Thanks for answering. So just to clarify, under what circumstances would bumping power be more beneficial than the discipline of an evocation spell?
Blocks and maneuvers are resisted based on the power. So a power 5 block or maneuver would require a roll of 5 to overcome. There's no targeting.
Still, though, I find discipline to be more useful. if you have 6 control and 5 power, you can take a 2 stress hit and still control a power 6 maneuver/block. Especially if you make it a rote spell. I've never played a Power focused mage so I can't really tell you how well they work.
In addition to this, I'm still confused with the 'landmine' ability of thaumaturgy. Could someone just make a 'land mine' bullet, and pump enough points into it to kill even the most powerful of enemies?
Yeah, basically.(edit: assuming you have enough time and power to do so) A bullet would probably be a spirit(telekinetic/force) attack.
So, you program the evocation into the ward. Let's say you make a 3 shift ward, which is pretty lame but you then add a 10 shift 'landmine' which is a 10-shift evocation attack. In total, you have a 13 shift ward. It doesn't include the 2 shifts for having a pass-word or something to avoid whacking your own friends, but it would make for a nasty trap on a door. So, when someone goes through the ward or destroys it, it unleashes the landmine.
I think the landmine acts as an accuracy 10, weapon 0 attack. You could probably pay extra shifts to boost the weapon rating but I don't see the point. You might as well boost the accuracy.EDIT:
The effective targeting roll will be
equal to the power of the evocation, though the
spell’s complexity may be increased on a one for
one basis to add to the targeting roll
So, it looks like the weapon value is equal to the targeting.
It also says:
add complexity equal to
the power of the evocation spell stored within
the ward.
So, I think what that means is you actually look at your evocation spellcasting ability. If you can(and want) to cast a power 6 attack into the ward, then it costs you 6 extra shifts. It becomes a power 6, accuracy 6 attack. You can then add extra shifts to boost accuracy. So, it's the opposite of what I said above.