[Nezzarine]

Ok, I am a new convert to Shadowrun. I have played a lot of role-playing games for over 30 years. However, about 6 months ago a friend of mine who is a Shadowrun GM invited me into one of his games and I began a new love affair with a really cool RPG. With my first character I created was ask to "keep it relatively simple" by the GM. The party had a face, a hacker, a rigger, a stealthy sniper, and a mage already. No tank. Tank is simple. I asked if I could be Awakened. I was told yes. I did some homework in the 4th edition core book and Street Magic. I found rules on possession. I created a possession-based tank that was ok at first but became nigh-unstoppable after 5 months of running. It was crazy. Yet, we checked and double-checked all the rules. Everything checked out. Has anyone out there done this before? I have begun running a game now and I want to be rule-savvy on this issue since I already have a player barking up the same tree. Help me!!!

[Crunch]

The possession mechanics in 4E were one of the better publicized areas of abuse. The rules weren't very well thought out, and are just broken pretty much.

5E did a lot to fix some of the more broken parts of 4E. Have you looked at it yet?

[Nezzarine]

Thanks Crunch but before I go spending $70 on a the new edition core rulebook when I just spent several hundred dollars on 4th edition material I'd like to handle it without buying more subject material immediately. I'd like some of your thoughts on this matter, I HATE ruling something, anything out of a game indefinitely. I've always severely disliked it myself as a gamer. Is there some way it is handled in 5th edition that's better or do they remove it entirely?

[Nezzarine]

Does anyone out there have an answer?

[Michael Chandra]

Possession will be in the SR5 magic book, until that book is out I don't know whether they'll handle it better. Anyone who might know is under NDA.

[firebug]

Currently 5th edition only has the two "main" traditions of Hermetic and Shaman, so there's no rules for possession by spirit at all.  So, right now at least, what you had problems with is just impossible. 

Considering it's been six months and there haven't been any main-line extension books like Street Magic or Arsenal it's hard to say what they'll add later.  Since possession was a core part of those traditions (that's literally how the voodoo belief is, anything else would be inaccurate) I would assume they'll return some time, but we can only hope they'll be more balanced.

[Crunch]

Thanks Crunch but before I go spending $70 on a the new edition core rulebook when I just spent several hundred dollars on 4th edition material I'd like to handle it without buying more subject material immediately. I'd like some of your thoughts on this matter, I HATE ruling something, anything out of a game indefinitely. I've always severely disliked it myself as a gamer. Is there some way it is handled in 5th edition that's better or do they remove it entirely?

Understood. Unfortunately possession in 4E is so broken that your options are pretty limited.

[Reaver]

As a GM with a great amount of SR experience,  possession was just about the only thing I said "no way!" to, and lumped it in with blood magic and toxic paths (meaning, NPC only)

And even then it only made 3 fluff appearances in my games.

(A spirit, possessing a small child gave the players a series of runs to do to help free it from the child)

[Tuoweit]

Ok, I am a new convert to Shadowrun. I have played a lot of role-playing games for over 30 years. However, about 6 months ago a friend of mine who is a Shadowrun GM invited me into one of his games and I began a new love affair with a really cool RPG. With my first character I created was ask to "keep it relatively simple" by the GM. The party had a face, a hacker, a rigger, a stealthy sniper, and a mage already. No tank. Tank is simple. I asked if I could be Awakened. I was told yes. I did some homework in the 4th edition core book and Street Magic. I found rules on possession. I created a possession-based tank that was ok at first but became nigh-unstoppable after 5 months of running. It was crazy. Yet, we checked and double-checked all the rules. Everything checked out. Has anyone out there done this before? I have begun running a game now and I want to be rule-savvy on this issue since I already have a player barking up the same tree. Help me!!!

The weakness of possession is that spirits are NPCs, not robots. The spirits of typical possession traditions are not known for being nice guys.  Remember that while possessed the conjuring magician is no longer in control of his own body - the spirit is, and although the spirit obeys the commands of the conjurer, it's still an independent entity with its own free will and agenda which may or may not coincide with the magician's.  The Channelling metamagic can mitigate this somewhat, but not entirely.  The threat is always there that if the magician abuses the power of possession, so too can the spirit, and the magician will always lose that contest in the end because he's only got the one body.

[Reaver]

Not to mention the old "it wasn't me! It was the spirit possessing me that did that" argument doesn't fly with the authorities (be that KE, the Mob, or anyone else )