Hello. I have a question regarding some rules about ally spirits.

I guess that all spirits of whatever type can actually move tridimensionally when materialized, if I understood the rules about spirits in the basic rulebook correctly, right?

And that means that the fly skill and the fly movement rate for the air and fire spirits is just another speed mode, which could be used by these two example spirits instead of the normal movement rate listed, right? That means that actually, earth, water, beast, guidance, guardian and all those other spirits can also fly in the air, just not as fast as fire and air spirits, is this correct? And if yes, can all spirits (including Ally spirits) fly upwards? If not and I'm wrong, please correct me.

Now, in Street Magic, it's mentioned that an Ally spirit can only fly it it has an appropriate form. Does this mean that it would get the fly movement rate that the air and fire spirit enjoy, or does it mean that unless it has an 'appropriate' appearance that fits with its form, it can't hover/move in all three dimensions at all unlike his other spirit brethrens?

And what does constitute an 'appropriate' form? Does it have to have wings to be eligible for having the flight skill?

Oh, and what's about spotting spirits and the realistic form power? Does this mean that a spirit with that power can't be immeadiately mistaken for a spirit, or is it still recognized as an astral being from the metaplanes in an instant?

Thank you very much in advance.

The best answer is probably, "whatever the GM says". So, for example, an ally spirit in the form of a brick, or a dog, couldn't really fly; while an ally spirit in the form of an eagle, or maybe a frisbee, should be able to fine. Any animal form which has flying as a normal movement type or power should be "appropriate" enough.

And what if I am the GM? I want rules clarification. Besides, that answer wasn't all that clear for me, unfortunately. Would the ally spirit who looks like a brick still be able to fly upwards, but simply with the normal movement rate instead of the fly movement rate that the air and fire spirits have as second movement mode?

And are all my other points correct at all or not?

Where is this rule that ally spirits are unable to fly in certain forms? It's certainly not listed under "Forms" on pags 103-104 in Street Magic.

The only possible way I could see that is when an ally spirit is giving the Inhabitation power rather than Materialization, and the limits of the host body is one of the inherent and balancing aspects of Inhabitation over Materilization, resulting in a non-issue whatsoever. Even then it would only occur in certain types of Inhabitations.

Otherwise, the forms step of ally spirit creation and the Materialization and Realistic Form powers mention no such limitation. At least none that I can find.

It's not really written that they can't fly, but that they only get the flight skill if it fits the form. And I still don't know if Ally spirits (and all the other spirit types) can actually fly upwards or hover over water or whatever. I do not really understand the spirits form rule in the basic rulebook on page 176/177 that mentions that spirits are not bound to the rules of gravity. Can all spirits 'fly' upward while materialized? Or do you really need the flight skill to 'fly up', and therefore have to create a form for the ally spirit that fits in?

And as a side-question, which of those rules take priority over the other? Street Magic page 95 says that you always recognize a materialized spirit for the paranormal entity that it is, while realistic form says that the spirit can actually be mistaken for whatever it is supposed to represent.

The way I'd rule is that you can always tell what that a Spirit is otherworldly unless that Spirit has the Realistic Form power.

And like Buster said, all Spirits can "fly" it's just that some get the skill while others don't.

Aha. I get it. Okay, thank you very much for your replies.

The book says somewhere that all spirits can fly but they tend to stay towards the ground. The only exception here is Air Spirits which tend to hover over the ground and are not afraid to fly in the air.

Yeah, considering that Street Magic says an aboriginal air spirit may take the form of a "terribly wise platypus", I'd say the very idea of an "appropriate form" is more than a bit contradictory. To me it sounds like a non-issue fit for GM handwaving.