[Longshot23]

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).

[HobDobson]

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! 

[RowanTheFox]

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! 

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

[GloriousRuse]

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!"

[Senko]

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.

[RowanTheFox]

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.

[Dwagonzhan]

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.

[Senko]

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.

[RowanTheFox]

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.

[Senko]

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.

[RowanTheFox]

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.

[RowanTheFox]

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.

[RowanTheFox]

And now my inner mad scientist is wondering what would happen if a drake was given this stuff. 

[DeathofVirtue]

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.

[RowanTheFox]

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.