Where can I get info on these things? Background, motive, what they heck they are, etc.

The 3ed rulebook doesn't give any specifics, nor does any of the history stuff, except they masqueraded as some peace group.

So what's up with these things?

The best current book is Magic in the Shadows.

More information can be found in older books, but I've a very condensed timeline here .

Basically bugs are supposed to be a mystery. we get vague references to their home deminension/world/hive is terribly over crowded so they come here to reproduce. They are not necessariyl evil but the fact they exist by taking humans makes them a threat. For example a Wasp Queen and shaman are not out to take the world. They just want to set up a hive and grow, unfortunatly this act is not healthy for people in the area around the hive who will be taken, but they are not being taken becasue the queen demands human souls or somethnig, just that she requires the bodies. the humans are initerial to her.

I am suprised by such an answer coming out from a Mantis lady like you, HW.

I never said I was a Mantis, and I was using the hostile sorts of insects as an example.

Denial! The first hint of conspiracy!

My descriptions come from a general understanding of MitS, Bug City, Universal Brotherhood, Queen Euphoria, and Double Exposure.

An Insect Shaman is a magician who follows an Insect Totem (Roach, Beetle, Fly, etc.). In the regular play of Shadowrun, these are reserved for the GM to run. An Insect Shaman can summon forth Insect Spirits, and eventually a Queen. These spirits increase the power of the shaman, but a powerful Queen can break free of the control of the shaman and bring forth more Insect Spirits on her own.

An Insect Spirit is not native to our world, and can not stay unless a host body, like a homeless person or captured shadowrunner, is provided to it. The live body is taken to the nest or hive, and often cocooned until possession is complete. As a rule, once possessed there is no going back.

What emerges from the cocoon may look completely human (and still have human memories and skills usable by the bug), it may be generally human with some bug-like limbs and/or mandibles and/or wings (called a flesh form), or it may come out as a true form, which is normally Astral but can Materialize into a truly horrid physical bug with bug powers like Venom or Paralyzing Touch. A hive generally has a mix of these, and the flesh-forms may be divided between "workers" and "soldiers".

The goal of a Shaman/Queen/Hive is generally to grow in power and produce more spirits, but the steps the hive takes to accomplish this often does not make sense to humans. They have an alien mentality and should be played that way.

Hives of different types generally compete with one another. They treat humanity as a food source and more bodies for the nest. Occasionally hives of different types have been known to cooperate. Most Insect Shamans and Queens are highly intelligent, and many have taken the time to study humans and have sent some of their completely human-looking or mostly human-looking merges back to continue working their old jobs. Occasionally one of these that can pass for a human will hire shadowrunners to perform a task the Queen wants done.

Not all insects use a hive. Some have a nest, some are solitary. Some insects prey on others, and may team up with shadowrunners to destroy another's nest or hive.

In your game you can run adventures in 2054 and 2055 involving the Universal Brotherhood, a charity organization with self-help classes, clinics, and soup kitchens (also a front for bugs). You can also run adventures in 2056 and 2057 involving runs in and out of Chicago (aka Bug City).

Mental and physical attributes for a Flesh Form Worker or Soldier are in MitS on p. 128.
For a True Form, see the tables on page 136-137 of MitS.

One thing that's always seemed odd to me, insect spirits are supposedly totally alien in their outlook on life, and that's part of the problem for humans. Well and good, but what about non-insect but still strange totems like Crab? Or if you want to get really odd, why are Spider and Scorpion valid totems for metahumans to have due to the technicality of having 8 legs? In terms of alien outlook (not to mention genetics) they are very closely related to insects.

Yes, it's odd. 8-legged totems OK for player characters, but not 6-legged totems. Regardless of how the authors made that decision for the books, I think each GM feels they can be flexible with it.

I have always pictured the Totems as being ideals, not representative of the actual animals themselves, but rather the human view of traits associated with them. In other words, you have the noble eagle, brave lion, clever fox, etc. The Totems are not actually that similar to real eagles, lions, foxes, etc.

The insect Totems are different, in that they are not really Totems, per se, but instead represent alien intelligences offering power to susceptible humans in exchange for their assistance. An insect shaman is someone who has cut a deal for power, and is stuck in both a power struggle with the queen, and an internal power struggle to not be overwhelmed by the alien mindset of the bugs. I have always pictured insect shaman recruits as being either power-hungry, social outcasts, or both.

"Destroy these Horrors whenever you can, for they are Evil, if anything is. They are the future if we cannot stop the tide now" - Harlequin

Why are you bringing wraiths into this debate?

Thanks for everyone's input!
I've got a much better grasp on the concept now.

Talking of Bugs,
Anyone got any stories of bug adventures, my group is currently within the CZ (Long waaaaaay behind Canon).

Max

If anything, it's out of mere survival instinct. Anything else is debatable.