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Full Version: Threat Idea from movie "Intacto" feat. MaxvonSydow
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Dogsoup
I recently watched a pretty decent thriller, Intacto, wich built around the concept that people were gifted with more or less luck, and you could with some methods (photography amongst others) force this luck over to yourself. Especially if your luck was bigger than someone else's. This combined with the "Karma thread" going on got me thinking:

I was stricken by how this movie pretty easily could be translated into a minor Threat faction; The luck would in SR be the Karma Pool, wich every living person has at least one dice. Normal 1d-persons would still be considered lucky or unlucky, story-wise there could be wide differences between people with the same number in their KP.

These people isn't so much an organization, as a loosely connected network. It consisted of Players, "Bookies" and in one case a "Manager" who were once a player but had lost his luck. Instead he sought out others with great potential and pitted his "findings" against other players.

Players are people, often rich snobs since the entrance fee to the events are steep (only material gains accepted never money), who've realized that one can use luck as a force, and competes with each other in various unconventional hazard games. Sometimes these events onvolves bringing in "norms" and absorbing that little sliver of good fate they have, for improving the contestants own luck.

At the top of this community sits a mysterious individual, in the movie a death camp survivior, wich would neatly translates into an old amerind reeducation prisoner in SR. This person is probably known in gambling circuits, but as a myth; An old recluse at some god-forgotten casino in the NANs, who can take your luck away by a simple handshake.
Many hotshots from the competition circuit would seek out this individual and test their chances against "the god of luck" as he is once called in the movie: His game of choice is russian roulette and he hasn't lost a game in 30 years...

Rules are just an appendix to idea itself IMO. Maybe some people are blessd with an extra Karma Pool dice at birth. The "ritual" performed to steal Pool Dice are extremely simple, and doesn't require magical talent. It is probably not hard to learn either. This may seem horrifying to GMs or players, but I'd say that those few who know of it, is very careful using it, and the theft can never be bigger than one die. Most often, street trash are pulled in, given a credstick with some 100 nuyen and a hug. And let go.
A person with his/her luck stolen gets "jinxed", maybe just for a short tie
Also, this is not a close-knitted group; Rather competing individuals driven by the excitement and urge to prove their "gift" superior to others. On ecould decide that the KP theft is only temporal.

This "threat" could be a rumor introduced to paranoid players who will suspect everyone to be a "Karma Vampire". Who actually got the whole thng started, this indian geezer must have learned this technique from someone, right? Maybe the whole thing is a slow nefarious plot to "concentrate" Karma Pool? Is the Indian the prime tool for this plot or is he just the strongest horse on the track right now?
Maybe someone jinxed by a prominent player begins to put two and two together about these people and want some runners to help him investigate/get revenge.


I guess this text seem very rambling to someone not watched the movie, but I assure you it was an enjoyable flick with cool ideas. Im sure you would get the connections Im trying to describe here.

My train leaves soon so I can't elaborate any more right now. Bye.
Velocity
This sounds extremely cool and totally applicable to Shadowrun, though I have to admit I'm one of those GMs "horrified" by the idea of making the ritual easy to learn. Perhaps it could be a metamagical technique? Maybe it would even require the Initiate to learn Divination first or something...

Thanks for suggesting this, DS--you definitely got my GM juices flowing! smile.gif

Oh, and if anyone wants to look at the IMDb plot summary they can find it here.



P.S.: Sounds like a Euthanatos mage to me, and one who's long overdue for a spin of the Wheel. Not to worry though; Bishop will take care of it.
Dogsoup
QUOTE

Perhaps it could be a metamagical technique?

I think it's a question of wether to stay true to SR, or stay true to the movie; I liked the wtf!?-factor of (a selected few) ordinary sleazebags having ,or being given, this ability. But on the other hand, it really sounds like belonging in the realm of magic.
I'd say it's up to personal interpretion.

Im not really at home with Mage so... Dunno.
Thanks for the positive input, but Im just the messenger. wavey.gif
Cray74
QUOTE (Dogsoup)
QUOTE

Perhaps it could be a metamagical technique?

I think it's a question of wether to stay true to SR, or stay true to the movie; I liked the wtf!?-factor of (a selected few) ordinary sleazebags having ,or being given, this ability. But on the other hand, it really sounds like belonging in the realm of magic.
I'd say it's up to personal interpretion.

Im not really at home with Mage so... Dunno.
Thanks for the positive input, but Im just the messenger. wavey.gif

What if it's a type of "magic" unto itself - you might call yourself a "luck adept." No other powers, just like physads aren't spell casters (usually). Your power is luck. It's not a metamagical feat any caster or semi-mundo can learn, nor is it available to Joe Samurai. For all intents and purposes, a luck adept is a normal person with excellent luck. That should put some control on this power, keep it from getting out of hand.

Heck, dragons (or at least great dragons) have some luck manipulation, right? Or at least they did in Earthdawn.

If you applied the usual magic penalties for cyberware, luck adepts would have that control on them, too.

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