This is something that came up whimsically during our last game, but it's now piqued my curiosity.

Most of SR understandably revolves around combat or other hostile situations. But even the most aggressive runners aren't running 24/7/365; everyone needs downtime. Most campaigns just don't talk about those times because it's usually going to be boring to roleplaying your Chromed Sammy or Combat Mage picking up groceries and dry-cleaning from the local supermarket. I was thinking though whether or not any of these chars ever used their "abilities" to help out in day-to-day life.

The topic I was thinking was Spirit services (equally applicable to Elementals, though much more costly in nuyen). In my last game, my character's (Shaman) new sports car got vandalized and I jokingly said to my GM that I'll just conjure a City Spirit to wash it for me. But is it possible for a Shaman who wants to be lazy to burn a service asking the spirit to do something menial (but albiet far safer)? Usually when we think of services, we talk about adding casting dice, sustain that spell, confuse that enemy, etc. Could I have had a Spirit burn 1 service to physically manafest, then another service to do physical labor? Would it have consequences? Do spirits "harbor a grudge"? For that matter, when I conjure in general, do I necessarily get the same poor spirit over and over?

I mean, could you envision a Sammy using his retractable claws to skirt a steak for fajita prep over a grill? Or having a Rigger dispatch a drone to pick up his dry-cleaning through a drive-through cleaner?

Well let's see do spirits harbor grudges. Never know any spirit except a fee one to do that. Even when we've let Elementals die, Mist Spirits get killed, and watcher cannon fodder by the dozen.

the average spirit might look at the Shaman and go something like "Is that all you wanted? Man, you had me worried."

The Services listed in canon are only examples given for specific game effects. There is no reason Spirits could not be asked to perform a wide variety of other types of services for their summoner.

LOL, that was great. I fully agree with that last coment. I think the spirit would be happy it was only being asked to clean a car or the house.

And for the record, I have use my cyber spurs to eat my stake. The GM said the fork was dirty, and I just cleaned my spurs the night before.

Aren't cyberspurs on your feet?

And why would you be eating a stake? Or is that some hip new way of saying you're a vampire that was being attacked or somethin'?

Yeah tag team harassment. we take this too seriously

You people must live sad sad lives.

... Crap, so do I!

When I said skirt steak, I meant that most fajita steak is scored with groves to make it more tender, then sliced into strips after it's off the grill. I would think that Dikoted Claws (the ones from your hands/knuckles) would be ideal for going through steak with minimal effort.

If my GM agrees with this line of thinking, then hey, I'm going to start having my spirits do all sort of things around the house...

Note that he did say any Spirit except a Free one.

Sigh... I suppose professors of thaumatology prefer high level air elementals/spirits to grad students. They work harder, don't take off lunch, have comparable intelligence, and cost about half as much.

*out of the job*

Air elementals take some hours to hire, time to teach what needs to be done, and the occasional process to reinforce their work ethic. Desperate grad students are much more adundant and take less upkeep.

Air elementals also don't have any Skill.

Perhaps true. I'm less worried now. Just double-checked, and INT is set at the elemental's force, so there's still a dead heat between bright grad students and high force elementals.

whew.

i thought they used force for all skill tests, without defaulting...

I can tell this is the more amusing variant of the "carry this grenade behind that obstacle and pull the pin" discussion.

I dunno - could you order a water elemental to engulf a target and then zap both of them with a lightning spell/power cable?

-Siege

I would judge that on case by case depending on task requested and spirit type. A spirit could probably use it's force without defaulting for tasks that are loosely associated with it's domain, City spirit to clean up your street or wash your car, forest spirit to tend a fire or clean up your camp while on nature holiday.

Just don't ask a Fire Elemental to wash your car

Which raises yet another interesting thought - can you summon the same spirit repeatedly?

"Oh gawd, not the grenade bunch again!"

-Siege

No, summon a fire elemental. Order it to beat the hell out of "whatever this red light is shining on," pointing to the laser sight on your gun.

Repeat to limit of charisma.

Aim your gun at something you hate. Don't bother pulling the trigger.

Repeat.

It doesn't really offer anything you can't do anyway, but it's got mad style.

Nevermind washing the car, how about washing a person?

Or assigning a weather spirit to water your backyard garden.

Heh - a water elemental to clear all that wax out of your ear?

A new way to pick your nose or absorb your odorous farts in social situations?

Just make sure to make your butler semi-intelligent, or they may go "ooh shiny!" and dart off.

silly people...no one should need ponder the diverse services of spirits if we all remind people of..."sex with our dikoted ally spirit"
That kinda sums that up right?

Hey whatever happened to the "abused elemental society" thing that was going on back a while ago. (sorry...PM me that answer please...let's not de-rail this good thread)

This whole issue may be the biggest problem I have with SR3. IIRC, shamans in SR2 were unable to command spirits to physical service. That was the domain of elementals. Nature spirits are too flexible as written in the current edition.

I don't recall anything of the sort. Do you have a reference?

I guess it depends on what you call 'Physical Service', but Spirits have always been able to engage in combat, perform remote service, engulf (if capable), and other things that require them to materialize.

I don't know about summoning the same nature spirits but you can add services to elementals by performing a new ritual. Great for when your GM says that the spirit doesn't know how to do something. Teach it, keep it, expand its skill set.

Nature Spirits are allies and friends of the shaman, not tools. Having your Hearth Spirit clean house with you is cool; having it clean while you drink on the couch is not (unless you have reason such as a broken leg). [Nature] Spirits are sentient and if treated badly will perform their services to the least, while treated with compassion might go one step beyond. Their disadvantage is that others can ask things of them as well (though the spirit is not bound to serve them) if it does not conflict with their summoner's command. They also reflect the domain they are summoned from. A Hearth Spirit from a happy home will be mannered and helpful, while one from a pool of human misery will be dull, rude, and often hostile.

Elementals are tools to be used as such, though they can appreciate manners.

Not if properly sterilized. I'd assume you'd do that regularly, given that they do retract into your arm and all.

~J

I have this idea of a Hearth spirit nanny while the parents go on a night out on the town.

It dose suggest that a Sharman should respect his spirit allies. This dose not preclude having them help with the chores but you have to be respectful about it. Summoning a hearth spirit to clean your home for the rent inspection because you have to go on a run is one thing. Having it clean the car because you want to budge around is being disrespectful.

Elementals are also intelligent but they are bound effectively as slaves. When they get free they almost always attack there summoned (or return to the metaplains) regales of how they where treated being forced to service will do that. Heretics look upon elementals s tools at best, slaves at worst (ok there are exceptions) having one clean your car while you do nothing would be quite acceptable but consider that timothy 3 doors down wants some pocket money and would happily do the job for $50 you begin to relies that its not very economical way of getting the car cleaned.

Edward

Couple of people now saying that "spirits have feelings too". What about the argument that chores may not be "dignified" but they sure as hell a lot safer. How is it "better" to send a spirit or watcher to certain death (as we define death anyway) vs some minor chores?

Also, what about another scenario between "lazy" and "on a run" like having a spirit do chores while you're doing something like researching a new spell, building a foci, or something similar that requires the Shaman's near-constant concentration?

Spirits are a creation of the summoner's will. Whether some bleeding-hearts may worry about "feelings" or not is irrelevant.

~J

Where is that thread anyway? Can't find it...

Hmm.. it's an interesting proposition.

When you summon a spirit, you get a particular number of services, depending on how well you convinced the spirit to emerge in astral space (similar with elementals). With elementals, you can 're summon' them to increase the number of services they have (can't do that with spirits).

Spirits jet once they're done, being pulled onto the astral plane usually an affront to their dignity, unless they do something really helpful for the manasphere as a whole. Your average street shaman is not summoning them for the common good, but rather the self-good of the summoner.

Although, this does remind me of the over-powered mage character I once ran with... had the Earth Elemental check the oil and tires while the Fire Elemental pumped the gas at a service station just outside the Tir border..

"If ever you come out by the Tir border...." I just came up with an idea for a song!

But anyway. IMHO, the more mundane and inane the task, the quicker the spirit is going to depart when it's services are fulfilled.

Fire elemental, pumping gas...
Anyone else see a funny anecdote for the CLUE files?

I better like the elemental shofer(I know I spelled that wrong)

chaufer (drekin' foreign words picked up and not spelled phoenetically)
[edit: drek, still wrong, but the spell check thought it was right... must find more reliable spell checking]

Are you guys talking about a chauffeur? The problem with that is that spirits, elementals, and critters in general are kind of nebulous in defining skills. Not sure if you really want an elemental with no Car skill driving you around.

Default to Reaction just like everyone else.