The Metamagical technique known as Channeling enables an Initiate to draw a previously bound spirit into him or herself and gaining its powers for a brief time.
Using channeling requires an Exclusive Complex Action. The initiate must have a spirit that owes him services present in astral space (IE, a bound Elemental, Ally Spirit, or a summoned Nature Spirit) and come in contact with its aura.
The initiate then makes a Conjuring test with a target number equal to the twice the Spirit's Force minus the Initiate's Grade (minimum TN 2 as usual). If successful, the magician channels the spirit for 1 minute times the number of successes on the test or the number of services the spirit owes, whichever is less. If the test fails, nothing happens.
On a roll of all 1s, the spirit goes free, either going back to the Metaplanes or becoming a Free Spirit.
When the spirit is Channeled, it enters the magician's body and vanishes into the magician's astral body. The magician's Physical Attributes are increased by the spirit's force, and the magician gain's access to the spirit's powers at the Force rating of the spirit.
If the magician channels a Great Form Spirit, he or she also gains the power of Immunity (Normal Weapons) at the spirit's Force in addition to any other powers except for Engulf and Materialization… But also any Vulnerabilities they might have (such as an Elemental's Vulnerability to its opposing Element).
A spirit that is channeled cannot be attacked directly; instead, all damage goes to the magician. It also may not be attacked in astral combat nor controlled by another magician, although it may be banished. However, the channeling magician adds his or her Charisma dice to the spirit's Force Tests against banishing.
Unlike Possession, the magician remains in control throughout and may use all of his or her normal abilities in addition to the spirit's, with the exception of Astral Projection; attempting it anyway results in the Channeling being aborted instantly with effects as below.
Channeling also ends when the magician is rendered unconscious due to damage, or if he or she voluntarily chooses to break the link, or once the time limit expires, whichever comes first. A number of services equal to the number of minutes that the spirit was channeled are used (and if none remain, the spirit departs immediately).
The magician must immediately resist Drain of (Spirit's Force)D Stun with Charisma. If the spirit's Force exceeds the magician's Magic rating, the Drain is Physical damage.
