Shadowrun Play > Character creation and critique

Detection Mage?

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Chalkarts:
I'm considering making an all detection, all seeing, all knowing kind of mage.
I'm also considering making it a mystic adept so it can have things like Eidetic sense memory and enhanced perception.

Is this kind of character effective to have on a team?

Beta:
I'd make sure that they did more than that.  Detection as a focus has two issues:

- it makes some things hard for the GM, as far as keeping things interesting and exciting.  If things are going overly easy they can't just be 'a janitor happened to be grabbing a nap in that storage closet you are going by and looks out at the noise of your passing, and screams an alarm'  because you are like 'Did he really resist my 7 successes detect life spell with a 42 meter radius?'  Some detection is smart playing, but the always on know-what-is-happening does kill tension.

- detection is passive.  It helps avoid surprises and maybe find the route of least resistance, but it doesn't help you get through a locked door or deal with guards who can't be avoided or convince the receptionist that you really are here to see about the roach problem in the executive suite, or take out that huge fire spirit that is eating the Sammie's face, or whatever.

Fortunately, magic is super flexible, and powerful.  If you have a mentor that helps detection spells and have a specialization in detection spells (along with magic 6 spellcasting 6), you are tossing 16 dice, which will overcome most resistance pools handily.  Perhaps add in a good detection sustaining focus (force 5?) so that at least one spell can be kept up without handicapping you.  Then have ~5 detection spells (say detect life, detect enemies, clairvoyance, [sense=ultrasound] crytesthesia, analyze device), that would still leave you five spells to have a bit of combat and illusion or manipulation, which even at pools of 12 dice is still pretty useful.

And just a thought about regular mage versus mystic adept.  Regular mages get astral projection, which is arguably one of the most potent information gathering abilities in the game.

Michael Chandra:
You'll risk a Psyche Addiction, but don't forget you can cast some Detection spells on teammates that do not suffer sustaining penalties and let them use them. In Lost Islands Found, my players cast Detect Enemies Extended on the professor they were protecting. Worked like a charm.

Hobbes:
Detection is powerful, but you run the risk of alerting even basic magic security if you're sustaining some of the larger AoEs.  Any mage running spell defense will know immediately when a Detection AoE washes over them.  Wards/barriers/ect will trigger.  Astral spirits will see the spell auras.  All that.

One of the best ways I saw them used was as Alchemical Command Preparations for an Astral mage.  Mage handed out several goodies and tagged along Astraly dropping Spirits and popping off preps as needed.   

Michael Chandra:
Hm, not so sure if Spell Defense notifies you. The rules simply state Counterspelling may  be used even if you're unaware. As for collision, I wouldn't say the spell has an aura covering the entire area, so I don't think Astral Intersection will happen then. Can't find anything making it explicit. At the very least I'd consider applying the same penalty as applies to Search though.

Also, if Detection Magic were to trigger Astral Intersection, you'd expect Detect Magic to note Wards collapse or kill the spell.

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