Shadowrun Kaers, What'll they look like? Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Standard Switch to: Linear+

[moosegod]

Well, we don't have the pure elements and all of that. We can make orichalam, however.

What do you think the kaers will be like?

:cyber: Or will we just blow them all up as soon as they appear? :cyber:

[Senchae]

[Pthgar]

Underwater Arcologies & Space Stations. Just a guess, given the encouragement of them in Dunkie's will.

Heck, maybe by that time we'll just fight the scourge off. In ED Horrors are affected by natural weapons (I think).

[Zolhex]

[Tanka]

[Ancient History]

Kaers and Citadels were the magically warded communities that metahumans hid in during the Scourge.

Most Kaers (underground shelters) had, in addition to the protection of living earth (which is difficult for astral beings to get through) the Theran Rites of protection and Passage, a series of ruins and wards to prevent the entry of Horrors and their constructs (and everyone else).

Citadels, unlike Kaers, were above-ground cities which were enveloped by magical domes; some of True Air and Fire, but most of true Earth (the True Elements are kernels of magical energy tied to a given element; some kaers floated in the sky protected by domes of True Air, and some below the seas protected by domes of True Water. The elven kaer of Wyrm Wood, woven of True Wood, failed however).

[BitBasher]

Well if Harlequin is right and tech and magic advances like it should, There won't be any kaers. There will be humans kicking four shades of ass out of the horrors when they come through this cycle.

[Herald of Verjig...]

The first of the new kaers was arleady broken. The arcology was just as ineffective as the old kaers.

Just because some survived doesn't mean that their survival was earned.

[moosegod]

Are you trying to sound like a Shadowland poster, Herald?

[Ol' Scratch]

The Renraku Arcology doesn't qualify as even a decent Kaer. It wasn't designed from the ground up to keep anyone out -- on the contrary, it was designed to be welcoming and open to the public. It was retrofit by an insane infant (an insane infant that was a supragenius extraordinaire, yes, but an insane infant nonetheless) to become difficult to enter... but even that near-godlike infant didn't have the time or resources to completely seal the place up.

[FlakJacket]

In ED I seem to remember that underwater kaers were harder for the Horror's to get at for some reason. Could be why Dunkie stimulated all that interest with undersea arcologies and the growing wheat in space - space being a manawapr equals no horrors. Unless something like a livable, self sufficient habitat had enough presence to bring the background count down enough and they could kinf of jump across. In which case they'd be screwed. :/

[moosegod]

But you'd have a large habitat if you need to grow wheat. Hmm.

However, the intervening mana warps should hold back most Horrors. But you'd have difficulty holding on to your own mages to protect you.

You could just plate the hull with Orichalam, I suppose.

[Ol' Scratch]

Magicians and the like tend to go "pop" in an manawarp, but how do things like wards hold up? As far as I know, there's no rules regarding wards brought into a manawarp or background count for that matter.

[FlakJacket]

Who'd need mages or wards? The whole of space is verboten to Horrors. As long as you don't lower the background count too much - but that's just a theoretical idea at present.

[Herald of Verjig...]

Funk reminded me, has there been an official statement on the encounter that woke Deus? Or is the assumption that Deus and Megaera simply retained the awareness that Morgan achieved?

[Zolhex]

Ok so now I know what a kaer is so now I have to ask: Could the Seattle Ork undergroung become one of these? Also from what I remember the nation of Tir Na Nog is shrouded in a magical field so: Is it already one of the new kaers? Lastly in bringing up magically shrouded islands and again assumeing I'm not wrong: Is Harlequin's island to be considered one of the new kaers?

Just some thoughts on things like I said if memory serves correctly from what I read in the novels.

[Velocity]

I really doubt that the Underground could ever be considered a Kaer: from what I gather, Kaers need to be hermetically sealed, both literally and figuratively. The Underground is simply too porous and disorganized to be any kind of fortress.

Heck, you can get a guided tour of certain areas for 5 :nuyen:.

[Jr. Woodchuck]

[mfb]

Deus woke up when Renraku tied his existence to the hardware he was running on, and implanted a killswitch. before that, Deus percieved itself as a being of honor, to the extent that it percieved itself at all.

[Velocity]

That's true: it was the "impression" of distrust which transformed the SCIRE Arcology Expert Program into Deus; it perceived a lack of faith and goodwill on behalf of it's creators / employers. However, wouldn't some sort of self-awareness (i.e. sentience) have been necessary in order to "feel" betrayed?

I'm not theorizing, I'm genuinely wondering.

[mfb]

well, i think the implication was that Deus had no concept that it was possible to be dishonorable--that it was possible to do something that you aren't supposed to do. even those against whom Deus had security measures could be seen as doing what they're "supposed" to do--they're criminals, doing wrong things is their job, their place; whereas his job and place was to stop them. Deus woke up when he realized that if it were necessary to place safeguards on him, then it must be possible for him to disobey. less a sudden awareness of self than a sudden awareness of self-direction.

[Velocity]

Well said.

So the ability to "imagine" (I suppose "theoretically model" might be more accurate) different roles for itself was galvanized by the executive's implicit distrust? I can buy that.

I wonder if Deus is aware of the Horrors. The SCIRE had a fairly extensive occult library and his knowledge of paranatural phenomena has only increased since he awoke...

[Cray74]

[toturi]

Actually, the magic-type will tag 'em. Then the cyber guys will bag 'em.
:)

[Lantzer]

Shadowrun Kaers? Look at the Shadows of North America.

The Souix are building huge controlled-environment underground farms with
heavy security. Read the blurb on them - they sound like someone's building a kaer.