Rules Clarifications (Player Input required!)

[Scarecrow]

To add a bit of a clarification here, the Beast is a wild, unpredictable, blood lusting monster. It wants nothing more than to destroy anything in front of it or to run away if that creature is too powerful for it.
What this means for weapons in frenzy? There's no conscious thought involved. The Beast doesn't think "I have a knife on my hip, that'll help me here." It goes in right for the throat and tries to tear it out with the Beast's teeth. If it's not something you can naturally do, like claws, or don't already have it in your hand generally speaking (this is generally up to the ST to decide) but you aren't going to be able to use it.

[Meztli]

Are the Mind 3 and Mind 4 spells "Enhance Skill" (Increase skills you possess dots in) and "Gain Skill" (Increase skills you don't possess dots in) mutually exclusive, or can you use Gain Skill to also increase skills you already possess? This is mainly a question for the purposes of casting the spells on others when you don't know everyone's skill sets.

[Regentwill]

To add a bit of a clarification here, the Beast is a wild, unpredictable, blood lusting monster. It wants nothing more than to destroy anything in front of it or to run away if that creature is too powerful for it.
What this means for weapons in frenzy? There's no conscious thought involved. The Beast doesn't think "I have a knife on my hip, that'll help me here." It goes in right for the throat and tries to tear it out with the Beast's teeth. If it's not something you can naturally do, like claws, or don't already have it in your hand generally speaking (this is generally up to the ST to decide) but you aren't going to be able to use it.

Is this clarification you got from ChrisF? I'm confused here a bit.

EDIT: I ask this because what you have posted here is extremely contradictory to what is posted i the book.

According to page 104, the beast will do anything within its power to accomplish its goals, and lists options as just straight out punching or even grabbing and throwing someone.

Also, in the same paragraph, it states that the beast is capable of doing anything a wild predator might do.

when you frenzy, you choose the desire of your beast, it's not entirely delegated to "kill who makes me mad!" or "EAT!" it might be "overpower bob" or "Stalk Samuel" and the book clearly states you get the choose the desire of your beast, and the choices are many.

So, my point here is "will do anything within its power" and "Isnt stupid" to be translates to not throwing yourself at someone when you have a chance die to grab them when if you have a club, you clearly have something "within your power" that will do the job.

[Vannex]

For Mage spells with ritual casting,
1) Is the subject required to be within range for the entire spell, or just the end of it, without sympathetic threshold?
2) Does the spell carrier if not the caster, need to be within range for the entire spell, or just the end of it, without sympathetic threshold?

[ChrisF]

Are the Mind 3 and Mind 4 spells "Enhance Skill" (Increase skills you possess dots in) and "Gain Skill" (Increase skills you don't possess dots in) mutually exclusive, or can you use Gain Skill to also increase skills you already possess? This is mainly a question for the purposes of casting the spells on others when you don't know everyone's skill sets.

If they affect the same skill, spell stacking rules apply. So, no, you cant do gain skill and then enhance skill on the same skill. But you can have them both active affecting DIFFERENT skills.

To add a bit of a clarification here, the Beast is a wild, unpredictable, blood lusting monster. It wants nothing more than to destroy anything in front of it or to run away if that creature is too powerful for it.
What this means for weapons in frenzy? There's no conscious thought involved. The Beast doesn't think "I have a knife on my hip, that'll help me here." It goes in right for the throat and tries to tear it out with the Beast's teeth. If it's not something you can naturally do, like claws, or don't already have it in your hand generally speaking (this is generally up to the ST to decide) but you aren't going to be able to use it.

Is this clarification you got from ChrisF? I'm confused here a bit.

EDIT: I ask this because what you have posted here is extremely contradictory to what is posted i the book.

According to page 104, the beast will do anything within its power to accomplish its goals, and lists options as just straight out punching or even grabbing and throwing someone.

Also, in the same paragraph, it states that the beast is capable of doing anything a wild predator might do.

when you frenzy, you choose the desire of your beast, it's not entirely delegated to "kill who makes me mad!" or "EAT!" it might be "overpower bob" or "Stalk Samuel" and the book clearly states you get the choose the desire of your beast, and the choices are many.

So, my point here is "will do anything within its power" and "Isnt stupid" to be translates to not throwing yourself at someone when you have a chance die to grab them when if you have a club, you clearly have something "within your power" that will do the job.

As I said, simple, straightforward weapons can be used. That includes drawing them if it would be a significant advantage over fists/claws/teeth.

For Mage spells with ritual casting,
1) Is the subject required to be within range for the entire spell, or just the end of it, without sympathetic threshold?
2) Does the spell carrier if not the caster, need to be within range for the entire spell, or just the end of it, without sympathetic threshold?

As far as I can tell, the entire spell, but I'll double check if the Developer has commented on that.

[Meztli]

Are the Mind 3 and Mind 4 spells "Enhance Skill" (Increase skills you possess dots in) and "Gain Skill" (Increase skills you don't possess dots in) mutually exclusive, or can you use Gain Skill to also increase skills you already possess? This is mainly a question for the purposes of casting the spells on others when you don't know everyone's skill sets.

If they affect the same skill, spell stacking rules apply. So, no, you cant do gain skill and then enhance skill on the same skill. But you can have them both active affecting DIFFERENT skills.

To clarify, my question was if one could use Gain Skill, by itself, to enhance a skill you already possess a dot in.
I.e. if you cast Gain Skill (Larceny) on two characters, one of which has Larceny 3 and one which has Larceny 0 for a potency of 2, will you get two characters with respectively Larceny 5 and Larceny 2, or one unaffected character with Larceny 3 and one affected character with Larceny 2?

[ChrisF]

Are the Mind 3 and Mind 4 spells "Enhance Skill" (Increase skills you possess dots in) and "Gain Skill" (Increase skills you don't possess dots in) mutually exclusive, or can you use Gain Skill to also increase skills you already possess? This is mainly a question for the purposes of casting the spells on others when you don't know everyone's skill sets.

If they affect the same skill, spell stacking rules apply. So, no, you cant do gain skill and then enhance skill on the same skill. But you can have them both active affecting DIFFERENT skills.

To clarify, my question was if one could use Gain Skill, by itself, to enhance a skill you already possess a dot in.
I.e. if you cast Gain Skill (Larceny) on two characters, one of which has Larceny 3 and one which has Larceny 0 for a potency of 2, will you get two characters with respectively Larceny 5 and Larceny 2, or one unaffected character with Larceny 3 and one affected character with Larceny 2?

Ah, sorry. Gain Skill can be used on skills you have, but unlike enhance skill it won't stack with an existing rating. So a Potency 3 Gain Skill on a skill you have 2 dots of gives you 3, not 5.

[Regentwill]

Auspex and Clash of Wills. According to the errata, while Auspex is active, it's constantly active. Does this mean when you are in Astral Projection, anyone using obfuscate gets a CoW if you can perceive them? Or how about while Lay open the mind is active through a scene?

[ChrisF]

Auspex and Clash of Wills. According to the errata, while Auspex is active, it's constantly active. Does this mean when you are in Astral Projection, anyone using obfuscate gets a CoW if you can perceive them? Or how about while Lay open the mind is active through a scene?

NO, you still need to activate the lower levels, it just simply means that anything that's normally stop you from activating 'another' discipline without stopping currently active ones won't prevent you from using the other levels of it in those circumstances.

[Regentwill]

So then from what I read, anything 1-3 will pierce Obfuscate, anything above that does not? Just to clarify.

[WastedMuse]

Does the Mage write up for Universal Language, also apply to First tongue?

It's my understanding that physically most humans can't physically form the words for the First Tongue.

Thanks for clarification!

[ChrisF]

So then from what I read, anything 1-3 will pierce Obfuscate, anything above that does not? Just to clarify.

Right

Does the Mage write up for Universal Language, also apply to First tongue?

It's my understanding that physically most humans can't physically form the words for the First Tongue.

Thanks for clarification!

It applies to first tongue, in that it'd allow someone to understand it, but it doesn't provide magical vocal chords that speak it properly, no.

[Regentwill]

Does the Mage write up for Universal Language, also apply to First tongue?

It's my understanding that physically most humans can't physically form the words for the First Tongue.

Thanks for clarification!
It applies to first tongue, in that it'd allow someone to understand it, but it doesn't provide magical vocal chords that speak it properly, no.

This has actually come up, you don't have the vocal chords that allow you to speak first tongue, but you CAN speak it harshly, like a first year lanugage student talking to someone who is fluent, so would the mage spell recreate that as well?

[ChrisF]

Does the Mage write up for Universal Language, also apply to First tongue?

It's my understanding that physically most humans can't physically form the words for the First Tongue.

Thanks for clarification!
It applies to first tongue, in that it'd allow someone to understand it, but it doesn't provide magical vocal chords that speak it properly, no.

This has actually come up, you don't have the vocal chords that allow you to speak first tongue, but you CAN speak it harshly, like a first year lanugage student talking to someone who is fluent, so would the mage spell recreate that as well?

It won't let them speak it 'properly', but they can make the same attempt as any human with the language, yes.

[WastedMuse]

Thank you guys for clearing that up, I appreciate it.