| From: | Hahns Shin Hahns_Shin@*******.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Otaku losing their abilities, blah blah blah |
| Date: | Tue, 21 Nov 2000 17:53:26 -0500 |
the Otaku as being socially-maladjusted kids who have a gift that is not
unlike autism. The "mental flexibility" associated with children is best
illustrated with the ability of children to learn multiple languages at a
very young age. A friend of mine from the Netherlands fluently speaks and
read/writes 5 languages, and can speak Japanese and Russian. He learned all
those languages while growing up in a proactive, home-schooled environment
while he was very young. There are a lot of changes that occur even after
puberty... I wouldn't be surprised that the Fading STARTS to occur at
puberty and just takes a few years to finally manifest itself. Biologically,
the human brain starts to lose some of its folds and damaged/aging nerves
start involuting into fatty tissue. It makes sense to me...
As far as gameplay, I personally it's a giveth/taketh away situation...
sure, now Otaku can "initiate" (submersion), gain "metamagic"
(echoes), but
must face burnout (the Fading). You can play it both ways, but I think that
you should play using both rules (Fading/Submersion) or neither rules
(pre-Matrix rules).
Besides, if you are playing an Otaku that is OLDER than 21, that means
you've probably been playing this character at least 5 years (and probably
much more) in Shadowrun gametime. Most runners are retired or dead after 5
years (except for a certain SR party that will remain nameless... 11 years
and counting! These PCs have been around so long, that one of the most
recent additions to the group is the daughter of one of the original
members).
The Fading still doesn't explain the older otaku created by Mirage (SR novel
"Psychotrope"). I personally think that people who want to play 20-something
Otaku are desperately seeking "Ultimate Munchkinhood". Besides, in 5 years,
think of how high your Computer skills would be... even a normal decker with
5 years' worth of running (and Karma) would have polished his/her skills to
Fastjack-like levels.
Hahns
