 Immortal Elves... Fourth Edition Style |
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 Dec 20 2005, 08:03 AM
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#26
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Running Target  Group: Members Posts: 1,283 Joined: 17-May 05 Member No.: 7,398  |
http://www.pvv.org/~leirbakk/rpg/shadowrun...hranspeech.html
The Fourth World ended in 3113 BC, according to Ehran the Scribe. |
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Dec 20 2005, 02:58 PM
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#27
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 7,089 Joined: 4-October 05 Member No.: 7,813 |
as far as BPs needed to be an elf of the appropriate age, that's quite easily calculated by simply looking at the first post, which explicitly states the costs.
they are, respectively, ~50 BP, ~200 BP, and over 5200 BP respectively. plus costs of boosting attributes (although in the 50 BP version, those would be more or less standard costs) |
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Dec 20 2005, 04:07 PM
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#28
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
This is interesting, 3113 BC and a 5200 year cycle would put the the Peak of the Scourge at 5713BC. The Byzantines have the year of Creation at 5509BC. Byzantium (aka Constantinople, aka Istanbul) isn't far from the Traditional Earthdawn Setting. January 1 4713BC is the Julian day of Creation. The Mayan Long Count begins on August 11-13 of 3114BC. However the city of Jericho in the West Bank is about 11000 years old which means it would actually date back to the Third Age under Ehran's Time Line, Ur, Uruk, Ban Po (China), Sumer, and Memphis (Egypt) are all thriving, or even in decline by this period. Civilization has a recorded history that overlaps the 4th World significantly, and some (by Ehran's Time line) stretches back to the Third Age. Random Aside, let's not get these confused with the First, Second, and, Third Worlds which (1st & 2nd) date back to Dulles in the 1950's, and (3rd) to Nassr in the 1960's. |
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Dec 21 2005, 05:00 AM
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#29
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 718 Joined: 10-September 05 From: Montevideo, in the elusive shadows of Latin America Member No.: 7,727 |
Nice history datasoft, steve!
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Dec 21 2005, 04:07 PM
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#30
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
Thanks, trying to post info that can be used to generate more fun adventures. Put in this context some ancient cities may have the Secrets of Creating Kaers hidden in them some where, Any settlement in existance prior to say 6000BCE. There may be some actual magic artifacts from ancient civilizations lurking around too, and possibly copies of the Books of Harrow waiting to be found and translated (or does the Atlantean foundation already have them). For those who do a lot of ED SR crossover this probably isn't big news, but there is a Greek Isle named Thira: ThIra or Thera[both: thEr´u] Pronunciation Key, volcanic island (1991 pop. 9,360), c.30 sq mi (80 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea; one of the Cyclades. It is a tourism center noted for its wine. Pumice stone and powdered tufa are exported. It is on the site of an exploded volcano. According to tradition, the island was first settled by Phoenicians and later by Laconians under the leader Thera. In 631 B.C. colonists from the island founded Cyrene in N Africa. From the Middle Ages until the 20th cent. ThIra was known as Santorin, for St. Irene, the protector of the island. Also FYI the Mana Lowpoint of the 4th age would have occurred around 513AD, WHich coincides with the Dark Ages (Rome was sacked in 410), the Decline of the Byzantine Empire, and according to legend the Era of King Arthur and Beowulf. |
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Dec 21 2005, 05:41 PM
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#31
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,219 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Lofwyr's stomach. Member No.: 1,320 |
Which Ironically is the period where legends of magical kings and fearies and wizards and all that fun fantasy stuff is usually timed.
::Edit:: in my game, I've come to the conclusion that adept powers are uneffected by the manacycle. My justification for this comes both from legend and the fact that background count doens't effect adepts. The ability to cast spells and the freqency of magical talent manifesting is effected, meaning that downcycle has horribly difficult spellcasting, and few births of magically active individuals. But when an adept is born, he's relatively a powerhouse, since there is little competition and he is the only one with magically boosted abilities. People like King Arthur and Charlemagne were adepts. There were wizards in those days too, but their spells were massively draining, so they rarely, if ever, used them. Merlin doesn't toss spells about willy nilly, he saves tehm for those very important moments, and does indeed risk death when casts them. Since Foci work also still work in a mana poor enviornment, they were increasingly important (Reference Excalbur, Joyeaux, Lance of Longinus, holy grail) as were the various centering tecniques for resisting drain. So even in the downcycle, magic was still possible, just hard, and various sorts of magic were in many ways uneffected by the low mana levels due to their low use of mana to begin with. Many legends taht occured during the dowcycle may have more truth to them than one would suspect. ::edit:: |
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Dec 21 2005, 05:56 PM
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#32
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: 30-November 04 Member No.: 6,858 |
Or even the Book of Scales... |
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Dec 21 2005, 06:07 PM
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#33
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,651 Joined: 23-September 05 From: Marietta, GA Member No.: 7,773 |
If I recall correctly, the mana cycle does not have a fixed period. That is to say, not every age is 5200 years. I have an even fuzzier memory of some IE or dragon mentioning that the ages are actually getting shorter in duration each time. I do definitely remember that in a sourcebook's Shadowtalk "The Big D" mentioned that the Mayan calendar wasn't exact, but it was "more accurate than most" or some such. I think that was in the Tir Tairngire sourcebook. |
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Dec 21 2005, 06:51 PM
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#34
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
Aztlan Sourcebook IIRC. I have been wondering about that. If the Mana Cycle does go up and down in a sine wave like tides, do they change in Period and Amplitude? If so what is it related too, population or biomass possibly? Also the actual peaks and valleys may move some. Also from the Histories provided in the Earthdawn 2nd ed. Base Book apparently the Scourge lasts a couple of centuries +/- based on localized mana levels (Background Count?) From the link provided by Nick012000
This is what the calculations have been based on, of course this is all predicated on Ehran telling the truth |
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Dec 21 2005, 07:02 PM
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#35
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,219 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Lofwyr's stomach. Member No.: 1,320 |
HA! Fraggin HA! |
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Dec 21 2005, 07:31 PM
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#36
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
Smiling Bandit
Strikes Again/HAHAHA |
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Dec 21 2005, 09:18 PM
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#37
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 7,116 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,449 |
I never really bought into the whole idea of immortal elves being superhumanly tough, just because they are old. Getting good at a skill takes serious dedication, and being one of the best at it takes continually using that skill. All of you folks who took something in college, then went several years without ever using that knowledge in the real world - how much of that class do you still remember? UFC fighters train intensely for 2-3 months prior to their bouts. If a UFC fighter was tossed into that mix with just a day's warning, how do you think he would do against the other fighters?
If I lived to be 1,000 years old, would I be able to take a karate champion in a fight? I might not ever even learn martial arts at all. And I might become a grand master, then give it up, and 100 years later barely remember any at all. I'm sure an immortal elf would have superior physical stats, maxed-out mental stats, and a very wide range of skills, in addition to a very high Magic Attribute. They would have centuries of tactical experience and probably know a few magical tricks that no one else has even heard of yet. But they should not be invincible. That's a cop-out. Actually, if it comes down to an immortal elf facing off against a group of runners, you've probably already messed up. An immortal elf should work subtly and always have backup, a contingency plan or two, and several escape routes. They shouldn't be able to mop the floor with a group of professional violent criminals, but they shouldn't have to, either. |
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Dec 21 2005, 10:29 PM
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#38
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,651 Joined: 23-September 05 From: Marietta, GA Member No.: 7,773 |
Echo that, Glyph. Every word, 100%.
I'd agree more than 100% but I'm only a 33-year-old immortal elf and can't default to my Omnipotence attribute yet. |
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Dec 21 2005, 10:36 PM
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#39
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
Is Bad-Assery a complimentry skill for the Omnipotence Attribute?
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Dec 24 2005, 06:37 AM
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#40
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
thanks guys, now my wife is trying to make 'bad-assery' a new quality.
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Dec 24 2005, 07:19 AM
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#41
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 388 Joined: 24-October 05 Member No.: 7,885 |
the one thing is glyph, when you have skills at a level, even 5 minutes a day is enough to keep it up to par.
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