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Horrors

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Doc Chaos

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« Reply #15 on: <09-08-10/1117:20> »
I believe there was a shadowrun novel that dealt with (in a somewhat roundabout way) a bunch of Hawai'ian shamans intentionally opening a portal for the horrors to come through, and it was described in much the same way that the denizens of the Cthulhu Mythos were - obliquely, or not at all, but colored by sheer terror. I think it was one of the Dirk Montgomery books, but I could be wrong.

There was one that fits your description, yes.
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The_Gun_Nut

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« Reply #16 on: <09-08-10/1120:50> »
The novel series with Mr. Darke is called the Dragonheart Saga.  It details the events surrounding the "assasination" of Dunkelzahn and the destruction of the spike bridge in astral space (which the Horrors were going to use).

The events in Hawai'i take place in the adventure Harlequin's Back.

For those of you in the know, H is a swordmaster and wizard adept.  Most likely of 13th Circle or higher in each (most likely 15th in each).  This makes him one of the most powerful beings to walk the planet.  Even great dragons would hesitate to do direct battle with him.
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Turtletron

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« Reply #17 on: <09-08-10/1314:27> »
As a fan of Earthdawn as well (I have 75 to 90% of those books, also own every edition), I'll put in my 2 nuyen.

Horrors don't have an overall look or feel to them.  Some have animalistic intelligence and will feed on anything: (in order of preference) intelligent life, animals, plants, inorganic material (aka rocks).  Others are just a step above and simply try to corrupt/consume people with a specific MO.  Two examples: winglflayers are a type of minor Horror that appears as a pile of metallic slivers that animate and flay a person or creature to death; baggi are an arboreal type of minor Horror that resemble an overinflated orangatan that swallow people whole and slowly digest them (think of a mobile Saarlac).

Then there are the more intelligent ones that feed off of pain or suffering or disgust.  For example:  a gharmek is a minor Horror that animates the dead and feeds off the revulsion it engenders in the living.  When they find someone who recognizes a fallen loved one, they quiver with ecstasy over the revulsion.  Another example is a wormskull.  It resembles a giant humanoid in brass armor with a head (sometimes an entire body) composed of worms.

These types of Horrors have many individuals representing the type, although there may be significant variation between them.

The most feared ones are the major or Named Horrors.  These aren't just satisfied with corrupting or feeding off of individuals, although they do greatly enjoy it.  These beings are dedicated to creating widespread fear or disgust or loathing.  They enjoy playing people off against each other, and they are also the ones who most often are the source of the "Devil's Bargain" style of stories.  They also have been known to attempt takeovers of entire kingdoms.  The Horror Bone Crown the Usurper took over the city of Parlainth and set all it's people against each other for the fun of it.  He wasn't the only one there doing it, he was just the one that got everyone organized into the mass murder squads.

Incidentally, baded upon my reading of the Dragonheart series, I think that Ryan Mercury actually killed Bone Crown during the attempted early invasion of the world.  The description is pretty close, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for the info
(>) ...and I would have made it too, except for those nosey kids & their stupid dog...
(>) excerpt of The Smiling Bandit's taped deposition, Knight Errant casefile #E385h-0516

anotherJack

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« Reply #18 on: <09-08-10/1330:21> »
Incidentally, baded upon my reading of the Dragonheart series, I think that Ryan Mercury actually killed Bone Crown during the attempted early invasion of the world.  The description is pretty close, but I could be wrong.
Read on a french forum that Bone Crow was suspected to be involved in some recent events in Siberia.
Same operation mode they said.

About horrors and spirits, don't think there's a clear difference.
In Street magic, some spirits clearly behave like horrors, feeding themselves with metahuman emotions.
"Horrors" is a generic term, including a lot of spirits types.
Me am french, me am not speaking good english, but me am trying to correct this.

Mooncrow

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« Reply #19 on: <09-08-10/1331:25> »
Incidentally, baded upon my reading of the Dragonheart series, I think that Ryan Mercury actually killed Bone Crown during the attempted early invasion of the world.  The description is pretty close, but I could be wrong.
Read on a french forum that Bone Crow was suspected to be involved in some recent events in Siberia.
Same operation mode they said.

About horrors and spirits, don't think there's a clear difference.
In Street magic, some spirits clearly behave like horrors, feeding themselves with metahuman emotions.
"Horrors" is a generic term, including a lot of spirits types.

I have to disagree; in the SR universe, the label Horror is fairly specific.

FastJack

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« Reply #20 on: <09-08-10/1350:50> »
Definitely. Horrors, with the capital H, mean something else entirely in Shadowrun. It's like comparing you Analyze-6 program to Deus.

Casazil

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« Reply #21 on: <09-08-10/1803:55> »
I believe there was a shadowrun novel that dealt with (in a somewhat roundabout way) a bunch of Hawai'ian shamans intentionally opening a portal for the horrors to come through, and it was described in much the same way that the denizens of the Cthulhu Mythos were - obliquely, or not at all, but colored by sheer terror. I think it was one of the Dirk Montgomery books, but I could be wrong.

There was one that fits your description, yes.

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Prime Mover

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« Reply #22 on: <09-08-10/1834:10> »
Insect sprits were the Invae from Earthdawn...a precursor spirit to the Horrors arrival but not horrors. (It's there arrival that got the IE's and Dragons in a huff and alerted them to the "bridge" I believe.)

The only statted horror like creatures in SR were the two types of creatures that attended Mr.Darke (Oscuro) in the Harlequins Back adventure.
« Last Edit: <09-08-10/1836:21> by Prime Mover »
Why do things happen the way they happen? For
all I know the world Is Just one big game and all of
our actions are determined by the roll of a die.
-  Dunkelzahn,  Great-Dragon

Longshot23

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« Reply #23 on: <09-08-10/2141:38> »
Actually, if you've read Corporate Guide, the Azzie section references back to the guy who was actively trying to build a way for the Horrors to come through.  The bit where it says that guy - Oscuro, his name was, and he got another exposure in the original Threats s/b as Mr Darke - is regarded as 'short-sighted' and too hasty . . .

Now if that's not a build-up or foreshadowing then what the hell is?


Isn't that what the second Harlequin adventure was about?  (I've never actually run that one, but I thought that's what I heard)

Speaking of 'Harlequin' & 'Harlequin's Back' . . . is there any implication that the runners who do either, and survive, get taken out because they 'know too much'?

BlackMyron

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« Reply #24 on: <09-08-10/2312:45> »
 Brightlight's "Great Work" in Black Madonna is implied to basically be a modern version of the "kaers" from Earthdawn, or at least it was  (if there's any lesson that should be learned from the novels, it's that even immortal elves and other great dragons don't get away with ripping off Lofwyr)

 As a general rule, the magic level has to be fairly high for them to appear (IIRC the general level won't be high enough for centuries to come, according to sources in the know).  One of the overarching plotlines of the 2050s SR was that there was a threat they could 'leak' through at places where the magic level was high enough, as a sort of 'bridge', deliberate or otherwise.  (Considering that the site of the Great Ghost Dance was one, it's ironic that Sam Verner's attempt to fix his disastrous blunder in Find Your Own Truth almost caused another).  The Dragonheart trilogy essentially ended that plot arc, but the implication in the Corporate Guide is interesting.

  The runners that did participate in Harlequin's Back are mentioned in the Aztlan posts when Dunk and company are discussing where the secrets of 'blood magic' leaked out from (although Harlequin dismisses them as a source on the subject).

  The Wild Hunt are definitely not Horrors - they are labelled as 'unique spirits' in Magic in the Shadows.

  Harlequin mentions the differences between the insect spirits (invae) and the Horrors in Harlequin's Back - for one, the latter aren't spirits.  He labels the insect spirits more as 'nuisiances' whose appearance was hastened by the Dance.

Turtletron

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« Reply #25 on: <09-08-10/2353:34> »
Brightlight's "Great Work" in Black Madonna is implied to basically be a modern version of the "kaers" from Earthdawn, or at least it was  (if there's any lesson that should be learned from the novels, it's that even immortal elves and other great dragons don't get away with ripping off Lofwyr)

 As a general rule, the magic level has to be fairly high for them to appear (IIRC the general level won't be high enough for centuries to come, according to sources in the know).  One of the overarching plotlines of the 2050s SR was that there was a threat they could 'leak' through at places where the magic level was high enough, as a sort of 'bridge', deliberate or otherwise.  (Considering that the site of the Great Ghost Dance was one, it's ironic that Sam Verner's attempt to fix his disastrous blunder in Find Your Own Truth almost caused another).  The Dragonheart trilogy essentially ended that plot arc, but the implication in the Corporate Guide is interesting.

  The runners that did participate in Harlequin's Back are mentioned in the Aztlan posts when Dunk and company are discussing where the secrets of 'blood magic' leaked out from (although Harlequin dismisses them as a source on the subject).

  The Wild Hunt are definitely not Horrors - they are labelled as 'unique spirits' in Magic in the Shadows.

  Harlequin mentions the differences between the insect spirits (invae) and the Horrors in Harlequin's Back - for one, the latter aren't spirits.  He labels the insect spirits more as 'nuisiances' whose appearance was hastened by the Dance.

Looks like there's a lot of info in Harlequin's Back, a friend o'mine got the book, i'll borrow it from him if i can.
(>) ...and I would have made it too, except for those nosey kids & their stupid dog...
(>) excerpt of The Smiling Bandit's taped deposition, Knight Errant casefile #E385h-0516

Casazil

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« Reply #26 on: <09-09-10/0119:22> »
I think Harlequin & Harlequin's Back are the 2 largest modules written
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The_Gun_Nut

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« Reply #27 on: <09-09-10/0959:46> »
I generally only collect the sourcebooks, and not the adventures.  So it's quite a stroke of luck that I have Harlequin at all.  Don't believe I have HB, but I'd have to check my cabinets.
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Prime Mover

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« Reply #28 on: <09-09-10/1003:32> »
Yea Used to be that way too hardly ever picked up an adventure other then earliest ones and the Harlequin series.  Ive since gone back and collected almost all of them and regret not having picked some of them up earlier.  Ton of info and metaplot clues in a few of them.
Why do things happen the way they happen? For
all I know the world Is Just one big game and all of
our actions are determined by the roll of a die.
-  Dunkelzahn,  Great-Dragon

Prime Mover

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« Reply #29 on: <09-09-10/1009:24> »
Update to my previous post Darke (Oscuro's) Horror servants included "Crawlers" & "Gun Toads" that showed up in H2 and Threats 1.  
(Whats the rule for using official art on an official forum?  Wouldn't mind being able to post pics from books for reference.)

EDIT: Crawlers used two tentacles to strike at target and remove reaction.  Gum Toads oozed slime and pounced on you to create a "binding" effect.
« Last Edit: <09-09-10/1014:46> by Prime Mover »
Why do things happen the way they happen? For
all I know the world Is Just one big game and all of
our actions are determined by the roll of a die.
-  Dunkelzahn,  Great-Dragon