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Posted by: Mr. Mage Apr 22 2011, 05:10 AM

So this may have already been gone over in a previous thread, but I couldn't find it. I am looking for more information on horrors. I realize that they are more of a story tool and don't really have too much in the way of game mechanics dedicated towards them, but anything like suggestions to source material to fiction about them would be helpful.

If you want to know why I want some info:
My next run has to do with the Runners being hired to acquire an artifact from a cult that is operating up in Massachusetts (wink wink) but unfortunately arrive at the tail end of some ritual. The artifact causes a mana spike capable of allowing at least part of a Horror through to our plane of existence. Think the end of Borderlands...or various stories by good ol' H.P.

Of course, from there it is entirely up to the players, though nothing that will drastically change the rest of the game-world (as in if the Runners can't stop it, Deus Ex Machina to the rescue).

I am looking for more source material on Horrors mostly so I can either get some inspiration or see if something else would fit into the SR lore better than this.

Thanks!

Posted by: CanRay Apr 22 2011, 05:15 AM

I always figured them as "Things Man Wasn't Meant To Know", and, thus, "Things GM's Weren't Meant To Stat".

They thrive on suffering, pain, agony, and all those other wonderful fun things.

I suggest GMing "Deadlands: Hell On Earth" for a bit. You might get some ideas that way.

Posted by: James McMurray Apr 22 2011, 05:16 AM

The best place to get info on Horrors is the Earthdawn RPG. In SR they've usually been just whispers and rumors.

Posted by: CanRay Apr 22 2011, 05:16 AM

And a dead Dunkie.

Posted by: Medicineman Apr 22 2011, 05:19 AM

(as in if the Runners can't stop it, Deus Ex Machina to the rescue).
That should be the Ghost of Dunkelzahn
He Guards the mystic Walls to the Fiend/The Horror that Lurks out there
You should read about him in the Wikipedia

He who dances on Top of mystic Walls
Medicineman

Posted by: phlapjack77 Apr 22 2011, 05:19 AM

I've seen people on this board suggest that the Shedim are Horrors, or at least proto-Horrors, so that could be a starting point

Posted by: CanRay Apr 22 2011, 05:21 AM

Posers at best. They're like Twilight Vampires compared to HMHVV Vampires.

Posted by: Medicineman Apr 22 2011, 05:21 AM

They are !

Hough!
Medicineman

Posted by: phlapjack77 Apr 22 2011, 05:30 AM

Hater! Why can't you just leave Twilight alone?!? <runs away crying>


As I'm in the "love ED / SR crossover stuff" camp, I'm glad to see it. Just haven't been in a game where it really came up...

Posted by: Medicineman Apr 22 2011, 05:40 AM

they should be Tougher if played right by the GM
They're possessing Spirits with ItnW, augmented Attributes etc and dozens of them should be a real Danger....

with a sparkling Dance
Medicineman

Posted by: Epicedion Apr 22 2011, 05:57 AM

Based on the last point in the storyline where Horrors were potentially an issue, I think that with Dunkelzahn's interference the Horrors are still supposed to be a few thousand years away from showing up (I'm looking at you, Aztechnology). This would explain a general dearth of information on them.

Basically, a Horror can be anything you want it to be. Even in Earthdawn, there's no really set criteria for what a Horror is, so long as it's, well, really really really really really really evil and nasty. Way nastier than the Shedim and the bug spirits.

Above all, I'd stress that whatever the result of the group's encounter, it should not end with "ha ha, we kicked its ass back to its home dimension, we rock." Heavy drinking should be encouraged.

Posted by: Blade Apr 22 2011, 08:37 AM

To me the first Horrors in Shadowrun are the Shadow Spirits described in the Magical Threats chapter of Street Magic.

Posted by: Grinder Apr 22 2011, 11:18 AM

Yup. Check out "Horrors", one of the best RPG supplements ever written and full of information on Horrors related to ED and SR. But keep in mind that the mana level of the 6th World is generally not high enough to support the existence of major Horrors.

Posted by: Snow_Fox Apr 22 2011, 11:39 AM

play with it. We've done Lovecrafting messes, they don't have to be the horrors, what there's only one type of nasty out there? but play with it, do what you like, make stuff up, you can't get it 'wrong' since they're not documented. The trick is don't just trot out some fleshy tank. Lovecraft was creepy becasue the protagonist doesn't know what's going on, there are surprises and by the time the story unfolds, it's too late to turn back.

Posted by: Faelan Apr 22 2011, 12:18 PM

Earthdawn 3rd edition Gamemaster's Guide, and the Gamemaster's Companion have extensive information on Horror's, both the garden variety and the major mojo named variety. For Shadowrun stats using Insect Spirits and Shedim are a good start for designing your own Horrors. A Queen Mother would be comparable to a major named horror. Reading through the Horror sections in those two books should give you plenty of ideas on the power level and where to start designing your own beasts of mass destruction, or rather personal destruction.

Posted by: nezumi Apr 22 2011, 01:15 PM

Definitely check out Horrors. A GREAT book to read, even if you're just enjoying it as fiction.

Horrors come in two broad flavors; mooks and masters. Mooks are like a 'species', ranging from giant, six-armed gorillas, gobbly monsters, diseases, skeletons and so on. Your master monsters are individual, named creatures with specific powers and tastes that do the really scary stuff. Frankly, using horrors is a free card to make up whatever sort of monster you like, no holds barred.

You may also wish to check out the 'will we beatt the horrors' thread, since we discussed them in depth. Upon successfully reading the entire thread, you will truly have peered into the depth of madness that is the horrors.

Posted by: Mr. Mage Apr 22 2011, 05:09 PM

Yea... I realized that, which is why I figured some ritual that temporarily causes a huge localized mana spike might have to be involved somewhere.

You were all very helpful. I'll have to check out that Earthdawn book at some point.

Posted by: nezumi Apr 22 2011, 06:55 PM

I crashed my PCs into it by saying the horror realized, as the magic levels dropped, he would need to protect himself or be cast out. So he forced some thaumaturgists to create an artifact which would sustain an artificial bubble of magic, and bind the horror to it (so even if the horror died, it would return to the bubble). The craftsman had no choice to comply, but got his revenge by fixing the artifact to a location in space. The horror was now trapped - it was bound to the bubble, so couldn't leave, and the bubble was fixed in space, so it couldn't move. Geological time buried the bubble, so the horror was trapped beneath a mountain, only able to influence the world through tugging the strings of mortals living above.

The magic of the world is high enough now for it to survive outside - if it can escape.

Posted by: Sixgun_Sage Apr 23 2011, 01:26 PM

I'm using that, nezumi.