SR4 question regarding spirit Powers, when changing from physical to astral Options

[pbangarth]

So, a spirit applies the Guard Power on the team. Then, later, the spirit goes astral. Guard is a physical Power, can it be maintained by the spirit even though it has gone astral? I thought so, but I cannot find the reference.

Can someone help me out? Doable or not?

[pbangarth]

Found it! Street Magic p. 95:

Passive powers such as Astral Form, Energy Aura, or
Materialization don’t require the use of services, they are assumed
to be included with any other service that requires
their use. Since Guard is a physical power, it requires the spirit
to be physical in order to activate it (though not to sustain it).
Therefore, a spirit ordered to use Guard on someone would
need to use Materialize or Possession before it could do so,
and both actions would only require one service (though it
might immediately go back to astral plane while sustaining
the Guard effect, depending on what other services it was performing
at the time).

[JanessaVR]

That's exactly what I thought, but I was going to have to dig for the rules. Glad you found it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[pbangarth]

Furthermore, as we read the description of the Guard Power more closely, the GM determined that the following (SR4A p. 295):

The Guard power gives the critter the ability to prevent normal
environmental accidents and hazards (both natural and those induced
by the Accident power), such as preventing someone from succumbing
to heatstroke or saving someone from drowning.

Negated the damage most of our team had been suffering from the freezing cold of winter, and a bunch of PCs got a lot of Stun damage back.

Cool Power.