| From: | Dustin McCraw <dmccraw@*****.AIX.CALPOLY.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Interesting Idea |
| Date: | Wed, 13 Sep 1995 16:46:58 -0700 |
>
>Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 10:35:25 +0200 (MET DST)
>
>> The snake totem came to him and asked him if he wanted to become
>> a snake shaman but because of his fear of snakes he rejected the snake totem.
>> The snake totem in return covered Vipers body with magical tatoos of snakes.
>
>Huh ??? Why should Snake do this ??? You have to SEEK the totems to
>get the chance to follow them. So if he hasn't TRIED to contact the
>totem they would NEVER talk to him. If he is afraid of snakes, Snake
>would NEVER even consider him to follow her path. A totem and the
>character follow a similar way and have similar attitudes toward most
>things, that's why the totems choses you: you think and behave like it
>does.
>Totems would NEVER come to someone who isn't like them - they would
The character is very similar to a snake.
>only make contact to people who A.) have a similar personality, B.)
>seek them with all their will and C.) have a magic attribute (the
>magic genes). And they would never punish anyone for not following
The character has a magic attribute.
>their path (if I think about it twice: maybe insect or toxic totems
>would).
>
>
>No, it isn't. Snake HATES combat and so do the snake-shamans - they
>would NEVER fight unless they are cornered and seriously
>threatened. And this immunity stuff is just too dumb. I REALLY like
It is only resistance not immunity. The character can still be hurt by
spells of a snake shaman, the spells just don't hurt as much.
The character only kills when he has to. He is more along the line of
getting thigs done that have to. I do ask him during gaming sessions what
would a snake do in his position, which usually comes up with good ideas or bad
jokes.
>some good character quirks and stories, but this is not Shadowrun any
>more. I think you played too many Fantasy RPGs and can't differ
>between AD&D and Shadowrun any more. The concept of totems is, that
>they NEVER show theirselves to non-shamans. They NEVER give prove of
The character would be a snake shaman if he didn't have the cyberware.
>their existence (all non-shamans think they only exist in the heads of
>the shamans - who knows) and they would NEVER affect something
>directly. This immunity stuff is against all Shadowrun-principles,
>because Shadowrun is based on a "you can increase your chances, but
>you can never be sure/safe" idea and it totally kills the
>game-balance. And totems do not behave like gods in AD&D do.
How do totems behave in your game?
I don't treat them as gods but I do treat them as more than just a way of
life!
As for game balance, this character is sought out by snake shamans and
most shamans have a lot more up there sleeves than just a few spells.
>
>O.K. - enough for now, I hope I didn't offend you too much,
>
>Bye...
> Georg
>
The real story behind the character is that he IS a snake shaman! He just
doesn't know it yet. The character thinks he has rejected the snake totem
when in fact he has accepted it. I don't know how other people play totems
but in my game they are more than just in the characters heads. They shape
the way the characters act, the way they live their life, and how they act
toward people. I make every shaman that plays in my game come up with how
and why they were chosen by the totem. In my game totems choose their
shamans not the other way around.
I am sorry if I confused you about the true nature of the character. The
person playing the character still doesn't know that he IS a snake shaman.
The character is often faced with preturbed snake shamans who usually want
to get rid of the character and trust me there are plenty of powerful snake
shamans out there.
I hope I have answered you questions, if you still can think of anything
that you disagree with please add comments. I am always trying to improve
both my GMing and my character creation process.
dustin
--
If at first you don't succeed,
redefine success.
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