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Bounties fot bounty hunters?

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MijRai

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« Reply #15 on: <12-07-15/1146:41> »
Then why would anyone else offer any bounty below 1,000,000 nuyen for a live blood mage or toxic shaman?  The Will specifies live and to the DIMR (who apparently have bounties of their own out there?).  Dead I can understand; DIMR doesn't pay for dead product (except in one case of a blood mage who escaped their custody).  But why would the DIMR offer anything on top of a steady million, which would be double the highest offer ever made, much less the usual?  The highest bounty out there is 500,000 for a live Toxic by Saeder Krupp (everyone else offers anywhere from 150,000 to 250,000 (INCLUDING the DIMR), and this one is the special snowflake Lion Shapeshifter I've mentioned previously).  There's no reason for any of those live bounties to exist at this point unless the Dunkelzhan's Will payments aren't as meaty as they used to be, though who knows why. 

I'm more inclined to think:
A- You just get the flat million. (Less Likely)
B- That million is done, for whatever reason. (More LIkely)

Hartfield isn't the only one with a low bounty for his Magic; only 3 of the entire list in Hazard Pay are below 10 Magic, with most being 11 or 12.  A Magic 15 Insect Shaman's bounty is at 50,000.  I consider this to be due to the low payscale suggested by the games more than anything else.  But those are the book numbers; you can run your own numbers at your table (I would), but that isn't the discussion here. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

Reaver

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« Reply #16 on: <12-07-15/1415:55> »
I think it has more to do with the economy of SR changing.

In 3e, 'A' resources netted you ¥1 mil... now its ¥400k.

So consider it a retconn to keep it more in line to the way the SR economy works now...
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Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.

MijRai

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« Reply #17 on: <12-07-15/1553:29> »
Exactly!
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

CitizenJoe

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« Reply #18 on: <12-07-15/1623:29> »
I think it is more of a tax thing.  There's also weasel words in the bounty.  How do you prove someone is a toxic or blood mage? 

A million nuyen bounty will have the tax man standing there just like lotto winners.  So that is a third right off the top.  Then you need the license to actually kidnap someone plus verification fees.  So, yea, I'm pretty sure the system has suits waiting around to screw people out of over half the reward.

BetaCAV

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« Reply #19 on: <12-08-15/0310:51> »
There's also weasel words in the bounty.  How do you prove someone is a toxic or blood mage? 
Take off the hood and earplugs, and/or untie them (and GTFO while they and the Johnson ID eachother). When the screaming and explosions stop, the answer should be readily apparent.

Reaver

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« Reply #20 on: <12-08-15/1017:16> »
In the case of Toxics, their aura. Their corruption shows up in their aura very clearly with an assensing test according to all the fluff.

Less sure about blood mages...
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.

MijRai

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« Reply #21 on: <12-08-15/1157:01> »
The same about Blood Mages.  It leaves a stain, though various Metamagics can disguise those. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

CitizenJoe

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« Reply #22 on: <12-08-15/1225:50> »
Really?  I thought it was hard to tell so that you could actually use them as a secret villain.

MijRai

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« Reply #23 on: <12-08-15/1229:24> »
Or you can use various Metamagics to that do it for you. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

Reaver

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« Reply #24 on: <12-08-15/1609:45> »
Think about toxics for a minute:

All the spirits they summon are corrupted. If they had a mentor before turning toxic, it leaves them. (And a corrupted mentor takes its place...)

Kinda hard to hide your toxic self when every spirit around you wants NOTHING to do with you....

And then there are the visible and psychological manifestations....

Yes, there are metamagics that can 'hide' these effects, but generally speaking, why would a toxic even try or care? They are usually too busy either soreading corruption, or seeking revenge for said corruption (again, usually by spreading it!)

Talk about not playing with a full bag of marbles.....


As for bloodmages.... well these sick fraggers live off of the pain and suffering they inflict, so I can see that leaving a stain on their auras as well (as Mijrai points out)
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.

Beta

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« Reply #25 on: <12-08-15/1614:38> »
The thing is, there are killers, sadists, and so forth who are not blood mages, toxic mages, or what have you (including not a few shadowrunners :o )  (I think it is also somewhat questionable that you could tell someone's emotional history through their aura, rather than just their current emotional state)

So I think the question needs to be not is there some distinctive brand left on you by those kinds of magic (not just by being a generally horrible person)

MijRai

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« Reply #26 on: <12-08-15/1841:06> »
As far as Toxics go, some are functional; those are the scariest ones, all in all.  Wednesday and Friday, the leaders of Winternight, were functional, charismatic Toxic mages.  It isn't a matter of 'I should hide this to be normal!'  It's a matter of blending in so they can get their job done, whatever that is. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

Reaver

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« Reply #27 on: <12-08-15/2044:44> »
The thing is, there are killers, sadists, and so forth who are not blood mages, toxic mages, or what have you (including not a few shadowrunners :o )  (I think it is also somewhat questionable that you could tell someone's emotional history through their aura, rather than just their current emotional state)

So I think the question needs to be not is there some distinctive brand left on you by those kinds of magic (not just by being a generally horrible person)

In SR there is more to the corrupted paths then just being a sadist or a killer....
Its left intentionally vague for a reason (RP!)
But the difference IS there. From all the fluff over the years, there seems to be an enviromental aspect to it, as in several books over several editions they make reference to both mages and spirits subcoming to corruption. (Aztan book, detailing the Yucatan wars. War! Detailing the Bogata jungle conflicts, Bug city and mages in the CZ.)

As for blood magic, that requires initiation and a very special metamagic..... so who knows WHAT that initiation and metamagic do the mage/shaman/adept??? (Hint: nothing good!)

The point is, they are changed. And other awakened can see this change and the effects of this change on their auras (barring the corrupted hiding it through other means)
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.