[CanRay]

Not to mention Petrochem prices still reaching record highs, and the price of synthahol also skyrocketing at the same time.

[Falconer]

Yup... Mirikon perfectly shows what I mean by touchy feely....

Tons of high level metaplot many of us don't care about.   Many things which provided a lot of the lower level plot tensors in the system outright ignored... such as outright metaracism (orc underground anymore is more about the economic costs of recognition than any prior issues with trog acceptance)...  Inability to collect on bounties (ghoul rights man...).   Things like surged silliness...

[CanRay]

Not so much ignored than adjusted.  20-years is a long time.

Think about the changes from the 1950s to the 1970s in the US and Canada.

Or the 1990s and the 2010s, which we aren't even over yet.

There's still Metaracism, as well as outright witch hunting (Technomancers), bounties still happen with ghouls (Just not any that are paid, officially, by Governments outside of Quebec).

And, um, what's wrong with SURGE?

[Mirikon]

Yes, because every RPG setting is supposed to stay exactly the same for twenty years, without anything evolving. Yep, yep!

Seriously, though, there are plenty of 'low-level tensors' out there. Just because the orc underground is trying for rights, doesn't mean everyone (on either side) is happy about it, and it isn't just economic, either. If you actually followed the Missions series, you'd see that there's been a good deal of shadow biz going on between the ORC and Humanis based on this.

And of course, if you're looking to collect on bounties, there is still the people who skip bail, or the out and out bounties on technomancers the corps have out. But if you're talking about the 'shoot them and bring in the corpse' kind of bounties, then no, that's gone down. Unless you're hunting bugs that Ares doesn't control.

And let's not forget the underworld wars that Tempo stirred up. Nothing says 'low-level tensor' like an all out mob war tearing most metroplexes apart.

Nope, no street level conflicts there at all. 

[CanRay]

"Nothing brings down property values like a good, old fashioned gang war.  Except maybe Wrath of God stuff, but that may be a might bit too extreme for right now."

[Falconer]

Mirikon,  I don't read the missions stuff, because I'm not running it.  And I think it's bad form to do so when someone might be running it.   No different than when you try and run something and everyone insists on trying to fix down the date so they can act on out of character info about what is going to happen.  So no, I'm not well versed on the current orc underground if that's where it's published.

I do expect things to change, but I also expect some sanity in the changes.   Things like the virus are still mortal threats to the population (especially given the joke the infection/disease rules are, very badly playtested!!!).   It makes sense to have shoot on sight payouts for ghouls given the threat to public health.

As far as surged... look at the companion... look at half the stuff in there.   It's a real stretch even for a pink mohawk game that it doesn't bring down any runner team which embraces it.     Just how many punks are there out there with 4 arms?!   I enjoy a bit of over the top fun as well... but it strains credibility that these types wouldn't have bounties out and collected on all the time given how much they stand out.

[Mirikon]

Actually, there's quite a lot of people with four arms in India. In Seattle they're rarer, but they do exist. And catgirls, and other, less acceptable manifestations of SURGE happened all over the place, all around the world. And yes, people freaked out. Of course, they had a lot to distract them, what with Shedim, Ghostwalker, the Orichalcum rush, continuing fallout from the Big D's will, and so on.

More to the point, SURGE happened ten years ago. While the ugly or insectoid SURGEd are discriminated against on the same level as orks and trolls, the 'pretty' ones and ones with minor mutations can get acceptance at least.

Again, the prejudice lasted until the new thing to talk about came along, and has only been kept going by hatemongers and crazies.

[beowulf_of_wa]

and online "discussions"

[_Pax_]

As far as surged... look at the companion... look at half the stuff in there.   It's a real stretch even for a pink mohawk game that it doesn't bring down any runner team which embraces it.     Just how many punks are there out there with 4 arms?!   I enjoy a bit of over the top fun as well... but it strains credibility that these types wouldn't have bounties out and collected on all the time given how much they stand out.

They stand out, many of them, a lot LESS than your average Troll does - and the Humanis policlub would LOVe to see Trolls done away with completely.  Yet you're not agitating for bounties on Trolls.  Why is that?

[Sichr]

cuz they are not 100%effective dissease carriers. It is impossible to survive infection and not becoming the ghoul or carrier. That is why. Forget any sentiment. Shot on sight.

[CanRay]

They stand out, many of them, a lot LESS than your average Troll does - and the Humanis policlub would LOVe to see Trolls done away with completely.  Yet you're not agitating for bounties on Trolls.  Why is that?

Quebec is trying to get Bounties on Anglophone Trolls.  It's one of the few things the UN is actually doing properly is preventing that.

cuz they are not 100%effective dissease carriers. It is impossible to survive infection and not becoming the ghoul or carrier. That is why. Forget any sentiment. Shot on sight.

Worse, if you get infected, YOU BECOME ONE OF THEM!!!

It's like the Zombiepocalypse!  Only it hasn't reached a major stage.

...

Yet.

[_Pax_]

Not all Ghouls are carriers.  (Quality: "Infertile Infected".) 

[Sichr]

Not all Ghouls are carriers.  (Quality: "Infertile Infected".) 

Happens every 1/10 cases. Too bad that ghouls are usualy attacking in packs 

[Mirikon]

Also, second generation ghouls are infertile, infection-wise. Ghouls breed true, so any child of a ghoul (meaning the parents were ghouls BEFORE conception) would be a ghoul. However, they would not be able to pass on the virus, except to their children.

Seems to me that the first step in finding a way to 'cure' HMHVV would be to find a way to start by making the Infected infertile. Of course, playing around with an awakened virus risks creating super-ghouls.

[Sichr]

Now that is scary idea