Jean-Paul Nwynne has a variety of allies available depending on the circumstances. Each uses the Force of the summoning as a baseline for its attributes, skills, and the strength of its various powers. Spirits of 3 or more Force get one Optional power, which allows for a pretty broad variety of servants.
Air Spirit
These spirits are physically weak (Force -2 Body, Force -3 Strength) but are fast fast fast (Force + 3 Agility, Force +4 Reaction). Its default powers have some serious utility to them. The only Air Spirit Jean-Paul has summoned recently took the form of an ephemeral Elven woman with feathered wings.
Powers
Accident: This basically causes glitches, potentially very useful to frustrate or foil people in precarious positions of using hazardous gear. Possibly useful for an innocuous assassination.
Astral Form: Standard fare for a spirit.
Concealment: Can make one or more characters invisible. Basically all the benefit of Improved Invisibility without the need to personally sustain the spell. Hmm.
Confusion: Force x2 versus target’s Willpower in a straight roll, any net hits are deducted from the target’s rolls on subsequent actions. Likely useful against a single very-competent target that needs to be hampered a bit.
Engulf: Causes the target to take a little physical damage and is pinned in place. As a side-effect, target starts suffocating.
Materialization: Standard fare for a spirit; gotta materialize to target physical targets.
Movement: Spirit can cause a target’s movement rate to be increase or decreased by a factor of the Spirit’s Magic rating (equal to the Force of the summoning).
Sapience: Standard fare for a spirit; it’s self-aware.
Search: Jean-Paul need never fear losing his keys.
Optional Powers
Elemental Attack: Resisted at half of Impact armor, with an attack roll of Force x2 plus 3, DV equal to Force, this is potentially handy, but probably only if the combat specialists in the group are already tied up.
Energy Aura: Adds 4 to the damage value of melee attacks by the spirit, causes reactive damage to anything that attacks the spirit in melee. Again handy if the Physical Adept and gun-bunnies are out of commission.
Fear: Boo! Cause a target to crap his pants and run for it.
Guard: Prevent accidents, glitches, et cetera
Noxious Breath: Basically a cone of knock-out gas that extends Force minus two meters. Beast spirits are much better suited to this ability, due to their better Body stat.
Psychokinesis: Basically what it sounds like, analogous to the Magic Fingers spell.
Beast Spirit
This type of spirit is pretty rough-and-ready when it comes to physical stats, with Force +2 Body, Force +1 Agility, Force +2 Reaction, and Force+2 Strength. The Fear power as a default should be handy. So far I’ve been treating Beast-type spirits as domesticated animals of varying size, ranging from a tabby cat at Force 1 to a big guard-dog at Force 5.
Powers
Animal Control: Ever needed a guard dog to shut the heck up? Ever needed an attack dog to attack its own handler? Me neither, but it could happen.
Astral Form: Standard fare for a spirit.
Enhanced Senses (Hearing, Low-Light Vision, Smell): Yeah, animals notice things people normally can’t.
Fear: Boo! Cause a target to crap his pants and run for it.
Materialization: Standard fare for a spirit; gotta materialize to target physical targets.
Movement: Spirit can cause a target’s movement rate to be increase or decreased by a factor of the Spirit’s Magic rating (equal to the Force of the summoning).
Sapience: Standard fare for a spirit; it’s self-aware.
Optional Powers
Concealment: Can make one or more characters invisible. Basically all the benefit of Improved Invisibility without the need to personally sustain the spell. Hmm.
Confusion: Force x2 versus target’s Willpower in a straight roll, any net hits are deducted from the target’s rolls on subsequent actions. Likely useful against a single very-competent target that needs to be hampered a bit.
Guard: Prevent accidents, glitches, et cetera
Natural Weapon (DV = Force Physical Damage): Instead of (Force +2)/2 physical damage, do Force physical damage. Maybe if the combat-monkeys in the group are incapacitated.
Noxious Breath: Basically a cone of knock-out gas that extends Force plus two meters.
Search: Jean-Paul need never fear losing his keys. Why this is an optional power for beasts but standard for all the other Shaman-type spirits, I may never understand.
Venom: A Power 6 injection-vector poison that takes one combat round to kick in.
Earth Spirit
These spirits are big lumbering brutes compared to Air spirits, which makes sense. Their physical stats are practically the opposite of their aerial counterparts, with Force +4 Body, Force -2 Agility, Force +2 Reaction, and Force +4 Strength. Guard and Binding strike me as the most compelling default powers of this spirit. Its optional powers don’t leave me yearning to summon an exceptionally-potent Earth spirit any time soon.
Powers
Astral Form: Standard fare for a spirit.
Binding
Guard: Prevent accidents, glitches, et cetera
Materialization: Standard fare for a spirit; gotta materialize to target physical targets.
Movement: Spirit can cause a target’s movement rate to be increase or decreased by a factor of the Spirit’s Magic rating (equal to the Force of the summoning).
Sapience: Standard fare for a spirit; it’s self-aware.
Search: Jean-Paul need never fear losing his keys.
Optional Powers
Concealment: Can make one or more characters invisible. Basically all the benefit of Improved Invisibility without the need to personally sustain the spell. Hmm.
Confusion: Force x2 versus target’s Willpower in a straight roll, any net hits are deducted from the target’s rolls on subsequent actions. Likely useful against a single very-competent target that needs to be hampered a bit.
Engulf: Causes the target to take a little physical damage and is pinned in place.
Elemental Attack: Resisted at half of Impact armor, with an attack roll of Force x2 minus 2, DV equal to Force, this is potentially handy, but probably only if the combat specialists in the group are already tied up. The Air Elemental is better suited for this.
Fear: Boo! Cause a target to crap his pants and run for it.
Spirit of Man
The Spirit of Man has the worst physical stats of the non-Watcher spirits, and is generally ill-suited to combat. Influence is one of the most compelling default powers available in the core Shadowrun rulebook. Given Jean-Paul’s lackluster spell selection, the most interesting optional power, Innate Spell, doesn’t hold that much appeal. So far I’ve been thinking of these spirits as literal ancestor spirits, accomplished forefathers and all that good stuff.
Powers
Accident: This basically causes glitches, potentially very useful to frustrate or foil people in precarious positions of using hazardous gear. Possibly useful for an innocuous assassination.
Astral Form: Standard fare for a spirit.
Concealment: Can make one or more characters invisible. Basically all the benefit of Improved Invisibility without the need to personally sustain the spell. Hmm.
Confusion: Force x2 versus target’s Willpower in a straight roll, any net hits are deducted from the target’s rolls on subsequent actions. Likely useful against a single very-competent target that needs to be hampered a bit.
Enhanced Senses (Low-light, Thermographic Vision): Dead spirits don’t care much about light.
Guard: Prevent accidents, glitches, et cetera
Influence: Mentally manipulate a target: “My arcane power compels you!”
Materialization: Standard fare for a spirit; gotta materialize to target physical targets.
Sapience: Standard fare for a spirit; it’s self-aware.
Search: Jean-Paul need never fear losing his keys.
Optional Powers
Fear: Boo! Spooky old spirit.
Innate Spell: Can cast one spell out of Jean-Paul’s meager repertoire.
Movement: Spirit can cause a target’s movement rate to be increase or decreased by a factor of the Spirit’s Magic rating (equal to the Force of the summoning).
Psychokinesis: Basically what it sounds like, analagous to the Magic Fingers spell.
Water Spirit
The Water spirit is like the Air spirit’s slower little brother. It’s tougher, with Force +2 Body, but mediocre otherwise. Aside from Weather Control, an optional ability, there’s nothing the Water spirit can do that an Earth or Air spirit couldn’t do better. To top it off, it has a severe allergy to fire. I don’t think I’ll be summoning many of these.
Powers
Astral Form: Standard fare for a spirit.
Concealment: Can make one or more characters invisible. Basically all the benefit of Improved Invisibility without the need to personally sustain the spell. Hmm.
Confusion: Force x2 versus target’s Willpower in a straight roll, any net hits are deducted from the target’s rolls on subsequent actions. Likely useful against a single very-competent target that needs to be hampered a bit.
Engulf: Causes the target to take a little physical damage and is pinned in place. As a side-effect, target starts drowning at an accelerated pace.
Materialization: Standard fare for a spirit; gotta materialize to target physical targets.
Movement: Spirit can cause a target’s movement rate to be increase or decreased by a factor of the Spirit’s Magic rating (equal to the Force of the summoning).
Sapience: Standard fare for a spirit; it’s self-aware.
Search: Jean-Paul need never fear losing his keys.
Optional Powers
Accident: This basically causes glitches, potentially very useful to frustrate or foil people in precarious positions of using hazardous gear. Possibly useful for an innocuous assassination.
Binding: Can force a target to “stick” to any surface it is currently in contact with.
Elemental Attack: Resisted at half of Impact armor, with an attack roll of Force x2, DV equal to Force, this is potentially handy, but probably only if the combat specialists in the group are already tied up. The Air spirit seems to be the king of this power due to its higher Agility.
Energy Aura: Adds 4 to the damage value of melee attacks by the spirit, causes reactive damage to anything that attacks the spirit in melee. Again handy if the Physical Adept and gun-bunnies are out of commission.
Guard: Prevent accidents, glitches, et cetera
Weather Control: Make it rain in Seattle? Talk about implausible! Basically summons a weather status, does not actually impart direct control of the weather effect (it can’t hit your opponent with the lightning bolts or tangerine-sized hailstones).