There is a class of creature, frequently studied alongside arthropods, called a nematode. It is a sort of worm, generically known as a roundworm.

They are frequently parasites, of vertebrates and invertebrates alike.

What might a shaman of such a creature's spiritual face seem like?

Rather than the traumatic alteration into the physical hybrids of the insect shamans, perhaps the possession starts slowly, and gradually takes over more and more of the host's spiritual side until the humanity falls away, superfluous, and the manifest spirits breed and leave a nest of eggs which the shaman can use for more possessions, each of which gradually increases the shaman's power until the shaman's flesh, too, becomes mere food for more spirits.

Anyone have any thoughts on their lifecycle and statistics?

Aaron Webb was a regular guy. Watched urban brawl with his buds while sucking down whatever booze was around. Went on some dates, just like anyone, did market analysis like everyone in his office, but never told anybody about the dreams.

Every night he dreamed about the pale things, pulsing and growing fat in the moist darkness. Safe and warm and protected they were, and he envied them. He wanted what they had, and every day he grew a little wistful when he had to file another report and deal with the scorn of the manager who was terrified Aaron would take his job.

Then, hard to say how it happened. Maybe he wished upon the right star. Maybe it reached out and touched him, or maybe he let it all inside, but he could see himself as a being inside the body of humanity, slowly sipping on its sustenance, able to take the eggs from the other side, and bring them here.

The first was the easiest. He slipped it into her soykaf with a gesture and a whisper of ritual, and she swallowed it down without a murmur. It took a while, a few days, but then he heard the new larva inside her answering him, and he knew that he could do this again, and again. Not everyone would take this as easily, but that didn't matter.

The bunraku girl was a bad choice. Her implants wrestled with the egg, and she died. But there were others. The old squatter screamed and roared when they tasered him, held him down, stabbed his buttock and pushed the egg into his flesh, but it worked.

One by one, they gathered more, while the first shells decayed. Aaron sometimes feels a little nauseous, but he tells himself, the worm tells him that he has the strength to bear it. And at least he's protected, surrounded by the flesh of the people around him.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

I was thinking the same thing "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming" I can imagine once the parasites have enough biomass they form together into more and more horrid forms. Of course being from a far dimension they need to bring a bit of there own reality with them (Mana Domains and if you get a beastie big enough mayube a Mana Warp) If you are running Earthdawn carryovers it could be something higher on the food chain than a Horror. How do you corrupt something that drives you nuts and is more psychotic than you?

-LZ

What I really like about the idea is the slow development. It gives the players time to catch up to the idea, feel their way through it, realise just how horrible the potential, is, defeat it ...

... and then look around at each other and ask themselves how many others are still in incubation phase, walking around looking like everybody else.

I'd say basically using the same rules as Inhabitation, but you start in Flesh form and slowly progress to True form or Hybrid form, as the little spirit gains Essence/Force from absorbing that of the host.

Do you one better?
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...t&p=1270880

I dunno... "Cthulhu devours 1d6 runners per combat turn" would be a pretty badass TPK. Also, who doesn't want to see a fight between a great old one and a battlemech (Rigger 4 had stats for one...)

You are evil.

you only just noticed?

Admittedly, it all depends on the group, and I tend to tailor big threats to the nature of the group, but as a general rule I like (meta)human opponents, because of the implication that in the end the players will have to deal with longer term social consequences. If they've just had fun squishing lots and lots of insect spirits, cockatrices, basilisks or other similar nasties, beyond a certain level Joe and Jane Soykaf just won't care what the characters did - or might even consider them heroes for humanity. If they burned down a factory and put two thousand folks out of work, they'd be lucky to escape lynching.

Some of the best play works out to when the players finish a hectic battle to the death, and instead of cheers and high fives, they look around and ask themselves what they have done.

*bows* at your service =^.^=

I'd actually like the bronies crap because it would mean I finally get to shoot the ************ out of those stupid things.

It's a weird tangent, but it fits in my little warped mind. The horse was infected with the parasite. Not enough so that the parasite took over yet. The horse was shot. (I enjoy shooting my little ponies as well) In an age where soy is standard horseflesh is probably quality burger meat. Characters ingest it at a meet or a night on the town or whatever. (If you have a problem feeding this to them and they are not vegans shame on you as a GM) Not only are they infected, so was everyone else who ate at the restaurant that week. The authorities are not doing anything because they don't believe and or don't want to start a panic. The characters know what all these parasites are going to start eating folks faces off or whatever How do you deal with so many infected people in an area, and how many areas have the infection? For another twist, only people who ate a red meat dish got hit with this, so if you ordered whatever passes for seafood there you are fine. (Considering several Lovecraftian monsters are water based is where the irony comes in) Just running with this idea feel free to jump off at any exit you like.

-LZ

I'd say that we've already got what, three (Shedim/Bugs/whatever the fuck ate FastJack) possession/body horror villains already, what would we need more for? It's getting kind of absurd.

Come up with something new, for pete's sake, not another rehash of the literally 20 year old Universal Brotherhood story.

oh i know!
i know!
Dragons . . no, wait . .
AI's! . . no, wait . .
Corporations! . . no, wait . .
Racists! . . no, wait . .
Aztlan! . . no, wait . .


ALIENS! . . see spirits . .

Unironically : Gangers.


My personal preference would be go-gangers who've gotten a kamikaze habit.

Gangers are not threats.
If GANGERS of all People start becoming a global Threat, then something is off indeed.
First and Foremost, Lone-Star and Knight Errant and all other such Security Corps get shamed into bancruptcy.

Before gangers, I'd suggest political movements.

In a way, so is humanis, but this can be motivated by other factors. There is a lot of disaffection in the Shadowrun universe - maybe even more than in the real one.

Consider recent activities in Thailand, all over the Middle East, in Ukraine, various parts of Africa ... go nuts. Nothing like a good revolution who believe every word their puppetmasters told them about everyone else.

[img]http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/1541206/Cthulhu/[/img]

When in doubt go all out! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

-LZ

You know what would be a good new threat... A technological one. For example, Deus is able to reconstitute and basically starts taking things over a-la Borg. Self-replicating nanites that make people and animals into biodrones.

A Grey-Goo-Scenario?
Isn't there already a Nano-Panic going on?

And how would that be new anyway Neraph?
That was basically exactly what deus did in the Renraku Arcology Shutdown.

Actually, an XK-Red-27 Scenario...

A tech threat is nice, but AIs are old hat now.



Isn't this mystery virus a tech threat anyway?

I think that there has been enough of the "Big Bad" threats. Not every Shadowrun has to have a Big Bad. The corps are bad enough and if you want to screw with the players then do something crazy. Have Aztechnology* pull some serious shit, but have a group that is normally a Bad Guy (Toxic or Bugs) fighting them. Aztec is futzing around with Blood Magic, and they've made mana voids, so play with that. I know this is a Big Bad, but it's closer to home and is a logical progression for Aztec.

I can even see this happen if you go the Bug route: "Yeah, normally you would be trying to kill us, and we would most certainly be killing you, but if we don't stop them then the whole world turns to shit! You want the world to be around because you live here. We want the world to be here because we want to take over."

Then you can have the "allies" stab each other in the back.

* == You don't have to have Aztec... you can substitute whatever Mega you want.