Alright so the situation was, my runners were facing off against a prime runner. As his first two shots, he shoots out the light they are holding and the one above him.

It is now pitch black. Can my PC's mage, when astrally perceiving, use the prime runners aura to target a manabolt? Also, when astrally perceiving, can you see through walls? I'm probably missing something in the reading but I can't find it.

Also, what if you are astrally projecting? Can you just see the aura's of a party and target them all with manaball? Why would you ever manifest?

If you are astrally perceiving, you can target people with it. Your modifier is -2 for anything you do in the physical world and is not magical( (see it as the sight-modifier) Your spell is a magical activity and does not suffer from that. (Although maybe if it is a indirect combat spell) You still need a line of sight, also it can still be blocked by massive amounts of dust, or smoke.

No, you cannot look through walls, or any living or unliving thing, while perceiving or projecting. All objects cast a "shadow" into the astral world. If it is a object, you can fly through it when projecting.

Also: No you cannot influence the physical world at all when projecting. Only dual creatures and astrally perceiving mages can be targets for you. (And of course manaforms like spells and spirits in the astral world). Even when you manifest, all you can do is "ghostly appear" to living creatures, talk with them and leave.

This is all stated very clearly in the chapter for magic. SR3 is about the same. (+2TN when perceiving and doing something on the physical world)

I'm going to rearrange the order of your questions a bit.

As a general rule the caster has to be active on the same plane as the target. Unless the target is astrally perceiving/projecting an astral mage can not target them.


I would say yes in this instance. Since you are dual natured you are technically active on the same plane as the target (i.e. the physical). But you get that -2 DP penalty.

Nope. You also can't "see" through glass or other translucent solids. But you can stick your head through them...

To communicate with your teammates or other physical beings while astrally projecting. Also makes a good distraction before, say, breaching a room full of security guards...

So if there is smoke in the way, it's not just a -4 penalty, it's if they can't see them they can't cast?

Same thing with pitch black, it's -6 normally, but that means they can't cast unless they use astral perception right?

Right. You need direct sensory contact with the target.

Targetting astrally for spellcasting (direct or otherwise) does not impose the -2 on the DP. This is for physical actions only. If you can't see a target (normal augmented vision or astral perception), you can't target it. But a Perception roll could clarify that beforehand.

You can also move through living auras: there are Astral detection rules just for that case, and otherwise Awakened Ivy would be useless, as plain old plants would do the same.

So I have to wonder... If your mage tags along in the astral only, can you either use dmso laced with deepweed or make an airborn version of it to force mundanes to percieve and thus be targetable from the astral?

Theoretically you could. Whether this is cost effective, is another question.

I'm fairly sure healing is a mana based spell so this might work better for having a mage on speed dail or overwatch for aid rather then as an attack tactic. Cost wise anyway.

Having a spirit with astral gateway target someone to cause them to project while you float there, waiting, with a weapon focus... Suddenly the mage is the only one with a weapon in the ex-firefight... this and its variants sound like fun. Maybe not fair, but fun.

Or Shade.

But that aside, I for one am very disappointed in the Manifesting rules. You're a glorified Watcher Spirit. Hopefully, as the mana waxes stronger, mages will discover ways to cast while manifesting.