THE CATALYST Jason-Keith <[warmon g r] at [mentorpurdue.edu] (Jason-Keith)> >>>>>[Hello out there chummers. Me again, with a quick note of warning concerning a new type of magical "beastie" out there. We encountered one recently down here in LA (the City of Fallen Angels). The guy is called Kubrik, and I do so hope that he enjoys his new life up there at the Nemesis home office in Napalin (Sin Searach Nation).]<<<<< -Bann Shidhe<20:12:14/5-6-60> THE CATALYST (A Priority Two kind of guy) Here is one for the books. This individual is one of the most unique and rare of all the magically active archetypes to date. They have the following abilities and powers: 1. They cannot use Sorcery to cast spells 2. They cannot Conjure spirits or elementals 3. They cannot use Astral Perception of Projection They can, however, do the following: 1. They can Enchant objects of all known magical types (foci, fetishes, etc...) 2. They can give a power similar to an Ally, that of Aid Sorcery/Power 3. They can give a DRASTIC increase in power when working in concert with others (ie. Ritual Magic) 4. They can interfere with the magical talents of others (ie. Spell Defense) Just how does this work? Here is the apparent gist of the situation. A Catalyst is so named because of his ability to Catalyze magical energies in other objects, be they living or not. Their ability to catalyze does seem to have a drastic variation when put into the officiation of a Ritual Magic. In effect, the Catalyst is actually a "living foci." It seems that a Catalyst's inherent magical talent is to boost in a positive/negative manner, the ability of another to "channel" magical energies. For the purposes of Game Mechanics, the following is advised: 1. The magic "attribute" of a Catalyst acts as a bonus to the power of another magician. Add the attribute of the Catalyst to the magic pool of the other magician. This is the same for a magician who is conjuring, ie- an additional number of dice is added to the conjurer's attempt. 2. The magic "attribute" of a Catalyst acts as a "Grade Bonus" for those magicians of Shamanic Orientation whose Totemic Alignment grants them an advantage of some form. This is in addition to the normal bonus as mention in #1 above. 3. The Catalyst can also aid another magician in resisting the effects of drain. For the Drain Resistance test, add the willpower of the Catalyst to that of the originating magician. Any failures in drain done to the magician also registers on the Catalyst. For example-Skylight has Kubrik's assistance in resisting the effects of a spell. After the total dice for the test has been made, Skylight still has moderate drain. In this instance, so does Kubrik. 4. They can also directly/indirectly interfere with another magicians' spellcraft. This works in a method similar to Spell Defense. In effect, the magic attribute of a the Catalyst acts in the same way. For those Catalyst's that manage to gain the effects of Initiation, then their magic attribute is effected accordingly. This effect is limited somewhat however. They cannot provide any Spell Defense to an object that is further than their magic attribute in meters away from themselves. 5. When encorporated into the effects of Ritual Magic, the attribute of the Catalyst acts as a number of Automatic Successes that are figured into the magic of the Ritual. In the instance of Ritual Magic, the normal power of the Catalyst is ignored, or rather advanced, to this state or level (ie- the additional dice are NOT gained in addition to the Automatic Successes). However, when resisting the drain of ritual magic, all members of the ritual get an additional number of dice equal to the attribute of the Catalyst. Please note that the Automatic Successes are not for all rolls, but are to be spread out amongst the rolls of the Ritual as a whole. SIDE EFFECTS 1. When aiding the power of another magician in ANY way, the Catalyst must have at least direct (unobstructed) line of sight with the magician they are assisting. 2. If they are not in direct contact (flesh to flesh) with the magician they are aiding, they must ALWAYS resist drain for the action of the magician (as if they were casting the spell). The magician must still resist the effects of his/her own actions as well. 3. While aiding another magician for ANY purpose, the Catalyst is to be counted as being Astrally Present (ie- they can be attacked Astrally and so forth). They are not aware of the Astral Plane in any way however. ADDITIONAL MODIFIERS 1. If a Catalyst does study the skill of Sorcery or Conjuring (but NOT Enchanting), then they may also add these dice to the success test of the magician they are assisting. These dice however are not to be used for the resistance test due to drain, but reserved for the success test only. 2. If a Catalyst is of a Shamanic Orientation, then they have an additional number of dice according to their appropriate Totemic advantage (if any). However, this advantage in dice only works if a Shamanic Catalyst is aiding a Shamanic Magician. For example- Skylight is getting help from Kubrik again. Kubrik is Eagle Totemic, and thus does possess a +2 for Detection spells and Sky Spirits. Skylight however is a Hermetic Magician, and thus does not get these benefits. If Kubrik was aiding Lobo (a Coyote Shaman), then the bonuses would go towards Lobo's skills. If Kubrik were an Initiate, then the Initiate bonus to the bonuses would also come into play. RITUAL TEAMS AND THE CATALYST A Catalyst does NOT go against the limit to the number of members that a Ritual Team can have. A Catalyst can also act as the "Sender" for the Ritual, if so desired, with the benefits that I stated. MAGICAL EFFECTIVENESS AND THE CATALYST When a Catalyst is using his/her talents, then they also become subjected to any effects done upon the caster. For example- Skylight and Kubrik are working together when Dominick decides to drop a Manabolt onto Skylight. Skylight does the resistance tests (with any modifiers from Kubrik) and manages to take only a moderate wound. IN this instance, Kubrik also takes a Moderate wound. ANOTHER EXAMPLE- Lobo is going to attempt a Heal Moderate Wounds on Skylight. If Kubrik has NOT broken his "link" with Skylight, and Lobo manages to heal Skylight, then Kubrik is also healed at the same time. And one more- Dominick decides that he wants a pet mouse. He aims a Transform spell at Skylight (who is being aided by Kubrik). If Skylight fails the opposition test, then so does Kubrik. You wind up with a freak of nature. A Two-Headed Mouse, and neither one of them remembers who they are. Shapechange would produce a similar result, with both individuals "merging" in the spellcasting. Interesting? Yep!!! EFFECTIVENESS OF DISPERSION A Catalyst can only assist one (1) magician or Ritual Team at a time. They cannot touch two people and give both the benefit of their talents. They also cannot separate their talents, lending half of their power to one and the other half to someone else. CHANNELING POWER A Catalyst can, if possible, "channel" their ability down a link of some sort to help, or hinder, a magician/ritual team. To do this, they must have some sort of "link", ranging from a Spell Lock to a personal object (such as a favorite shirt). When attempting this, they must resist drain equal to 5L3 for every full turn. Establishing a Channeling link is somewhat difficult, and only a Catalyst who actually has a Magical Theory skill may attempt to do so. The attempt is an unresisted test with a target equal to the base magic attribute of the magician. For a normal person that is a 6, for a Shapeshifter, it would be an 8, etc.... If attempting to "link" power with an object connected with an Initiate, a number of successes equal to the Initiate's Grade + 1 is required to make the "link." >>>>>[But this is just of the one guy we have actually come across. It has taken us lots of Influence Spells and several CC's of an unspecified substance to get this information out of him. Poor Sod, those damned Deviliners really did a number on him.]<<<<< -the Reflex/Harbringer<10:33:39/5-8-60>