He certainly feels like that whenever someone mentions him. It could be that I've just seen those ten years in an awfully compressed form, but this dragon just arrives at the scene, claims a metahuman city as his "sovereign territory", and proceeds to eat anyone who displeases him. Any mention of him from that point on, even by other overly powerful NPCs, basically boils down to "don't displease Ghostwalker or he'll eat you".
The same can be said of any dragon. Or any megacorp CEO. Or any national leader. Or any underworld boss. Not the eating part, usually, but still, if you displease the powerful forces in the world, they can (and will) bring the hammer down on you. I think maybe you're fixating a little too heavily on Ghostwalker, which is keeping you from seeing that this is how most power players in the Sixth (or any) World act. Do you think that doing something to personally raise the ire of Damien Knight is going to be good for your health? Of course not.
Most of the other dragons are a little more integrated in society - those who behave similarly to Ghostwalker are reviled and have to actually hide from mortal retribution, powerful as they may be. Ghostwalker seems to just get away with his despotic shenanigans.
That's because of where he is and who he picks on. Look at Denver, back during the Year of the Comet. You have six countries sharing one sprawl. The UCAS doesn't like any of the others, and certainly doesn't trust them. The CAS hates Aztlan with a passion. Aztlan is scheming how to screw everyone. The PCC hates Aztlan, and doesn't trust the Sioux. The Ute is just plain screwed up. The Sioux thinks anyone who isn't Sioux is out to get them. The city has been the main point of friction since the end of the Ghost Dance war. Everyone knows that if war ever breaks out between the national powers, then Denver is going to be where it happens.
Then, in the middle of a year with the Orichalcum Rush, the Shedim, SURGE, the Probe race, and all the insanity that went along with it, out comes Ghostwalker from the rift, picks up his body, and proceeds to go house on Denver (focusing mainly on Aztlan and S-K). Why doesn't someone use orbital lasers or fighter jets against him, like they did with Alamaise and Feurschwinge? Because there isn't supposed to be a military presence in the Treaty city. The Azzies wanted to bring troops in, but the PCC and others told them it would be an act of war. The military they'd already stashed in Denver tried fighting, but the other countries started talking about treaty violations. Then Ghostwalker shows up at the Council of Denver, and you can see that he's made a deal with all the countries except Aztlan. He gets to rule Denver, which none of the treaty nations particularly cared about doing, so long as their rivals didn't get to do it, and they get to poke Aztlan in the eye, which always makes people happy.
You never get any variety when it comes to Ghostwalker - every time I've seen him mentioned, it's always a description of how "badass" he is, how he stares down whole military task forces, and how everyone and their mother is afraid of even thinking of going up against him in any way. I'll grant that it may not fit the definition of "Mary Sue", but still, he's this huge invincible dragon without an ounce of real personality beyond "grim and determined". That gets boring quickly. If Praxis is any indication, if Ghostwalker ever shows up in your campaign it's cutscene time, complete with at least one sentence about how the poor runners are out of their league and might as well either bend knee and obey, or roll over and die. Are there any adventures where PCs can pull one over on him?
That's the reaction most people have to great dragons, Bira. These are huge creatures of myth and legend, with awesome physical power, an intellect the product of millenia of study, and magical firepower that no single person could hope to match. The right and proper response of everyone who doesn't have a death wish is "Don't screw over a dragon."
Ask people in the outskirts of Tehran about whether you should piss off Aden. Ask the people in Frankfurt what happens when Lofwyr decides to take a fight to someone in person. When you personally get on a dragon's bad side, BAD THINGS
tm happen. Read one of the pieces of fiction in the SR4A book. A dragon sics MCT on a runner team because one guy slept with one of his adopted daughters, not knowing who she was.
But yes, you can run in his domain, and not get thrashed. You can even do a run against him, and not get eaten, if you're good enough. Why? Because unless you do something to personally raise Ghostwalker's ire, he's going to ignore you like the pawn you are, and go after your masters.
At least with Lofwyr (the other big dragon who's angry all the time) you get some more color, and a sense that his schemes can be thwarted. You can expect to run against S-K and live to enjoy the money. At least, you do if you ignore that one bit of authorial gushing back in Threats 1 or 2 that said Lofwyr was always twenty steps ahead of everyone else, and if it seemed like you succeeded it was because he wanted you to think that. That's also boring.
That isn't just in Threats 1 and 2. Lofwyr is ALWAYS the wheels within wheels kind of guy. He is the Doctor Doom of the Shadowrun world. Even when you foil one plot, that advances three others. And, like Ghostwalker, Lofwyr usually doesn't interest himself in pawns, unless they make themselves particularly troublesome, or go out of their way to insult him. He goes after the masters, and his vengeance is subtle and brutal.
Why? Because he's a dragon, and that's what dragons do.
From what you've said, Bira, I think your problem isn't actually with Ghostwalker or the other immortals in SR. Your problem is that you don't like the fact that there's really no way a PC can get to the same level of personal power as a creature who has lived for thousands of years.
