hmm . . would the background count from two characters with this stack or would they just clash on their borders and neither would budge?
if so, easy remedy to bug city scenarios . . just find some and have them carted into the containment zone.
wait for a few days / weeks and the overlapping backgroundcount will have killed most weaker spirits and seriously weakened the stronger spirits . .

In shadowrun, your ability to stand further appart is actually greater because you have more actors than function remotely. In a team of rigger/hacker, facee, sammie and mage, only 3 guys have to actually show up, one doesn't care (in combat) if you suck out his 'be huggy' power(s), and the other guy has functionally unlimited range and s and a considerable component of his capability can teleport.

in the firefight in the alleyway situation you hypothesise, there are two responses depending on if its a big guns combat situation, or a small guns combat situation

Big guns fight: Here the street sammie will either have a sniper rifle or a grenade launcher, and can easily run away from the mage and still be a contributor - but functionally whatever the sammie and the mage do doesn't matter because the rigger has a drone with a fully automatic grenade launcher and combat takes 1 IP before everyone else explodes in a torrent of frag grenades.

Covert action: The street sammie will produce his monowhip and charge, thus taking him out of range of the mage. The mage may have difficulties depending on how tight the alley is - he is probably best using conventional ranged firepower and improved reflexes, but frankly it would be tough either way because the street sammie is out their mixing it up, which precludes stunball and other AoE effects.

But obviously, YMMV. We probably need to get some characters with astral hazing into games going on down stairs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

In the group that I run for, the mages have a standing "If you get within 1 meter of me during a run, I'll kill you in your sleep" rule with the guy with Astral Hazing, because his R4 background count kills their foci and anytime he gets too close they have to spend time and potential drain turning it all back on and casting all the canceled spells back into it. Sustaining Foci don't got above Force 3 or 4 very quickly.

Chris

EDIT: The Essence 6 Technomancer wanted to take the quality, but they told him they wouldn't run with him if he had it because he couldn't come inside anyplace with them ever without fucking them over.

so this is one of the magical/non magical/we are not sure if it's magic things that actually get weaker for the cybered up people again, and the magic people still bitch about it . .
would be kinda nice to have this in a cybered up character in a fight against a close combat geared adept without any astral senses or magic feelings at all . . 'cause suddenly, he can't do shit anymore when he is supposed to be the best there is at kicking ass and taking names . . and later on, after the samurai has mopped the floor with him and he goes to test it out on someone else he is godlike again . . yes, i could make something out of this i think O.o

The strength of the BG doesn't drop, its just the radius.. I think. So you're not doing badly with low essence - it's only a good ability on low essence sammies because its nicely blended for them. Everyone else it is completely crippling.

Yes, but it is the radius that gets the friendlies upset, so the low-essence thing should actually mollify the fears of the friendly Awakened.

Peter

Exactly - thats the benefit low essence sammies get. It kneecaps awakened so its bad for them, and 6 meters radius is a bit extreme.