[Cloudweaver]

If a mage wants to use the levitate spell to throw one enemy at another one how should that be resolved?  Does it take more than just the 1 complex action?

Thanks for any help.

[Ryo]

It's fairly explicitly spelt out in the spell itself. It does not take more than 1 complex action, but it is a series of opposed tests.

First, you roll your spellcasting test against your target's Strength + Body to levitate your unwilling metahuman projectile. If you win, you can then move him to your heart's desire, in Force * net hits meters per turn. You choose to throw him at his good buddy in range, which is treated as a Ranged Attack test, so said good buddy gets to roll Reaction as normal against the spellcasting test you already made. If he fails to get out of the way, you  inflict a number of Stun boxes as decided by your GM. Now, according to Arsenal, a metahuman body used as an improvised weapon deals his Body as stun damage, so that troll actually makes a fantastic metahuman battering ram.

[Cloudweaver]

What if the opponent has been held in mid air for a few turns before he's thrown?  Is the attack still opposed by the original spellcasting check?

So spellcasting + Magic hits are reduced first by Str+Body of opponent 1 and then by Reaction of opponent 2 if I'm understanding you correctly.

Thanks for the response.

[Ryo]

The text isn't clear exactly on how sustaining levitate works when you're levitating a person, but it is clear on how using it as an attack works. It specifically redirects you to Fling, which says that the Spellcasting Test is treated as the Ranged Combat test for the purposes of the item hitting the target.

Thus, You roll Spellcasting + Magic, at Force 5. Let's say you get 5 hits.

Your target rolls Strength + Body to resist. Let's say he gets 3 hits. That gives you 2 net hits, so you can move him 10 meters per turn.

Using the wording of Fling, you would either use your existing results in an Opposed test against the target's reaction, or roll a new Spellcasting test for the same purpose. The former seems like the intent of the wording, but I can see using the latter as well.

The thing that is unclear is whether or not your unwilling projectile gets to try and break free of your hold in upcoming turns, or if he's screwed after the initial success and you start sustaining. I imagine that'd be up to your GM to decide what makes the most sense to him.