Author Topic: Sponsored Magic Question: Biomancy as Lawbreaker & Focus Items  (Read 2229 times)

Offline zakmo86

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Good morning,

I'm in a game on Roll20 playing a phoenix scion. He has sponsored magic (we're calling it Phoenix Fire) that's sort of a modified version of Seelie Magic. This type of sponsored magic gives him fire, air, and spirit spells, and biomancy at the speed of evocation. It has "themes" like balance, growth, renewal, and rebirth. 

My questions are:

1. Does biomancy break the law of magic about transforming if you're only repairing or renewing the natural processes of a body? Such as closing a bullet wound or, maybe, regrowing a severed limb at the extreme? This isn't biomancy that transforms a person into a fish or anything. It's very similar to the Reiki/Healing Touch thing Elaine did in the books, I think. Did that break the laws of magic?

2. How do focus items work for sponsored magic? Using the fire magic part of Seelie Magic as the example, should it be a wand with a +1 offensive control Seelie Magic? OR +1 offensive control fire?

My GM disagrees with me on how these things should be handled, so I was just wondering for clarification. My automatic default is to go along with the GM until we get clarification.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Z

Offline dragoonbuster

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Re: Sponsored Magic Question: Biomancy as Lawbreaker & Focus Items
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2015, 04:13:41 PM »
He has sponsored magic (we're calling it Phoenix Fire) that's sort of a modified version of Seelie Magic. This type of sponsored magic gives him fire, air, and spirit spells, and biomancy at the speed of evocation. It has "themes" like balance, growth, renewal, and rebirth. 

3 different elements given from one Sponsored Magic is probably too many for only -4 refresh. If you look, most sponsored magics grant one, maybe at most 2 if you broadly interpret them.

1. Does biomancy break the law of magic about transforming if you're only repairing or renewing the natural processes of a body? Such as closing a bullet wound or, maybe, regrowing a severed limb at the extreme? This isn't biomancy that transforms a person into a fish or anything. It's very similar to the Reiki/Healing Touch thing Elaine did in the books, I think. Did that break the laws of magic?

Elaine basically was "helping" bloodflow and manipulating chakra points, pushing a little extra with her magic, not really doing much "healing" as it were in terms of direct tissue manipulation with magic.

Technically that's a grey area, and a zealous Warden would technically be in his rights to perform a head-ectomy, if he has jurisdiction over the PC under the Accords. I generally interpret that Law to require the magic to be "against their will or when you screw up." As long as you don't screw up, and you don't transform them against their will (even healing, if they don't want it, would count here), then you're fine. Of course, the more you do this, the more you're inclined to go to that solution first for your problems...so the GM should be compelling one of your PC's aspects (and you should self-compel) to push in that direction whether you've broken a Law yet or not.

2. How do focus items work for sponsored magic? Using the fire magic part of Seelie Magic as the example, should it be a wand with a +1 offensive control Seelie Magic? OR +1 offensive control fire?

This is really a question for the table and your specific GM. Some people allow catch-all foci, some require them to be split between evocation/thaumaturgy...but then some thaumaturgy is done at evocation speed, so how is that calculated? It's not mentioned in the book at all, and there's no exactly right answer.

I tend to prefer to require separate foci for evocation and thaumaturgy; if using thaum-as-evocation then the evocation foci take precedence. Your setup is a little wonky because of the multiple-elements. It might be more appropriate/easier to combine characteristics of air, spirit, and fire into a new, single "Phoenix Fire" element.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2015, 04:17:17 PM by dragoonbuster »
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Offline PirateJack

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Re: Sponsored Magic Question: Biomancy as Lawbreaker & Focus Items
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2015, 07:06:56 PM »
I'm in a game on Roll20 playing a phoenix scion. He has sponsored magic (we're calling it Phoenix Fire) that's sort of a modified version of Seelie Magic. This type of sponsored magic gives him fire, air, and spirit spells, and biomancy at the speed of evocation. It has "themes" like balance, growth, renewal, and rebirth.

I agree with dragoonbuster. That seems a little powerful for only -4 refresh. If you're just going with the traditional phoenix mythology (fire bird, reborn from its own ashes) then I'd drop spirit magic from that. Doesn't seem like much of a connection between the two.

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1. Does biomancy break the law of magic about transforming if you're only repairing or renewing the natural processes of a body? Such as closing a bullet wound or, maybe, regrowing a severed limb at the extreme? This isn't biomancy that transforms a person into a fish or anything. It's very similar to the Reiki/Healing Touch thing Elaine did in the books, I think. Did that break the laws of magic?

As far as I'm aware the Law against transformation only applies when you transform someone into something/someone else. Expedited healing doesn't fall under it, which is especially useful because Listens-to-Winds is the premier healer of the White Council. Difficult to heal anyone if it's illegal to do so.

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2. How do focus items work for sponsored magic? Using the fire magic part of Seelie Magic as the example, should it be a wand with a +1 offensive control Seelie Magic? OR +1 offensive control fire?

If you only have Sponsored Magic, I'd go with focus items being created solely for it. If your character had been a practitioner before gaining Sponsored Magic then they likely have focus items in various elements already, which would then be useful for certain parts of the Sponsored Magic. For example, Harry uses his blasting rod in Proven Guilty to channel Summer Magic against the Scarecrow Fetch, which basically merged his talent for fire magic with Lily's butterfly boost.
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Sponsored Magic Question: Biomancy as Lawbreaker & Focus Items
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2015, 01:48:48 AM »
1. Pretty sure it doesn't. The reasons that transforming people harms them don't seem to apply to healing.

2. Going by the examples on page 302 of Your Story, you can boost a type of Sponsored Magic with a focus.

Offline zakmo86

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Re: Sponsored Magic Question: Biomancy as Lawbreaker & Focus Items
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2015, 10:39:53 AM »
 Thank you for your feedback.

So if I'm understanding correctly, a sponsored person might have a wand of +1 offensive power to (insert Sponsored Magic here).

I'll cut down on the elements, maybe just have some sort of purifying fire.