Author Topic: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"  (Read 2252 times)

Offline Arcteryx

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[Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« on: August 17, 2011, 06:54:17 PM »
Hey guys, so how would you simulate a Force Pull with a spell? I want to pull something small into my hand from across a distance - is it just a spirit or air maneuver "Gotcha!" or is that more Thurmaturgical in nature?  What if it was a person who doesn't want to be pulled (then there is obviously an opposing roll in there somewhere)?

Offline Arcteryx

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2011, 06:59:03 PM »
Ah, while I'm on the topic... also, how would I do something like 'seeing through another animal's eyes' i.e. looking through the eyes of the cat on the street? Mechanically would that be a form of mind reading?

Offline sinker

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2011, 07:12:33 PM »
Seeing through another's eyes? Easy. Divination thaumaturgy using the "Impossible or improbable tasks" function. Could also fit under a thematic specialty as well, like biomancy or Animal-mancy, or whatever. Could also be "Magic as a supernatural contacts roll" but that's kinda the same thing as "Impossible or improbable tasks" just more specific.

Moving someone or something is a little tougher, but not much. I'd say if it's an object or something that won't resist then maneuver, then tag it for effect. If it's something that could resist then maneuver, and tag for effect while being clear with the GM what your expectations are. The compel is technically between him/her and whatever you're trying to move. Hopefully he decides that moving it is the best way to resolve that, but your GM may decide that there's a better (read more fun for the table) way.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2011, 07:16:47 PM by sinker »

Offline Haru

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2011, 07:17:18 PM »
I've read this idea on a blog, and I think it is the best way to handle something like this.

You simply cast a spell that is supposed to move the target, sort of an attack without stress. 1 shift of power equals 1 shift of movement. The target defences as usual with athletics (or something else that would be appropriate, like might to hold onto something), and if the spell is not entirely resisted, the remaining shifts will move the target, following the rules for movement through zone borders. I would not count your discipline roll to the difficulty the target has to resist, it would only be important to see, if you can gather up enough power without backlash or fallout.

Example: you cast a gale of wind for 5 shifts of power. The defender rolls his discipline and only gets 3 shifts. That means you get to move him for 2 shifts, that is either 2 zones or 1 zone with a border value of 2. The GM might apply environmental stress, if appropriate (flying through a brick wall can hurt).

Looking through an animals eye's would be, without anything special, thaumaturgy. You would need a sympathetic link to the cat and then do a "simple action" ritual (YS263 and YS264) to replace an investigation or alertness roll on the location. Since the laws are only concerning humans, this would be mostly a grey area. Frowned upon, maybe suspected of more bad stuff, but not guilty of actually breaking one of the laws.
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Offline EdgeOfDreams

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2011, 07:20:08 PM »
Evocation can easily do Force Push/Pull as Air or Spirit spells.  I would treat is as the spell substituting for a Might check to move the object, so it takes a number of shifts (minimum 1) equal to the Might roll normally required to move that object. The caveats here are that it might require extra shifts if the object is far away (1 shift per extra zone, perhaps, if it's more than 1 or 2 zones away), line of sight is still required, and the spell won't keep the object moving for more than 1 round unless you add shifts for duration and/or further rounds of casting to maintain the spell.

Offline ARedthorn

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2011, 07:36:13 PM »
And of course, things like calling your staff to you from the other side of the room... I might just be willing to call mundane effects- costs an action (possibly supplemental), but no stress or roll required.
When it has direct combat effects, I'd use whichever of the previous methods feels best to you.

Offline Arcteryx

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2011, 09:49:40 PM »
You guys are awesome. Thanks for the reminder about mundane effects - and thanks for the different approaches to doing this. I think the "elegant" way of doing this is via block-a-la-grapple if we're talking about resisting folk who don't want to get push/pulled by the mage. Thanks also for the pointer re: impossible & improbable tasks.


Offline The Mighty Buzzard

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Re: [Magic] How To Do A "Force Pull"
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2011, 10:04:08 PM »
You mean Ventas Servitas?  Yeah, just run it as a block+grapple since grapple already has rules for moving the grappled target.
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