From Street Grimoire 5th edition
NERVE STRIKE
COST: 1 PP
By targeting various nerve clusters in his opponent’s
body, an adept with this ability can disable or subdue
on opponent without causing physical injury or death.
To use this power, the adept must first declare his intention
to employ it and then make a normal melee attack.
If successful, the adept may choose to reduce his opponent’s
Agility or Reaction (attacker’s choice) by 1 per
net hit instead of inflicting Physical or Stun damage. If
the targeted attribute reaches 0, the target is rendered
paralyzed. An attacker must choose only one attribute
to target per attack. The target regains lost attribute
points with rest: 1 hour of rest recovers 1 lost point.
Nerve Strike works best on metahumans but can also
be used against critters. A critter’s nerve clusters are
more difficult to target, so two net hits are required to
lower the targeted critter’s attribute by 1; all other normal
rules apply. Targets without a functioning nervous
system, such as spirits, drones, and so on, are unaffected
by this power
You counter it, by not being hit by it.
This is a powerful MELEE RANGED ability, that costs an adept either 1/6 of their starting resources, OR 50+ Karma to acquire. (Initiation, then raising Magic)
BUT, it does NO damage. instead, it drains an ability for a set period of time, and if the target's attribute is reduced to 0, they are out of the fight..
And just like any other melee attack, you resist it by not getting hit by it. So shoot the guy! He has to get close to you to hit you... so move away from him while shooting...
it may not be manly... But history is written by the victors.
Shadowrun CRB page 288
Decrease [Attribute]
(Essence)
Type: P Range: T
Duration: S Drain: F – 2
This spell weakens the target by decreasing a designated
Attribute. A version of this spell exists for each
Physical and Mental attribute, but not for Special attributes
(Initiative, Edge, Essence, Magic, or Resonance). It
affects both natural and augmented Attributes.
This spell is cast with an Opposed Spellcasting +
Magic [Force] v. (targeted Attribute) + Willpower Test.
If the magician wins, the Attribute is reduced by the
spell’s net hits. If a Physical Attribute is reduced to 0, the
victim is incapacitated and paralyzed. If a Mental Attribute
is reduced to 0, the victim stands still, mindlessly
confused. Decreasing an Attribute also affects any other
derived statistics that use it (for example, if Reaction or
Intuition is lowered, Initiative is lowered as well) as long
as the spell is sustained.
It not really that different then the spell any shaman or mage can cast either...