[chinlamp]

I don't understand how they are done.  There's hardly any explanation in Street Magic, and Ghost Cartels barely explains how to do the possession by tempo.  Is there any books that explain Shadow spirits and Tempo possession (and subsequent stat changes/powers given) in more detail?

[shrike]

Street Magic does a good job of explaining possession IMO. What is it that needs more explanation?

[chinlamp]

Ok, I've found the entry for possession (it's not listed in the Table of Contents or the Index of Street Magic), but now I have another question.

It says the vessels Special attributes are replaced with the spirits.  But in Ghost Cartels, Rivieros does not possess a Magic attribute, and her Edge is 1, despite her naturally having 4.

Why?

[shrike]

While possessed, the spirit’s Mental and Special attributes are used

That is why. Also, some of Ghost Cartel's stats break established rules, so going by them may not help. You might check Digital Grimoire pages 10-13 for additional information and clarification.

[Mirikon]

The Shadow spirits who take over tempo addicts are not possessing them in the typical sense. They have a Spirit Pact with them (Specifically a Dream Pact), though the schmucks don't know it. This makes it several orders of magnitude harder to stop than possession. Look in the section on Spirit Pacts in Street Magic for more info.