NEWS

Horrors, Illuminati, or Toxics

  • 56 Replies
  • 16389 Views

Pan0pt1k0n

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • My Eyes Never Close
« on: <05-08-15/0231:03> »
So, I have a bunch of questions that are pertinent to my GMing a high-powered (600bp+30 karma) SR game. Specifically, what to throw at my players. As the title suggests, I'm pretty much torn.

The first thing I came up with was the old-school Illuminati of the 5th world decided to use the Emergence as a way to strike back against their Awakened masters (the Black Lodge, the Ordo Maximus, etc) and seize control of the world from the corps and dragons, bringing the sociopolitical and economical landscape to be more in line with the 20th century. Think original Deus Ex, or the Illuminatus! trilogy. Problem is, when my runners did their legwork, they smartly NOPE'd their way out of it.

The second thing was a Toxic dragon. Now, I did my homework, and read all I could about dragons, Toxics, and Horrors. Specifically, that there was this badass called Verjigorim who specialized in corrupting dragons. "Great," I thought to myself, "I'll use that." So I plopped one of his astral cocoons straight into the Chernobyl reactor, took Lofwyr's stats, and possessed him with a Great Form Radiation Spirit at Force 16. So, he's beefy. Problem is, I am not sure where to go from there.

Some more background - the runners are employed by one Burnout, who currently houses the spirit Lethe, who is the Big D. The players were suckered in by the promise of a 1 million nuyen reward for the tracking down of a cyberzombie in DC, and when he started talking about a "gift I gave to Goldensnout," our PhysAd (who, OOC, is the oldest player and has the most metagame knowledge) started having a breakdown. In any case, they're wandering around North America, trying to collect the bones in the will, then flying off to Mars to pick up the skull on the photograph.

I just have a couple of questions that I was wondering if someone knew the answer to, that mostly deal with fluff:

1 - I did my homework. I've read Harlequin's Back, the 3E Horrors book, and the insane 37-page Horrors thread on these here forums. Where else can I get more info on Horrors and how they'll manifest in SR?

2 - Is being Toxic the same thing as being Tainted, or is it a step below being Tainted, or is it something else entirely?

3 - Considering Barsaivre was in the Ukraine, which location corresponds to Chernobyl/Bryanskaya Oblast', and is there a supplement that deals with it?

4 - Is there a supplement that deals with Illuminati, and exactly how the Black Lodge subverted them?

Thanks so much in advance!

The Wyrm Ouroboros

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 4470
  • I Have Taken All Shadowrun To Be My Province
« Reply #1 on: <05-08-15/0752:14> »
First, regarding Horrors, you really can't - because there is no such information.  Work with the bad things we've got already, because the Horrors are something that should only be happening 1500 years down the road.  Understand that out of game, SR is trying to stay away from ED links, due to potential conflict of intellectual property rights.

Second, in regards to Burnout / Lethe / Dunkelzahn, remember (if you know) or understand (if you don't) that if you're going to use him as that, he is not gonna be 'in the game' for any real period of time - the Dragonheart Trilogy put him firmly in the astral and the metaplanes, wandering around and squashing potential spike points and thus keeping the Horrors from crossing early.  Having him show up, suggest something from the Will, and disappear is cool; having him pal around with them is kind of ... breaky?  :P  Anyhow.

Third, in regards to the photos, you need to pick up the adventure booklet called 'Missions' for 2nd Edition, FASA 7325.  In it, there is an adventure which discovers the facts about those photos; you could actually run the team through that adventure BEFORE you send them off to Mars, because the WIll talks about finding out the truth about them, not about going to Mars.  ;)[spoiler]As I recall, they're fake.  Sorry.[/spoiler]

Fourth, the Illuminati: like in real life, in Shadowrun they don't exist.  Or at least, if they do exist, they exist under some other organization's name, some of which you've mentioned - the Black Lodge, the Ordo Maximus, the Catholic Church, whatever.  When it comes down to it, if you want to use them, you're going to have to create them and manage to insert them and their tentacles into the Sixth World all on your own.

Fifth, regarding Toxic/Tainted, no, they're not the same thing.  I personally would step away from the Ukraine / Chernobyl / astral cocoon and the Force Zillion toxic spirit - because this is an entity that a) is well above the player's capacities, and which b) is going to draw the attention of Goldensnout and all the rest of the Great clan.  Realize that Feuerschwinge (Firewing) was a toxified GREAT Dragon (explore some info on her here, and there were not one but two other Great Dragons as well as at least one adult dragon that got into it with (or in defending) her; that's just a Class I horrible destructive mess waiting to happen.  Instead of creating this, however ...

... use Aztechnology.

No, seriously: use the AZT.  One of the provisions of the Big D's will is this:
Quote from: The Big D's Will
To the first party to determine what lies behind the door of room 5B78 of the Aztechnology Pyramid in Tenochtitlán and file a report of their findings on Shadowland, I leave 5 million nuyen or medical care for the remainder of their natural life, whichever seems most appropriate.
If you look at the Aztlan Sourcebook, this is the core of what they're talking about, and the very, very strong implication is that what is behind that door is the Smoking Mirror, Tezcatlipoca himself, a Corrupted Dragon (possibly Great).  So if you want to throw a nasty, powerful, terrible, very bad, no good, irredeemable villian against them ... set them against Aztechnology and the Corrupted dragon at its heart.  If you're interested in doing some reading about how this was handled here in an IC forum, you can start here in VU93 and go on until here, at which point it moves to an IC thread here.  While I don't THINK the run's actual action was played out in any thread, it might have been.

That said, understand that dealing with something at that level is going to involve major changes - to the world at the start if you use your corrupted / toxic dragon in Chernobyl, or eventually, should they manage to succeed with purging Aztechnology of that particular issue.  Either way, good luck.
Pananagutan & End/Line

Old As McBean, Twice As Mean
"Oh, gee - it's Go-Frag-Yourself-O'Clock."
New Wyrm!! Now with Twice the Bastard!!

Laés is ... I forget. -PiXeL01
Play the game. Don't try to win it.

Mirikon

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 8986
  • "Everybody lies." --House
« Reply #2 on: <05-08-15/1035:44> »
As one of the people involved in that, I can honestly say it wasn't played out IC anywhere. We wanted to tell a story, and planned it out via PMs, before just running with it. I may go back over the PMs someday and write the run up story-like instead of how it came out in the VU93 posts.

But Wyrm is right on all those points.
Greataxe - Apply directly to source of problem, repeat as needed.

My Characters

Pan0pt1k0n

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • My Eyes Never Close
« Reply #3 on: <05-08-15/1328:46> »
Well, first off, I'm gonna say this - I'm planning to completely and utterly wreck the world. The guys are beyond prime runners, so I feel that their actions should impact the world, and impact it strongly. As far as Burnout goes, one of the side-quests is to build him a new body, from said dragonbones.

As far as the books you mentioned, are they still under copyright? Is there a free link to them, or do I have to buy them? And I'm guessing the Aztlan Sourcebook, you're referring to something that's previous edition?

Another question comes up - provided they do end up going to Mars, is there any sort of "mana well" artifacts (maybe like the Dragonheart) that would allow the magical types to not go irrevocably insane in the void of space?

Mirikon

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 8986
  • "Everybody lies." --House
« Reply #4 on: <05-08-15/2048:22> »
You cobble together enough life in one place, and it will make a weak manasphere. <s>CFD's</s>EVO's Gagarin Base likely has enough people and plants there that you could at least throw a weak spell without bleeding out your various orifices.
Greataxe - Apply directly to source of problem, repeat as needed.

My Characters

The Wyrm Ouroboros

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 4470
  • I Have Taken All Shadowrun To Be My Province
« Reply #5 on: <05-08-15/2136:30> »
When you want to play with old stuff in a game with an extended back-story, you can either go completely off the wall or ya gotta play with what's in the world.  Yes, of course the books I mentioned are still in copyright.  And no offense, but your guys really aren't beyond prime runners, at least not going by the minimal information you've given; not sure what edition you're playing, but while 600bp + 30 karma in either 3e or 4e gets you into the big leagues, you still have to have the contacts, the capabilities, the gear - that's just the start, you know?  In any case.  If you want to radically change the world, realize that you'd might as well give a slight glance at what's already there, and then pretty much proceed to ignore it, because everything your people will be doing is going to require you to do a total redesign / radical makeover.

And no - space is space.  If you send a mage or even an adept to Mars, you can expect the former to be insane or dead, and the latter to be insane, dead, terminally depressed, and/or the last survivor.  Remember that that trip takes a year, minimum, for the trip out, and another year (minimum) for the trip back.

So good luck with your wrecking, have fun, let us know what/how much you had to rewrite.
Pananagutan & End/Line

Old As McBean, Twice As Mean
"Oh, gee - it's Go-Frag-Yourself-O'Clock."
New Wyrm!! Now with Twice the Bastard!!

Laés is ... I forget. -PiXeL01
Play the game. Don't try to win it.

Reaver

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 6423
  • 60% alcohol 40% asshole...
« Reply #6 on: <05-09-15/0221:18> »
<-- Mage has 4000+ karma earned. 3000 invested in himself, 900+ invested in Alley Spirit. 80+ in acquired positive traits, 70+ Contacts.

1st run in 2050 (1st edition.). over $30,000,000 in acquired (and lost) assets over 20 year history in the shadows.




*****

Your guys are Small Fish in a BIG pond. Same as me.

 


Where am I going? And why am I in a hand basket ???

Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.

psycho835

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 634
« Reply #7 on: <05-09-15/0430:46> »
<-- Mage has 4000+ karma earned. 3000 invested in himself, 900+ invested in Alley Spirit. 80+ in acquired positive traits, 70+ Contacts.

1st run in 2050 (1st edition.). over $30,000,000 in acquired (and lost) assets over 20 year history in the shadows.




*****

Your guys are Small Fish in a BIG pond. Same as me.


...damn.

I'd love to see his/her stats. *salivates*

Sithlis

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 98
« Reply #8 on: <05-09-15/2312:39> »
I belive you can get the Azzie book pretty cheap on both drivethru and battleshop.

The Wyrm Ouroboros

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 4470
  • I Have Taken All Shadowrun To Be My Province
« Reply #9 on: <05-10-15/0411:23> »
Right.  Reaver, if the character has been updated to 5e, you're invited to play a little game we're calling Super Brawl Sunday[/u].   ;D
Pananagutan & End/Line

Old As McBean, Twice As Mean
"Oh, gee - it's Go-Frag-Yourself-O'Clock."
New Wyrm!! Now with Twice the Bastard!!

Laés is ... I forget. -PiXeL01
Play the game. Don't try to win it.

Reaver

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 6423
  • 60% alcohol 40% asshole...
« Reply #10 on: <05-10-15/0453:47> »
Sadly, we don't update until all the core books are out. (So we need data trails). Then the GM has to figure out exactly how we are going to update.

A lot of stuff got "lost" going from 3e to 4e that we, as players were not happy about, but also accept that our GM's hands were kinda tied :(       

And, with the skill caps that were in place in 4e, it means I have a massive skill spread. (Cause hey, you never know when a Mark actually does have an interest in 17th century Spanish sexual graffiti....) which would get condensed..... or not.

Then there is the cyberware issue...... I believe our Samurai sponstationally turns to a dried out husk if he takes his current cyber/bio load out over to 5e (and yes, it's Delta ware AND cultured ware...)


On the plus side, our hacker/techmomancer (whatever she is.... she's playing it close to the chest...) is happier then a college kid in "buck a beer" beer night right after his loan clears...

The Rigger is grumbling, which means the GM is worried. (The Rigger's got 200 lbs on our GM... and he knows how to use it!) He's really not happy with Drones right now, and already is bemoaning the loss of his customized (and named!!) "Minion Army of Dronely Doom"

If i remember, when i get back home, i'll upload the chummer 4e character sheet. Its incomplete, but has the stats and common gear on it.
Where am I going? And why am I in a hand basket ???

Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.

The Wyrm Ouroboros

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 4470
  • I Have Taken All Shadowrun To Be My Province
« Reply #11 on: <05-10-15/0523:30> »
In cases such as the 'skill cap' issue, IMO what you should be doing is taking a bit of time to go back to character generation, rebuilding your character as close to the baseline as you can and as you can remember (which is why you should always keep a sheet of the baseline build), and rebuild them as smoothly from there as possible.  Of course, I'm also putting together my 'build rules' for that particular run, which you and your group might eyeball and use a little of ... once I get it posted.  :P
Pananagutan & End/Line

Old As McBean, Twice As Mean
"Oh, gee - it's Go-Frag-Yourself-O'Clock."
New Wyrm!! Now with Twice the Bastard!!

Laés is ... I forget. -PiXeL01
Play the game. Don't try to win it.

Sengir

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 506
« Reply #12 on: <05-10-15/1715:30> »
Third, in regards to the photos, you need to pick up the adventure booklet called 'Missions' for 2nd Edition, FASA 7325.  In it, there is an adventure which discovers the facts about those photos; you could actually run the team through that adventure BEFORE you send them off to Mars, because the WIll talks about finding out the truth about them, not about going to Mars.  ;)[spoiler]As I recall, they're fake.  Sorry.[/spoiler]
When Ares (IIRC) sent their probe to Mars, the images from that probe were intercepted and replaced with photos showing 1950s movie flying saucers, obviously an attempt to discredit any data coming from that project. However, Missions lets you find the real photos and [spoiler]the dragon bones and pyramids are there[/spoiler]

Herr Brackhaus

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 3041
« Reply #13 on: <05-10-15/2007:00> »
For a brief recap of the Mars "Missions" events:

[spoiler]
2001: NASA surveys the surface of Mars using robot probes, capturing several images of several pyramid structures and what appeared to be a large skeleton (unknown at the time, an actual dragon skeleton)
2011: NASA's Operation Discovery, a manned mission to the surface under the jurisdiction of government black-ops agency Veil, makes planetfall and proceeds to explore both the ruins and the skeleton, gathering bone and stone samples.
2011: Disaster strikes Operation Discovery, and only 3 of the original 8 astraunauts make it back to Earth with most of the samples collected. Veil decides to keep the controversial data a secret and essentially mothballs the findings.
2016: NASA almost goes bankrupt, and is bought by AresSpace
2040: AresSpace launches Project Cydonia, an unmanned probe mission with the goal of photographing the surface of Mars in unprecedented detail. Veil agents intercept the data received from Project Cydonia, turning 200 minutes of data into nothing but noise and static, as well as a single doctored image; a flying saucer hovering over old-fashioned Apollo equipment. Publicly, the project is a massive failure.
2057: Somehow, Big D had managed to get a hold of two 2001 originals, and his last will and testament offers a significant reward (1% of Ares Macrotechnology Stock) for anyone who can verify the authenticity of the documents. One of the original Project Cydonia techs still working for AresSpace launches a private investigation into what he firmly believes is a coverup. Enter player characters.[/spoiler]

Pan0pt1k0n

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • My Eyes Never Close
« Reply #14 on: <05-11-15/1743:59> »
Is it explained how that got there? I mean, I'm pretty sure the 4th world didn't have space flight.

 

Register