[Ultra Violet]

1.) How do they work?
1.a) Both qualities are based on the spirits or sprites Edge rating, but that has no meaning for the rest of the values and ratings. I.E. a spirit (or sprite) can have Force (or Resonance) rating of 10+ and still have Edge 1. How does it work on this point? Is it Edge = (Force or Resonance) rating for the quality or is it really independent of each other? Why Edge in first place and not its (Force or Resonance) rating?
1.b) If a player choose one of this qualities, can he decide what kind of spirit or sprite it was? Or in other words can he decide with powers it has and what kind of pact or bond it is? Yes, I know the GM will play it in the game as NPC, but that is another point.

2.) If it happens in play (after character generation) how does it work? Does the GM roll the dice for the free spirit or free sprite, and the resulting Edge rating is the base cost of that new quality?
2.a) What if the PC had a Spirit pacts or Resonance Bond from the start and the spirits or sprites ratings or values improving? Does that mean the player has to pay the new rating? (Yes I know, I ask again... see here, but it now it is a living causes.)

3.) I'm a little confused about the in game rules of creating a free spirit or free sprite. You roll the dices and the result is the Edge rating, but what if you roll more Edge than your Force or Resonance rating is? Can it be that a spirit or sprite has more Edge than its rating is or is it limited by its general rating?

4.) Has anybody experiences in game? Please feel free to tell us everything about it.


Thanks up front!


Yours faithfully,
UV

[Kot]

Spirit's Edge is equal to their Force. That's how it looks in both SR4A and Street Magic. Spirit Pacts are also described in Street Magic, and the rules are pretty much the same, and i would think more than twice before letting a mage pick Spirit Pact at character creation. Why? It's a bit too much. And Free Spirits are on the level of a Prime Runner NPC. Improving those Spirits/Sprites isn't a thing the character pays for, except by supplying his 'partner' with Karma, like in the Life or Drain spirit pact.
As for creating Free Spirits, I find the rules needlessly complicated and illogical.

[Ultra Violet]

There is Power Gaming matter in it, more than you like, that's true.
But my set of questions is generally: How does it work? And how can I as a GM make it work fine, without any critical mass problems?

[Kot]

Don't use the rules if you don't have to. Make it a two-way thing. If the mage/technomancer wants to benefit it, he has to pay the spirit/sprite in kind. And usually more than he receives. Some of the Pacts cost Karma, and all of them require having a Formula, or something like that. And these don't come cheap, or easy.

[Loki]

1.) The entity in question imbues some of it's power into the character granting the effect of the specific pact chosen. As free spirits/sprites have no inherent way to gain karma (unless they have a karma drain power) they do so, generally, to coerce karma from a willing partner.
1.a)Generally edge will=force, a free entity may have higher force than edge however depending on how it spent any karma acquired.  Not really sure myself why edge over force on this.
1.b) The player does get to pick what pact they'd like and the edge rating of the spirit/sprite, the GM can always say no it he thinks it too much. The amount of input the player has on the entity the pact is with is up to the GM. The player certainly thinks they know who/what they are dealing with.

2.) In play, GM got final authority on who they meet and is willing to make such deals.
2.a) That's up to you. I'd either track the entity's karma gains and if its advancement was at least half paid for by player "donations" to it concider the player to have paid, if they are not paying karma to the entity then they should have to buy up the quality. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

3.) Set it at force for simplicity.

4.) Not yet.


Hope that was some help.

[Charybdis]

I'm not a technomancer expert, so I can't comment on the Resonance Bond component.

However, UV, I think you're setting yourself up for a serious critical mass issue if you're going to start throwing Spirit pacts into a group.

However, if the PC's are willing to suck up the Karma cost for the spirit pact quality, then it starts weighing pretty even vs what else they could spend 20 karma on

What pacts are you looking at introducing to the PC's?

[Ultra Violet]

The situation I expect is that one or two player of mine creating characters with spirit pact qualities, or maybe a free spirit PC and pacts that will come later in play or a PC has a resonance bond from the start or the player wants to buy that quality with Karma after the start.

I don't know what kind of powers my players have in mind, but one of my questions was about, if I as GM should allow the player to pick the powers of the spirit/sprite, or not.

But I'm expecting some power creep stunts of my players. Combinations of powers to drive me (as GM) crazy... 

[Charybdis]

But I'm expecting some power creep stunts of my players. Combinations of powers to drive me (as GM) crazy... 

*laughs* Well, yes, but isn't that their job? 

The spirit pact qualities in particular have a GM-Approval required component, so if you don't want them to have it, you don't even need to house-rule it. Just say no.

However the power creep also depends on the pact (mechanical benefits defined) and the spirit making it (as defined by the GM at all times, and subject to change without notice). And the karma is a heavy price to pay (and some pacts demand more Karma per use! Talk about a maintenance contract!)

I'll send you a Jackpoint article my Free Spirit wrote out detailing some common (and uncommon) points on free spirits and pacts. Let me know if you find any of it useful