So I'm reading through Spy Games, looking to add some fun espionage elements to my games, when I find the rules for the Blood Adept metamagic Skin Walker. Now, this sounds completely awesome from every possible angle. A spy who kills her victim and Cannibalizes her, becoming identical to her target both physically and astrally, for Magic * Grade hours, or days by spending a measly 3 karma? Fantastic. Sounds like an amazing enemy to throw at my players, somebody who can look like anybody, assuming the form of whoever she needs to for her mission.
...And then I get to the end, and see any user of Skin Walker gains Astral Hazing for the duration. ...What? Seriously? You've gotta be kidding me. What's the point of becoming Astrally identical to your target if your very presence creates a blight on the very surface of astral space, the likes of which only cyberzombies can compete with? Anyone even mildly aware of magic would see something is horribly wrong with this person immediately. The disguise would immediately fail, because hey, I don't remember Jim tainting the very fabric of the universe last week, so why is he doing that now?
And that doesn't even touch on the fact that the victim of Astral Hazing is just as effected as everybody else. An Adept Metamagic that makes you lose 4 Power Points every time you use it? AWESOME!
So...yeah, what the hell?
