Immunity to Normal Weapons. An often contentious Power in relation to Spirits and what sort of weaponry can be used by normal, mundane people to keep them from ruling everything in combat. The one side of the argument goes along the lines of pointing out that in all of the fiction, it takes extreme force to wipe out a Spirit. The canonical example, Ares nuking an Insect Spirit hive in Chicago at the location of the old FAFSA offices, is held on high as definitive proof that you can't taze Spirits. If you could use a zapper to take down Insect Spirits, then the metaphor of Bug Zapper would extend to Chicago and some of the best of Shadowrun history would be null and void.
Being Skeptical, as it were, I feel that the matter should be investigated further, so let us begin by inspect the wording on Immunity to Normal Weapons (INWp).
Data for our discussion is provided by our dear friend $_imon, in the form of a $imon$ez [Knowsoft], with bolded text being that which the author finds to be the most important points. Italicized and bolded text is the text that is at the root of the discussion. [Text surrounded by brackets is a dicepool, and may be followed by (text in a set of parenthesis) that indicates an Extended Test.]. [ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 288
Immunity
Type: P • Action: Auto • Range: Self • Duration: Always
A critter with Immunity has an enhanced resistance to a certain type of attack or affliction. The critter gains an "Armor rating" equal to twice its Magic against that damage. This Immunity Armor is treated as "hardened" protection (see Hardened Armor above), meaning that if the Damage Value does not exceed the Armor, then the attack automatically does no damage.
Immunity to Age: Some beings possess immunity to aging. These beings neither age nor suffer the effects of aging.
Immunity to Normal Weapons: This immunity applies to all weapons that are not magical"
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
There is an additional sentence that is not printed in my copy of the book, which has been relayed to $_imon as saying
"Additionally, this "Armor rating" is added to the [damage resistance test] as normal Armor.""Well," a good Skeptic would say, "what, exactly is this so called 'normal armor'? I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere." A very good question, so let's take a look at the first entry in Shadowrun 4th edition to mention rules on armor:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 148
ARMOR
Two types of armor exist in Shadowrun: Ballistic and Impact. Armor is used with [Body] to make [Damage Resistance Test]s (see Damage Resistance Test, p.140).The Armor rating is reduced by the attack's AP value (see Armor Penetration, p. 152).
Good armor will protect a character from serious physical harm. If the modified DV of an attack causing Physical damage does not exceed the AP-modified Armor rating, then the attack will cause Stun damage instead.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
This wording leads us to wonder which type of damage we should be looking at. The answer is in the entry for Impact Armor:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 149
Impact Armor
Impact Armor protects against projectiles with lesser kinetic transfer: blunt projectile weapons, explosives, melee weapons, and stun ammunition.
To a lesser extent, Impact also protects against falling, fire, laser weapons, electrical attacks, and Indirect Combat spells—apply half of the Impact Armor rating (round up) to such damage, unless otherwise specifically noted.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
That's fairly clear. So we know that the Spirits' Impact Armor values are being used, and a Spirit's Impact Armor value is equal to twice it's Force rating. So now we are comparing apples to apples, so let's go back up to the first entry. Our next task is to decide how the "hardened" part of this "Armor rating" applies. Let's look:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 288
Hardened Armor
Type: P • Action: Auto • Range: Self • Duration: Always
Hardened Armor is even tougher than normal Armor. If the modified Damage Value of an attack does not exceed the Armor rating (modified by Armor Penetration), then it bounces harmlessly off the critter; don't even bother to make a Damage Resistance Test. Otherwise, Hardened Armor provides both Ballistic and Impact armor equal to its rating.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
There is a parenthetical entry here that is dead center to the argument for using electrical or energy weapons against Spirits. "(modified by Armor Penetration)" in reference to DV and Armor rating. The rest of the entry states that any attack not exceeding this Armor rating (Impact Armor in this case) bounces off with no possibility of damage. If the modified Armor rating is smaller than the weapons DV, then the Hardened Armor offers no particular advantage. Here are the entries on AP and DV and [Damage Resistance] tests
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 152
Armor Penetration (AP)
A weapon's Armor Penetration (AP) represents its penetrating ability—its ability to pierce armor. The AP is used to modify a target's Armor rating when he makes a damage resistance test.
$imoff:
$imon$ez:
SR4 152
Damage Value
The Damage Level indicates the severity of the damage inflicted by the weapon—its ability to transfer damage to the target. In game terms, each point of Damage Value inflicts one box of damage to the target's Condition Monitor. The base Damage Value of the weapon is modified by the attacker's net hits, ammunition type, and other factors.
$imoff:
$imon$ez:
SR4 p 152
DAMAGE RESISTANCE TESTS
Unless otherwise noted, a character rolls Body + armor to resist damage. In some cases another attribute may be called for; Willpower is often used in place of Body, for example, against certain Stun damage attacks. The exact armor that applies is determined by the type of attack (see Armor. p. 148). The armor rating is modified by the attack's AP modifier.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
Note that Condition Monitor is not strongly typed, so it can have four values: Applies to all Condition Monitors, Applies to untyped Condition Monitors only, Applies to no Condition Monitors, and Applies to some Condition Monitors. Let's, for the sake of not having our brains bleed, assume that the middle two arguments do not apply. The other two, All or Some, are not determinable.
"That's nice Skeptic, but look at the Immunity entry! It states "if the Damage Value does not exceed the Armor, then the attack automatically does no damage." not "modified Armor value"!". Then I take a deep breath and let it out. To apply proper Skepticism, we need to show that Spirits are treated under the same rules of Armor, AP, DV, and Condition Monitors.
Let's start by looking at what INWp is. It's a Critter Power, written up under the rules in the Critter section of the rulebook.
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 p286
POWERS
Powers are special abilities that critters possess as part of their physiology. Some powers are natural in nature, such as claws or armor.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
Ok, so Powers are attached to Critters, but this is about Spirits. Well, yes, and spirits are listed under Critters, so we use those rules. But what if we don't? They have their own rules, right?
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 p177
Spirit Combat
Combat with spirits follows the normal rules for physical (p. 146) or astral (p. 184) combat. […] Physical spirits have the power of Immunity to Normal Weapons (see p. 288), giving them Armor equal to twice their Force against all attacks.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
But that's not the same as Critter combat, right?
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 291
CRITTER COMBAT
Critters fight in combat the same as normal characters do, rolling attribute + attack skill, and all combat rules apply equally for critters and characters.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
All combat rules apply equally for critters, characters, and as we have shown, Spirits. "But!" our Straw Man would interject "It references Armor with a capital 'A'! I know you changed all entries about armor into Armor for consistency sake, but this one started out that way! It refers to the Power of Armor, not normal armor!"
Well:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 286
Armor
Type: P • Action: Auto • Range: Self • Duration: Always
The critter has an extremely tough hide that offers some protection from attacks. A critter with this power has a natural Armor rating that is cumulative with any external armor worn. Critter armor is divided into Ballistic and Impact components, the same as character armor.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
The Armor Power, it seems, is treated the same way as normal armor. "But," our Straw Man continues "it's magical armor, so we should treat it under those rules!" So we bring up the closest approximation with Mystic Armor.
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 289
Mystic Armor
Type: M • Action: Auto • Range: Self • Duration: Always
Critters with Mystic Armor have natural protection from astral attacks. Apply the critter's Mystic Armor rating against any astral attacks that strike it. Some critters may also have hardened Mystic Armor (if they also have the Hardened Armor power).
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
This doesn't help the argument, as in this case hardening Mystic Armor invokes the Hardened Armor Power. But it may not apply, as you may notice that running through the rules is the concept of Physical. Physical Spirits have the power of INWp, Armor is a Physical Power, everything related is Physical.
By now, if we can agree that the weapons attacking the Spirit are working on the Physical plane, we know that the AP applies. To be in combat, the Spirit must be in the Physical plane, so here we have the introductory line on Spirits:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 294
SPIRITS
Spirits are sentient denizens of the astral plane. The spirits described below may be summoned by magicians (see Conjuring, p. 176). The Physical attributes listed below are used when a spirit Materializes in the physical plane;
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
Which takes us to Materializing:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
SR4 289
Materialization
Type: P • Action: Complex • Range: Self • Duration: Sustained
Certain astral critters are capable of projecting themselves into the material world, thus allowing them to interact with physical beings. When materialized, critters may affect physical targets. Additionally, materialized critters gain Immunity to Normal Weapons.
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
So the Immunity to Normal Weapons only applies to the Spirit when Manifesting, during which all normal combat rules apply, which includes AP.
"That Condition Monitor thing! They never have been said to have a Stun Condition Monitor! No zappy!" Shouts our die-hard Straw Man. Skeptical me cannot find anything in the Basic book disproving this statement, so it could be argued that they do not have a Stun Monitor, and cannot be affected by stun weaponry. This leaves laser weapons as the smallest category of weapon that manages to hurt a decently strong Spirit. For those playing with Street Magic, then this should suffice:
[ Spoiler ]
$imon$ez:
Street Magic 74
"DISRUPTION
If a spirit in astral or materialized form suffers Physical or Stun damage sufficient to fill its damage track, the spirit is disrupted."
$imoff:
--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--
Which is clear. Spirits have a Stun Monitor, are treated like any other entity in combat, and can be disrupted by a sufficiently strong Stun weapon. The end result? The effects on past literature concerning Chicago?
TO THE COMMENTS!