Mana levels, WTF? Options

[Abstruse]

[Ancient History]

Well, it's a common example. A mark reflects the Horror that made it, and might be hidden, and sometimes just looks different. A mark probably couldn't be mistaken for cyberware.

[Nikoli]

But, what if cyberware (it's effect on the soul) is the result of a horror, possibly the Faustian deal one.

[Ancient History]

It doesn't work like that. A mark is slightly more involved than a dog pissing on a tree to mark it, but notably alien from the aura itself (rather than a reflection of the difference between the body and implants). Asides from which, none of the "Faustian" Horrors work like that. If Artificer and Nemesis got together they could /probably/ come up with some pseudo-cyberware.

[Nikoli]

What if they influenced the creation of something that would slowly destroy the soul while seemingly give you an edge? think of the treasure trove of pain that cyberzombies must present for Horrors.

It's just a thought

[toturi]

Send in the cyberzombies to go after the Horrors.

[kevyn668]

Second.

[Nikoli]

And see those same zombies become meat puppets for the horrors, I doubt the zombies could defend themselves. I think they'd be too busy pondering the meaning of that last birthday candle on their 2nd birthday cake to notice the mind of something truly resembling a demon slipping into their body.

[toturi]

Well, the Horror isn't going anywhere after it possesses a cyberzombie. Heck, just install an off switch on the cyberzombie a la Burnout/Lethe and voila! Horror prison!

[Nikoli]

Why couldn't the Horror control a cyberzombie?

[toturi]

Because all the cybernetics got switched off?

Because the Horror is now happily figuring out the meaning of that last candle? Because the MBW 4 just caused CDS? Because... :D

[Ancient History]

Because the Horror can kill the silly cyberzombie and just animate the dead corpse of a body?

[toturi]

True... but it could have done the same to any normal (meta)human.

[Nikoli]

what can I say? I'm inspired for a game I'm running

:vegm:

[Senchae]

[Herald of Verjig...]

Either they snapped and let Ristul in with little resistance, or they offered themselves and many of their followers to slow Ristul so that it could not spread far during the height of the mana cycle (when it could physically manifest). Which sequence of events you hear depends on which historian you listen to.

[Moonstone Spider]

It'd be interesting to see how Ristul would fare against some high-level FAB-III clouds (Or, if this is the future of SR, something more advanced along the same lines, like FAB-VII). One is a living Spirit/Background count, the other eats background counts, Spirits, and pretty much anything else magical as well. If Ristul covered a wide area he might even be vulnerable to multiple clouds at once. We'd need a force Rating for Ristul when calculating damage, though.

One concern with SR, remember that if your players meet a Horror, the odds are they will devote the rest of their lives to hunting down and killing Horrors. Somehow, they will find a way. Most runners, even fairly amoral ones, will tend to decide that it's in their own best interest to make sure those things aren't the future. And if they're fairly moral types, then there's no way they'll go back to stealing paydata for Mr. Johnson when more of those things might be showing up. They might do stuff like that to earn a little cred on the side, but they will probably have a new goal in life, and when they're constantly searching the Matrix for evidence of encounters, bringing bits of the Horror's body to DIMR for inspection, posting messages in Shadowland (Where a lot of people who know what the Horrors are hang out) etc. it's pretty hard for the GM to stop them. So you might want to think carefully about inserting Horrors unless you're going to run a very horror-centric campaign.

[Person 404]

[MrSandman666]

DIMR? :huh:

[TinkerGnome]

Don't know about eating background count, but it will create voids (source: Target: UCAS).

[LaughingTiger]

[BitBasher]

I think this thread is a good example why the "horrors crossing over" plotline was largely eliminated and left for dead in the DragonHeart trilogy.

[Moonstone Spider]

Mr. Sandman: DIMR is the Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research, set up in his will to study magic. Of course what they know about horrors is debatable since FASA, and to some Degree Fanpro, didn't/doesn't like letting the players know what is going on in their own games, but if I ran into a Horror I'm pretty sure that's where my character would take the body for study.

Actually if the Horrors really got Nasty I suspect humans would just migrate into space for the Duration. Nothing Astral can survive in space. They've already got sufficient space travel ability to have orbital habitats that can handle themselves permanently, a few hundred of those all over the place, and the Horrors can have EArth for the Scourge while Mankind's safe and sound up there. Maybe build an orbital ring system with a series of Upraised Middle Fingers painted on it's underside to remind them what we think of them, and the Dragons too since they won't be able to come and get to live with the Horrors by themselves.

Frustration; one of Humanity's greatest Weapons against the Horrors.

[John Campbell]

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. That's the only way to be sure.

[BitBasher]

Ho-ho-hold on one second. This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it! and what, you're.. you're a sergeant? I dont think you have the kind of authority to make a decision like that.