Hi I wondered if someone could help me.

I haven't run shadowrun in oooooooooh so many years and now i'm back and running shadowrun 4th ed.

I have a player that wants to play a combat mage belonging to a tradition that binds spirits into its members weapons.

Can someone advise me what should a spirit bound to a weapon do. I know that spirits bound into things alter stats but what do you advise that I should do regarding this.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can give to me.

Makes the Weapon absurdly hard and dual natured? That's about it. Unless the spirit has powers that might affect a weapon, such as energy aura or something similar. Anything else and you start infringing on weapon foci.

I'm guessing it's a possession tradition? Or is it closer to a magical group then a tradition?

The bound possession spirit can use all its powers. Concealment+Movement on the wielder (for two services) is a nice combo.

A spirit of man could sustain it´s natural spell and infringe on sustaining foci.


Edit: Wild Shot: Do you know that there are rules for possession traditions in Street Magic?

I actually have an Fire Elemental Bound in an Ancient Katana (rating 6 weapon focus).
On command I can make the sword flame to add +2 damage (I play SR3), and since I also no have chanelling, I can also call on it to channel into me...

Pretty cool really.

I suppose if you had it in armour it could give you flame aura or in a gun some fire damage effects on bullets.

Just add effects - the more powerful the effects, the more constraints on its uses perhaps it should have?

Thanks for all the good advice.

Can I ask how you might go about costing an inhabiting Water spirit into a sword as far as Build Points are concerned?

My player is talking about an inhabitation tradition and it dawns on me that there isn't an inhabitation tradition is there ?

No, no there is not.

There is none for a reason.

Inhabitation is really good and is down right horrifying if used right (see insect spirits).

Possesion does everything it sounds like the PC is looking for and is closer to "balanced" - it also doesn't degrade into Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 2.6 seconds. Use the binding rules for the "enchantments" to last a run or 2... looks like it could work.

I thought Inhabitation was specifically a non PC tradition type unless you were playing some sort of straight evil campaign?

EDIT: God I had such a brain fart, I meant insect traditions.

Thanks for all the advice and help im really appreciating it

Ive found out that Inhabitation is only available to ally spirits and players can only have them at Initiate level so that sorts that out.

Next that player asked if he could be possessed, and I explained no as that would make him an NPC.

I have now suggested that the Runners book speaks of Free spirit player characters but that he can not be a possession spirit only a Materialization spirit. Hopefully that will meet his needs. I'm waiting for a reply from him

... why can't he be possessed? Street Magic. It's the major reason people take Possession over Materialization.

(And you won't let him play a "Loa?" "Bad form Peter, bad form.")

Make it a new metamagic technique or even a spell!? and dont allow the player to start with it. Make him work for it.

Cost wise, it could be something as simple as increase a multiplier on an existing foci like a power focus.

The player doesnt want to play a spirit apparently, he wants to be the mage and be able to control the spirit(s) that posses his body and make them come and go as he pleases apparently.

I think we are reachin the point of no return

Im not understanding the new metamagic technique bit ?

If he wants to control any spirits that possess his body, he needs the MetaMagic of Channelling.

Why make it harder than it has to be.

Just use the Item Attunement metamagic technique from Street Magic for the magical group but just change the fluff so that the atunment of the item is instead the bonding of the spirit. Maybe change the Logic+Technical Skill test for the attunement to a Magic+Summoning test.

Insect.

Also, check out my thread linked in my signature for some ideas for Inabitation spirits. Possession spirits can use the same concept, but not permanently.

It gets worse when you add an Inhabited F6 Spirit into a F6 Weapon Focus/F6 Power Focus...