Question came up in our game last night. My mage asked me about erasing astral signatures, basically:

1) Can anyone erase a signature?
2) If yes, can a spirit erase a signature?
3) What range do you need to be at, i.e. just LOS?

I ruled that since RAW say "any magician" can erase a signature, that yes, he could erase someone else's (or vice versa), but it had to be an actual "intelligent" magician. So, not critters or spirits, etc. I debated about this, but for the quick ruling, that is what I went with.

As for range, seeing it said the magician had to be astrally perceiving, he did have to have LOS, but didn't have to physically be close to the spell effects.

So, what have others done, your experiences and comments are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Street Magic page 55. Cleansing metamagic is what you are looking for.

Should answer more precise, I guess:

1) Seems so. Yes.
2) If it is considered a magician, sure.
3) I guess range would be "standing next to it", but that is just an educated guess.

Well, that gives more insight to question 3). Mage has to be on-site as well as astrally perceiving or projecting...

Per RAW though, erasing a signature can be done by any magician and it takes "Force" Complex Actions to completely erase it.

I suppose it also answers 1), as anyone can erase an astral signature, i.e. so you are not limited to affecting just your own.

What about spirits and critters?

Well, a "magician" refers to any being capable of full on spellcasting, so I'd say yes, spirits and critters, if they fulfill this requirement, would qualify under the "any magician" section.

As far as I can see, any magician can erase his own signature, but it takes the Cleansing Metamagic to erase someone else's.

That's how I've always interpreted things.

That makes sense to me, otherwise the Cleansing Metamagic is a lot less useful...

I think I'll also throw my player a bone and let anyone that has spellcasting, erase signatures...but IIRC, that means only a Spirit of Man, correct?

Spirits of Man don't have spellcasting, they can have the power: innate spell

Ally spirits can have spellcasting.

Which they can use because they have the spellcasting skill.

Mind you, cleansing runs off the Counterspelling skill, which Guardian and Guidance Spirits have but Spirits of Man don't.

Personally I'd never allow a Spirit or Critter to erase an Astral Fingerprint, they are one of the best ways to keep magic reigned in.

whoops - you're right...for some reason I was remembering it as if it was strictly a power (2x magic), and not a power that lets them use the spellcasting skill they already have. Which is a definite argument in favor of spirits being able to overcast, as well.