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Posted by: Aku Jul 16 2011, 11:29 PM

Where theres an established meta variant in RC? For instance, RC lists Ork variants for the middle east, Mediterranean, European, and Japanese. Is it safe to assume that, in their respective areas, they make up the majority of the regions meta humanity? or are they still a variant of the parent race?

Posted by: HunterHerne Jul 16 2011, 11:43 PM

Variants. They are not the majority, except in very few places. And I can't think of where those places are off the top of my head.

Posted by: Aku Jul 16 2011, 11:51 PM

well, for instance rc says the following:

just as a few examples...

Posted by: Stahlseele Jul 17 2011, 12:01 AM

Giants, North European/Scandinavian Troll-Meta-Variant.
Cyclops and Minotaur, both Greek. Fomori are Irish.
Satyrs are, i think, spanish/italian or something like that.
Oni are asian orks. Or Japanese Orks, to be more precise.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 12:03 AM

Giant Death Metal Groups tend not to be mobbed by fans.

Posted by: Aku Jul 17 2011, 12:09 AM

So, are you advocating that for a variant that has a listed region,they are the dominate species for that area, for their species?In other words, are there fewer "orks" in japan then Oni?

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 12:22 AM

Considering the draconian nature that the Japanese had on the Goblinized peoples, they're both in a major minority. They were sent to a drekhole of a island, IIRC... And having one in the family was proof of "Tainted Blood" and a major loss of face.

Posted by: HunterHerne Jul 17 2011, 12:29 AM

But, the Oni would be fewer then the baseline Orks. Keep in mind that SURGE and the additional variants only appeared in 2061, just over a decade ago.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 12:30 AM

Furries of the Sixth World, Unite!!!

Posted by: Stahlseele Jul 17 2011, 12:49 AM

Why not, if it fits your view of the world . . .


Yomi. Name of the Island. Basically, the japanese Auschwitz but for Metahumans. Yomi is the japanese name for the Underworld and was used for a reason.

Posted by: Blitz66 Jul 17 2011, 01:17 AM

I believe the RC describes this for most variants, even if it is in very broad strokes. The variants, if I recall, are a minority even among the source race in the region they're from, with few exceptions. I think the best number a variant has is around half of the source race, in one instance. Can't recall the variant, race, or region, though, and I don't have access to my books, so I could be mistaken. Mind you, this struck me as something you could easily, seamlessly change to fit your preferences. Probably would increase the percentages for my own use, for a more profound regional/ethnic feel.

Posted by: Aku Jul 17 2011, 01:21 AM

@Blitz Thats sorta how i viewed it. If you're going to claim that a variant is "from" a certain region, you'd think thatthey'd be the dominate version in that region... I guess a good example might be the polar bear... they're polar bears because well, thats where they live, and they're the majority bear in those regions (i believe brown and black bears also roam on the outskirts, at least but not in the numbers that the polar bear is)

Posted by: HunterHerne Jul 17 2011, 01:48 AM

I believe Cyclopes are actually more common in Greece then baseline Trolls. And Fomori in the UK. But, Trolls are rare enough already.

Polar bears are also extinct in the SR fluff. At least, in the wild. I recall reading that Evo is trying to re-introduce them, but then there are bigger things up there now... like a few dragons.

Posted by: Blitz66 Jul 17 2011, 01:51 AM

I can follow the official justification. These new races are new, and haven't had time to come to regional prominence. Plus, as variants on base populations, it makes sense that small percentages changed to the new subraces. Polar bears didn't go from nonexistent to regionally dominant in ten years either. But if you want to play with subraces among the general populace, with NPCs to showcase them, you have to boost numbers, logical or no. Metavariants as-is are rare enough that most runners in most games will never see one, which is a waste if you like them in the setting.

Posted by: Starglyte Jul 17 2011, 01:56 AM

The RC usually tells you if the variant is dominant in the region. For example, it says on page 51 that the Oni is the dominant Orc in Japan. The Satry is dominant in Greece, Orks are dominant in Europe but the Ogres and Hobgoblins have large populations.

Posted by: Glyph Jul 17 2011, 04:25 AM

The good thing about the old U.S. being a melting pot is that you can justify nearly any metatype being born locally, rather than having to explain why So-and-so the haruman left his native India to head to Seattle (although you still have that option if you want it).

Posted by: ggodo Jul 17 2011, 04:31 AM

And that's the best part of Seattle as a setting, everything fits!

That and half my players are from there.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 05:37 AM

And don't forget Multicultural Canada. Just as much as the US, with even more of the original culture and language (Heavily corrupted admittedly) included.

That Minotaur that just cursed at you in Greek? He's actually from Toronto. Nice guy, his family runs a company that washes windows.

Posted by: HunterHerne Jul 17 2011, 12:00 PM

That is very true. Especially in Ontario and BC. The BC part of that may be different with the NAN control in SR, but I`m guessing not so much.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 03:00 PM

Well, the NAN had a very loose definition of "Native American", which included anyone with even a touch of Hispanic blood for example, so there's a good chance Vancouver is still a massive pot of multiple peoples at the very least.

Winnipeg is the same way, I literally lose count of the number of languages I hear walking down the street downtown, and I can count pretty high.

Oh, and Sthal, sorry for the lateness, but thank you, Yomi Island was indeed what I was thinking of!

Posted by: Grinchy McScrooge Jul 17 2011, 03:15 PM

The Salish-Sidhe originally disenfranchised the non-Natives, but eventually allowed metahumans to settle there and form there own "pinkskin" tribes. Hence the large ork tribe in Northern BC.

As for Toronto, I'm still in the midst of trying to write up my Target: Toronto, especially since Attitude completely ignored it, but it's safe to say that if it's a race or culture, that there will definitely be at least a representative minority population (e.g. meta-variants, criminal syndicates, religious beliefs, magical tradition, etc).

Posted by: Aku Jul 17 2011, 03:20 PM

Well, the original impetus of this question is that I'm making a mage, and i was looking at some of the religious backgrounds for my tradition. Unfortunately for me, all the religions use intuition, and all of the races with mideast/asian variants, have a negative for intuition, except monkey dwarf, which is just too weird for my taste.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 03:27 PM

I loves me the Cascade Orks.

Large cities in what's left of Canada and the US probably were filled to overflowing with displaced "Anglos" after the NAN did the Texas Two-Step Ghost Dance all over the place. "Go back to where you came from!" "Plymouth Rock landed on me! This is where I came from!"

Posted by: Grinchy McScrooge Jul 17 2011, 03:42 PM

Thanks! For some reason, couldn't remember Cascade Orks, even though I've spent the last week reading up on Salish-Sidhe, as I was building a character for my wife from there. I blame lack of coffee. *facepalm*

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 04:00 PM

I love that they built their own T-Bird design, even if I have to come up with different fluff reasons as to why it went into production officially at least...

Posted by: HunterHerne Jul 17 2011, 05:33 PM

So? You don't need a maxed stat to be an interesting character, and the drop is only by one point (as far as I rememeber). If it bothers you too much, buy the attribute enhancing geneware.

And, yeah, The Harumen Dwarves are a funny thing. Once built a team of out there assassins for potential use and linked them to the Triads. One was a Haruman that hung in corners to snipe people...

Posted by: pbangarth Jul 17 2011, 05:37 PM

I'd be interested in seeing that write-up!

Posted by: Aku Jul 17 2011, 05:57 PM

Well, as I thought about it a bit, i decided i didnt want to do any disservice to any particular religion, not being particularly religious myself...

Posted by: Grinchy McScrooge Jul 17 2011, 06:14 PM

I've posted some of my initial notes http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=31225&st=60&p=1088276&#entry1088276.

Posted by: pbangarth Jul 17 2011, 06:49 PM

Yes, I saw that. Nice touch ... "Scarberian Barrens".

Posted by: Grinchy McScrooge Jul 17 2011, 07:59 PM

I grew up in the West End of Toronto, so I may be a little biased

Posted by: hermit Jul 18 2011, 07:25 AM

Lots of Ogres in Europe (they make up somewhre between half and 80% of the orc population according to PAoE). Hobgoblins and Oni are the dominant orc type in their respective areas, as are Formori the dominant troll expression on the British isles (according to SRcomp), Koborukuru and Menehune also are the dominant dwarf type on Hawaii and the japanese islands respectively (I wonder if there's a mix of them at Okinawa).

All other Metavariants are rarities even where they are located.

Posted by: EKBT81 Jul 18 2011, 10:46 AM

However, this is contradicted by Runner's Companion, p.50:

Posted by: pbangarth Jul 18 2011, 05:09 PM

Of the various suggested origins of this word, ogre, I prefer the one that says it comes from the old French for my ancestors, les Hongrois. Murdering, pillaging steppe nomads, the Hungarians swept into Europe a thousand years ago and terrorized the continent for over 50 years till a strong German army convinced them to settle down and be nice.

Ah, the good old days. Where have they gone?