Goblinization, How does your GM interpret it? Options

[2Claws]

I was looking through SOTA, where they restated that elves and dwarves change in utero, but trolls and orcs, can goblinize.

One of my other SR GM's, not Seasong, strongly disagreed with that concept and lets all metatypes goblinize. There have been occasions where I have been curious about the potential stories of characters who became something else besides a troll or orc.

What would it be like to have been considered overweight and ugly and then change overnight into a lithe fineboned elf? How would that effect the relationships. In the same vein, how would someone like a pro basketball player adjust to being less than half as tall as he was before?

During one of those conversations, I once brought up the much hated SR novel "Shadowboxer" as a very very rare example of a goblinized dwarf. I wasn't sure if it's inclusion was a mistake on the editor's part or as a canon indicator that in very very rare cases, it could happen.

Have any of your GM's given lattitude around goblinization also, or do they work pretty close to the book?

[BitBasher]

I am my GM, and I use goblinization as it is out of the book... because the very name goblinization specifically refers to the "goblinized" races, turning into something more hideous like a goblin, IE: trolls and orcs. I think the word "Goblinized" is a completely out of place if someone turned onto an elf.

Elves and dwarves are born, orcs and trolls change... in fact IIRC, orcs and trolls hardly ever goblinize anymore, they are born to normal parents, the incidences of goblinization dropped dramatically the longer after the awakening we get. I'm not positive about thqat though... Cannot remember where exactly I read that.

[Ancient History]

I went oer goblinization in my Metagenics page.

Basically, the humans who goblinize do so at puberty because that's when their genes start making the necessary proteins and hormones and crap. Mainly, the only kids who goblinize nowadays are children of orks and trolls born human and goblinize at puberty.

[Kagetenshi]

I treat goblinization the canon way for exactly the reason you addressed, for dwarves at least. For elves, there are overweight elves too. For dwarves, it's pretty absurd to have someone shrink to half their height. Most stuff in SR tends to make more sense than that, that I've noticed at least.

~J

[Stonecougar]

*Twitches spasmodically over the thought of overweight or naturally ugly elves, having been mentally conditioned by too many years of D&D and reading Tolkien*

[Large Mike]

Also, (iirc) Shadowboxer was declared not cannon.

[Arcanum V]

[Stonecougar]

Hmph. While the movies are damn good, they did make some mistakes... chunky elves being one of them.

[Reighnhell]

The way I run it, Goblinization as written makes alot of sense. Being a elf or dwarf involves certain features that should be there from the start ( mostly relating to bone structure). for trolls and Orcs, they can just keep growing, even if they began at normal human stature. The word "Goblinization" could have just as easily have been "monsterization" considering the size, mass, and generally fierce appearance of Orcs and Trolls. Dwarves and Elves are many things, but they are hardly monstrous to the normal human eye.

[mfb]

right, because doubling your height and mass involves your skeletal structure not a titch.

[BigKnockers]

But some people Goblinized through SURGE right? Presumably these people could Goblinize at any age, which I think is interesting-ish. Some middle aged Joe Schmoe having his life as he knew it ripped away from him and thrown into a life of metahuman hate. <shrug>

[mfb]

indeed.

[Arcanum V]

[252]

Has anything been released for what exactly this surge is getting caused by? If I recall correctly (which I might not be,) it started before this whole Year of the Comet thing, whoever the Comet brought about stronger (more) of this phenoman.


Anyways correct everything that's wrong and please clue me in. Thanks bye.

[Ancient History]

None of you have yet waded through my carefully compiled metagenics page, neatly put together for readability as opposed to book-by-book fact searching, have you?

SURGE was caused by a very sharp mana increase caused by Halley's Comet, either directly or indirectly.

[252]

I refute Ancient Histories statement, I know I have personally read the page.

Okay, maybe I'm getting what a surge is wrong. Maybe I was talking about Spike Babies. Which brings me to that point and that point is:

Since almost all (or actually all: Not to greatly read of everything) do spike babies actually exist or are all of the Spike Babies actually just Immortal Elves that were smart enough to find ways to start over again and again with new IDs?

[Kanada Ten]

Spike Babies really exist ( :rotfl: ) and were collected by some immortals to give them a larger resource pool in their quest to rule... Oregon.

The first widely known spike babies were the paracritters called Century Ferrets.

[John Campbell]

Have there ever been any details given as to exactly how Century Ferrets differ from regular old everyday unAwakened ferrets?

[Ancient History]

Yes, paranormal ANimals of North America.

[Kanada Ten]

[Hot Wheels]

[Abstruse]

There are spike baby elves for sure and probably dwarves, but as I understand, the elves at least didn't exibit the typical elven traits (namely the pointy ears) until the mana level rose. Thus explaining why I can still hope and hope that once 2011 rolls around I'll have a set of pointy ears for myself...and if I don't, I'm suing FASA and WizKids :P

The Abstruse One

[Ancient History]

Sorry, Spike Baby elves had pointed ears, IEs may or may not have, depending on which novelist you ask.

[DV8]

[Hot Wheels]

The IE's vary with time. If they'd had them during the down time, it would have stood out, they have them now, unless Harklequin is currentlly hiding out at a serries of Trek conventions.