How to use Foci and Refinements with Sponsored Magic

[TheRealMe]

I have a question about specialization and focus items with regard to Sponsored Magic. We have an upcoming character in our campaign who is literally a Daughter of Freyja.  The character will be using only Sponsored Magic from Freyja; she will not be taking Evocation or Thaumaturgy.

According to one source, Freya was the Norse Goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, wealth, divination and magic.

Sponsored magic comes with four focus items.  I presume that they could be used for enchanted items as normal, as long as the items go along with the agenda of Freyja. 

But if the focus items are used as a bonus for casting magic, how does this work? 

1) Does the character make a focus with a bonus for "Freyja Magic"?

2) Would the bonus have to be specified as "Freyja Magic Power" or "Freyja Magic Control"?

3) Would the bonus have to be specified as "Offensive Freyja Power" or "Defensive Frejya Power" or "Offensive Freyja Control" or "Defensive Freyja Control"?

4) Or must it be even more specified, such as "Offensive  Freyja War Power" vs "Defensive Freyja Love Control" vs...  ?



Another question: Can such a character take Refinement as a Specialization?  If so, how specific must it be?

Thank you for any responses.

[Haru]

The easiest way to do it is just to think of someone who only has sponsored magic as a focused practitioner with the sponsor as the element. That means he can take refinement for focus items and enchanted items, but that's it.

So in regard to your questions:
1) yes
2) yes
3) yes
4) no

[Deadmanwalking]

1. Yes. At least for Evocation.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. No.

Other Question: No, she can't. Sponsored Magic is basically Channeling plus Ritual, both of which forbid that in their description. She can take Refinement only for extra Item Slots.

Or: What Haru said.

[TheRealMe]

Ummmm...   Thanks, but I was sort of assuming that options 1 through 4 were all mutually exclusive and only one was correct.

[Haru]

Well, in that case, option 3 is the one you are looking for. Options 1 and 2 are kind of the stepping stones towards that, or at least that's how I understood them. Instead of focus for water or fire, you take a focus for your sponsors magic (1). Those focus items need to be divided into power and control (2) as well as offensive and defensive (3).

[Deadmanwalking]

To use an example, an appropriate focus would be something like this:

Golden Belt (+1 Offensive Power and +1 Offensive Control with Freya Magic) (2 Item Slots)

See how that meets the description for all of 1, 2, and 3?

[Tedronai]

Ritual foci are also options (Complexity / Control), though there is some debate as to whether a Control focus for Sponsored Magic has to be specified between channelling/ritual.

[TheRealMe]

To use an example, an appropriate focus would be something like this:

Golden Belt (+1 Offensive Power and +1 Offensive Control with Freya Magic) (2 Item Slots)

See how that meets the description for all of 1, 2, and 3?

No, I'm very sorry.  I see a very big difference between a Focus as you described above when compared to a Focus of +2 for all Freya Magic under any circumstances for also two slots.  Or a Focus of +2 for Offensive Control for only the "Love" aspect of Freyja's portfolio of powers, also for two slots. 

Perhaps my question was not well phrased.  I wanted to know how specific, how targeted a Sponsored Magic Focus needed to be (or how vague it could be).


It sounds like the consensus is that Freyja Magic should be treated like one element (Fire, say) with a Focus that has to be limited to either Power or Control, Offensive or Defensive.  It gives a possibility of four different types of Focus.   

Or should there also be Freyja Channelling vs Ritual?  That gives eight types of Focus possible.

So for each Focus slot, I  would need to specify either Offensive or Defensive, and either Control or Power, (and either Channelling vs Ritual?).
 

[Tedronai]

You don't need to specify between offensive and defensive when dealing with ritual foci.
Ritual foci are divided into: complexity, control, (enchanted item) frequency, and (enchanted item) power.

[Deadmanwalking]

Perhaps my question was not well phrased.  I wanted to know how specific, how targeted a Sponsored Magic Focus needed to be (or how vague it could be).

Yeah, that could've been clearer. It came off as "Is this true?" on each of the 4, when you meant "Which of these is true?" in which case it's #3.

So for each Focus slot, I  would need to specify either Offensive or Defensive, and either Control or Power, (and either Channelling vs Ritual?).

You need to specify whether it's an Evocation or Thaumaturgy Focus, yes. Though, as Tedronai notes, the categories for Thaumaturgy Foci are different, making such specification usually implicit rather than needing to be made explicit (if it's talking Offensive Power it's clearly Evocation, if it's talking Complexity it's equally obviously Thaumaturgy).

[Vairelome]

To summarize, 1 Focus Item slot will get you one from the following list:

+1 Offensive Power for Freyja Magic Evocation
+1 Offensive Control for Freyja Magic Evocation
+1 Defensive Power for Freyja Magic Evocation
+1 Defensive Control for Freyja Magic Evocation
+1 Complexity for Freyja Magic Thaumaturgy
+1 Control for Freyja Magic Thaumaturgy
+1 Power for Freyja Magic Thaumaturgy (Crafting Enchanted Items)
+1 Frequency for Freyja Magic Thaumaturgy (Crafting Enchanted Items)

Technically, there is also a possible bonus to slots within a focus item that comes from Thaumaturgy (Crafting) as well, but I think the general consensus is that that option is weak to the point of uselessness compared to practically any other option.

[Tedronai]

For clarity, I'm pretty sure that the crafting focus specialty only increases the capacity of focus items, meaning only that you can devote more focus item slots to a single item, not that a given focus item will provide a larger bonus than that indicated by the number of slots devoted to it.

[Deadmanwalking]

That list is correct. You can also get Enchanted Items, of course.

You could theoretically get different Thaumaturgy options (like a Biomancy or Divination bonus or some such) as long as Freyja Magic allows that type of effect, but that'd be definitionally weaker than the options you list.

[Mr. Death]

For clarity, I'm pretty sure that the crafting focus specialty only increases the capacity of focus items, meaning only that you can devote more focus item slots to a single item, not that a given focus item will provide a larger bonus than that indicated by the number of slots devoted to it.

I thought the crafting specialization just didn't affect focus items, and was just about enchanted items, or am I forgetting a section?

[Deadmanwalking]

I thought the crafting specialization just didn't affect focus items, and was just about enchanted items, or am I forgetting a section?

There are three kinds of Crafting Specialization: Strength and Frequency (which are Enchanted Item only), but also Focus, which is what he's talking about (and not usually worth it, as it only adds to the maximum number of Item Slots you can put into one item).