Also don't forget about astral signatures. It can be used to track down the summoner.

Not really. The use of magical skills and Critter powers leaves astral signatures of the user i.e. the spirit. There is no connection between the spirit and the summoner as soon as the services are fulfilled or the summoner dismissed the spirit. There is not even a rule whether summoned spirits exist while they are not summoned.

The only way to get to the summoner is observing the spirit, while it is summoned and following the mystical link to the summoner.

The magician's signature on the spirit from the summoning can simply be cleansed before sending the spirit to retrieve the commlink.

Spirit grabs the 'Link and then uses Concealment to hide himself while he leaves. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
EDIT: Which apparently ShadowDragon8685 already said. *sigh*

Of course there is. If you want to permanently destroy a Spirit, you must go to their Metaplane and destroy them there. How could you do that if they did not exist when not summoned? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

A simple (mag)locked door would still prevent the spirit from leaving.

If you wish to make it easy for them, by all means, do so. Have the dressing room, unlocked, open to the outside. Don't have any form of magical defense (they can't hire a punk wiz-ganger for a day?)

You've got two mages, and no magical security. It should be easy for them. Just like it would be easy for a street samurai to invade an abbey of ultra-pacifistic monks.

If you wish to make it more challenging, there are ample things you can do (and have been suggested) to make it so.

EDIT: And if this rocker is so attached to his commlink, wouldn't he notice it was stolen, and/or that a spirit just materialized in front of him? He'd have it on him, even while rocking out, no? And yes, it's concealed, but anyone with half a brain would just track the newly stolen commlink if they couldn't see it. You can do that with iPhones today, should be able to do that with commlinks of tomorrow.

I meant making sure it is the right one, not just any one that looks similar. The second part is probably not too hard, but the first should be next to impossible for a spirit.



Heh. It would make for a fun episode, though, when security shows up, tracing all those commlink locations via the Matrix. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)



Yeah, it would. They only specified it in the part before talking about spirits and their summoner.

But if the critter needs to have seen the item to use Search, then why should that mental image transfer be any easier?



My line of thought here would go like this... innate dual-nature is when you are used to that state, because it is always there. Hence no penalty.

Spirits dislike materialization, though. And the text from Street Magic quoted earlier also explains that they frequently overlook physical details.

That doesn't sound like a perception they can use perfectly fine to me.

Bye
Thanee

Hmm I thought that only applied to free spirits, but apparently Street Magic does not make that distinction. If spirits continue to exist even when not summoned has some interesting consequences:
-There may be spirits that have been summoned multiple times.
-Can they learn?
-Do they retain memories from previous summonings? If they do they are a lot less likely to react "directly off the bus" on the physical plane.
-Can they be compelled to reveal information about previous summonings and summoners?

Be as it may there still is no way to summon a specific spirit i.e. the one that stole the commlink, and any signature made by the spirit has no connection to the summoner.

You can summon a Specific Spirit if you have his Formulae.

Yes, but AFAIK only Free spirits and ally Spirits have Spirit Formulae. The retrieval of such a Formula from the metaplanes is restricted to those of free spirits.

Hmmmmm... Thought you could acquire a Specific Spirit's Formula as an Astral Quest. Does that ONLY apply to Free?

Yup.

Don't see why you could not extend this to other spirits, though. Makes for a more interesting result. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I thought there was some fluff (AFB) about the ongoing debate as to the exact nature of what spirits were: manifestations of the summoner's psyche or will imposed upon the universe; independent, intelligent beings from another dimension; or something altogether other?

There is. The fluff basically says magical science (as it were) simply does NOT know.

sort of like light is both an EM wave and a particle, there are elements hinting that spirits can be both of those options. Which means thre's no clear cut answer - Some spirit seems clearly one or the others, other aren't as definite and some might even be both.

Except that would require another service, most likely.


This.

If you want to make things more challenging, it's easy to put up a low-force ward in the dressing room, a maglocked door (or even a standard lock! barrens after all...), and make it difficult to acquire a sufficient mental image of the commlink. Commlinks can be designed to look like almost anything, after all...

As for possessing the adept - and most every other use of a spirit's powers etc - it is never a given that a spirit will interpret it's orders in the way the mage intended.

"Stop that man" could be a use of Accident, Movement, Engulf, Unarmed Combat, Elemental Attack, or a Social Skill test. It all depends on the spirit.

"Kill those people" could easily affect innocent bystanders - including the friends of the mage.

"Incapacitate the security guard" may well require a test for the spirit to even know the concept of 'security guard', and again could be the use of many different powers and tactics.

A spirit won't necessarily choose to do something in a stealthy manner, or in a way that them age would consider obvious. They care little for metahuman ways and laws, and won't think twice about things like 'alarms' and 'cameras'. If it's been given an order it may not care about anything else (except protecting itself) and thus won't adapt well to a changing situation.

If the mage explains every step of a plan to a spirit, things will go better - but may require more services, a longer time to complete the order (vital in combat), or a ticked off spirit that feels like it's being treated as if it's stupid or can't think for itself. This may be enough for it to use Edge to resist the next summoning...

They shouldn't really be treated as metahuman entities when it comes to reasoning and knowledge - their frame of reference is alien, their desires and cares completely different from metahuman views, and they will likely pick whatever way of completing a task that is quickest and easiest for them.

Also, try giving the occasional NPC the Spirit Affinity or Spirit Bane quality to mix things up a bit.

Next time this comes up, I will make the spirit materialize in front of the person pointed out and let him shout "STOP". Then he grasps his/her arm and pulls him back. Even more fun if it's a fire spirit (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
An Earth spirit might start building a barrier, though..

Yup, yup - my point exactly!

Different spirits will choose very different means to accomplish a task, based on their nature, the relationship with the summoner, the relationship with the target, and any other arbitrary circumstance.

GMing them as individuals can surprise the frag out of the players and PCs both, and be tons of fun! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Yes, but they will not twist the mage's words to screw him nor are there any limitation on how complex the order may be nor is there a speed for the communication of the mental order.

Agreed.