When a spirit manifest it grants someone the ability to talk to it from the physical plane. The spirit is in the astral and the person is in the physical and the two can talk. The spirit can become dual nature by materializing but manifesting is a different thing.

I'd imagine a magic sense power allowing a person to talk to the spirit without the spirit specifically manifesting. I.e Dana does not need the spirit to make an effort to be visible.

even mundanes are able to talk to manifesting spirits and astral auras of people in the physical plane are clearly visible in the astral, spirits can also search the physical plane directly from the astral - so I do not think that there is a problem for Dana to speak to a spirit from the physical or for the spirit to listen to her (but I could be wrong, it is just my interpretation)

Well 'magic sense' is different from 'magic interact' imo. Shadowrun rules are always to precise and clear of ambiguity! I'm real confused by this power. Can a spirit 'hide' from it or does it always work? It says it's based on Detect Magic, which just tells you if the thing is within range of the spell. Based on all the other Detect X spells, it should tell you the 'number and relative location' of the things it detects, but without Astral Perception I think you're out of luck trying to interact with anything Astral unless it manifests on the physical plane. My understanding is Spirits can only talk to their summoner with the mind link.

Magic sense specifically says you need to be astrally perceiving to see astral stuff, sorry, rather than change a load of IC perhaps Lindsey's spirit was manifest for some reason?!? Physical contact with Lindsey perhaps?

If we want to make it be manifest, I'd want it to be as a child of similar age to Lindsey since she used to think they were 'real boys!' (ie: too big for a shoulder ride). I'm okay with that, but then everyone is going to see a weird astrally looking kid running around, which I think would definitely elicit some comment. Unless the odd magic here makes manifested spirits able to actually pass as really human, in which case I can write that in without effecting anyone else and Dana can know it's fake due to the magic sense? But that's not RAW.

I must admit I am confused - I am trying to piece together everything that you say that is not how I saw it but I am learning. I never tried the magic sense power before.

the magic sense spell reads:

The subject can detect the presence of all foci, spells,
wards, magical lodges, alchemical preparations, active
rituals, and spirits within range of the sense. It does not
detect Awakened characters or critters, astral signatures,
alchemical preparations that that have expired or already
triggered, or the effects of permanent spells once they
have become permanent.



so should Dana only be able to detect spirits in the physical plane (i.e materialized ones?), should she be astrally perceiving she could sense them even when not materialized?

The way I see the spell work is spellcasting + magic vs logic + will power +(counter spelling) and net hits determine how detailed the information is.

1 hit is - there is something magical at that location and 4 hits should give a lot more precise information.


The confusing part about spirits I think I figured out, but the adept power does not offer any mechanism to determine how detailed the 'sense' is, it just say the 'force' of the spell but force is not - total hits just the limit.

Just my inkling on this, with four hits the information may be pretty detailed. I would break it down as such:

1. Something is hinky in the area (there is something magical about);
2. There are spirits about;
3. There are x number of spirits about;
4. There are x number of y type of spirits about.

it should work with the astral, as all things mana would be detected (as the aura of an alchemical preparation is still only manifest in the astral, for example). As it is only a sense, however, it does not provide a means to interact with a spirit that is not manifested. It would be something akin to calling out in a dark room for someone you suspect is there. Unless they want to respond, you`re just speaking to the air.



...but I just punch things, so there is that.

My understanding is the Sense tells you 'yes, that thing is here' and more hits would give you more information about that thing. It does not allow you to interact with the thing though, as that would require actual Astral Perception. For a spirit, you know it's there, and potentially what it is and how strong it is, but you still can't 'see' it and you would walk through it, etc.

I completely agree - with not being able to interact, the question asked can a spirit hear a person calling it when it is in the same room as you. I mean you know it is there, you sense it. so you can talk to 'it' - the question is can 'it' hear you. I am okay with it either way Dana is 17 she does not know all the rules of magic, can be funny even if she is speaking to a spirit that cannot respond to her.

I got from Aria's comment that the spirit disappeared as soon as Dana approached it - that the spirit could 'hear' Dana speaking to it. If my interpretation is wrong we could just correct Dana in IC that sensing a spirit and interacting with it are different things. She should not be very knowlegable about spirits.

Note that in the CRB they give an example table for detect spells, using Detect Life as the example, from which we are meant to extrapolate for other detect spells. The bottom row of the table (four or five hits I think, but I forget which) was enough to recognize a known person (a contact, I think her name was Lindsey but I could be wrong), while I think it was at two hits that the example was roughly "an orc, a dwarf, and a troll walk into a bar ...."

Since magic is essentially all about astral energy, with only sometimes physical manifestation, I would think that it would detect an astral spirit -- although on the astral plane movement is so fast that you might only get a 'see something from the corner of your eye, then it was gone' sort of feeling.

If it helps to hit pause on new IC posts while we sort this out, I'm fine with that. Obviously people knowing that certain others have magic could be a big deal.

This is kind of why the paragraph about using it while astrally perceiving seems so meaningless - 60 meters in the astral is just the tip of your nose. Anything that does not want to be seen can just keep its distance from you and still be a second away. I would not pause IC for this - I thought it would be an interesting conversation but I would not pause the entire game to have it.

Hopefully the tone of Rick's message doesn't come across too strong...he really does believe that this is the natural order...good luck convincing him otherwise!

I probably won't get any more IC done before Monday but I think you should be able to keep up IC until the grand meeting sometime in the middle of the morning? I might manage OoC responses, we'll see! Happy posting!

Have a good weekend, Aria! I most likely won't be posting at length until Monday, but will probably check in from my phone so there might be some unusually terse posts from me.

@Aria: in case my IC post isn't clear, Addie is trying to connect to any other implanted commlinks. I didn't want to just narrate that one, as I really don't know if there are others, if they work, or if wireless works in this setting at all -- especially those last two could indicate things that we need to discover still. I suspect that normally commlinks should automatically shake hands with each other, but even if everything is working properly, when they were turned off and purged they may have also had settings changed.

I don't want to presume on any future PCs wanting implanted links so let's assume you find at least 1 NPC that has one that is turned on

There is the potential that, should I start double playing, there is another 'link out there. It will be in silent mode, however. Mainly because of Scrap wanting to fly under the radar. Of course, if you're okay with it I might just write something up for her tonight while I'm stuck at work.

OK, will narrate connecting to another link, soonish (game time).

And btw, pretty sure that Maddie's estimate of sunup and sundown in Seattle, near the Summer solstice, is off by quite a bit -- point was really that she has never had to pay attention because it really never impacted her life, so she was making numbers up.

But Aria, she will have her link time the night and day to gradually get a more accurate clock. I'll just toss that into narration gradually -- unless you say something is odd. (Ratios seem really odd for summer, link says a day seems about 26 hours long, or other weirdness).

Updated char sheet in OP and story.
Almost consolidated on her - her prototype flaw is astral beacon that manifest as her aura being exactly like it should be. flawless and very clear to read - almost as if it is artificial. She also has mood hair that would later evolve into the adept power keratin control. Right now her hair changes colors between brown and red according to her mood.

Time isn't odd for early summer so you're ok there

There are a couple of technos here too but I suspect they would need to establish a link with you rather than the other way round

Did Glok come into the main camp at night to kill the boy or did he just die from the previously inflicted head wound?

I could be wrong, but I do not think Grok would have gone there in the middle of the night to kill some kid. It was probably from an earlier encounter. I could be wrong, though.....................

From the first encounter, sub dural hemotoma or some such thing...

Just making sure. Gilgas post could be read either way so I needed to know if I should edit.

Okay, now that I've made a short little 'pick me pick me' speech, I'll back it up with a Leadership roll just for fun.

Char + Leadership = 8 dice
Leadership - vote for me!: 8d6t5 2

To clarify, a boy nominated Simon.

Blank is going to be doing a focused scouting of the terrain around the camps. He is looking for crates, but also mapping the area against the passage he did the night before. Any roll that needs to be done, just let me know.

Ok, thought a Google Maps overlay might help things along a bit… you should all be able to edit this so feel free to add info as you go!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1umGxb2ISm...amp;usp=sharing

@Raider: So, you get to be an eagle! Enjoy…let’s hope there aren’t any bigger flying nasties out there…check out the Google Map and feel free to describe the area around you without going too far. Any small human habitation won’t exist…you might be able to pick out faint signs of roads and I guess you might be able to see signs of major metropolitan areas in the distance…please don’t go ‘too far’ from the group for now…

@Dire: you can buy hits on navigation and survival or roll, as you like. The terrain is rough but not impassable. Assuming you range far enough you will find one or two more crates of supplies (they look like they’ve been dropped from height!) with more food / survival gear in them.

@Group Meeting: I’ve paused the IC here to allow you to intervene for Grok, otherwise he is going to get hog tied…by himself he might try to ‘resist arrest’ so that can be incorporated into your IC if you wish…

Ok, just seen Mercy’s post so I need to do some extra thinking and rework what I had written for Rick…not to worry, looking forward to the challenge

@Gilga: Doesn't really matter, but Drain on summoning is minimum 2 even if the spirit gets no hits.

@Digital Heroin: Any objection to having Lindsey's spirit see you pilfering food? Won't be used against you.

Drain: 10d6t5 3
so no drain, thanks for the catch.

@Aria either Dana or Vincent are going to fly around the camp and look for some nearby town or settlement, a road or a sign of civilization. (using the shape change spell to take bird (eagle?) form). If you describe what we find we could incorporate it to the next IC in the chain. (both are not at the meeting).

In case you missed it...

Looks like Mercy got a post up while I was writing Addie's response to Rick (for those who might have read it, the version where she was said she had ideas about punishments)

I'm blanking my response for now to prevent further confusion, and will re-post taking into account Mercy's post as soon as I have time to write something new....but unfortunately that may not be for several hours from now. Sorry for making the IC thread confusing with this.

Looking forward to reading it BetaX! That's quite a facinating scene everyone.

I will note that I somewhat regret Blank not observing closer. He has no reason to want to linger, and programming to deal with... but damned would he have tried to put a fist through Rick's spine by now. Pretty boy orc talks too much.

That he does! But as I said, he believes fervently that he is right!

No doubt he and Blank will have words at some point...don't be so sure on the outcome though!

I had the exact same urge to just that when he came to talk to Maya. I was just about to post jumping him when I figured out that my character will not just murder someone unprovoked no matter how annoying I find him;)

Oh I never presume. I just write as I figure the character would act, and enjoy the outcome.



That is the thing about being a socially (and intellectually) underdeveloped assassin: murder is just business.

...I kind of regret not fielding a more social character.

Scrap is in the mix somewhere, though, just being all quiet and offline and unassuming.

I finally have Addie's response to Maya and Rick up. A few apologies:

1) It is quite long; I just didn't have the time to work it down to something more concise, as I wanted to get it up as I felt I was holding back further posts

2) Addie is quite rough on Maya. Sorry Mercy! Maybe Addie is more interested in the rule of law than in social justice, maybe she's more interested in roguish orcs than tough looking women, or maybe she's just falling for what Rick is selling. Whatever the reason, she's more pissed with Maya and disappointed in Rick.

3) Those who don’t like all of Rick’s words may not have much more patience with Addie. What can I say, she invested 26 skill points and her highest stat in the social stuff.



Clearly we don’t have a ‘this is the party, so we’ll all get along’ vibe going in this game!

ETA: did a small edit on the last paragraph of my IC post, to make it clearer that the 'other boy' did less damage because he was stopped, and that any binding should apply to both boys.

Sorry I missed this. No objection at all. He is relying more upon others not being there than upon stealth.

Edited.

So many machinations, hard for me to keep up!

I seem to keep hitting a timing thing where I’m picking away at a post, and I finish just after Mercy’s morning post totally changes the situation! I need to learn to write shorter posts so I can get them up first

@Mercy: Obviously I have no idea of your plans for Maya. Addie has done her best to persuade Maya to stay (not skimping on the guilt trip), but I have no particular expectation that Maya will take it*. I’d like her to for various reasons, but I’ll enjoy whatever story you decide to tell with her. If Maya turns her down, Addie may have one last proposal, but I’ll wait to see what happens first.

* Addie, on the other hand, will be a bit shocked if her powers of persuasion fail. She’ll probably chalk it up to loners just being so strange that it is hard to figure out what makes them tick. I don’t think she’ll realize that that Maya is also enough older that peer pressure is just generally less effective than with kids Addie’s own age.

(ETA: And darn it, just after making these posts, a daily newsletter landed in my inbox with the following quote that Addie would totally have parroted
)

@Irn0rchid: If Addie ever does catch on to the games that Lindsey is playing, it will be a rather fascinating moral dilemma for Addie. If you are trying to build up a group to take care of everyone, what do you do with someone who is in the group, but trying to disrupt it? We’ll see if we ever get there or not.

=================================

@ Aria: could we have a spot in the OP Wiki where we could dump a list of kids in the group and quick notes about them, as they get identified? I know I'm losing track of some of the who is who, trying to dig back through the thread to find out where they are introduced, etc. Just like one page as a list (can add links to any that get more detailed write-ups)

You managed to ninja my post by seconds, so I feel your pain.

And yes, I expect that things will get interesting for all concerned should she get figured out. It's gone poorly for her in the past, but she just can't help herself!

Ah well, I had hoped to persuade Maya to stay (without breaking character), but ya gotta do what ya gotta do and damn the consequences! I am assuming Mercy that you will want to keep on playing her rather than starting up a less principled character? That’s not a problem but it would be nice if another PC elected to join you too so that you have someone else to interact with other than me! Or change your mind…but I guess that isn’t happening

@Beta: There is a page in the OP Wiki that I started, it only has Aria and Rick so far, feel free to edit, add notes etc as you like!

https://stormy-waters-2075.obsidianportal.com/wikis/runers

I added quick notes for Sim, Dot, Pierre, Grok, Ben, and Fig. I know we have named more but haven't had time to comb through the posts to find them all, at least yet. Hopefully others could add people that they have named? (and and/everyone feel free to correct my notes on those people). No artistic talent here so no current plans to add pictures. Also I couldn't figure out how to make the text I added appear below the pic of Rick.

Textile is a horrible, horrible markup language.

I would indeed rather play Maya out. I do not want to ruin the game flow, though, so if you say she needs to be in the larger group I will edit that or perhaps even come back later with my tail between my legs. The problem is that she emphatically denies what Rick says is true and she has enough moral courage to stand by her convictions. She does not believe that she can work effectively as a "loyal opposition" because Rick will not accept such a concept and she does not wish to cause anyone else to be hurt from her actions.

Dana will happily come with Maya - she feels that where the BC is so high should not be a place for a camp. She would have left already had she survival skills. Vincent was also planning on leaving (IC) going to scout the area tough I have not heard from him in a while.

I've just written that nobody else has joined Maya's posse but Dana wasn't at the meeting anyway so the IC can stand and she can follow on when she sees you leave...so does that just leave Addie as a PC with the main group? A little bit unexpected but what can you do with all these idealists running about

Lindsey is deeply hurt!

I talked to Mercy about Dana meeting Maya as she'll be getting ready to leave - Dana is training by the stream.

Sorry

And not sure where Blank is in all of this.

Off on his own!

4 in Maya's group then (assuming Raider/Vincent joins you)

2 in the main group (assuming Addie doesn't join you)

Blank on his tod!

I can work with this