KingFisher wrote:So hopefully this isn't annoying the other players or the GM.
Not at all! I've enjoyed reading your RP while catching up on the story so far.
-------------------------------------
Because we have 3 adepts in the group, just for completeness I wanted to put the full rules for fighting spirits (including adepts).
MANIFESTED SPIRITSManifested spirits are dual-natured, which means they can attack (and be attacked by) all astral, physical
and dual-natured foes.
Otherwise, they act like any other critter, though they usually have Immunity to Normal Weapons critter power. This means, against regular dakka-dakka [guns], they get double their force as hardened armor which is very effective (see SR5:Core pg 397-398). Weapon foci, spells and the adept Killing Hands power can bypass this resistance. Also, Satou's quality "Spirit Warrior" lets him strip all powers from the spirit for 2 turns after he damages them or succeeds on a banishment roll to remove 1 or more services (for the princely sum of 20K at gen, it better be good). I'm hoping this means, he will be helpful to the party vs. spirits.
ASTRAL SPIRITSAstral spirits are creatures of the astral plane and cannot affect creatures who have no astral connection (but a Perception[4] test lets mudanes feel the "chill" of their presence [SR5:Core pg 314])
There are several options for battling spirits in the Astral, in the following order:
- Run away before it sees you (really - this is like facing a shark underwater with a knife...sure it's a nice knife, but...)
- Spellcasting as normal (any mana-based spell works straight up...others don't work at all)
- Kite them to an astrally perceiving adept with killing hands or a weapon focus
- Astral combat (with WILL+Astral Combat to hit and CHA as damage) if you happen to have had a lot of skill points left over at gen (pro tip: no one has this...especially with these skill rules)
The real "fun" part is when a spirit is waiting for you in the Astral when you start perceiving...you get immediately attacked by something with Force*2 attack dice and Force to Force+2 damage which you soak with only your Willpower. Not pleasant, even for dwarves.
Moral #1 : if you're facing a spirit in the astral, run. If you have to fight, Mana Bolt will get you further than Astral Combat unless you have a huge weapon focus and a lot of skill points and Willpower. Adepts who can astrally perceive can use unarmed combat but they should watch out for the ambush as the shift to dual-natured and shouldn't even think about it without Killing Hands (and maybe also Spirit Claw/Ram).
SPIRIT SUMMONING TIMELINESequence of events when a mage decides to ruin your day.
- Spirits are initially summoned (via complex action) in the astral plane
- Then, they must be ordered (via simple action) to manifest and attack.
- After that, the spirit must take a complex action to manifest.
Moral #2 : This allows mundane creatures time to execute the First Law of Shadowrunning, "Always geek the mage first," before the nasty nasty spirit is upon them (once the mage is unconscious, the spirit goes back to whence it came).