Would you allow a Major (or minor?) magical focus in Spontaneous Form?
Why/Why not?
And yes, there is a player in my campaign, who has asked me for it... 8)
Like a limited Diedne Magic? But limited to a single form and without Dark Secret?
I don't think so, in part because there's no theme in it, no flavour.
You've got the bird magus, the weather magus, and the spont magus???
I would say no, and here is why.
Foci have essence to them. They are not about Techniques and Forms as much as they are about an area in which the magus is is particulary adept., or in tune to. Thus, a foci in Necromancy while not only helping the Necromancer in pure number form, helps define who and what he is and does.
A further reason why not is that a foci can not be about a laboratory activity -- this says to me, in a poorly stated way, "Don't be about game mechanics".
I'd say yes, but only if Ex Misc, and only if you and the SG come up with a suitable heritage to explain where the bonus originated from. I can see the justification for the form Auram if you went with someone descended from a Finnish Wind mage.
As the Fixer says make a theme, make a flavour to justify it in game.
I don't think that it is particularily abusive but I do think that it is flavorless. Major magical foci have a scope that covers about half of a form (sometimes less such as "domesticated animals" sometimes more such as "flames").
Spontaneous magic with a form is not going to help you with formulaic or labwork (or even ceremonial magic). But spontaneous magic is, in my experience, is the most used type of magic and fits right in there at about half of a form in scope.
But I do see it as less interesting than a non-form based choice. As Mouska said "don't be about game mechanics" Admittedly the forms do exist as separate disciplines within the setting but this makes the magical focus precisely hermetic rather than something a little more outside of hermetc magic.
So to sum up it's not broken but it's not cool either. Magical foci in my opinion should have to be cool I'd encourage them come up with something with more flavor. Your players is (apparently) playing the rules not the game.
Of course if they're really taken with it don't rain on their parade either. I don't think that it will wreck your game.
Agreed. Not a gamebreaker but not exactly the most wonderful of choices either.
We have allowed Forms as Major Focus a few times(when the theme didnt agree with a more specific definition) and even that didnt break the game or anything near it.
For example, RAW its already quite possible to pick Auram as major focus, because really, how will you say for SURE that an Auram effect ISNT a weather effect, no matter how freaky?
But as i said, while its better with a more "thematic" selection, its actually not really a big deal.
There should definetly be a GOOD background story on it!
Well, among Minor Focus, one of the listed ones is "Aging"... hehe... how commonly is that not about a lab activity?
Let him come up with a darn good reason and/or give him alternate options for other focii.
Hi,
But it's not intrinsically about a lab activity. As a minor focus, it applies to "Age someone five years," and possibly even for "age someone to death." This isn't specified in the rules, but I suspect most SGs would allow a magus to reinvent the Clenching Grasp as an aging spell. Also good for growing children into adults, though this isn't particularly useful.
As a major focus in aging, things start getting fun. Grape juice into wine? Seed into tree? Tree into dust? Armor into rust? Maybe even a PeVi spell that ages a magical effect, possibly ending it if it ages past its duration?
Anyway,
Ken
With the exception of grape juice into wine (wine into vinegar, yes), I fail to see the distinction between what you claim to be the major and minor forms, unless you wish to limit the minor form to "aging humans" and the major form to "aging everything".
A minor magical focus in hair, for instance, can be used with just about any form and technique imaginable (hair to snakes, set fire to hair, make hair ropes as strong as steel, make your hair wave in the breeze and change colour) but I can't see anyone arguing that it's a major focus.
I think this aging effect is unuseful thus it could affect all the Forms.
Especially aging someone 5 years is a basic level of 15 !
So it would be useful only with house rules.
Steel items will NOT get rusted by the age in itself anyway.
Yeah, and since RAW specifically states merely "Aging" as a minor, without any limits, i would have to say its a minor either way.
But very useful for longevity rituals...
Lol, thats a good one, will just have to use it. 8)
I see no reason to not allow it, since it is not game-breaking, assuming a proper flavour is established with it.
On a somewhat similar topic, how about Partial Transformation as a Major Magical Focus?
I think minor would be better, with Major as focus for Transformation of ANY kind.
My opinion differs from Direwolf's on this one. Partial transformation is close to half of a technique. I see it as clearly major.
In my last game I had a magus who specialized in total transformation. He got bonuses for changing a bunny into a horse but not for casting gift of the bear's fortitude or or eyes of the cat. I found it to be quite powerful. It think that partial transformation will be at least as powerful.
If I use Perdo it will. 
Anyway,
Ken
It states Aging as a subset of Corpus as minor.
Anyway,
Ken