[SgtBoomCloud]

For the magic related part of the discussion Krestov seemed to sit back, his expression attentive with a mixture of professionalism and genuine curiosity.  He tilted his head at the moving figure, but otherwise remaining calm and sipping his water.  When food orders went around, her ordered an appropriate quantity of eel for his size, waiting until they were alone again to speak.

"Am not expert in magic or spirits, but to Krestov this trick is impressive."  the remark was genuine, and confirmed his role as a mundane in the team.  If he showed any prejudice to vodou, it was not apparent.

"however, they have saying where Krestov from: practice and application different beasts.   Know Bluebird have much experience, and wide use of talent.  What work hope to look for in team like this? Short term or longer work?"

A brief pause as he exchanged subtle looks with his companions.  "also, in line of work, not uncommon to find situations...of discomfort.  Will not lie for that.  If in sitatuon, will Bluebird be okay defending self..or will need protection?"  he let the questions go with that for now, letting them digest and not to bombard the applicant too much.

[Volker]

Perception: 9d6t5 2
Magic Theory: 13d6t5 4
With 4 hits, I guess, bnc knows a lot about Vodou. Where exactly can I look up infos in order to roleplay her well?


bnc follows the demonstration with a little smirk. She knew enough of Voodoo (as she would likely type it) not to be prejudiced against it. Instead, she was genuinely interested. "A nice trick. Yet, drawing a picture won't get our asses out of the pan. Knowledge is power. Tell me whatever you can tell about us. We are looking for someone who can use their magic to warn us from traps, spirits, and so on. What can you see?"

[Jack_Spade]

@ GM: Also, according to chummer the bat gives me +1 to conjuring spirits, and I can only enter a building (clubs, bars, etc) once a week without rolling for it because they dislike forced inaction. They get anxious when they can't spread their wings, I guess.. Stupidly, I didn't double check it in the books. Thoughts? That's apparently not what the bat has done in the past - I'm happy to change my mentor spirit, or roll with an actual version of the bat, or keep this one.

That's why I warned you about that mentor. You might want to take a look at Alligator - or any other mentor spirit that takes your fancy

[/spoiler]

[hadaalia]

I'd like to opt for "Great Mother" from 'Sail Away, Sweet Sister'.

@BNC - the info for Vodou is in SG pages 20 and 50. It's bad rep is from media representation of vodou dolls. Also the idea of possession can freak people out, but I'd assume no serious vodou summoner would throw a spirit in an unwilling target unless it was the only way to do the job/prevent harm.

She smiled at the girl's comment, and nodded. "I can do a lot more than that, but I'd want your consent before casting magic that would impact you directly. If we're going to work together, I'd want your trust in that regard. And I'd certainly never force interaction with a spirit, I understand that it would freak people out and I don't think it would be giving due respect to the loa." She continued, "I can see a lot of things. I wouldn't want to discuss personal... statuses... without knowing that was okay information to share. Privacy is important." Did the rest of them know she used substances? Bluebird had no way to know. "I can tell you I saw through your elf's masking, and was able to see he was an adept. I can tell you that you have headware and that you're not awakened. Your stoic troll-friend here has some implants, and seems to be feeling a little bit of melancholy. Your Ork is awakened and seems... temperamental."

She paused, before continuing.

"Astral recon is something I can handle. In fact, I checked out the location, prior to arriving here, in astral form. I also have skill with counterspelling. I can ask for help from the spirits with that kind of thing as well, so we can cover quite a lot of ground very quickly if needed. With Vodou we summon Guardian, Task, Water, Man, and Guidance spirits. I'm not sure how familiar you are with these, but I'm happy to explain what skills they possess if needed."

She returned her gaze to Krestov. "The loa will defend me if for some reason I can't defend myself, if I ask them to. But I would expect that, were we to be on the same team, that we would look out for each other when possible. If there's a situation where I can help protect my team, I will. I do my best to keep everyone safe and healthy. WIth the help of the loa, and my mentor spirit -" she nodded at the young woman, acknowledging she'd previously asked about her mentor spirit, "I can certainly be a capable doctor if needed, magically and physically.

That being said, I am hoping to find a longer term team. Really, I'll take work that pays right now - but to me finding a team with synergy is a priority. We aren't in a stable line of work - but having a good team around you can certainly help make it less rocky."

[Volker]

Thanks. By the way: bnc prefers to be written without capital letters. I have no idea, why (if that makes ANY sense).

"Go on. If you're able to find something out so quickly, it doesn't deserve to be called a secret. By now, you demonstrated that you are capable of Astral Perception: It's what we look for, but not very surprising for someone who assigned for a mage job. Feel free to put any spells on me if you can. You have my permission unless it would cause permanent damage. In fact, I'd enjoy a demonstration of your power, if you will.

I am familiar with these kinds of spirit. It is new to me, however, that the Vodou tradition accepted these quite clinical terms which stem from academical classifications. I've neter met a Houngan before, but I was expecting something more ... I don't know - divine?

The team already has a doctor, though no magic. If we are to engage with you, we have to know what you're worth. So far, we know you can conjure spirits, Perceive Astrally and Heal. While all of these are important and everything, there's still nothing that makes you appear more fitting to the job than others who applied. I like you, frankly, but I can't yet recognize how you could support us. In which fields of the arcane arts have you invested time and energy? Which spells do you know? What can you do with your dolls? Are you Initiated?"

[hadaalia]

"I just wasn't sure if they were aware of your drug abuse... there's traces of it in your aura, and also some stomach problems.

I hope you'll understand that I hesitate to give out my spell list to virtual strangers. What if you were actually just gathering information on me? But I'm happy to share some. I'm happy to share it if I'm a good fit with the team, but unless I know we'll be working together that's far too dangerous.

I wasn't... brought up in a Vodou culture. My nanny introduced me to it once she discovered I was awakened and it resonated with me. This is a learned faith for me. Science and Faith should never be in discord, in my eyes - just because I perceive magic a certain way and believe it functions a certain way it does not mean I should deny generally accepted truths. There's no reason I can't recognize the loa have archetypes, and in fact as a summoner it is useful to recognize how others describe spirits and the strengths and limitations of the loa I summon. They are wonderful beings, and they never cease to amaze me in their power, but they can still be understood.

I've already said I have quite a breadth of spells. Some combat, some health, some manipulation, and illusion magic. But if you're sure, I'm happy to show you what I can do." She addressed the others at the table, "Please remain seated, this will only take a second."


Summoning F7 Spirit of Man: 12d6t5 3
Resist Summoning: 7d6t5 1
Resist Drain: 9d6t5 4
It gives Bluebird two gifts. Optional powers: Innate spell and Fear. It's innate spell is stunbolt.
via mindlink she requests it cast stunbolt at force 7 directed at bnc.
Stunbolt F7: 14d6t5 6
Resist Drain: 14d6t5 2
It takes 2 stun.
Bluebird simultaneously casts stunbolt (force 7) at bnc, asking her guardian spirit to help her spellcast as a gift.
Stunbolt F7 (with spirit, -1 for Great Mother): 18d6t5 9
Resist Drain: 9d6t5 3
I take 1 stun.
Roll willpower to resist. Take my net hits + 7 stun damage for each stunbolt. (6 hits and 7 hits respectively).

"She'll be fine, she's just stunned - I'll have her right as rain in a moment."

Bluebird readied herself to heal the girl. Normally she wouldn't have knocked out a teammate, but the young girl had asked her to cast spells with the caveat of no permanent damage.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov watched with intrigue at the exhale between their youngest member and the applicant, the two women sharing information in a fortunately congenial manner.  The Russian troll only was tripped up by a few words... ("Melon...collie?")  otherwise he was following along.

she has us marked well.  Even with Torrent.  Is good sign.  And professional enough to protect own interests.  Also god sign.

He was about to offer himself as an alternative demonstration target....he is, after all, a teensy bit hardier than their decker...but too little too late as the bolts hit her, head whipping as she was knocked.  Insticively, his arm snatched the teen by the shoulder, guiding her head to his arm to loom as if resting or jacked into the Trix.

"hmm...maybe live to eat words, da?"  he smirked, nodding in understanding to the answers to Bluebird.  He would continue, but saw their food arriving, and paused to let them be served.

[SquirrelDude]

Well now bnc will realize what it's like to be knocked out when she wakes up in a couple of days. Idiot.

Slobbertooth poured soy sauce into a cup when his two orders of salmon were delivered. He addressed bluebirds actions. "While that is a very useful trick, maybe tone it down next time. You're fortunate she wasn't in charge of negotiating payment for your services."

[Jack_Spade]

Just a heads up:
Aid Sorcery is only available for bound spirits, so you lose a success - not that it matters much in this case.

[hadaalia]

The guardian spirit was bound, as per our PM's. Task and guardian were bound pre-interview (task was possessing the action figure, guardian in astral). The spirit of man was new, but cast it's own spell with it's innate spell ability/spellcasting skill.

I'll give volker a chance to respond, but assuming nothing major happens, Bluebird will ask her Guardian Spirit to possess bnc - who, if she's unconscious, either rolls willpower+intuition-wound modifiers or doesn't roll against it (in 4th you couldn't roll against it, but I don't see anything about it in 5th), using one of her gifts to have the spirit dump bnc's gear (anything she's not wearing, basically) on the table, following Bluebird's heal spells/medicine work/stimpatching (depending on the damage done)

Possessing bnc: 12d6t5 6
Force 7 heal:
Healing bnc: 13d6t5 3
She heals 3 boxes of physical damage.
edit: Forgot to roll drain Resist Drain: 9d6t5 2
I take 1 stun, putting me at 3, so I'm down a die for the roll below, if it happens:
If she's still got physical damage.
First Aid (Log-1, +medkit 6, +2 for mentor spirit): 9d6t5 4
Then Bluebird sticks a rating six stimpatch on her. She stays unconscious until the spirit leaves.

"She asked for a show of power. I knocked her out. She'll be fine - she'll just need to rest." She passes her sake to the loa possessing bnc, suggesting it have a drink before vacating the body. "I'm more useful supporting my team than leading in a fight. She should understand that not all mages have spells that allow for displays of power - but I used what I did have to my advantage. Even if I'm not the best combat mage, it should be clear that the loa are a magnificent help. This," she gestured to bnc's gear, "is so she gets the picture. And really, this just shows how much you need a mage who can spot these magical threats coming and act against them. I'm not the only person who can summon spirits - I'm sure you know that, though. Most of my talent is in bolstering my allies - floating her around the room isn't exactly something that makes me look valuable. Anything impressive that the spirits could do would probably end up with a victim and I was trying to avoid real damage. I can imbue a willing target with great combat skills and powers. Or, if needed, an unwilling target." She gestured at bnc, "I'm not sure if she's seen much combat, but if it's a thing she wants to experience I can safely facilitate that. I can also make sure everyone makes it out of combat alive - regardless of injuries the loa can carry you." She looked pointedly at the spirit finishing the sake. She asked the spirit to leave bnc's body - who should wake up.

[Volker]

Opposed roll (Willpower): 2#5d6t5 2 1
It's not Force plus net hits (like in Indirect Combat spells), it's only net hits. Since my defense rolls were crap, that makes 6-2 = 4 plus 7 - 1 = 6, totalling to 10 boxes of stun damage. Which doesn't knock out bnc.

Can you please describe me how you picture this spells feels? Should I imagine it like a power drain that sucks all the energy out of her until she would give in? Or is it severe headache that would eventually strike her down? Or is the feeling of strain and exhaustion? Rulewise it's all the same, but I guess it would vary from spellcaster to spellcaster.


Defense tests are not affected by wound modifiers so I would guess my full dice pool. I'll roll both versions in case I missed something.
Opposed roll (Willpower + Intution): 10d6t5 4Opposed roll (Willpower + Intution - WM): 7d6t5 2
In any way: The possessing part went as described.
Do I have memory of what happened in the meanwhile? That is, am I only a bystander unable to move my body, or am I gone for the time being?

First Aid - WM: 11d6t5 5
I forgot the extra dice: Extra dice from medkit: 4d6t5 1


bnc flinches hard twice at the spells hit her badly. Those who tend to see bnc as a fragile teenage girl unexperienced to wounds, hurts or pain thought she might give in. She seemed to, too, but then she drags herself up again. Supporting herself on the table, she grits her teeth to a smile. "I must admit I had something more ... subtle in mind when I said you can use your spells at me but I guess it's me to bl-"

She stops mid-sentence when the loa dives into her body.

If the loa leaves bnc before the Heal spells, bnc declines. "Don't, please. Since you appear to know what magical and non-magical healing can do, I'd ask you not to cast this spell and thus prevent me from fighting your spell's effects in a more efficient way. I'm happy, though, if you can Heal me in a moment."

bnc gets her own medkit, still wobbly on her feet. She wouldn't accept Krestov's support though. She has been in pain a lot of time, and she's felt dizzy even more often. Back to the team, she inhales deeply that applies the patches and syringes in a mechanical, almost unconscious way that still looks fast and professional. When the chemicals show their effect, she'd asks her to now put the spell on her.

[hadaalia]

My bad on the damage - I read the wrong section, and it's been a while since I played a mage. If there's 10 stun, and you aren't knocked out you don't take physical damage and I wouldn't have cast heal (as it only applies to physical damage). Also, I should have tried to medkit first and then heal, which was my bad again. Geez, I need to proofread more. If you're using your own medkit/first aid, I wouldn't have rolled mine - but the stimpatch is still available if she wants it should she not have healed all her stun damage. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, I genuinely appreciate it.

Apparently I'm having a bit of a brain fart week.

However; wound modifiers apply on anything that isn't about to affect your condition monitor, and as possession doesn't, I think it would apply.

Either way:

Stunbolt, in my mind, feels like having the wind knocked out of you except to your soul instead of your body, the force varying based on how hard the spell hits you.

With possession, the loa moves your body and is in the driver's seat. You maintain the state of consciousness you had upon possession until the loa leaves. You have full awareness and memories. It cannot access your thoughts/memories/skills or use any augments. You use their mental stats and special attributes, and where the spirit has better physical stats your physical stats are increased by half the spirit's force rounded down. It also reduces wound modifiers by up to it's force, so the intention was to show that even if you were seriously injured, the loa could carry you. You probably would have felt better with the spirit in the driver's seat on a physical level.

Also, as a note to all- I don't usually like pvp stuff, but as far as "shows of power" I was at a loss. I promise I don't normally do that.


"I'd never actually want to hurt a teammate - but now you know I am capable of things like that. The loa can do even more. Look, lets get you a drink - you just take it easy." Her voice gentle, and genuinely concerned as she saw the girl working. She waved down a server and asked for a large glass of cold water and looked to bnc to see what her preference was for something harder. "Honestly, I'm here to help you folks out. I can help build you up, and help tear down magical threats so you get a chance to use your skills."

She sighed gently, "But remember, others won't take it so easy on you... and if you're up against spirits, they're even less likely to hold back. I've never killed anyone, but the loa have a different moral compass. Had this been an genuine attack, you would have had nobody to stop it. Additionally, imagine having wounded an enemy who then uses a spirit to gain a second wind. I can negate that threat, and failing that, the loa are strong allies. I can counterspell for you, as can the loa.  I can see threats in the astral before they get you, as can the loa. Before we enter a building, I can tell you who is mundane, who is awakened, and who has augments. You need me in the moment? I can send the loa to scout for us." She leaned back. "I take my work seriously. I've got experience. I value my teammates. I'm not impulsive, temperamental, or combat hungry. There's a time and a place for that, but you guys are looking for a mage who can support you, keep you safe from magical threats, and round out your skill-set."

She could have used compel truth, to have one of the team members tell her what the current run is, but respected their privacy. Levitating them around the room seemed like a party trick. She could have mass blinded them, she supposed, but that didn't help against those with astral vision - a threat this team was clearly aware of. She supposed she could allow a spirit to possess her, and show off some combat skills - but that also wasn't what they were looking for. Bluebird felt resigned to her spellcasting as the correct move. She silently thanked the loa for their help.

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth finished up his two orders of salmon and took another sip of tea as bnc was tended to. Now don't get into a pissing contest about whether or not Krestov or I could handle that spirit.

"Yes, yes, it is very clear that you have experience and that you have powerful allies. You said that you have never killed someone. Does that mean you have never killed someone by your own hand, or that you have zero experience with wetwork contracts?"

[hadaalia]

"I just meant that I haven't killed by my own hands. Some of the loa I've worked with have, and I've certainly worked with teams who have. I'm just not personally equipped for that. Work is work; I'm not squeamish," she shrugged, "If it comes down to it, I will if that's what it takes to get the job done. I just haven't had to be the one to pull the trigger and I'm okay with that - there are generally people on my team better suited to that than I. I'm here to help you play to your strengths, and shore up your weaknesses."

[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov was enjoying his eel, the fragrant meat mixing with the spices well on his tongue after bnc was possessed.  He's seen the signs before...this was more subtle compared to their last encounter with one so possessed, but the parallels were there.  Once confirmed that their decker would be fine, he pressed on as normal, every movement closely calculated while still appearing relaxed.

Professional...experienced...gauging our interests, and was able to identify our weaknesses without our direct telling of them.  Plus, she seems very self aware and knows her limits.  This shows promise

Clearing his throat, he sipped some water before speaking up again.  "Well spoken...and these are indeed clear and effective demonstrations.  Have given much to think about."  Tapping his head, he offered a friendly smile.  "Krestov wonder if Bluebird have other questions for us?"

Multitasking, he pulled up the team comm-chat once bnc was confirmed to be herself again.  <<"What think of her for trial on this current job?">>