[SamTwist]

Hi everyone,

So, the mage in my group was able to conjure an ally spirit to help him out.
Do you have any tips regarding how to roleplay a spirit in Shadowrun?  I basically play him like a regular NPC, he talks and reasons normally with the characters.

Is there something I can do to make it more exciting and entertaining?

Thanks!

[Namikaze]

I always make my spirits and sprites act like they're immensely curious about EVERYTHING.  When they see anything new, they want to investigate.  That may not be appropriate for all spirit types though.  Can you tell us what class of spirit this is, and what form it takes?

[SamTwist]

It is a spirit of Man, which left me wondering :  How are spirits supposed to look? What size do they have? 

I've been basically impersonating Jack Nicholson when I play the spirit and just as you mentionned, I do play him extremely curious about everything

[Michael Chandra]

It is a spirit of Man, which left me wondering :  How are spirits supposed to look? What size do they have? 

Depends on both the type and the summoner's tradition. For example Hermetics tend to go Shamans, while with Norse they tend to look like Valkyries and such. As for size, metahuman-size seems reasonable but I think there's a decent bit of control there too.

There's a bunch of different Free Spirit personalities in Street Magic/Grimoire, those could be used for inspiration for ally spirits too. Furthermore, keep in mind they're real bright (Force 6 means 6 as mental stats normally, which is quite good) and that Spirits are big gossipmongers, but they're not that familiar with our world so will indeed be curious.

With a Spirit of Man, you could take a spirit who has as vice that they like to watch bad action movies and loves to throw quotes around.

(I have to admit, I've thrown a few amusing spirits around at my players, such as the Air Spirit that currently acts as roommate and loves to eat baked goods. 250 nuyen/month in extra lifestyle costs but also 1 extra service each month.)

[Malevolence]

If you've ever read the Harry Dresden novels, Bob (with a materialized form, of course) provides a decent example. He's lecherous and crude, but knows just about everything.


As others have mentioned, spirits are largely visitors to the material, and so making them curious about everything works. Ally spirits more so because they are "freshly minted" - your typical spirit is likely immensely ancient and less likely to be distracted by the mundane, but an ally spirit? Think 2 year old with the intellect of Einstein.

[8-bit]

Think 2 year old with the intellect of Einstein.

"Damn it John, your spirit is drinking all the booze again."

Honestly, I would portray a Spirit, especially a Spirit of Man, as a fully fleshed out metahuman NPC that happens to be a spirit. They have annoying habits, quirks in their personalities, and generally act like a strange person. Not unlike roommates ...

[Walks Through Walls]

I would build the personality over time. Especially have it never forget ANYTHING. In the beginning having it curious about everything makes great sense. As it sees more of the world it's personality takes on depth and quirks. It would also be influenced and shaped by the casters attitude towards it and interactions between the two. Since it is the mage's formula you could have it speak what the mage feels at the worst times until it learns better (kind of like a small kid). Hey boss, why you talking to this loser. All you did last night was gripe about how terrible at his job he is now you are kissing his boots? Why?

Hope this helps.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

I would strongly recommend reading the SR novel "Burning Bright", which has an ally spirit as one of the key supporting characters.

The ally's personality and all depends a lot on the summoner, i.e. the character and thus the player.  One of the key components of the ally spirit, however, is to provide a sounding board for the character to bounce ideas off.  This can make the ally generally pleasant (such as Harry Dresden's Bob) or something of a pain in the ass (the equivalent of a Devil's Advocate and general downer kind of guy).  It could be obscure, it could be direct; it could even be painfully direct about some things, even if it remains relatively discrete.  It should remain generally helpful, though - even though sometimes the help it gives is help that the character doesn't want, but still needs.

I prefer to have it NOT have curiosity as its primary personality element; instead, consider the PC's characterization over the past games, then go over to 'free spirits' and decide now what kind of free spirit it would be should it ever break away from its summoner and yet decide to stick around.  I personally prefer 'player' - which IMO is what Buttercup is, because when you get down to it, she sure as hell isn't an Anima - because it allows for real interaction, instead of an eager-genie-like 'Yes, Master, right away!!!!11!oneone!!1!'

In addition, eyeball the spirit's Force, and thus its level of intellect, etc.  Consider that at the time of its summoning, it may very well know essentially everything that its summoner did, plus other odds and ends as well; anything over a Force of 2 (meaning anything useful) is going to have its own ideas, thoughts, goals, and ambitions.

[SamTwist]

Thanks everyone!
This is some awesome info, much appreciated!

[cantrip]

IMHO it does not have to be a metahuman/humanoid, though a spirit of man makes sense to do so. It could be a shadow (in look not type ), a cloaked figure that you never quite see the face, a clown (shudder) or an angel. I think a neat spirit of man would be a dog that always is by it's masters side. Another idea I've had is to have an ally or free spirit that is part of the cityscape and doesn't take on humanoid form, but embraces the world of man so to speak.

Sounds like your group is having fun with it! 

[Shaidar]

The outward display of an ally spirit depends heavily on the psychology of the conjurer.  Freudian/Jungian are strong factors for Hermetics, while Tribal history is strong for Shamans.  Some of the other Traditions talk about this outlook difference.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

... uh ... that's ... really, really, really debatable there, Shaidar.  Because it all depends on the summoning ritual you use.  Sure, certain Hermetic rituals are influenced by the original designer's education in Freudian/Jungian psychology, but there ain't just one way to conjure a spirit, you know?

[Shaidar]

My take is mostly based on the Traditions variable drain attributes whichever one is paired with Wisdom, using it as a basis for the underpinnings of the traditions outlook.  So, Logic = logical/cerebral, Charisma = social/group oriented.

A trained/schooled Hermetic is going to have at least a Psychology 101 class as part of their degree requirement package.  While a run-of-the-mill Shaman is going to have some feeling for how his/her social standing within the Tribe/Social Order.

[Michael Chandra]

Played much D&D Next Shaidar? Willpower here. But yeah, should base it on attribute+tradition+type.

Man, now I want one of my PCs to take an Ally of Man, so I can have them quote Blade Runner while talking about the plane, with the help of Aetherology's descriptions.

[Namikaze]

Aetherology definitely helps with how to play out spirits from specific planes.  The GM just has to figure out which of the spirits the person has summoned to get a pretty good idea of how that spirit would "think."  Great stuff in that book for spirits.