Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => General Discussion => Topic started by: RowanTheFox on <10-16-16/2108:42>
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Ok, I'm not sure where this belongs, so here I go.
My character was kidnapped and used as a test subject. Her captors managed to use her DNA to synthesize an immortality serum to A: Make super soldiers. B: Give the world's highest and mightiest an alternative to leonization since CFD made that downright dangerous. (It's actually all detailed in Heart of Gold in the FanFic section). Several vials of the serum were smuggled out of the facility. She managed to get those vials, and is using them to create an army of her own to strike back at her captors.
Of course, the serum has some side effects, but they are as-of-yet unknown since the facility was razed to the ground in retaliation before the full effects of the serum could be studied. I feel that the side effects should vary wildly depending on the recipient's genome. The trouble I'm having is deciding what those possible side effects could be.
Any ideas?
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Well first off what exactly does this serum do you say it's both immortality and a super soldier serum but what does that actually mean?
1) Live forever.
2) Stay young forever.
3) Stay young forever +get maximum stat's.
4) Stay young forever and can NOT be killed, at all, in any way, PERIOD.
5) Stay young forever, get maximum stat's, can not be killed, become a mage.
And so on its hard to offer suggestions for side effects without knowing what the actual/intended effects will be. For example not being able to die takes on different meanings depending on whether the person involved is/is not able to regenerate severed limbs/nerve damage, is/is not aging, is/is not immune to diseases. More concretely compare immortal being who can't catch any diseases vs one who's spent the last 30 years suffering from one their body can't combat but they just can't die from even though it would have killed anyone not immortal (fever, hallucinations, vomiting, diarrhoea, boils, etc).
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Well first off what exactly does this serum do you say it's both immortality and a super soldier serum but what does that actually mean?
1) Live forever.
2) Stay young forever.
3) Stay young forever +get maximum stat's.
4) Stay young forever and can NOT be killed, at all, in any way, PERIOD.
5) Stay young forever, get maximum stat's, can not be killed, become a mage.
And so on its hard to offer suggestions for side effects without knowing what the actual/intended effects will be. For example not being able to die takes on different meanings depending on whether the person involved is/is not able to regenerate severed limbs/nerve damage, is/is not aging, is/is not immune to diseases. More concretely compare immortal being who can't catch any diseases vs one who's spent the last 30 years suffering from one their body can't combat but they just can't die from even though it would have killed anyone not immortal (fever, hallucinations, vomiting, diarrhoea, boils, etc).
They get immunity to aging, disease, toxins, and poisons. Any diseases they currently have are cured, as their body can now fight it off, with the exception of mental illnesses. They also regenerate back to their "peak" condition, but this is a one-off effect. They don't gain the regeneration power. They also gain the equivalent of Will to Live III.
The serum wasn't the only thing that made the soldiers "super". They were also wired to the max and psychologically conditioned with personafix chips. Very nasty stuff, but still killable.
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No immunity to radiation? Peak condition meaning no stat changes i.e. all stats to racial maximum?
Some obvious ones off the top of my head . . .
1) Trigger an "awakening" i.e. changeling with Surve 1,2 or 3 positive traits rolled, negative ones rolled or chosen by you rather than them.
2) The deadpool serum i.e. extremely healthy but horribly scarred and altered.
3) The blade serum i.e phsycially powerful but also non-human changes such as a second set of eyelids blicking sideway's or jaw opening into 4 even parts rather than 2 up and down.
4) The clone serum i.e. they gain all the benefits and phsyically alter to look either identical to your character or as if they were her brother/sister.
5) The reroll serum i.e. all their physical stats change based on a random dice roll e.g. 1 human, 2 elf, 3 dwarf, 4 orc, 5 troll, 6 special e.g. pixie or sasquatch. Do this for all appearance (eye colour, hair colour, skin tone) just don't forget to check your players are ok with it.
6) The HMHVV serum they get the perks you listed but physically turn into a duplicate of what they would if exposed to HMHVV "I'm not a vampire pay no attention the fangs please."
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No immunity to radiation? Peak condition meaning no stat changes i.e. all stats to racial maximum?
Some obvious ones off the top of my head . . .
1) Trigger an "awakening" i.e. changeling with Surve 1,2 or 3 positive traits rolled, negative ones rolled or chosen by you rather than them.
2) The deadpool serum i.e. extremely healthy but horribly scarred and altered.
3) The blade serum i.e phsycially powerful but also non-human changes such as a second set of eyelids blicking sideway's or jaw opening into 4 even parts rather than 2 up and down.
4) The clone serum i.e. they gain all the benefits and phsyically alter to look either identical to your character or as if they were her brother/sister.
5) The reroll serum i.e. all their physical stats change based on a random dice roll e.g. 1 human, 2 elf, 3 dwarf, 4 orc, 5 troll, 6 special e.g. pixie or sasquatch. Do this for all appearance (eye colour, hair colour, skin tone) just don't forget to check your players are ok with it.
6) The HMHVV serum they get the perks you listed but physically turn into a duplicate of what they would if exposed to HMHVV "I'm not a vampire pay no attention the fangs please."
Putting stats at racial max might not be such a bad idea now that I think about it.
Nope, no immunity to radiation. My logic is that if my character doesn't even have that, why should they?
I like those suggestions, a friend of mine also brought up the suggestion of the serum awakening any latent magical traits, similar to what you suggested. Dracomorphosis, changeling, aspected or even full magician, adept or mystic adept, etc...
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I am definitely on board with triggering an awakening.
Especially because my own campaign focuses on a drug that awakens people. Maybe though people who are already awakened or emerged lose that. If they also regenerate to peak physical condition maybe they eject any non delta implants during their upgrade.
Becoming dual natured would also be very fitting. Or becoming an easy vessel for Spirits and thusly having to fight off free spirits who want to possess your super-soldiers.
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Becoming dual natured would also be very fitting. Or becoming an easy vessel for Spirits and thusly having to fight off free spirits who want to possess your super-soldiers.
Being able to astrally project sounds great to most people, until they find out that the body left behind is a ready-made vessel for possession. "Normally" Awakened folks are probably taught a bit of warding ASAP, by a teacher or a spirit that sees it as enlightened self-interest (who wants enemies/competitors possessing an Awakened vessel?) These guys, maybe not so much. "Finders' keepers!"
I do like the already-mentioned SURGE ideas. I expect some affected will be spending a lot of time with helmets or wrap-around shades on, given the popularity of compound eyes or multiple sets of eyes.
The "clone serum" reminds me of some of the implications of regenerators in Whateley Academy fanfic: body fluids as biohazards. Better think twice about that blood donation, no matter how desperately your child needs it :-\
In any case, this seems like a very powerful super-serum indeed. Possibly alchemically prepared? Did the researchers fully understand where the power driving the sucessful batches is coming from? Maybe it's some innocent driving force that acts like an astral beacon. Or it's a way to introduce those Dream Pacts that no one really wants ("But it clearly states, in Appendix D, Section 12, Paragraph 3, Subpara. 13, that I get to use your body when it's otherwise not in use in return for these benefits.")
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A ballsack grows out of your forehead
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Becoming dual natured would also be very fitting. Or becoming an easy vessel for Spirits and thusly having to fight off free spirits who want to possess your super-soldiers.
Being able to astrally project sounds great to most people, until they find out that the body left behind is a ready-made vessel for possession. "Normally" Awakened folks are probably taught a bit of warding ASAP, by a teacher or a spirit that sees it as enlightened self-interest (who wants enemies/competitors possessing an Awakened vessel?) These guys, maybe not so much. "Finders' keepers!"
I do like the already-mentioned SURGE ideas. I expect some affected will be spending a lot of time with helmets or wrap-around shades on, given the popularity of compound eyes or multiple sets of eyes.
The "clone serum" reminds me of some of the implications of regenerators in Whateley Academy fanfic: body fluids as biohazards. Better think twice about that blood donation, no matter how desperately your child needs it :-\
In any case, this seems like a very powerful super-serum indeed. Possibly alchemically prepared? Did the researchers fully understand where the power driving the sucessful batches is coming from? Maybe it's some innocent driving force that acts like an astral beacon. Or it's a way to introduce those Dream Pacts that no one really wants ("But it clearly states, in Appendix D, Section 12, Paragraph 3, Subpara. 13, that I get to use your body when it's otherwise not in use in return for these benefits.")
To answer your last question: Not exactly. Hubris, and the overwhelming desire to crush their enemies blinded them. They were so thrilled to have a successful serum that they never stopped to ask why it worked. Didn't help that the big dog funding the whole thing was completely batdrek insane.
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Thinking about it you could also introduce non serum related side effects like gaining a non-buy offable wanted negative quality as the corp tries to get ahold of a few more test subjects who've had the serum donated or the old captain america supersoldier team who could only trigger their superpowers for a short period of time before it wore off and left them exhausted.
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They may physically be immune to age, etc., but their brains aren't built that way. The IEs (who, arguably, ARE built that way) are all more than a little psycho in their own ways; early elves are socially and psychologically humans, but in bodies that aren't 'giving out' the way human bodies are designed to do, which means they wind up having a major psychological and sociological disconnect with many of their non-elven age-peers.
Think of it as a Captain America scenario, albeit one in which they've actually lived those 70 years since WWII. Only the guys in the old-folk's home are going to get their in-jokes and references, but the super-soldier can still go out, party all night and then fight a major battle the next morning like the twentysomethings. There's major mental stress there, and unless that's addressed, your immortal super-soldier WILL have a psychotic break, and given his training, it's likely to be a highly violent one. And then the researchers discover that few people indeed possess Immunity to High-Velocity Steel-Jacketed Lead.
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Thinking about it you could also introduce non serum related side effects like gaining a non-buy offable wanted negative quality as the corp tries to get ahold of a few more test subjects who've had the serum donated or the old captain america supersoldier team who could only trigger their superpowers for a short period of time before it wore off and left them exhausted.
I've thought about adding the Wanted quality, and it makes sense with what my character is doing. I've also considered the possibility of my character being able to magically track anyone who has been given the serum using a form of material linking, since it was made with her DNA.
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They may physically be immune to age, etc., but their brains aren't built that way. The IEs (who, arguably, ARE built that way) are all more than a little psycho in their own ways; early elves are socially and psychologically humans, but in bodies that aren't 'giving out' the way human bodies are designed to do, which means they wind up having a major psychological and sociological disconnect with many of their non-elven age-peers.
Think of it as a Captain America scenario, albeit one in which they've actually lived those 70 years since WWII. Only the guys in the old-folk's home are going to get their in-jokes and references, but the super-soldier can still go out, party all night and then fight a major battle the next morning like the twentysomethings. There's major mental stress there, and unless that's addressed, your immortal super-soldier WILL have a psychotic break, and given his training, it's likely to be a highly violent one. And then the researchers discover that few people indeed possess Immunity to High-Velocity Steel-Jacketed Lead.
Ironically D20 modern had a trait for demons that was immunity to ballistic damage which basically meant you could stab them, hit them with blunt objects, cast spells on them or slice them up but even the most high powered modern weapons (bullets = ballistic) just bounce off without doing a thing.
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Who is the Big Bad? Because this sounds like the sort of thing a Human Nation (or possibly Black Lodge) bigwig would try to do. Although you'd think a Black Lodge-r would be aware of potential Awakened hazards.
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Who is the Big Bad? Because this sounds like the sort of thing a Human Nation (or possibly Black Lodge) bigwig would try to do. Although you'd think a Black Lodge-r would be aware of potential Awakened hazards.
Aztechnology in cahoots with the Aztlan government.
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Who is the Big Bad? Because this sounds like the sort of thing a Human Nation (or possibly Black Lodge) bigwig would try to do. Although you'd think a Black Lodge-r would be aware of potential Awakened hazards.
Aztechnology in cahoots with the Aztlan government.
Yeah, Wanted would be totally appropriate. Along with Records on File.
This serum/treatment/mage-gene therapy would be something the Big Az wants all to itself, and only for the top echelon (I doubt the President of Aztlan would count).
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Did the researchers fully understand where the power driving the sucessful batches is coming from?
To answer your last question: Not exactly. Hubris, and the overwhelming desire to crush their enemies blinded them. They were so thrilled to have a successful serum that they never stopped to ask why it worked. Didn't help that the big dog funding the whole thing was completely batdrek insane.
That's kind of cruel - I like it! 8)
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Did the researchers fully understand where the power driving the sucessful batches is coming from?
To answer your last question: Not exactly. Hubris, and the overwhelming desire to crush their enemies blinded them. They were so thrilled to have a successful serum that they never stopped to ask why it worked. Didn't help that the big dog funding the whole thing was completely batdrek insane.
That's kind of cruel - I like it! 8)
The whole fiasco sparks a shadow war that rages for nearly a decade.
"Do not meddle with immortals. For they are subtle and quick to anger." - Frosty
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I'm pretty sure I would put this on the "not for you PC" list. Immortal super soldier Mary Sue PCs aren't all that fun for anyone except, possibly, the PC playing them.
DRAMATIZATION:
IMSSMS PC: "I Resolve this dramatic situation by being the awesomes! Isn't it great that while you can inflict "soft" penalties on me, anywhere I show up in person I indomitably win no matter what?"
GM: "Oh yay. I'm glad I went through thinking that scenario up with nuance and detail so that you could blaze through it in a pre-adolescent power fantasy"
Other PCs: "So are we! Nothing says fun like sitting at a table as little more than plot driving sidekicks who's efforts serve as scene transitions and plot exposition for COOL PC 5000!" If we're extra lucky maybe we'll get a "but superman needs help" episode before we go back to our regularly scheduled insignificance!"
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Not necessarily.
My playing an immortal elf, drake mystic adept with max stats (IMSSMS) in a game where the other players are playing normal characters (sum to 10) would probably ruin their fun (I don't make powerful characters very well).
My playing an IMSSMS in a game where the other players are playing similar characters but put up against normal threats would not be very challenging although personally I do enjoy an occasional god mode run where I can actually feeel powerful as opposed to "Oh gods, oh gods, we're all going to die." although it probably wouldn't last too long.
My playing an IMSSMS with max stats in a game where the other players are similar characters and the threat level is equivilent (elite troops and weird creatures + issues resulting from the change) could be fun if done well.
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My character isn't a PC, not anymore at least. This is for my stories, not a game. The storyline does open the door for lots and lots of shadow work on both sides, but it's not like there's going to be immortal super soldiers running around all over the place. She is very with who she gives the serum to, and she keeps those people nearby to oversee them directly. She gives one dose to her dying uncle/former mentor, but no one but her and the decker who helped her escape know how many vials still exist.
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I'm a fan of forcing uber-characters to put up with exceptional personal difficulty, or attain their uberness via Faustian ordeals.
If attaining power were so easy, everyone would have done so already.
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Which is why so many powerful corporations spend billions investigating a way to attain it in many stories although the means do differ (magic, technology, bio-engineering).
Ah a story is also a very different matter to a game.
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My character is uber powerful, but only because she's been through a lot of drek in a relatively short span of time (for an immortal, anyway), and it's only going to get worse for her as time goes on. Anyone who gets the serum from her is automatically on Aztechnology's shit list, and vice versa. There's actually an entire team of assassins called the Mistish Farad that she pulls together for the purpose of destroying the super soldiers Aztech created, and making life incredibly difficult for anyone involved.
She also creates the Matrix Observation and Defense "MOD" Squad to spearhead the matrix end of the shadow war. It's run by my character's brother-turned-e-ghost and two top tier deckers who have been given the serum (one of them being the decker who helped her escape). They're affectionately referred to as "The Geezer Brigade". They're fun.
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I was thinking about your comment regarding humans having trouble dealing with immortality and the other way could be just as bad. Imagine someone born with the mindset of an immortal in an era where only humans were around. Constantly under pressure to do things in less time than they need, to take on responsibilities thye're mentally too young for, to interact with people who think constantly in the now while they think in the future. They might well snap before they're even out of their teens as they've not basis to help them handle it.
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I was thinking about your comment regarding humans having trouble dealing with immortality and the other way could be just as bad. Imagine someone born with the mindset of an immortal in an era where only humans were around. Constantly under pressure to do things in less time than they need, to take on responsibilities thye're mentally too young for, to interact with people who think constantly in the now while they think in the future. They might well snap before they're even out of their teens as they've not basis to help them handle it.
That's basically what happens to my character. She develops a deep inferiority complex that took root after her dad's death, and got worse after the death of her uncle. She blames herself for not being "powerful" enough to save them, and she also feels compelled to get on par with the other Immortals. That in turn drives her almost obsessive need to increase her power in whatever way she can, and drives her to undergo greater and greater suffering to initiate. Doesn't help at all that a certain other immortal is actively encouraging her for his own reasons.
Her family and her loyalty are both her greatest strengths and her greatest pitfalls. She is utterly loyal and devoted to that aforementioned immortal, to the point of risking her own skin for him over and over and over and - you get the idea. The things she'd do to keep her loved ones safe should scare the drek out of you.
The fact she is intimately aware of her pitfalls, and has her mentor spirit to guide her may be her only saving grace. She lacks the vanity and arrogance of the other immortals, if only because Wolf will show up and go "No! Bad pup!" when her ego starts to over-inflate.
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I feel like I should clarify something.
My character doesn't just give the serum to anyone who catches her eye. She tests them first, so she can personally observe their capabilities and judge whether or not they live up to, or even exceed their reputation. How she tests them can vary, and the runner won't ever know it was a test unless they pass. If they fail, they go on with their life none the wiser. Even if they pass, she only offers the serum. They still have the ability to turn the offer down with no hard feelings.
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And now my inner mad scientist is wondering what would happen if a drake was given this stuff. ???
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Hmmm, I think the poor mental capacity to deal with immortality is barking up the right tree. You might start out fine but can you picture the long term effects? Soon enough you would have seen almost everything there is to see in a city, done almost everything, nothing would be exciting anymore. Soon you would likely start seeking greater and greater risks in order to feel something other than boredom, in time as friends or family start dying and your left alone with other immortals your life would become more empty and hollow, even the fires of hate become ashes given time. You may even come to view immortality as a curse, one that you inflicted on others. Would that sit right with you, forever? In the end you would likely be suicidal or at best apathetic about everything, even frienships wane over time.
Maybe end it with her, alone, in the future a solitary figure likely half mad and seeking a release, she got her victory, after so many long years, only to find it empty and hollow, she just destroyed the only thing left that gave her purpose?
Queue a new, deranged villain, the very person originally fighting them?
Or maybe she has the courage to end herself or wipe her memory totally so she can find the world new again, with a different innocent and naieve version of her at the helm, ready to repeat the same never ending cycle anew?
Excuse format im typing from a ps4, laptops battery is fried.
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Hmmm, I think the poor mental capacity to deal with immortality is barking up the right tree. You might start out fine but can you picture the long term effects? Soon enough you would have seen almost everything there is to see in a city, done almost everything, nothing would be exciting anymore. Soon you would likely start seeking greater and greater risks in order to feel something other than boredom, in time as friends or family start dying and your left alone with other immortals your life would become more empty and hollow, even the fires of hate become ashes given time. You may even come to view immortality as a curse, one that you inflicted on others. Would that sit right with you, forever? In the end you would likely be suicidal or at best apathetic about everything, even frienships wane over time.
Maybe end it with her, alone, in the future a solitary figure likely half mad and seeking a release, she got her victory, after so many long years, only to find it empty and hollow, she just destroyed the only thing left that gave her purpose?
Queue a new, deranged villain, the very person originally fighting them?
Or maybe she has the courage to end herself or wipe her memory totally so she can find the world new again, with a different innocent and naieve version of her at the helm, ready to repeat the same never ending cycle anew?
Excuse format im typing from a ps4, laptops battery is fried.
My character has the right mental capacity, but she has a plethora of other reasons to go batty, mostly trauma. Aztechnology did a lot more damage to her psyche than anyone currently realizes. When they forcefully implanted that datajack, they literally stole a small piece of her soul away that she can never get back. Which is bad for any mage, but especially so for her. Because of what she is, her physiology is juuuust different enough for 'ware to cause a problem (anyone remember what happened to Eliohann?). That is why she hates Aztechnology so much. They could have used a trode net and gotten the same effect, but no. They chose to screw a piece of metal into her skull out of pure cruelty and spite. The whole point of the datajack was to display their complete domination of her, and hopefully break her in the process. They almost succeeded, and even though the jack is long gone, she can still "feel" the hole it left behind in her aura.
She doesn't see her immortality as a curse because she can always choose to, ahem, "opt out". She's immune to age, toxins, disease, pathogens, and poisons, but a bullet to the brain pan will still make her grey matter go squish. Same goes for the recipients of the serum. If anything, she sees it as a blessing. She can sit back and wait forever. It's only a matter of time before the Big A makes a mistake.
At the end of the second to last story, Blood Feud, she ends up isolating herself to grieve in peace, refocus her mind, and find her path again. She's gone for 16 years before the last story picks up. Events back home involving her son forces her out of her isolation, and after realizing what he's done, Aztechnology is the last thing on her mind. She's got bigger problems, and it's the last story for a reason.
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When they forcefully implanted that datajack, they literally stole a small piece of her soul away that she can never get back.
even though the jack is long gone, she can still "feel" the hole it left behind in her aura.
Not really true that it's permanently gone and all she can do is pine for what's lost, is it? Gene therapy can restore essence, rebinding the astral and the physical in the process. So if the character is that desperate to regain that fraction of Essence lost, the means exist.
Revitalization is a breakthrough that repairs Essence loss derived from invasive implantation.
110,000¥, seven days in a clinic and three weeks of waiting later ...
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When they forcefully implanted that datajack, they literally stole a small piece of her soul away that she can never get back.
even though the jack is long gone, she can still "feel" the hole it left behind in her aura.
Not really true that it's permanently gone and all she can do is pine for what's lost, is it? Gene therapy can restore essence, rebinding the astral and the physical in the process. So if the character is that desperate to regain that fraction of Essence lost, the means exist.
Revitalization is a breakthrough that repairs Essence loss derived from invasive implantation.
110,000¥, seven days in a clinic and three weeks of waiting later ...
I wonder how I've never head of that before? Money isn't a problem, but her moderate phobia of clinics might be (dice roll time!). I feel like it would be a lot like having someone forcefully slice off a finger. You can get a new finger, but you're still going to be fragged off at the person who stole the original away.
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Ok, if I'm reading the Augmentation entry right, she'd have to spend time in a vat with simsense to interact with the outside world. Remind me because I'm an idiot and can't remember which book to look in.
Will simsense mess with someone who is a dry BTL addict? If so, the risk might be too great.
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Ok, if I'm reading the Augmentation entry right, she'd have to spend time in a vat with simsense to interact with the outside world. Remind me because I'm an idiot and can't remember which book to look in.
Will simsense mess with someone who is a dry BTL addict? If so, the risk might be too great.
BTLs are just simsense recordings with the standard limiters removed so...yeah. About that. :-\
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Ok, if I'm reading the Augmentation entry right, she'd have to spend time in a vat with simsense to interact with the outside world. Remind me because I'm an idiot and can't remember which book to look in.
Will simsense mess with someone who is a dry BTL addict? If so, the risk might be too great.
BTLs are just simsense recordings with the standard limiters removed so...yeah. About that. :-\
Yea, that's what I thought, but I couldn't remember for sure. She'd also have to be conscious through the whole thing. Maybe she can communicate via sign language, or some kind of microphone?
Aztech really screwed her hard. She might be willing to leave her son in Quecksilber's care while she undergoes the procedure, and then endures the drying out process again. *shudders*
Or who knows, maybe her willpower (elf racial max) is strong enough to resist falling of the wagon. I think that'll have to be another dice roll.
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Do they actually say that somewhere? The only example I've read was from 4e, where the patient was unconscious the whole time. Being altered on a genetic level isn't something you necessarily want to be conscious for.
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Do they actually say that somewhere? The only example I've read was from 4e, where the patient was unconscious the whole time. Being altered on a genetic level isn't something you necessarily want to be conscious for.
My character can't be sedated by normal means. Which is why Aztech implanted the datajack and fed her a constant stream of BTLs.
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It sounds a lot like the simsense is an optional feature thats just there to allow you to interact, if thats the case you could probably veto it, provided her willpower is high enough to resist what would basically be a week in a sensory deprevation tank. Maybe use the time to contact wolf and have that week as a sort of astral quest where you rebond with that piece of lost essence so it can be recovered.
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My character can't be sedated by normal means.
Less lethal / stun damage has no effect? ::)
A few days later, she was recovered enough to watch the condensed video record of her transformation process. It held a horrific fascination for her; she must have watched it twenty times already that day. As the genes that determined her physical traits had been realigned, she had passed through some monstrous intermediate stages. She watched as her skull grew and shrank on the screen, shuddering involuntarily at the sight. She was glad that she hadn’t been conscious.
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My character can't be sedated by normal means.
Less lethal / stun damage has no effect? ::)
A few days later, she was recovered enough to watch the condensed video record of her transformation process. It held a horrific fascination for her; she must have watched it twenty times already that day. As the genes that determined her physical traits had been realigned, she had passed through some monstrous intermediate stages. She watched as her skull grew and shrank on the screen, shuddering involuntarily at the sight. She was glad that she hadn’t been conscious.
A hearty thwack upside the head will still knock her out, she's just very drug resistant. Which is how she managed to escape two months of constant BTLs with a severe addiction instead of burnout. While that definitely has some advantages, it also has some pretty gnarly disadvantages. The most obvious being that it makes receiving any sort of painful medical treatment like repairing an essence hole, extremely difficult. A resist pain spell would help, but the caster would have to actually touch her. That's problematic if she's in a vat.
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Keep in mind the revitalization therapy may return your Essence to maximum, but it doesn't actually restore your lost Magic maximum or lost Magic attribute. You'll still have a gap in there, just a bit smaller from a character perspective (larger from the mechanical side).
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Keep in mind the revitalization therapy may return your Essence to maximum, but it doesn't actually restore your lost Magic maximum or lost Magic attribute. You'll still have a gap in there, just a bit smaller from a character perspective (larger from the mechanical side).
She can initiate and gain it back. Getting through the procedure in the first place without going into shock from the pain is the tricky part. Either she suffers the agony unassisted, or she uses the simsense and risks having to dry out from a severe BTL addiction all over again. That, or she just lives with the hole.
Talk about a rock and a fragging hard place.
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Drugs are one method, Simsense another (induced non-REM sleep is yet unexplored, but likely effective and not or less addictive), with blunt force or electricity a third ... but the angle of each is that she needs to be kept under. With genetic realignment, why wouldn't it be that she needs to be kept awake?
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Why would you need somone to touch you for a resist pain spell? If memory serves magic in the shadows stated that any spell could be made ranged by changing it's drain, that may be superceded by later editions (I'm a 3e guy).
Medication is obviously not ideal...
What about hypnotherapy? I imagine it's moved on a lot since the awakening. Obviously visual methods might struggle but if your suspended in liquid in a vat audio hypnosis might be just the ticket (Sound is a pressure wave that travels better through mediums like water than it does through air after all) .
The hibernate spell (Sr3 Core) could also work. You have options.
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Why would you need somone to touch you for a resist pain spell? If memory serves magic in the shadows stated that any spell could be made ranged by changing it's drain, that may be superceded by later editions (I'm a 3e guy).
Medication is obviously not ideal...
What about hypnotherapy? I imagine it's moved on a lot since the awakening. Obviously visual methods might struggle but if your suspended in liquid in a vat audio hypnosis might be just the ticket (Sound is a pressure wave that travels better through mediums like water than it does through air after all) .
The hibernate spell (Sr3 Core) could also work. You have options.
I'm not finding anything about changing the range of a spell in 5th ed, but the Hibernate spell would work (found it in Stolen Souls). It's also touch range, but it lasts 4 hours per net hit. Since she'd be a willing target and wouldn't resist the spell, a skilled magician could put her out for quite some time, then just cast it again right when the spell ends.
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Or use a contact trigger alchemical preparation dropped into the vat.
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If you have more than one awakend friend willing to help you could probably use ritual magic to bump those net hits although I have no idea how limit is calculated for sr5 spells I would wager the effect would be much more satisfactory.
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Or just make it a sustained spell, don't resist it, and drop a spell lock on it. Then have Mr. Painted-Face drop by in a week to take it off.
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If you have more than one awakend friend willing to help you could probably use ritual magic to bump those net hits although I have no idea how limit is calculated for sr5 spells I would wager the effect would be much more satisfactory.
The Limit is the Force of the spell.
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Cheers dwagon that seems off though, by that logic there are few benefits to using ritual sorcery compared to a standard cast, you would think ritual magic would bump up the limit seeing as it bumps up the dice pool for the spell.
That's a good point wyrm. A sustaining focus could also work well. I would say thats probably the most viable option, good call.
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Cheers dwagon that seems off though, by that logic there are few benefits to using ritual sorcery compared to a standard cast, you would think ritual magic would bump up the limit seeing as it bumps up the dice pool for the spell.
Ritual Drain is the leader's Ritual Spellcasting + Magic [Force] VS [Force x 2]
However, the Leader's result is bolstered by a Teamwork Test from each of the participants.
So the more participants you have, the higher the Force you can safely attempt (MUCH BETTER potential than straight spellcasting).
Just need to ensure everyone is able to stay for the last half of the ritual (steps 4 though 7, according to the SR5 CRB)
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Or just make it a sustained spell, don't resist it, and drop a spell lock on it. Then have Mr. Painted-Face drop by in a week to take it off.
Sure, if anyone actually knows where to find him, or even how to get a hold of him. Alas, no one does.
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Once again, thinkin' outside the box. :P :)
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Cheers dwagon as stated im mainly 3e (Old old group and we dont like the clusterduck later editions make in some areas of the rules) so I wasnt sure how 5e ritual compared.
I'm slowly fleshing it out with 5e stuff but lots of house rules and stat tweaks are necessary to make everything compatible.
So yeah ritual magic could work if a sustaining focus or mr painted-face aren't possible.
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Cheers dwagon as stated im mainly 3e (Old old group and we dont like the clusterduck later editions make in some areas of the rules) so I wasnt sure how 5e ritual compared.
I'm slowly fleshing it out with 5e stuff but lots of house rules and stat tweaks are necessary to make everything compatible.
Aye. The vast majority of my Shadowrun experience was in 2nd and 3rd edition as well; I only recently started running 5th Edition this year (only a few months ago, back in July).
It's been a learning experience figuring the system out.
So yeah ritual magic could work if a sustaining focus or mr painted-face aren't possible.
Sustaining Foci would be far cheaper than ritual sorcery. Though given who is receiving the procedure here, cost is kind of a moot point anyway.
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So yeah ritual magic could work if a sustaining focus or mr painted-face aren't possible.
Sustaining Foci would be far cheaper than ritual sorcery. Though given who is receiving the procedure here, cost is kind of a moot point anyway.
It's good to be the queen. ;D
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Haha very true but as I said, I was just tagging it as a viable alternative should the other methods prove problematic. Is it the best option? No. Is it potentially viable? Yes.
I cant blame you, although i preffer the simplicity of 3e it's harsh not having an updating gear/stat etc list. Especially as most roll 20 games are 5e these days.
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Haha very true but as I said, I was just tagging it as a viable alternative should the other methods prove problematic. Is it the best option? No. Is it potentially viable? Yes.
I cant blame you, although i preffer the simplicity of 3e it's harsh not having an updating gear/stat etc list. Especially as most roll 20 games are 5e these days.
I might just handwave it as a thing that was done, but no one is sure how because she wants to keep it a secret (lest her enemies find a weakness they can exploit). If someone can contact the almighty jester and tell him what's going on, he might have a few 4th world tricks up his sleeve that could remove the need for the procedure entirely. That's a big "if" though.
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That could work, at the end of the day though we have demonstrated that you do have options. You could simply state the procedure was done and that for fear of leaving a written record of how you will omit the method and encourage the reader to draw their own conclusions.
After all it's a foolish immortal who leaves a written record of their weaknesses considering how easy it is for information to proliferate over time.
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... to be honest, considering that it doesn't functionally do anything - your maximum is still down, and any Initiation is going to increase your maximum anyhow - my question here would be 'why bother'? Unless it's that 'gap-in-the-tooth' feeling that she reeeeeaally wants to stop having.
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... to be honest, considering that it doesn't functionally do anything - your maximum is still down, and any Initiation is going to increase your maximum anyhow - my question here would be 'why bother'? Unless it's that 'gap-in-the-tooth' feeling that she reeeeeaally wants to stop having.
It's what the hole represents that hurts her more than the hole itself. If she had taken the 'ware willingly then it wouldn't be such a big deal, but it was forced on her against her will. How would you feel if you woke up dazed, nauseous, and suffering a BTL-induced endorphin crash in a strange, sterile room with a piece of metal screwed into your skull?
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"What, this again??"
Like I said - if it's gap-in-the-tooth (which is what you're saying it is), then hey, go to.
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"What, this again??"
Like I said - if it's gap-in-the-tooth (which is what you're saying it is), then hey, go to.
Touche
Sorry I've been AWOL for a while. Internet got shut off at my place, so I have to hoof it to the library. No clue how long it'll be before I can afford to get it turned back on.
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Ok, so I'm working on a test for the serum.
When dosed with the immortality serum, the target must make a BOD+WIL [Physical] (18, 1 week) Extended Test. 2 or more net hits means the target suffers no side effects. Less than 2 net hits means the target suffers an abberant genetic mutation (similar to a changeling). A glitch results in the target suffering several genetic mutations. A critical glitch results in the target's death.
OR
BOD+WIL [Physical] (16) Test
0-1 net hits: negative mutation
2-3 net hits: nothing
4-5: random positive
6+ selected positive
Which one sounds better?