Resolve of Iron sorcery spell intent

[jamiltron]

I may be misunderstanding, but what is the purpose of the Resolve of Iron sorcery spell on pg. 117? It says that the target has "precedence" for an MP:MP check whenever a spell is cast at them. Is this to account for spells that offer no resistance, and/or to give double attempts at resisting (be it a MP:MP or POW:POW resistance), or something else?

Thank you!

[NickMiddleton]

Good question; it’s the exact same wording as the original version in the Bronze Grimoire supplement for the Elric! game that it originated in… I assume it means that for spells that target more than one person or an are that would affect someone under a Resolve of Iron, they get to resist first, and if successful no one else has to resist but the caster of the offensive spell loses no mp… but that’s very much my interpretation!

[Atgxtg]

My reading of it (which is no more valid than Nick's interpretation) is that it is like a counterspell, and  gives the target a MP vs MP roll to counter any spell cast at/near/past them, including spells that normally don't get a resistance roll. 

It's advantages are, IMO first that it works against spells that cannot normally be resisted, secondly, that it allows a sorcerer to protect their (generally) lower POW allies from the spells of another sorcerer, and thirdly that can interfere spells from a enemy to boost their minions or allies in a fight. 

And example of this would be that ti would give a roll to resist if someone tried to use Guide Fire to direct the flame from a campfire at the target on at the target's direction. Another would be to disrupt the enemy from casting Hell's Razor or Healing on someone y the target is fighting.

 

In the contest of the original setting, this spell would be a good way for followers of Law to try and counter some of magical advantages that followers of Chaos tend to have.

[jamiltron]

9 hours ago, NickMiddleton said:

Good question; it’s the exact same wording as the original version in the Bronze Grimoire supplement for the Elric! game that it originated in… I assume it means that for spells that target more than one person or an are that would affect someone under a Resolve of Iron, they get to resist first, and if successful no one else has to resist but the caster of the offensive spell loses no mp… but that’s very much my interpretation!

Interesting, I hadn't considered multiple target spells. Thanks for the observation!

[jamiltron]

6 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

My reading of it (which is no more valid than Nick's interpretation) is that it is like a counterspell, and  gives the target a MP vs MP roll to counter any spell cast at/near/past them, including spells that normally don't get a resistance roll. 

It's advantages are, IMO first that it works against spells that cannot normally be resisted, secondly, that it allows a sorcerer to protect their (generally) lower POW allies from the spells of another sorcerer, and thirdly that can interfere spells from a enemy to boost their minions or allies in a fight. 

And example of this would be that ti would give a roll to resist if someone tried to use Guide Fire to direct the flame from a campfire at the target on at the target's direction. Another would be to disrupt the enemy from casting Hell's Razor or Healing on someone y the target is fighting.

 

In the contest of the original setting, this spell would be a good way for followers of Law to try and counter some of magical advantages that followers of Chaos tend to have.

Thank you for the examples!

[Atgxtg]

2 hours ago, jamiltron said:

Thank you for the examples!

You're welcome. I did that to highlight the fact that in Elric! Resolve of Iron is a lawful spell in a setting where most magic is chaotic in nature. Most of the lawful spells tend to have a "defend against Chaos" aspect to them. This was partially due to the fact that Chaos had a distinct advantage in earlier editions of Stormbringer.