So, today we had an issue tracking somebody down.
Somebody looking at the Corebook and used the Inexorable search:
InCo Base 3: Locate a person to whom you have an Arcane Connection. (R: Arc +4, Conc +1, T: Ind) Req: Imaginem (+1) for a level of 20.
But as we were looking for somebody that had magic resistance another person suggested Sense of the Lodestone a spell which uses the same base but has no requisite and is only Touch range +1.
Both do essentially the same thing for the same duration, but Inexorable search requires a map of the area to be searched and potentially takes a much longer time at higher level, with the sole advantage that other people can then see the mark on the map.
Why is one of these spells touch range, whilst the other is Arc range?
Comparing with the spell Leap of Homecoming (Another spell which acts at Arcane connection, but has a Personal range), I am inclined to think that the Inexorable search is the one which is wrong. Has this come up with others before? Is there a reasoning behind this logic?
Sense of the Lodestone is from the Intangible Assassin section of Hermetic Projects - it's designed to be used with an Intangible Tunnel. Assuming the person you're trying to find is at Arcane Connection range, you need an Arcane Connection (or a sidestep like the tunnel, although that would usually have required an arcane connection itself).
Leap of Homecoming works on yourself, so Personal range is all that's required. Arcane connection range is just how far it takes you, not how far away the Target of the spell is.
Care should be taken to not confuse Range with Effect (the TeFo Base). Range determines if it is possible for a spell to be able to affect a given Target, while the Effect determines what happens if the spell is successfully cast.
A spell must have sufficient Range to reach the Target. For standard Hermetic Magic, anything beyond Sight must use the Arcane Connection Range which has specific requirements (having an AC of target). Having an active "tunnel spell" to the Target lets a Magi use Touch range spells through the tunnel on the Target, as long as the spell is low enough level to work through the tunnel.
What actually happens to the Target of a successfully cast and penetrating spell is based solely on the Effect. That Effect comes from the TeFo Base (plus modifiers such as Complexity). The Range will only come into play for determining if said Effect is Controlled or not.
i.e. Effects which can be manipulated by the Magus can not be manipulated from beyond Range. That Range is set at the time of casting, such as Voice being based on how loudly the Magus cast the spell.