Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => The Secret History => Topic started by: WellSpokenRunner on <04-28-12/2307:32>
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What happened with the shake up at Evo? Is there a new Russian CEO? What happened to Saru Iwano and Newton Chin? I'm just curious because I kinda dug the Evo storyline (ran several missions in Vladivostok back when I got Smuggler Havens) and even made up some back story for the characters.
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From what I remember the CEO okayed a plan to create ghosts in the machine one of these being chief justice Hino. Buttercup found out and wasn't pleased.
Afaik no change in CEO.
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In Corporate Intrigue, the Giggling Assassin chapter, it makes clear that Buttercup feels it was a moral lapse on the CEO's part to experiment on e-ghosts, but that moral lapses could be corrected. What got her more displeased was him using the Dickens program to make a power play in the company. And for that he must be punished.
And when a powerful free spirit decides you should be punished, you can be sure that nothing good will come of it.
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When a powerful free spirit with the Wealth power is displeased in a capitalist society, you're gonna have a bad time.
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As we saw in her write-up in Street Legends Supplimental, Buttercup is a fickle fortune. Those that she aids often end up worse than where they started from. She's also a tad vinditive.
Just a smidge.
A wee bit.
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I've been thinking lately about a variation of the wealth power that turned people into valuable objects ala Midas' touch.
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Well, a 'Turn to Gold' spell is simple enough. Take Petrify or Turn to Goo, change 'stone' or 'goo' to 'gold', and increase the duration to permanent. As long as you sustain it long enough for it to become permanent, the target will be gold until the spell is disrupted somehow.
Hmm. Makes me have an idea for a mage assassin...
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Turn to Glod spell makes for one hell of a cranky Dwarf.
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Makes for a whole lot of cranky dwarves.
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I don't want it to be a common thing is the real problem, not looking to really mess with the world's economy like that. I'd probably limit it to a free spirit power.
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Ah, but this is Shadowrun! If someone is threatening to destabilize the economy *cough*Art*cough*, then someone will eventually step in and solve the problem. Afterall, those megas aren't going to want to see their bottom lines affected like that. Anyone who used such a spell for financial gain would have to be sparing and circumspect about using it to avoid some not so friendly inquiries. The IRS, if no one else, would step in.
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I don't want it to be a common thing is the real problem, not looking to really mess with the world's economy like that. I'd probably limit it to a free spirit power.
Actually, it says in the "Wealth" power that people are already wary of accepting mineral wealth with a magical aura, since the Wealth power can already generate a lot of "fake" wealth every day and "real" wealth only every Month. I don't think having people hustle suckers with fake gold and gems would be any different.
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Ah, but this is Shadowrun! If someone is threatening to destabilize the economy *cough*Art*cough*, then someone will eventually step in and solve the problem. Afterall, those megas aren't going to want to see their bottom lines affected like that. Anyone who used such a spell for financial gain would have to be sparing and circumspect about using it to avoid some not so friendly inquiries. The IRS, if no one else, would step in.
Shadowrun currency isn't run on the gold standard. One thing everyone in the shadows (and outside of them) agree on is that currency is just bits and bytes, and it only has value because society agrees it has value, because otherwise anarchy erupts and consumes the world in fire.
Producing a bunch of material wealth out of thin air isn't going to destabilize the Shadowrun economy. Now hacking into Zurich Orbital and changing all the 1s to 0s, however...
Besides, the only currency that has any real weight is information - and unless you're a tabloid reporter you're not creating that out of thin air.
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I almost always hear about this "Art" with "Thor shot" in the same sentence. Can somebody point me at the right book so I can learn more?
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Art Dankwalther was financial mathematician working Fuchi with delusion of grandeur and then fired during a layout (when you think about, there's was a kind of foresight in making him a bad guy...). In his Will, Dunkelzahn bequested him an insane amount of money, 34 billions of UCAS dollars, officially to repay for a gold coin an ancestor lend him.
At that point, Dankwalther was a junkie on the brink of madness, lost in the barrens of some city (Boston I think). He didn't hear about the president, his death or his will, and the Draco Foundation was unable to find him. When he heard about Richard Villiers creating a new company in 2059, Novatech, Dankwalther somewhat came to believe he could get his job back. He got access to a computer and send an e-mail.
That was enough for the Draco Foundation to find him, verify his identity, clean him from his drugs habit and hands him the money. Dankwlather started a life of partying, until he meet Richard Villiers. Dankwlather shoke hands with his former boss, who had no idea that guy ever worked for him. Dankwalther got mad. Fired all his new employees, sold the house, boats and cars, and started working on his revenge.
What you had was a financial mathematician with billions of dollars of leverage and no search for final profits. Yet, he used a part of the money to make more money. Another part went to fund black ops. And the bulk of it would be engaged in massice stock market manipulations. He made a first test by crushing A multinational Tokugawa Technologies. A cakewalk. Then another test targeted AA megacorporation Gunderson of Miami. Dankwalther teams were able to down a megacorporation. But the ultimate target always had been Novatech.
Dankwalther actions hurt Novatech a lot. He is the main reason Novatech needed fresh funds and was forced to engage in an IPO (which Dankwalther failed to predict actually). Villiers also became aware of Dankwalther existence (thanks to Shadowland) and tried to fought back, including a ¥5 millions bounty on his head. The story came to end during during the 2064 or shortly after, when the Corporate court ordered a Thor shot on Dankwalther know position.
Threats 2 and System Failure are the main sources, with some traces of Dankwalther apparition showing up in SOTA:2064 news articles.
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Imp, while you are technically correct, you forget that material wealth (gems, precious metals, etc.) can buy you a lot of those 0s and 1s. There's a good deal of speculation that Buttercup used a spirit power that allows one to create wealth to get all the money she used to buy her seat on Yamatetsu's board, back before it was Evo.
And yes, Sichr, Nath is correct about Art Dankwalther. Basically, the Big D left him with more money than anyone could possibly know what to do with, and he decided to take it and (after practicing with two smaller companies) set about finding a way to burn Novatech to the ground. Which is the whole reason Novatech had to have its IPO. Which leads us to Deus uploading himself into the ECSE. Which leads us to Pax and Winternight starting Crash 2.0. In the ensuing chaos, the Corporate Court called down an Omega Order on one man, and Thor shotted him because they didn't think they could get a team to his location before he could move.
Moral of the story? One man threatens to destabilize the global economy, and the Court WILL take steps to end that threat.
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And the remaining dead around the impact of the Thor shot is just a matter of collateral damage.
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Pah...even Thor shots are a bit overrated. They left no bodies for an evidence. I wont be surprised if the man appears...like many others...to cause some fun once again...
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Well, you have to run really fast to get out of the 'everything is vaporized' radius to the 'instantly lethal' radius. This is one of those things where it would take a miracle for him to not be dead. The Court was VERY sure that he was at his current location, and no matter how good your spy network is, they're not going to get to you in the five minutes between the when the strike is ordered, and when the shot lands, especially if the order comes from ZO itself.
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I guess...future will show. But you are right. Such strike was persumably based on his real physical location...
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Art's dead, ut the bigger question was always this: If he's dead, what happened to his money?
No one's ever followed up on that one, to my knowledge, but, woo buddy, if you're a GM and need a nice arc for a group, that one's a low-hanging fruit, isn't it?
(It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Matrix, and Art buried his money under a giant 'W' ... go!)
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Right. At least some of it would be in some chaches in arts pieces, artifacts and other resistent valuables...
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Whatever makes you think that?
Art was spending every last red cent on screwing Villiers over, with the sort of focus only a lunatic can bring to the operation. Everything he had was in some way dedicated to the task. Wealth would not have been in the form of art of any type; everything would have been in cash, easily-liquidated assets, stuff you could acquire electronically and then sell electronically for a profit - in order to buy out suppliers, source shadowruns, lean on clients, all that sort of thing. The only reason that a piece of art might have been purchased would have been if he needed it to bribe someone.
My personal favorite treatment of the latter is in the Robert A. Heinlein short story "--We Also Walk Dogs", in which a priceless Ming Dynasty teacup is acquired for a scientist to bribe him into working on a problem.
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I'm not sure that the Draco Foundation wouldn't have found some way to reclaim that unspent fortune, what was left of it anyway. I do need to talk to some people about possibilities for that...hmmmmm....
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Whatever makes you think that?
Art was spending every last red cent on screwing Villiers over, with the sort of focus only a lunatic can bring to the operation. Everything he had was in some way dedicated to the task. Wealth would not have been in the form of art of any type; everything would have been in cash, easily-liquidated assets, stuff you could acquire electronically and then sell electronically for a profit - in order to buy out suppliers, source shadowruns, lean on clients, all that sort of thing. The only reason that a piece of art might have been purchased would have been if he needed it to bribe someone.
My personal favorite treatment of the latter is in the Robert A. Heinlein short story "--We Also Walk Dogs", in which a priceless Ming Dynasty teacup is acquired for a scientist to bribe him into working on a problem.
Well in that case Id say it may be as good as gone forever, since Crash follows right after...or during...this episode, if I understand it right...
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I'm not sure that the Draco Foundation wouldn't have found some way to reclaim that unspent fortune, what was left of it anyway. I do need to talk to some people about possibilities for that...hmmmmm....
Or Arty is working for them now...
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or them selling Artys location to CC after he has done what he was supposed to do
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or them selling Artys location to CC after he has done what he was supposed to do
A person that's able to counter the abilities of AAA-Level Corporations by market manipulation?
That's a WMD against the Corporate Court... You don't just "Get Rid" of something like that.
You keep it in a remote location that is COMPLETELY deniable to you. He probably thinks he's working for Neo-Anarchists or something.
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ehh...that "marketing" word just rang the bell
Horizon...
just wild speculation...but is it possible that Art is somehow involved in Consensus algorithm creation? Because no matter what...that algorithm was probably there before Horizon become even A rated company...it was a foundation stone for Horizon...who is its father? Who had the knowledge and resources to create something like this?
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ehh...that "marketing" word just rang the bell
Horizon...
just wild speculation...but is it possible that Art is somehow involved in Consensus algorithm creation? Because no matter what...that algorithm was probably there before Horizon become even A rated company...it was a foundation stone for Horizon...who is its father? Who had the knowledge and resources to create something like this?
This makes more sense than anything else, actually.
And he's now practicing on taking out AAAs with AZT! Who better than the former master of the spin and marketing?
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I don't think Art is being hidden away somewhere by the DF. He's too toxic. If even one whisper of his existence got out, the Corporate Court would come down on them like a ton of bricks.
Now here's an idea. Just how did Horizon jump up to AAA status all of a sudden? Perhaps someone traded Art's location for a seat at the big table...
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Well if Art considered himself to be just a toll of revenge, a weapon of retribution on AAA`s, it might as well be Art himself, after he reaches some kind of milestone in his agenda...from what I heard so far, he is not a dragon, well was almost as agile as one of them when challenging Corporate Court. Lets assume he has got a plan within a plan...
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The problem isn't so much as to force people to choose the path that will lead to your victory, it's to make all paths available to them lead to your victory.
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Especially when the people you are talking about are the clever corporate types like Richard Villiers.
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Especially when the people you are talking about are the clever corporate types like Richard Villiers.
There's a reason he's jumped ship at just the right time and renamed his company how many times?
But I was thinking Lofwyr when I wrote that. ;D
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ehh...that "marketing" word just rang the bell
Horizon...
just wild speculation...but is it possible that Art is somehow involved in Consensus algorithm creation? Because no matter what...that algorithm was probably there before Horizon become even A rated company...it was a foundation stone for Horizon...who is its father? Who had the knowledge and resources to create something like this?
What makes you think that the Concensus is an algorithm?
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In fact, I didnt finished readin Twilight Horizon yet, but it seems to me, that Horizon is some kind of public opinion survey tool that, based on inputs from all Horizon employes, defines further actions and targets of the company. And if it is some kind of data processing, there is algorithm behind it, no matter if it is expert system or AI. IMO.
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I think Wakshaani, and this is only my guess, is refering to all those discussions on what else the Consensus could be. You know, that living Meme stuff, or a spirit or a thought form or whatever else you can imagine. Belief given form. Or it could be Deus or another AI or Big D or anything.
Or an online survey.
There was a long thread on it, but I cannot remember which one it was...
Though it could be an AI... I suspect it is not.
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Undertood....my vote is on that living meme, but even this may follow some pattern/algorithm, if created intentionaly...
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Yeah, sorry, was just waving the "It could be a lot of other things" flag. I'm always curious to see what other people think. :)
Otherwise, thank you for purchasing Twilight Horizon! I only did a single chapter, but, it's my first-ever professional work. I hope you enjoy it!
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Sometimes its hard to imagine the Seattle or Denver, since we know it just from pictures and movies here in CR, well everyon at the table had drect experience wit New Vegas, so it realy rise an interrest in playing game there. just as we finish Artifacts campaign, ill give them a chance (or during downtime between Artifacts :) ) Nice setting book and good work from everyone. Sometimes the story feels a bit forced, but like I said, I hadnt even finished it yet.
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The Consensus analysis system ... mmmm. Clearly you people need to go back and read the UB handout again.
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Sometimes its hard to imagine the Seattle or Denver, since we know it just from pictures and movies here in CR, well everyon at the table had drect experience wit New Vegas, so it realy rise an interrest in playing game there. just as we finish Artifacts campaign, ill give them a chance (or during downtime between Artifacts :) ) Nice setting book and good work from everyone. Sometimes the story feels a bit forced, but like I said, I hadnt even finished it yet.
We get that as well. In Australia, our biggest city in just 3.5 million (and its mostly spreadout and fairly flat and suburbian. I play in Canberra which has a whopping population of 300,000 and maybe less then a dozen buildings higher then 3 stories.
I've been to Toyko, Sapporo, Hong Kong, and Beijing, so I can picture these cities of the future better, but most my players have never left Australia, with its small, clean cities. So we must rely on hollliwood to provide inspiration and atmosphere for the game...
The tough bit is when books assume that we know what they are talking about re: locations in america. Sometimes I need to look things up a fair bit. It would be great to get more atmospheric descriptions of locations, for example the barrens, or the big city etc.
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A dream of mine is, one day, to gather up a crew and go out and about in a few cities (Detroit, New York, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta) and take a gajillion pictures of both the bright and shiny parts, which are easy to find pictures of, and the icky downtrodden parts, which are way, way harder to find.
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A dream of mine is, one day, to gather up a crew and go out and about in a few cities (Detroit, New York, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta) and take a gajillion pictures of both the bright and shiny parts, which are easy to find pictures of, and the icky downtrodden parts, which are way, way harder to find.
I just spent 3 weeks in Chine (2 in Beijing) and I was thinking the same thing when I was there. But alas, by GF did not understand why I wanted to take photos on the... um... less touristing aspects on the city. But for me, it was like I was looking at a version of the barrens (with less gangs perhaps...)
"Beijing... is like living in a dusty globe. The sky above is a constant grey haze, no clouds, no stars, no sun or moon. The air is hot and humid and thick. Within hours of arriving, your throat will begin to ich and then burn from the dusty poluted air. Everywhere you go are endless buildings, and endless crowds of people. The constant noise, the constant people pushing against you can be draining. On a hot day, your shirt will become wet with the sweat and grime of the people around you. As you walk down the street, you must make your way past the the street vendors, selling hot food, fresh fruit and various grey/black market goods. Among them are the beggers, men and women barely alive, starving and diseased, crying out for help and ignored in the most part by the living city around them. When in Beijing, you can travel a hour in any direction and still be surrounded by tall modern building and endless apartment buildings. Modern corporate headquarters sit surrounded by decaying tenaments. Corporate workers mingle with labourers from the rural provinces. Designer brands sell t-shirts for 20,000 RMB, accross the road you can buy a knock-off for 20 rmb. Poverty and wealth, endless buildings, heaving crowds. Welcome to Beijing!"
I actually like Beijing and China in general, but damn if it isnt dramatically different from Australia... :)