| From: | ANGLISS BRIAN EDWARD <angliss@****.Colorado.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Strange Spirits |
| Date: | Tue, 12 Mar 1996 20:21:23 -0700 (MST) |
> Actually, Brian, I liked the spirit. I thought it was a neat
> addition to the mix, but then again I have been playing astrally active
> characters in one form or another since the game came out so I am sort of
> biased. ;-)
> Now to share my opinion on the matter, I would have no problem for
> it being a free spirit, but that wasn't the *feel* I got for the thing.
> Though I am waiting on my copy of Awakenings, I am aware of the unusual
> nasties that occassionaly mix-up with Shadowrunners. It had the simple
> mindlessness that makes it that much more scary.
In Awakenings, there's a part where a guy is talking about the "blog" of
Astral that instantly kills anything it touches, but that later kills
itself out of guilt. Weird little bit of shadowtalk, but in the rules
section, the book says that it was put there to add some justification to
a GM who wanted to introduce something and just tell his players that,
even if it breaks every rule there is, that they just don't know of every
little thing that the awakened world can throw at them.
> As to the idea of a Void elemental, I think it would be interesting,
> but would need much explanation. In the Sourcebooks, they talk about the
> nasty things that happen in Space to a Mage who goes Astral in any manner.
> That would work with the absorption power that it kept using against spells,
> etc.
When IGM, and I'm looking to start again, I have magic in space and
explain why magicians die or go nuts in space as because of what they run
into that eats them, and the fact that it feels totally alien and that
it's actually dark, which it isn't anywhere on the planet. But that's my
game, not ShadowTK.
> The only question would be, what sort of more unusual insane Toxic
> would summon this sort of elemental. First, it would require the existence
> of Toxic Mages (shamans wer what have only been dealt with mainly before) to
> be able to summon the more unusual elementals.
Actually, again in my game, only the special mages who have adapted to
magic in space(which more often kills or drives nuts) can summon them,
but they're not necessarily toxic. Less than sane, sure, but they don't
have to be toxic. Summoning one on a planet, on the other hand, is
rather foolish unless you are prepared to destroy it.
But toxic mages I've always figured had to exist in some manner. Blood
mages just isn't enough, IMHO.
> Also, the Astral appearance
> of the creature suggests the mathematical precision developed in its
> creation. Almost as if it had a aural conatainment field of some sort based
> off of an Astral Matrix. Second, it would be very interesting to develop a
> method for summoning such creatures at all, considering the current effects
> of said void on Astrals.
Actually, summoning them in space would be easy. But since summoning
them requires hard vacuum(the material component requried of all
elementals), you need what probably amounts to a miniumum of a university
physics lab where you could raise a high vacuum. Although...., the fovea
of Aztlan would probably work(see the Aztlan sourcebook).
> Lastly, you would have to be prepared to do some
> more writing because Shade will want to pursue this thing to the far corners
> of the earth to learn more about it, and at least disrupt it.
> One other possibility is that it is a new form of Astral paranormal
> from the sourcebooks. Maybe it is a metamorphosed Nomad, etc. This would
> easily explain why Shade seemed to have such trouble banishing it, i.e. it
> wasn't a spirit so the charms could only partially affect it. I personally
> would prefer options two and three because the existence of another
> unfriendly Free Spirit that reads something akin to "Worse that the
Wraith,"
> would seem too repetitive.
Actually, this is also a possibility. Using the rules for mutant and/or
toxic critters and paranormals from the Cal Free State sourcebook, this
is also just as possible as the free spirit. I don't think that we
should allow it to be a Void elemental because it rubs too many people
the wrong way. But the free spirit or a toxic version of a paranormal is
fine by me. Anyone have any preferences?
Brian
