[Dinendae]

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.

I seem to recall it being nuclear, but the ritual he used channeled the entire blast (and I'm guessing any radiation) into astral space to hit the Horrors and that bridge they had almost completed. I might be mistaken though, it's been a long time since I read that book.

[Reaver]

Might have been a small tactical nuke. But what with the way Nukes have been behaving since the awakening, its hard to say...

[Rosa]

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.

I seem to recall it being nuclear, but the ritual he used channeled the entire blast (and I'm guessing any radiation) into astral space to hit the Horrors and that bridge they had almost completed. I might be mistaken though, it's been a long time since I read that book.

The blast didn't do anything to the bridge, thats what the Dragonheart was for. As far as i recall, the Dragonheart is described as a Unique magical item that has the power to smoothe out mana spikes, Thus making sure that the Horrors doesn't cross ahead of time. Through the Whole trilogy, the bridge comes closer and closer to completion, only the recovery of the Dragonheart and placing it in Dunkies spirit hands ensures that the bridge is destroyed or at least can only Progress towards completion at it's normal pace.

[Dinendae]

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.

I seem to recall it being nuclear, but the ritual he used channeled the entire blast (and I'm guessing any radiation) into astral space to hit the Horrors and that bridge they had almost completed. I might be mistaken though, it's been a long time since I read that book.

The blast didn't do anything to the bridge, thats what the Dragonheart was for. As far as i recall, the Dragonheart is described as a Unique magical item that has the power to smoothe out mana spikes, Thus making sure that the Horrors doesn't cross ahead of time. Through the Whole trilogy, the bridge comes closer and closer to completion, only the recovery of the Dragonheart and placing it in Dunkies spirit hands ensures that the bridge is destroyed or at least can only Progress towards completion at it's normal pace.

Ah, that's right! As I said, it's been some time since I read those books. Now I'm wishing we could still get them.

[Moonshine Fox]

Been thinking about re-reading that trilogy, now I'm going to have too.

[Senko]

I see so is he currently alive, dead, spirit barrier to the darker realms?

[Rosa]

I would go with the third option.

[Mirikon]

Last anyone has heard, Big D is still a spirit laying the hammer down on any spike points and bridges to keep the Enemy out as long as possible.

[cantrip]

In regards to forerunners of the horrors i seem to recall that wraiths were mentioned at some point, but I've 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.

IIRC they are in Paranormal Europe and I remember a reference in Aztechnology ---- just a sec...

Ah - here is a wiki on it - yup, I did recall correctly! 

On Dunk's limo --- I'm shadier there -- wasn't their reference to a 'cascading astral something or other' - basically a modified ritual that hadn't been seen? Well, along with the explosives - it just seems like the explosion had some magic behind it, but that may have just been the part to push the released magic into the heart. I'll have to go dig my books out and find the reference...

[Rosa]

Magic was indeed used to contain the blast and channel the energy into the metaplanes, that is what caused the rift if i recall correctly. However it was done more to limit the destruction and save lives rather than as an attack againt the horrrors and their bridge as far as i recall, as i said earlier thats what the dragonheart was for. In essence Dunkie need an explosion large enough to completely vaporise a great dragon, but didn't want to level several city Blocks as well, It's been some years since i read the books, so i may recall incorrectly but i don't think so.

It might also have had something to do with powering up the dragonheart as Cantrip suggests. I guess it's time to reread the trilogy

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

It's mostly been suggested that the force required to create the DC Rift was equal to that required to close it - and/or unleashed when the Rift was closed.  Harlequin theorizes that it was nuclear, but considering the source of the explosion would/could have been the Big D himself, and considering he had the possibility of this as a hope-I-don't-have-to-execute-it alternative plan, I think the force applied would have been purely magical, contained within barriers pre-set for just such the eventuality, etc. etc.

That, and considering the evidence of the Chicago Hive nuke, there being no radiation whatsoever strongly argues against a nuclear weapon having been used.  Massive magic, sure, but not a nuke.

[CitizenJoe]

Dunk planned the whole thing including his "death" and the events that spawned from his will.  The only reason he stooped to becoming the president of the UCAS was to tap into the magical power that the title has.

[Moonshine Fox]

So I started re-reading the Dragon Heart trilogy. The explosion itself still seems to remain a mystery, but it does seem to be directly caused by Big D himself. The Dragon Heart is a very powerful relic and from what I can tell from reading and remembering (haven't finished my re-read) it couldn't be activated with the level of magic at the time, and maybe not for several more decades, and needed a massive mystic boost to get it running.

The lack of radiation or other explosives chemical residue does point at the destruction being magic in nature, the perfect circle of safety shows that he had prepped from explosion so it wouldn't hurt the populace at large. It may also have worked to focus the energies inward and direct them, making sure they both killed him and were directed into the Dragon Heart.

I'm thinking Dunkelzahn may have used a type of necromantic metamagic to harness the energy of his own self-sacrifice to give the ritual a boost. Kinda dark and bordering on blood magic, but he was apparently desperate, especially since The Laughing Man just left Thayla on her own with no real backup against the horrors and their human followers on the near complete spike point. His death got the Dragon Heart up and working, and ironicly thanks to Thayla apparently calling up his fragmented spirit (guessing since he was clueless as to who he used to be), he ended up personally using the Heart's power to smooth out the spike points like a giant astral belt sander.

Dunk planned the whole thing including his "death" and the events that spawned from his will.  The only reason he stooped to becoming the president of the UCAS was to tap into the magical power that the title has.

Not this crap again. Joe if you're going to talk from an in game perspective take it to the RP forum. Show me an example, in canon, where name magic exists in Shadowrun or where one of the game-makers has said so. Just because a form of magic existed in Earthdawn doesn't mean it exists yet, or ever will exist at all, in Shadowrun.

[Mirikon]

Well, this isn't ENTIRELY Joe's Plan 9-esque rambling. It has been outright said that dragons (and IEs) understand magic differently than we do, and know much that we don't yet know. Just because no one but Dragons and Immortal Elves know it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Rift_0f_Bladz]

Blink blink, Joe, horrors... Nope.... I just want popcorn, and wait for the fireworks. Cause we all know the horrors just want to be loved, like the Shedim.