Editing Savage Shadowrun AE Conversion (section)

== WARDS AND MAGICAL BARRIERS ==
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Anyone with an Arcane Background can erect magical wards and barriers. This requires material (see Magical Gear in GEAR) and time. Generally a caster can cover a 20 x 20 foot area with one hour of work for a temporary ward and a full days’ worth of work for a permanent ward. Temporary wards last for one day per Smarts or Spirits of the creator and Permanent last for one year. This has the Conceal Arcana effect in that area automatically without the caster having to know the power or cast it. It also blocks astral beings from normally seeing into or entering the area and blocks the Remote Viewing Power completely. The astral being can attempt to force their way in. This is an opposed Caster check and the creator automatically knows that someone is trying to break through astral space. The astral being can attempt to be subtle but suffers a -4 to his Caster check.

'''ASPECT AND BACKGROUND COUNT'''</br>
Pollution and locations of powerful emotional focuses (rock concerts or the site of mass murder) can cause an astral shadow, often called Background Count (negative) or Aspect (positive). These affects can affect astral space and even the casting of spells in normal space. The affects can last for days or even years depending on how powerful the original event was. This can cause disorientation to astral beings (spirits or projecting mages, etc.) with penalties from -1 to -8 (depending again on how powerful the event was) to all actions in Astral Space and as penalty to Spellcasting or Summoning in normal space.

Positive background count tends to make magic users act as if drunk or high, while negative background count tends to make the magic users feel uncomfortable or in pain. Both affect spellcasting and summoning tests the same way though (with a penalty).