[X] My Assistant

[Tzeentch]

Can anyone fill me on what the most current references to Aithne Oakforest are? His kid got eaten by a grue (and by grue I mean Lofwyr) but beyond that I'm not sure what has transpired. He didn't seem to be involved in the dragon conflict and his kids buddy ol' pal Walter I'm pretty sure skated out of trouble (and it not, then Spider may be out and about again).

[Abstruse]

Can anyone fill me on what the most current references to Aithne Oakforest are? His kid got eaten by a grue (and by grue I mean Lofwyr) but beyond that I'm not sure what has transpired. He didn't seem to be involved in the dragon conflict and his kids buddy ol' pal Walter I'm pretty sure skated out of trouble (and it not, then Spider may be out and about again).

He stepped down from the Counsel of Princes in 2062 I think. It was the same time Lowfyr stepped down and Hestaby got the title. This was also the time Glasgaian went "missing" (wonder if he was good with ketchup...)

After that, he hung around Tir Tairngire pulling strings behind the scenes until the revolution happened, and he fled to I believe Tir nA nOg with a few others from the Counsel of Princes. He's been laying low ever since. I'm trying to remember what books...I want to say it was talked about in Shadows of North America or Dragons of the Sixth World. The update came in a very short paragraph in Land of Promise (though that books focuses almost entirely on the new faces in charge).

[Freya]

He stepped down from the Counsel of Princes in 2062 I think. It was the same time Lowfyr stepped down and Hestaby got the title. This was also the time Glasgaian went "missing" (wonder if he was good with ketchup...)

After that, he hung around Tir Tairngire pulling strings behind the scenes until the revolution happened, and he fled to I believe Tir nA nOg with a few others from the Counsel of Princes. He's been laying low ever since. I'm trying to remember what books...I want to say it was talked about in Shadows of North America or Dragons of the Sixth World. The update came in a very short paragraph in Land of Promise (though that books focuses almost entirely on the new faces in charge).

The first paragraph is Oakforest, the second is Laverty. Oakforest left the Council in 2062, and after going to Pomorya for a while, he was hanging out with the Rohans in Brittany as of Loose Alliances. I don't remember seeing much about him at all in 4E.

Edit: The LoP reference was that Evan Parris/Blackwing used to be attached to Oakforest somehow, I think.

[Bigity]

I need to go look over the will again and see which ones are still outstanding. I know some had time limits between 2065 and 2075

[Freya]

As far as I've read, the old "inner Council" Princes looks something like this in 4th Ed:

Lugh Surehand: Left the Tír during/after the revolution, was on the run and rapidly losing Paladins for a while (Street Legends), supported/is supporting Eliza Bloom for governor of Seattle ("Shell Games", Jet Set), got involved in the Artifact Rush ("A Tale of Two Princes" and one fiction piece in Artifacts Unbound), and was helping organise the secession of the Manitou elves from the AMC in exchange for a spot in their government (one of the fiction pieces in Clutch of Dragons).
Ehran the Scribe: Left the Council in 2062 to take up the DIMR position Dunkie left him (Tír chapter of SoNA), heavily involved in the Artifact Rush (Dusk, Midnight, Darkest Hour, and New Dawn, and a fiction piece in Artifacts Unbound), showed up at the throwdown in Denver ("Lightning in Denver", Storm Front).
Sean Laverty: Presumably left the Tír during/after the revolution, was in Galway in Tír na nÓg as of 2067 ("The Artful Dodger", Storm Front).
Jenna Ni'Fairra: Presumably left the Tír during/after the revolution, showed up in 2073 trying to recover the Book of Leaves ("Something Dark in the Woods", Artifacts Unbound), and it was implied that one of her Paladins was behind the assassination of Elliot Eyes-of-Wyrm (Land of Promise).
Aithne Oakforest: Left the Council sometime prior to 2062 (he's not listed there as of SoNA; I'm starting to think I got him mixed up with Ehran and that he resigned earlier, but I don't have a reference for it), was in Brittany with the Rohans as of 2064 ("The Aristocrats' Cabal", Loose Alliances). I don't think anyone's really described him doing anything in 4E.

Edit: Apparently Oakforest is hanging around Sassnitz and deciding whether to support the Telearn family in the elections for the new duke of Pomorya as of July 2074. He's also suspected to be backing moves against Lofwyr in Hamburg alongside NeoNET.

[Abstruse]

The first paragraph is Oakforest, the second is Laverty. Oakforest left the Council in 2062, and after going to Pomorya for a while, he was hanging out with the Rohans in Brittany as of Loose Alliances. I don't remember seeing much about him at all in 4E.

Edit: The LoP reference was that Evan Parris/Blackwing used to be attached to Oakforest somehow, I think.

I thought Laverty was in "parts unknown" with a massive bounty on his head from the current TT government, while Oakforest, Surehand, and Ehran were in TNN under political asylum...I didn't follow the SR4 metaplot very closely though due to...issues...I had with how some things were handled (this plot being the biggest).

[Freya]

Surehand's the one that's off in Parts Unknown (or the Algonkian-Manitou Council, as it turns out to be in CoD).

[Not of this Worl...]

Basically 4th edition didn't do anything worthwhile with the characters (No offense to Tzeentch whom I know is trying to salvage the setting). 4th edition was about Great Dragons being 'teh Uberz' as much as late second edition became annoyingly over-infatuated with the immortal elves. Surehand and Laverty abandoning the empire they'd been building since the 1970s just overnight was particularly part of the Shadowrun reboot while Surehand's puppet Zincan became the real power was always bizarro. Not to mention what is their to stop any of the IEs from teleporting down to California and mind controlling the entire board of Horizons or just doing it by ritual sorcery? These Immortal Elves have been planning a country for thousands of years because of some street thugs? There wasn't a single thing about the setting reboot that made sense except for the fact that Fanpro wanted to reboot the setting to be less Fantasy and more Transhumanist.

We've yet to see much of anything about what way the metaplot is going for 5th, but if this isn't something they have the sense to fix then I don't see myself buying many of the non-rule books.

To add some more information. Aithne's ex-wife stayed in TT as of SONA with the surviving two children. Also, last I knew the Telestrians were still proxies for Oakforest's politics and owed much of their empire to Aithne.
There is also an unresolved question regarding Glasgian. He was pretty much dead at the end of Never Trust an Elf but somehow survived, got out of Lofwyr's clutches and limped along for another 5-7 years before Lofwyr got him again and finished him off.

[Abstruse]

Basically 4th edition didn't do anything worthwhile with the characters (No offense to Tzeentch whom I know is trying to salvage the setting). 4th edition was about Great Dragons being 'teh Uberz' as much as late second edition became annoyingly over-infatuated with the immortal elves.

We've yet to see much of anything about what way the metaplot is going for 5th, but if this isn't something they have the sense to fix then I don't see myself buying many of the non-rule books.

Read the last chapter of Storm Front. That's where it's going, at least for now. First plotbook follows up on that thread.

[Tzeentch]

There wasn't a single thing about the setting reboot that made sense except for the fact that Fanpro wanted to reboot the setting to be less Fantasy and more Transhumanist.

-- Actually, it wasn't FanPro driving that.
-- I love this part of a review of Never Trust an Elf.

"The plot is incoherent, the heroes ineffectual, and the antagonists inexplicable."

-- Sounds about right (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Not of this Worl...]

Yeah, Never Trust an Elf was a very disappointing follow-up to the Secrets of Power Trilogy.

Fanpro were the ones behind the 4th edition reboot, so if they weren't the ones driving it then who was?

[Tzeentch]

Fanpro were the ones behind the 4th edition reboot, so if they weren't the ones driving it then who was?

Probably the line developers from Rob onwards (even Mike changed some things to keep the setting relevant and updated). AFAIK FanPro was pretty hands-off on the direction of Shadowrun.

[Freya]

Where did the connection between Oakforest and Telestrian first come up? I hadn't seen that before it was mentioned here. (Considering the Telestrians are starting to become the Rockefellers of the Tír...)

[Abstruse]

FanPro started the shift from IEs/dragons to metacorporate political boring crap and the Amazonia/Aztlan war. CGL just took that ball and ran with it.

[Bigity]

To be fair, the ED property went to a different company, so it was probably a little more difficult to stress the ED/SR connections.

I'd prefer a swing back that way myself but oh well, it's not going to happen, ever.

[Not of this Worl...]

Where did the connection between Oakforest and Telestrian first come up? I hadn't seen that before it was mentioned here. (Considering the Telestrians are starting to become the Rockefellers of the Tír...)

Double checked and I was wrong. It was Andaluasian (sic) Light Industries that he had the connection with (A semi-competitor to Telestrian industries).

On an unrelated note Fanpro and Rob Boyle are somewhat synonymous in my mind. Rob Boyle took over as Shadowrun line director at Fanpro when the game made the switch. That "era" of Shadowrun is inseparably tied and everything that makes 4th edition and its setting what it is comes from that.

[lokii]

Well, he has become Herr Eichenwald by which I mean he is back in Pomorya and seems to be part of the brewing trouble in Lofwyr's backyard. I think this also briefly mentioned in Clutch of Dragons, Frosty's piece I believe.

Also there is Pegasus monthly ingame news publication, NovaPuls. Here is the July 2074 issue that mentions Oakforest (German obviously). According to the article on page 4, he trying to influence, who will become the next Duke of Pomorya:

http://www.pegasus.de/shadowrun/spielhilfe...apuls-10072074/

I would suggest to ask Pegasus if they have any extended plans for him.


By the way, thanks for putting the tune from It Is Pitch Dark back into my head. ._.

[Freya]

Any chance of getting a quick translation for those of us who don't speak German? (Not word-for-word, just the general idea would be awesome.) For that matter, is there very much that's been published about Pomorya in the German sources? I can never find anything about the place in English.

Edit: Edited my summary upthread. Thanks for mentioning this. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Critias]

Personally, keeping up with the old IE's just wasn't in the cards, for LoP. I know they're scattered, I know some other folks had been (and maybe still are) doing stuff with a handful of 'em, so I just figured I'd...basically...leave 'em to it. I dropped in a couple rumors and some folks who may or may not be catspaws, but for the most part I just worried about what's going on in the Tir, not what the exiled former leaders are up to.

[Freya]

Personally, keeping up with the old IE's just wasn't in the cards, for LoP. I know they're scattered, I know some other folks had been (and maybe still are) doing stuff with a handful of 'em, so I just figured I'd...basically...leave 'em to it. I dropped in a couple rumors and some folks who may or may not be catspaws, but for the most part I just worried about what's going on in the Tir, not what the exiled former leaders are up to.

IMO, that was a better use of the space. This way there's actually enough meat to it to go, "well, this is how you could do things if you wanted to run an adventure in the Tír". (Of course, then Elven Blood came along... or was that released first?) Besides, it's only been ten years since Surehand et al. were booted out of power. I can't imagine them having any obvious connections back in-country this soon.

[lokii]

Any chance of getting a quick translation for those of us who don't speak German? (Not word-for-word, just the general idea would be awesome.)

Well, it comes from a publication called "Adelsrevue". Sounds like yellow press. Oakforest was seen at a social event in Pomorya. They speculate he is back to counsel his connections in the duchy on the upcoming election. He used to be aligned with House Teleam. That's why Count Wratislav was thought to have his support, but instead they had some heated discussion and Oakforest hasn't endorsed him so far. Then they speculate that Oakforest might be behind some recent attacks on Saeder-Krupp's subsidiary Ætherlink in Hamburg, because of the bad blood between him and Lofwyr. This ties in with a delayed joint undertaking by NeoNET and Ætherlink to develop the Pomoryan matrix grid.

For that matter, is there very much that's been published about Pomorya in the German sources? I can never find anything about the place in English.

There is definitely more. The second edition publication "Die Länder der Verheißung" has around 40 pages on the duchy. After that it was usually shorter updates, the latest one in "Reiseführer in die deutschen Schatten". I would say Pomorya had the same kind of image problem as the other Elven nations. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) As far as English sources are concerned you are right there isn't much. But have a look at the index of sources on the Shadowhelix (right-hand column). Maybe there is some stuff you missed:

http://shadowhelix.pegasus.de/Pomorya#Quellenindex

[Freya]

There is definitely more. The second edition publication "Die Länder der Verheißung" has around 40 pages on the duchy. After that it was usually shorter updates, the latest one in "Reiseführer in die deutschen Schatten". I would say Pomorya had the same kind of image problem as the other Elven nations. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) As far as English sources are concerned you are right there isn't much. But have a look at the index of sources on the Shadowhelix (right-hand column). Maybe there is some stuff you missed:

http://shadowhelix.pegasus.de/Pomorya#Quellenindex

Interesting... the section from "Die Länder der Verheißung" definitely doesn't show up in any of the English sources. I did find a PDF of the English version of "Deutschland in den Schatten" (or at least, I assume that's it, the title and cover art is similar enough), and the page and a half there is the most I've ever been able to find in an English source. Then again, I also find it interesting that both "Die Länder der Verheißung" and "Tír Tairngire" mean "The Land of Promise" in English, and the cover art from that book is very similar to the English printing of the Tír na nÓg book. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

Oh well. Looks like it's time to stumble through the Shadowhelix article via Google Translate.

Edit: And wow, I sure wasn't disappointed with the results. Apparently, the English translation for Sassnitz is "Satan". Sounds like a hell of a place! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[lokii]

Well, Länder is plural, so Lands of Promise, as the book is a translation of the Tir Tairngire and Tír na nÓg sourcebooks (some parts left out to be precise) with Pomorya as a German-only add-on. So no coincidence with the cover.

I would always recommend the English Google Translate version on entertainment value alone. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) But we also separated the Index into German and English sources in part to make at least this information more accessible to English speakers and also to make it easier to import into the Wikia Shadowrun wiki.

[lokii]

The newest Novapuls issue mentions Elleara Oakforest, a daughter of Aithne (called Ellara in the pdf), who also seems to be in Pomorya:

http://www.pegasus.de/shadowrun/spielhilfe...apuls-16112074/