[Pitt]

I'm a little confused by how Channeling works. Help would be a appreciated......

Physical Attributes

Pretty sure that I understand this one. If the Spirit's Force is greater than Conjurer's Physical Attribute, add half the Force of the Spirit (rounded down) to the Conjurer's Attribute. Correct?

Mental & Special Attributes

Possession says that you use the Spirit's Mental & Special Attributes and there is nothing in the exceptions listed under Channeling to change it, but it seems weird to me that you would use the Spirit's Mental & Special Attributes. Am I reading this the right way?

Skills

Possession says that you use the Spirit's Skills. Channeling allows the Conjurer to uses his Skills. I would think that you would only use the Conjurer's Skills unless the Conjurer gives up control of his body, but that is not what the rules seem to say. So can you use both the Spirit and the Conjurer's Skills or just the Conjurer's?

Spirit Powers

Channeling allows the Conjurer to use the Spirit's Powers at the cost of a service. What about Powers that are always on (ie Energy Aura, Enhanced Senses, Immunity to Normal Weapons, etc....)? Do you have to use a service to get them or do they just work?

Initiative

How do you calculate initiative? Does it matter who is in control of the body?

Other

Does the Augmented  Racial Maximum rule apply to the bonus gained to Physical Stats (ie Max = Natural Stat +4)?

[Lucean]

1. Yes
2. Depends on who is active. Spirit uses his attributes for his actions and vice versa. Only exception is mana spells/powers.
3. See above; the conjurer is allowed to use his skills, but that wouldn't matter, if he relinquished control to the spirit, because he has no control over his body anymore
4. Those powers just work without costing a service. But being engulfed in flames is more often detrimental than not.
5. As always, yes. An increased REA works for both, as both share the same body, but INT can be different. Then you have the normal intiative modifier for spirits. And finally you could argue about being able to sustain spells (like Increase Reflexes) while not being in control of your body.
6. No, there is no maximum mentioned, so it doesn't apply.

[aaron_1706]

Mental & Special Attributes
Possession says that you use the Spirit's Mental & Special Attributes and there is nothing in the exceptions listed under Channeling to change it, but it seems weird to me that you would use the Spirit's Mental & Special Attributes. Am I reading this the right way?

It is weird, but it is RAW.  Remember though, that summoned spirits don't use their own Edge, so you can't summon a Force 10 to get 10 edge

Summoned and bound spirits don’t have their own Edge pools
(304.SR5Core).

[SmilinIrish]

So, if you channel a F8 Spirit, you have magic 8?


Wow, so what are the disadvantages to channeling?  Adding half the force to your stats= huge win.  Increasing all mental stats to match the spirit is normally a win, as long as you are channeling a F6 spirit.  Use of spirits powers for services is great. 

What does it do to your aura?  Do you glow like having a quickened spell ?  What if you are masking, what effect would that have if you were trying to appear mundane?  Can you still have the spirit sustain spells as usual?

[Dal Thrax]

Lets see, I don't think you would get immunity to normal weapons.  That is part of the materialize power, which possessing spirits lack.  Since the normal possession rules don't allow spirits possessing living vessels to use their powers (yeah, they can if possessing an object but not a creature), I'd say it costs a service for a spirit to use any power (except extra skills).  (Want to use the spirits claws, it's going to cost you).

According to the rules, you resist drain with the lowest mental attribute you or the spirit has. 

Use combined attributes to calculate initiative.  You use the spirits dice (2D6) so not great if you have wired reflexes or adept powers boosting reflexes. 

You have a point about magic attribute boosters under RAW.  There is no way I'd let you get away with it, but you have the point.

As for downsides, getting a reputation as an easy lay on the astral maybe?

[SmilinIrish]

I don't mind not getting immunity to normal weapons. Not looking for a reason to make the DM not want the power in his game.  I looking for the small boost to physical stats.

Summoning a F8 spirit is dangerous, not really planning that, but RAW getting the magic boost was mind blowing.  I can't see channeling a spirit less than F 6 because as you point out, you are using their mental attributes. I can see this being a disadvantage for elf shamans with Cha 8, but I have a human chaos mage with Int 6, so F6 Spirit of man would boost my INT by 1, as well as my 5 will up to 6. So in my case, I'm boosting drain by 2.

Initiative is low, so that doesn't affect my guy.  I'm at 7+1d6 without improved reflexes spell. So 11+2d6 is a boost.   Are you suggesting that a sustained improved reflexes spell wouldn't work while channeling?  If so, there is a disadvantage I could cope with.

As for spirit powers, I see that normally a spirit can choose to use its powers in combat for no services. Since you are in control, and using powers is your choice, I agree that any spirit power use needs a service.

Astral slut.  Hahahahaha

[Hibiki54]

All spirits and astral beings have immunity to normal weapons. Doesn't matter if they are tradition spirits with materialization or possession.

[Top Dog]

All spirits and astral beings have immunity to normal weapons. Doesn't matter if they are tradition spirits with materialization or possession.

No they don't. Where do you get that from?

I mean, it'd be pretty hard hitting them with normal weapons if they're only on the astral. But that's because they're on a different plane, not because they have Immunity to Natural Weapons, because they don't - only materializing spirits have that (and only when they're materialized).

Mental & Special Attributes
Possession says that you use the Spirit's Mental & Special Attributes and there is nothing in the exceptions listed under Channeling to change it, but it seems weird to me that you would use the Spirit's Mental & Special Attributes. Am I reading this the right way?

It is weird, but it is RAW.  Remember though, that summoned spirits don't use their own Edge, so you can't summon a Force 10 to get 10 edge (page304.SR5Core).

If you have the spirit's Edge, you have the spirit's Edge. And it does have that. You can't make it spend Edge points, but you can spend your own - and then use your (current) Edge rating to determine it's effects.

But yes, technically it's RAW. It's pretty much certainly an oversight - normally, when Possessing, the spirit has sole control over the body, which is why you use it's mental powers. But that's not what it actually says - what it says is that you use the spirit's stats, period. (I'm pretty sure my GM will houserule this in the same second he agrees that it is RAW).

According to the rules, you resist drain with the lowest mental attribute you or the spirit has. 

No you don't, that only applies to Mana spells and powers.

Use combined attributes to calculate initiative.  You use the spirits dice (2D6) so not great if you have wired reflexes or adept powers boosting reflexes. 

Why? Initiative dice isn't a special attribute.
[Edit] Oh, because it says so later down the paragraph. Okay, yes.