Impervious to energy: physical self only or over the armor?

[Killer Cyborg]

*And it may well be one, unless there's something to say specifically that it's not

There is nothing to say that it is. Unlike the others that are auras which do.

That means it's officially undetermined one way or the other.

[Dr. Doom III]

*And it may well be one, unless there's something to say specifically that it's not

There is nothing to say that it is. Unlike the others that are auras which do.

That means it's officially undetermined one way or the other.

No it doesn't.

It means you are ascribing attributes to the ability that are not stated as existing and I am only ascribing those attributes to the ability that are stated. I think I know which is the more logical course.

[Killer Cyborg]

*And it may well be one, unless there's something to say specifically that it's not

There is nothing to say that it is. Unlike the others that are auras which do.

That means it's officially undetermined one way or the other.

No it doesn't.

Yes, it does.
That's exactly what a lack of information means.

It means you are ascribing attributes to the ability that are not stated as existing and I am only ascribing those attributes to the ability that are stated. I think I know which is the more logical course.

You think you do, sure.
And we think that we do.
The books don't support us either way.

You're making an assumption that the lack of text indicates lack of nature, but that's not a logical assumption to make, especially in a game system where the writers constantly assume their readers will "use common sense" in interpreting the rules (and lack thereof).

There are several possibilities, the two main ones being:
1. The omission was deliberate, made as an indication that the power is not an aura.
2. The omission was due to laziness, and an assumption that we'd all know that it's an aura by now, since every other "Impervious to Energy" power/ability/spell in the game is an aura.
Once you label the first dozen examples of something, it's reasonable in most situations to assume that people are going to catch on to the pattern.
(Except, of course, when writing RPGs).

Since the books don't say which it is, we don't have proof either way.

You want to use logic?
Which interpretation renders the power reasonably useful?

[cornholioprime]

You want to use logic?
Which interpretation renders the power reasonably useful?

"Impervious to Energy" is essentially useless in terms of Game Play if it is only a skin-tight 'covering' -just like virtually any other Defensive Magic would be if they were as well.

[Dr. Doom III]

You want to use logic?
Which interpretation renders the power reasonably useful?

Both.
It's a backup to keep you alive. Rather like "useless" cyber armor.
Just because its use is limited doesn't mean it has no use.

If you think it's an aura then how far does it extend? Clothing? Armor? Belt pouches and weapon holsters? Capes? Can he protect a friend by hugging him/her? How about group hugs?
The problem with assuming something is there that's not stated is you have no real idea how far to take it.

[Killer Cyborg]

You want to use logic?
Which interpretation renders the power reasonably useful?

Both.
It's a backup to keep you alive. Rather like "useless" cyber armor.
Just because its use is limited doesn't mean it has no use.

True enough, but it seems even more limited in use than cyber-armor (under your interpretation).

Magic energy, for example, inflicts 1/2 damage to Mystic Knights.
Other than Energy Bolt, this is going still mean that the Mystic Knights die if they're hit by any magical energy attack.

What's the point of the writers bothering with the "1/2 damage" rule for magic energy if it only applies to the person, not their armor?
1/2 damage is still dead.

If you think it's an aura then how far does it extend? Clothing? Armor? Belt pouches and weapon holsters? Capes? Can he protect a friend by hugging him/her? How about group hugs?
The problem with assuming something is there that's not stated is you have no real idea how far to take it.

How far does a normal aura extend?
We don't really know that either.

Presumably, it protects the person and any of their possessions, but not other people (who have their own auras) or living creatures.
Of course, that is just guesswork... but it's guesswork that applies to any kind of aura.
Lack of specific information does not mean that they don't exist.

[Talavar]

an immunity to energy weapons is almost certainly not. And if it's not physiological, treating it as anything other than an aura is pointless.

You got some scientific research papers that back you up or are you just making that up. Because since you can't point to anything in a book that says that then that is all that you are doing. Making up an elaborate reason for you to use to justify your belief.
You want it to work that way in your game then the more power to you. I’m talking about the rules and there’s noting there to back up your belief.

And there's nothing in the rules to back up yours. Precedent in the rules (bursters) supports my interpretation. Plus, your interpretation is pointless for gameplay purposes. Even cyber-armour (which is pretty admittedly pretty useless) is better; it least it has a chance of protecting you if someone lobs a vibro-knife your way, or hits you with that dangerous high level spell 'Throwing Stones.'

But how do I know it's not physiological? Because anyone who can learn magic & have psionics can become a mystic knight, and they don't undergo genetic/biowizard treatments to get their powers. Since it's learned, it's not physiological.

If you think it's an aura then how far does it extend? Clothing? Armor? Belt pouches and weapon holsters? Capes? Can he protect a friend by hugging him/her? How about group hugs?
The problem with assuming something is there that's not stated is you have no real idea how far to take it.

Treat it exactly the same as the burster aura. When something's not explicitly spelled out (which happens from time to time with Palladium rules) you look for something similar, and see how it's used or explained there.

[Mouser13]

I thought this was over because of madhaven author saying it works on armor?

[Shorty Lickens]

My rule is the same as my standard "aura" rule... for the most part, it will cover anything within a handsbreath of the person's body. That means that normal armor will be covered, but power armor generally will not.

I know most of the regulars have heard my idea on this already, but I love repeating myself so I will.

A few years ago I had to come up with a house rule on magic protection. Each protection spell has to be in a catergory of personal (or skin-tight), ovoid (egg-shaped) and spherical. A mage can only have one of each type, regardless of what they actually do. The only hard part is decided which category each spell resides in. It doesnt really matter much just so long as you make a decision and make sure everybody knows about it. Usually the description will give you some clues. This also helps when you make new spells. I made a couple of each category several years ago.

Also, it helps with the above argument.

Remember people:
We practice verisimilitude here, NOT realism.