Tir Tairngire, Old Supplement and the Future? Options

[SincereAgape]

Hello! Earlier this morning I purchased the Tir Tairngire source book written in 1993 by Nigel Findley. When I first started running the Shadows in 1997, before the internet marketing sales, this book was incredibly hard to come by. Being a huge fan of elves, it was a "Major Bummer."

Before it comes in the mail though (possibly planning to run a campaign in the Tir) can anyone give a brief synopsis of what material is included in the book? Is it something that a GM can use to run a successful campaign?

Also, has there been any rumors, circulation, hearsay, propoganda, work, hint, talk or development of a 4th edition or updated version of Tir Tairngire or Tir NoNog?

[Matsci]

IIRC, Tir Tairngire's economy basically imploded, and the people rose up in rebellion. The councel of princes was reshuffled and lost a lot of power , and a Democratic government was set up, with the Ork Larry Zincan was elected. He and Hesaby worked together, and brought in the Horizon group, who basically revitalized the country, opening it up greatly, and bringing in large amounts of tourism cash.

The Charisma Associates branch of Horizon is now based in Portland.

This is all covered on page 42 of Corporate Enclaves.

[hazemyth]

There has been speculation about making the next location book be about awakened cities. If that's the case, maybe Portland?

[Critias]

In other words, the Tir "today" is pretty much nothing at all like the Tir in the Tir book. It's still a fun read (one of my favorites), but it's pretty out of date in a 4e game.

[hobgoblin]

i wonder whats going on at that other tir. tho i guess a place to start is SoE...

[AllTheNothing]

The Tir is probably a place full of intrigue, the old dominant caste is not that easy to trow out and they probably banded together to preserve their power from the assoult of the foreign competitors (probably banding around the Telestrian Corporation), they might even have ties with the Black Sun rebels (you know the elven suprematist faction of the Rinnelè that belived the old Tir failed due poisoning of the elven ways by non elves) in order to provide the invaders with an enemy to fight and distract them from their machinations (basicaly a shadow war on two fronts, one the "legal" shadowrunning, tho other the terrorist guerrilla of the Black Sun, useless to say that the ties with the Black Sun are the most well concealed ones, with so many layers of deniability that could make SK internal structure seems crystal clear); and lets not forget the ex-high prince, Alachia and Jenna Ni-Fairra influence in the background.
Well, I just think that it would be a plausible evolution of the setting.

[Kanada Ten]

Is it something that a GM can use to run a successful campaign?

Yes, though it lends itself to a certain type of game and time frame (2050ish to 2065ish). There's much less typical shadowrunning, as there is a smaller megacorporate presence, and a much higher level of political intrigue due to the high power wielded by the political elite. Laes is a Tir runners best friend, as even a missing maid is an investigated act. It's a magic heavy setting, which makes it easier to run a magic heavy group. Shadows of North America (3rd edition) has an update on Tir, but AllTheNothing covered it.

[hermit]

Hello! Earlier this morning I purchased the Tir Tairngire source book written in 1993 by Nigel Findley. When I first started running the Shadows in 1997, before the internet marketing sales, this book was incredibly hard to come by. Being a huge fan of elves, it was a "Major Bummer."

Before it comes in the mail though (possibly planning to run a campaign in the Tir) can anyone give a brief synopsis of what material is included in the book? Is it something that a GM can use to run a successful campaign?

Also, has there been any rumors, circulation, hearsay, propoganda, work, hint, talk or development of a T4th edition or updated version of Tir Tairngire or Tir NoNog?

he Tir book contains an overview of thee country, a quite detailed history of the place, chapters detailing law enforcement, this place's crazed social structure and all such stuff. Basically, the country in a nutshell, with some nice flavour stuff, plenty of shadowtalk, and a final chapter which features some hints at all these elfy/dragon secrets. Good book, fun read, I think you will enjoy it, so long as you aren't another of these D&D players who love to carry this ... system's ... preconceptions over to everything else they play.

Now. How is the Tir today?

In short: a FUBAR setting made to make Mary Sue, inc (Horizon) shine; it has been totally nerfed to make it more accessible for the Pink Mohawk crowd and the Orxploiters and troll/dwarf fanboys.

Yeah, I don't like the new Tir much. I miss the Findley Tir. Best place to base villains in, ever.

There is nothing on Tir na nOg in 4th, though, so for the time being you can pretend the setting hasn't been fucked up beyond any hope of repair. That'll maybe come with Cities of Intrigue.

[Wesley Street]

Mary Sue

I don't think you understand what that phrase means.

[hermit]

I do. Horizon is, though, one of the more interesting mary sues i have seen so far. And Horizon really qualifies as an overidealised, flawless, and way too favoured authors' pet.

[TKDNinjaInBlack]

Horizon Group a Mary Sue? No effing way. The writers are just trying to make us think it's all kittens and rainbows until they drop a big digital bomb on us that they'll be leading to with the metaplot for the next few years. Horizon will be the most horrible and twisted of all the corps and I can't wait to see why!

[hermit]

Horizon Group a Mary Sue? No effing way. The writers are just trying to make us think it's all kittens and rainbows until they drop a big digital bomb on us that they'll be leading to with the metaplot for the next few years. Horizon will be the most horrible and twisted of all the corps and I can't wait to see why!

Synner stated this will not happen, and he thinks Horizon is "evil" enough as is. o no, I don't expect much of that kind there. Also, Horizon is THE plot device they use to promotestuff otherwise inexplainable in the SR world (like everyone rooting for ghoul rights all of a sudden, and wendigos being respected members of society, and ever since the Arcology massacre, AIs becoming popular because they have fluffy icons).

[TKDNinjaInBlack]

Well, I suppose your right. I'll secretly be hoping for Horizon to take the side of the digital intelligences when the secret battles between meat and machine become an overt war in the real world. This of course will happen while there's a huge surge in mana and some of the really nasty horrors start waging their war of madness on metahumanity from that astral.

[Kanada Ten]

Hoizon makes people OK with AI - how much more evil do you need them to be?! It's like They Live! happening right before our very eyes!

[hobgoblin]

was there not some mind/opinion control project going? dawkins group or something?

[Degausser]

IIRC, Tir Tairngire's economy basically imploded, and the people rose up in rebellion. The councel of princes was reshuffled and lost a lot of power , and a Democratic government was set up, with the Ork Larry Zincan was elected. He and Hesaby worked together, and brought in the Horizon group, who basically revitalized the country, opening it up greatly, and bringing in large amounts of tourism cash.

The Charisma Associates branch of Horizon is now based in Portland.

This is all covered on page 42 of Corporate Enclaves.

I . . . I . . . I . . . Wait, what?

Okay, I know I don't keep up with shadowrun history too much. I know that I have missed a few plot points like Ghostwalker's return to Denver . . . but how the HELL did I miss the Tir tearing down it's marble walls and letting non-elves in? An ork as president? WHAT? When did the Tir stop being a raciest elves-only-club?

Man, I may be more unprepared than I thought to run my shadowrun campaign.

[Kanada Ten]

was there not some mind/opinion control project going? dawkins group or something?

The Dawkins Group are like opinion ninjas. If there's some teacher in the CAS who even thinks Intelligent Desgin, they break into her classroom, dose her with Laes and kill all the students.

Then they nuke the school from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[hermit]

Hoizon makes people OK with AI - how much more evil do you need them to be?! It's like They Live! happening right before our very eyes!

AI are PC, therefore not evil per se anymore. Much like wendigo and other Infected.

but how the HELL did I miss the Tir tearing down it's marble walls and letting non-elves in? An ork as president? WHAT? When did the Tir stop being a raciest elves-only-club?

You, sir, have just been Mediablitzed.

was there not some mind/opinion control project going? dawkins group or something?

Boo scary hoo, corporations manipulating the mass media. What an unexpcted and horrible turn of events! Never seen before!

The Dawkins Group, however, is the Justice League with less spandex and rules-compatible superpowers.

The Dawkins Group is like opinion ninjas. If there's some teacher in the CAS who even thinks Intelligent Desgin, they break into her classroom, dose her with Laes and kill all the students.

Then they nuke the school from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Nah, they just Mediablitz them.

[TheForgotten]

Horizon Group a Mary Sue? No effing way. The writers are just trying to make us think it's all kittens and rainbows until they drop a big digital bomb on us that they'll be leading to with the metaplot for the next few years. Horizon will be the most horrible and twisted of all the corps and I can't wait to see why!

Hold on the group that specializes in PR has a squeaky clean reputation? Who'd ever have thought. . . best front for organleggers ever.

[Kanada Ten]

Think about it: what use are people to Horizon? Employees live an idyllic life of meaningless banter and play. If one's extracted? Oh well, nobody cares. Nobody cares! Why? Cause the people don't actually do anything at Horizon - they're just the face, man. They're pacifying the world with pleasing images, making believe the world is a happy little place, all the while taking away the purpose of life. How is that not evil! ARGHHHH. Horizon is ushering in the Singularity - the point when humans are useless: we'll all lay around drinking martinis in perfect bliss if we're around at all (which is a bad thing!) - and they're prepping the world for it. Fight the lie!

*relaxes*

[hermit]

Hold on the group that specializes in PR has a squeaky clean reputation? Who'd ever have thought. . . best front for organleggers ever.

Problem is, that PR extends to game information, too. Unlike, say, Aztechnology's.

Cause the people don't actually do anything at Horizon - they're just the face, man. They're pacifying the world with pleasing images, making believe the world is a happy little place, all the while taking away the purpose of life.

Which would be?

Horizon is ushering in the Singularity - the point when humans are useless: we'll all lay around drinking martinis in perfect bliss if we're around at all (which is a bad thing!) - and they're prepping the world for it. Fight the lie!

Again, if there at least were hints at this in game info, yes, I'd agree with you. So far, though - nothing there too.

[AllTheNothing]

I . . . I . . . I . . . Wait, what?

Okay, I know I don't keep up with shadowrun history too much. I know that I have missed a few plot points like Ghostwalker's return to Denver . . . but how the HELL did I miss the Tir tearing down it's marble walls and letting non-elves in? An ork as president? WHAT? When did the Tir stop being a raciest elves-only-club?

Man, I may be more unprepared than I thought to run my shadowrun campaign.

Wow, missing the Ghostwalker's happy homecoming means that you MUST also have missed the whole year of the comet, it's just like missing the awakening; well maybe not that extreme but it DID rock the world, both in a metaphorical and letteral sense of the term, it's a quite a feat to manage ti miss that.
Anyway back to the Tir. The Tir had it easy until after the Big D departed to the big hoard that dragons recive after a life spent virtuosly (actualy he chose that eternal rest can wait and he got enrolled into Earth Metaplanar Defence Force), until that moment the Tir economy was based mainly on export of ..... something I don't remember, and everything was fine (for them at least), than the Big D becomes the first wyrm and goes boom, driving the masses insane (there were a dreckload of of slots pissed off mithy way, so riot on chummers, riot on) leading to alot of extra work for the Star and KE, when dust settled a little people noticed (or at least we were let know of) that the Tir had closed the frontiers and entered in an ultraparanoid (by shadow's standard) isolationist mode, the thing ticked off some slots with money and interests into the trede with the Tir (and gave a good excuse to the human-suprematists to call for economical action against the Tir) resulting into sactions against the Tir's exports; the Tir's economy started to go down the drain but being the whole country built on the elven suprematist pride of the princes the problem wasn't even aknowlegded much less was adressed, as time went on the economical (and living) conditions of large parts of the population turned for worse and worse, at the same time the caste system produced unsufferable disparity of conditions betwen the elite (that broght the country near bankrupt) and the masses. In this explosive situation started a rebelllion known as Rinnelè (the shortened name, the full name meant "rebels of the spire" and that irked the princes the most....cough cough Arlequim cough), the princes refused to aknowledge their existance cracking down on them as they were petty criminals (using lethal forces) until Jenna bitch-Fairra chose to take the matter into her (bloodstained) hands and led a bloody repression; the things went on with the rebels fighting a war against an enemy with enormously superior resources and the princes fighting against a far excessive number of angry peoples (that had the support of an elven living legend and at least one Great Dragon) resulting in a protracted struggle that lasted all the way to the Crash 2.0 when the princes "chose" to step down and went in hiding (some say in Seattle).
That's the general story, there are also a few of subplots like Aitne and Enhra the Scribe stepping down from the council and Lofwyr being replaced by Hestaby, the ork calming down the masses during the surge madness and opposing the isolationist stances of the council, becoming later the voice of the common peple among the princes and calling in the Horizon's Charisma Association (which had been hired before by Lugh Surehan under suggestion of Hestaby in an attempt to polish the tarnished image that the council had among the subjects, miracles sometime happen, other times they don't) for preventing the country to crumble due infighting.

[hobgoblin]

Wow, missing the Ghostwalker's happy homecoming means that you MUST also have missed the whole year of the comet, it's just like missing the awakening; well maybe not that extreme but it DID rock the world, both in a metaphorical and letteral sense of the term, it's a quite a feat to manage ti miss that.

i thought year of the comet never happened. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Degausser]

Yeah, actually, I missed the whole Haley's commet thing in SR3. I only picked up on it in SR4.

Anywho, thanks for the info about those paranoid Elves. Back in my SR3 days, there were three things you never did, and one of them was trying to enter the Tir.

So how open and accepting are the elves now? Can non-elves gain residency? (One would assume so, since that ork is their leader.) How is trade and travel in and out? Could I, with a bit of forgery, drive from Seattle, through the NAN, Tir and into the California Free State without a lot of problems?

[Bira]

Oh, Horizon is evil enough. They're the antagonists in "On the Run", for example - the group at one point faces a Horizon corporate death squad sent after a friggin' music album, probably because doing that was cheaper than just buying the thing. That's not something a squeaky-clean person or corp would do. I bet this sort of thing goes on all the time with them. They may be cleaner, than, say, Aztechnology or Saeder-Krupp, but that's not saying much.