The Secret Life of Metahumans, A thought on life with other metatypes Options

[RangerJoe]

I just walked past a moderate sized poodle playing tug-of-war with smallish beagle in the park outside of my office, which gave me some insight into what it must be like to be a meta of any type in the 2060s of SR.

On the one hand, the dogs must know that one of them is bigger and stronger, but that the other has a keener sense of smell and a more lithe form for hunting. On the other hand, the dogs play happily with each other because they know that, at heart, they're both dogs.

This kind of recognizing differences in abilities within a common idea of identity must be the enlightened ideal for living with other metatypes. Different metatypes have different strengths and weaknesses, but in the end, they're all metas (just as all breeds are still dogs). Maybe this insight will help folks get into character more interacting with metas of different types.

This bit of Shadowrun philosophy brought to you by the fact that coffee is no substitute for sleep.

[Fresno Bob]

The more you know...

[mfb]

...the more you come to hate Barbara Streisand.

[Edward]

The strange thing is I have never seen a racist dog.

Edward

[kevyn668]

How many dogs were in your subject group?

[BGMFH]

not too many as I know of several that are trained to hate people with dark skin.

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

[Kanada Ten]

It'd be cool when the finially do WMI and intergrated ASIST. Upload your avatar and we can all look like monsters.

[toturi]

Racist dogs, you think that Hell Hounds are jealous of Shadowhounds who hate Cerebus Hounds who are locked in deadly struggle with Fenrir... Or maybe normal rats are secretly jealous of Demon and Devil Rats and are plotting a revolution! Viva la rat revolution!

[Fortune]

[Fresno Bob]

I've seen dogs that were trained to hate anyone. Its tragic, really.

[toturi]

[Fresno Bob]

Heh. Never thought of it that way.

So the dog gnawing at my throat is a commie like me. Cool.

[durthang]

[Kanada Ten]

Now all you have to do is buy a poodle and see what happens. They may just be two very insular dogs.

[shadow_scholar]

I thought poodles were French hunting dogs? If so, guess that might explain that one.

Regardless, so why is it that dogs and cats will breed amongst themselves despite looking vastly different? Is it a mammal thing? Because AFAIK birds don't do that. I always wondered why. I mean, even the big cats can interbreed. They do have the occasional Liger happen, though they're not typically bred for their skills in magic.

[Cynic project]

Oh that is what they want you to think..But when the time comes, the ligers will start using magic like you wouldn't believe...

[Weredigo]

Well since this isn't a "Dog Breed Forum" I'm going to see if I can help this topic get back on track. Metahumans, and how they differ. Most of my views are Noncanon.

Starting with my favorite, Dwarves. Short yes, but Stocky, Barrel/"Pair of Bowling Balls" Chested depending on Gender. We all know your average Dwarf is a Beer Guzzling stubborn grump who's more apt to start a fight with the biggest thing He/She sees (if they think they can survive the conflict) rather then make any attempt to stop a fight between any two other parties.
Now let's look at the Why. (most of what follows is honest opinion and noncanon) Physiologically Dwarves lack the enzymes most other races have that enable a person to break down a burn fat, however the enzymes used to burn alcohol and other toxics are stronger and more numerous (logically from the upgrade a Dwarf gets to his Body for Racial Modifiers), so when 1 part of alcohol is burned it takes 3 parts of fat with it. Wine is too weak, Hard liqour is too strong, but Beer is just perfect. Unlike most Metatypes Parents of Dwarves are advised to start thier Dwarven children on a regular diet of Beer as soon as puberty begins. There is also another way which some mothers prefer, Coffee, completelely normal at the breakfast table wether at home or out in public, and although a rare sight in resteraunts during Lunch or Dinner still acceptable nonetheless, with an interesting drawback, after the "burn" there is still caffiene left, which builds up in the system, and causes a sort of Half awake, half sleep state. Not the same as Narcolepsy which would cause one to fall asleep at the drop of the hat. Rather the body will lapse into a state of sleep while the concious and unconcious mind will still be active. This results in a higher then normal Logic, Common Sense, and Problem solving abilities compared to Dwarves who prefer the Beer. It is not uncommon for a CoffeeDwarven Decker to surf the newsnet portions of Matrix while sleeping. Mages will often contemplate spells, spend quality time with totems on astral plane, or have tutoring sessions with "Mentor Spirits", Street Sam . . . do beware, Although they are Trap Spotters as per the Edge they will still walk into the trap, they've been in this situation before, they remember where they fragged up, and they're about to do a better job of it this time. Socially Dwarves are very down to earth, considerate, reliable, and respectfull, unless they don't know you all that well. They can take jokes and puns from their freinds and family with a smile on thier face because they know they have the respect, everyone else however is fair game. Like Robin said on "BeBe's kids" They don't have to like you, but they DO have to respect you. IF it looks like yer gonna butt heads with a Dwarf just get it over with, If you kick his ass he'll buy you a beer, if he kicks yours <shrug> he'll still buy you a beer, or smuggle a case into the hospital or wherever you wind up. Last but not least, the never ending fascination with looking that dragon square in the eyes and telling him "Bring it on Ugly, I can take it." Think about it, yer the shortest kid in your class, the big guys got a choice, he can either try to bully the kid that's just a little bit smaller then he is, or he can start by working up the size chain, starting with you. It's not that the Dwarf wants to pick the fight, it's just that he knows he's a Prime Target.

[Weredigo]

Complete opposite end of the spectrum, The Troll. He's big, He's ugly, and he's not afraid of anything less then standard armor piercing rounds. First thing you have to realize with these folks is it's not easy being a troll. Common Items that are sized to Trolls can be expensive, if you were born that way you grew up with the instant fear of most of the people around you, especially when you stood next to Daddy and looked down at him, at the age of 12, and they still have yet to find a baseball bat that you won't demolish, not to mention a baseball that'll survive that first good solid thwack over the outfield, audience, and parkinglot. If you weren't born into it you have all that as well not to mention you've lost 5 years worth (or more) of your educational knowledge. So how're you going to feel. Trolls are extremely civil to their freinds and will probably be the one to step between Dave and Gary if it looks like they're gonna start slugging it out, and at home they are extremely gentle... they have to be, unless they have a small fortune (over a million or so) reserved strictly for replacing dishes, bath supplies, laundrey, home entertainment gear, and not to mention furniture. They can also appear to be Louts at the table or wherever they eat. Having a 4 gallon stomach can be handy, keeping a 4 gallon stomach full, with 3 meals a day, is next to impossible, easier with 5 meals a day. While out in public however they are going to act as they please, thier reasoning is if you gotta problem with it you can be an adult about it and stick up for yourself, or you can take a hike. Trolls don't want to be feared, they'd rather be just accepted for who they are.

hmm... next... ooh... ELVES. Yup, yer an Elf, yer a bit taller then the breeders, and a bit smarter too, it's your 25th birthday tomorrow, but pysiologically, and emotionally, yer just 14. No wonder people think yer stuck up, you look like yer barely out of highschool yet you've got that Bachelors in "Applied Physics" and almost have that Masters in <insert random artsy degree>. You've already had more significant others then you can count but you just dumped your last one because they couldn't understand <insert random obscure poet>, and the one before that forgot you were allergic to Chicken (not fish, or beef, or duck) and didn't tell you it was in the casserole they cooked for you, yeah you remember that week of food poisoning you had, well that's what it felt like at least, when will breeders ever understand the numerous allergies of an elf. But hey, it's okay, yer still young, oh and don't forget, it's great grampa's 304th birthday today, gotta find him some old classic music that he'll like, and oh, hey, there's a copy of Gerschwinn, that'd be perfect...

And now for something completely different.
Not as big, not as prone to being unintellegent, and not as resistant to "velocity related lead poisoning" Orcs still have thier quirks. Although as mentioned earlier in a previous post "In Our Game" there are not Star Wars movies, but there was still Star Trek, and what were those big, ugly, warrior based aliens, oh yeah, Klingons. Somewhere along the line in the awakening some Ork decided to adopt the Language, Name, Morals, and basic Dress of the noble fictional race, of course the guy was a crackpot but still to this day Ork Children are taught both Common, and Klingon, When they pick up a weapon they are considered Adults. When they Die in Battle, they have died with Honor. For anyone who is Unaware Klingon Honor depended on ones ability to face one's opponents on equal terms (wether it be machine guns, sledgehammers, or chess), being Honest, Loyal, and Respectfull to one's Elders, and Being Responsible to one's offspring.

[DrJest]