Is Mundane Background a Self-Imposed Mental Disadvantage

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Coinage

Does anyone know the cost reduction of having a Enchanted Gloves in Ritual Path Magic? My own estimation is that it would probably be the same as an Amulet, -35%

All of the charm discounts in RPM seem to be based on their value as Gadget limitations. An amulet, for example, is SM -7 (-5%), DR 4 (-15%), and must be taken with a Quick Contest of DX (-15% if it can't be used by the thief, or -30% if it can), giving the final totals of -35% or -50%. So, to model a pair of gloves, just go through the same process. I'd say a pair of gloves would be SM -6 (-10%), DR 1 (-20%), and requires someone to grapple your hand then win a Quick Contest of DX with you (-30%, or -15% if it won't work for the thief). So, your final values would be -45%/-60%.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I would consider such an effect an additional Delusion on top of the Mundane Background, which would not only prevent you from buying it off after an experience with the supernatural, but also make it extremely difficult to react in any rational way to a supernatural threat, because you kept rationalising it as something 'normal'.

Depends on the nature of the threat. Some of the good reactions to "guy who is casting Flame Jet" would look fairly similar to those for "guy who has a concealed flamethrower."

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Depends on the nature of the threat. Some of the good reactions to "guy who is casting Flame Jet" would look fairly similar to those for "guy who has a concealed flamethrower."

There's a lot of magical effects that don't have a sensible re-interpretation, and I would hazard a guess that they outnumber the ones that can be coherently re-mapped.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Bruno

There's a lot of magical effects that don't have a sensible re-interpretation, and I would hazard a guess that they outnumber the ones that can be coherently re-mapped.

A majority of magical effects are just plain invisible things that nobody with a mundane background would be initially equipped to interpret as anything more than "than that guy is acting weird", "I feel sick", or "that was an amazing guess" even without a spell on them forcing them to put a rational take on everything. Most visible attacks are easily understood by the damage they are doing. Where the mind would strain are the transmutation effects like "that guy was turned to stone!" or "I've been made ugly!"

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Depends on the nature of the threat. Some of the good reactions to "guy who is casting Flame Jet" would look fairly similar to those for "guy who has a concealed flamethrower."

Originally Posted by Bruno

There's a lot of magical effects that don't have a sensible re-interpretation, and I would hazard a guess that they outnumber the ones that can be coherently re-mapped.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

A majority of magical effects are just plain invisible things that nobody with a mundane background would be initially equipped to interpret as anything more than "than that guy is acting weird", "I feel sick", or "that was an amazing guess" even without a spell on them forcing them to put a rational take on everything. Most visible attacks are easily understood by the damage they are doing. Where the mind would strain are the transmutation effects like "that guy was turned to stone!" or "I've been made ugly!"

Consider monsters.

Hiding under something from werewolves in wolfman form because you think it's a guy in a suit and ignore that they will smell you*, running into the dark forest to flee from a vampire instead of remaining in the house where it might not be able to enter without an invitation, fail to consider the threat of mind-controlled people or magical fleshsuits even after multiple instances of seeing it happen, etc.

Basically, if your foes are supernatural, you are literally unable to analyse their tactics and weaknesses if you have a Delusion on top of your Mundane Background, because you keep trying to come up with alternate, and wrong, rationalisations about what is actually happening.

*Not that you are likely to have many better options, but at least running away might cause them to eat someone else who hid first, giving you a theoretical chance of escape.