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Astral (Shadowrun 6th Edition)

Skills

Definition

Astral is the Awakened sensory skill. With Magic above 0 you can shift perception onto the astral plane, read auras for injury, chrome, and mood, spot active spells and foci, and see straight through cover that a target believes is working. It is also a combat skill. Astral fights are decided by will rather than bullets, and a magician who perceives or projects without ranks here is a tourist somewhere spirits and rival mages live full time.

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How it works

**Linked Attribute**: Intuition **Dice Pool**: Intuition plus Astral, rolled as d6s where every 5 or 6 counts as a hit. **Requires Magic**: Dead weight at Magic 0. A mundane runner cannot perceive astrally at all. **Thresholds**: Roughly 1 hit to catch an obvious aura, 3 to read detail from it, 5 when a magician is actively hiding what you want.

Tips

**Best for**: Mages, aspected magicians, and any Awakened runner expected to scout wards or counter another team's magic. **Character concepts**: A talent paid to sweep buildings before the crew enters, a spirit hunter, a shaman who reads a block by its aura. **Synergies**: Sorcery and Conjuring are the tools; Astral is the sense that aims them. Keep Perception for the physical world you stepped away from.

Frequently asked questions

Can a mundane runner buy Astral?

The ranks will sit on the sheet doing nothing. Without Magic there is no astral sense to apply them to, so buy Perception instead.

Does Astral replace Perception?

No. Astral reads the astral plane only, and perceiving astrally leaves your physical senses distracted while you do it.

Further Reading

All Shadowrun Skills
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