 Err...do Orcs have a point, mechanics-wise? |
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 Sep 7 2005, 10:10 AM
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#26
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: 16-August 05 From: Stuttgart, Germany Member No.: 7,559  |
Very much is written about the orkish ways, as they tend to "embrace life to the fullest" (as they dont have much time to do so).
And they surely give short fuse a fully new meaning... Edit: Hm, I guess I should type quicker :-/ |
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Sep 7 2005, 10:38 AM
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#27
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 934 Joined: 26-August 05 From: Earth - Europe - AGS - Norddeutscher Bund - Hannover Member No.: 7,624 |
I hope your gahad is not triggered by that...don't try anything stupid or I'll give you buunda.... ^^
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Sep 7 2005, 10:58 AM
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#28
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Mr. Quote-function Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,316 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Somewhere in Germany Member No.: 1,376 |
And that's one of the things that SR4 simply threw overboard:
So much for continuity ... That's one big minus on my list concerning SR4 |
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Sep 7 2005, 11:00 AM
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#29
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Target Group: Members Posts: 98 Joined: 26-July 05 Member No.: 7,517 |
I remember it saying that Kham's father didn't die young - most likely from being goblinized. I do not, however, remember the book making any such claim for the entire ork race. Is it possible that your blame of SR4 might be jumping the gun, a bit?
OSUMacbeth |
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Sep 7 2005, 11:01 AM
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#30
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Target Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: 16-August 05 From: Stuttgart, Germany Member No.: 7,559 |
Well in this case I am glad I am using a printed version, as my black marker is just an inch away :-)
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Sep 7 2005, 11:14 AM
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#31
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,598 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Hong Kong Member No.: 4,253 |
You can get a statline that looks like:
BOD 4 AGL 3 REA 5 STR 3 CHA 4 INT 5 LOG 4 WIL 5 for 220 points, including the cost of being an ork. You can trade off a few points for AGL 5 if you want it. The troll statline of: BOD 5 AGL 4 REA 5 STR 5 CHA 3 INT 4 LOG 4 WIL 5 For 230 points (including the cost of being a troll) is not too shabby either. And you can get another point of body or strength if you really want one. |
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Sep 7 2005, 04:02 PM
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#32
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
Since many people seem to have overlooked it in the other thread:
Ork Rapid Aging is something that happens to many Orks (goblinized or not), and as of 2065 it was pathologized and described - and people were working on a cure. In 2050 it was called "sometimes Orks just fall over dead from old age for no damned reason", and in 2065 it was called "Methuselah Syndrome" and had specific described symptoms. Advances in medicine are fighting Methuselah Syndrome, and many more (especially rich) Orks are going to live to a full human age. This is the best of both worlds from a storytelling standpoint, and fits the available backstory flawlessly. In the case of the Ork family in the underground, the family had some members who had Methuselah Syndrome and some who did not - and lacking any access to cutting edge medical research they came up with a reasonable hypothesis as to why it had happened in that pattern and were wrong. Remember, these guys aren't doctors, they just have a relatively small sample size and are straight up guessing. From a storytelling standpoint, if you want a "live-fast, die young" character as a PC or NPC, have them get a gray hair and a Methuselah Diagnosis. If you want an Orkish character who lives to a ripe old age far past the confines of the game - just have them be one of the guys who got passed over. The late SR3 resolution to the Ork lifespan debate essentially allows any player or game master to use the best aspects of both long and short Orkish lifespans in the story - and SR4 has embraced that whole heartedly. If you don't want your Orkish character to die young, just don't have them die young. If you want them to die young, they have a perfect built-in excuse for borrowed time. -Frank |
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Sep 7 2005, 04:08 PM
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#33
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
Which was a one-of ripoff from Bladerunner. Basically canon is a mixed basket of fruit on the subject....which once again was covered in the other thread and covered adnauseum in the main Shadowrun forum. |
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Sep 7 2005, 06:56 PM
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#34
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Mr. Johnson Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,587 Joined: 25-January 05 From: Berkeley, CA Member No.: 7,014 |
Note that there is only one reference to Methuselah syndrome (with no reference to what kind of disease it is other than "genetic", whether it is dominant/recessive, multifactorial, or metagene, no description of the constellation that makes up the syndrome, and how one would test for it) (Shadows of Asia, p133):
This is generally a "cop-out" in the medical community, much like the linkage between Obesity and DM Type II being called "Syndrome X", and the early days of AIDS (also called "Syndrome X" for a time). It's identifiable, but can be confused with other disease states (how do you tell if hair-thinning is Methuselah syndrome or simply Male Pattern Baldness?). |
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Sep 7 2005, 07:09 PM
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#35
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
AIDS was also called GRID at one point. Gay Related Immune Deficancy.
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Sep 7 2005, 07:11 PM
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#36
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Karma Police Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,358 Joined: 22-July 04 From: Gothenburg, SE Member No.: 6,505 |
Bet that one isnīt in the school books.
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Sep 7 2005, 07:27 PM
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#37
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Target Group: Members Posts: 98 Joined: 26-July 05 Member No.: 7,517 |
A shoot-from-the-hip reaction would probably label these doctors bigots or hate-mongers or somesuch, but I feel it important to point out that these doctors were making the best guess they had using the available data, namely that practically all cases did seem to be gay males. We know better now, mind, but the researchers at the time were making a reasonable assumption based on the evidence at hand. OSUMacbeth |
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Sep 7 2005, 07:50 PM
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#38
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
Don't get me wrong, i wasn't passing judgement. It was a brand new freaky disease and at that point (late 70's, very early 80's) there was definately a very solid trend of the patient's sexual preferences, in NA at least. But that is the point, sometimes a disease initially gets associated with a particular group even though the relation to the group is more coincidental than it first appears. |
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Sep 7 2005, 07:53 PM
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#39
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Mr. Johnson Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,587 Joined: 25-January 05 From: Berkeley, CA Member No.: 7,014 |
Yeah, the association with homosexual males actually set-back AIDS research by a good year or so, as med experts pursued that particular red herring. We're all only human, and sometimes we jump to the wrong conclusions. To put it another way, while doctors were busy quarantining homosexual male patients, AIDS was running rampant in other populations (heterosexual, hemophiliacs, etc.). This is in addition to the inter-lab bickering and competition, and that whole HTLV-3 thing that turned out to be a bust.
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Sep 7 2005, 08:18 PM
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#40
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 749 Joined: 28-July 05 Member No.: 7,526 |
the idea of there being a "cure" for rapid ork aging is FANTASTIC. What a perfect holy grail. Imagine what an ork would do for the promise of a "normal" lifespan.
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Sep 7 2005, 08:36 PM
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#41
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Mr. Johnson Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,587 Joined: 25-January 05 From: Berkeley, CA Member No.: 7,014 |
And what a holy grail for a corporation who discovers this and markets the product. Like Chris Rock says about AIDS... the money's in the medicine, not the cure. |
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Sep 7 2005, 08:47 PM
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#42
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Karma Police Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,358 Joined: 22-July 04 From: Gothenburg, SE Member No.: 6,505 |
Calling it Methuselah Syndrome seems a bit cruel and ironic to me. :P
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Sep 7 2005, 08:50 PM
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#43
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
But they LOOK like they are 960+ years old. It's all about the image! 8) |
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Sep 7 2005, 08:51 PM
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#44
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
No more so than calling Rabies "Hydrophobia". -Frank |
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Sep 7 2005, 08:55 PM
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#45
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Karma Police Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,358 Joined: 22-July 04 From: Gothenburg, SE Member No.: 6,505 |
Donīt know why that is and donīt care to look it up. Anybody care to explain?
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Sep 7 2005, 08:59 PM
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#46
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
IIRC, near the end of rabies the victim has a lot of difficulty swallowing water. So much so that they tend to act very negatively at the sight of water or being force fed it. Once apon a time rabies was called hydrophobia (Greek root is literally fear of water) because of this symptom. |
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Sep 7 2005, 09:05 PM
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#47
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Karma Police Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,358 Joined: 22-July 04 From: Gothenburg, SE Member No.: 6,505 |
That is certainly a bit cruel, but not as ironic as Meth syndrome.
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Sep 7 2005, 09:06 PM
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#48
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
Rabies causes a great difficulty in swallowing, and the actual death is usually caused by dehydration. Early medicine associated the patient's constant distress and "refusal" to drink as being adversarial to water.
So the terminology was "hydrophobia" - fear of water. For people who were dying of thirst from swelling and loss of muscular control. That's irony. -Frank |
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Sep 7 2005, 09:33 PM
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#49
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Karma Police Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,358 Joined: 22-July 04 From: Gothenburg, SE Member No.: 6,505 |
That explanation does point to the irony of it. Conspicuously
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Sep 7 2005, 09:38 PM
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#50
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Mr. Johnson Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,587 Joined: 25-January 05 From: Berkeley, CA Member No.: 7,014 |
Perhaps in pre-20th century medicine, but most deaths nowadays from Rabies comes from paralysis leading to respiratory failure. It's a neurological disease that progresses to paralysis then coma and death in about a week. |
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