need a Magic of 30 to bind a Force 30 foci.

I believe you would only need a Magic of 6 to pull that off, but it would be hilariously expensive both in money and karma.

You can’t bond more foci than your Magic attribute, and the maximum Force of all your bonded foci can’t exceed your Magic x 5.

so you do say it can't be done 1foci at your magic attribute and no more, the magic time 5 is for more then one

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying, but the text is clear. You can bond a number of foci up to your Magic Rating, but do not have to. If you do bond foci, whatever number of foci that may be, the total combined value cannot be more than your Magic x 5. If that is not what is intended, then the text is in need of errata.

[Inconnu]

I would, personally, be more inclined to believe that the level of the Qi focus is limited by the rank of the power in question, than your magic---It would be ridiculous to allow someone to take a rank in a power specifically to boost it to 6 or whatever with a Qi focus, wouldn't it? Perhaps it would be best to say you can only double, or 1.5 times the rank of the power(rounded up), regardless of Magic?

Thus, proposed Adept would get 6 or 8 maximum ranks in Mystic Armor.

That would be my personal houseruling on the matter, at least.