Shadowrun

Shadowrun General => The Secret History => Topic started by: Mirikon on <03-29-12/0655:44>

Title: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Mirikon on <03-29-12/0655:44>
So enough time has passed since Twilight Horizon came out, that I think it'd be a good idea to discuss some of it. However, because I know some of you Luddites only get the books in dead tree form, I'll put my thoughts in spoilers. Because I'm nice like that.

What exactly is the power of the SLC Special? It is supposedly similar to a power focus that may burn a mage out, but how does it work? What potency is it? And how does it risk burning out the mage?

So, several layers of the Consensus's firewalls have been breached. The Technomancer Massacre may have ended the protests in LVM, but Legion is definitely on the right track to cracking that nut. The question is, what will they do with the Consensus once they reach it? Edit it? Delete it? Subvert it with an AI?

Clockwork and Netcat are getting closer to a final conflict. The feeling I get is that the only reason Netcat hasn't moved before now is she doesn't want to be the first member of Jackpoint to actually hunt down and kill another Jackpointer, but it is fast getting to the point where these two are going to have to have it out. As the TM crisis heats up again, they are going to go at it head to head, that's for sure. The only question is when, and what will be the spark that keys off the final confrontation? And will it be a mission, like rescuing Puck, or a 'cut scene', where you see Netcat gloating over Clockwork's brain in a jar, without even a commlink, much less programs.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: shrike on <03-29-12/0716:03>
As far as the SLC Special goes, I view it as a mana amplifier. At this stage of the Cycle of Magic, metahumans can only channel a certain level of mana due to the availability of ambient mana. I see it kind of like this: mana is like electricity with metahumans acting as a fuse. Too much electricity and the fuse blows.

As far as the consensus and TMs, I think some of them will want to use it as a kind of "See how you like it, bitches!".

Just my two nuyen.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Sichr on <03-29-12/0731:56>
It can as well be Netcat`s brain in the jar...
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: shrike on <03-29-12/0738:58>
True, and I am torn as to whose brain I would rather see in the jar. On one hand, I like Netcat and the metaplot involving her. On the other hand, Clockwork is that guy I love to hate. Not sure SR4 would be the same without him.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Mirikon on <03-29-12/1234:20>
There's always another bigot where he came from. Plus, the odds are stacked heavily against him in that fight. Netcat, Slamm-O!, and Pistons, just on the matrix side of things, with any help they can bring to the party. When it happens, Clockwork will be facing 3-on-1 odds in the Matrix just to control his drones, and still have to worry about physical attacks. He's toast.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Sichr on <03-29-12/1429:41>
Id still love to see that bitch dead.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Black on <03-29-12/1800:17>
Id still love to see that bitch dead.

??? which one?  :o  Also remember (as we highjack yet another thread...) Clockwork doesn't need to take the others out in order to put a bullet in Netcat.  He just needs to survive their revenge (which is of course highly unlikely...)  So winning is a matter of perspective.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Crimsondude on <03-29-12/1852:50>
(as we highjack yet another thread...)
Yeah, you should try not doing that.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Black on <03-29-12/2324:53>
(as we highjack yet another thread...)
Yeah, you should try not doing that.

Ok... so I've heard great things about Vegas.   Is it comprehensive enough to support a series of runs in the city, and does it cover more information about the org. crime group, the hmm.. name escapes me... the Ute org. crime group.

Also, given that way back in the day the Denver Data Haven provided significant support to the PCC matrix, how does the close relationship betwen Horizon and the PCC play into this?
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Patrick Goodman on <03-29-12/2330:54>
Nice save. :)
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Mirikon on <03-30-12/0724:38>
The Vegas info is on par with the info you get on Hong Kong in Runner Havens. Definitely enough to support some runs.

As far as Horizon and the PCC? That doesn't come into play too much in this one. These things are all pretty much focused on Horizon, though LVM is the main battleground. Basically, it boils down to the fact that, in addition to corporate rivalries, Horizon has managed to piss off both the Technomancer/AI and free spirit communities. Horizon's been experimenting on free spirits, looking for ways to torture them without disrupting them. The death knell for Horizon's Mohave Wars came when there was an all-star match between Desert Wars and Mohave Wars, and a dozen or so free spirits came in and laid waste to both sides, and only a couple of their number were disrupted. Some technomancers were sitting outside Horizon buildings, protesting to try and get Horizon to do more to help them get rights. Well, when a bunch of hackers are together and have time on their hands, things are going to get hacked. And they found out that Horizon was screwing them, big time. So they got angry.

End result? Las Vegas has had blood rain and murder snow, Salt Lake City got flooded with magic red rain, Legion has declared war on Horizon, breaking through most of the protections surrounding the Consensus, and the protests in LVM came to a bloody end as Horizon sent armed troops against unarmed civilians.

Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Clockwork and Netcat come to a final showdown very soon.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Longshot23 on <03-31-12/0540:36>
In a weird relationship, the Bad Guys in Tom Clancy's novel Rainbow Six was Horizon Corporation, a major pharmaceutical company . . .

Of course, people may have spotted this long ago.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Black on <04-01-12/0428:57>
In a weird relationship, the Bad Guys in Tom Clancy's novel Rainbow Six was Horizon Corporation, a major pharmaceutical company . . .

Of course, people may have spotted this long ago.

I liked the bad guys in that novel, or at least their initial plan.  They would have made good Mr Johnsons.  Of course, they all fell apart so easily in the end... I hope Horizon proves to be a tougher nut to crack.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Mirikon on <04-01-12/0927:17>
The reason they fell apart so quickly is because they had an old spymaster and a few hired guns on their side, and the rest of them were intellectuals. Horizon has their own armed forces.

Now for the question of the day, if you had core level access to the Consensus (which is what the TMs seem to be going for) what would you tell it to say?
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Black on <04-01-12/1730:03>
The reason they fell apart so quickly is because they had an old spymaster and a few hired guns on their side, and the rest of them were intellectuals. Horizon has their own armed forces.

Now for the question of the day, if you had core level access to the Consensus (which is what the TMs seem to be going for) what would you tell it to say?

Bring back 'Baywatch'

*ducks*

Seriously? Devote full resources to Technomancer and A.I. equal rights.  Of course, if the technomancers get control, really get control, then a bunch of Horizon initiatives may get canned (the old changing of the guard type scenario), and things that they have no real interest in, eg Amazonia, may just be dropped.  An A.I. might be inclinded to actual 'wake' the Consesnus, and we could end up with a megacorp actually run by an A.I.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Sichr on <04-01-12/1839:47>
You know Horizon is a Mega.
All those evil things they do...I saw a lot of people here expectz them to be constantly atacked by free spirits, AIs Technomancers and IDN what else. Lets see:
Experiments on sprits - including experiomenting with invae - Ares Corporation, Wuxing, Aztechnology, EVO...just for the top of the iceberg...

Experiments on technomancers...virtually EVERYONE with R&D lab

Horizon is nice target, since it seems that it has something that seems to be single pillar, that once  broken, takes down whole company. But, lets face the truth...if Corporate Court survives such event, nothing ever changes. Corporations comes and goes, May or may not be sucesfull, and amongst those evil Horizon is far from worse. Why Aztechnology is not targetted by any astral being. For gods sake, they even have a hit squad operating in metaplanes destroying estral entities once and for all. Blood magic for them is the same as Consenzus is for Horizon. Well even targeted by Reciprocity, they still prosper. Plus ca change...
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Black on <04-01-12/1858:09>
You know Horizon is a Mega.
All those evil things they do...I saw a lot of people here expectz them to be constantly atacked by free spirits, AIs Technomancers and IDN what else. Lets see:
Experiments on sprits - including experiomenting with invae - Ares Corporation, Wuxing, Aztechnology, EVO...just for the top of the iceberg...

Experiments on technomancers...virtually EVERYONE with R&D lab

Horizon is nice target, since it seems that it has something that seems to be single pillar, that once  broken, takes down whole company. But, lets face the truth...if Corporate Court survives such event, nothing ever changes. Corporations comes and goes, May or may not be sucesfull, and amongst those evil Horizon is far from worse. Why Aztechnology is not targetted by any astral being. For gods sake, they even have a hit squad operating in metaplanes destroying estral entities once and for all. Blood magic for them is the same as Consenzus is for Horizon. Well even targeted by Reciprocity, they still prosper. Plus ca change...

Horizon is the target because...
(choose any combination of the below)
- Percieved Weak Target
- New Kids on the Block syndrome
- Image.  You set yourself up as a white knight and then are shown to be tarnished.  Human nature is to pull you down, specially if you have been shown to be a disapointment.  (Though I though the masses think Aztectnology are nice guys as well...)
- Mixed with the wrong crowd?  Should have steered cleared of the public debate on... well... everything?
- Overextended?
- Not lead by Damian Knight or Richard Villena?
- Its there turn? (Renraku had an AI issue, Ares had a bug issue, Aztechnology had a Dragon issue...)
- Popular with the current writers?
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Angelone on <04-01-12/2244:14>
You're forgetting an important one:
Works with Clockwork
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: CanRay on <04-02-12/0135:16>
You're forgetting an important one:
Works with Clockwork
*Looks up*  Sorry, not sure what this thread is about, I'm busy burying Clockwork up to his nose in the sand after drugging him.

Oh, and putting orange juice in his pants.  I hear there's fire arts around here.
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Longshot23 on <04-02-12/0542:01>
You're forgetting an important one:
Works with Clockwork
*Looks up*  Sorry, not sure what this thread is about, I'm busy burying Clockwork up to his nose in the sand after drugging him.

Oh, and putting orange juice in his pants.  I hear there's fire arts around here.

So, is that burying of Clockwork up to his nose in the sand . . . head downwards?

Wouldn't put it past you  ::)  ;D
Title: Re: Twilight Horizon
Post by: Sichr on <04-02-12/0611:48>
You know Horizon is a Mega.
All those evil things they do...I saw a lot of people here expectz them to be constantly atacked by free spirits, AIs Technomancers and IDN what else. Lets see:
Experiments on sprits - including experiomenting with invae - Ares Corporation, Wuxing, Aztechnology, EVO...just for the top of the iceberg...

Experiments on technomancers...virtually EVERYONE with R&D lab

Horizon is nice target, since it seems that it has something that seems to be single pillar, that once  broken, takes down whole company. But, lets face the truth...if Corporate Court survives such event, nothing ever changes. Corporations comes and goes, May or may not be sucesfull, and amongst those evil Horizon is far from worse. Why Aztechnology is not targetted by any astral being. For gods sake, they even have a hit squad operating in metaplanes destroying estral entities once and for all. Blood magic for them is the same as Consenzus is for Horizon. Well even targeted by Reciprocity, they still prosper. Plus ca change...

Horizon is the target because...
(choose any combination of the below)
- Percieved Weak Target
- New Kids on the Block syndrome
- Image.  You set yourself up as a white knight and then are shown to be tarnished.  Human nature is to pull you down, specially if you have been shown to be a disapointment.  (Though I though the masses think Aztectnology are nice guys as well...)
- Mixed with the wrong crowd?  Should have steered cleared of the public debate on... well... everything?
- Overextended?
- Not lead by Damian Knight or Richard Villena?
- Its there turn? (Renraku had an AI issue, Ares had a bug issue, Aztechnology had a Dragon issue...)
- Popular with the current writers?

Could be true...the last one is a bit OOC but it is possibly working that way :)
I recall Horizon was supporting education in 3rd world, IMO it was Lagos in Feral cities, where lots of disposable and used commlinks have ended, in the hands of children and people acessible by this support activities.
I can imagine, that where was altruism of sucesfull people, who were forming first steps of Concensus and tuned Horizon into this white knight you mentioned, with target: humanity worldwide. Then inviting milions of people from world where nothing but pure fight for survival exists, into Consenzus, may heavily affect its future developement. So I dont think that this consensus is kind of different from mirror image of everyday realityof the world.


You're forgetting an important one:
Works with Clockwork

for this s...t see below