Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: Aria on <01-19-16/0849:55>
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Ok, after the release of a certain film I've gone back to trying to build a lightsabre wielding adept... the Jedi stuff is optional and I'm not as set on that... but the rub is do I build an adept with adept spell, or a mysad? Pros and cons to both, I've got two options partially built below and I would welcome thoughts/comments etc on either...any help on deciding between them would be great too!
Adept
Priorities
Race: C
Attributes: B
Magic / Resonance: D
Skills: C
Resources: C
Attributes
Body: 3 ( 4 )
Agility: 6 ( 8 )
Reaction: 3 ( 3 )
Strength: 2 ( 2 )
Willpower: 5 ( 5 )
Logic: 3 ( 3 )
Intuition: 4 ( 4 )
Charisma: 3 ( 3 )
Edge: 3
Magic/Resonance: 6 ( 6 )
Essence: 6 ( 6 )
Initiative: 7 ( 7 )
Initiative D: 1D6 ( 1D6 )
Physical Limit: 4
Mental Limit: 5
Social Limit: 6
Phys CM: 9.5
Stun CM: 10.5
Positive Qualities / Racial Bonuses
Prototype Transhuman [Toner 2, Damage Compensator 4, Platelet Factory] 10
Mentor Spirit [Wise Warrior] 5
Agile Defender 3
Ambidextrous 4
Negative Qualities / Racial Penalties
Insomnia 0
Code of Honour [Warrior/Paladin] 15
Big Regret [Stillwater] 5
Distinctive Style [Jedi] 5
Skill Groups
Influence 2
Skills
Agility Based
Clubs 6 Manablade ( 14 /16) +1 mentor
Gymnastics 4 ( 12 )
Pistols 4 Revolver ( 12 /14)
Sneaking 4 ( 12 )
Charisma Based
Etiquette 2 ( 5 )
Leadership 2 ( 5 ) +2 mentor
Negotiation 2 ( 5 )
Intuition Based
Perception 4 ( 8 )
Magic Based
Spellcasting 4 ( 10 )
Adept Powers Cost
Adept Spell [Manablade] 1
Heightened Concentration 0.5
Enhanced Accuracy [Clubs] 0.25
4.25 pts remaining
Mysad
Priorities
Race: E
Attributes: B
Magic / Resonance: A
Skills: B
Resources: E
Attributes
Body: 2 ( 2 )
Agility: 6 ( 6 )
Reaction: 4 ( 4 )
Strength: 2 ( 2 )
Willpower: 5 ( 5 )
Logic: 3 ( 3 )
Intuition: 5 ( 5 )
Charisma: 3 ( 3 )
Edge: 3
Magic/Resonance: 6 ( 6 )
Essence: 6 ( 6 )
Initiative: 9 ( 9 )
Initiative D: 1D6 ( 1D6 )
Physical Limit: 4
Mental Limit: 6
Social Limit: 6
Phys CM: 9
Stun CM: 10.5
Positive Qualities / Racial Bonuses
Mentor Spirit [Wise Warrior] 5
Negative Qualities / Racial Penalties
Code of Honour [Warrior/Paladin] 15
Big Regret [Stillwater] 5
Distinctive Style [Jedi] 5
Skill Groups
Stealth 5
Skills
Agility Based
Clubs 6 Manablade ( 12 ) +1 mentor
Gymnastics 5 ( 11 )
Palming 5 ( 11 )
Pistols 4 Revolver ( 10 )
Sneaking 5 ( 11 )
Charisma Based
Etiquette 3 ( 6 )
Leadership 3 ( 6 ) +2 mentor
Intuition Based
Disguise 5 ( 10 )
Perception 5 ( 10 )
Magic Based
Counterspelling 6 ( 12 )
Spellcasting 6 ( 12 )
Summoning 6 ( 12 )
Adept Powers
Heightened Concentration 0.5
Enhanced Accuracy [Clubs] 0.25
4.25 pts remaining
Spells
Manablade
Increased Reflexes
Improved Intuition
General notes: low strength so I've gone for clubs rather than swords so a stun baton is a backup option
Adept: perhaps a bit more survivable? Role is pretty much pure melee though, and we know what they say about swords and gun fights...combat sense, stealth boosting powers to help 'get close' ...are there any effective 'speed' boosts?
Mysad: more flexible with 10 spells and increased skills base! Drain would be an Intuition+Willpower base, druid perhaps? As a 'buff'er would need to get sustaining foci or quickening pretty soon or be crippled by sustaining mods
So, any thoughts?
Thanks!
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If you had made a Sith, I'd have said make an infected character and get vampiric speed
A ghoul with a light saber would be pretty neat/fearsome.
Otherwise you might want a normal mage and a spirit that can cast movement on you
By the way: Psionic or Chaos is the most appropriate tradition for a force user.
But on balance I'd go for the pure adept without implants (Money and Race E, Magic and Skills B, Attributes A). Exceptional Attribute MAG and Adept Spell: Power Blade with a fetish (Hilt), so you can get a Force 7 Blade (7 Damage 7 AP)
Light body for force jumps as well as wall running should give you the right base for movement.
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And a high level of combat sense, possibly, for that uncanny jedi ability to block
bullets blaster bolts with a light saber?
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"A Jedi with pistols? How uncivilized!" - Cyber Obiwan
I kind of prefer the pure adept with adept spell route. There are lots of passive adept powers that can mimic jedi abilities. Mysad has some perks though, but Jedi don't feel much like major spellcasters/summoners. Buying up adept powers can be expensive at char gen for a mysad, and I don't know how many spells would make having the ability to cast spells and invest in spellcasting worth it.
What would be Jedi Spells?
Mind Probe?
Mind Control?
Levitate?
Magic Fingers?
Shadowrun spell abilities may be more meshed with a sith style character in my opinion.
I do love the idea of a manablade lightsaber.
Adept powers, probably similar to most combat adepts
Improved Reflexes
Combat Sense
Magic Sense
Light Body
etc...
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Don't forget authoritative tone and commanding voice, although they only work on the weak-minded ;)
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Here's my little contribution.
== Info ==
Street Name: Obi-Wan Number One
Movement: 10/20
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human
Composure: 8
Judge Intentions: 9
Lift/Carry: 5 (30 kg/20 kg)
Memory: 6
Nuyen: 1136
== Priorities ==
Metatype: E(0) - Human
Attributes: B(3) - 20 Attributes
Special: A(4) - Magician or Technomancer
Skills: B(3) - 36 Skills/5 Skill Groups
Resources: E(0) - 6,000¥
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 5
REA: 3 (5)
STR: 2
CHA: 3
INT: 6
LOG: 1
WIL: 5
EDG: 3
MAG: 6
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 6
Initiative: 9 (11) + 3d6
Astral Initiative: 12 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative: 11 + 3d6
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 11
== Limits ==
Physical: 4
Mental: 5
Social: 6
Cloak (6) [-1]
Astral: 6
==Contacts==
9 points
==Lifestyle==
Street
== Active Skills ==
Assensing : 4 Pool: 10
Clubs : 6 [Parrying] Pool: 14 (16)
Con : 3 [Fast Talk] Pool: 6 (8)
Counterspelling : 6 [Combat] Pool: 12 (14)
Etiquette : 3 Pool: 6
Gymnastics : 5 Pool: 10
Leadership : 3 [Inspire] Pool: 8 (10)
Perception : 6 Pool: 12
Running : 5 Pool: 7
Sneaking : 4 Pool: 9
Spellcasting : 6 [Combat] Pool: 12 (16)
Swimming : 5 Pool: 7
== Knowledge Skills ==
14 points
== Qualities ==
Code of Honor (Jedi Code)
Mentor Spirit (Wise Warrior)
Mystic Adept
Wanted (By the Empire)
== Spells ==
(Tradition: Psionic, Resist Drain with WIL + INT (11))
Catch DV: F-2 (Catch, Fling, and Levitate should represent Jedi telekinetic powers)
Clout DV: F-3 (a.k.a. Force Push)
Deflection DV: F-1
Detect Life, Extended DV: F-1
Detect Magic, Extended DV: F (To sense disturbance in The Force)
Fling DV: F-2
Heal DV: F-4 (I am pretty sure that Jedi are able to heal people with force)
Influence DV: F-1 (Jedi Mind Trick)
Levitate DV: F-2
Powerblade (Limited) DV: F-4 (A lightsaber!)
== Powers ==
Combat Sense Rating: 3
Heightened Concern
Improved Ability (skill) (Clubs) Rating: 3
Improved Reflexes 2
== Armor ==
Cheap Gloves 0
Cheap Pants 0
Cheap Shirt 0
Cheap Shoes 0
Cheap Socks 0
Cheap Undergarments 0
Cloak (6) 6
== Weapons ==
Staff
Pool: 14 Accuracy: 6 DV: 5P AP: - Reach: 2
Lightsaber Attack
Pool: 14 Accuracy: Force DV: Force + Net Hits (Clubs) AP: Force Reach: 1
== Commlink ==
Meta Link (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 1, FWL: 1)
== Gear ==
Fetish (Lightsaber Hilt)
Sustaining Focus, Manipulation (Bonded Foci) Rating 4 (Lightsaber Hilt)
Silver Credstick with 1136 nuyen.
The idea behind making the hilt both a fetish and a sustaining focus is that if you lose your lightsaber you cannot deflect blaster shots anymore. Pretty simple.
An expected defence test vs ranged attacks: rea 3(5) + int 6 + combat sense 3 + deflection 4 = 18 dice, 6 hits on average.
Karma distribution: Negative Qualities +25; Mentor Spirit -5, PPs -30, bonded Sustaining Focus F4 - 8, Money -7.
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I question whether adept spell is worth it. Being a MysAd is unnecessary. Melee + PT + quasi-pornomancer is all you really need. Adept Spell would be Magic Fingers I guess.
Not even getting into blade spells. Nope.
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Personally, I'd use a Qi Focus (4)/Fetish for the Manablade spell.
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I question whether adept spell is worth it. Being a MysAd is unnecessary. Melee + PT + quasi-pornomancer is all you really need. Adept Spell would be Magic Fingers I guess.
Not even getting into blade spells. Nope.
PT?
I like manablade, more for style over substance I grant you...I'll be honest and confess it is this rather than the mind control stuff that has sent me down the 'Jedi' path... ::)
I think I'll use Focused Concentration rather than a sustaining focus though, that way I can cast it at a higher force, and it's a 0.5 power that has plenty of other applications too. I had thought about the combat fetish as the hilt, don't want to nobble myself with drain too badly before a fight even begins!
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Prototype Transhuman.
I don't care if you're a Jedi I still want my no-essence-cost ware. Chock it up to Corp midichlorians. Whatever.
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If you only want a lightsaber then probably adept is all you need. I haven't read the description of Adept Spell yet, how do they resist drain? Do they need Spellcasting skill?
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Yeah you need Spellcasting, all drain is physical, and inthinknyiu resist with BOD.
It's not a great option given you can only ever learn that one spell.
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If you only want a lightsaber then probably adept is all you need. I haven't read the description of Adept Spell yet, how do they resist drain? Do they need Spellcasting skill?
You need Spellcasting to cast the spell. Damage is Net Hits on Weapon skill (Clubs or Blades)+Force. You resist Drain with Body + Willpower and the Drain is always Physical. Drain is F-2.
A Powerblade operates on the same principle as a Powerbolt or Powerball, affecting physical objects, capable of parrying and resisted by armor. A Manablade works like a Manabolt or Manaball, bypassing armor and capable of affecting spirits, but unable to parry physical attacks or damage objects. Unless there is an Errata, I see nothing about AP in the entry, aside from the nature of Manablade. So, using Manablade, you give up the ability to hurt objects (hello, Drone!) but can ignore that Trolls 35 points of Armor.
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A Powerblade operates on the same principle as a Powerbolt or Powerball, affecting physical objects, capable of parrying and resisted by armor.
...except that Powerbolt/ball is a direct physical spell and ignores armor.
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A Powerblade operates on the same principle as a Powerbolt or Powerball, affecting physical objects, capable of parrying and resisted by armor.
...except that Powerbolt/ball is a direct physical spell and ignores armor.
Which means...what? It's very unclear how this spell is actually supposed to work.
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A Powerblade operates on the same principle as a Powerbolt or Powerball, affecting physical objects, capable of parrying and resisted by armor.
...except that Powerbolt/ball is a direct physical spell and ignores armor.
Which means...what? It's very unclear how this spell is actually supposed to work.
Yeah but if we ignore the "operates on the same principle" part then the Powerblade is indirect and has AP equal to it's force. I guess that's what they meant.
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A Mysad has the option to cast levitate and agony, not a bad approximation of Force Choke imo. Oh, and pretty sure there's a spell that let's you fry someone with bolts of lightning... just saying.
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Which means...what? It's very unclear how this spell is actually supposed to work.
hoo hoo hoooooooooo welcome to 5e
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Power blade casted through a fetish sword hilt
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Okay, I thought I was up to date on all the 5e magic books, but I've never heard of power blade or adept spell. Where did these come from?
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The idea behind making the hilt both a fetish and a sustaining focus is that if you lose your lightsaber you cannot deflect blaster shots anymore. Pretty simple.
An expected defence test vs ranged attacks: rea 3(5) + int 6 + combat sense 3 + deflection 4 = 18 dice, 6 hits on average.
Karma distribution: Negative Qualities +25; Mentor Spirit -5, PPs -30, bonded Sustaining Focus F4 - 8, Money -7.
That is genius btw, for making lightsaber
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Yeah but if we ignore the "operates on the same principle" part then the Powerblade is indirect and has AP equal to it's force. I guess that's what they meant.
I prefer ignoring the link to combat spells entirely, which leaves manipulation spells as an option.
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Okay, I thought I was up to date on all the 5e magic books, but I've never heard of power blade or adept spell. Where did these come from?
hard targets
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Well here's how she's turned out so far, let me know if the link doesn't work :P
https://stormy-waters-2075.obsidianportal.com/characters/tc-stormcrow
Still got to finalise some gear for her, and contacts but the bare bones are beginning to fall in to place...
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Well here's how she's turned out so far, let me know if the link doesn't work :P
https://stormy-waters-2075.obsidianportal.com/characters/tc-stormcrow
Still got to finalise some gear for her, and contacts but the bare bones are beginning to fall in to place...
Looks good. You could *probably* get by with only 1 rank of Spell Casting (maybe with a specialization, if you really want) but yeah. Solid build, assuming you and your GM have come up with reasonable house rules for the 'blade itself.
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Nobody has any clue how _____blade is meant to work because of how messy the writing is; best thing to do is ignore it.
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Nobody has any clue how _____blade is meant to work because of how messy the writing is; best thing to do is ignore it.
I do have a clue actually.
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Yeah, one is meant to be a direct mana spell and the other an indirect one with AP equal to force. At least that is what the description infers.
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I find Manablade and Powerblade to be pretty straightforward.
Magic + Spellcasting (no specialization because it's a weird thing, but if I had to classify, it's Manipulation) - if you get any net hits, you have a blade of the given type that is statted out thusly:
Manablade:
[Force]P damage
[Force] Accuracy
Reach 1
You can attack with your Manablade with Clubs or Blades and it deals higher damage as normal for net hits. It can only be parried by powerblades, manablades or weapon foci. It's damage is resisted by Willpower alone.
Powerblade:
[Force]P damage
[Force] Accuracy
Reach 1
You can attack with your Powerblade with Clubs or Blades and it deals higher damage as normal for net hits. It can be parried by anything and armor is used to resist it.
That said, I agree with Jack_Spade here:
Yeah, one is meant to be a direct mana spell and the other an indirect one with AP equal to force. At least that is what the description infers.
I believe that Powerblade is supposed to also have -Force AP. They just used Powerblade where they should have used Punchblade/Cloutblade/Blastblade instead. Personally, I'd also drop the drain value on the Powerblade down to F-4 because it's worse in most ways. And I'd add Lightningblade, Fireblade, Acidblade, Iceblade, Radiationblade, Pollutionblade, and Sunblade as options, with differing drain codes.
The Elemental Blade spells would then mostly be F-2 (like Manablade) because you'd also get the elemental effect. I could be argued into having Waterblade at F-3 as well, because it makes me laugh so much. And I'd allow an Adept Spell version that only allows you to cast it through a sustaining focus, but you get all the X-Blades you want to buy at 5 karma apiece. The power only comes with one though.
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I find Manablade and Powerblade to be pretty straightforward.
Magic + Spellcasting (no specialization because it's a weird thing, but if I had to classify, it's Manipulation) - if you get any net hits, you have a blade of the given type that is statted out thusly:
Manablade:
[Force]P damage
[Force] Accuracy
Reach 1
You can attack with your Manablade with Clubs or Blades and it deals higher damage as normal for net hits. It can only be parried by powerblades, manablades or weapon foci. It's damage is resisted by Willpower alone.
Powerblade:
[Force]P damage
[Force] Accuracy
Reach 1
You can attack with your Powerblade with Clubs or Blades and it deals higher damage as normal for net hits. It can be parried by anything and armor is used to resist it.
That said, I agree with Jack_Spade here:
Yeah, one is meant to be a direct mana spell and the other an indirect one with AP equal to force. At least that is what the description infers.
I believe that Powerblade is supposed to also have -Force AP. They just used Powerblade where they should have used Punchblade/Cloutblade/Blastblade instead. Personally, I'd also drop the drain value on the Powerblade down to F-4 because it's worse in most ways. And I'd add Lightningblade, Fireblade, Acidblade, Iceblade, Radiationblade, Pollutionblade, and Sunblade as options, with differing drain codes.
The Elemental Blade spells would then mostly be F-2 (like Manablade) because you'd also get the elemental effect. I could be argued into having Waterblade at F-3 as well, because it makes me laugh so much. And I'd allow an Adept Spell version that only allows you to cast it through a sustaining focus, but you get all the X-Blades you want to buy at 5 karma apiece. The power only comes with one though.
I like all of this. Best summary of a balanced take on the blade spells, with good elemental options.
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Congrats on your spell where your spellcasting roll has literally no effect at all and it does absurd amounts of damage and is almost entirely unblockable, thus making it superior to every other possible option else in the game?
I'm sticking with "the spell is super confusing as written, breaks a dozen rules and design guides at best, ignore it."
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I shouldn't have been write that. Let me try to redeem myself and break down the Spellblades to you.
First of all, what can we say about these spells after reading the description:
MANABLADE
Type: M Range: Special
Duration: S DV: F – 2
POWERBLADE
Type: P Range: Special
Duration: S DV: F – 2
Spellblades are a product of a failed line of research
by MCT. Attempts to create a sustained damaging con-
nection of energy failed to yield the desired results, but
they resulted in a maintained extension of a spell, based
on the formulas for Manabolt and Powerbolt.
Spellblades are sustained spells with 'special' range. It is assumed that they are Combat type spells (they originate from Manabolt and Powerbolt formulas).
A Powerblade operates on
the same principle as a Powerbolt or Powerball, affecting
physical objects, capable of parrying and resisted by ar-
mor. A Manablade works like a Manabolt or Manaball,
bypassing armor and capable of affecting spirits, but un-
able to parry physical attacks or damage objects.
Here we can clearly see that the writer confuses Direct/Indirect spells and Mana/Physical spells. This is most likely the reason behind the lack of the Direct/Indirect entry in the description. However, If we carefully read the write-in about Powerblade/bolt/ball...
A Powerblade operates on
the same principle as a Powerbolt or Powerball, affecting
physical objects, capable of parrying and resisted by ar-
mor.
(emphasis mine)
...it becomes quite clear that the writer had Indirect spells in mind when talking about Powerblade, while Manablade is Direct.
So the full description should be something like
MANABLADE
Combat
Direct
Type: M Range: Special
Duration: S DV: F – 2
POWERBLADE
Combat
Indirect
Type: P Range: Special
Duration: S DV: F – 2
Done!
It's not hard at all and not gamebreaking.
I'm sorry for being sarcastic and bitter before but sometimes I just can't help myself.
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Congrats on your spell where your spellcasting roll has literally no effect at all and it does absurd amounts of damage and is almost entirely unblockable, thus making it superior to every other possible option else in the game?
The number of hits not mattering is odd, but this is certainly not the only place where that's the case. Detox is a "did you get a hit" spell.
As for absurd amounts of damage - I think we'll have to agree to disagree here. Since it's a Force-dependent spell for damage, you can't pull the old Force 1 + Reagents/Edge trick to get decent damage - you have to cast it at Force 6 to get 6 damage. Which means, to get an "absurdly high damage" you practically need to overcast it, which means more drain.
Secondly, it's not really absurd because you end up needing to do more to do the damage. Unlike a spell, which requires good Magic and good Spellcasting, good Willpower and good Drain Attribute, you now need some Magic, some Spellcasting, good Willpower, good Drain Attribute, good Agility, and good Clubs/Blades. Remember, they can't dodge a Stunbolt, but they can dodge a Manablade. You have to invest a lot more to make it good.
Thirdly, since you can't use the Low Force + Reagents trick, you'll need a good sustaining focus or you'll be pulling sustaining penalties as well.
I think it's a stylistic spell with upsides and downsides. Until I see it in play, I can't judge whether it's balanced or not.
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Thirdly, since you can't use the Low Force + Reagents trick, you'll need a good sustaining focus or you'll be pulling sustaining penalties as well.
I think it's a stylistic spell with upsides and downsides. Until I see it in play, I can't judge whether it's balanced or not.
It is underpowered IMO. It is Sustained, Range 1 spell with F-2 spell. Compare spellrblades and Punch/Death touch. F-6 drain (vs F-2 Power/Manablade), Touch range (+2 DP vs -1 to enemy's pool of Power/Manablade). Spellblades have two merits: you can parry weapon foci, and a Powerblade looks cool (you probably cannot see a Manablade). A steep price for +4 drain and sustaining penalty.
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Like I said, until I see it in play, I can't actually judge. To me, it feels a bit lackluster as well, but I'd have to see it in about ten combats versus ten combats with a "balanced" other spell to really be able to judge. I do think it could take a buff in the drain department, but that's as much as I'd be willing to house rule without extensive testing.
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Thirdly, since you can't use the Low Force + Reagents trick, you'll need a good sustaining focus or you'll be pulling sustaining penalties as well.
I think it's a stylistic spell with upsides and downsides. Until I see it in play, I can't judge whether it's balanced or not.
It is underpowered IMO. It is Sustained, Range 1 spell with F-2 spell. Compare spellrblades and Punch/Death touch. F-6 drain (vs F-2 Power/Manablade), Touch range (+2 DP vs -1 to enemy's pool of Power/Manablade). Spellblades have two merits: you can parry weapon foci, and a Powerblade looks cool (you probably cannot see a Manablade). A steep price for +4 drain and sustaining penalty.
It's sustained, however, so you don't have to keep casting it. Not saying that helps a whole lot, but it is a benefit. I don't think that makes up for the difference, though. I would still rather do Stunbolt or Punch spells every round.
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Secondly, it's not really absurd because you end up needing to do more to do the damage. Unlike a spell, which requires good Magic and good Spellcasting, good Willpower and good Drain Attribute, you now need some Magic, some Spellcasting, good Willpower, good Drain Attribute, good Agility, and good Clubs/Blades. Remember, they can't dodge a Stunbolt, but they can dodge a Manablade. You have to invest a lot more to make it good.
Since there is literally no dependance on net hits, why would you need more than 1 skillpoint in Spellcasting? Using a fetish reduces drain by 2, so F6 is already at the minimal drain of 2. Being able to ignore armor with Manablade F6 is more than enough, if you're ok with two hits for knockout.
WIL and BOD are stats that every runner needs, so there shouldn't be any special emphasis only because of Adept Spell.
So what is needed in addition to a more traditional Adept focusing on melee? 1PP, 2 karma (spellcasting 1), 2000 ¥ (fetish) and you lose 2 dice on your attacks, until your second Initiation with Adept Centering.
What do you save? Reliance on STR which can be a lot more but should at least about equal to the investment above.
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Since there is literally no dependance on net hits, why would you need more than 1 skillpoint in Spellcasting? Using a fetish reduces drain by 2, so F6 is already at the minimal drain of 2. Being able to ignore armor with Manablade F6 is more than enough, if you're ok with two hits for knockout.
WIL and BOD are stats that every runner needs, so there shouldn't be any special emphasis only because of Adept Spell.
So what is needed in addition to a more traditional Adept focusing on melee? 1PP, 2 karma (spellcasting 1), 2000 ¥ (fetish) and you lose 2 dice on your attacks, until your second Initiation with Adept Centering.
What do you save? Reliance on STR which can be a lot more but should at least about equal to the investment above.
This does not equal absurd to me.
But, like I said, if you have several sessions of play with the spell in use, you know better than I do. Until I see it in play, I cannot really pass judgement.
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Well, since I don't want to jump the StarWars-Hype-Train and have problems with the thought of manifested mana that ignores non-living matter I'll happily watch from afar.