I haven't played a magician so I have never really looked at the rules so what happens when a magician dies or is knocked out? I know ally spirits can become free spirits but what about bound or just plain summoned spirits? It came up in our game last night and since no one knew we used the hand of god to determine it then but what do the rules actually say?

Unconsciousness only matters if it happens while summoning and binding spirits. If you are rendered incapacitated from drain while summoning, the spirit simply departs. If you fall unconscious from drain while Binding, the spirit becomes uncontrolled. It is then up to the spirit itself what it does with its freedom: Running away, rampaging, killing the summoner...
If the mage dies, the spirits become uncontrolled, too. An ally spirit will likely continue as a free spirit.

If a mage dies, all his Foci becomes unattuned. Sustaining foci stops sustaining spells.

This actually came up on the first run we had in our new game, where my character killed off an enemy mage in order to defeat the sustained Im. Invisibility spell on his ninja-adept friend.

I am pretty sure the rules state that receiving a Deadly wound while summoning might result in an uncontrolled, possibly free, spirit but any spirits owing you services or performing a service are releassed (but do not become free).

It's if you critically glitch on a Binding test that the spirit becomes uncontrolled.

If you crit glitch on Summoning, you may at most temporarily 'burn out' your ability to summon. Getting killed or incapacitated during summoning means the spirit just leaves.



-k