Magic and Overflow

[Belmonte]

It seems to me that Overflow should have an impact on magic.  The base rule is you can use Overflow for another action, but it cannot be an extra attack or anything.

Would it work by RAW for the GM to say, when a magician tries to cast a spell and they get overflow, allow the player to apply that overflow to duration?  You can 'extend' a spell effect by re-casting it as per the Spellcasting section (Prolonging Effects), so basically you'd be doing a secondary roll to prolong the effect rather than re-attacking or such.

So, example: Carlos is casting his Water Shield and spends 5 Shifts.  He rolls Epic (+7).  The shield goes off, and with the Overflow of +2, it'll last for 2 more rounds.

Viable?  Not viable?

[Archmage_Cowl]

honestly to me it seems something like that would be house ruled(if it used discipline rolls to extend time) largely because you dont roll to draw up power for magic which would be the shifts you needed to cause the spell to last longer.
I think for a shield type deal i would let it either deflect or block so if the discipline is high enough for one shift of its power you can deflect or if not you have it function as a block. Or something like that. just my two cents

[Belmonte]

Well, if I were to allow it, it'd be another action so you'd take another point of stress at minimum for casting another Evocation.

But I'm curious if RAW allows Overflow to apply to magic at all, it seems it should, but.

[LCDarkwood]

By default, this doesn't track with the internal logic of the magic process. You call up a certain amount of power, and you have to control it. If you exceed the control, that doesn't give you more power - the amount you summoned is the amount you summoned. However, what you're suggesting is not expressly forbidden by the rules, and I'm okay with that.

I guess my only real comment is, I would calculate the stress penalties for summoning power as cumulative for the exchange, because he's drawing the mojo in such a short span of time. So, if I have a Conviction at Good (+3), and I summon a 4-shift evocation, and I roll a Fantastic (+6), I take a 2-stress hit.

If I wanted to use those overflow shifts to do a second evocation attack at Fair (+2), I'd charge *another* 2-stress hit for power, because I've channeled a total of 6 shifts in that exchange. I don't think you should get the price break for having a second action, as far as summoning power is concerned - you just don't have to worry about the control.

Make sense?

[Belmonte]

Oh yes.

That makes total sense!

I was more thinking of something Harry said in Dead Beat, I think.  An older, more skilled wizard will take the same amount of power and do /more/ with it.  I figured a high Discipline roll would model that well.