d(sqrt(-1))

With this sort of spell e.g. Axe Trance in RQ3 I always used a house rule that you couldn't more than double your base skill.

So if PC1 is over the range for Ys arrow shot before the round start, Y would have 50% of skill to hit. But PC1 moves into range in the unengaged movement phase. Does Y fire at full skill now?

Ok, so PC1 starts to move towards target X which will take (say) 4 SR. NPCs Y and Z shoot a bow on SR 2 and a spell on SR 3. But PC1 still gets next to X before these are resolved?

The problem has always seemed to me that the PC moving then adding SRs onto what happens is not the problem, it's all the other PCs/NPCs around who could have done something in that time. It practically forces you into SR by SR counting which is OK for players but a nightmare for the GM, I've always found.

Sure, where do you go after that? But we played the defending Apple Lane scenario the other day, and I was a bit worried about the Tusk Riders, but the PCs did pretty well in taking them out because they have no missiles and not much offensive spell ability (at least outside of melee). Mind you it didn't help that two of them (including the leader) fumbled rolls badly enough to take themselves out of the fight.

I feel it would be more consistent to say that Special = Special Damage, Critical = Ignores Armour + Special Damage. Not sure it really needs to be maximised as well.

(Also posted to Rules thread): Do projected missiles get a full, halved or no damage bonus? The section on p 213 says that thrown weapons get DB halved, which is fine, but I can't see anything explicitly saying whether projected missiles get a DB or not. The box section on p200 just says an attack gets weapon damage + DB. None of the example PCs have a DB listed for their missile weapons. Firearrow, however says "damage bonus still applies, halved for missile weapons as normal" but it could just be referring to thrown weapons (it should probably distinguish between thrown and projected weapons if so). Hendroste the Horsemaster has a DB listed for his bow, but the other PCs in Apple Lane don't. A quick look through the Bestiary didn't come up with any DBs for projected weapons. So on balance there are lots of examples which seem to indicate that they probably don't, but enough counterexamples to make me slightly unsure. Presumably you could pay more for a special bow that does give you your DB (or half DB). RQ2 doesn't seem to say explicitly either, but it does have the half-DB rule for thrown weapons. I guess it makes sense if you are buying an off-the-shelf bow that as it's doing the projecting it doesn't give a DB.

Because most of the time when you need to give someone lots of HP very quickly back to stop them dying it will be in combat?

Yes I too have a player with an Argan Argar PC with Dark Walk and Create Shadow, hence my questions. In fact I initially talked them out of having Summon Shade and Control Cult Spirit on the basis that it would use all their rune points and they might not have such a good chance of controlling the elemental when it turned up. It could be that Dark Walk gives a "stealth" ability that stops Darksense pinging subjects of the spell.

So if another PC needs a Heal Wound urgently I have to: move to their position (round 1) Cast Heal Wound, say with 10 MPs, on SR 11 of round 2? Even if I can move there in (say) 6 strike ranks I can't cast the Heal Wound on Round 1? Does the MP used on Heal Wound not count as "boosting"? The spell says "The caster must simultaneously spend magic points equal to the points to be healed" which sounds as though they don't count towards the casting time. (Psullie said this above). The definition of boosting on p248 seems to read that "boosting" is only done to overcome Countermagic etc, similarly for sorcery p387, but the section on Strike Ranks p255 does say that the SR of a spell is DEX SR + additional points of spell + boosting magic points for Spirit Magic (although the Spirit Magic section doesn't mention boosting as the other two do). EDIT: Just went back and read the discussion in the Rules thread and it does indeed say SR1

As a Strike Rank aside, the wording (p314) for casting Rune Magic says "Rune magic spells take effect at strike rank 1". Now does that mean SR 1 of the round, or that they only take 1 SR to cast? With the former, you'd have to cast it before moving, whereas with the second, you could move first, then cast it. It feels like it ought to be the second but the wording is odd. The example is not much help either way.

I thought that Darksense was always defined as basically sonar? If the protected PC is soundless that doesn't stop Trolls pinging them. The Silence spell (p264) says that it only stops noise created by the users movement. Ok, it's a Spirit spell so the same may not apply to Rune magic...

Well I was wondering about the use of it for Trolls seeing as they can see in darkness anyway, but it's great for Argan Argar during the day...I was thinking about counters to it and yes one disadvantage is that there is this hazy/shadowy/darkness blob of 9mx6mx6m moving around, bound to make people suspicious and drop missile/area attacks etc in there, or just dispel it and you are left there standing like a numpty. Given that the spell says "9mx6mx6m or any other shape with the same volume" (324 cubic metres) I'd be strongly tempted to make it 2m (high) x 13m x 12m or 2m high x 7m radius (approx.), especially if you can move it around reasonably easily. Unless you are a Troll, 2m should be high enough to cover you so you stand a reasonable chance of not being hit too much. Won't help much vs Darksense or Detect Life etc I guess. Mist Cloud I hadn't read - 2m diameter for each Rune Point covers a lot smaller area, and it looks like it doesn't move so it's a bit like the equivalent of D&D Fog Cloud or Obscuring Mist. Interesting idea about moving between shadows with Dark Walk - I don't get that from reading the spell but it could make mythic sense.

Sounds a reasonable interpretation TBH. I'm not sure if the intention is that it's like a shade, or "just" darkness though. Invisibility while in darkness/shadow? That's also a decent interpretation that makes more sense. Since Invisibility is a 3 point Rune Spell, here you are getting a limited form of Invisibility for (possibly) 2 points - 1 point for Create Shadow and 1 point for Dark Walk, and that also takes you 2 rounds to set up as opposed to 1. It also fits with the interpretation that it's mostly useful for sneaking about but still makes it useful for combat. Sold! I'll give it a go. Thanks for the suggestions.

So does the caster have to concentrate to move it? Can they do something else at the same time? The wording is odd, it says "allows the user to be totally invisible and soundless in darkness and shadow to anyone within range. Blend-in is total". Cults of Prax says the same with the exception that is also says the spell is stackable to 2 points for double duration. The way it reads to me is that is cast on the caster ("the user" but it could possibly be "the target") but makes you invisible and soundless to anyone within 160 metres. 2 Points of Create Shadow for a Shade seems reasonable to me.