Frequently Unanswered Questions, FUQ it. Options

[Larsine]

Don't ever try NERPS. Look what they did to my character:

http://squinkyproductions.deviantart.com/a...s-Life-96131077

He was fine for many years, improving his martial arts, but then things went downhill. He got a datajack (lost touch with his magic as a result), was mortally wounded (lost even more touch with hios magic, it was hard in the olden days), started using drugs (lost even more touch with magic), started becomming obsessed with material things. In the end he had nothing and ended his life in the gutters in Berlin.

All because of NERPS.

Lars

[cyronc]

What the heck are you talking about?

well since i check these forums rather irregulary and this thread even less often, i dint stumble across your quote earlier, sorry.

to clarify my then-only-short-packed post:

our most beloved Shadowrun doomsday cult Winternight (Threats) had two major groups of toxic shamans within the awakened members:
the toxic wolf shamans (defilers [Magic in the Shadows], focused on combat/assault strikes/magical backup) who follow the fenris-like-aspect of the wolf totem and the toxic raven shamans (avengers [Magic in the Shadows], the schemers/leaders of the cult) of which Wednesday(iirc? or was his totem different?)(System Failure) was probaly the best known (at least by gamemasters).

the fluff text and rule section of Threats(pages 23 to 30) show the usage of Winternights God-/Berserker-Chips to brainwash the victims and indoctrinate them to the cult's goals.

now to the other stuff: as most of you will know there is the (in)famous/(un)popular (depends all on who you ask (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) link between Shadowrun and Earthdawn, where Earthdawn is the 4th world predecessor of our 5th more mundane world, which is followed up by the 6th world that is Shadowrun.
in Earthdawn Second Edition's Horror sourcebook Scourge Unending there is a female Horror called Cauthrunne (pages 13 to 15 gor fluff text, pages 31/32 for game information).

some of the parallels i noticed:

(ill put them within spoiler tags cause they are rather long)

[ Spoiler ]

the toxic raven shamans of Winternight distribute the God-Chips - highly addictive BTLs - which let you emerge in slaughter, see blood splash everywhere and laugh and enjoy while seeing people getting killed, tell you that you'll become immortal once the world is cleansed of your foes and you drink their blood (this encourages a closer look whether there are connections to HMHVV and/or the (Horror-marked/-corrupted/-tainted) blood mages who want to build a bridge over the abyss, but thats another story).
Also the fluff stories protagonist's urge to relive his BTL-fantasies manifested throughout the data file, when he broke down during his message only to shout out things like MURDER, KILL-EM-ALL, SLICE-EM-UP-GOOD, DRINK THEIR BLOOD and the like. (a loving family father btw)

the modus operandi of Cauthrunne is to power all sides of a battlefield to ensure the biggest possible blood bath/massacre thinkable of. to do this she gives her chosen ones the tools needed to kill their enemies (weapons and armor) in an otherwise bad looking situation. when the victims accept her help they become marked. the marked ones get the urge to kill indiscreminitely even after there is nobody left on the battlefield.
also the marked ones begin to slowly transform their looks in ravenlike/crowish fashion, which fits the discription of the Threats fluff-text Raven shaman who hands out the God-Chips (his shadow in particular, but that could be caused by the Shamans' Mask phenomen in Shadowrun, too) the marked ork from the Scourge Unending fluff story also tells that he hasn't aged, rarely sleeps or eats since he had become marked, and noteworthy his final victim's body is found empty of blood with eyes and tongue removed. (the immortality/blood factor again tips us in the direction of HMHVV/Vampirism caused or induced by a Horror, but thats another story like i said above)

my conclusion is that because the Horror probaly couldnt come over from the netherworlds/metaplanes yet (mana niveau and stuff), Winternight (mis)led by their vision of ragnarok were preparing a fest for Cauthrunne ones she comes over and maybe the stuff in System Failure would have attuned the world's manasphere so much toward what Cauthrunne likes that she would have had the power to pass over the abyss without the mana niveau being on its top (aspected background count again MitS, IF they had fully succeded but they didnt.

its sure that Cauthrunne benefits from Winternight (hell she must love 'em) and so the question comes up whether their interpretion of Toxic Raven is actually Cauthrunne herself (an Earthdawn Horror who often manifests as a huge raven)...

wouldnt be the first group of people worshipping a horror (Nebis anyone ?)

whew, this should explain my NEBIS post, still hoping for AH and/or one of the DEVs to NEBIS this one. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

note that NEBIS didnt use any sr4 material since Winternight seems to NEBIS bit the dust in the events that NEBIS to the 4th NEBIS T_T


hope it was readable, sry that NEBIS suck at english NEBIS

NEBIS, NEBIS, NEBIS

#"$%&&/!ar67d@MnN3b!$11!!1^12

/nebis off

damn viruses (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Athanatos]

What are the leads concerning FastJack's meeting with Saeletra ? (Good morning world. Welcome back. Play nice.)
Was the name mentioned elsewhere ?

I wouldn't be so certain that Saeletra is a she, it could be an elven name of either gender.

*almost used any gender, wouldn't that have confused the issue?!!* (IMG:style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

[Hagga]

Is there a fairly detailed description of the UCAS military running around anywhere? We're (the group) all scratching our heads on this one. Ranks, professions, etc.

[Stalker-x]

The Artificial Kidz, or A-Kidz, are stars of the hit show Gang Life and high-rating P2.0 personalities. Like the Steppin’ Wulfs, these kids are a booster gang. (emphasis mine)

What the heck is "booster gang" supposed to tell me? Do they have "boosted reflexes"? Are they "boosted" by a third party? Help, plz (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[BRodda]

What the heck is "booster gang" supposed to tell me? Do they have "boosted reflexes"? Are they "boosted" by a third party? Help, plz (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Booster gangs are small time gangs that get there cash by stealing (AKA boosting) stuff. Generally seen as being poser rich kids buy most REAL gangs.

[Stalker-x]

Hey, thanks! With this information, however, I wonder why the Steppin' Wulfs are considered a "booster gang" as well.
Also, I cannot see what the A-Kidz are actually "stealing" (aka "boosting" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ). They get their money from Horizon for minor vandalism, a little bit of soap opera and posing in general.

[Tiger Eyes]

What the heck is "booster gang" supposed to tell me? Do they have "boosted reflexes"? Are they "boosted" by a third party? Help, plz (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

A "Booster gang" is one that uses a lot of augmentations and drugs to "boost" their members' natural abilities. (Not a gang that steals stuff as an income generator.)

[BRodda]

Hey, thanks! With this information, however, I wonder why the Steppin' Wulfs are considered a "booster gang" as well.
Also, I cannot see what the A-Kidz are actually "stealing" (aka "boosting" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ). They get their money from Horizon for minor vandalism, a little bit of soap opera and posing in general.

Stealing is just where the term boosting comes from. They only sell very minor drugs and generally act they they are bad ass-gangers. They tend to be in better areas (middle lifestyle or better) and from decent families. None of them are homeless (unless by choice), none of them are hard up for cash, and almost ALL of them think that they are real gangbanging hard asses. Real gangers look at them the same way that the Bloods from O-Town would look at the "gangbangers" who live in Beverly Hills.

[BRodda]

A "Booster gang" is one that uses a lot of augmentations and drugs to "boost" their members' natural abilities. (Not a gang that steals stuff as an income generator.)

We always took the term "booster" to mean poser wannabe's. I have never really heard the term "booster gang" in any manner that is threatening to a runner. Booster gangs roam the schools and food courts of the world. They might use Jazz or Bad Billy might have a cyberarm, but combat skills are low.

The Holloweeners would be a booster gang by your definition.

Of course you right the rules so you win (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[InfinityzeN]

The term "Booster Gang" originally saw heavy use in the game Cyberpunk (especially Cyberpunk 2020) and was used to discribe gangs that were heavy into cyberware and performance enhancing drugs.

Mockery's page of Cyberpunk 2020 gang goodness

Here is a quick little excerpt from the page. The stuff writen there actually works just as good for Shadowrun as it does for CP2020.

[ Spoiler ]

GANG TYPE DESCRIPTIONS

Booster Gang :

This is your standard cyberpunk street gang. Usual traits include random acts of violence and excessive cyberware installation, riding the "Edge" towards psychosis.

Chromers :

Chromatic rock fans. Prone to idolization of rock stars. Each gang tends to revolve around a specific band or star. Not usually violent (as compared to Boosters), but gang ethics are usually dictated by the attitudes of the worshipped band.

Combat Gangs :

These guys aren't violent for the sake of violence -- they just like to kick ass, preferably against willing opponents, though this isn't always the case. Most often, they restrict weapons to "honorable" ones (ie, knives, etc) and are as likely to go toe-to-toe with boosters as another combat gang. Many street solos find their beginnings in combat gangs.

Drug Gangs :

These lowlives buy, sell, and/or manufacture drugs. Sample groups might include anything from psychedellic cults spaced out on love, to violent meth-heads with dealers all over town.

Eco Gangs :

Environmentalists gone bad. Also includes animal rights activists. Such gangs use radical tactics to get their points across. They're not all violent and mean (some just get together to go hiking), yet a good deal of the more publicized ones are no better than localized eco-terrorists.

Exotic Gangs :

Akin to poser gangs, exotic gangs lean towards the use of exotic biosculpts. Some gangs use animals as a topic for self-expression, while others go for the truly wierd (ie, martians, mythical beasts, etc.).

Go-Gangs :

These gangs are mobile, whether they use motorcycles, BMX bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, etc. The go-gang category represents anything from a tight knit group of skaters, Yakuza-sponsored bosozoku, or hillbillies in monster trucks.

Guardian Gangs :

These types of gangs protect the weak from the tyranny of other gangs, corporate forces, and law enforcement agencies. They aren't always well-armed, preferring to utilize martial arts or handguns to get the job done. While usually scrupulous, they can sometimes lose sight of their goals and become no better than just another combat gang. Some actually extort money from the local citizens that they "protect".

Netrunner Gangs :

Yes, you've read that right. Staking out their turf within the confines of city grids, netrunner gangs are almost exclusively Net-based. Most deal in the free distribution of data and code, though "free" doesn't always mean that there is no cost. Other groups are software pirates, rogue programmers, or cyberspace "taggers", using virtual cans of spraypaint to deface datafortress walls.

Nihilist Gangs :

Members of nihilist groups like to go out in a big bang. They believe that since death is inevitable, existence is futile. Therefore, they will go to great lengths to make their deaths as flashy and destructive as possible. While these gangs have a great tendency for destruction, most don't last very long since members are constantly dying.

Nostalgia Gangs :

These guys are similar to posers, but without the extensive biosculpts. They try to keep the memories of an idealized past alive, fictional or otherwise. Some slick back their hair, dress like James Dean, and drive '50's muscle cars. Others dress like cowboys or wear medieval costumes and wave swords around. Mostly harmless.

Party Gangs :

These guys want to have a good time, and are more than likely the hedonists of the gang world. They might be considered the "ravers" of the 21st century. Typically, they move as a group from party to party, or create their own decadence in a warehouse downtown, with or without permission. As recreational drug use is pretty common, most of the members burn out or O.D. eventually.

Political Gangs :

These gangs set a specific political standard or goal for themselves, be it fascism, communism, world peace, neo-luddism, etc. They just want to get their point across, even if you don't want to hear it. While not normally violent, some groups have resorted to common terrorist tactics.

Poser Gangs :

Posergangs use extensive biosculpts to impersonate celebrities and/or characters from the past or present. Most gangs revolve around a specific topic (dead presidents, serial murderers, etc.) or serial ("Gilligan's Island", "Hellraiser", or the ever popular "Brady Bunch"). Members are typically brain-washed, and are expected to completely become their new persona.

Prank Gangs :

These guys play jokes on people. Not everyone, however, will find their jokes amusing. Some jokes are downright dangerous to the victims involved, while others are mostly harmless.

Puppet Gangs :

Specifically, puppet gangs are corporate controlled and sponsored, usually secretly. Corporations use them to distribute experimental drugs, test new weapons, and to neutralize threats on the street. Genuine gangs tend to hate puppets. Some puppet gangs are supported so covertly that only the highest ranking members know who's pulling their strings.

Racist Gangs :

Any gang that advocates hatred of other races, cultures, and creeds, while maintaining the superiority of their own. Examples could include the famed "Black Panthers" or the more infamous "Nazi Skinheads".

Taggers :

Taggers are gangs that use graffitti to "tag" or deface a location. Usually, this type of vandalism takes the form of the gang's sign or initials painted or carved onto a surface that will be seen by a lot of people. In addition to stock taggers, there are also several groups who paint elaborate and striking murals on walls and sidewalks. Most building and business owners don't take kindly to kids defacing their property, and some taggers have taken to carrying weapons in addition to spray paint.

Theo-Gangs :

Any gang that expresses any religious and/or "cultish" behavior is a theo-gang. These gangs can include such diverse factions as the anti-cyberware neo-luddite "Inquisitors", to right-wing Christian "fundies" who stand on street corners preaching the evils of role-playing games and planning midnight raids on 7-11 porno racks. Most groups attempt to spread their version of salvation peacefully ("Hari Krishna" gangs come to mind), but others attempt to root out the heretics and force them to convert or die.

Uni-Sex Gangs :

This includes any gang that expresses a sexual restriction on its members, such as exclusively male or female gangs, for any number of reasons. These reasons include a core belief in the superiority of one sex over the other (ie, sexism, such as "The He-Man Woman-Hater's Club" of Little Rascals fame), or a bias in the members' sexual orientation (ie, an exclusively homosexual gang).

[Stalker-x]

Now that were some useful responses! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Thank you all!

[Hagga]

The a-kidz are poser wannabes, though. Their description reads as thought you took Home and Away (or your countries Teen/Young Adult Soap Of Choice), hopped it up on PCP and gave the actors metal bodies and kleptomania.

Christ, most of them are corp runaways, and it says right there that most of it is soap opera.

[Stalker-x]

Still trying to make sense of Corporate Enclaves, so here's another one I could need some help with (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
Context: The "reactions" of surface-mana with the strange kind of mana emanating from the Deep Lacuna, resulting in manastorms and all kinds of weirdness. At least that's what I think is referred to by "those flare-ups" in the following piece of shadowtalk:

> Dr. Rosemont mentioned the Fall didn’t cause any known metahuman victims, but there’s been repeated glimpses of survivors wondering lost in some strange landscapes during those flare-ups. Nothing’s ever come of it, but it makes you think.
> Skinny Dipper

(emphasis mine)

I don't really get what they want to tell me with that highlighted part of the first sentence. Has anybody figured out?

[Hagga]

Ghosts. Illusions. People who might have been trapped in the Alchera. Maybe it was a Kaer.

[Stalker-x]

Thanks!
And the "survivors wondering lost" thing - isn't there a spelling mistake or a grammatical one in there? I simply cannot wrap my mind around the grammar in this sentence, there must be something wrong with it.

[Hagga]

Wondering. Wandering.

[Stalker-x]

Thought so. So there was something fishy about it. Thank you! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Stalker-x]

Remind me to pay Mr. SysOp the rent for threadnapping the FUQ. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Once more with feeling!

Giri is the self-sacrificing devotion to duty and obligation
that fuels Neo-Tokyo. When a wageslave refuses to drink anything
but his megacorp’s beer, or your server at the local cyberclinic prac-
tically falls over themselves being formally polite to you until you
feel like they’re being a wiseass, or the bag runner for the local
gumi pulls one more job at er being on his feet for eighteen hours
straight, that’s giri. It’s giving a hundred percent, all the time.

Anybody willing to give me a quick-and-dirty paraphrase of "bag runner"?

[Browncoatone]

I remember reading in an ED book (not an SR reference I know, but a close cousin) that the so-called 'Immortal Elves' are actually dragon/elf hybrids that the dragons sired to run their estates for them (at least until the elves rebelled). That's why Harlequin told the Big D they were traditional enemies (for the life of me I can't remember where I read that) in one of their conversations. Now in this ED book there was reference to a dragon that was cast out of dragon society (such as it is) because this dragon had broken an agreement that all the dragons made not to sire any more offspring with the metahumans. So my questions:

1. Has anyone read anywhere any reference to non-elvish dragonkin or immortals? (I'm pretty sure that POST MORTEM stars two immortal elves slumming as non-elves rather than an actual example of non-elven immortality)

2. Are 'Immortal Elves' actually immortal or do they just live really long lives (like dragons?).

3. Are the offspring of 'Immortal Elves' also Immortal?

And most important of all:

4. Did anyone else see Sally Tsung in Penthouse magazine in the early 90's?

[raggedhalo]

Anybody willing to give me a quick-and-dirty paraphrase of "bag runner"?

Presumably like a bag man, AKA running man, someone who collects protection money on behalf of organised crime...

[raggedhalo]

3. Are the offspring of 'Immortal Elves' also Immortal?

Jane "Frosty" Foster, daughter of Ehran the Scribe, says yes...

[Demonseed Elite]

- Is Summer Blossom Hestaby?

Jog my memory on the Summer Blossom reference. I'm not sure if I'm getting it confused with another secret or not. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Stahlseele]

I remember reading in an ED book (not an SR reference I know, but a close cousin) that the so-called 'Immortal Elves' are actually dragon/elf hybrids that the dragons sired to run their estates for them (at least until the elves rebelled). That's why Harlequin told the Big D they were traditional enemies (for the life of me I can't remember where I read that) in one of their conversations. Now in this ED book there was reference to a dragon that was cast out of dragon society (such as it is) because this dragon had broken an agreement that all the dragons made not to sire any more offspring with the metahumans. So my questions:

1. Has anyone read anywhere any reference to non-elvish dragonkin or immortals? (I'm pretty sure that POST MORTEM stars two immortal elves slumming as non-elves rather than an actual example of non-elven immortality)

2. Are 'Immortal Elves' actually immortal or do they just live really long lives (like dragons?).

3. Are the offspring of 'Immortal Elves' also Immortal?

And most important of all:

4. Did anyone else see Sally Tsung in Penthouse magazine in the early 90's?

1. wasn't ryan mercury human before he became a drake? are drakes immortal too?

2. they die like you and me, if you put enough lead into one. they just don't age or get sick.

3. all signs point to yes

4. sadly, no. find us some pictures for future references please ^^

[Tiger Eyes]

I remember reading in an ED book (not an SR reference I know, but a close cousin) that the so-called 'Immortal Elves' are actually dragon/elf hybrids that the dragons sired to run their estates for them (at least until the elves rebelled). That's why Harlequin told the Big D they were traditional enemies (for the life of me I can't remember where I read that) in one of their conversations. Now in this ED book there was reference to a dragon that was cast out of dragon society (such as it is) because this dragon had broken an agreement that all the dragons made not to sire any more offspring with the metahumans. So my questions:

AH has a great essay floating around on DS where he explains this.

2. Are 'Immortal Elves' actually immortal or do they just live really long lives (like dragons?).

They are immune to aging and disease and toxins... but yes, bullets or being digested by a dragon still makes 'em dead.

3. Are the offspring of 'Immortal Elves' also Immortal?

Not all of them. Harlequin's adventure details this...