[Fable]

So, I've held off on adopting SR5 for one main reason...the removal of character options that 4th Edition had, which some of my players had characters that used. I've heard that a couple of the books have put back in AIs and recently Drakes. But the one that I actually have in my campaign, and which I haven't heard any news on, is Free Spirits. Have there been any 5th ed rules, or any mention of upcoming products that might have such, or am I still back in the 4E days for the forseeable future?

[Sphinx]

There are still no rules for playing a Free Spirit in SR5, yet. Data Trails gave us rules for AIs, but they're kind of convoluted and awkward, IMO. Howling Shadows finally gave us Drakes, but they're expensive.

There ought to be a neat set of rules for playing Free Spirits, Free Sprites, and Artificial Intelligences that are clear, logical, consistent, and equivalent, but they don't exist yet and I haven't figured out an elegant way to tie them together myself. If I crack that nut, I'll let you know.

[firebug]

They kind of set up Free Spirits to be impossible to be PCs by stating they cannot gain Karma, only take it from others or be given it via a spirit pact.

AI has a section saying they don't technically get karma the way that living things do, but still get the it for the purpose of character advancement, they just can't do anything fancy with it (like give it to a spirit, for instance).

Drakes are just an add-on to a character, but as Sphinx said, they're terribly expensive.  You literally cannot begin playing as one without going into an amount of Karma Debt (meaning you do not keep any Karma you earn until you've gained enough to pay for being a Drake).