[Mäx]

Cant do increased reflexes it's a health spell.

[Mirikon]

You know, looking in the book, I don't see anything saying you can't do health spells as preparations. Someone quote text, please?

[Michael Chandra]

You can do them. But they can't be triggered on Contact or on Time. p305, "Command triggers are the only triggers preparation with healing spells can have." The mage must have line of sight, be manifested if projecting and use a Simple action.

[Mirikon]

Hmm. Well, Armor, Combat Sense, or the like would still work, then.

[Michael Chandra]

Oh that one would be nice, instant Combat Sense and glowing Armor on your shocktroops.

[shinryu]

Actually, not even all that expensive, Crunch, depending on the tradition and how you did preparations. If you, say, use the Touch trigger, and make onmyudo charms (something you'd definitely see in the Japanacorps where Shinto is a big thing) in a plastic bag, then all you have to do is open the bag and touch the charm to unleash the spell. And onmyudo charms are just strips of paper with writing on them. An Increase Reflexes, Armor, or Combat Sense charm would be very effective, I think.

i like how you think. this is exactly what i'm talking about. bet money there's a miko sitting in every japanacorp HTR ready room with a sumi-e brush and a mild headache painting "fu-rin-ka-zan" on o-fudo over and over and over every night till her carpal tunnel kicks in.

forgot about that activation trigger problem, that sucks. nonetheless, it's still easier to have your medical response mage flit astrally from incident to incident setting off his preparations than to fly him between simultaneous car crashes or terrorist incidents, so it makes sense in that light. have your projecting security mage light up the increase reflexes or armor preps right before the HTR team hits the ground. etc.

or for runners or VIPs, easier to have a heal preparation handy and call your team mage or talismonger up to project over to your hiding place/safehouse and get you back to health then to stumble over there holding your guts in. i think that someone mentioned preparation bullets in the other thread, but i'm starting to think a crossbow and some arrows with punch around force 8/10 on the arrowheads is almost a necessity for any serious runner expecting magical opposition. i'm not sure you couldn't even use soft-launch shotgun shells or grenades (check out the piston launched grenades for the old M79 for example).

[Mäx]

Gunslinger myssadd alchemist with magic bullets(touch combat spells with touch trigger) is a pretty badass and dangerous consept.

[Crunch]

The current feeling among the Devs seems to be that anything that damages the bullet would destroy the preperation.

[Mirikon]

Agreed, combat spells prepared on bullets (so they go off on impact) would not be workable, I think. At the very least, I'd likely ban it for balance reasons. If a player asked why, I'd show them what happens when I put fireball on them, and use a full burst. Remember, anything you can use can be used against you.

[Michael Chandra]

It's been confirmed that one of the errata is that the lynchpin being damaged will destroy the preparation. Aaron did note that it might be possible to use throwing knives.

[shinryu]

it better be possible to use throwing knives. that's really the only way to make combat spell preparations viable versus spells. don't see why arrows would be out with sufficiently tough arrowheads, either.

[Crunch]

Even if knives weren't doable (under the whole no two for one on damage general feeling) magical Molotov Cocktails with a potion in a bottle or glass globe should be easy peasy.

[Mäx]

Throwing weapons definedly don't suffer damage while hitting and should work fine.
But really neither do bullets before they touch the target, at witch point the spell would go off.

[Michael Chandra]

Actually, the firing and the barrel would tear scratches into the bullet.

[Mirikon]

As far as combat spells being useful as preparations, I'd say they would be, regardless. However, remember that when you do a 'contact' trigger, the next living being to touch the lynchpin sets it off. Including you, if you pull that knife out of your pocket (or even pick it up to place it in a scabbard). Contact and timed triggers are best used as traps. With some forms of preparations (the onmyudo charm, for instance) using tongs to put it in a bag would keep it safe, so you just have to reach in the bag to activate the spell. But knives and arrows? You touch it and you've already set off the spell. As for a 'Molotov fireball', the lynchpin would be damaged by throwing it, ruining the preparation.

Now, if you're asking how to use a combat spell as a preparation, that is simple enough. WIth a command trigger, you can still do a LOS spell easily enough, since you designate the target when you activate the charm. With area effects, they are best used as traps. Any of the trigger conditions work well for this, essentially turning them into mines. In fact, I'd say that area spells are even better as preparations, especially to cover your trail. Slap a charm on the wall as you run through a door, corpsec on your heels, and wait for them to get through... Fireball. And a timed Powerball/Fireball makes for a WONDERFUL distraction when sneaking into a compound. Who will notice someone cutting the fence when six explosions go off simultaneously on the other side of the compound?

Of course, I personally think that spells like Barrier and Mana Barrier are even better as preparations than as spells. And I can see great use for a Petrify preparation, as well, especially when you let the team's stealth-meister slap it on the guard's back, so you can give the command, or other such things.

The thing about preparations is they have to be prepared ahead of time. This is different from spells, where you can mix and match and keep casting until you fall down from the drain. Different setup, different tactics required. Specifically, you need a different mode of thinking to make the most of preparations. Most combat spells, however, I would agree would be better suited as spells rather than preparations. However, since at higher priority levels a mage (or mystic adept) gets two magic skills at up to rating 5, if you have Spellcasting 5 and Alchemy 5, with specializations for your favorite school of spells, then you're doing quite nicely, don't you think?