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Message no. 1
From: "Steven Heleski [Donley Computer Center]" <STEVEN@******>
Subject: New type of security guard.
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 92 08:38:00 EST
Heh, Chummers.
Last night on a run on Aztechnology warehouse our group came across
a different type of security guard. This guard showed up all black
in astral space and had not a bit of essence. This bad boy was
carrying a heavy machine gun for a sidearm. Our weapons had no affect
on him, thank the maker that our combat mage had a urban renewal spell
to slow this thing down so we can get away. My fixer had no idea
what it could be. Has anyone else came across this type of guard?

[End of Line]
Message no. 2
From: Colin Smith <csmith@*****.SCT.GU.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: New type of security guard.
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 92 12:15:27 +1000
> Last night on a run on Aztechnology warehouse our group came across
> a different type of security guard. This guard showed up all black
> in astral space and had not a bit of essence. This bad boy was
> carrying a heavy machine gun for a sidearm. Our weapons had no affect
> on him, thank the maker that our combat mage had a urban renewal spell
> to slow this thing down so we can get away...

You can't tell me that your GM is trying to implement some sort of
cyborg into the system. For Ghost's sake, an Urban Renewal spell
slowed the thing down! From what I can remember, Urban Renewal can't
affect living creatures, in which case, it might have had a high
enough BOD to take only minimal damage, thereby slowing it.

>huh? I thought even if you have essence of 0, you still show up
>some kind of aura in astral space? Just LOTS of dead areas, isn't it?

Correct. The assensing magician can still see light areas on a person
(should I say "person"?) with no essence. Since this guy "showed up all
black", he's obviously a mechanical entity. And those Terminator fans
out there should realize that, although the CSM-101 had living tissue
over the metal endoskeleton, the tissue was *grown* for the cyborgs,
and has no "life" value, in a magical sense.

> No essence and showed as black in astral space? It could be some sort
>of masking technique. That would mean that your friend was a high level
>initiate. The other possability I thought of is really scary. A black aura
>means evil or death. If you could not detect any essence it could be some
>sort of demon or negative plain entity...

Two particularly interesting theories. With the masking mage, he/she
would have to have had a huge and nasty Anti-Bullet Barrier, and an
equally huge Anti-Spell Barrier as well. When you come across enemies
like this in the game, you know that your GM is slotted off with you
all for some reason. As for the demon, it's quite believable that
soemthing with an inherent mass of negative magic would radiate a
negative aura. A cigar to that one.

>My GM has been bouncing around the idea of a Cyborg. Which means you have no
>essence and you don't have to worry about it, the only prob is that you can go
>to a frenzy, basicly you kill the nearest thing. Could this be your new guard?

Now, PC Terminators! Ouch!!! It's bad enough that we have razorguys
running around with BODs of over 6 with synthleathers, sunglasses,
smartgun links, retinal displays, flexes, muscle replacement, and
what-have-you, with crimson cybereyes and close-cropped dark hair
(which never seems to move out of place -- and, hey, while we're on the
subject, why did Arnie touch up his hair in T1 after removing his left
eye, when a cyborg like him wouldn't give a flying drek *how* attractive
he was?), spouting Terminator-esque lines in pitiable western european
accents, and wielding Uzi IIIs, Vindicators, grenade launchers ... you
get the idea ... without having fully blown, BOD 25 or higher, Harley
Scorpion riding robots !!! (That was an articulate outburstm if I do
say so myself ...) I'd place HEAVY restrictions on cyborgs if they
were to be introduced in a campaign that I was running -- something

like gaining only 1/4 of the karma available at the end of a run (maybe
even NO karma -- self-improvements come from reprogramming only, so
skillsofts would have to come into it somewhere), a +4 or +6 penalty
to all interactive skills (or maybe the penalty equates to however many
essence points the cyborg has gone over the limit, multiplied by 2),
and so forth. I'm sure you can think of others.

Basically, cyborgs in an SR campaign are damned dangerous if they are
workable (which would require *heaps* of work by the GM), and too
unbelievable and unbalancing if not. If the guard is a cyborg, I pray
for you. If it's a demon, have fun!

*******************************************************************************
--Nightflyer <Colin Smith -- csmith@*****.sct.gu.edu.au>//////////////////////
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////"Keep the shadows dark."
*******************************************************************************

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Thwap!