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Message no. 1
From: chaos@*****.com (Steven Ratkovich)
Subject: Bugs questions...
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 17:55:47 -0500 (EST)
Hoi chummers, what's up?

I got a few questions to lob out to the list just to find out what kinda
responses I'll get.

As some (most) of you know, I (as Bull) have dealt with the bugs in Chicago
fairly often, adn have almost a preoccupation with them. This stems from
the fact that we lived in Chicago (in teh game) before the bugs hit, as well
as for about a year of game time afterward. On top of that, we had dealt
with teh bugs several times before Bug City hit (most notably Universal
Brotherhood), and have gone back to that pleasent city around three times
since getting our buttocks out of there... So here goes...:)

For starters, how do you view the bugs, as players, as GMs, and as
characters... are they an unstoppable evil like the Aliens? Are they just
a massive nuisance? are they maybe the driving force behind govrnments and
such, forming a large conspiracy? How are they in your world?

Ok, now, are all bugs evil? In our games, we have basically three fairly
neutral hives: Mantis (yes, I know they aren't a hive), Firefly, and
Dragonfly. As a personal note, I'd also include Spider in there.

Mantis is in there because she hunts the other bugs, and are the most likely
to help out humanity if it's to their benefit.

Firefly and Dragonfly are relatively harmless insects in teh real world, adn
the least agressive in the game world... They are more "evil" that mantis,
as they require far more hosts than Mantis, but they aren't as nasty as say,
wasp.

We've given our Insects an interesting "character", so to speak, and have a
good standing alliance with the Mantids, and an uneasy truce with Firefly
and Dragonfly...

As for Spider, I'd say that this spirit totem falss somewhere between bug
and true totem... Spider is greedy, manipulative, and devious... But not
much is really said about him... and in teh Charrette novels, it sounds an
awful lot like he uses flesh forms... However, if he were on the same level
as the bugs, he would fall under the Mantis catagory of insects... Not
great, but better than most others... Especially as I could see him hunting
other insects as well... As the saying goes: "As above, so below..."

Ok, next question. What do you think will be the next step with the bugs?
They got Chicago, and there looks to be no hope of reclaiming teh Windy
City... They've recently changed with the Cermak Blast, but into what, no
one knows... And some recent information suggests that some of them may
have gotten free of the city, and that the ones that are loose are
collecting there power and biding their time... Not at all like they
normally are... If they are in hiding and acting covertly, where did their
newfound intelligence come from?

Lastly, I think... Are they, and how are they, related to teh Horrors? My
take on this so far has been that possibly they are to the horrors what real
insects are to mankind... If so, we are in really deep drek.

Well, hope this piques your interest...:)

Cya...

-Bull-the-wondering-about-bugs-decker-turned-GM



****************************************************************************
*******
-Bull, aka Chaos, aka Rak, aka Steven Ratkovich
chaos@*****.com
Order is Illusion! Chaos is Bliss! Got any fours?
****************************************************************************
*******
"I've got a bad feeling about this..."
-Just about everyone, in "Star Wars"
Message no. 2
From: Peter Leitch <pleitch_hpcs@*******.com.au>
Subject: Re: Bugs questions...
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 18:07:35 +1000
At 17:55 9/10/96 -0500, Steven Ratkovich wrote:

<snip ramble about insect spirits>

Bull, I hate to say this but the only good insect spirit is a
dead insect spirit. They may be better than the Horrors,
or blood spirits, but they're plenty bad enough. Our
characters have been to Chicago a couple of times and
most have come away with deep psychological problems
about spirits. Now, if someone shows up with a black
stripey aura, the Mage and the PhysAd go bananas and
start killin'. I'm sorry, but you "wife" can be counted
among the dead.

Spider is OK, 'cause they aren't insects. They're still
spooky, but they're better than some.

PML

***************************************
Peter Leitch
<pleitch_hpcs@*******.com.au>
Canberra, Australia
Message no. 3
From: "Mark Steedman" <M.J.Steedman@***.rgu.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Bugs questions...
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 15:32:58 GMT
Steven Ratkovich writes

> I got a few questions to lob out to the list just to find out what kinda
> responses I'll get.
>
> For starters, how do you view the bugs, as players, as GMs, and as
> characters... are they an unstoppable evil like the Aliens? Are they just
> a massive nuisance? are they maybe the driving force behind govrnments and
> such, forming a large conspiracy? How are they in your world?
>
A real nasty enemy when they actually show up, time for big trouble.
They are actually 'alien' [ex metaplanar critters] conspiracy is more
the way i've used them. try DE :)

> Ok, now, are all bugs evil? In our games, we have basically three fairly
> neutral hives: Mantis (yes, I know they aren't a hive), Firefly, and
> Dragonfly. As a personal note, I'd also include Spider in there.
>
Yes.
>From a human perspective they are evil but from there own is an
impossib;le question to answer, they have to have hosts to survive on
the physical plane.

> Mantis is in there because she hunts the other bugs, and are the most likely
> to help out humanity if it's to their benefit.
yes but will they turn on us when we've helped them win? :)
>
> Ok, next question. What do you think will be the next step with the bugs?
There are hints on this in recent stuff but its spoilers.

> They got Chicago, and there looks to be no hope of reclaiming teh Windy
> City... They've recently changed with the Cermak Blast, but into what, no
> one knows... And some recent information suggests that some of them may
> have gotten free of the city, and that the ones that are loose are
> collecting there power and biding their time...
They form two groups, one ex Brotherhood the other mantids trying to
kill off the former. But i won't say much as the details are spread
over some FASA adventures and we now have a lot of players here.

> Not at all like they
> normally are... If they are in hiding and acting covertly, where did their
> newfound intelligence come from?
Perfect meld fleshforms and bitter experience of what happens when
the corp court and United nations have a common interest :)

>
> Lastly, I think... Are they, and how are they, related to teh Horrors? My
> take on this so far has been that possibly they are to the horrors what real
> insects are to mankind... If so, we are in really deep drek.
They are not horrors, they are a different astral threat that works
in a different way, i don't have the time for details.

>
Mark
>

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