QUOTE (Glyph @ Aug 22 2010, 01:42 PM)

I was originally of the opinion that Force raising everything else was a typo, but when I read the rules for free spirits in Street Magic, it is consistent with that. So I am torn - that rule makes free spirits as PCs broken (and it takes a lot to make me use the word "broken", which I normally loathe due to how overused it is). But on the other hand, I absolutely hate hate hate when a rules set uses one set of rules for something as critters, and another set of rules for the same thing as PCs (Third Edition shapeshifters, I'm looking at you).
I guess a compromise house rule would be to make them pay for all of their Attributes at char-gen, and have the option of raising them all by raising Force afterwards (but using the higher cost to so so from Street Magic). Still, even using the errata, free spirits are a PC type that I would be cautious about using Karmagen with, as the two rules were not written without reference to each other.
Actually, the interpretation that makes them work basically as spirits should calms my inner Min-Maxer and allows me to focus more on skills and spells than Force and attributes. Sure, the capability for abuse is certainly there, but I find myself building Free Spirit PC's much more conservatively as they seem to be written.
QUOTE (Laodicea Posted Yesterday, 07:29 PM )
Raising your magic attribute raises your force. But the other stats all stay at 2, and must be raised individually, up to the maximum of your force.
Doing it this way makes creating a free spirit character both difficult and viable. It's much easier if you play a possession spirit and use an animal vessel or a plasteel hummunculus, but they do lose the ability to materialize anywhere they want.
Look at the second sentence I quoted - the underlined section shows how the stats work.
Also, the way that many people seem to interpret it (all stats stay at 2 unless you raise them individually) almost neccessitates a FSPC (Free Spirit Player Character) to be possession - your survivability (well, your staying-not-disrupted...-ability) is pretty close to 0 otherwise. That or using
Shapechange.
EDIT: Proper text reference.
EDIT EDIT: Also, I prepared this at work the other day:
Let's take an in-depth look at this:
QUOTE (Runner)
Free spirits have a Force special attribute that starts with a rating of 2. This attribute determines a free spirit's natural minimums and maximums for all attributes.
Ok, this tells us that the Free Spirit's Force starts at 2, and that the Force determines the natural minimums and maximums for their attributes, including Edge.
QUOTE (Runner)
A free spirit's Force rating is the natural maximum for all Physical and Mental attributes, as well as its Edge attribute - so the player must raise Force if he wishes to raise the remaining attributes. In addition, free spirits have the same Physical, Mental, and Edge attributes as metahuman characters, which all start at 2 (their starting Force) at the start of character generation.
This just re-words the previous quote - it does not in any way state that you must then raise the other attributes seperately.
So now we have 3 sentences, and when read together they tell us that your physical and mental attributes, including your Edge special attribute, are all dependent on your Force, which can be raise naturally. Not only that, but your Force determines your natural minimums and maximums for your attributes.
Therefore, as you raise your Force, your natural maximums raise, allowing you to pay karma to raise your attributes. But also, your natural minimums raise, forcing your mental, physical, and edge attributes to also raise. None of the later sentences of the Free Spirit Attributes sections revises or removes the fact that their Force raises their Natural Minimums, which would force their other attributes higher as Force raises.