Oi Chums,

So the players are in Lagos doing some leg work looking for an Elf by the name of Samriel when a local terrorist rides his motor bike into a Cherubium, look it up if you don't know what that is but I warned you, and blows himself and the building up. The PC's got some shrapnel wounds and some bruising but for the most part were ok. The AMAZING part was when the Team actually began helping the victims of the bomb. I was blown away. They are normally very calculating and cold, almost heartless when it comes to getting a job done. So at the end of their good samaritan act I gave them all a point of edge back. I thought it was an appropriate time to do so. The question becomes...

Would the Qabbala Mage, who was possesed at the time of the good deed, regain Spirit edge back, only his personal edge, or both? Let me know what you think.

Did he command the spirit to help? Or have you just been letting him roleplay the spirit? They say it's fine to let possessed shamans rp the spirits which possess them....but just wondering.
I think that with refreshing edge it's totally up to the GM and it's something that more reflects if you feel they're gonna need it because something really hard is comming up and it's been a while since the last encounter.
I would have rewarded them with Karma instead because first all....it's called karma for a reason...like a reward for good deeds...and if the mage was in agreement with the team that they should help then he should get karma because karma is more of a meta-gaming thing. In-game characters don't know of a thing called karma....just some abstract concept which is loosely like "life force" or "fate"....
usually i save single points of edge rewards for really astonishing die rolls which make it seem that some how "luck" is favoring the player.

Oi Chum,

My question was more of a ruling about who's edge gets refreshed. The reason I chose to refresh a single point of edge is because the game has spanned several sessions and they will not be receiving Karma for a while. I did not want to loose that particular good roleplaying scene in the recount of what happened when totaling the Karma award later.

If you look at pg. 74 of 4th Ed. A. regaining edge impressive roleplaying and heroic self sacrifice are two of the suggested possibilities for regaining edge.

So back to the question. The possesed Qabbalist was fully in control of his character and the spirit in question when they assisted the bomb victims. Would the spirits edge refresh, the mages edge refresh, or both?

refresh everyone's edge unless one person didn't help out....but that would include the spirit and mage both.

Oi,

So refresh both the Spirits edge and the Mages? Obviously they both helped but the mage is the one in charge of the whole possesion, meat body thing. I am still undecided on that one.

Just to be clear Qabbala is a possesion tradition. They both ocupy the same body. It was not the mage AND his Spirit helper.

I'd say refresh one pool, but ask to the player to choose which one, the spirit's or his character's.

I'd say the spirit's Edge only. The summoner might have considered himself fully in control and it makes sense for the player to roleplay the spirit, but what's actually going on is that the spirit is following continual direction from the magician. All the resourcefulness employed is that of the spirit and it's only the spirit that is actually doing anything.

Ultimately, since the magician can't use his Edge to influence any tests while possessed it makes no sense that an Edge reward should go to him for actions undertaken whilst possessed.

Did the mage actually command the spirit to help, spending a service?

Did the spirit act on its own initiative to help, and the mage simply didn't countermand it?

In the former case, I would say that only the mage gets the refresh, as he's the one directing the action. In the latter, the two acted in accord to help, and I would refresh both. That's assuming, of course, that what you're rewarding is the choice to help, rather than the actual help supplied. If you're rewarding them for the accomplishment, rather than the decision, it should go only to the spirit.

Oi Chums,

Thanks for the different perspectives on this. I think only the Spirits edge will refresh as his edge is what is used while possesed. Thanks again.