[taukarrie]

All astral tracking stuff is on pg 161 6e CRB

"Following an astral link requires an Astral + Intuition (5, 1 hour) Extended test modified as noted on the Astral Tracking Modifiers table."

This 1 hour..  is that an hour spent in place studying the spirit, focus, etc or is that an hour spent actually tracking the link by continually moving astrally from the object's location toward the person its linked to in a more literal sense of "tracking"? Im mostly asking because if you spend 55 minutes tracking a spirit and then it poofs away id like to know if youre left somewhere near the spirit's summoner on the astral plane giving you some notion of where they might phsically be, or are you 5 minutes short of knowing exactly where to go but made no partial progress of any kind?

Also, the modifier of +1 threshold for "Each hour passed since  astral link was active". What if im trying to track through a focus that was bound a year ago. I assume that doesnt mean i have a +8760 modifier to my threshold.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Personally, I think it's easier if things like this (to include a Spirit's Search power) don't actually involve moving around in Astral space.  You just "extend feelers" or what-have-you, and once you have the location known, you have the location known.  A binary result is what RAW seems to suggest: at the end of the test you have have everything or nothing.

If you figure actual travel through the astral is involved, you have all sorts of potential problems with searching thru territory that is owned by people (or things!) who are unrelated to your search but possess both the motive and the means to kill your ass for astrally trespassing through their turf.  Of course, THIS contingency could be exactly the sort of hook a GM wants. So, YMMV.

[Michael Chandra]

Has the focus been inactive for an entire year? Or has it been active more recently?

As for Search, I'd treat it as an utter failure if the spirit poofs myself, otherwise the distance modifier would turn out really weird. But not sure how it is supposed to work. There's no warning for encountering nasties inbetween, so I do consider it likely you stay in place while trying to feel out the link to find the target.

[taukarrie]

Has the focus been inactive for an entire year? Or has it been active more recently?

As for Search, I'd treat it as an utter failure if the spirit poofs myself, otherwise the distance modifier would turn out really weird. But not sure how it is supposed to work. There's no warning for encountering nasties inbetween, so I do consider it likely you stay in place while trying to feel out the link to find the target.

Ah, I see what you mean. Being bonded is different from being active. However, this suggests that if i want to make it harder for people to find me through a lost focus i would indeed want to keep it active indefinitely, working toward that +8760 modifier for would-be trackers. I wouldve assumed a focus deactivates once it leaves proximity of its owner. But if it remains active at a distance, as this tracking modifiers table seems to imply, people should avoid ever turning off their foci if possible

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

For a focus to remain active, it must be
in the possession of the magician (worn, carried,
handheld, in a pocket or pouch, etc.).

If you lost your Focus, it won't be active.

[taukarrie]

For a focus to remain active, it must be
in the possession of the magician (worn, carried,
handheld, in a pocket or pouch, etc.).

If you lost your Focus, it won't be active.

ok, that answers that. So now we're back to someone being tracked through the bond of a focus rather than its active state. All of the tracking rules refer to an astral "link" which, for a focus, must be that bond. So if youre not getting a +1 difficulty to your tracking roll per hour that bond has existed, how does tracking someone through their lost, inactive, but bonded focus work?

[Shinobi Killfist]

My understanding is let’s say I have a power focus it’s currently active and then Rikki the rat picks my pocket stealing my focus. It’s now inactive. That’s when the clock starts ticking.

Same scenario but I haven’t had it active for a week before Ricki steals it. Same result. The clock starts ticking the moment Rickki stole it.

It’s not it being active but it being bound that creates the link. But the longer it’s away from me the weaker the connection is.

[taukarrie]

My understanding is let’s say I have a power focus it’s currently active and then Rikki the rat picks my pocket stealing my focus. It’s now inactive. That’s when the clock starts ticking.

Same scenario but I haven’t had it active for a week before Ricki steals it. Same result. The clock starts ticking the moment Rickki stole it.

It’s not it being active but it being bound that creates the link. But the longer it’s away from me the weaker the connection is.

Makes sense to me. case closed

[Xenon]

The astral link is created between an actual tangible astral form (an activated focus, a medicine lodge, an active spell, a spirit, the astral form of a magician using astral projection etc) and whoever is responsible for it. An astral observer who assense the astral signature of these actual tangible astral forms can track their links through the astral plane back to their sources.

Whenever the astral form vanish from the astral plane (for example if the spell expires or is no longer sustained) the astral link is no longer active but it will still have an intangible astral aura that will still carry the owners astral signature that is fading away. As long as it have not faded away it can still be used to track whoever was responsible.

A focus that is deactivated will also get an intangible astral aura that will carry its owners astral signature, but unlike a preparation or spell that is no longer sustained the aura and the astral signature of a focus will not fade over time. There is no time limit where you can no longer use Astral Tracking on the focus. However, for each passing hour since the focus was active the threshold for Astral Tracking increase by 1.

This 1 hour..  is that an hour spent in place studying the spirit, focus, etc or is that an hour spent actually tracking the link by continually moving astrally from the object's location toward the person its linked to in a more literal sense of "tracking"?

You need to take a successful astral perception test to sense the astral signature (this is where the "studying the spirit, focus etc" comes in).

If successfully sensing the astral signature you may take an extended test on Astral Tracking (this is where the "1 hour" comes in, it is the interval time for each die roll in the extended test).

If the Astral Tracking test is successful then whoever was responsible is located.

...or are you 5 minutes short of knowing exactly where to go but made no partial progress of any kind?

Rule wise an extended test will be successful once you reach the threshold. Unless explicitly mentioned 'partial progress' will not be 'saved' in case you fail the test (you would have to start all over from scratch).

What if im trying to track through a focus that was bound a year ago.

It will still carry the astral signature of its owner, but the threshold for Astral Tracking will increase for each hour since it was active (since it was deactivated).

Being bonded is different from being active.

A bound focus that is activated have an astral signature and an active astral link (there is no increase of the threshold for astral tracking while the focus is active).

A bound focus that is deactivated also have an astral signature but it no longer have an active link (there might be an increased threshold for astral tracking while the focus is not active).

people should avoid ever turning off their foci if possible

You got it backwards. It is not an increased threshold since the astral link was originally activated, it is an increased threshold since the astral link was [last] active.

So now we're back to someone being tracked through the bond of a focus rather than its active state.

The threshold for Astral Tracking will increase for each hour since it was deactivated.

All of the tracking rules refer to an astral "link" which, for a focus, must be that bond.

The astral link is active when the focus is activated. For each hour since the focus was deactivated the astral tracking threshold will increase by one.

how does tracking someone through their lost, inactive, but bonded focus work?

First of all you need to take an Astral Perception test to successfully sense the astral signature.

Once this is done you do an Astral Tracking extended test Threshold for Astral Tracking is increasing for each hour passed since the focus was deactivated.

[Michael Chandra]

So the rules explicitly note the foci have an astral signature that can be used to track the source, yet you say that basically that example is a lie and it is impossible to track a focus that's not with its owner. Honestly, sounds like you're making a mistake somewhere if that's your conclusion.

[Xenon]

Yes since Astral Tracking is worded such as if you perform it on an actual tangible astral form (active focus, sustained spell), not an intangible astral aura (deactivated focus, spell that is now expired).

However(!), now it seem as if they changed the wording for Astral Signatures in SR6


SR5 p. 312 Astral Signature
Once successfully read, a signature can be recognized again (possibly with a Memory Test, p. 152) ... Magical forensic investigators use astral signatures to gather information about criminal magicians, so be careful about leaving them behind where they are likely seen.

SR6 p. 159 Astral Signature
That means the traces individuals leave in the astral may be traced back to them by careful observers.


In this edition it seem clear that the intent is that you can assence the astral signature of intangible astral auras left behind when casting spells or a deactivated focus, and not only use it to remember the 'fingerprint' in case you see it later - but also to do astral tracking back to its owner. I'll change my post above to reflect this.