[blackangel]

I'm planning to introduce in my campaign the notion of ascended master. Upon esoteric knowledge it can open a wide range of possibility as our world (real one) is rich on brotherhood, famous figures... which can be introduced in the game.

The idea is to find a process that permit to a human or metahuman to progress upon a path to change his state. We all know sentient astral being trying to come in the material world but this path is the opposite. Rappidly I try to bring a way to explain buddhas, lamas, saints, alchemists (I'd really love to introduce people like count of st germain...)

I allready sketched a few things about this path which I probably call : the path to enlightment (ref to vampire rpg I know  ) 
But I ask for some hints on how you would deal with the subject ?

Thanks

[Lethe]

Seriously, i have no idea what you are talking about, but there already is magic in the game to explain all the weird stuff..
This probably goes into the direction of mystical healing? (Augmentation,p.123)
Street Magic also introduces alternative traditions including Buddhism.

[JustADude]

I think he's talking about a person becoming a Free Spirit type entity via Arcane research, meditation, and power-gathering... that's only a WAG, though.

[blackangel]

I think he's talking about a person becoming a Free Spirit type entity via Arcane research, meditation, and power-gathering... that's only a WAG, though.

Yes it's something this way

[Sichr]

Like Daniel Jackson

Good luck wit that.
Buying Free spirit quality would be quite Karma - expensive if allowed ingame (1000 points IMO )

[JustADude]

Like Daniel Jackson

Good luck wit that.
Buying Free spirit quality would be quite Karma - expensive if allowed ingame (1000 points IMO )

Actually, the Free Spirit "metatype" template is 250 BP. Using the new, updated, rules these "metatypes" cost Karma = BP... so becoming a Free Spirit is a "mere" 250 Karma. Of course, then you have to keep paying for all your stat upgrades and powers to actually make use of it.

Oh, yes, and you also have all your other stats capped at your Magic (now Force) rating... plus Free Spirits can't have Foci or Ally Spirits, so kiss those goodbye if you have them.

[Sichr]

Like Daniel Jackson

Good luck wit that.
Buying Free spirit quality would be quite Karma - expensive if allowed ingame (1000 points IMO )

Actually, the Free Spirit "metatype" template is 250 BP. Using the new, updated, rules these "metatypes" cost Karma = BP... so becoming a Free Spirit is a "mere" 250 Karma. Of course, then you have to keep paying for all your stat upgrades and powers to actually make use of it.

Oh, yes, and you also have all your other stats capped at your Magic (now Force) rating... plus Free Spirits can't have Foci or Ally Spirits, so kiss those goodbye if you have them.

You missed that "ingame"...I know it is not allowed RAW, well if you use the same rule as for buing qualities, then buing metatype - Free spirit would be 250x5=1250 karma points
Thus...this is the minimal requirement IMO for player character to become "Ascended master"
well since harlequin or Ehran or many others never become something like this even with their experiences, immortality and such, I guess it is impossible
Wait
What was that about Aina Dupree in Artifacts: Unbound?

[hobgoblin]

Sounds like a metahuman learning to pull of the astral gateway power.

[All4BigGuns]

Like Daniel Jackson

Good luck wit that.
Buying Free spirit quality would be quite Karma - expensive if allowed ingame (1000 points IMO )

Actually, the Free Spirit "metatype" template is 250 BP. Using the new, updated, rules these "metatypes" cost Karma = BP... so becoming a Free Spirit is a "mere" 250 Karma. Of course, then you have to keep paying for all your stat upgrades and powers to actually make use of it.

Oh, yes, and you also have all your other stats capped at your Magic (now Force) rating... plus Free Spirits can't have Foci or Ally Spirits, so kiss those goodbye if you have them.

You missed that "ingame"...I know it is not allowed RAW, well if you use the same rule as for buing qualities, then buing metatype - Free spirit would be 250x5=1250 karma points
Thus...this is the minimal requirement IMO for player character to become "Ascended master"
well since harlequin or Ehran or many others never become something like this even with their experiences, immortality and such, I guess it is impossible
Wait
What was that about Aina Dupree in Artifacts: Unbound?

You're off in your calculation. Using the cost to buy qualities, it would be 250 x 2 or 500 karma, however, seeing as it isn't a quality, but rather a 'metatype' I concur with JustADude's suggestion of just using the base cost, as 250 karma is expensive enough, and the idea is just a fraggin' cool goal to aspire to.

[Sichr]

Ooops.
I mistook Qualities X Attributes improvement cost.

fraggin goal to aspire to is nice, but 250 karma for such result is just hillarious...like...for 250 karma you skip dragons in food chain.

[All4BigGuns]

Ooops.
I mistook Qualities X Attributes improvement cost.

fraggin goal to aspire to is nice, but 250 karma for such result is just hillarious...like...for 250 karma you skip dragons in food chain.

Not really, it just makes it slightly possible. I mean, come on, look at the stat blocks that have been published for a couple of dragons. They'd probably eat most free spirits for breakfast.

[Sichr]

IDN...Daniel was ascended in Season 5, which means after cca 100 SG 1 missions, where he almost never fails in his humankind love and hope approach. My Urban Brawl character gained cca 40 Karma points in 4 runs, we can say 10 karma per run. That would mean 1000 karma points for Jackson. And with this we are skipping his achievemnts before he become part of SG 1

[blackangel]

IDN...Daniel was ascended in Season 5, which means after cca 100 SG 1 missions, where he almost never fails in his humankind love and hope approach. My Urban Brawl character gained cca 40 Karma points in 4 runs, we can say 10 karma per run. That would mean 1000 karma points for Jackson. And with this we are skipping his achievemnts before he become part of SG 1

This path is not really for players, some probably would want to follow it but it would mean a retirement pretty early (if it's in the first season  ).

It will be a kind of achievment (retirement) for potential players, a door to introduce some known occultist of the past in the campaign (in form of former living mentor spirits), and an opportunity to introduce a secret society around one or two npc who follow this path. I don't know yet where they will be on the road, it will depend on how I figure the road.

Thanks for the answers so far.

[Xzylvador]

It's a very cool idea and could certainly be a possibility in the SR world.

There's plenty of stories about Ghost-in-a-machine people, most of them people who were in VR at the time Crash 2.0 hit.
If there's a possibility of having your mind transferred into something technological and non-living, it's not a stretch to assume there's also a possibility of having it transferred into something magical and living (many believe magic = life-force).
It would probably happen to some kind of ordeal like the one(s) done for Initiation and cost a lot more karma.

[JustADude]

Speaking of "immortality"...

If a Spirit lets a human borrow the Hidden Life power, and they put their life-force somewhere else, then the Spirit Pact expires and the human loses the power... what happens to the life force?