 surviveing Kaers, are there any? |
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 Apr 12 2007, 11:00 PM
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#26
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Shooting Target  Group: Retired Admins Posts: 1,784 Joined: 28-July 04 From: Cleveland, OH Member No.: 6,522  |
While that is, strictly speaking, true, inbred populations are absolutely fantastic for identifying genetic defects. Even populations that are just a couple of hundred years old tend to have extremely high instances of at least one interesting inbred trait. In many modern inbred populations, there's also excellent tracking information from family trees. (e.g. Communities isolated for religious reasons will often have very detailed family histories in the family Bible.) The combination of a limited population and a solid family history makes things so much easier for genetic analysis. In this environment, mapping the gene of interest becomes rather dramatically easier. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any established inbred populations of humans that do not have a detrimental gene associated with them. OTOH, I've got a bit of a sampling bias, in that I'm generally familiar with them because of the cool recessive trait that we were looking at in the population. :P
I think there'd almost have to be one, but it probably has not been identified. (Only 2-3 generations) There's also the fact that, in all probability, there was an increased survivorship amongst the affluent due to better medical care. So, while the mutation might be more common amongst economically depressed populations, those populations would also be much less likely to have their DNA tested to identify such a resistance factor. There's also the fact to consider that as medical care has improved, the viability of individuals with recessive diseases has increased. From the perspective of Shadowrun, that means that the frequency of diseases like diabetes and cystic fibrosis is probably more common than they are in the world today. However, the consequences of living with these diseases would be much lower. (Essentially, there'd be pharmaceuticals to address the issues.) Then again, with effective gene therapy, all of this could go out the window. ;)
Like The Greenbriar? |
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Apr 13 2007, 01:50 AM
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#27
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,382 Joined: 22-February 06 From: Shadowland Member No.: 8,297 |
Greenbriar is awesome ... in a twisted sort of way.
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Apr 13 2007, 04:55 AM
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#28
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
How would a kaer survive through the down cycle though? The food source was grown by artificial light. If the kaer was completely sealed, where do they get new air from without magic? I'd think it's have to be something like a city in a bottle on a plane or something. Either that, or just a dead kaer.
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Apr 13 2007, 06:12 AM
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#29
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: 21-December 06 Member No.: 10,416 |
Once the Mana level dropped sufficiently, the kaers wouldn't be needed anymore. They were sort of like a life raft only needed as long as the Horrors were around. In the real world, there are caves and tunnels made by humans that are thousands of years old. It is feasible that the kaers, built with magic and good engineering skills, could have held up for 7,000 years or so. The carvings and plasterwork might not be in the best of shape, but most of the tunnels and structures could be.
Losing magic and all for life support wouldn't matter once the Horrors were gone. Most people would move back outside, and everyone would once magic faded completely. That's probably how they ended up getting lost. It doesn't take any time at all for things to fade from memory. I've been restoring the old home place, a little village with only a few structures left. With near catastrophic results, we have discovered 3 wells that no one knew were there, the deepest being over 50 feet deep. Since at one time there were 80 families in the area, there is no telling how many more are out there or where they are. One olf man knew where some where, but these finds have been in addition to those. So, if the locations of all these wells and even the locations of the houses have been lost in a mere generation, a kaer could easily be lost after 5,000 years. |
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Apr 13 2007, 07:35 AM
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#30
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
Something is odd within your post, but I can't lay my finger on it somehow. |
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Apr 13 2007, 08:14 AM
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#31
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: 21-December 06 Member No.: 10,416 |
Perhaps the years mentioned? The Kaers would have been built over 7,000 years ago prior to the arrival of the Horrors. The last inhabitants probably left the Kaers about 5,000 years ago when magic disappeared. So, they would have lasted for more than 7,000 years, but had 5,000 years to be forgotten, assuming people lived in them up to the last. |
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Apr 13 2007, 04:25 PM
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#32
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 546 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Manchester, England Member No.: 1,062 |
Mortals may not have survived in them that long, but what if something not mortal nor metahuman survived. We know the only problem the Horrors have is getting here... if one got itself stuck in a Kaer prior to it's sealing? :evil:
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Apr 13 2007, 05:18 PM
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#33
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: 21-December 06 Member No.: 10,416 |
Then some archeaologist is going to get a really rude surprise. Maybe some 2070's version of The Naked Archeaologist will be doing a live shoot from deep inside the Kaer as an exclusive and open the wrong door. |
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Apr 13 2007, 05:19 PM
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#34
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Shadow Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 3,737 Joined: 2-June 06 From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West) Member No.: 8,636 |
Then when the stars are right... |
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Apr 13 2007, 08:22 PM
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#35
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,012 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
"The stars were right again, and what an age-old cult had failed to do by design, a band of innocent [Shadowrunners] had done by accident."
~J |
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Apr 13 2007, 08:36 PM
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#36
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 238 Joined: 24-January 07 Member No.: 10,756 |
Cthulhu F'tagn!!!
Excuse me, I seem to have sneezed. |
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Apr 13 2007, 08:45 PM
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#37
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Bushido Cowgirl Group: Members Posts: 5,782 Joined: 8-July 05 From: On the Double K Ranch a half day's ride out of Phlogiston Flats Member No.: 7,490 |
...gesundheit! (heh heh heh...) :evil:
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Apr 13 2007, 09:00 PM
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#38
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,174 Joined: 13-May 04 From: UCAS Member No.: 6,327 |
Sure, blame us for the accident. Like it's our fault it happened. We blame it on the Johnson! :P |
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Apr 25 2007, 11:11 PM
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#39
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 946 Joined: 16-September 05 From: London Member No.: 7,753 |
Hmmm.. ..I remember an Earthdawn story where the magic checker [true earth suspended in air] was faulty and only because the heroes rebelled did they escape and discover that the Time Of Horrors had passed. And I think that happened because one of the Kaer leaders was a Horror, or connected to a Horror, and was keeping them in. So a Kaer could stay occupied and not realise it was safe.. I read somewhere that Atlantis could be a Kaer, and would return sometime. Just my thruppence... |
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Apr 26 2007, 12:02 AM
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#40
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 619 Joined: 27-May 03 From: Detroit Member No.: 4,642 |
It was. It did. Just in time to go to war with Ironfor- sorry- Thoral and the rest of Barsaive. After that, probably sank in some cataclysmic implosion of blood magic. |
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Apr 26 2007, 10:36 PM
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#41
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 946 Joined: 16-September 05 From: London Member No.: 7,753 |
Hmmm.. ..Interesting comment. After all Dragons and Elves needed somewhere to hide/rest during the Horror Years. In one of the Sam Verner books [the 2nd, I think], they 'break into' a cave complex in Australia to steal something buried there many thousands of years ago.. ..And another has people digging up something pre-dating civilisation. My point being that it's easy for things to survive many thousands of years.. Which brings to mind that maybe a Horror could have made it's own Kaer, to wait out the years or to protect itself from low mana times !! Just my thruppence.. |
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Apr 26 2007, 10:52 PM
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#42
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Shadow Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 3,737 Joined: 2-June 06 From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West) Member No.: 8,636 |
It's the third book (2nd was druidic wendigo), it's Aires Rock and he nicks a great big magic gem / stone which had been keeping Spider locked up for the past age. Good books. |
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Apr 27 2007, 04:17 PM
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#43
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
So you going to write this up as a convention game? Cause that sounds like a great tag for one to me. |
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Apr 28 2007, 05:21 PM
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#44
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 647 Joined: 9-September 03 From: Sorø, Denmark Member No.: 5,604 |
Sam Verner released several spirits, one of these was Twilight from the Adventure Total Eclipse (7308). Lars |
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Apr 28 2007, 06:50 PM
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#45
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
If I was a millennia-old creature from beyond that feeds off of human suffering and a random naked guy barged in on me for no apparent reason, I'd probably run away. A dude wearing nothing but his birthday suit might be crazy or he might be dangerous. A dude wearing nothing but his birthday suit while surrounded by servants bearing bizarre contraptions must be an absurdly powerful magician. It takes a great deal of confidence to let it all hang out and a great deal of power to inspire the loyalty of one's minions while letting it all hang out. |
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Apr 29 2007, 02:18 AM
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#46
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Cybernetic Blood Mage Group: Members Posts: 3,472 Joined: 11-March 06 From: Northeastern Wyoming Member No.: 8,361 |
Sure, but first I'd try to Horror Mark such a possibly powerful future minion...
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Apr 29 2007, 03:10 AM
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#47
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,012 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Depends on who it is. Nebis would probably be thrilled.
Then pretty disappointed later, but what can you do. ~J |
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