Here's a situation I'm thinking about using for a run. Some big baddie free spirit that has the Vessel Trading Power (SM p110) captures a mage (call him Houdini) and uses its power to evict Houdini's spirit into a previously-prepared living vessel (we'll handwave where that one came from, please). For the sake of argument, Houdini's new home is very well secured and not very powerful. Perhaps some small critter, or a weak metahuman.

Since Houdini can astrally project, he can leave the body for (Magic) hours at a time, which he does to go find some willing runner to save his sorry butt.

Here's my question: SM p110 says "Victims trapped in an inanimate vessel or astral space will ... die after (Magic or Essence) x 2 hours." SR4 p183 says "The magician can maintain [astral] form for a number of hours equal to her Magic attribute. After this time, if she has not returned to her physical body, her astral form will die, leaving her physical body in a permanent coma."

Here are my questions:
1) These rules seem contradictory - unless getting forced out of your body is subtly different than astrally projecting. This seems humane, but inconsistent.
2) Does Houdini's new vessel home count as the "physical body" mentioned in the astral projection rules, or is he dead after a few hours unless he can get back in his original body?

I've searched around the forums, FAQs and erratas and haven't found anything that cleared it up for me (but that could be a personal problem). Any help would be appreciated.

I would say one situation is voluntary and the other isn't. I have no problem with the differing rules for each.



As far as I know, it would count as his new body.