[Sir Ludwig]

SK and SSDR,

Thanks for answering my question.  I was stuck in dead tree book mode and didn't think to look at the errata  . 

I think I will print it out and add it to the "the box". 

Regards,
SL

[Shinobi Killfist]

Sorry for going off topic from the basic question. Alchemy is a pet peve of mine. I think it was one of the very very few new and creative things done in shadowrun in multiple editions that needed some refining, they sadly made it worse this edition. So I go into my spiel every time I see a alchemy topic.

[Finstersang]

Sorry for going off topic from the basic question. Alchemy is a pet peve of mine. I think it was one of the very very few new and creative things done in shadowrun in multiple editions that needed some refining, they sadly made it worse this edition. So I go into my spiel every time I see a alchemy topic.

Mine too. I´d really like to see the thought process of whoever decided that preparations where too powerfull in 5th Edition and thus needed their prep time extended by 6000% or thought that 6th Fixation Metamagic is a valid option. It´s baffling. 

Come to think of, why did I even keep that ridiculous time frame in my current houserules? Probably because Alchemy is so lowballed that I thought it was necessary to balance the additional reagent uses. Drain (and Reagent) management should be enough of a limiting factor to prevent "mass-produced" preparations.

[Shinobi Killfist]

Yeah, I think mass produced is a bad idea, so that should be avoided.  But even minutes of prep with hours duration along with drain does create a practical limit. Though a spirit style limit of magicx2 in preps would work to stop gaming it too much.

I think these semi-permanent ones in street wyrd are bad as well. Though that is more setting GMing based than any balance issue, if you can just buy them, well just I don't want to account for how every HRT team would have 2-3 a person etc. Maybe U could slide in some reason why they aren't used much, like do you know how much paperwork I have to fill out explaining why I used my invisibility prep. But when we are talking response teams, they would have them.

[Xenon]

I think the intention was perhaps to avoid magicians handing out portable spells to the entire team....

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

I think the intention was perhaps to avoid magicians handing out portable spells to the entire team....

I assume so as well.  Minutes per preparation is essentially no time limitation when performing legwork or other pre-"action scene" activities.  I think hours per preparation is a decent sweet spot to allow time to make a preparation without permitting a necklace of fireballs... I'd prefer to see 0.5 hours per drain instead of 1.0, but it's still doable.

Either way the paradigm is you have to make them before the "action scene" and if conditions change or are such that the prep is moot, then that's the chance you take.  Wheher this is a bug or a feature is a matter of opinion, I suppose.

[Shinobi Killfist]

I think the intention was perhaps to avoid magicians handing out portable spells to the entire team....

I assume so as well.  Minutes per preparation is essentially no time limitation when performing legwork or other pre-"action scene" activities.  I think hours per preparation is a decent sweet spot to allow time to make a preparation without permitting a necklace of fireballs... I'd prefer to see 0.5 hours per drain instead of 1.0, but it's still doable.

Either way the paradigm is you have to make them before the "action scene" and if conditions change or are such that the prep is moot, then that's the chance you take.  Wheher this is a bug or a feature is a matter of opinion, I suppose.

Its not doable though. 1-2 spells isn't close to doable. It is a train wreck of bad ideas. Lets say you are making an alchemist, not a full mage just a alchemist. At 1-2 spells that may or may not come into play, you aren't a alchemist, you are a unaugmented dude with a gun. That is not a feature no matter what someones opinion on it is. Even at .5 its not workable. You need to be able to make them past security, which even at minutes is hard, but at least you can squeeze out 1 maybe but no you wont have an hour and half of magic time once past security. Because they are very visible on the astral and wards drop them easy, you aint sneaking these in.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

You say things like "1-2 spells for a run isn't doable" and "you need to be able to make them past security" as if they were objectively factual. 

They're not.  Also note that in this edition preparations can go thru mana barriers just fine (so long as they're not currently sustaining a spell).  Per pg. 161:

Mana barriers on the physical plane are invisible
(except to astral perception), but they act as
solid barriers to spells, manifesting entities, dual-
natured entities, spirits, and active foci.

Is it significantly easier if you could front load a bunch of spells while huddling in the janitor's closet while taking a 5 minute breather?  Sure.  But that's clearly not the design goal for preparations. 

Lets say you are making an alchemist, not a full mage just a alchemist. At 1-2 spells that may or may not come into play, you aren't a alchemist, you are a unaugmented dude with a gun.

Ok, sure.  You're only able to do most likely 2 spells for the action phase of the run.  Or, if you deliberately pick low drain spells, maybe more.  Certainly no more than half a dozen, granted, before the first preparations begin running out of the best potency band.  And necessarily, the enchanter has to pick all those spells ahead of time, probably spending resources on reagents to boot, to get those spells.  So, why indeed, would anyone want to play an aspected enchanter instead of an aspected sorcerer or even an aspected summoner?

1) Well, first of all maybe you don't WANT to be OP.  There are those players who enjoy logistical challenges, and this archetype provides it.

2) Maybe your group doesn't play pink mohawk.  Enchanters fit in much better in a black trenchcoat playstyle.. where you abort and fall back to try again rather than just breaking out the miniguns and fireballing everything when security spots you.

3) Maybe you don't MIND being a "mundane with a gun" who can do a little bit of magic.  You can still astrally project and perceive, which are both huge abilities to have.  And of course, unlike aspected sorcerers and summoners, you can actually MAKE foci.  Maybe you like the idea of being a crafter in downtime, providing tools to your "more powerful" aspected teammates, or just making phat nuyen playing the Talismonger game.