Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Rules and such => Topic started by: Mordoyh on <11-17-10/1649:26>
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Through trickery (and a bad perception rolls by me and my group) a newly discovered enemy has acquired a material link to my character, I.e. A drop of blood. I am a relatively new Shapeshiter Mage, and I wonder what can be done to defend from it. So far, I've mostly found information on how to use one against someone rather than how to defend against a spell cast by one.
Thanks!
PS... Any suggestions on an alias (aka Street Name) for a Black Panther (basically a black jaguar...it's possible, I looked it up!) shapeshifter from Amazonia? He is primarily a combat Mage and follows the Aztec Tradition (not blood magic). His mentor spirit is of course a black panther (modeled on lion), so he tends to be somewhat aggressive. For some reason I'm just not coming up with anything that I really like.
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Through trickery (and a bad perception rolls by me and my group) a newly discovered enemy has acquired a material link to my character, I.e. A drop of blood. I am a relatively new Shapeshiter Mage, and I wonder what can be done to defend from it. So far, I've mostly found information on how to use one against someone rather than how to defend against a spell cast by one.
Thanks!
PS... Any suggestions on an alias (aka Street Name) for a Black Panther (basically a black jaguar...it's possible, I looked it up!) shapeshifter from Amazonia? He is primarily a combat Mage and follows the Aztec Tradition (not blood magic). His mentor spirit is of course a black panther (modeled on lion), so he tends to be somewhat aggressive. For some reason I'm just not coming up with anything that I really like.
The answer to your question is. . . get new DNA. Or really good Counterspelling. Also, even with refrigeration/magical preservation, a tissue sample decays with time, a single drop of blood shouldn't last more than a week. Even then, it's only good for one ritual, even if the ritual has to be aborted. (Street Magic, pg. 29)
Best bet, therefore, is a combination of "wait it out" and "go on the offensive". Send a watcher spirit to keep tabs on the guy, they're cheap, plentifully available and have the search power. Once you know where he is from your watchers, send bigger, badder spirits after him, or arrange a run against him yourself. Heck, a watcher spirit spying on him (he can't astrally perceive all the time, and if he's persistently bothered by your spirits, he's not casting ritual spells at you) could tell you when he enters a magical lodge from which he could cast a ritual spell. The watcher spirit shows you how to get there & you hit him hard mid-ceremony.
Certainly fits the "aggressive" description you provided.
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Thanks for the reply. Some good suggestions there. But, like me, our new enemy is dual-natured (he's a Nosferatu), and I believe our GM is setting him up as a foil/overarching enemy for our group. At the moment he's being presented as being a lot more powerful than our group. The waiting it out for the sample to degrade and keeping watcher spirits active seem like the more viable option. Then of course if something were to occur, I can go on the offensive to retaliate and attempt to disrupt the ritual casting. Atbthat point there's not much to lose. I'd also assume (?) that I can follow the link back to the spell caster in the event they start a ritual. (That's just my guess tho.)
I do, however, have a back up character (or two) created and ready to go. The character I am currently playing I created kinda at the last minute due to an idea that just suddenly hit me. Initially, I wasn't to happy with him at the beginning, but I'm starting to like his potential.
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Since the NPC villain nosferatu is more powerful than you, it would be well to remember that you don't have to fight the guy, all you gotta do is disrupt the ceremony. Since the link is only good for one casting, he will have wasted it and you will be in the clear again.
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Thanks for the reply. Some good suggestions there. But, like me, our new enemy is dual-natured (he's a Nosferatu), and I believe our GM is setting him up as a foil/overarching enemy for our group.
Powers: Compulsion, Enhanced Senses )Hearing, Low-light Vision, Thermographic Vision), Essence Drain, Fear, Immunity (Age, Pathogens, Toxins), Infection, Influence, Natural Weapon (Bite: Str/2+1P, AP 0, -1 Reach), and Regeneration. In addition, the maximum Essence a nosferatu character can drain is equal to three times its natural maximum essence.
Powers: Compulsion, Enhanced Senses )Hearing, Low-light Vision, Thermographic Vision), Essence Drain, Fear, Immunity (Age, Pathogens, Toxins), Infection, Influence, Natural Weapon (Bite: (Str÷2)+1P, AP 0, -1 Reach), Regeneration, Sapience. In addition, the maximum Essence a nosferatu character can drain is equal to three times its natural maximum essence.
Don't see dual-natured. Your GM might have house-ruled it, but if he didn't tell you the baddy's dual-natured, don't make the assumption and limit your options. Get your character to research nosferatu in-game and you can justify knowing about its limitations.
As for making him a long-term foil of the party, well, that's what the Hand of God (SR4A, pg. 75) is for. You might still choose not to mess with him, if he really is that dangerous, though.
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@Chaemera Hrrrrmmm.....I was thinking that Nosferatu were a rare type on Infected, and that infected were dual-natured. I'll have to look into it. I do have parazoology skill, so I can do some research.
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Something to keep in mind is he may not do the ritual at all. He could give it to someone else to cast, not say WHO they're casting it on, and the mage zots you with a spell at range without even knowing your name.
So... even if you got a ritual spell incoming, that's no assurance it's the bad guy who has it. The problem is, the longer they wait, the longer you have time to prepare so the time is actually your friend here. Having your max force and charisma in spirits on the ready, with standing orders to go attack anyone that starts ritual casting against you... that can be a VERY rude surprise to the casting mage if your a proficient conjurer (or you have a friend who is). It takes at mininum several hours to ritual cast. It takes a spirit almost no time at all to track the mana back to the ritual circle.
I've seen a conjuring specialist introduce a ritual caster to his wolfpack. 8 beast spirits, almost 40 force worth of spirits who came over to say Hi. :) The caster and his group were never a problem again.
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@Chaemera Hrrrrmmm.....I was thinking that Nosferatu were a rare type on Infected, and that infected were dual-natured. I'll have to look into it. I do have parazoology skill, so I can do some research.
While I would like to think all infected are dual-natured, I have to go by what the books tell me, and being "dual-natured" is specifically a power which a critter can possess. If it's not on their power list, they do not have it. Unless your GM decides otherwise, since, at the end of the day, his opinion carries more weight than even the book.
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Also you can Always go on the offensive and do a ritual magic strike on the sample to destroy it. you do have a material link to it after all ::)
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@Chaemera Hrrrrmmm.....I was thinking that Nosferatu were a rare type on Infected, and that infected were dual-natured. I'll have to look into it. I do have parazoology skill, so I can do some research.
While I would like to think all infected are dual-natured, I have to go by what the books tell me, and being "dual-natured" is specifically a power which a critter can possess. If it's not on their power list, they do not have it. Unless your GM decides otherwise, since, at the end of the day, his opinion carries more weight than even the book.
Yeah, my mistake. Read up some more, and certain infected are dual-natured, nosferatu are not. Bonus!
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Also you can Always go on the offensive and do a ritual magic strike on the sample to destroy it. you do have a material link to it after all ::)
I hadn't really thought of that. Something to ponder.
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Also you can Always go on the offensive and do a ritual magic strike on the sample to destroy it. you do have a material link to it after all ::)
Evil Shadowrun Overlord Rule # 563.9:
"All material links obtained from the runners will be stored in a lead-lined box wrapped in awakened poison ivy inside of a magical lodge within an aspected domain. Also, pirate-ninjas will provide physical security."
Okay, a bit on the silly side, though it is worth noting that a spell "travelling" through a mana barrier (such as a magical lodge), even cast ritually, will be less likely to work. So he can protect his sample that way, and you can protect yourself the same. See pages 194 and 185 of SR4A for the rules.
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Also you can Always go on the offensive and do a ritual magic strike on the sample to destroy it. you do have a material link to it after all ::)
Evil Shadowrun Overlord Rule # 563.9:
"All material links obtained from the runners will be stored in a lead-lined box wrapped in awakened poison ivy inside of a magical lodge within an aspected domain. Also, pirate-ninjas will provide physical security."
Okay, a bit on the silly side, though it is worth noting that a spell "travelling" through a mana barrier (such as a magical lodge), even cast ritually, will be less likely to work. So he can protect his sample that way, and you can protect yourself the same. See pages 194 and 185 of SR4A for the rules.
True True but living in a Mana Barrier non-stop make for a very bored Panther making the attempted to "zap" the sample 1st does sound more like what an aggressive combat mage would try
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Never said anyone would like it, just said they might live longer. :P
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Never said anyone would like it, just said they might live longer. :P
Do you want to live forever? *queue music*. There can be only one!
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Were I in your situation...I would not wait for the hammer to fall.
Recon the target and once you know what you are facing, put together a plan and then go after him/them.
Remember though, the objective is the material link. Popping a cap into the bad guy may give you that warm after glow but it isn't the actual objective. I have seen many a plan go sideways simply because the players lose sight of the objective.
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I have to agree, going after the link is the best answer. After all, as Derbyshire says, "you move your ass toward the trouble, then let it fly." (Sixth World Almanac, pg. 6)
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Have discovered a little more info about our nemesis, he's got a life link with a nasty free spirit and he's also the head of a magical group. Nasty fellow really. I'm not really worried about the material link anymore, it's been too long for it to be viable any longer. Although he's been keeping track of me/us with watcher spirits, etc. We have taken measures to help counteract that as well.
Thanks for the suggestions!
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Track him with Watchers too. Or send a Spirit after him whenever he sends a Watcher (the spirit should be able to follow a watcher's trail, or beat the info out of him :P). Don't let him think you're a small fry. :P
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I notice that no one has suggested hiding your link using a meta-planar quest
Many things bear an astral link to a magician that can be used to track the magician through astral space. Spirits, foci, spells, and material links are all things that can lead right back to a magician. It is possible to divert these links through the metaplanes, concealing the link to the magician to all but the most determined pursuers.
Now its up to your GM how he wants to run this, but I think this could be a very different session or two.
Another thing to remember is that he can only use the ritual link once: and if the attempt is aborted..the link is used up.
Defensive options:
Get your best spell caster to make a force 12 ward (painful, but that is why you have edge!). Sitting behind it you get +12 to all resistance rolls. If you have an active countermagic (say 6) as well that will stack..By this time you are getting +18 die on resisting effects. The ward will be useful to you anyway: it stops most of his magical scrying and sneaking around.
Remember that the spell caster has to be in a magical lodge of rating equal to or higher than the force of the spell. The availability of the materials is forcex2, so any thing greater than 10 or 12 will be unlikely. Remember that all casters need to resist drain, and its hard to get extra die resisting drain.
Having your best assenser is worth it too...It normally takes 4..6 hours to cast a ritual magic (twice as long if there are multiple traditions involved). You are probably only worried by spells of force 10 or more...so you assenser needs 8 to 10 hits in an extended test to spot it.This gives you options to boost your body/willpower with drugs, or be buffed by your friendly spell caster. The more powerful the spell, the easier it is to spot, and the more likely that you can astrally track back to where it came from
Most likely case: Force 10 damaging spell with 10 successes. You will be rolling edge on your 20+ resistance die, so will get around 6..8 sucesses. You are full of drugs, and have a medic on standby, you are quite likely to live. If the spell is much more than this, then he has the resource of a mega-corp (force 12+ lodges are hard to come by), and would probably have beaten you anyway.
Normally its quite grim for your bad guy: its quite likely that he (and his friends) will take serious physical drain. Sure he has a life pact, but he doesn't have infinite karma (otherwise he has already won). The damage you take from the spell is fixable magically. The damage they take isn't. An attack straight afterwards is well worth considering
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@Seth Very good suggestions. I am probably the best assensor and spell caster as it happens. And I'm dual natured so I'm always assensing. Metaplanar quests usually require you to be an Initiate, which I am not at this point. However we have played since he initially got the material link and at this point I would have to say that it's unlikely that it's still viable.
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Here's an odd idea. Since the material link is a part of you (since it has to be for the link to be established), have a mage buddy get another link off of you, ward you up, then do some quick ritual magic on the other material link.
Since that one is the only one easily "visible," it gets nuked. Use a sterilize spell, since it would be faster/less troublesome to toss than a full power combat spell would be.
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Here's an odd idea. Since the material link is a part of you (since it has to be for the link to be established), have a mage buddy get another link off of you, ward you up, then do some quick ritual magic on the other material link.
Since that one is the only one easily "visible," it gets nuked. Use a sterilize spell, since it would be faster/less troublesome to toss than a full power combat spell would be.
Interesting. Doing a ritual spell casting of sterilize on the material link could work pretty well. What's to keep me from doing this myself?
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Chances are, if they have a material link to you, they're going to keep it in a restricted area that will be hard to reach, even with ritual casting. By upping the power of your ritual, you have a better chance of getting through any barriers/defenses they may have around it.
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Here's an odd idea. Since the material link is a part of you (since it has to be for the link to be established), have a mage buddy get another link off of you, ward you up, then do some quick ritual magic on the other material link.
Since that one is the only one easily "visible," it gets nuked. Use a sterilize spell, since it would be faster/less troublesome to toss than a full power combat spell would be.
Didn't I suggest something along this line Earlier? :)
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Being dual natured means you should always take precautions against magical attack. To that end, Manatech is a good resource to have.
Manahazard Containment Device: An object that might be
subject to ritual sorcery is known in security circles as a manahazard,
and the secure containers used to transport such objects are
Manahazard Containment Devices, or MCDs. Standard MCDs
consist of a one-millimeter-thick layer of natural earth containing
a simple self-contained symbiotic ecosystem consisting of dualnatured
earthworms, three strains of bioengineered bacteria, and a
nanite hive, all sandwiched between a pair of two-millimeter thick
plasteel boxes. The earthworms generate a weak astral static that
inhibits ritual sorcery and astral tracking.
When sealed, MCDs are airtight, watertight, and apply a –2
dice pool modifier to all Ritual Sorcery and Astral Tracking Tests
against the MCD or its contents. The MCD’s earthworm colony has
a projected lifespan of five years, after which these dice modifiers no
longer apply; destruction of the case kills the earthworms. The three
most common types of Manahazard Containment Devices are:
• Manacases: Armored briefcases with a Barrier rating of 8 and a
Structure rating of 3.
• Manacoffins: Armored troll-sized sarcophagi with a Barrier rating
of 8 and a Structure rating of 7.
• Manasheaths: Meter-and-a-half long metal tubes with a Barrier
rating of 8 and a Structure rating of 3.
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Apparently A GM's of mine in an online game has been reading these forums here... someone got a hold of the fox's blood here from a 'vet visit'...
He didn't quite count on the hacker ripping off their accounts, and then the money being turned around to hire a couple runner groups to totally destroy the guy's office, component included and with no attempt at all to hide the money trail. Getting hit three ways by three separate runner groups all in the same day with orders to obliterate the building along with every asset in it (aside from people), and then information leaked to the owning corp that the office's resident mage ripped off the corp to destroy their office? Priceless.
For obvious reasons, the party's done and skipped town for a while. Seems someone mentioned Chicago was good this time of year... Foxy's already finished his sustained version of the sterilize spell.