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Message no. 1
From: Mr Bob Sagittarian <habelmon@********.CS.ADELAIDE.EDU.AU>
Subject: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 18:30:33 +0930
OK, well the fact is that FASA and other people have gone overboard
in making different areas, "special areas"

Ireland: Ok, it's feasible that an area could have a higher level
of mana and elf turnout

Tir Tairngire: Pushin it a bit.

Germany: This is where location mana specialization gets out of
hand. Yes, of course Germany has more trolls than other metaraces.
Sure. Right. Hey why not have Munich have a 100% rate of
goblinization.

Mentioning Eqypt and that: OK, now stop it, this major mana shit is
going too far. Eventually, if every non-Seattle location has a
"mana specialization" then it'll just be stupid.

"OK, well, uhhh... in China they're a bit shortish so they can all
be dwarfs, and uh.... in Canada they talk funny, so we'll make them
all Saquatches, and uhhh........ I know, why don't we give
Australia big fuckin manastorms and shit. Yeah! And let's have The
Iceman Returneth in Antarctica. How about a paralizard. GODZILLA!
YES! LET'S DESTROY TOKYO!!! Whoohoooooo.

C'mon, there's gotta be somewhere with a standard amount of mana
besides seattle. Minor fluctuations sure, but this much? Get out of
the pool.

--

Bob Sagittarian Odds & Ends
habelmon@********.cs.adelaide.edu.au
stimpy@****.student.adelaide.edu.au
Message no. 2
From: "S.F. Eley" <gt6877c@*****.GATECH.EDU>
Subject: Re: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 10:01:51 -0400
Mr. Bob Sagittarian is coherent long enough to say:

> OK, well the fact is that FASA and other people have gone overboard
> in making different areas, "special areas"

Yup. Sells sourcebooks.


> C'mon, there's gotta be somewhere with a standard amount of mana
> besides seattle. Minor fluctuations sure, but this much? Get out of
> the pool.

People don't want to buy supplements just so they can find out where all the
restaurants and fixers are. If folks are going to spend 18 bucks, they want
new rules, new weird stuff, new ways of doing things so the runners will KNOW
that this isn't Seattle anymore, Toto. This means places have to be
different, even if it pushes the point of believability on the magic scale.
I agree with you in that they could achieve most of this with culture and
attitudes and wouldn't need to push the weirdness fluctuations QUITE this
much, but it does make people sit up and say "Oh, cool." Which is just what
FASA wants. If you don't like it, you can drop whatever weirdness you want
out of your own campaign.


Blessings,

_TNX._

--
Stephen F. Eley (-) gt6877c@*****.gatech.edu )-( Student Pagan Community
http://wc62.residence.gatech.edu|
My opinions are my opinions. | "Nondeterminism means never
Please don't blame anyone else. | having to say you're wrong."
Message no. 3
From: Eve Forward <lutra@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 08:11:55 -0700
So is there anyplace that has LESS mana? What's the most magic-dead area
on the planet? I think my rigger wants to retire there.

-E
Message no. 4
From: Jason Ustica <usticaj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 10:42:27 -0700
On Tue, 1 Aug 1995, Eve Forward wrote:

> So is there anyplace that has LESS mana? What's the most magic-dead area
> on the planet? I think my rigger wants to retire there.

I've seen the "Dead Zones" (in NAGEE I think). Are there places that are
so technological that mana levels are nil? It'd be kinda like an
"Anti-Dead Zone". It'd be a locical reaction by the earth to resond to a
magically hyperactive zone by balancing it with places which contain _no_
mana whatsoever. Places that come to mind are: toxic waste dumps, nuclear
reactors, the heart of an Arcology (it's completely artificial), the
Matrix (which is pure 100% technology), the Arctic and Antarctica (very
little life there), etc. Any comments? Magic is becoming so overbalancing
that there needs to be *something* that hurts them. I think we need a
Space Travel supplement like the one for Cyberpunk. All those mages can
stay home while the real 'runners (Deckers, Sammies, and Riggers) go and
explore the universe.

--(ducks at the barrage of incoming pro-magic flames)--

----------------------------------------------------------
Jason Ustica | usticaj@****.com | Lancaster, CA
----------------------------------------------------------
*Sorry, no geek code, no stupid quotes, no lame web sites*
Message no. 5
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 21:58:22 +0200
>I've seen the "Dead Zones" (in NAGEE I think). Are there places that are
>so technological that mana levels are nil?

Tech _doesn't_ work the way you expect it to in dead zones, so they'd more
likely be places where the mana level is so high that it starts messing with
basic laws of physics.

>I think we need a
>Space Travel supplement like the one for Cyberpunk. All those mages can
>stay home while the real 'runners (Deckers, Sammies, and Riggers) go and
>explore the universe.

Buy the supplements for CP2020, and convert them to Shadowrun. Alter the
background a bit so it fits into SR's timeline and history, and convert the
rules to Shadowrun. Then print it out or leave your computer on while you
game. There, you're done and you've got LEO and deep-space books for Shadowrun.


Gurth@******.nl - Gurth@***.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
You want to but you can't, and if you do, you wish you hadn't
GC3.0: GAT/! dpu s:- !a>? C+(++) U P L E? W(++) N K- w+ O V? PS+ PE Y PGP-
t(+) 5 X R+++>$ tv+(++) b+@ DI? D+ G++ e h! !r(--) y? Unofficial Shadowrun
Guru :)
Message no. 6
From: Allen Versfeld <aversfel@****.CS.UNP.AC.ZA>
Subject: Re: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 07:53:51 +0200
On Tue, 1 Aug 1995, Eve Forward wrote:

> So is there anyplace that has LESS mana? What's the most magic-dead area
> on the planet? I think my rigger wants to retire there.
>
> -E
>
Yes, there is - Seattle (At least, the Seattle in which all of our
campaigns take place. We have got to have the most magicless campaign of
all time. We have had one mage, and no shamans!)
Message no. 7
From: Andre' Selmer <031SEA@******.WITS.AC.ZA>
Subject: Re: Overuse of mana (Was Aztlan - nasty things coming)
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 08:21:52 +0200
:->On Tue, 1 Aug 1995, Eve Forward wrote:
:->
:->> So is there anyplace that has LESS mana? What's the most magic-dead area
:->> on the planet? I think my rigger wants to retire there.
:->>
:->> -E
:->>
:->Yes, there is - Seattle (At least, the Seattle in which all of our
:->campaigns take place. We have got to have the most magicless campaign of
:->all time. We have had one mage, and no shamans!)
:->
Be grateful, our GM loves magic (the more the better) and until
recently we had only our hermetic mage as defence in a group of
sammies.
Andre'
Man is a teller of stories, he lives by and is surrounded by his
own stories and those of other people, he sees everythings that
happens to him in terms of these stories and thus has to live
enacting them
-Sarte

GARFIELD !
-Jon

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