[Acalagus7]

Has shadowrun started dealing with the Horrors from the Earthdawn universe yet? I thought it was the bug spirits, but i just read that those were just a precursor to the horrors.

[PiXeL01]

No, and it won't happen for a few thousand years. Also chances are the SR publishers will never write about anything Earthdawn related again as the licenses are held by different companies.

[Mirikon]

Technically, they have dealt with Horrors, a little. Worlds Without End was a novel with an immortal elf being hunted by a Horror. In the Harlequin's Back adventure, Harlequin throws Frosty and a group of runners into the metaplanes to stop Horrors from using the spike points of the Great Ghost Dance as a bridge to get here early. There was a plot involving a cult within Aztechnology with Oscuro and a blood mage gestalt that were attempting to open the way for Horrors, but Dunkelzhan blew himself up, possessed a cyberzombie, and traveled to the metaplanes to use a powerful focus as a hammer to smack down any Horrors trying to cross over early.

Sooo yeah, they've done stuff with Horrors, but they also wrapped that plot up, for now, without the shadows (much less the rest of the world) knowing much about it. If you're going to see any Horrors in the next hundred years or so, it will rise from either another Azzie cult or from a Horror that got 'trapped' in an Alchera somewhere, and got released when the alchera opened. Though anything is possible.

And yeah, the properties are in different companies now. If/when they do show up, they likely wouldn't be listed as 'Horrors' but probably as 'the Enemy' or some other suitable moniker that doesn't demand people file copyright suits. Like how Dunkelzhan and Ghostwalker were called Mountainshadow and Icewing back in Earthdawn.

[Herr Brackhaus]

To be fair, Worlds Without End and Harlequin's Back were both published in what, the mid-90s? So FASA dealt with Horrors in the 6th World when they still had the license for the 4th World.

As PixeL01 and Mirikon points out, unlikely to reappear due to the licensing issues.

[Sphinx]

Has shadowrun started dealing with the Horrors from the Earthdawn universe yet? I thought it was the bug spirits, but i just read that those were just a precursor to the horrors.

The Dragon Heart trilogy by Jak Koke (Stranger Souls, Clockwork Asylum, and Beyond the Pale) published back in 1997 effectively ended the Horrors plot thread in the Shadowrun universe.

[Mirikon]

For now. As I said, there are ways it could be reopened, but unless the properties were reunited under one company again, they wouldn't be called Horrors, and you wouldn't see any of the same names (i.e. Verjigorm would not be mentioned by name, but you could see cryptic references to a Great Hunter). Hell, apocalyptic cults worshiping Horrors (though they wouldn't be called that, natch) could happen, especially if some poor fool picked up an artifact left behind talking about 'a great scourge' or something similar. Lots of room to have references in the lore, whenever deep dark magic stuff happens. After all, in Earthdawn, some elf found a magic tome that told of the Horrors and foretold their return, went crazy from reading it, and started a magic kingdom to try and stop the end of the world (no, seriously, that's what happened). With the recent artifact rush, rising mana levels, and maybe an alchera or two, it is possible. Hell, we've already got a 'Life Rock' found by the DIMR and what is clearly a T'Skrang (or a changeling that is close enough to be no different) working for Lofwyr. They aren't direct Earthdawn references, but players who know their lore get them. Still, as for actual Horrors appearing in the setting? It ain't happening any time soon without something on the same level of Dunkelzhan's blowing himself up or the Great Ghost Dance going down.

[Rosa]

I agree with Mirikon, there are plenty of Earthdawn references scattered around the material, sometimes very well hidden like the reference to the liferock in "Parageology". In regards to the horrors, i just wanna point out that there are several threads on this forum regarding the horrors already, some of them deal with how to implement them in your games.

In regards to forerunners of the horrors i seem to recall that wraiths were mentioned at some point, but ive forgotten where, it might have been in ED or SR materials i smply don't recall, but the the shadow spirits come quite close conceptually to horrors.

[PiXeL01]

Shadow Spirits, Insect Spirits and Shedim are all signs of the increasing mana levels and the coming of the Horrors. However, Dark Tooth blocked off some of the shortcuts those things could use to get here earlier than normally possible

[Senko]

Technically, they have dealt with Horrors, a little. Worlds Without End was a novel with an immortal elf being hunted by a Horror. In the Harlequin's Back adventure, Harlequin throws Frosty and a group of runners into the metaplanes to stop Horrors from using the spike points of the Great Ghost Dance as a bridge to get here early. There was a plot involving a cult within Aztechnology with Oscuro and a blood mage gestalt that were attempting to open the way for Horrors, but Dunkelzhan blew himself up, possessed a cyberzombie, and traveled to the metaplanes to use a powerful focus as a hammer to smack down any Horrors trying to cross over early.

Sooo yeah, they've done stuff with Horrors, but they also wrapped that plot up, for now, without the shadows (much less the rest of the world) knowing much about it. If you're going to see any Horrors in the next hundred years or so, it will rise from either another Azzie cult or from a Horror that got 'trapped' in an Alchera somewhere, and got released when the alchera opened. Though anything is possible.

And yeah, the properties are in different companies now. If/when they do show up, they likely wouldn't be listed as 'Horrors' but probably as 'the Enemy' or some other suitable moniker that doesn't demand people file copyright suits. Like how Dunkelzhan and Ghostwalker were called Mountainshadow and Icewing back in Earthdawn.

Wait I'm bad with names but I thought Dunkelzhan was sniper shot?

[Mirikon]

Nope. Blew up his presidential limo with a helluvalot of explosives, but contained the blast inside a barrier.

[Herr Brackhaus]

I always thought it was suspect that Big D rode around in a limo full of explosives. He must have foreseen it...

[Mirikon]

Big D was making plans. Remember, he's from Earthdawn times, and there Names have power. President of the UCAS is a big Name, adding on to his own. And while I doubt there was actual prophecy or divination going on, Big D did know the score behind the Azzie cult, because he had gotten himself on the board. When he heard they found a corrupted Nexus point, and were about to do Bad Things^tm, he activated the plan he already had in place.

[Sendaz]

Or maybe it was just a horrible, but tasty accident?

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

I still personally doubt that it was mundane explosives going off.

[Mirikon]

True. There were rumors of a nuke, but I haven't heard any reports of radiation at the blast site. Then again, with the Rift and other craziness, the radiation might have been overlooked or bled off through the Rift.