Actually, the point of the Focus is to help create a personality for the character. Core book gives creating or destroying metals as a mMF but my years of playing show that allowing a bit wider mMF just helps doing that. The player will still only have a few spells that will apply anyway. It will allow them to have a bit more use of it for spont magic which will never break the game. I recommend troupes be generous on the scopes of mMF as it helps make a character interesting, especially help new players build one.
I dont like Thing based MMF like Metal, Birds, Men, etc. They run into problems all the time where can my shrinking effect benefit from my MMF even if t shrinks women also and such.
MMF: One word actions: Kill, Wound, Damage, Investigate, Grow, Heal, Etc.
mMF: Two+ word actions: Destroy Spirits, Damage Objects, Investigate at a
distance, Grow Plants, Heal Diseases (Animal, Human, Plant, of all realms), Etc.
Not all are equal but they all are limited in scope yet give a specialty to a character
Metal is somewhere in-between and will be frustrating if used as defined in the rules or a bit too strong if allowed to apply to 90% of Terram
Exactly. Magical Foci are supposed to give colour and identity to a character, but such things come from limitations. If you have an mMF with copper, you strive to solve problems with copper, especially in preference to iron. If you have an MMF in Metals, you strive to solve problems with metals rather than eg. Stone.
are you really arguing that there need to be a fire, or a demon, present, for you to cast "ward against heat and flame" or a Personal Ward against demons with a Fire or Demons ( what are the quaesitores doing?) focus?
So... That's it? Am I really the only one shocked by the fact that, at least for Perdo and Rego, Terram is a "one size fits all" form, at least, as defined by published spells?
As I said above, I really hate that, once you reach CT 25+, you can cast a Sun Duration spell that'll protect you against "all of terram, save gemstones". Shield grogs really are only good as meat shields vs creatures and, given that Vilano spells are supposed to be one of the few vulnerabilities of magi, this makes our spellcasters even stronger. Well, I guess you can always carry a bag of priceless gems to throw at your enemies
Things would be quite different if this was only base metals (that leaves the room for silver daggers, as an exemple) or even a metal, with added magnitudes needed for more (that way, a maga could be, for example, impervious to most metal weapons, save those made of copper or bronze).
Conversely, Perdo Terram masters get a boost, since it becomes easy to remove the one flaw of the already efficient " Pit of the Gaping Earth": it only works on dirt. Improve it to level 20-25 (+1 stone, +1 more size), and, suddenly, it works anywhere, save on wooden floors
No, I'm not arguing that. If all that the spell targets fits within the Magical Focus, then of course the focus applies when casting the spell. It is only when the scope of the focus is smaller than the scope of the spell that this applies.
What I'm arguing (and what I was replying to) was for the case of a spell that can affect something that is beyond the scope of the focus, and that if at the time of the casting you cannot determine that the spell will only affects something within the scope of the focus, then the bonus from the focus will not apply.
So if the magus has a Minor Magical Focus with Iron, and he has a spell that affects something made out of metal, then the focus will apply if he casts it at an object made of iron. If, however, the spell is an ongoing effect that might affect something which is not made of iron at some point after being cast, then the focus will not apply to the casting total.
And with a Herbam requisite, wooden floors fail also. At high casting totals nearly anything is possible. Stopping a heart, calling down lightning on dozens of people (group target and multicast master would do that), controlling a mind, changing the landscape itself by diverting rivers, moving mountains (probably a ritual for that).
I can't see the problem that Terram can effect multiple types of terram. I don't see people suggesting animal should treat vermin, mammals and reptiles differently; Mentem needing to be different for minds of fae, magic or the infernal realm.
Agreed . Although, as I outlined afterwards, that's not my only problem with this
Although you have a specific ReAq spell to Ward Against Faeries of the Waters and, likewise, Rego Mentem ward against spirits belonging to one realm
My issue is mainly with the "ward against all terram save gemstones", though.
I think I've bored enough people with this anyway . Thanks to everyone who contributed, and have a nice weekend!
and, given that Vilano spells are supposed to be one of the few vulnerabilities of magi, this makes our spellcasters even stronger. Well, I guess you can always carry a bag of priceless gems to throw at your enemies 
. Although, as I outlined afterwards, that's not my only problem with this 
