I just woke up from this very strange dream. I was a multi-initiate Adept with a high ranking position in a Megacorp's security forces. I was escorting a group of VIP's through Siberia for some reason when we were attack by a group of Free Spirits. A large group of Free Spirits.

The Free Spirits were terrorists hoping to use the VIPs as bargaining chips for something.

Most of the Free Spirits were fairly weak. They couldn't be much more than Force 2 with no more than 1 or 2 points of Spirit Energy. However, their leader's Force + Spirit Energy totaled at least 14, possibly more.

They all had the possession power. They each took a host from the VIPs or my team. 20 of them in all. The leader probably had the Astral Gateway power.

Anyway, after a long drawn out battle in which no one was hurt but all of us humans were worn down the two teams stand facing each other on a snow covered frozen plain.
I point my gun at the leader of the Free Spirits and tell them all to surrender or die.

The Spirits are a bit sceptical. My gun could disrupt the weaker spirits, but not the leader. My weapon focus was burried in the snow miles away from there so I couldn't possibly put up a fight against him.

At that point I inform them that the corporation had ritual links to all of its employees and VIPs, including those that the spirits are holding hostage. I also inform them that I had contacted the corporation and its initiatory group is questing for each of their True Names as we speak.

I am willing to kill off the hostages if I have to to protect myself and the remaining VIPs. I am certainy skilled enough to do so. But, for every hostage killed its guest will be destroyed permenantly using its True Name and Ritual magic.

I am bluffing. I was unable to contact the corporation before the spirits destroyed our radio. However, they don't know that. They willingly leave their hosts and go on their way.



Can a spirit possessing actually be targeted using ritual links to its host?

how about with an area effect mana spell on the astral, like mana ball?

Well, if anything targeting the host body knocks it out, the spirit is back on the astral. But you can't really target a spirit through a host body unless it is depending on the body...a cyberzombie, maybe, or a grande zombie. Possibly a shedim inside a mummy too far from anyone else. A metahuman host that happens to contain its Hidden Life would be a viable threat, while someone the spirit had or has a pact with might just be able to serve as ritual links.

Ideally, you'd find a pair of spells called "Exorcism" and "Mass Exorcism" designed to disrupt inhabiting spirits with stun damage; but that's a bit much to hope for.

If an initiatory group had the ritual samples then at the very least they could use them to locate the individuals (although it would be easier for you to give a location and the mages just converge astray on your location, although then they would be visible to the spirits and it could just turn into an astral shit fight), asense the aura of the possessing sprit and then perform the astral quest for its true name.

Having the true name makes binding a spirit much easier but the one with combined force/spirit energy 14 could still be difficult the target number for the test to bind or destroy the spirit is force and having the true name gives you +3 dice. You cant use a multiple magician teem like you do with ritual sorcery so successes is in no way guaranteed unless you have multiple magicians ready to try in rapid succession.

As to attacking the possessing spirit directly threw a material link to the hoist I don’t believe it is possible, a spirit bolt spell may have the desired effect but then it may not work at all. The rules did not much consider this scenario.

Given the possibility of additional communications equipment your threat was one that the spirits would know to be weary of they could not know that nether you nor any of your teem had headwear radios (masking would easily hide the cyber wear) and knew that if you had communicated there true names could be discovered.

Edward

PS posting on dump shock about wether your SR dream fits the world mechanics is going on the “how to know when your obsessed with SR” list.

Where may I find this list, or was that simply sarcasm?

I'd say you can target the spirit with ritual magic, and knowing the truename is a ritual link to reduce the TN. Some of the targets listed are:

That sounds like a thread idea winner!