Re: list of short questions

Heya,

In our last episode, smu anonymous said:
>Heres a list of small questions I have, most of them concern crystal spheres

        Well, first off, there are two major definitions of "crystal sphere".
(Both are presented in various articles throughout BtM, if you're up for
some research.  For those who don't know, BtM is "Beyond the Moons", the
official SJ site, located at http://sj.darkwood.org/ .)  A DM should pick
one and be consistent, which is the most important thing.  The definitions are:

1)  Spheres are physical objects.  (This is the view that's fairly consistent
throughout the SJ products.)  The sphere has thickness and a surface, both
or which are likely different for each sphere.

2)  Spheres are "planar" boundaries.  (This is the view that's evolved
on the net.)  The sphere is not a physical object, and therefore has no
thickness (an infinitesimal thickness) or "surface", as such.  It's simply
a separator between the phlogiston and wildspace.  One cannot touch it,
since it's not there.  Your hand simply stops moving at a certain point.

        Taking those two definitions into account, the answers you choose
could be similar to the following:

>What happens when a sphere of annihilation runs up against a crystal
sphere?  (i.e. something that destroys anything is brought to use
against the indestructable)

1)  Since the sphere is physical, it could either survive the contact, or
get eaten away, creating a portal.  (I recommend having the crystal sphere
survive, because its "reality" is larger than the SoA's--it exists in a
larger context.)

2)  There's no "crystal sphere" there for the SoA to destroy.  The SoA simply
stops moving outward.

>Glue probably can't  to a crystal sphere, right?  A suction cup would
I'm guessing and so would sovereign glue I would think but what are
other peoples thoughts on that?

1)  Depends on the surface of the crystal sphere.  They're described as
being perfectly smooth in some sources, so I'd say nothing sticks, unless
it's an odd sphere, like Herdspace.

2)  There's no "crystal sphere" there for anything to stick to.

>What happens if you stretch a portable hole across a portal to the
phlogiston?  (i.e half is in the flow and half isn't.  Can you only
access half the extradimensional space?

        By "across", I assume you mean "through"--one part in, one part out.
In both case 1 and 2, it depends on how you define the boundary.  In both
cases, I'd recommend the PH either work or not work, depending on how much
of it is "outside".  "Half-working" is tricky, and will probably cause more
trouble than it's worth.

>How thick is a crystal sphere anyways?  Does it vary from sphere to sphere?

1)  It's a physical object, so it has some thickness.  By the range of
spheres presented in the products, it seems like it would depend on the
sphere.  (See especially Herdspace from "Maelstrom's Eye" and Solaris
on BtM.)

2)  The planar boundary has no thickness at all (which, btw, helps to account
for it's lack of mass).

>When a portal through a crystal sphere closes does it cut through
things or does it just expel the matter to one side?  What would happen
if you tried to hold open a portal with a wall of force?

1)  Depends.  If you want it to, it can.  There's no SJ product that mentions
this happening (that I remember), and only one net product (Chronicles of
the Eternal Wanderer fiction on BtM).

2)  Like other planar portals, sphere portals don't cut things in half.  They
either let it pass or not.

        I'd recommend having them not cut things in half.  As for the Wall
of Force, I'd recommend having it ejected to one side or the other in either
scenario.  Like with the SoA, a crystal sphere exists in a much bigger
context than the WoF.  Alsoo, sphere are, for all practical purposes immune
to spells, so a WoF wouldn't affect it in any detrimental way.

        (Some of you may have noticed that the answers for option 2 are
simpler and more concise and can explain more.  This is why the theory
evolved.)

>Can someone with the Use Magic Device skill from 3rd edition emulate a
Thri Kreen and use a crystal throne?  I'd say yes, but it seems a might
too good.

        Use Magic Device says that you can use the skill to "activate"
a device that you couldn't.  I treat helms as items that require more
than simple activation--they require "fuel".  In the case of the thri-kreen,
the "fuel" is something about their biochemistry that allows their helms
to work.  (Same would go for Serial Helms.)  Someone without the correct
"fuel" can activate the helm all they want, but it won't go anywhere.

        Hope that didn't muddle up your situation any more. :)  In the end,
it's your campaign, so you can do what you want.

-Static

--
           "I'll be in my bunk..."

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