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Old 12-08-2013, 02:52 PM   #1
D10
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: In Rio de Janeiro, where it was cyberpunk before it was cool.
Default Is this use of command apropriate ?

A question ahs come up at my game about the command spell, can I use it to prevent someone else from taking an action, lets say a member of my group attacks someone he shouldnt, im seeing this as a mage and I want to use command on him and tell him to stop.

Can I do this ? Or only works when im being attacked ?
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Old 12-08-2013, 04:12 PM   #2
Not another shrubbery
 
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Default Re: Is this use of command apropriate ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by D10 View Post
A question ahs come up at my game about the command spell, can I use it to prevent someone else from taking an action, lets say a member of my group attacks someone he shouldnt, im seeing this as a mage and I want to use command on him and tell him to stop.

Can I do this ? Or only works when im being attacked ?
That's a legitimate use of the Command spell. Your skill will take the normal distance penalties for a regular spell when used this way.
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Old 12-15-2013, 12:02 PM   #3
D10
 
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Default Re: Is this use of command apropriate ?

Is there any oficial clarification ? Any quote from Kromm ? I have been searching for hours and cant find it. Im just asking because thats what is usually required to count as an actual rule around these parts ^^
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Old 12-15-2013, 01:10 PM   #4
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Default Re: Is this use of command apropriate ?

Believe it or not the more we read the rules the more we disagree on them.

Help me fellow forum dwellers!

The crux of the issue is the fact that on page 12 of Magic 4e it is writen:
"Blocking Spells
A Blocking spell is cast instantly as a defense against either a physical attack or another spell."

the text on the command spell reads
Command
Blocking; Resisted by Will
Give a subject one immediate command – a word and a gesture, or at most
two words – which the subject must obey. If the subject is unable to fulfill
the command immediately or on his next turn, the spell has no effect.

when I read this i assume "a subject" can be "any subject in range", and like Fumble and a few other blocking spells, it can be used in a situation where im not being directly attacked.

The other camp reads the first description of blocking spells being used to prevent attacks and spells and claim that a spell must specifically claim it can affect third parties (As in people not directly attacking me) and actions that are not attacks and spells to be able to do it.
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Old 12-15-2013, 04:22 PM   #5
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Default Re: Is this use of command apropriate ?

If you regard blocking spells like another active defense (makes sense to me), there is precedent that using the defense to protect someone else requires a perk (like Shield Wall Training). IIRC, though, there are also defenses that do not require a perk to use for protecting others, like Sacrificial Dodge.

GURPS relies on Rule Zero. The GM needs to make a ruling, and neither interpretation is wrong. Kromm might have the most informed opinion, but you aren't bound by any advice you get, no matter how authoritative the source.

It sounds like there is some PvP stuff going on, which is a burden to put on the GM, but if your group plays GURPS, trusting and accepting his or her rulings is sort of implicit.
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Old 12-16-2013, 10:40 AM   #6
Kromm
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Default Re: Is this use of command apropriate ?

The described use is legitimate. Blocking spells capable of protecting only the caster himself (e.g., Iron Arm) all say as much. The ones that work only in response to attacks (ditto) likewise spell this out. If those restrictions aren't present, then they don't apply. Just be sure to apply the -1 per yard for a distant subject and to stay within the realm of what's possible for the specific spell (e.g., Fumble specifically allows one to interfere with defenses, Move maneuvers, and every other physical action, not just attacks, but Turn Blade works only on attacks).
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Old 12-17-2013, 08:45 PM   #7
D10
 
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Default Re: Is this use of command apropriate ?

Thanks a ton for the help, and I just want to clarify that this is not a me vs the GM thing, its just that we didnt knew where the rule stood, and there were some very vocal group members claiming it was not appropriate.

Now that we know what the rules mean we can continue to play by them.
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