I've heard the argument that Ally spirits have to take possession instead of materialization if you have a possession tradition. I don't know which interpretation I like better because they both have their advantages, so I just leave it up to whatever GM I'm with. I'd like a FAQ on that though so I don't have to keep reworking my characters.

Yeah, I can see that argument; it's the way it should be for sure.

Two quick responses.

1. The slack/loophole is the God Mode capability of a Channeled ally spirit. In 3rd Edition, Channeling had a line saying that once the channeling came to an end (one based on duration rather than services rendered), all remaining services were extinguished. "All remaining services" encompasses ally spirits, too, implying that if you used an ally spirit while channeling, it was released from its spiritual contract to you. All = infinite.

Even though it was and is still a debatable addition, the rules at least attempted to address it. The updated SR4 rules make no such mention and Channeling persists until services are exhausted (something that doesn't happen with ally spirits and why there's a loophole), banished, or the host is otherwise knocked out in some fashion.

A ban on allowing ally spirits to be possessed/channeled isn't necessary, but a limitation on the duration should be there. Else every morning when you wake up til you go to bed at night, you can be in God Mode. Especially if you had the karma and skill/Edge to create something ridiculous like a Force 12 ally spirit. And since Masking/Extended Masking is easily obtained if you have that much Karma (even without initiation), you can look completely mundane or otherwise normal while doing so.

2. The rules are pretty clear (if oddly distributed throughout Street Magic) that spirits can't interact with the Matrix through any type of AR or VR.

you're acting like they didn't pay a ridiculous amount of karma for the privilege of having that kind of power. honestly, i can't say that being able to channel your ally spirit constantly particularly worries me.

[edit] oh, and inhabiting spirits who get a good merge iirc can use AR/VR if they want, provided their host had access to it by implants iirc. [/edit]

A Force 12 ally spirit only costs a base of 98 Karma. Give it five spells, five additional powers, and five additional skills of choice and it's only a max of 113 Karma.

113 isn't going to make anyone else into a God complete with Immunity to Normal Weapons 12. It's barely going to get you a handful of attribute and skill points.

And no, no spirit can use AR/VR. Especially inhabited ones (SM p. 102).

Then again, all it takes is one little metaplanar quest by someone you pissed off and that 113 karma spirit is toast.

A guy who can toast force 12 spirits is somebody or something that could rival a Great Dragon and eat your standart runner character for breakfast while watching the Trids.

How do you create a Force 12 ally? More specifically, how do you get any net hits when binding the initial Force 12 spirit? (assume a (house) rule saying you can't use a channeled spirit's Force with your Magic tests). Also, I don't have my books, but I remember the chance of even creating the formula is remote.

on a side note, don't forget that 2 metamagic techniques are also required, which means either 2 initiations or purchasing 2 metamagic techniques without initiation.

and personally, if someone burned 2 edge for this kind of thing, i would definitely give them some drawbacks with that hand of god...

My hacker Task spirit is officially resurrected:

^ rocking it with 2(or less if house ruled) matrix IPs and probe test of Hacking+exploit(System+Firewall, 1 DAY)

you don't use the spirit's willpower, actually, you use the lower of the mental attributes while channelling iirc.

as far as not having problems with the ally spirit on a failed binding test, i should point out that you could still have problems with the spirit that is possessing you, since it is obviously present when you go unconscious.

The problem with bound spirits is that though they can't hurt you directly, they don't have to save you unless specifically ordered to as a service. More importantly, nothing stops them from setting you up to be killed.
Your spirit doctor can, most certainly, put a cranial bomb in your head, set the timer, and fail to mention it to you. It can't detonate such a bomb with its own hands, but it can set a time bomb in your skull just as easily as anyone else can. Its time timer that does the killing.

By the same token, if you have yourself possessed then your possession spirit can walk up to the nearest police station, pull a gun, shoot a cop in front of a dozen other cops, and leave. Or, he can just walk up to a standard street thug and offer him 50 nuyen to shoot him (in your body) in the face until your body dies.

Unless you word your commands carefully.

... and have a DM that allows such commands without a price.

You're assuming a spirit wants to hurt their conjurer. Particularly with traditions that use Charisma, that's not always the case unless the conjurer has a habit of forcing (emphasis on the word, rather than asking or bargaining) their spirits into dangerous situations or using powers that cause extreme pain or torment.

Likewise, several of hyzmarca's examples aren't very good ones. They violate the spirit of the rule that a spirit cannot do anything to directly harm their summoner. That includes almost everything hyzmarca cited above. What they can do, however, is use the exact wording of a service to the detriment of their summoner.

It's not until they're released in some fashion and/or become a Free Spirit that they can start to do the sinister things detailed above. Or direct things if they're not the crafty sort.

But say, walking into a police station and blowing a hole in a cop's face just to get their master in trouble? No. Not unless the conjurer told the spirit to do so as a service. That requires free will, which summoned and bound spirits do not possess.

A spirit won't even think to defy, let alone hurt, it's conjurer unless the conjurer has done something to repeatedly piss off his species like use them for Spell Binding. And even then it's only if you glitch the summoning/binding roll.

Here's my thinking for an ally army.

Get a lot of karma. This is hard to do, unless you seriously cheat (e.g., strike a deal with a succubus to open a brothel wired with mage goggle lines in every room, and split the karma proceeds using Power Pact), but if you save for the long haul and don't get geeked with unspent karma, it's worth the wait.

Pour karma into a couple of initiations, top off your magic, grab centering, and initiate/grab ally metamagic when you write your first formula to save a little karma.

Blow karma on spells and skills that you intend the ally to have if you can afford it; it saves more karma in the long run, if you ever plan to use those abilities later.

Write your formula. Put everything into it that you ever want your ally to have, right up until you run out of karma to spare. You do *not* want to go through this again. If you have access to Tasks, hacking is allowed as per the FAQ (thanks for digging that up!). Also, First Aid is a really, really good idea considering what you're about to do.

Prep work. Arrange for all of the buffs that you can get. If you have to promise your bound F6s immediate freedom the next day to get them to overcast buffs on you, do it. If you have to bribe other mages to risk physical drain, do it. You should have as many drain dice and Body dice as possible--not just for HP, but also for maximum overflow. As long as you're still breathing, you win.

Strap on a medkit (street doc in attendence is optional) and start summoning.

Spend Edge like a drunken sailor. Burn whatever you have to. At worst, you'll burn 4 edge. More likely, with the buffs in place, plus whatever foci you've picked up along the way, you'll burn 1-2, tops, and there's a decent chance at anything under F15 that you'll survive without burning edge just by virtue of your buffs.

Once the summon is complete, as you're convulsing on the floor, the ally's first task should be to use the medkit and save your hide. You'll still be in bed for a week, but it'll be worth it.

Afterwards, buff your ally with the biggest buff spells that you can cast, and have him/her sustain them. Then, as needed, do the same to yourself, since that part is apparently broken.

Then, with your *next* hundred karma, you can repeat the process--only, with your all-powerful ally to help, you can go through the process even more safely than the first time. Just make sure that you have 4 edge, just in case.

Why bother with a second ally? Because it's half the cost for Force (although you have to re-spend all skill/spell karma) compared to increasing an existing ally. Because even with buffs, once you go above F16 or so, you're going to burn edge ever time you re-bind. Because, above all, every F12 ally you add is another 4IP/turn of Chuck Norris.