SPRITES

(P. 254-257, SR5)

Sprites are the digital creatures technomancers
are able to summon (or perhaps form) from the
Resonance, and are an extremely important ally
(some might say tool) of technomancers. Sprites
have personas not linked to any device. They are
in some ways like agents; they are obedient, but
they are more autonomous. Each sprite has its
own personality, leading many technomancers
to see them as pets or pals, not just tools. Unlike
most pets, companions, or magic spirits though,
sprites won’t take offense at any perceived mistreatment.
To conjure a sprite, a technomancer
uses the Compile Sprite Resonance Action,
roughly equivalent to a mage summoning a spirit.
To compile a sprite, choose a level for the
sprite, up to twice your Resonance rating. Next,
roll Compiling + Resonance [Level] v. Sprite level.
The technomancer takes Fading damage equal to
two times the number of hits the sprite got on its
defense test, minimum 2. This Fading is Stun damage,
unless the sprite’s level is greater than your
Resonance, in which case it’s Physical damage. For
every net hit, you get one task from the sprite (see
p. 254, SR5, for what tasks a sprite can perform).
You can only have one compiled (active) sprite at
any given time.
At the moment, sprites are an oddity the Matrix
doesn’t know how to deal with, so they are labelled
as illegal activity. From the moment a sprite
is compiled, its Overwatch Score (OS) starts (see
Opposition: Grid Overwatch Division below).
When GOD converges on a sprite, the regular effects
of convergence don’t occur; it simply vanishes,
regardless of unused tasks. To subvert this a bit,
you can register them with the Matrix. This takes
a number of hours equal to the sprite’s Level. Afterward,
roll Registering + Resonance [Level] v. the
sprite’s Level x 2. This causes Fading of 2 DV per
hit (not net hit) the sprite gets, minimum 2 DV.