questions about metahumans... Options

[The Synthcat]

Shadowrun 2nd ed mention that elves are vegetarian. Anybody knows how far does it goes ? I mean, can they eat fish, milk, eggs ? Or is it limited to meat like chicken, beef, and so forth ?

It is also said in shadowrun 2nd ed that elves, orks and trolls are either nocturnal or prefer nighttime activity. How did the corporations adapt to this ? Is the usual work schedule still from 9AM to 5PM ? How about in Tir Tairngire ( or in any place mostly populated by metahumans )?

[Connor]

I had always read it that most elves have a preference for a vegetarian lifestyle, not that they can't eat meat.

[Sahandrian]

Personally, I say elves can't digest any form of meat. But I got that idea from Blackjack, not SR2. Orks and Trolls are often said to be nocturnal, but SR3 says that idea was mostly human prejudice, mixed in with messing up their facts a bit.

But don't worry about the elves. They can handle soy products. Though that's the main reason I'd rather not be an elf.

[Fortune]

Personally, I say it's all a bunch of racist crap.

[Jimmy_the_Fixer]

personally, I play SR3, and in the metahuman descriptions it stats that the nocturnal tendances of orks was due to people's initial hatred towards orks, so they decided to due their business at night to avoid contact with racists.
they are not nocturnal by nature, but by choice.

as for elves, it says that it's a stereotype that they are all vegetarians. They can eat meat, theres nothing stopping them. it also mentions stereotypes concerning technology, and that people think elves are tree hugging techno-phobes that don't understand how to use a public terminal, but just by reading the book you can see that's not true. Thats why people are suprised to see an elven decker eating steak, it happens all they time, but it goes against the stereotypical veiw most people have.

[Ancient History]

Vegetarian elves is a result of cultural bias, not genetic, as far as I know.

Metahumans lend themselves to nocturnal activites more easily due to their enhanced vision, but they can operate normally during the day.

I miss allergies. Allergies were cool in metahumans, back in the day.

[John Campbell]

Ah, yes, back in SR1, when anyone attempting to actually play a metahuman got bent over a table and violated with a Mr. Studd...

If you want SR2's optional allergies, you can still get them as Flaws. I can do without SR1's mandatory random allergies, though, especially with the severity penalty trolls got that gave them a better than 50% chance of being assigned a potentially fatal allergy to something common, like sunlight or plastic.

[Tanka]

Glad I never played SR1... I should pick me up the sourcebook just for grins and giggles, though.

[MYST1C]

IIRC the race descriptions of SR2 were not presented solid facts but in-game material written by a controversial scientist.
After all, following his descriptions all elves have long hair, dwarves live mostly in cellars and trolls under bridges...

[Tziluthi]

pg 48, SR3

[BIG BAD BEESTE]

Hmmm, pretty much as people have said already - those are stereotypes. Remember that metahumans are humans. Therefore, they have to breathe oxygen, drink water, and eat food to survive. They bleed if cut (sometimes) and are just as likely to die (although with different lifespans).

Basically, the specialised nature of each meteahuman "race" grants benefits to certain environments. Low light vision lets you see better at night so why not hire an elf or ork for nighttime security patrols rather than pay out 2000 :nuyen: for a set of goggles that are only half as effective? And lets be honest, if you've got the ability to lift small crates around without the forklift then trolls working on the docks or as removals men are going to make a better living. What company wants to hire two humans to do the job it take one troll, and they only have to pay a single salary too. Ooops, here comes the Humanis Metahumans are stealing our jobs rhetoric...

Anyhow, as Ancient has mentioned the 1st Ed made every metahuman character take an allergy. (As well as making them all Priority A - Mr. Studd violated indeed John) note that this was randomly determined too, as was the severity of whatever substance(s) you rolled up. Although it was a little limiting (severely in the case of sunlight) it did actually add a hell of a lot of atmosphere and originality to the Sixth World. It made metahumans different from your garden variety AD&D clone-offs.

Personally I still offer my players the option of electing to go for an allergy if generating a metahuman character. Why? Because I then make that characters' Good Karma/Karma Pool Ratio 10:1 just like a human, rather than 20:1. Its still randomly rolled for though - I like the chance element too much. I've stuck the charts I use down below just in case anyone's interested in using them.

Substance - 2D6 Roll:
2 = Silver (Rare substance - IE: Gold)
3-5 = Plastics (Uncommon manufactured substance - IE: Pharmecuticals)
6-8 = Sunlight (Common substance - IE: Pollutants)
9-11 = Iron (Uncommon natural substance - IE: Wood)
12 = Choose a substance.

Note that with the Substance chart above there are secondary options available should the player prefer to select one of those than the main one rolled. Of course, if they do select a secondary substance then apply a +1 modifier to the Severity roll.

Severity - 2D6 Roll
2-4 = Nuisance - Basic contact causes irritation and annoys the character.
5-8 = Mild - A constact distraction/pain. Apply +1 TN modifier to all tests made while in contact with the substance.
9-11 = Severe - Immediate reaction to the afflicted victim. Intense pain and system shock if exposure is prolonged. Victim must make a Body Resistance (6) Test every Body minutes to avoid taking a Light Physical Wound. Some victims might be required to make a Willpower Test to willingly touch/encounter the substance. Weapons made of this substance are at +1 Power when used to attack such unfortunates.
12 = Extreme - Contact cause an immediate Light Physical Wound, and also another Light Physical Wound subsequently every Body rounds of continous exposure to the substance.

Note that Troll characters add a +2 modifier to their Severity rolls. Also all of the effects listed are cumulative with those of previous "lower" severities.

[The Synthcat]

Good ! So I don't have to worry about my elf character puking her guts out because she inadvertantly ate something like meat.... :)

[Talia Invierno]

Wasn't it Ehran who had the preference for a vegetarian diet (as a reflection of elvish enlightenment)?

Possible in-game explanation for the lightened emphasis on allergies: those experiencing initial goblinisations and UGE were much more vulnerable than the (default low-mana) human to the then-less-Awakened environment. As the mana level rises and the world continues to Wake, the metavariants are increasingly less likely to trigger an immune reaction by the world itself against their existence within it.

[Siege]

Although that would be like saying all Americans know baseball or all Chinese know Tai Chi.

It would be fair to say that it plays a prominent element in the relative mainstream of the respective cultures, but by no means is it universal.

-Siege

[Dogsoup]

...but I like the elf dietary requirement :(. I think it sets them apart slightly, biologically, from the other metas. Noone (at least not PCs) eats real meat anyway, so it's not going to affect the gaming.

[Tanka]

It is, however, very racist. Just because we like to call them dandelion-eaters does not mean they can only eat flowers. :D

[Wish]

Whether or not PCs eat real meat depends on the sort of game you're playing. Not everybody plays street-level games.

[Siege]

[moosegod]

One of my group members had digestive expansion, so he eats just about anything.

So, he was at this ratty hotel and grabbed a SURGEd devil rat with regenration. He bit its head off and was suprised when it regenerated the head. So he bit if off again (four times in all) until he managed to kill it.

Then the other team member with digestive expansion wanted some, but the rat was done for.

Now my group is hunting this specific type of SURGEd devil rat, with some crazy plan for a continuous food source.

[BumsofTacoma]

With newplayers and old alike I have run into this problem. STEREOTYPES.

It is all up to the PC him/herself. Not all dwarves are riggers or repairmen or plumbers.
Not all trolls are retarded, not all elves are stuck up prissy vegitarians. Not all humans hate Meta's.Physads are not all martial arts masters with killing hands, and the list go's on. UNLESS you choose them to be. You either work with or against the stereotypes. Its all up to you as the GM/PC.

Hope I don't sound to much like an Elf........

:D

[Kagetenshi]

Here's to Tinkerbell *raises glass to Elven riggers*

~J

[Siege]

[Shockwave_IIc]

[Dende]

Eh Riggers...

Now Elven Deckers... I had an Albino Elven Decker with a flair...he thought he was a black pimp from the 80s...a traumatic experience in his backstory drove him from Tir to Seattle, he went from there. I like playing characters with unique style.

PS- The name he went by is Black Pearl, case you all ever end up in Redmond.

[Fortune]

Umm, Tinkerbell definitely has unique style. :D