I'm creating a new Magus Character with the fifth Edition and I would like to purchase the minor and Hermetic Virtue "Tethered Magic". While the explanation of this Virtue is too short for the whole different situations you could live with this type of magic.
I have some questions about the Tethered Magic.
1- Have the Spells been designed with the Tethered feature before casting them? If it's like this, have all my formulaic spells be designed with or without the tethered feature? And when I'll have to cast them I understand that I have to tether the Tethered ones but not the others.
2- The Core Book says that an spell can't be casted if has not legal target. So, if I cast a tethered Terram spell with Personal Range and I tether the spell to an stone, this is considered a legal target?
3- If I tether an spell with Individual target to an object and, simuntaneously, appear two or more legal targets, which one will be the actual target? It will be resolved randomly? And if one of the targets is the magus that originaly casted the spell?
Having taken this for a character in the past I feel I should know more about it than I probably do.
We had all spells learned by the magus able to be tethered. That included spontaneous spells too. Things like casting tablets written by someone else were not.
Not sure. I guess the stone is the most immediate viable target.
This is where I'd apply something sensible. Unless the character botches somehow, I wouldn't class the magus as a legal target unless you wanted him to be. And if two targets presented simultaneously, you could dice-off to see which one is affected. Honestly though, things rarely happen exactly simultaneously. As a storyguide I might tease the possibility of the "wrong" target about to be zapped by the spell, but (unless there's been a botch) that's probably not the story that the players are aiming for... so the intended target gets it.
As you note, there's a lot we can't know for sure, because it's not defined.
So this is my take on the matter.
I don't know if they need to be designed for it. I'd prefer it that way, but purely from the description it would not appear to be necessary.
If your troupe decide it is necessary, all of your starting spells were presumably invented to be tethered.
If you did this where I usually play, you'd get a sigh and be told "don't be silly".
We don't know how close a caster has to be to something to transfer a tether.
If you don't put restrictions of this, some fairly silly abuses become possible.
So again, we don't know.
Nothing occurs simultaneously.
Jokes aside, I'd go with random chance.
And no, I don't think it should matter if one target was the original caster of the spell - tethering specifically gives away control of said spell.
But I must thank you, for adding another point or 2 to my list of why I think that entire sub-chapter should be purged with fire
Oooh, and the descriptions of tethering keeps going on about 'appropriate target'.
Does this simply mean a valid target? (ie any human/-oid creature for a Corpus spell) - this would eliminate tethering for a number of spells*
Does this mean you can designate the target ("one-eyed man wearing a red cloak with purple stiches")? - probably not, as the caster specifically gives away control.
*examples of spells that coul then not be meaningfully tether to objects:
Pilum of Fire, or indeed most creo spells brining something into existence - The 'valid target' would be whatever is created, however briefly.
Most Terram or Auram spells - if 'air' or 'the ground' are valid targets (ie. The Earth Split Asunder) the spell would be cast right away. Auram is especially limted in this regard.
Tethering is explained in HoH:TL p97, the Virtue on p100.
It happens as if the tether was casting the spell. Since the Range is Personal, could a stone cast the spell on itself?
BTW Tellus, Momentary spells cannot be tethered.
It looks as if the maximum lifecycle of a tethered spell can be double its Duration: it can stay tethered for that long before auto-casting and then will stay active on the target for that Duration. While Sun lasts no longer, Moon and Diameter can.
