Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => The Secret History => Topic started by: ArkangelWinter on <10-05-12/2227:19>
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Are there any canon allusions to Obsidimen?
Are the mana levels not high enough? And if not, would high BGc sites and Mana line Nexi be enough extra oomph to Awaken them anyway?
Would they express from existing metahumans, or from a LifeRock site? Or perhaps express from a metahuman who goes to a LifeRock site?
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The general mana level isn't quite there yet for them to be a full-on race, but you can re-create them (and there's at least one canon appearance, this way) with SURGE, due to Halley's Comet's little mana spike a couple years back.
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Well, there was the 'Life-rock' the DIMR picked up, and Plan 9 mentioned some rumors of a "tribe of metavariant trolls with a tough, rocky skin almost like a stone exoskeleton" living in the caves near one of the Sea Dragon's lairs. And we already have one T'skrang working for Golden Snout...
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Mr. D had some stuff written off where the last life-stone was stolen or destroyed or something . .
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Interesting. So DIMR is likely waiting on their return, and I'd be willing to bet Sea Dragon's tribe is either on a nexus of some sort or is part of a larger plan, since she seems so comparatively uninvolved in other Draconic plots and schemes.
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Uncle Ancient had a piece of fiction about that on his website once, AFAIR.
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You can already create Ganesh and bugmen SURGE changelings now (In addition to the "T-Skrang" NPC in Missions and the alluded-to "rock men" in Shadows of Asia and Clutch of the Dragons), free spirits, infected, artificial intelligence, shapeshifters, and six-limbed metavariant PCs, Naga, True Drakes, oh, and pixies. What exactly does adding Obsidismen contribute to the game? Shouldn't there be some sort of anticipation? Earthdawn is supposed to be at a higher point in the mana cycle, and so I don't see the need to blow the entire load of character types RIGHT. NOW.
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I agree, I just wondered if allusions to them existed. They were always my favorite Earthdawn race.
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Interesting. So DIMR is likely waiting on their return, and I'd be willing to bet Sea Dragon's tribe is either on a nexus of some sort or is part of a larger plan, since she seems so comparatively uninvolved in other Draconic plots and schemes.
Since the DIMR is headed by Ehran the Scribe, I can say they are definitely are waiting for the Obsidimen to return, even if they don't know it yet.
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Don't worry. They should be around in 50 years at the most. If there are pixies/windlings already, the obsidimen aren't far behind, since according to Earthdawn lore they're not much more magical than the former. I'd go so far to say, that in some places in the world the Liferocks are probably able to exist (Australia, Tibet).
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Check Shadowrun Missions Season 4. That's all I'm going to say.
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Yeah, the mana level's certainly climbed high enough to support some of them. Just don't expect to see them as a full-on playable race, appearing in demographic numbers right next to orks and trolls, real soon. They're still certainly in the "other" category, even if they're sustained by the rising mana.
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Check Shadowrun Missions Season 4. That's all I'm going to say.
Needs more nuyen...definitely on my shopping list
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I've always assumed that liferocks got mined out...
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I've always assumed that liferocks got mined out...
*Looks at my hometown* Oops.
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@Critas: I wouldn't allow them as player characters, and I think I was too hasty with my previous post. Because of one tiny little problem - every Obsidiman after emerging from the Liferock spends about a hundred years communing in Dreaming with the Liferock and the other Obsidimen (those that returned to the Liferock for good, and those who merge with it at the time), and sharing their memories of the world. That would mean two things:
1. Liferocks have appeared recently, because the magic level is just right? Oh well, the first Obsidimen should appear in about a hundred years.
2. They. Know. Too. Much.
EDIT: And 3 Any Obsidiman character that emerges now is either a blank slate (less mentally developed than a child), or one of those who slept through the downtime in their Liferock, or on some distant metaplane, and thus they eat immortal elves for breakfast... or they would, if they weren't full-vegan, and quite benign and altruistic (as long as you don't insult and/or threaten their Brotherhood or Liferock).
@CanRay: Liferocks aren't any different from other rocks. It's their magical nature that makes them interesting. That means nobody mined them on purpose (untill now at least). But your comment gave me a lot of ideas for Obsidimen-related stuff in Shadowrun: Let's say some of them are there. Now what? They're basically a living, breathing elemental/metahuman hybrid. A dual natured, 'animal' and 'mineral' Radical Reagent waiting to be harvested. There was an 'obsidiman skin armor' in Earthdawn, and this is not the Age of Legends - in the Sixth World even humans fear of having their body chopped by some tanamous butcher, so the Obsidimen should be worth even more on the awakened black market.
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*Takes notes* I hadnt thought about the re-agent thing. Wuxing and Aztechnology would be all over that
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Well, eventually that Parageology book is going to be coming out...
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I've always assumed that liferocks got mined out...
*Looks at my hometown* Oops.
As an aside, I only learned in the past few years that Canada is the leading exporter of Asbestos and that there are Asbestos *mines* ... being an asbestos miner has to be one of the suckiest jobs in history.
Brought to light here:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-12-2011/ored-to-death
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*Takes notes* I hadnt thought about the re-agent thing. Wuxing and Aztechnology would be all over that
AZT, yes. But I wouldn't see Wuxing on that. Bad karma.
@Wakshaani: Well, a lot of firefighting and fireproof gear uses those. You don't want to run out of asbestos for fire blankets and such...
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There are places where theya are (were, in fact, during communism) even using it for construction of schools and other public buildings ;)
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@Sichr: We've just paid a hefty sum for refitting our roof. It was covered with asbestos-based material.
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@Sichr: We've just paid a hefty sum for refitting our roof. It was covered with asbestos-based material.
same here
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And since asbestos is a natural mineral, I can easily imagine an asbestos-veined Obsidiman (they do have mineral veins in their skin), as a "natural" toxic one.
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BTW, wasn't there a mention of one of Yamatetsu/Evo's board, Yoshida, undergoing UGE into something amounting to an obsidiman? As I recall, he was one of the anti-meta ones; oh sweet irony! :)
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A while ago, but yes. He SuRGEd basically into an obsidiman; that's one of the references of which we speak.
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I've always assumed that liferocks got mined out...
*Looks at my hometown* Oops.
As an aside, I only learned in the past few years that Canada is the leading exporter of Asbestos and that there are Asbestos *mines* ... being an asbestos miner has to be one of the suckiest jobs in history.
Brought to light here:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-12-2011/ored-to-death
Good news is that nonsense has been shut down. The Mines are bankrupt and no one is offering funding to restart them at this time.
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@CanRay: Liferocks aren't any different from other rocks. It's their magical nature that makes them interesting. That means nobody mined them on purpose (untill now at least). But your comment gave me a lot of ideas for Obsidimen-related stuff in Shadowrun: Let's say some of them are there. Now what? They're basically a living, breathing elemental/metahuman hybrid. A dual natured, 'animal' and 'mineral' Radical Reagent waiting to be harvested. There was an 'obsidiman skin armor' in Earthdawn, and this is not the Age of Legends - in the Sixth World even humans fear of having their body chopped by some tanamous butcher, so the Obsidimen should be worth even more on the awakened black market.
How about as possible black-market talislegging material? :)