Globe Of Daylight blinding

[(SHIFTY)]

Can Globe Of Daylight blind a opponent temporarily? Or is it simply just for illumination and warding off vampires?

[Shark_Force]

most of the time, no.

i mean it's a light, and can do anything which light could normally do. so, in the specific circumstance where you have someone whose eyes have adjusted to darkness, you could probably blind that person for a few seconds (one or two actions), just as you could probably expect if you turned on a regular light in such a situation.

but if you're in a well-lit area, globe of daylight won't blind you any more than a regular light would. it is real sunlight, but it is not the equivalent of staring directly at the sun.

[dragonfett]

That is why there is another level one spell that is light based which is meant to blind, Blinding Flash. It costs 1 PPE to cast, and is the only spell that I am aware of that allows you to pump extra PPE into it to make people have a penalty to save vs. it.

[drewkitty ~..~]

typicly no.
Thou there is the afor mentioned night adjusted eyes being blinded.

Then there is, if 1) the player describes they are using it this way, and 2) the GM agrees to it...it might be possible for a GoD in The Face, might blind the individual that gets a face full of GoD.
(GoD in the Face: having the GoD fixed to a place 6 inches in fromt of the target's face.)

[Orin J.]

That is why there is another level one spell that is light based which is meant to blind, Blinding Flash. It costs 1 PPE to cast, and is the only spell that I am aware of that allows you to pump extra PPE into it to make people have a penalty to save vs. it.

Wonder how many other spells would be good recipients of pumping more PPE in for bonuses....

[Warshield73]

typicly no.
Thou there is the afor mentioned night adjusted eyes being blinded.

Then there is, if 1) the player describes they are using it this way, and 2) the GM agrees to it...it might be possible for a GoD in The Face, might blind the individual that gets a face full of GoD.
(GoD in the Face: having the GoD fixed to a place 6 inches in fromt of the target's face.)

I had a player that liked to use GoD TW flares, he was soldier not a mage to cover his escapes. He would pop it right behind him as he was moving forcing bad guys to fire into the light, like firing into the sun. I gave it a blindness penalty but it only applied to those that were in a direct line with the GoD.

I would imagine having one pop right in front of your face would give a small penalty to strike but it might also cause someone to jump back like a minor HF penalty.

[TeeAychEeMarchHare]

That is why there is another level one spell that is light based which is meant to blind, Blinding Flash. It costs 1 PPE to cast, and is the only spell that I am aware of that allows you to pump extra PPE into it to make people have a penalty to save vs. it.

Wonder how many other spells would be good recipients of pumping more PPE in for bonuses....

RAW, very bloody few. I don't recall any right off the top of my head, but it's been a while since I read through all of the spell descriptions.

IMO, pretty much everything. Spellslingers should be able to give it everything they have in order to successfully do whatever with that spell that *really* needs to succeed. Whether it's pumping up the damage on a lightning bolt to toast the enemy before they can geek the caster, or making an illusion super realistic so the enemy will go after it while the caster flees, whatever.

This also makes villainous spellcasters a greater threat, IMO. Also gives them even more reason to use sacrifices, try to control a key line, turn people into energy batteries, etc.

[Warshield73]

RAW, very bloody few. I don't recall any right off the top of my head, but it's been a while since I read through all of the spell descriptions.

IMO, pretty much everything. Spellslingers should be able to give it everything they have in order to successfully do whatever with that spell that *really* needs to succeed. Whether it's pumping up the damage on a lightning bolt to toast the enemy before they can geek the caster, or making an illusion super realistic so the enemy will go after it while the caster flees, whatever.

This also makes villainous spellcasters a greater threat, IMO. Also gives them even more reason to use sacrifices, try to control a key line, turn people into energy batteries, etc.

One of my original players and I played around with this a few times but it gets unbalancing really quick. While mages don't always have the greatest punch a wide range of low and medium level spell can make them formidable on a battle field, the same player I talked about early could completely alter a battle with nothing more that carpet of adhesion which is a spell that can be completely game changing even if the victims save. He could then turn around and be the chief interrogator with domination and words of truth.

Mages are already extremely powerful in game so you have to be careful with anything that would increase this too much.

[Natasha]

RAW, very bloody few. I don't recall any right off the top of my head, but it's been a while since I read through all of the spell descriptions.

IMO, pretty much everything. Spellslingers should be able to give it everything they have in order to successfully do whatever with that spell that *really* needs to succeed. Whether it's pumping up the damage on a lightning bolt to toast the enemy before they can geek the caster, or making an illusion super realistic so the enemy will go after it while the caster flees, whatever.

This also makes villainous spellcasters a greater threat, IMO. Also gives them even more reason to use sacrifices, try to control a key line, turn people into energy batteries, etc.

One of my original players and I played around with this a few times but it gets unbalancing really quick. While mages don't always have the greatest punch a wide range of low and medium level spell can make them formidable on a battle field, the same player I talked about early could completely alter a battle with nothing more that carpet of adhesion which is a spell that can be completely game changing even if the victims save. He could then turn around and be the chief interrogator with domination and words of truth.

Mages are already extremely powerful in game so you have to be careful with anything that would increase this too much.

Yea, I don't see any way to achieve this generally. Per spell, per game, maybe. I can see considering allowing extra P.P.E. to raise a spell's effective Spell Strength instead of its effect for some spells in higher power games where save bonuses get large.

[Orin J.]

RAW, very bloody few. I don't recall any right off the top of my head, but it's been a while since I read through all of the spell descriptions.

IMO, pretty much everything. Spellslingers should be able to give it everything they have in order to successfully do whatever with that spell that *really* needs to succeed. Whether it's pumping up the damage on a lightning bolt to toast the enemy before they can geek the caster, or making an illusion super realistic so the enemy will go after it while the caster flees, whatever.

This also makes villainous spellcasters a greater threat, IMO. Also gives them even more reason to use sacrifices, try to control a key line, turn people into energy batteries, etc.

One of my original players and I played around with this a few times but it gets unbalancing really quick. While mages don't always have the greatest punch a wide range of low and medium level spell can make them formidable on a battle field, the same player I talked about early could completely alter a battle with nothing more that carpet of adhesion which is a spell that can be completely game changing even if the victims save. He could then turn around and be the chief interrogator with domination and words of truth.

Mages are already extremely powerful in game so you have to be careful with anything that would increase this too much.

i really meant more specific spells than as a general addition to magical classes......

[Warshield73]

RAW, very bloody few. I don't recall any right off the top of my head, but it's been a while since I read through all of the spell descriptions.

IMO, pretty much everything. Spellslingers should be able to give it everything they have in order to successfully do whatever with that spell that *really* needs to succeed. Whether it's pumping up the damage on a lightning bolt to toast the enemy before they can geek the caster, or making an illusion super realistic so the enemy will go after it while the caster flees, whatever.

This also makes villainous spellcasters a greater threat, IMO. Also gives them even more reason to use sacrifices, try to control a key line, turn people into energy batteries, etc.

One of my original players and I played around with this a few times but it gets unbalancing really quick. While mages don't always have the greatest punch a wide range of low and medium level spell can make them formidable on a battle field, the same player I talked about early could completely alter a battle with nothing more that carpet of adhesion which is a spell that can be completely game changing even if the victims save. He could then turn around and be the chief interrogator with domination and words of truth.

Mages are already extremely powerful in game so you have to be careful with anything that would increase this too much.

i really meant more specific spells than as a general addition to magical classes......

Actually what I said applies to both. If you modify a spell to increase - damage, range, area, saving throw - or any one of these can have a major impact on balance. It's no different than increasing the stats on a laser rifle or power armor. It won't break the game or anything but it will change the balance.

That being said I do think if you do this you have to do the way you describe just specific spells with some sort of limit on how high it can go.

[Axelmania]

I feel like if you made one directly in front of someone's face it might obstruct vision like having a balloon in front of their face might... that could be something?

[TeeAychEeMarchHare]

"Balance"? In Rifts.....Lulz.

As written, casters pretty much suck until they're 6th level or so. There's zero reason to use Fireball at 1st level when any laser pistol will outdo it. Even Call Lightning can't compete with most of the NG and Wilk's rifles until 3rd level, and the CS stuff continues to beat it for a few more levels.

Carpet of Adhesion is one of the only really useful things most casters can do before 5th or 6th level, and it's broken from the word go. It's an "I Win" button for combat, especially if the caster has a few buddies with energy weapons and/or missiles.

Armor of Ithan is an absolute joke until 5th level, when the caster can do one other thing per round after renewing his armor. Of course, even that is dicey if your opponent can do more than 1D6x10 damage.

From what I remember, a lot of the non-combat spells can be defeated by things like thermal imaging, puddles of water, infrared beams, that sort of thing.

I have no problem with casters pumping extra Oomph into their This Thing I Can Do. They just have to remember that they aren't bottomless pits of magic energy, and for them replenishment isn't as easy as slapping a new magazine into a rifle or putting a new belt into a railgun.

'Course, I also don't do PPE, Mana points, spell points, or any of those kind of mechanics. I like how Shadowrun does magic, where the caster has to resist the draining effect of casting, and if they really want to, because the situation is desperate enough and they need this spell to be THIS powerful and it absolutely *HAS* to work, they can actually kill themselves by casting.

[Shark_Force]

"Balance"? In Rifts.....Lulz.

As written, casters pretty much suck until they're 6th level or so. There's zero reason to use Fireball at 1st level when any laser pistol will outdo it. Even Call Lightning can't compete with most of the NG and Wilk's rifles until 3rd level, and the CS stuff continues to beat it for a few more levels.

Carpet of Adhesion is one of the only really useful things most casters can do before 5th or 6th level, and it's broken from the word go. It's an "I Win" button for combat, especially if the caster has a few buddies with energy weapons and/or missiles.

Armor of Ithan is an absolute joke until 5th level, when the caster can do one other thing per round after renewing his armor. Of course, even that is dicey if your opponent can do more than 1D6x10 damage.

From what I remember, a lot of the non-combat spells can be defeated by things like thermal imaging, puddles of water, infrared beams, that sort of thing.

I have no problem with casters pumping extra Oomph into their This Thing I Can Do. They just have to remember that they aren't bottomless pits of magic energy, and for them replenishment isn't as easy as slapping a new magazine into a rifle or putting a new belt into a railgun.

'Course, I also don't do PPE, Mana points, spell points, or any of those kind of mechanics. I like how Shadowrun does magic, where the caster has to resist the draining effect of casting, and if they really want to, because the situation is desperate enough and they need this spell to be THIS powerful and it absolutely *HAS* to work, they can actually kill themselves by casting.

you must be playing a different game than me. damage spells are indeed pretty bad, and unlike you, i don't think spells like call lightning ever really get good.

but there are a ton of powerful options available to even a low level caster. just not the ones that deal damage. even a level 1 mystic can start with spells like blinding flash, which they can afford to cast repeatedly. a ley line walker can begin play with impervious to fire, which can turn a 6d6 plasma weapon into a very expensive club. thermal imaging is not standard, so spells like simple invisibility are quite likely to work against many enemies to devastating effect. paralysis lesser allows one saving throw for an enemy before using a rifle is not an option for the average person. charismatic aura can allow you to manipulate people with incredible effectiveness. energy field can provide a source of cover, and can block an entire missile volley. magic net is at least as effective at ending fights as carpet of adhesion against applicable targets.

and those are merely level 1-4 spells in the core book. the list of options only gets bigger if you have other books, and regardless of level can include powerful options; spells that will make you impervious to energy, spells that will make you able to to escape from almost any bindings, spells that can give you semi-permanent minions, spells that can repair body armour or even robot vehicles, spells to kill people through their body armour, spells that can force an enemy to help you, spells that will allow you a free parry attempt against even railgun bursts, spells that can allow you to sneak into even the most well-guarded locations, spells that can recharge energy weapons, and eventually even some damaging spells that might be worth casting in desperate circumstances where they haven't got a decent laser rifle or grenade handy. and that isn't a complete list, it's just a sampling of what's out there, and all of it potentially available to a level 1 spellcaster. i haven't even gotten into the stuff that people are canonically unlikely to sell training in.

all of this while still being perfectly capable of using the exact same 1d6x10 damage weapon (not that those are actually remotely common outside of player characters, remember the standard rifle used by the coalition states, the most powerful group BAR NONE in the entirety of north america, are using laser rifles that do 6d6 MD on a pulse, and even that is recent; until recently, it would have been 4d6 MD)

the power of spellcasters is not really in their damaging spells in rifts. or in shadowrun, for that matter. and frankly, it hasn't been a major part of their power in most games, with the exception perhaps of a few editions of D&D (i'd say anything before 3rd, and there's a period in 5th edition where certain specific spells are a major part of their toolkit), and even in systems where spell damage is a big deal it usually pales in comparison to non-damaging spells, which offer an incredible variety of powerful and flexible tools for solving all manner of problems, often including combat-related ones (just not usually through damage).

so yeah, if you're going to fixate on direct damage, spellcasters take a while before they start looking good. but if you look at the incredible variety of powerful options to solve problems, even a level 1 spellcaster with only their starting allotment of spells can be a powerful addition to any party (unless the party already has a higher level spellcaster of the same variety, i guess).

[Warshield73]

I find peoples views on this largely depend on how they view magics place in a game. If you think magic should be dominant, then it just isn't powerful enough for you. If you don't like magic, then yeah you see it the other way.

Personally I have always enjoyed playing around with the magic system with things in the Rifter like PPE channeling or ideas my players have had but I have never had a problem with just changing things on the fly or finding ways to cheat around things that are ruing my story. Like carpet of adhesion.

[Shark_Force]

i dunno about whether or not magic "should" dominate, but i do know that i prefer mages and i have absolutely no concerns about magic being insufficiently powerful. frankly, if direct damage nukes *were* efficient and powerful, i would be having major concerns, because at that point what the heck or the non-spellcasters there for?

i mean, that can certainly work if that's the entire concept (i believe that's sort of the concept for mage: the ascension, for example... all the players get a mage PC, and then there's a collective pool of quasi-PC minions and mooks that are not mages that work for the mages).

but last i checked, that isn't the idea with rifts.

[eliakon]

i dunno about whether or not magic "should" dominate, but i do know that i prefer mages and i have absolutely no concerns about magic being insufficiently powerful. frankly, if direct damage nukes *were* efficient and powerful, i would be having major concerns, because at that point what the heck or the non-spellcasters there for?

i mean, that can certainly work if that's the entire concept (i believe that's sort of the concept for mage: the ascension, for example... all the players get a mage PC, and then there's a collective pool of quasi-PC minions and mooks that are not mages that work for the mages).

but last i checked, that isn't the idea with rifts.

To expand on this a bit.
I find that it is really easy to make magic an "I win button" in games. For both the GM and the PCs. Direct Damage is simply harder to do this with, though not impossible. But it doesn't really matter if your spells don't do googly moogly damage if your foes are -16 to all rolls, lost 8 actions per round and go last every turn and none of their equipment works anymore.

Basically the only real limit on magic is what spells the GM allows a specific caster to have, and with scholastic casters (who can learn more spells) that can get out of hand but fast. It is easy to become an omni-tool that has an app spell for that.

[Warshield73]

To expand on this a bit.
I find that it is really easy to make magic an "I win button" in games. For both the GM and the PCs. Direct Damage is simply harder to do this with, though not impossible. But it doesn't really matter if your spells don't do googly moogly damage if your foes are -16 to all rolls, lost 8 actions per round and go last every turn and none of their equipment works anymore.

Basically the only real limit on magic is what spells the GM allows a specific caster to have, and with scholastic casters (who can learn more spells) that can get out of hand but fast. It is easy to become an omni-tool that has an app spell for that.

When we first started playing Rifts one of my PCs was a dragon hatchling. He was kind of disappointed at first because he couldn't do much and he really wasn't that useful in a fight. Once he hit 3rd level though he just became the I win button for the team. It was everything you said piles of penalties, carpet of adhesion, and that's just combat. With dominance and words of truth he became the lead interrogator, healing spells he was the medic, heck he was even the groups firemen with extinguish fire.

As for spell availability I have limited that purely by chance. Spells are so important to the Magic character that I just stopped feeling comfortable limiting it with my whim.

[Orin J.]

I have to say it's fun seeing how i managed to derail the (Admittedly resolved) topic entirely asking what spells would benefit from being able to be pumped up, and nobody's even made suggestions for what might work. energy field seems like a good one for that to me, let a mage burn all his energy to protect someone/thing important for a while by casting it with more MDC than normal or lasting longer.

[(SHIFTY)]

I have to say it's fun seeing how i managed to derail the (Admittedly resolved) topic entirely asking what spells would benefit from being able to be pumped up, and nobody's even made suggestions for what might work. energy field seems like a good one for that to me, let a mage burn all his energy to protect someone/thing important for a while by casting it with more MDC than normal or lasting longer.

Wow yes!!! I just saw this thread again after a few weeks and.could not believe how much it grew! Thought I started a hot debate before I read the other postings.

[eliakon]

I have to say it's fun seeing how i managed to derail the (Admittedly resolved) topic entirely asking what spells would benefit from being able to be pumped up, and nobody's even made suggestions for what might work. energy field seems like a good one for that to me, let a mage burn all his energy to protect someone/thing important for a while by casting it with more MDC than normal or lasting longer.

I would say the answer is "basically none of them"
I *might* allow some of the spells that are similar to blinding flash... aka provide a saving throw (which is often made) but provide a minor penalty with short duration if failed. In that specific case I could see allowing a boost to the spell on the theory that it is thematically better to have the mage 'over charge' the spell than simply spam it.
But other than that... most magic is already so potent that making it more potent seems like a case of gilding the lily.

[The Beast]

Can Globe Of Daylight blind a opponent temporarily?

The only way I could see that happening is if it was a species noted as being sensitive to sunlight sight-wise, or perhaps someone with normal eyesight who was in dark long enough to become accustomed to it being exposed to the spell suddenly.