[UA] Re:New School: the Neomancer

Sat May 12 14:28:54 PDT 2007

I agree on both points, having re-read plutomancy last night. If the personal attacking the victim had a reason to be envious that the spell could amplify, that's one thing, otherwise it sneaks into Irascimancy (sp?). I mean a bedraggled mother might want to slap a kid for whining about a gameboy, the cop may want to punch the guy in the face that obviously has it better off than he does becuase the cop chose public service. There should be some kind of roll involved if you are forcing other souled beings into attacking the target.

An option is, that the blast gets the attention of the nearest _unsouled_ human within 33.3 miles (minor), 333 miles (significant), that develops an irrational need to have this persons life (See: Single White Female, Prince of Darkness (for the homeless), et al). It's a long slow boil for a blast, making it.. well, not a blast, but more fitting. "That person has what I want, I must have it." It would require more thought to design the spell, but this way, you aren't poking peoples souls without resistance, and has all the disadvantages associated with trying to deal with an unsouled being. "Hey Mister Cop, this guy is chasing me, he wants to kill me? What guy?"  The base effect might last 24 hours, with each additional charge adding another length of time to the unsouled's obsession. A catastrophic (or BOHICA) on this magick gets you your own soulless doppleganger for the same length of time trying to steal your life. 

The school is wrapped up in greed and envy, and the soulless want what you have, making them good patsies for Joneses (like Demons for Dipsomancers, and Carnals for Libidomancy). 

If you are going to stick with your original blast, add a resist roll and work "They can make the tide of a fight turn simply because one side is better dressed." into it. A have versus, have not, without stepping on the toes of the Irascimancer. The mother upset the kid wants to much, the have not cop against the have target, the bum pounding the streetkid with bling.

I'm stil pretty set against things like Face-lift being part of it. It doesn't feel right, in the same way the blast doesn't feel right. There is a reason most school don't have blasts. 
  ----- Original Message -----  
  From: Susan Dohnim 
  To: ua at lists.unknown-armies.com 
  Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:03 AM
  Subject: Re: [UA] Re:New School: the Neomancer

  It's been awhile but wasn't there a scene in American Psycho in which he tries to show off his white business card and then a bunch of his colleagues show off their theoretically better (but in reality almost exactly the same) white business cards and he becomes insanely envious/embarrassed/humiliated? 

  That scene seems to me to indicate a very big "Keeping up with the Jones's" factor in his emotional makeup. 

  That said, I don't know that the spell justifies being here, so I won't comment on the concept creep, etc. (Except to say again that on a similar note I don't know that the neomancer's blast makes sense relative to the school's concept.) 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: "Jade Hammons" <xadxevion at gmail.com>
    Reply-To: Jade Hammons <xadxevion at gmail.com>,The Unknown Armies RPG Mailing List <ua at lists.unknown-armies.com>
    To: "The Unknown Armies RPG Mailing List" <ua at lists.unknown-armies.com>
    Subject: Re: [UA] Re:New School: the Neomancer
    Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 00:24:16 -0500

    Also, face lift needs to be rewritten to make sense, but I personally don't think it fits this school, since this is about who has the best and brightest toys. Sure facelifts are all about that  "like new sheen" on your face, but it's a personamancy thing. This is about Consumerism, egotitistical consumerism, a la "American Psycho" is different. 

    Patrick Bateman was more about image, a complete package. He was not about 'Keeping up with the Joneses". The self-absorbed egotism of adding Face-lift, and hence Consumer Physical Perfection, is Concept Creep. The design as it exists doesn't support it in charging structure or taboo. By adding that class of abilities into this school you begin to veer into Personamancy and Epideromancy, as Formulas like Anorexia for weight loss, etc would now fit, and then it would slowly creep into Paparazzi.

    - Jade Hammons

    "Anybody remotely interesting is mad, in some way or another."
                     Doctor Who

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