[Moonshine Fox]

In a bout of idleness the other day I read through big D's will again and got to wondering. Has it ever been said anywhere what was behind the various doors that had rewards attached to them? Or were they simply left up to the DM to fill in?

[Wakshaani]

Depends on teh door. The one in teh Renraku Arcology, for instance, was in the Ultraviolet side of things in the Arcology's Matric.

The others, I don't think, have ever been publicly revealed.

[witchdoctor]

And even for that what was actually behind that door is a matter of debate like everything else in the shadows especially when it comes to the Big D's will. So even if we're explicitly told what was behind that door it could be propaganda from a rival Megacorp, Shadowrunners assuming the worst when a Megacorp is involved (and who could blame them), speculation based on incomplete information and/or miscommunication between factions that just can't get along. So have a ball, there are plenty of outs one can use if you have something you like better than what is considered "canon".

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Uh ... what was actually behind the Arcology 'door' (its existence being Matrix only) is not a matter of debate in the Real World, i.e. canon; it was a programmed-in point from which to observe the AEP for signs of AI emergence.  While you can have confusion in your game, and are absolutely able to alter the canon of the SR world as it applies to your table, and while I'll admit to the in-world conversations being potentially confused, the canon on that one is pretty clear.  Don't confuse crunch and fluff, both of which are canonical, with in-world writing, which can be error-laden, mutually exclusive, etc.

In regards to the one in the Aztechnology HQ in Tenochtitlan, it's been left open - but popular theory is that behind it is the lair of the 'Smoking Mirror', commonly believed to be a Horror-corrupted adult or great dragon, which is supposedly pulling the majority of the strings behind Aztechnology.

[witchdoctor]

Uh ... what was actually behind the Arcology 'door' (its existence being Matrix only) is not a matter of debate in the Real World, i.e. canon; it was a programmed-in point from which to observe the AEP for signs of AI emergence.  While you can have confusion in your game, and are absolutely able to alter the canon of the SR world as it applies to your table, and while I'll admit to the in-world conversations being potentially confused, the canon on that one is pretty clear.  Don't confuse crunch and fluff, both of which are canonical, with in-world writing, which can be error-laden, mutually exclusive, etc.

In regards to the one in the Aztechnology HQ in Tenochtitlan, it's been left open - but popular theory is that behind it is the lair of the 'Smoking Mirror', commonly believed to be a Horror-corrupted adult or great dragon, which is supposedly pulling the majority of the strings behind Aztechnology.

My apologies I seem to have gotten those two doors mixed up, I thought there was only the one door that was explained and even then there was some confusion about exactly what was behind it and the other one we straight up don't know and it was assumed to involve blood magic because it's Aztechonology and they didn't meet an excuse to use blood magic they didn't like.

[PiXeL01]

Has Smoking Mirror been revealed or left to rot by the authors?

[Crimsondude]

There's also a door in an S-K facility in Berlin mentioned in the will, but that hasn't been explained either.

[Wakshaani]

There's also a door in an S-K facility in Berlin mentioned in the will, but that hasn't been explained either.

At least, not in anything published yet.

<.<
>.>

*ninja smokepuff*

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Has Smoking Mirror been revealed or left to rot by the authors?

'Left to rot' as much as anything else concerning Aztechnology.

Consider that unless the PTB are going to take AZT out permanently, there really is no percentage in revealing who the Big Bad Behind It All is.

[Wakshaani]

Well, Aztechnology could be the corp going down via Lockdown. If this turns out to be the case, well, it'd be rude to not fill in some gaps, I'd think.

We'll see!

[Red_Cap]

I doubt that the Azzies are going to go down ever, at least not until the metaplot reaches the point that the Horrors come rushing across the mana spike.  Behind the scenes, they serve too well as a Big Bad.  In-universe, Aztechnology has so many fingers in so many pies and is just so damn large that actually taking them down would require a massive amount of firepower and manpower.  You'd need the backing of the Corporate Court to begin with, and probably a couple of great dragons backing them up to make sure it gets done.

[SpellBinder]

Has Smoking Mirror been revealed or left to rot by the authors?

'Left to rot' as much as anything else concerning Aztechnology.

Consider that unless the PTB are going to take AZT out permanently, there really is no percentage in revealing who the Big Bad Behind It All is.

From Dawn Of The Artifacts:  Midnight, page 7

"he Smoking Mirror is the dark, hidden secret of the popular public worship of Tezcatlipoca in Aztlan. While Tezcatlipoca has his own temples and his priests are major players in both Aztlan and Aztechnology, the Smoking Mirror cult is the stuff of rumors and nightmares. It’s said that the high-ranking priests are all blood mages. Some rumors even place high-ranking cult members at the highest level of Aztechnology. The most frightening of rumors are those that hint that the priests follow the dark god Tezcatlipoca made flesh, a living god who directs their every move …"

The primary antagonist of the adventure, Itztli (detailed on page 53), is also a member of this cult.  Beyond that, I'll go with what Wyrm said.

[Moonshine Fox]

While I have a hard time seeing it happen, it would be interesting if the Azzie's fell. Considering it's a not-so-secret secret that the Horrors have them in hand, who would they pick to be their new representatives.

[Wakshaani]

Here's an interesting trick for all aspiring writers.

Take a look at yoru cast. The supporting people, the leads, the antagonists, each and every one.

Then ask yourself, "What would happen if they suddenly died?"

The method of death can matter (A shooting vs a heart attack, for instance, will drive different stories), but how would the death effect everyone else and what would it do with plots?

Because, let me tell you, if Aztechnology's the one y'all pick to go down, there's a whole lot of stories that can come out of that. What happens to Aztlan? Is there a refugee crisis? Who takes their place in magical goods? What happens with the horrors? Do we get to see the possibly-corrupted-dragon that's been rumored for decades? WIll they take anyone down with them?

Mind you, I had to go a step further and figure out *how* we could kill these guys. If the players chose Shiawase, who has a 'Golden Ticket', how would that even be possible? (Working out the ripples that the death of Shiawase would cause is also huge .. if the First Mega goes down, who's really safe?) ... What about Saeder-Krupp? Wuxing? NeoNET? Ares? If we snuffed out Horizon, would anyone even care?

Some megas are easy to find ways to kill off, while others are much, much harder. There're a few backdoors that were slipped into assorted products just in case, tho. Nobody's safe. Fuchi collapsed. Big D was elected president and then exploded. FatsJack lost his mind. Novatech and Cross both vanished due to teh Crash, and took Deus, Morgan, Mirage, and Alice with them. We can, and will, kill *anyone* if the story demands it. Yes, even them.

Hell, the Dragon CIvil War could very well have ended with *Lofwyr* dead, despite how angry it would have made the (rather large!) German playerbase.

Ain't nobody safe.

If you want to try it as an excercise, feel free! What would happen if Damien Knight died, or Johnny Spinrad, or Empress HItomi, or Lone Star.  It could very well happen. The question then becomes, "Would it be interesting?"

Dunklezhan was neat, but after he died, he became HUGE. We're *still* drawing plots from his will, what, 15, almost 20 years later? He's VASTLY more useful as a corpse than he ever was alive. Would MCT or Evo be the same?

[Red_Cap]

That's part of what I was driving at.  Aztechnology isn't just a megacorp that can be divvied up or swallowed whole like Fuchi or CATCo.  They're an actual nation, with a general populace and an army and borders and everything else that goes along with that.  I know that each AAA is basically like a parceled-out country on its own, yes, but none of them command an area or populace as large as Aztechnology does.  You literally can't tear down one unless you take out the other, which is why the Azzies are safe from destruction.  With their magical might and numbers, the amount of force needed to tear them down would be almost global at this point.