RPM Blocking Spells/Instant Gathering

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by JulianLW

But you can roll in one second at -4, right? Let's say you have a small spell, and one roll at -4 is all it takes to gather enough energy - that spell would be cast on that same turn, right? as soon as the energy was gathered?

Example: My Ignite spell is just Lesser Control Energy (5), Cost: 5. I have Path of Energy at 19. I cut my gathering roll to one second for -4 and roll an 8, gathering 7 energy. As soon as that's done, I've lit my fire, correct? In theory, this makes for a one-turn spell - though not instant.

But I could NOT gather energy at -4 three times in that second, as I could when rolling -10 for instant gathering with a blocking spell, right? Or could I? (I think this is a no.)

The -4 for fast-casting means that I can roll that Path of Energy skill at 15 to gather for 3 seconds in a row, then at 14 for 3 more seconds, etc., to come up with ~27 energy in 6 seconds, correct?

No, the penalty for gathering faster is superseded by the blocking spell penalty. They are not meant to interact. The -10 to gathering rolls for blocking spells is effectively, "I turn this into a free action." It's meant to emulate certain types of tropes and fiction. It's not meant to allow you to instant-cast spells willy-nilly. If you want that then buy levels of ATR or Compartmentalized Mind.

Originally Posted by JulianLW

So (and I'm sure this has been asked before) is there any way to get a more powerful one-second spell?

Could you do, like, "Rapid Strike Gathering" in one second at -6 on top of the -4? That is, could you take a -10 penalty on two gathering rolls (or -16 on three rolls) to make them in the same second?

If you had Spellslinger. Rapid Strike for spells is not available without that ability.

Originally Posted by JulianLW

Finally, would your "Spellslinger" advantage in Pyramid 3/66 cut that penalty to -3, for -7 for 2 gathering rolls in a second or -10 for 3 gathering rolls in a second?

No, it enables that option. Normal casters can't do it.

Originally Posted by JulianLW

Cool. I wonder how Christopher Rice feels about -10 for one-turn casting like this? He seems to be the RPM Guru around here.

I wouldn't.

Originally Posted by JulianLW

Re: Alternative benefits for Natural Caster talent:


How does this work? A flat bonus for anyone with the talent, whatever level? Or +2/level (which seems excessive to me).

It's +2 conditionals per level of the talent.