Hello! My gaming group has recently discovered Anima, and after playing the game I've got a few questions that hopefully can get answered.

1) While not actually pertaining to the game, this is probably the best place to ask: Does anyone know what happened to the EdgeEnt forums? I mainly used it for some of the rulings and information, and a ruling from AS is pretty much absolute. It went down for maintenance for a week or so recently and now I always get an error when I go to the site.

"PHP Warning: require_once(c:domainsedgeent.comwwwrootanimaforum/Sources/QueryString.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:webspacehostingsPostofficesedgeent.comhostingwwwanimaforumindex.php on line 47 PHP Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required 'c:domainsedgeent.comwwwrootanimaforum/Sources/QueryString.php' (include_path='.;C:php5pear') in C:webspacehostingsPostofficesedgeent.comhostingwwwanimaforumindex.php on line 47"

I use Opera as my browser, and tried again with IE, but same error. Any info on that?

2) With that out of the way, is there a ruling on stacking psychic powers? I may have missed it, as I've only glossed over that section, but our GM insists that with the rules, he can use the Zen levels of the "Strength Increase" and "Total Increase" powers to raise a warrior mentalist's strength to 20 from a base 11. Is this correct?

-(Sadly, while we really enjoy the game, our current GM is coming off of the DND 3.5 way of thinking, and is a notorious powergamer. Not entirely his fault, as we players are too lazy to want to be the first to run a game in a new system, but still. A lot of my questions come from things he's mentioned that I don't agree with and could not find a true ruling on in the book.)

3) The Level 92 Creation spell, "Eternal Magic" causes spells with daily maintenance to become permanent, and spells maintained per combat turn into daily spells. If a spell qualified for Eternal Magic to be cast upon it, can it be cast twice on a spell with a per turn maintenence to become daily, and then permanent? I don't think so, but the book is vague on that issue.

4) A setting question, so it could be harder to answer, but how often should people be seeing inquisitors, and how many at a time? I had assumed that they did not travel in groups, and I certainly would not be seeing them often. However, in my second session, our party ran into no less than 5. We were travelling in a caravan from Americh with a member of Black Sun and a few renegade commoners that had supernatural abilities, and halfway through our journey we came crossed into Archangel. And suddenly, we come across a barricade of the 5 inquisitors, and barely escaped with our lives because my character managed to summon an Efreeti out of sheer luck. (Said Efreeti was the requirement that my summoner had to summon for the Magician Reversed pact, so he had the bonus of it's true name. However, that was still a little much and only managed to succeed because I took the 3-point Elan advantage with Eriol.) But seriously, five inquisitors? Against four level 2 characters, that still seemed WAY extreme. One of the inquisitors was also the subject of my second question above. Since then, we've managed to come across two of those Inquisitors again, (on a Zeppelin bound for the New Continent that also had 4 Selene assassins, some Wissencraft agents, 3 Tol Rauko templars, and a crazy Captain with a shotgun. Excluding the captain, I think that menagerie of factions alone should have sparked complete chaos. I get the feeling out GM just has a dartboard of keywords and just randomly sees what happens....) and I'm growing irritated. When Gaia comes out hopefully I'll have some help with my point that they aren't under every single rock and in every tree we pass. >_>

5) Can the infamous Chimera spell be cast on someone unwilling? If so, is there a resistance check of any kind? This is a question more for my own character, as he has access through party members to the spell and the plan was to Chimera creatures/people we found to either turn natural creatures into potential familiars or to allow the handy Pokeballing of natural based enemies (Bind + Anchor + Ocean? =D). A smaller, baby dragon was something that after fighting I Chimera'd and made into my familiar, after seeing all the threads about how Chimera just made things at the mercy of summoners.

Hoping for some helpful replies!

I'm a beginner at Anima also, but me and my brother are experienced gamers of a multitude of systems and are working on setting up an Anima campaign now. I hope my opinions and such prove helpful.

1> Sorry, not familiar with them at all. Just answering to try and be complete

2> The Discipline of Strength Increase has a max of +10, but when trying to take a characteristic higher than 10, it burns 2 points to get a one point increase. Total Increase maxs out at 8 points, with the same beyond 10 limitation. So even if the character already has a Strength of 11 before using both of those at max result, he'd get (Base) 11 + (Strength Increase 10/2) 5 + (Total Increase 8/2) 4 = 20. Ok, all the math junk is out of the way, wanted to make sure it was understood where the numbers were coming from.

Now as to whether this is by the rules? Yes, Total Increase specifically states, "The effects of this Power will add up with those of any other increase kept active by the character.". Although that still doesn't make it an easy thing to do as you will have to be able to maintain both those powers at a 440 zen, which is probably taking a major ton of Free PPs to do. And you also have to roll a lot to keep them going at that level, unless you've put them in innate slots (bought with a permanent expendature of PP), and then still had to dump a major buttload of Free PP in them both to increase the total up to 440. Since it's unlikely that he's got a Psychic Potential that exceeds 80 (Will 12 = 80 potential) and your rolls don't count for jack when maintaining in an innate slot, but it's automatically upped to the minimum for that power if your potential is too low. (Total Strength 80-Medium = +1) (Total Increase 180-Absurd= +1)

Let's see, so that's looking at 18 Free PP being spent to maintain Total Strength at 440 zen (and an additional two permanently spent for an innate slot), and to maintain the Total Strength at the same time, (another 2 permanent points for a second innate slot) an additional 13 Free PP to up it's potential. That's locking up 4 points permanently in 2 innate slots, and another 32 Free PP for cranking the potential up for maintenence on those two powers to have them at a 440 zen level. I don't see a low level being able to pull that off. Now I know you didn't say he was maintaining them, but again, that takes insane rolls for a low level, and he's going to be doing those every round I believe if it isn't being put in an innate slot. And if he's casting them all on the same round, he has to split his Psychic Potential among them since that's like a pool used every round, not a complete bonus that applies to each of them. Also, don't forget, expending Free PP to do this stuff means their gone until they recover, and that's going to be a long time in most cases, certainly longer than any encounter. See pages 192 & 193 for all this stuff.

Ok, again, yes it is possible to use both those powers at the same time to increase and 11 strength up to 20, HOWEVER, it's really only going to be done by a high level character.

3> Although the description of Eternal Magic doesn't state it specifically, the answer would still be NO . The spell works by stabilizing the other spell, doing it again would be redundant and wouldn't have any effect. It's like leveling a table to stuff doesn't roll off, if you level an already level table, it doesn't somehow become ultra level and things start rolling onto it, it's still just level. Besides, it's a Divine Spell and the caster must have a Gnosis of 40 to even cast those in the first place. Please check pages 276 & 277. Player Characters just aren't going to get a 40 Gnosis in any sort of normal campaign. There aren't even any advantages you can buy that increase your Gnosis. Good reason for your mages to not bother learning paths up that high, it would be an utter waste.

4> Hmmm. Outnumbered by foes 2.5 times your level. I think you were either supposed to surrender, or run like a cheetah with it's tail on fire. GMs do that sometimes. Encountering them multiple times probably means the GM is using them for plot points. Remember, this is a story line, and re-occuring characters is something that happens a lot. It could be anything from the result of Destiny, to comedic relief. Anyone remember the cabbage salesman from Avatar: The Last Airbender? As to the unfriendly factions all being on the same airship and not going to war, that's easy. It's not their territory. As soon as it's in the air, the Captain is the law, and messing with him is a bad choice. It would make a huge mess that their superiors won't like, and besides they don't know how to operate the airship. The crew obeys the captain, not them, and if you cack the captain, they're probably gonna take the lifeboat or hidden parachutes or whatever and leave you all to die if they think you are too powerful for them to defeat. And let's not forget what happens when powerful supernatural effects start exploding in an airship. Short version, it quickly becomes a crash site.

They weren't fighting because they'd probably get in trouble with their bosses and possible be committing unintentional suicide.

5> I don't see any reason why you can't cast a chimera spell on an unwilling target, but I'm sure you'd have to overcome their Magic Resistance. As to the other stuff, I'm just going to have to go on experience here. In short, I wouldn't let summoning powers work on chimera made from a creature that wasn't vulnerable to summoning in the first place. It's a game balance thing. No scenarios where you don't like Joe the bartender, so you chimera him then start using summoning to make him your insta-slave. Definitely a no go there. As to the familiar thing. Maybe, it would all depend on the would-be familiar. If it's just something different but of the same appx capabilities of the 'normal' familiars, sure, but if it's some mondo powered game breaker, no way.

Anyhow, that's just my opinions and in a few places, the rules in the book. It would be nice if there was an index, a glossary, and if they'd have resorted the stuff after converting it to english. (It's such a feaking PAIN to find a specific advantage/disadvantage since they aren't alphabetized in English.) Hope it helps, have fun, and I'm probably going to be posting a ton of questions of my own soon. (Among them, why are all the two handed melee weapons usable one handed without penalty? I think someone goofed on that one.)

> <

1) The official forums are apparently down for some reason. I think they had server issues or something. Really, the only way to see when they're back up is to go and check.

2) As meerling said, they do stack, but require a huge Psychic Potential to bring up to the necessary levels. Remember, you maintain psychic powers at a level that your unrolled Psychic Potential could maintain, not at the level you rolled. If you don't have enough Psychic Potential to maintain it at the most basic level, you do maintain it at that level, but advantages that boost maintenance level don't come in until your Psychic Potential is high enough to maintain that level on its own, and they don't stack with Temporary PP spent to raise your PP either. That's all discussed on the official forums and come from the developer.

You also need to remember that the 2 for 1 when raising an ability above 10 still comes into play. So raising to 20 is extremely difficult.

3) Again, meerling is correct. And I think I need to steal the Ultra Level Table as something a mad mage is trying to create.

4) If you're meeting inquisitors left, right and center, then you should probably ask a few questions. Do they seem to be waiting for you? If so, they might be hunting you for a reason. That could be a plot point. Also, are you using supernatural abilities in plain sight of people? That might also be calling them. Talk to your GM about this. Don't ask him to tell you what is going on, but express that you're getting a bit frustrated by it and you were wondering if this was plot based or just him throwing in random encounters. If it is plot based, discuss things being level appropriate.

Remember, you still get xp in Anima for getting defeated in combat, so getting captured still advances your character. It is possible that your GM isn't sure what makes up an appropriate challenge, but that's why you should talk about this stuff. Not in an accusing or frustrated manner, but just a "we're wondering" type of way. The GM can't fix problems he doesn't know about after all.

5) As written, Chimera can be cast on the unwilling. If they are unwilling, they get a Difficult (120) MR check. And as written, they do become vulnerable to summoning, which is the trade off for becoming a Being Between Worlds. That said, it isn't a great tactic. You raise the character's level for the purpose of leveling and grant them extra powers. This level raise can make them impossible to control or bind as a familiar. That and binding them as a familiar is dangerous, since damage to them can hurt you directly and knock you out. Then there are that guy's allies who will not take that lying down. So while it can work, it quickly becomes a liability to do things that way, especially for the summoner who has to bind or control them.

How do you think the baby dragon's Mom is going to react when she wakes up and finds that you've not only stolen her infant but warped him with fell magic and enslaved him to your will?

I would allow it, but remind the players that it isn't an instant win at all. When your opponents bring in a binder of their own and remove that slave from the fight, they just wasted a lot of resources for not much benefit. And if the Inquisition is after you know, imagine what they'll do if you start turning people into your unwilling monstrous slaves.

Thanks for the clarifications Blackburn. It's always nice when someone who actually knows what they're talking about jumps in to fix my stumbling around with a metaphorical candle.

Oh, and one more thing... (I just can't resist)

The Inquisition... What a show!

and

Nobody Expects the Inquisition!

Ok, that's out of my system... For a little while. > <

Thanks guys, good to get some answers in here from people who've read the book better than I. I don't know what the level of the 20 Strength character is, seeing as he's one of the recurring inquisitors so far. I think he's more of a railroading device at this point. >_> Can you clarify what you meant by "...but advantages that boost maintenance level don't come in until your Psychic Potential is high enough to maintain that level on its own..." Do you mean the creation advantages like "Amplify Sustained Power" or "Psychic Inclination"?

The High Magic thing was a blatant metagaming loophole by my DM's justification. Apparently, the idea is to learn all of Creation Magic, get full 100 point Elan with Erebus, go to the wake and then all your spells will stick around forever! I think I'll push against Elan in future games.

We've never used our abilities in front of people, except for like enemies and stuff, but they never survive to tell. As for inquisitors finding us, it was just checkpoint, inquisitors, and "They have see supernatural. They see a psychic, a ki user, a wizard, and a guy with a chaos aura with someone inside him." Shot the wizard's bible out of his hands too when he held it up and said "Thou shalt not kill". =( The boat affair lasted pretty peacefully until something attacked us, we didn't really get details aside from there's hostiles boarding the ship. The captain got shot in the head, monster arrived, and the inquisitors left us and it on a falling zepp telling us we could all crash together. =((

Dragon's mom...Ummm. You got me there. Throw party members in the way? "It was him! I can't cast magic! I was babysitting! DON'T BREATHE!!!"

Oh well. My character has a short lifespan no matter what. XD Not only am I Chaos Incarnate, I'm an Ebudan Nephilim and my destiny is to unlock the Filisnogos. T_T

Sedall said:

Amplify Sustained Power and Psychic Inclination don't stack with each other, and Amplify works based on your normal, unmodified Psychic Potential. If you maintain a power you don't have the Psychic Potential to maintain at that level you automatically maintain it at its lowest possibly success.

So, for example, if Kellan has a Psychic Potential of 90 and Amplify and maintains a power with a minimum difficulty of 80 needed to succeed, then he maintains the power at the 120 success level. This is because the power is within his normal Psychic Potential, so Amplify gives him a boost.

Meanwhile, if he tries to maintain a power with a minimum difficulty of 120, then he will maintain at 120 (since maintenance always works at the lowest possible level if you lack the PP to get higher). But since he is already receiving a boost that makes him maintain above his normal potential, Amplify does not apply, because that can only boost you to the next success if you are maintaining at your Psychic Potential (which is 90 in this case).

So basically your GM is facing you off against an avatar of Erebus. Nice... Try to work on ways for him to lose Elan. He has to follow a strict interpretation of Erebus after all.

I still suggest talking with the GM about the characters. Otherwise you're both going to get annoyed and nothing will get fixed.

My suggestion with the Dragon is this. Treat Baby really nice. Apologize for enslaving him. Keep him happy, well fed, and treat him as another party member so that he's at least content with what's going on. That makes him less likely to be pissy, and he's more likely to stand up for you if Mom gets back. And remind him that the bond can't be broken, and that anything that hurts you hurts him and vice versa, so he has a vested interest in try to keep Mom from deep frying you.

Also on the chimera'd dragon baby.

The first rule of chimera is not to use in on something with a Mom with sharp teeth. If you break rule number 1, apologize and explain that while you two are linked, it will get a boost in strength and power over the course of your mortal life span that it could not expect for centuries yet. Explain the nature of the familiar bond. Do not force it to do something that it doesn't want to do unless you have to. Keep it well fed and happy. Treat it as one of the family or as a valued party members, not as a pokemon. Maybe let it bite off one of the wizard's fingers every now and then.

Do this and (hopefully) it will be on your side and plead your case should Mom show up.