Free Spirits and Spirit Pacts Options

[Abbandon]

Ok in SM it says free spirits only enter into spirit pacts to get something (mostly karma, money, power). Then it says pacts usually only end one of the two people involved dies. So I mean once you pay the BP for a spirit pact you just never have to feed it karma again ??? The first part of spirit pact talks about how the first spirits offer is usually the only one it will make.. this kind of implies some other totally random amount of karma or promise of money or rise to power??? If the human doesnt fullfill the contract dont the spirit and human just go there seperate ways or try to kill each other??

Once your in a pact is the spirit suppose to be treated like any other spirit? Can you give it tasks and stuff? Is it basically a lower grade ally spirit?

Are these spirit pacts exploiting anything?

What have been peoples experience with them from a player or gm standpoint.

[Tobias]

I haven't got my book to quote directly but it depends on the Spirit Pact. From the top of my head the type of pacts are:

Formulae Pact : You become immune to age and the spirit gets a permanent anchor ((which makes all other anchors void))
Healing Pact: You can heal damage using the spirits power by using Edge/Karma I can't remember which or the ratio.
Power Pact: You can use one of the Spirits power by using Edge/Karma I can't remember which or the ratio

The pact is only for the thing it was taken out for, so you can't use it like an Ally Spirit. I think there are a couple more but that’s the ones I can remember without my book. Never had it come up in my game as no-one has used it, plus I've not had an urge to play a character with one.

[Abbandon]

Yeah im mostly talking about Formula pacts. You become immune to age and thats it? If you know its formula though you can bind it.

What happens when the character's life is in danger?? Wouldnt the spirit swoop in and start trying to kick everythings ass or try to protect the person and use its powers?? Its not going to just go ooops time to find a new pact partner.

[Synner]

it says free spirits only enter into spirit pacts to get something (mostly karma, money, power).

This does not mean you pay the spirit once and that's it. It's possible but since the spirit dictates the terms, it would have to be pretty good reason to form a pact for a single one-off Karma payment rather than demanding a specific amount of Karma every full moon, every year, every third Tuesday for the rest of the other party's life.

[Wasabi]

Good point, Synner... so by that logic the book prices are the wholesale, minimum prices but the spirit may demand additional profit margin including recurring Karma. I like!

[Rasumichin]

Most pacts are designed so that the spirit will grant services in direct return for karma.
You pay for what you get.
Others provide mutual access to a resource of the other side (spells, powers, edge, your body while you are asleep), which means the spirit gets something out of the pact even when there's no additional karma payment involved.
There's always mutual benefit.

Furthermore, not all pacts include lifelong commitment.
Sure, the formula pact does, but power pacts (granting access to the spirit's powers while the spirit has access to your spells) only last for 24 hours and must be renewed by the spirit afterwards.