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From:	Greig Chisholm <885060ch@****.GLA.AC.UK>
Subject:	SUBMISSION
Date:	Thu, 22 Sep 1994 21:01:19 +0100

Message no. 1 SHADOWLORE
Spells 1
C-01
--------
HEALTH SPELL

INCREASE ESSENCE

Type: Mana Range: Touch Target: 8 - Essence
Duration: Sustained Drain: [(F/2)+1]S

This spell allows a magic-user to temporally offset the penalty of a cybered
character's reduced essence when casting healing spells. The spell requires the
sacrifice of some animal in its casting. For every success the caster achieves
the target's essence is increased by 1pt for the duration of the spell up to
the essence of the animal sacrificed during the spell casting.

This spell was developed by the Aztechnology Corporation to give its corporate
operatives an edge in field operations. The existence of this spell has been
jealously guarded by Aztechnology and it is very rare on the streets. Rumours
amongst deckers and mages who have heard of its existence claim that it is
stored in a node guarded by some serious blaster IC.

>>>>>>[Serious IC my cyberleg........Live with it. Ares are offering 20,
000Y to
the decker who'll turn over a copy to them.]<<<<<< - Roach<
14:39:02/10-08-53

>>>>>>[Forget the risk chummer. I heard of a street mage in the Bargain
Basement
selling it at 500Y a copy]>>>>> - Watchman< 15:43:04/10-08-53

DETECTION SPELL

LUCK

Type: Mana Range: Self Target: 4 (R)
Duration: Sustained Drain: [(F/2)+1]S

This spell allows the caster to increase the luck of anyone within her line of
sight. The spell can also be used to decrease the number of success of the
recipient. To increase the luck of a character the number of successes that can
be utilised are equal to the number of successes gained by the spell caster. If
the spell is used to decrease someone's luck then the number of successes that
can be removed from that character is equal to the number of net successes
gained in an opposed roll. The target makes a willpower roll against a target
number equal to the force of the spell. If the target fails to offset all the
successes, the number remaining determines the extent to which the target's
luck can be affected by the caster. The successes gained can be used at to
affect any success test for the duration of the spell until all are "spent".

>>>>>>[It is rumoured that this spell was created in a rush of
enlightenment by
a cat shaman while meditating upon the meaning of the traditional nine lives of
the cat.]>>>>>-Watchman< 21:10:19/20/09/50

From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION
Date:	Thu, 22 Sep 1994 15:35:21 -0500

Message no. 2 On Thu, 22 Sep 1994, Greig Chisholm wrote:

> This spell allows a magic-user to temporally offset the penalty of a cybered
> character's reduced essence when casting healing spells. The spell requires the
> sacrifice of some animal in its casting. For every success the caster achieves
> the target's essence is increased by 1pt for the duration of the spell up to
> the essence of the animal sacrificed during the spell casting.

Sacrifice? That flies in the face of everything that has officially been
done in SR and certainly of many many many totems.

> LUCK

You fail to explain how this makes a persone more lucky. In addition,
how can luck be a tagable and effectable thing?

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I do not necessarily speak for the
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> City of Mankato or anyone else
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(GEEK CODE 2.1) GJ/CM d- H-- s-:++>s-:+ g+ p? au+ a- w++ v* C++(++++) UL++++$
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j R+++$ G- tv+ b+ D+ B--- e+>++(*) u** h* f r-->+++ !n y++**

From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION (fwd)
Date:	Fri, 23 Sep 1994 11:52:47 -0500

Message no. 3 ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 1994 13:02:15 +0100
From: Greig Chisholm <885060ch@****.gla.ac.uk>
To: hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
Cc: 885060ch@****.gla.ac.uk
Subject: re: SUBMISSION

>On Thu, 22 Sep 1994, Greig Chisholm wrote:

> This spell allows a magic-user to temporally offset the penalty of a cybered
> character's reduced essence when casting healing spells. The spell requires t
> sacrifice of some animal in its casting. For every success the caster achieve
> the target's essence is increased by 1pt for the duration of the spell up to
> the essence of the animal sacrificed during the spell casting.

>Sacrifice? That flies in the face of everything that has officially been
>done in SR and certainly of many many many totems.

> LUCK

>You fail to explain how this makes a persone more lucky. In addition,
>how can luck be a tagable and effectable thing?

My apologies if my posting did not give enough detail.....it's the first one I've done.
I'll address your points one at a time:

The idea of the sacrifice was put in as an after thought, and with hindsight not a
particularly good after thought. I think I've been reading too much Vampire. Feel free to
edit this part out, or ask me for a rewrite.

In terms of the LUCK spell I envisaged it working a little like expending Karma to gain
extra successes. Karma is surely just as intangible as luck. If the spell-caster can
"give" an extra success or two to a character then from the point of view of the
character he has been more lucky. Also if the spell-caster can remove success from someone
else then that person would percieve himself to be unlucky.

I hope this has cleared up any grey area you had and like I said I'll be happy to rewrite
the submissions to include this clarity.

Greig

885060ch@****.gla.ac.uk

From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION (fwd)
Date:	Fri, 23 Sep 1994 12:22:17 -0500

Message no. 4 On Fri, 23 Sep 1994, Robert A. Hayden wrote:

> The idea of the sacrifice was put in as an after thought, and with
> hindsight not a particularly good after thought. I think I've been reading
> too much Vampire. Feel free to edit this part out, or ask me for a
> rewrite.

I think it needs to be removed. Resubmit the spell with a better system
for gaining benefits.

> In terms of the LUCK spell I envisaged it working a little like
> expending Karma to gain extra successes. Karma is surely just as
> intangible as luck. If the spell-caster can "give" an extra success or two
> to a character then from the point of view of the character he has been
> more lucky. Also if the spell-caster can remove success from someone else
> then that person would percieve himself to be unlucky.

I see this spell as largely unneeded. If the character needs a major
stroke of luck, they will spend karma. If the mage can help them, there
are proper spells to do that (increas attribute, for example).

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I do not necessarily speak for the
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> City of Mankato or anyone else
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(GEEK CODE 2.1) GJ/CM d- H-- s-:++>s-:+ g+ p? au+ a- w++ v* C++(++++) UL++++$
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j R+++$ G- tv+ b+ D+ B--- e+>++(*) u** h* f r-->+++ !n y++**

From:	"J.D. Falk" <jdfalk@****.CAIS.COM>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION (fwd)
Date:	Sat, 24 Sep 1994 02:23:39 -0400

Message no. 5 On Fri, 23 Sep 1994, Robert A. Hayden forwarded Greig Chisholm writing:

> I hope this has cleared up any grey area you had and like I said I'll be
> happy to rewrite the submissions to include this clarity.

Might not be a bad idea; info on revoking previous postings is
listed in the FAQ.
Please note, everybody, that the new & revised version of Part II
of the NERPS FAQ will be out soon -- our Fearless Leader just has to okay
it and we'll be good to go.

--
J.D. Falk <jdfalk@****.com>
NERPS Editor & General Motivator

From:	Shadowdancer <BRIDDLE@*****.VINU.EDU>
Subject:	Submission
Date:	Fri, 18 Nov 1994 13:14:07 EST

Message no. 6 SHADOWLORE
SOCIAL POOLS
R-01
- - - - - - - -

The Social Pool is a pool used to augment any social skill roll. Any
skill that falls under the "Social" subheading may be augmented, as
well as any Charisma skill web rolls. It is equal to Int+Cha/2 and all
characters may use it. NOTE: The Social Pool cannot be used by
magicians to augment Charisma for conjuring purposes.

From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Submission
Date:	Fri, 18 Nov 1994 15:17:09 -0600

Message no. 7 A little description of what the pool is supposed to represent would be
helpful.

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I do not necessarily speak for the
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> City of Mankato or anyone else
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(GEEK CODE 2.1) GJ/CM d- H-- s-:++>s-:+ g+ p? au+ a- w++ v* C++(++++) UL++++$
P+>++ L++$ 3- E---- N+++ K+++ W M+ V-- -po+(---)>$ Y++ t+ 5+++
j R+++$ G- tv+ b+ D+ B--- e+>++(*) u** h* f r-->+++ !n y++**

From:	Sean Holland <sholland@*******.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Submission
Date:	Fri, 18 Nov 1994 16:48:35 -0800

Message no. 8 Re: Social Pool (INT+CHR/2) for all social skill but not magic in
any form.
I have thought about this from time to time, mostly to make CHR a
more useful stat for non-mages. My question is how often are you going
to allow it to refresh? Once per scene, one per adventure, one per day?
That has been my primary stumbling block on this problem...

From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Submission
Date:	Fri, 18 Nov 1994 19:34:37 -0600

Message no. 9 On Fri, 18 Nov 1994, Sean Holland wrote:

> I have thought about this from time to time, mostly to make CHR a
> more useful stat for non-mages. My question is how often are you going
> to allow it to refresh? Once per scene, one per adventure, one per day?
> That has been my primary stumbling block on this problem...

Good Question. I'd recommend once per "breather". If a charater has a
chance to take a "game" moment and rethink his situation, it refreshes.

If you were negotiating with your assassin, you'd probably not get a
chance to refresh. If you were in diplomatic negotiations or talking to
your fixer, where ever proposal is carefully weighed, it would.

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I do not necessarily speak for the
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> City of Mankato or anyone else
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(GEEK CODE 2.1) GJ/CM d- H-- s-:++>s-:+ g+ p? au+ a- w++ v* C++(++++) UL++++$
P+>++ L++$ 3- E---- N+++ K+++ W M+ V-- -po+(---)>$ Y++ t+ 5+++
j R+++$ G- tv+ b+ D+ B--- e+>++(*) u** h* f r-->+++ !n y++**

From:	Inquisitor <ESPD92MS@****.ANGLIA-POLYTECHNIC.AC.UK>
Subject:	Submission
Date:	Mon, 13 Feb 1995 17:46:00 GMT

Message no. 10 ShadowLore II
Sprawl Location
S-03
--------
CityBank Ltd
CityBank Ltd is a small, family firm comprising of a grand total of four branch
es. Run by Jeremy Bessof and his three sons (each has a branch) the company
opened four years ago and quickly gained poularity as a bank that people could
go to without fear of being turned away due to their dress or lack of sufficien
t funds to deposit. The bank was hit hard and Bessoff San wants revenge on
those who ruined his company's reputation and who crippled his son. As a result
he has posted a reward for information as well as for the capture of the gang,
out of his own pocket.

From:	Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject:	Submission
Date:	Tue, 28 Mar 1995 10:59:07 +0200

Message no. 11 Dragonlore
Where, When, and What Do They Come From?
G-01
--------
WHERE, WHEN, AND WHAT DO DRAGONS COME FROM?
By Dr. Mike F. diAngelo-Mosely

First of all, let me say that whatever I will write below is basically what
came into my mind while writing it. It may appear disorganized, lacking a
clear goal, or just a collection of loose thoughts, if so that is because I
don't know yet what I will write, and will refrain from going back and
changing the text I've already written as much as possible.

That out of the way, let's proceed to thinking about dragons. The first
recorded sighting of a dragon by humans was on December 24, 2011, near Mount
Fiji, Japan. The dragon in question was an individual later identified as
the great eastern dragon Ryumyo, who was spotted on two later occasions near
the cities of Ise and Kyoto, both in Japan, and has vanished since.
But was this the first time dragons were seen by humanity? I think not.
Evidence for this is easy to find but very difficult to make hard; many
civilizations --most, actually-- have tales, legends, and myths about
dragons, and the dragons of today resemble those in the ancient myths...
this leads me, as well as many others, to believe dragons lived on earth in
ancient times, too. Magic obviously plays a role in their appearance, since
it is commonly agreed that the Sixth World --where magic can be actively
used-- started on the very same day Ryumyo was seen at Mount Fiji, and this
is also the year dwarfs and elves were first born. Couple that to the
current theory that magic moves in cycles similar to sine-waves, and we get
the distinct impression that dragons, like metahumans, can only exist in
magic-rich times.
Which in turn means they can have existed in times far in the past, but were
forced to somehow disappear when the mana level dropped, only to re-appear
when it rose again. I don't think I'm saying anything new or revolutionary
here, which I didn't intend to anyway. I'm just stating the commonly
accepted theories.

But where did the dragons go during the Fifth World? Before I go into that
question, I'd like to go even further back in time, not to the Fourth World,
but even beyond that. 70 million years --give or take a few million-- to be
more or less exact. We all know dinosaurs "roamed the Earth" in those days,
so you might be wondering why I bring them up. The fact is, dragons resemble
dinosaurs in many respects. Though no skeletons of dragons have been found
to my knowledge, and the living dragons have not allowed x-ray pictures to
be taken of them, we cannot be certain what a dragon's skeleton looks like,
but we can make assumptions. Those assumptions make it clear that a dragon's
skeleton most likely resembles some of the skeletons of dinosaurs we possess
in various museums.
I'm not saying dragons are dinosaurs, but my point is that dragons can very
well have evolved from dinosaurs. 65 million years is a long time--long
enough for a species to evolve into a creature that only vaguely resembles
its ancestor.
I have noticed a particularly close resemblance between the eastern dragon
of today, and the mosasaur of the dinosaur age. The mosasaur was a
waterborne creature that must have been the ultimate predator of its time,
highly agile, and ranging in size from 5 to 12 meters long, depending on the
sub-species in question. It had a streamlined body, and used both its front
and rear limbs (all of which had evolved into flipper-like appendages) to
propel itself through the water.
The eastern dragon also has a streamlined body, though with wing-like
membranes between rows of spinal extensions, and "swims" through the air in
a similar manner to which mosasaurs must have swam in water, using both its
front and rear legs. This does not automatically mean the two are related,
they might in fact have evolved completely separately, but the resemblance
is striking if you ask me.

But that brings up another interesting point: what if mosasaurs weren't
waterborne predators at all? Most of our knowledge about dinosaurs stems
from 20th-century research, mainly because after 2011 so many new species
have appeared that most scientists have concentrated on them instead of on
the long-dead dinosaurs. In the 20th century, nobody could predict that 11
years after it ended, we would have magic, so it hadn't occured to anybody
that magic could have existed in the past. So when the scientists of, say,
75 years ago dig up a fossil of a large dinosaur whose limbs look like
flippers, they assume it used them to paddle through water. It was the
logical conclusion -- turtles use the same trick.
Since eastern dragons swim through the air, maybe mosasaurs (whose name
would then be totally incorrect) did the same. Magic moves in cycles,
according to the Mayan calender of more or less 5200 years per cycle.
Because the Mayans call our time the Sixth World, this implies there also
were First through Fifth Worlds, with the mana level being positive in the
even Worlds and negative in the odd ones. From the top of my head, five
times 5200 equals 26,000 years. Geological records, however, put Earth at a
little over 4 billion years --4,000,000,000 years-- which is just slightly
longer than the 26,000 years of the Mayans... Mana levels would probably
have risen and fallen throughout a major part of the remaining 3,999,974,000
years as well, but I do not believe each and every one of these cycles
lasted 5200 years precisely. Rather, I propose that the length of the cycles
varies, getting shorter every time. Nature is not like clockwork, and I
don't claim I have the answer to everything, but I do have an interesting
theory to the reason why dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago:

The mana level dropped.

This might be a bold statement, since most scientists agree that it was a
meteorite or other natural disaster that spelled doom for the dinosaurs, but
I think it was magic that allowed these formidable creatures to exist in the
first place. When the magic level became negative, possibly coupled to some
other natural distaster, the large dinosaurs could not survive and died out
over a very short period of time. In the world's history, there have been
three times when such large-scale deaths occured, and I attribute each and
every one of them to mana level reductions. It is obvious that creatures
that can survive in negative-mana times can survive just as easily in
positive-mana times, but it appears that it doesn't work the other way
around. For this reason, life in general survived, but specific groups of
creatures died out--dinosaurs, the last time.
"Now, where does all this rambling fit in with dragons?" you will probably
be wondering, "She keeps on talking about dinosaurs and mana level rises and
drops, when does the dragon talk start?" Just hang on and it will hopefully
become clear. My next point takes us one step closer. It has been determined
that several species of dinosaurs had very large brains, some approaching
1.5 kg and more (for comparison, a human brain weighs approximately 1.6 kg),
which lead them to believe that sentient dinosaurs might have appeared, had
they not died out. At this point, I again diverge from commonly accepted
theories, and say that I think sentient dinosaurs already existed: the
ancestors of the current-day dragons.
These "pre-dragons" must have somehow noticed the mana level dropping, and
taken their precautions to survive it, possibly by going into hibernation
until the magic level reached a high enough peak for them to awaken and once
again take possession of the Earth. My guess is that, when doing so, they
found it inhabited by mammals instead of the dinosaurs that were "in
control" when they went into hibernation. Over time, these dragon-ancestors
evolved into the dragons of today.

Then we have the dragons of the Fifth World, such as the 3-meter-long Komodo
dragon, living on an island in the Pacific. 20th-century zoologists called
these lizards "dragons" because of their size and their resemblance to the
dragons of legends. From modern research, it appears these animals,
beautiful though they are, are not related to what we tend to call dragons.
They could be related, but I will not delve into this subject here. Suffice
to say that, provided they are related to dragons, they are a species that
can survive in low-mana times while their larger relatives cannot. Entering
the 21st century, wyverns appeared, but these also seem to be unrelated to
true dragons, which is one of the reasons why I will leave them out of this
text.

Currently, we divide dragons into a number of different kinds, the most
important and numerous being: eastern dragons, western dragons, and
feathered serpents, though not necessarily in that order. The western dragon
Dunkelzahn granted media interviews soon after his first appearance, and
from these it appears that Dunkelzahn (and therefore probably most other
dragons as well) knows much more about the truth behind dragons (and all
other Awakened species, for that matter) than he is willing to share with
the rest of the world. The question that troubles me most at the moment is
where did dragons go when the mana level dropped last time. I firmly believe
they hibernated, a belief I defend by pointing to Dunkelzahn's references to
an "awakening" of dragons and other species. The word itself suggests that
they had been asleep before 2011, but where?
The immense size of a dragon means that it cannot have many places where it
can lay itself to rest without being detected. Caves are a possibility, but
those caves would have to have been large enough for the dragon to enter
them. Then the dragon would simply have to hope that no one accidentally
entered the cave during its hibernation--the lack of historical reports of
"giant sleeping lizards" seems to indicate that this was, indeed, the case.
The dragons could simply have sealed the cave off behind themselves, causing
for instance a landslide that blocked the cave's entrance. The only problem
would be getting out, but a dragon's great strength would not pose many
problems in moving large rocks to clear the exit of a cave.
This is just one theory. I have some others, though. There are many rumors
of immortal elves floating about the datanets (for an example, read the file
on Tir Tairngire currently floating around Shadowland. Yes, I spend some of
my time there--I find the insights of the various participants there
immensely valuable to conducting my research), and since no young dragons
have been observed, I draw the conclusion that dragons are effectively
immortal, too. Since no reports of elf-like humans have reached us from the
Fifth World, I conclude that they have disguised themselves as humans,
perhaps with the aid of magics powerful enough to last throughout the 5000
years of the Fifth World. A great many dragons are active magicians, which
means they can have used magics similar to a Shapechange spell to give
themselves a human form, and mingle among humanity in much the same way as I
imagine immortal elves would have.
A third theory of mine is that they somehow withdrew to a metaplane. If the
world's mana level is positive, astral space comes close enough to the
physical plane for magically-active individuals to make a bridge between the
two worlds. Astral perception or projection, in other words. Once in astral
space, an initiate magician can move on to the metaplanes. Currently, we
have identified eight metaplanes (Air, Earth, Fire, Land, Man, Sky, hermetic
Water, and shamanic Water) but more are suspected to be in existance, though
they haven't actually been "found" yet. For one, the insect-like creatures
that currently infest Chicago must come from somewhere, and that somewhere
is most likely an as-yet undiscovered metaplane.
When projecting to a metaplane, a magician's physical body remains behind in
the physical world while her conciousness moves to the metaplane of her
choice. However, the magic level is still rising, so I think it very well
possible that a magician can take her physical body to a metaplane once the
mana level crosses a certain threshold. In this way, a dragon could have
gone to a metaplane (which presumably remains intact even while the magic
level in our world becomes negative), and be "trapped" there until the mana
level in our world reaches the positive again. Dragons might even be native
to a metaplane and only visit our world when they feel like doing so, in
much the same way a magician astrally projects.
Still another theory is that dragons are an alien life form which arrived in
2011, but I find this hard to believe. Dragons need air to breathe just like
(meta)humans do, so they would have needed a spaceship to reach Earth in the
first place. Even though UFOs have been sighted over the past two centuries,
and some records of them might have been lost in the Crash of '29, a
spaceship large enough to carry all the dragons that live on Earth today all
at once would have to have been so large that we couldn't have avoided
noticing it even if we wanted to. The number of UFO sightings over the past
50 years has also not been extraordinarily high (or low, for that matter),
so a large number of smaller spaceships, arriving over a longer period of
time, to carry the dragons is equally unlikely. Still, this theory allows
for dragons to exist in mana-less times, because aliens need not be bound to
Earth's magic cycle.

One of the strangest, and most difficult to explain, features of some
dragons is that some have six limbs. While this is also true for some
non-dragons, such as the griffin and pegasus, it is strange that not all
dragons have six limbs. In fact, out of four common dragon species, only the
western dragon has six limbs; the eastern dragon and feathered serpent have
four limbs, and the aitvaras has none at all. I presume aitvaras have lost
their limbs in an evolutionary process similar to that of snakes--while most
snakes have no limbs whatsoever, boa constrictors have a pair of vestigal
hind legs, not much more than a large nail protruding from the skin. Eastern
dragons' and feathered serpents' limbs are similar to lizards and birds,
respectively. But western dragons have two pairs of legs and a set of wings,
all of them fully developed. This can also be explained in a number of ways,
none of which is completely satisfying:
If dragons are alien life forms, six-limbed creatures could be very normal
on the planet they originate from. For this theory to work, dragons have to
be aliens, which I frankly don't believe for the reasons I stated earlier.
Next, six-limbed dragons might be the result of a mutation. If some or
another factor caused young dragons to be born with six limbs, while their
parents had only four limbs, and if those young were fertile, it would
perhaps be possible for the young to breed and produce six-limbed offspring.
Not all members of a species need to have been affected by such a mutation
-- in fact, this could be the reason for the difference between feathered
serpents and western dragons. Both could have the same ancestors, with
western dragons starting out as mutated feathered serpents, that somehow
were born with a set of fore limbs. A slight variatin of this theory is that
western dragons are cross-breed between eastern dragons and feathered
serpents that somehow were born with four legs and two wings.
Or, perhaps a magic-activated gene causes creatures to have six limbs. In
low-mana times, the species only produces four-limbed individuals, but when
the mana level gets high enough, the magic-gene kicks in and allows for the
growth of a third pair of limbs, of a type encoded in the gene.
Fourth, it is possible, though highly unlikely, that all life on Earth
originally had six limbs, but that most higher life forms lost the middle
pair. Lower life forms have varying numbers of limbs, from limbless species,
such as earthworms, to creatures with extremely many pairs of limbs, like
millipedes. Higher life forms evolved from the four-limbed variety, but it
would not be unreasonable to think that a six-limbed species evolved, in a
case of parallel evolution, into a higher life form as well. Hm, that's two
theories rolled into one...

Where do baby dragons come from? This sounds like a question a young dragon
might ask its mother, but my point is that we have no idea how dragons are
born, whether there are male and female dragons, how they mate, when the
mate, and so on. Most people refer to a dragon with "he" or "she,"
mostly
based on how the dragon behaves, I think.
To produce offspring, most higher life forms need both males and females.
The reason, as I don't think I need to make clear, is that in this way the
young inherits characteristics from both parents, thereby increasing its
survival chances. Some creatures can reproduce a-sexually, but I do not
think dragons fall into this small group. Dragons resemble reptiles, and
most reptiles lay eggs. Again, this does not mean dragons do so as well, but
it seems likely. This begs the question: "why haven't any nests been found?"
Reptiles normally lay a large number of eggs, because their young are very
small and easy prey for predators. Such nests are of reasonable size, for a
crocodile it can be a meter or so across. Dragons, being much larger than
crocodiles, would lay larger eggs, and so also need larger nests, which
would be easier to discover. Of course, there aren't many creatures that
hunt adult dragons, but I bet a hatchling dragon would look like a walking
supper to some animals.
Somehow all known dragons are adults. Some seem to be older than others, but
all are still adults. If dragons are immortal, it would be possible that no
young have been produced in hundreds of thousands of years, but attrition
would take a toll on the adult ones; even if no (meta)human would seek them
out and kill them, they can die in accidents; ergo, they would need to breed
in order to keep the species alive. I can't find any satisfying theory why
we have no knowledge of such instances, save for attributing this (too) to
the Earth's mana level: maybe that should rise before dragons are able to breed.

Well, that's what I had to say about dragons. I don't know if I was close or
totally off course with any or all of my theories, I think the only ones who
can tell us are the dragons themselves. And they don't seem to be telling.

Gurth@******.nl - Gurth@***.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
There's no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end
Geek Code v2.1: GS/AT/! -d+ H s:- !g p?(3) !au a>? w+(+++) v*(---) C+(++) U
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B? e+ u+@ h! f--(?) !r(--)(*) n---->!n y? Unofficial Shadowrun Guru :)

From:	NIGHTFOX <DJWA@******.UCC.NAU.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Submission
Date:	Tue, 28 Mar 1995 13:59:24 -0700

Message no. 12 I am going to try a stick a few comments in here like they do in the
Sourcebooks. Tell me if this works decently well or if we will have to try a
different idea

>Dragonlore
>Where, When, and What Do They Come From?
>G-01
>--------
>WHERE, WHEN, AND WHAT DO DRAGONS COME FROM?
>By Dr. Mike F. diAngelo-Mosely

>That out of the way, let's proceed to thinking about dragons. The first
>recorded sighting of a dragon by humans was on December 24, 2011, near Mount
>Fiji, Japan. The dragon in question was an individual later identified as
>the great eastern dragon Ryumyo, who was spotted on two later occasions near
>the cities of Ise and Kyoto, both in Japan, and has vanished since.

>>>>>[ Personally, I've have always been of the opinion that he did the
ground-hog act. Like Punxitawny Phil, he came out for a bit, looked around.
The first thing he would check out would be the silverish flying object in the
sky, it could be a threat. Next, check out the local civilization to see how
they are. After that, set the alarm to 2099 and go back to sleep.]<<<<<
-- Seraphy <13:29:07/03-28-56>

>But was this the first time dragons were seen by humanity? I think not.
>Evidence for this is easy to find but very difficult to make hard; many
>civilizations --most, actually-- have tales, legends, and myths about
>dragons, and the dragons of today resemble those in the ancient myths...
>this leads me, as well as many others, to believe dragons lived on earth in
>ancient times, too.

>>>>>[ Unless your a Tir Nan Og elf, the you think that your dreams created
dragons. Sounds pretty stupid to me.]<<<<<
-- Seraphy <13:30:47/03-28-56>

>I'm not saying dragons are dinosaurs, but my point is that dragons can very
>well have evolved from dinosaurs. 65 million years is a long time--long
>enough for a species to evolve into a creature that only vaguely resembles
>its ancestor.

>>>>>[ Point in fact then, Dragons could actually also be related to birds,
since it is now commonly excepted that dinosaurs are avian precursors. That
would explain the wings.]<<<<<
-- Bill the Galactic Hero <13:34:04/03-28-56>

>One of the strangest, and most difficult to explain, features of some
>dragons is that some have six limbs. While this is also true for some
>non-dragons, such as the griffin and pegasus, it is strange that not all
>dragons have six limbs. In fact, out of four common dragon species, only the
>western dragon has six limbs; the eastern dragon and feathered serpent have
>four limbs, and the aitvaras has none at all. I presume aitvaras have lost
>their limbs in an evolutionary process similar to that of snakes--while most
>snakes have no limbs whatsoever, boa constrictors have a pair of vestigal
>hind legs, not much more than a large nail protruding from the skin. Eastern
>dragons' and feathered serpents' limbs are similar to lizards and birds,
>respectively. But western dragons have two pairs of legs and a set of wings,
>all of them fully developed. This can also be explained in a number of ways,
>none of which is completely satisfying:

>>>>>[ One problem that I have is that people insist on putting dragon
under the
same species heading - Draco. It is rather obvious that with all the
differences between them and the rest of the paranormal species - and
themselves. The should have their own catagory under the "Vertebrates"
clasification and then go from there. Of course - dragons tend to break all the
rules anyway.]<<<<<
-- Bill the Galactic Hero <13:43:53/03-28-56>

>Where do baby dragons come from? This sounds like a question a young dragon
>might ask its mother, but my point is that we have no idea how dragons are
>born, whether there are male and female dragons, how they mate, when the
>mate, and so on. Most people refer to a dragon with "he" or "she,"
mostly
>based on how the dragon behaves, I think.
>Somehow all known dragons are adults. Some seem to be older than others, but
>all are still adults. If dragons are immortal, it would be possible that no
>young have been produced in hundreds of thousands of years, but attrition
>would take a toll on the adult ones; even if no (meta)human would seek them
>out and kill them, they can die in accidents; ergo, they would need to breed
>in order to keep the species alive. I can't find any satisfying theory why
>we have no knowledge of such instances, save for attributing this (too) to
>the Earth's mana level: maybe that should rise before dragons are able to breed.

>>>>>[ Or possibly, Dragons are intelligent and know how to hide their
young
from prying eyes to protect them. The is also the possibility that the young
start off as something else and metamorphisis into dragons, of course this is
all just dreamy conjecture.

Personally, I can understand not having found any dragon young, dragons are not
that sociable, even with their own kind. Dunklezahn, the most sociable dragon,
still tends to keep to himself. Another answer could well be that dragons don't
trust humanity around their children, I personally wouldn't.

Another cosideration is that their mating cycle has come about yet, they may be
fertile only once every 50 years or so. We really don't know. Of course then
again, they might also not want you at the moment, dragons need to eat alot and
are fairly competative with each other. The world is fairly crowded right now
and dragons may have decided this would not be a good time to have children.
This would be an example of species population control. Something that we
humans, as a race, have never been able to do.]<<<<<
-- Bill the Galactic Hero <13:47:15/03-28-56>

>Well, that's what I had to say about dragons. I don't know if I was close or
>totally off course with any or all of my theories, I think the only ones who
>can tell us are the dragons themselves. And they don't seem to be telling.

>>>>>[ You learn better when you have to figure things out for yourself, if
things where handed to you on a silver platter you would just become fat a
lazy.]<<<<<
-- Seraphy <13:59:02/03-28-56>

Nightfox

From:	Mark Steedman <RSMS@******.EEE.RGU.AC.UK>
Subject:	SUBMISSION
Date:	Fri, 31 Mar 1995 14:09:41 GMT

Message no. 13 Dragons & Other Paranormal Entities
Gremlins
S-02
--------
Gremlins
As yet these shy and rare creatures have not been given a taxonomic
classification. Reports of gremlin activity remain rare, and to date no
one has reported the successful capture of a specimen for study though
several reports suggest that specimens have been taken down and then
destroyed when the persons responsible decided to vent their pent up
fury on the poor beast.
Reports generally describe a Gremlin as around 18" tall, unconfirmed
sightings of specimens up to 20 feet are reasonably assumed to be
peoples attempts to justify running for their lives. They have furry
bodies with coloration varying though most reports are of a brown
coloured creature. They have large ears and eyes and most reports
suggest they also have wings, though it is not confirmed that these
are present in all cases, possibly suggesting a subspecies.
Where reports definitively tie in to gremlin activity most data is given
on the damage wrought, considered opinion being that a Gremlin enjoying
itself for a night has a similar effect on breaking everything breakable and
then some to a visit from a rampaging elephant. In most cases the majority
of people run for there lives from the assault of dismantled surrounding,
flying bags of flour, rewired microwaves and similar before they even see
the culprit.
Paranatural powers are unknown but they are most certainly difficult
to find, have a tendency to be surrounded by chaos, possibly indicating
accident causing potential and are reportedly difficult to bring down
with either guns or magic. Considering there small size the latter seems
to be most likely attributable to mad people attacking in haste, missing
the gremlin and assuming it was the gremlin not their own anger that
caused them to miss.

Game statistics
Body : 2
Quickness : 3 * 2 (*6 if flying)
Strength : 1
Charisma : 1
Intelligence : 4
Willpower : 4

Essence : 6
Reaction : 5 (initiative = 5 + 1 D 6)

Attacks 3L with - 1 reach

Powers: accident, binding, concealment, magical resistance, immunity
to normal weapons.

Despite the powers list these critters are real wimps in a stand up fight.
Obviously rewatching certain films or just reviewing that list of funny
accidents that could befall a shadowrunner though could create a lot of
fun. Being rather loose with the rules on low flying bags of flour e.t.c.
which don't do any real damage helps improve the atmosphere and
charges players up to be as fed up with the things as their characters
ought to get.

A few powers comment - particularly for anyone that has not got
Paranormal Animals of Europe.
for full description see relevant FASA book.

accident : latest version is roll quick or int (the higher) target creatures
essence needing 1 success to dodge the incoming mayhem (e.g. that
aforementioned bag of flour)

Binding : essence vs. willpower to operate, then if got PC is strength vs.
essence (standard opposed tests) to get free. Obviously anyone glued
to the floor spread-eagled is not going anywhere rolls or not.
Feel free to enjoy!

Concealment : adds essence to target nos. to spot the critter.

Magical resistance : adds essence to resisting attribute vs. magic.
I rule that as equivalent to shielding, realistically it don't help all that
much. You might want to use it as spell defence for the attribute if
your players use at most force 4 - 5 spells though.

Mark

From:	Sean Holland <sholland@*******.EDU>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION
Date:	Fri, 31 Mar 1995 10:52:00 -0800

Message no. 14 Saw this...
> Gremlins
Looks good except
> Reaction : 5 (initiative = 5 + 1 D 6)
I think these annoyances should get 2D6 worth of initiate so as to
be better able to annoy people.
Rumors of spell casting Gremlins as well...
-Sean

From:	Mark Steedman <RSMS@******.EEE.RGU.AC.UK>
Subject:	SUBMISSION
Date:	Tue, 11 Apr 1995 16:26:13 GMT

Message no. 15 Dragons & Other Paranormal Entities
Ferahnir - Western Dragon
S-02
--------

Ferahnir: Dragon (lesser) : Western - Draco Occidentalis

This gentleman, if you care to call him that is a moderate player in the
middle league corporate game. He is know to own a couple of averagely
rated corporations. The frist of these is involved in electronic
manufacturing and the second in a paranatural resaerch corporation
looking into the history of paranatural beings and phenomena. The exact
nature of the work these corporations do is a closely guarded secret but
rumor has it that this dragon is trying to find hints as to what happened
during the low mana times, particularly how much magic. Presumably
this is because he was forced to sleep through these times. Don't know
the details but this interest certainly includes how the free spirts survived
and where the so called `immortal elves' if there is such a thing, went to,
hid e.t.c.

(game information)
The best estimate at his admitably considerable combat capabitlities is
listed below

Body : 16 / 8
Quickness : 7 * 3
Strength : 40
Charisma : 6
Intelligence : 5
Willpower : 8

Essence : 10
Reaction : 5 (9) [+4 reaction spell, quickened]
Magic : 15
Initative : 5 + 2D6 (9 + 5D6) [+4 reac and +3D6 initative, quickened]
Armour rating : hardened(total) : 8 (20) / 8 (20) [quickened `barriered
armour' spell]

Attack : 14D damage at +2 reach, skill = 9 [reaction, critter attack]
Initiate grade : 5

Powers : as SR2 main book, including flame projection for (essence) M
[thats 10M, range 100meters, per Paranormal Europe]

Dice pools:
Magic : 15
Combat : 18 [bonus due to quickened combat sense with 16 sucesses]
Astral Combat : 10
Astral : 5
Shielding : 5

Karma : 20 [suggestion, this sort of critter will work better with karma
and dice pools than with a treat rating]

Skills:
Sourcery : 15
Magical Theory : 10
Conjouring : 12
Enchanting : 7
Stealth : 4
History : 6
Physical Sciences : 4
Electronics : 4
Ettiquette (street) : 6, (corporate) : 8, (Media) : 7
Centering (latin) : 10 [change lang if you know a better one]

Spells:
(either SR2 or GR2 unless it says otherwise, others will be detailed
seperately as needed)
Manabolt : 11
Fireball : 8
Sleep : 10
Power bolt : 8
Analyze Truth : 12
Claivoyance : 8 (extended range)
Clairaudience : 5 (extended range)
Mind probe : 6
Treat : 10
Heal : 8
Increase reflexes (+ 3D6) : 6
Increase reaction (+ 4) : 3
Improved invisibiltity : 7
Wraith : 10 [research spell - details available]
Passwall : 6 [see nerps shadowlore 1, or details plus new drain available]
Barriered Armour : 12 [replacement for SR2 barrier spells]
Control Actions : 10
Levitate item : 6
Levitate person : 6
Flame bomb : 9
Detect magic : 8
Astral staic : 8
Acid stream : 9
Combat sense (personal) : 11

==================================================
Finally I suggest you avoid combat with this gentleman, he is shall we
say just a bit too good in a fight.

From:	"Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION
Date:	Tue, 11 Apr 1995 12:14:04 -0500

Message no. 16 Why are all of the dragon's we make corporate players?

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> Cthulhu Matata
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> http://att2.cs.mankato.msus.edu/~hayden

From:	Todd Dresser <tcd@******.DIGEX.NET>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION
Date:	Tue, 11 Apr 1995 19:38:06 -0400

Message no. 17 On Tue, 11 Apr 1995, Robert A. Hayden wrote:

> Why are all of the dragon's we make corporate players?

Because Dragons tend to use (Meta)Humans as their play things(read as Pawns)
Thus the Dragons build up corps to make a good face(read as mask) to
thoughs with which they deal.

( what was that about never dealing with something or other...???)

~GRAY~

aka
Todd

>
> ____ Robert A. Hayden <=> Cthulhu Matata
> \ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
> \/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
> \/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> http://att2.cs.mankato.msus.edu/~hayden
>

From:	Mark Steedman <RSMS@******.EEE.RGU.AC.UK>
Subject:	Submission
Date:	Wed, 12 Apr 1995 10:15:19 GMT

Message no. 18 Dragons & Other Paranormal Entities
Physical Magicians
S-02
--------

Rules Expansion For Shadowrun Second Edition

Note that Shadowrun (both editions) is copyright FASA Corporation.

PHYSICAL MAGICIANS
Or what happens if you take FASA's physical adept and expand the
rules to cover a character wanting to pursue this path but paying
priority 'A' for magic (B if metahuman, A with more metahumans rule
e.t.c.).

The rules.
New powers:

Astral projection: no cost, you get this as a basic ability just
like any other full magician. As base
astral statistics convert as normal, see below for another option.

Astral perception: no cost, again basic ability as per full
magician no more paying 2 magic points for it.

Use of magical skills for magical purposes:
note you are not allowed to cast spell, conjure spirits of any type
or get involved in ritual sorcery but the defensive uses of these
skills as listed below are now allowed.

Sorcery
As combat on the astral plane, same as physical adept.
As spell defence, just like a mage or shaman. This may be bonused
by foci as applicable though do note that specific spell foci are not
usable for spell defence so remain useless to you.

Conjuring
You may use banishing as per main rulebook. Note though that all
spirits are counted as if they were of a different tradition as there
are no spirit types you are associated with.

Magical Theory
Actually no change as mundanes can use this to design spells, you
do however get to deduct your magic rating (note the actual number
not after deducting power bought) from your target numbers.

Power changes, affects costs only which have been reduced:

Improved physical attributes: change the costs for improving body,
quickness and strength to:
new value is
less than or equal to half racial maximum : 0.25 per point
less than or equal to racial maximum : 0.5 per point
less than or equal to 1.5 times race max. : 0.75 per point

Improved physical attributes: change the costs for improving reaction
to:
new value is
less than or equal to half racial maximum : 0.25 per point
less than or equal to racial maximum : 0.5 per point
less than or equal to 1.5 times race max. : 1.0 per point

Astral Statistics
Normally calculated as per the standard astral project rules.
new power, may buy astral statistics same as physical for 2 'magic
points', allowing you to use strength as damage on the astral, yes
trolls jump for joy. Ouch.

Regardless your astral reaction remain twice intelligence attribute
and you get the usual plus 15 for astral projection initiative.

The increased physical attributes powers may be bought affecting the
astral plane (they are not spells) but to do this you must have the
'astral stats as physical' power. You may buy increased astral
reaction whether you buy this power or not but it is totally separate
from the physical plane version. For these purposes racial maximum
reaction is twice racial maximum intelligence (logically).

Yes the power increased reflexes does work on the astral plane so a
physical magician can roll more than 1 dice for astral initiative
unlike mages and shaman, that should give them a nasty shock. Also
pain resistance continues to function normally.

Physical Magicians and Initiation
Metamagic powers
Centering:
Vs penalties as per physical adept, note that you cannot use
centering skills while astral project and that enhanced centering is
still required for anything but the physical skills.
Vs drain, yes for the attribute boost power but that is all it
would affect.
Quickening:
No use as this requires spellcasting capability.
Dispelling.
Fully functional, you may of course centre Vs drain with this.
Shielding:
Fully functional, very nice.
Masking:
Fully functional, physical adepts theoretically get this already
but without astral perception some would rule that its not allowed,
well you get precept for free so go for it.
Anchoring:
Again this requires spellcasting so not applicable.

Metaplanar Projection.
As you have normal project this is now available on initiation.
Quest types available; Astral concealment, initiation, spirit battle,
true aura and true name (see p97 Grimoire 2).

Other comments.
Yes you will get both shielding and astral dice pools now. Astral
initiative will go up as per other initiates.

From:	Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject:	Re: SUBMISSION
Date:	Wed, 12 Apr 1995 12:29:11 +0200

Message no. 19 >Why are all of the dragon's we make corporate players?

I might have something on a dragon politician... I'd have to work it out
though (I think only have a name and a general idea).

Gurth@******.nl - Gurth@***.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Dat wilt ik nou effe kwijt!
Geek Code v2.1: GS/AT/! -d+ H s:- !g p?(3) !au a>? w+(+++) v*(---) C+(++) U
P? !L !3 E? N++ K- W+ -po+(po) Y+ t(+) 5 !j R+(++)>+++$ tv+(++) b+@ D+(++)
B? e+ u+@ h! f--(?) !r(--)(*) n---->!n y? Unofficial Shadowrun Guru :)

From:	The Wyrm Ouroboros <oroboros@******.COM>
Subject:	Submission
Date:	Sat, 9 Sep 1995 19:10:04 -0700

Message no. 20 REGISTRATION
Underworld
Maxwell's Guide To Gangs and Gang Membership
Scott Crain
oroboros@******.com -- O-08 (Requested)
--------
The mythical Maxwell and his infamous search daemon take a look at gangs,
their types, affiliation, colours, racial preference, leadership, and how
to identify who's important and who you can safely half-ignore. Also tips
and suggestions on how to decide these nice little tidbits, as well as how
to decide, as a GM, which of these to inflict upon your players. Additional
suggestions on how to abbreviate these for easy reference and, of course,
plotting.

Open for additional entries from others, would prefer dialog with entry
writers before submission of entry.

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