Machine-spirit

Machine-spirits are Weaver-aligned spirits of pieces of technology, usually especially powerful or critical ones.

Overview

The entities known as machine-spirits represent a variety of Weaver functions, the spirit-shadow of physical machines that apply force and control movement. They can encompass anything from the earth-shattering machines that extract resources from the depths of the planet to tiny fail-safes that hold powerful processes in place or restrict free motion. In general, machine-spirits are simple, performing repetitive tasks with great power or ones of great importance (hence their spiritual significance — why they emerge as spirits at all), such as the spirit of an oil derrick or a small lock that hides a great secret. Almost all are gafflings, given their straightforward nature, despite the connotations of their physical size or perceived complexity.

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In the Umbra, machine-spirits usually appear either as hazy versions of their physical counterparts (they’re not the most creative spirits…) or, not surprisingly, as visual metaphors for the physical machine in question, such as a work gang digging in the case of the oil derrick, or a somewhat mechanical-looking “guard dog” representing the lock.

In almost every case, machine-spirits are too purpose-driven to manifest in the physical world, though they have been known to “ride” their own physical counterparts in the physical world in cases that onlookers describe as “overdrive.” When possessing a device, a machine-spirits can use its Power to help or hinder the person attempting to use it. Machine-spirits are often open to negotiation, but their demands can be time consuming if not downright odd, such as asking for a certain combination of keys to be pressed in sequence 1,011 times, or for their host device to be reinstalled in a different location, often closer to other devices or in actual contact with them.

Machine-spirits are rarely encountered by themselves in the Umbra, and then only if their physical host has been destroyed or they’ve been banished from it.

Stats

• Power: 2–6
• Exceptional Dice Pools: Technology +6

References

• W5: 5th Edition Core Book, p. 254