Re: magical vs.mundane resistance

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_...>
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 17:51:47 -0000

"simon_hibbs2" <simon.hibbs_at_m...> wrote:
> I think the rules are quie clear on this. If the object of the magic
> is magical it gets to resist usng it's most apropriate magical
> ability. If it's a character, likewise. If it has no magical
> abiities (wether it's a character or not) it's resisance is 14.

"p98: {Natural Resistance} [...] A hero who uses a magical _Jump up Cliff_ ability to leap to the top of a battlement takes a penalty for improvising the magic's use _and_ takes a *mundane* resistance based on the height of the wall."

"p99: {Personal Resistance} Beings resist enemy magic with their best *relevant* ability or keyword[!?], *whether mundane of magical*."

(*-emphasis (and chess notation) added.)

Thus the test is _not_ simply one of whether the resistance is magical, but whether it's 'passive' and 'appropriate'.

> IMHO saying that a thing (tree, mountain, whatever) has a magical
> ability effectively makes it a character anyway, so actualy I'd
> argue that these two cases are realy just different ways of saying
> the same thing.

Oh, sure. They're _both_ as clear as mud. ;-) The implication is that a magical ability is presumptively 'active' and 'appropriate', but the reverse isn't true -- those aren't the _only_ possible resistances.

Cheers,
Alex.