Quick question, chummers:
According to The Sixth World website (http://www.divnull.com/lward/sixthworld/), Stonehenge, England has a Background Count of 4 (verified by MAGIC IN THE SHADOWS, page 84).
I'm only asking because I'm considering Stonehenge as a possible birthplace for my character in Sahandrian's campaign (essentially, he's an Immortal human descendant of an Immortal Elf although, as far as is known, it isn't any of the previously documented ones). I figure he's between 200 and 300 years old ([/I]i.e.,[/I] born approximately 1750--1850), but he doesn't look older than 25 or so.
I'm playing him as an Adept of the Magician's Way (Hermetic) (SR3 terminology--that's a Physical Magician, if you're still playing SR1 or SR2).
My question is as follows--would being conceived or born near Stonehenge have any effect upon the manifestation of his magical potential? That is, would he be BORN an Adept, or would the powers be latent, only to emerge at puberty or with training, as seems to be the usual case in SHADOWRUN?
As always, thanks in advance for any comments.
--Foreigner
Full Version: Stonehenge in Shadowrun
Ah well, all awakened people ARe awakened at birth, it just doesn't manifest sooner, kinda like you your genitals don't start working till later (crude example but the only one that came to mind). You could say that because of living in proximity to such a place with a higher mana level his powers manifested a few years sooner, but whats the differance between being magically active at 5 rather than 15 to someone whos 300 years old, anyway?
Out of interest, how are you going to account for the fact that the chargen rules don't allow you to account for three hundred years of experience?
~J
~J
Actually, someone more knowledgeable on IE and such (*cough* AH *cough*) could probably be of more use, but I think it's rather a moot point since 300 years ago the mana level was too low to support mages, so assuming you had the latent mage gene, your powers would only manifest when the 6th world started.
I won't touch the hideously non-canon IH concept, but how in the Hell did he get born at Stonehenge?
That said; "Background COunt" in terms of Stonehenge means "Power Site located at a nexus of ley lines aspected for druidic magic and against all others."
Now, if your character had been conceived at Stonehenge, and his parents lived at Stonehenge while he was in the womb, and he was born at Stonehenge, and then lived there til he hit puberty, then it is possible for any of the following to occur:
1) If he had metahuman genes, he could have expressed as a dwarf or elf Spike Baby when he was born; or as an Ork or Troll when he hit puberty. While highly unlikely, he could have SURGED too, if the mana at Stonehenge spiekd for some reason while he was there.
2) Growing up on a power site before the Awakening would give him the potential to develop working magical abilities. It would be as hard as a motherfucker, and he'd likely nearly have a stroke trying to cast a low force spell, and there'd be almost nobody to teach him (with the possible exception of Hessler or Lothar, maybe Liam O'Connor or an IE, A free spirit if you're feeling generous.)
That's about it.
That said; "Background COunt" in terms of Stonehenge means "Power Site located at a nexus of ley lines aspected for druidic magic and against all others."
Now, if your character had been conceived at Stonehenge, and his parents lived at Stonehenge while he was in the womb, and he was born at Stonehenge, and then lived there til he hit puberty, then it is possible for any of the following to occur:
1) If he had metahuman genes, he could have expressed as a dwarf or elf Spike Baby when he was born; or as an Ork or Troll when he hit puberty. While highly unlikely, he could have SURGED too, if the mana at Stonehenge spiekd for some reason while he was there.
2) Growing up on a power site before the Awakening would give him the potential to develop working magical abilities. It would be as hard as a motherfucker, and he'd likely nearly have a stroke trying to cast a low force spell, and there'd be almost nobody to teach him (with the possible exception of Hessler or Lothar, maybe Liam O'Connor or an IE, A free spirit if you're feeling generous.)
That's about it.
Okay. That's kind of what I thought, too (especially with regard to what Ancient History said about latent magical potential), but I wasn't certain.
That's the main reason I posted the question.
Thanks.
--Foreigner
That's the main reason I posted the question.
Thanks.
--Foreigner
| QUOTE |
| According to (The Sixth World ) website, Stonehenge, England has a Background Count of 4 (verified by MAGIC IN THE SHADOWS, page 84). |
The original information is from the section on Leys and Major Sites from the original London sb and should be updated in SoE.
| QUOTE |
| I'm only asking because I'm considering Stonehenge as a possible birthplace for my character in Sahandrian's campaign (essentially, he's an Immortal human descendant of an Immortal Elf although, as far as is known, it isn't any of the previously documented ones). I figure he's between 200 and 300 years old ([/I]i.e.,[/I] born approximately 1750--1850), but he doesn't look older than 25 or so. |
You do know that Stonehenge is a stone monument (as opposed to any type of community) standing basically in the middle of nowhere (actually on Salisbury Plain)? The nearest modern age township (Amesbury) is a couple of miles away and according to archaelogical digs it's closer than any of the older stuff except for burrows and burial mounds.
| QUOTE |
| My question is as follows--would being conceived or born near Stonehenge have any effect upon the manifestation of his magical potential? That is, would he be BORN an Adept, or would the powers be latent, only to emerge at puberty or with training, as seems to be the usual case in SHADOWRUN? |
Several problems here, the biggest being that even if you had magical potential and someone to train you in the Hermetic style 200 years ago, mana levels would have been too low to actually do anything or learn anything practical (assuming you're beginning with a Spikebaby who doesn't know all the tricks back in the 4th World and don't begin with a double digit Initiation level). You'd only actually begin to be able to use magic shortly before the Awakening (like the Indians and the IRA) which means in practice you're down to the last 50+ years and on par with older human magicians.
Second, if you're actually going to be taught magic by an IE parent (nobody else is going to teach you serious stuff -although you might have picked up some minor tricks and destilled lore from wannabes like Crowley and co. or Neo-Druidic cults) during the downcycle it probably wouldn't be a traditional Hermetic style but rather some ED-offshoot like the Paths of the Wheel.
[edit] Note - Regarding AH's post. Stonehenge is indeed aspected towards Druidic magic in the 2050's, however it is not true Druidic magic but rather the Hermetic Druid wannabe sort. This may or may not be relevant. The important thing to remember is that that Background Count probably wasn't manifest before the Awakening and if it was, it was most likely aspected towards Neo-Celtic Druidics (modern influence) and/or Pre-Celtic Druidic Shamanism (original influence) rather than Hermetic back then.
Syn literally wrote the book on this one, so I recommend you listen to him.
Point taken, AH.
<SIGH> Typed without thinking again, I guess...
--Foreigner
<SIGH> Typed without thinking again, I guess...
--Foreigner
No matter what canon says, if it is Sahandrian's campaign, then he is the final arbitrator of what is and isn't possible.
Isn't that always the standard disclaimer?
-Siege
-Siege
I have found that it needs to be restated on occasion.
Actually, it needs to be said more or less constantly in some places.
Just to be clear - it is pretty well documented (as far back as the original Harlequin that mana peaks occured throughout the downcycle and there are suspicions that a big one did take place during the Middle Ages in Europe (leading to many of our legends of mythic creatures), it stands to reason that if the ambient mana level went up temporarily major Power Sites like Stonehenge would "flare" even higher (and probably take longer to dissipate).
Of course this is Sahandrian's game and he gets to rule however he wishes, it's a given. Stonehenge itself makes a nice ED tie-in even though it began being built way after ED times.
What I was pointing out is the fact that Stonehenge isn't the best choice for this sort of thing. There are several other Stone Circles in strategic positions across England (and some other nice wierdness) some of which even overlap townships and cities, it just takes a little more research. Stonehenge is just the easy answer. In my experience you can make almost any idea work if you just dig a little further.
Of course this is Sahandrian's game and he gets to rule however he wishes, it's a given. Stonehenge itself makes a nice ED tie-in even though it began being built way after ED times.
What I was pointing out is the fact that Stonehenge isn't the best choice for this sort of thing. There are several other Stone Circles in strategic positions across England (and some other nice wierdness) some of which even overlap townships and cities, it just takes a little more research. Stonehenge is just the easy answer. In my experience you can make almost any idea work if you just dig a little further.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.