Catalyst Adept Rules With the mana level of the earth continuing to rise, magic, while still rare, is becoming more prolific. Not only is it manifesting more often, but it is manifesting in new ways as well. One of those new avenues is the Catalyst, a newly emerging Adept. Unlike most other Magicians, Catalysts are neither Hermetic nor Shamanic in nature. Catalysts cost 12 character creation points to make, falling somewhere in between B and C priority. While unable to cast spells himself, a Catalyst has the unique ability to augment another Magician's spellcasting. In order to augment a spell, the Catalyst must first be aware that a spell is being cast. Although a Catalyst does not have Astral Perception, he does have a variant of the Physical Adept Magic Sense power. This ability allows the Catalyst to detect the presence and active use of magic within a radius of a number of meters equal to his Magic Rating x 5. This ability is always active once his magical aptitude manifests itself and cannot be turned off. Fortunately for the Catalyst, this version of the Magic Sense power doesn't make him astrally active. The Magic Sense ability is treated as Astral Perception when magic is present or used within its area of effect. The Catalyst rolls a number of dice equal to his Magic Rating to detect and interpret the type of any magical beings and Foci within his area of detection. For all intents and purposes, this ability is treated as the Astral Perception ability, except it is interpreted as a sixth sense, rather than a visual image. Spells and active Foci are automatically detected within the area of effect of the Magic Sense ability, but the standard success tests are required to detect anything specific about them. Inactive Foci can also be detected with a successful Magic Sense test, as per the normal rules for doing so. The Magic Sense ability only detects magical beings, Foci, and activity. Thus, it cannot detect whether someone is magically active, nor can it detect the true astral image of a being under any form of Illusion spell. However, in the latter case, it can detect that a spell is present, and (with a successful test) that the spell is of the Illusion category. The Magic Sense ability can also detect the use of Spell Defense or Shielding, as well as the presence of any Wards, Barriers, Dual-Natured, or Astrally Projecting beings. Catalysts cannot purchase the Talent of Astral Perception, nor can they also be Astral Adepts. A Catalyst has a Magic Pool equal to his Magic Rating. Unlike most Magicians, the Catalyst's Magic Pool is based upon the amount of energy they can channel, not their level of ability with a Sorcery skill. In fact, the Sorcery skill isn't used in any way when augmenting a spell. A Catalyst augments a spell cast by another Magician by "feeding" the spell with energy from his Magic Pool while the spell is being cast. In order to do this, the Catalyst must have a held action when the spell is cast. The dice used by the Catalyst to augment the spell are NOT figured into the chance of a Magical Misfire in any way. The Catalyst, not the casting Magician, rolls the dice he has allocated to augment the spell. The base TN for the Catalyst's success test is the same as for casting the spell, but the situational modifiers may be different from those applied to the casting Magician. Every success generated by the Catalyst is added to any successes generated by the spell's caster, even if the caster generated zero successes. Augmenting a spell takes a Complex Action. The Magician casting the spell will be aware of the presence of extra energy forming within the spell, but will not be aware of the source of the energy. Until the presence of Catalysts becomes more known, a Magician will likely attribute the extra energy as a mana fluctuation of some sort. Upon augmenting a spell, a Catalyst must resist Drain as if he cast the spell himself. The casting Magician must still resist Drain as usual, however. (e.g., when a spell is cast by a Magician and augmented by a Catalyst, both the casting Magician and the Catalyst must resist Drain as if they each cast the spell.) The Catalyst may use any remaining dice from his Magic Pool to help resist Drain. He may also help the casting Magician resist Drain by "lending" him Magic Pool dice for the Drain Resistance test. Thus, when augmenting a spell, the Catalyst must divide his dice up between making the spell more powerful, resisting Drain, and helping the casting Magician resist Drain. Even if a Catalyst chooses not to augment a spell, he can use his Magic Pool to help the casting Magician resist Drain. Any dice "loaned" to another Magician for Drain Resistance are affected by the Catalyst's wound modifiers. The Magician being aided will be most likely attribute the ease of Drain Resistance to either a fluke, or some sort of mana fluctuation. Catalysts can also augment spellcasting via Ritual Sorcery. In this case, the Catalyst adds the dice from his Magic Pool to the communal Magic Pool formed by the Ritual Sorcery team, but does not count against the total number of participants allowed during the ritual. The Catalyst must resist Drain like the rest of the Ritual Sorcery team, however. A Catalyst cannot be used as an astral guide. A Catalyst can also provide Spell Defense with his Magic Pool per the standard rules for doing so (including the line of sight restriction). The only magical skill a Catalyst can fully utilize as a magically active being is Enchanting. In fact, Catalysts have a certain affinity with this art. A Catalyst adds a number of dice equal to one-third his Magic Rating (rounded down) to his Enchanting skill when making ANY Enchanting-related tests, including tests for gathering and refining materials. This represents the Catalyst's inherent attunement with magic. A Catalyst is treated as a mundane for the purpose of determining how he is able to utilize any other magical skills. A Catalyst's Magic Rating (and, therefore, his Magic Pool) is directly affected by mana fluctuations. Add or subtract the rating of the fluctuation to/from the Catalyst's Magic Rating (as appropriate). Astral Static adds to the TN's of a Catalyst's success tests and to the TN of any Drain Resistance test dice "loaned" to another Magician. A Catalyst is able to use Power Foci and Fetish Foci per the normal rules. In the case of Power Foci, the Catalyst adds one point to his Magic Rating and to his Magic Pool for every rating point of the Focus, but gains no other benefits from the item. When it comes to Fetish Foci, a Catalyst can use them to augment a spell, resist Drain, or to help the casting Magician to resist Drain. However, per the standard rules, he can only use a Fetish Focus for one of these options (A Fetish Focus cannot be divided up among success tests and Drain Resistance tests). A Catalyst is also able to activate and deactivate Spell Locks. So, while a Catalyst is unable to cast a spell into a Spell Lock, he can bond and use one as any other Magician would. Catalysts have the same limitation as all other Magicians regarding how many Foci they can have active at once. A Catalyst has full access to the following Metamagical Abilities upon Initiation: Shielding, Masking, and Centering. However, since a Catalyst does not have access to Astral Perception, he can never attempt to pierce Masking. Unless he is Masking his aura, a Catalyst appears as an Adept-level magically active being on the Astral Plane. Catalysts follow the normal rules for acquiring, breaking, and shedding Geasa. They can also lose Magic Rating points when receiving Deadly wounds and must be treated as a Magician when being healed in order to ensure additional Magic Rating points aren't lost.