On page 133 of Ghost Cartels, we are told that Tempo sets up a Dream Pact between the addict and the spirits who generated the drug. This is one of the forms of the Spirit Pact defined on page 108 of Street Magic. Now, all Spirit Pacts set up a link between the spirit and the character involved in the Pact. SM says this allows either party to be used to astrally track the other.

So, any PC who can Astrally project will be able to follow such a link from any addict to the spirit(s) that generated the drug and/or possessed the addict. This could happen very early in the campaign, as it is about to happen in mine. One of the PCs contacts is addicted (as suggested in GC) and has sent a cry for help to her 'magic friend' to help her figure out what is happening to her - - blackouts, waking up in strange places, funny effects on her body - - the whole nine yards.

The PC is in the process of Astrally projecting and Assensing her contact. This almost certainly will show her the link, which she could follow. This PC is just the kind of character who might follow it to find out what's what. When she finds it, if she survives, she will know a great deal very early. Any thoughts?

It's not your average spirit pact. You could rule that there isn't a link to any particular spirit.

Well, the immediate problem is looking past the rampant substance abuse - which can explain all of that. If the runners do notice an addict actually being possessed, that makes things more interesting - but isn't indicative unless they see it happen to more than one addict.

Even if the player does trace a link, from a addict, it will be to a spirit, who could be anywhere doing anything. You can the rabbit in the hat easy.

Your first point is handy. There should actually be many links of equal strength, which criss-cross and confuse a tracker.

The team has a glimmer of the underlying situation through some assiduous legwork and leaps of insight. So they will have earlier experience to which to add this Assensing.

Whatever spirit the magician may find through tracking the link, it will still have to be one of the generators of Tempo, not some Beast Spirit wandering the moors of the UK. I would have to avoid leading her to their metaplane. I need to figure out what that's like first!

I think I will play up the multiple links idea, and see if the magician is good enough to work her way through their confusion. If she is, well then she deserves the info.

Thanks.

In the case at hand, the contact has specifically asked the PC to use her magic to see "what is wrong". The contact is a close frined and knows the PC can heal. The PC magician is capable of healing in different ways, and wishes to Assense to glean information about the health of her friend. A successful enough Assensing Test will show the astral links to the Pacted spirits.

As far as the actual spirits, they wil show as plant spirits, and perhaps I can get away with that info, if the PC doesn't try to figure out more.

It's a specific group of spirits of no particular type (except of course they're free possession shadow spirits). Use Yajé as an example.

I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the mage if she decides to investigate the link all by herself. These spirits, whatever type they are, are clearly capable of organized behaviour, and not all loners (except perhaps Yajé). Even if the mage chooses to run, what would intelligent, organized entities do if someone spied even a tiny bit of their operation or nature? Follow and eliminate, I would say.

I would play it as being a perfect opportunity to know that something is seriously wrong, let them meet the spirit. Make it so that the spirit is curious about the human mote. The spirit is pure shadow, impenetrable and very old. Have the shadow ask is the mage there to offer itself to it. Toy with the mage and toy with the addict. Use misdirection say that it wishes to experience the sins of man, have it really sound like Lucifer making an offer you cannot refuse. Worse comes to worse the spirit tries ripping woman's soul into the astral, killing the body and ending the connection.

Don't think of it as a point of trying to hide something, think of it as a roleplaying opportunity to put in a strange twist. A possible nemesis they could then meet at the end of the campaign when the veils have been torn asunder.

The combined entity has Immunity to Normal Weapons. There is some debate here on DS as to whether ItNW blocks elemental effects such as electricity, particularly in the form of stick-and-shock type of charges. What form of electrical attack are you considering?