| From: | Bull <chaos@*****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Mantis Spirit Host Questions |
| Date: | Mon, 30 Dec 1996 16:32:49 -0500 |
heard these details before, so please bear with me. Also keep in mind that
our GM likes to mess with our heads wuite a bit, and sometimes has his own
strange ideas of how things work, although I know that most people don't
quite agree...
Ok, for starters... We have encountered the Mantids (and every other type
of fraggin' bug) frequently in our game. Our characters actually consider
the Mantids to be allies (Of a sort. Bull doesn't really trust them, but
they've not screwed us over... Yet). We've had one NPC become a Mantis
True Form (Beckey, a former Rat Shaman that was married to Bull's partner,
Johnny 99), and had another NPC turn out to be a Mantis.
Also, just this weekend we started our Christmas in Shadowrun game, which
tied up a lot of old plots, started a bunch of new ones, and was primarily
an RP session for our characters... no combat involved...:) Anyways, we
had a Christmas get together, and Becky showed up. And one of our players
(a female) willingly became a Mantis host.
But that's how we play with them...
Here'wswhere our viewpoints are somewhat justified by FASA material, and
where what strange reasoning we have comes from...
First off, Mantis Spirits, and how I see them. Seeing as how Mantis was in
the Grimmy (I think) long before Bug City came out, I always saw Mantis as
something a bit similar to Spider. Strange, scheming, intelligent, but not
quite evil. just selfish, and self serving, willing to use anyone and do
anythng to attain it's (her?) own goals...
Sure, they have a connection to the bugs, but I don't see them as quite the
same as the bugs, for a couple reasons. First off, they primarily hunt the
bugs, as opposed to hunting humans. Humans are, at the least, an obstacle.
Second is the way that the Mantis have been portrayed by FASA in their
stories and adventures....
In the second edition of the "Into the Shadows" anthology, there is a story
about a Mantis Spirit that tries to explain to someone hunting her that she
isn't totally a bug. That she willingly merged with the Mantis to gain
power, and because she agreed with the Mantids "cause" (or whatever).
granted, she could have been lying, but then again, she might not have....
BTW... for those of you who have only read the first edition of Into the
Shdaows, the Mantis story replaces the first story, which was just the first
chapter of Charrete's Secrets of Power trilogy.
Also, and this is getting into the realm of spoilers involving Mantids, Bugs
in General, and Super Tuesday, so.....
SPOILER SPACE!!!!
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Ok, that should do it....
Anyways, In Super Tuesday, the Mantids lure Anne penchyk, running mate of
General Yeats, into Chicago to try and turn her into a Mantis. They did
this, hoping to get someone out fo Chicago and into a position of power.
Later, in a seperate adventure, General Yeats is killed, and it turns out
that he was a bug, and that Penchyk, with the help of the Mantids, stopped
him. Apparently the Bugs are out of Chicago, and working MUCH more
secretively than they did last time they were out and about (The UB). It
doesn't state anywhere in the Game Stuff that Anne IS a mantis, and hints in
various places that she isn't. She IS, most definately, aiding the Mantids now.
Also, in Dunkie's Will, there is a S-Land comment about Anne Penchyk havingf
powerful allies by someone called Vixen... Which, coincidentally (I think
not:)), is the name of the head Mantis from Chicago and Bug City...
Remember, we know that no one else really uses the Mantids this way, but it
has added something to our game.
Bull
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= Bull, aka Chaos, aka Rak, aka Steven Ratkovich =
= =
= chaos@*****,com =
= =
= "Order is Illusion! Chaos is Bliss! Got any fours?" =
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"Ooooohhhhhhh!"
-Me, after seeing the trailers for the Star
Wars Special Editions in the theater.
