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Part 29 - Friends in High Places![]() ![]() ![]() Well, if this is to be the end of the road, at least we have a decent shot at going surrounded by some pretty decorations. That's better than what most people can hope for around these parts. ![]() Just, too bad about the company. ![]() ![]() [His eyes say, "I'd love to kill you now" but his mouth continues to smirk.] ![]() ![]() ![]() We really need to talk our way out of this somehow, there's no way in hell we can let this guy get the satisfaction. Not in a million years. ![]() Wouldn't be an ultra-rich guy's mansion without a dapper-looking butler to go with it. ![]() ![]() Quoth in the streets, the Raven in the sheets am I right buddy ![]() ![]() Great, maybe we can find a secret passage which leads to the outside or something. All millionaire's mansions have at least one or two, right? ![]() Man, but this place really is big. Feels like you'd get your daily exercise in by just walking to the bathroom and back. Somebody else is here too from the looks of it. ![]() Now wait a moment. I'd recognize that smug mug anywhere! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Yep, that's Aljernon alright. As clear and forthcoming as ever. ![]() There's nothing else to look at and we have no luck finding any secret passages either, so walking directly into the lion's den looks to be our only available option. ![]() Now what kind of a monster has two statues set perfectly symmetrically on both sides of their desk, only to have one of them face a different direction from the other?! ![]() This guy's who. James Telestrian III, CEO of Telestrian Industries and owner of the tallest drat collar in the city of Seattle. Probably employs a private hit squad for the specific purpose of making sure it stays that way. ![]() ![]() Haha, we got Silverstar fired. We might end up dead or imprisoned because of it but at least something good came out of that mess of a run. We did James here a favor, honestly. ![]() ![]() ![]() Oof, tough crowd. There was also a Corporate etiquette choice here where we could've offered to work off our debt to him. ![]() We could lie to him and say we're just an ordinary thief, but I get the feeling that trying to deceive this guy would be an exercise in futility and not entirely unlikely to get us killed. Besides, if he had Aegis created to kill the bug spirits and we tried to steal it in order to do the exact same thing, lying about our motivation seems like it'd only serve to make things worse for us whether he believed us or not. So you know what, screw it, if he wants to know the truth then let's just lay it all on the table and see where it goes. Not like we have much to lose at this point. ![]() ![]() ![]() Did we mention the part about getting paid? As a sidenote, one of the available dialogue choices if you try to lie seems to have an incorrect flag assigned to it, and picking it immediately skips this entire scene and moves on to the next one with no explanation. ![]() ![]() Well well, things might be looking up for us after all. ![]() ![]() [Telestrian cuts in quickly.] ![]() ![]() ![]() Apparently there's a bit of a discrepancy in the canon here, and other Shadowrun sources have Marie-Louise as James' younger sister rather than his daughter. ![]() ![]() ![]() And that sure worked out great for everyone involved. Hell, I'm half-convinced we would've been better off contacting Telestrian ourselves instead of getting tangled up in the Baron's questionable schemes. ![]() In any case, it's looking like we might've finally gotten our lucky break. Having this guy and his buddies on our side sure as hell beats having them against us, we have enough problems as it is without being actively hunted by another major corporation. ![]() ![]() Fade to black! ![]() It may not look like it at first glance, but this small library we're standing in just might be the most dangerous room in the world right now. ![]() Lofwyr is, as mentioned, a golden Great Dragon and both the CEO and sole shareholder of the largest corporation in the world, Saeder-Krupp. Saeder-Krupp (which was originally BMW until Lofwyr somewhat dramatically took over and restructured it) is based in Germany and is involved in a huge variety of fields, either directly or through their many subsidiaries, ranging from heavy industry to telecommunications to banking and much more besides. They're the biggest and baddest fish in the corporate pond and their power and influence are practically unparalleled. ![]() Of course this also makes Lofwyr, who has absolute control over S-K, the single richest and one of the most powerful beings on the planet. Lofwyr's best known for his calculating nature and the fact that he's rumoured to personally eat people who fail him. It's precisely because of him and his ability to always come out on top in the end regardless of the situation that "Never, ever cut a deal with a dragon" became a core rule of shadowrunners worldwide. Lofwyr can't really be considered an out-and-out villain though, and being in his employ can be quite lucrative provided you don't screw up, but he's definitely just about the last guy whose personal shitlist you want to find your name on. ![]() Mr. Brackhaus' intimidating presence is somewhat undermined by the fact that the writers felt the need to include his German accent in his dialogue. Actually, since it's not really relevant to the main plot and tiptoeing around it is a little annoying for everyone involved I'm just going to tell you right now that Brackhaus here is, in fact, Lofwyr himself. It's not really a secret and you're pretty much told as much if you ask about it later on anyway, but I think the dialogue here is more interesting if you're aware of the fact from the start. Him being here personally is a good indication that we're dealing with some Serious poo poo with these bugs. ![]() And speaking of powerful beings... where to even start with this guy. To put it very briefly, Harlequin is an eccentric and immortal elven mage born back in the Fourth World some five thousand years ago. Especially at the time this game takes place (2nd edition Shadowrun) he's more akin to a living plot device than a character to the point that he officially didn't have character stats assigned to him until later, and the limits of his power are pretty much whatever the plot happens to demand. Similarly to ol' Elminster in D&D, despite his considerable powers he rarely gets directly involved in things unless he considers it absolutely necessary, instead preferring indirect assistance served with a large heaping of cryptic hints. Incidentally, this isn't his first appearance in a Shadowrun video game as he also appeared to help out Joshua towards the end of the Sega Genesis game. He wasn't exactly a looker in that one though. ![]() (Image courtesy of Turtilicious' LP) In any case, we'll have the opportunity to have a more in-depth chat with both Sephiroth and Kefka here after this meeting is done. ![]() Academic etiquette choice here, allowing us to sound all smart. [Aljernon eyes you keenly.] ![]() ![]() ![]() I think it's safe to assume Aljernon was feigning ignorance when we asked him about insect spirits back at the Union, though I suppose in hindsight he never directly denied having knowledge about them. Sneaky bastard. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Of all the potential ways for the apocalypse to come to pass, everyone being eaten by spooky bugs would be an especially lame and gross one. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Harlequin is fully aware of Brackhaus' true identity, which makes his casual jabs at the guy pretty hilarious. ![]() ![]() ![]() "Shot with", huh? We kind of put all our focus on drones and decking so we're not very good at shooting things, but I'm sure they can accommodate instead of making this extremely critical tool completely reliant on one's skill in ranged weapons. ![]() ![]() This is maybe a bit of a flimsy justification for why it's us who have to do the job despite being surrounded by people with power and resources beyond our comprehension, but ending the game here would admittedly be a little anti-climactic. ![]() [Harlequin grins and his red lipstick catches the light.] ![]() ![]() If only we could've had this guy to talk with inbetween missions back at the Union instead of those boring merchants. ![]() Much like with the Baron before the Telestrian run, we could accept immediately. But maybe we can push our luck a little. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() [Harlequin claps his hands as if seeing the circus for the first time.] ![]() ![]() Odds of this being foreshadowing for the final boss fight are roughly 100%. ![]() And he does so immediately, to the tune of 10,000 nuyen. ![]() ![]() And together with a reward of 8 Karma the meeting comes to a close, as does this update. Things have progressed pretty quickly and are definitely coming to a head now, but before we make our final assault on Antland we do still have some preparations to do and a couple of interesting people to talk to. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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# ? Jun 17, 2024 14:34 |
The moment I lay eyes on Harlequin I hated him. Made it even worse when he forces himself on your team like that.
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everyone loves magical insecticide
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RudeCat posted:The moment I lay eyes on Harlequin I hated him. Made it even worse when he forces himself on your team like that. He's the awful kind of smug. Yeah, he's the uberpowerful plot character who's initiated 500 times and can beat anyone in a sword fight, but this story isn't about him.
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Out of all the GM NPCs in the room, Aljernon impresses me the most. It's obvious why he's there once he joins the conversation. What's not obvious is his parity with the other chucklenuts present and I like him better as a character exactly for that reason.
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RudeCat posted:The moment I lay eyes on Harlequin I hated him. Made it even worse when he forces himself on your team like that. I just can't hate a fictional character, who has such a glorious smug portrait in this game. Hell, everyone in this special circle does. It is delightful to see. Like Elminster Harlequin is not a char, which should be just thrown in by any GM. It is a plot device. Used well it can add some hidden mystery to all the bleak cyberpunk stuff. After having to deal with GM created npcs, which overshadowed the player chars, i will take a Harlequin handing out plot coupons and -exposition any day. That being said, the game handles Harlequin's role well enough.
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Yeah, I like Harlequin here which was probably noticeable in the update. Overall despite its blatantly fanservice-y nature, this whole part where you're just hanging out with some of the biggest names in Shadowrun is amongst my favorites across all three games. Not at the top by any means, but somewhere up there.
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Having only known him from the Genesis game, where he was grim and solemn, Harlequin's excitable "hi kids!" demeanor really caught me by surprise here. It's probably overall more interesting though, there's plenty of grim and solemn in this setting already.
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Harlequin is the most 90s-rpg-design character in a setting that is hideously, hideously 90s to begin with as such he CAN be used well, but it is much, much easier to use him wrong than right
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Shadowrun is way more 80s than 90s.
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Randaconda posted:Shadowrun is way more 80s than 90s. the aesthetic is 80s, but the Metaplot's Favorite NPC (Around Whom Most Of The Major Setting Mysteries And Interfranchise Tie-Ins Swirl) is a very, very, 90s tabletop RPG foible. Samuel Haight, Drizzt Do'Urden, and Harlequin walk into a bar, the barkeep sensibly commits suicide rather than stick around to hear the punchline.
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queserasera posted:Out of all the GM NPCs in the room, Aljernon impresses me the most. It's obvious why he's there once he joins the conversation. What's not obvious is his parity with the other chucklenuts present and I like him better as a character exactly for that reason. He's really interesting in that he's the only modest person in that room. Everyone else is power tripping over each other and Alj is just like, "You've done a great job. Glad you could make it, PC. Here's what we're up against."
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FoolyCharged posted:He's really interesting in that he's the only modest person in that room. Everyone else is power tripping over each other and Alj is just like, "You've done a great job. Glad you could make it, PC. Here's what we're up against." Uh, no. Outside of the ONE Etiquette: Academic action he plays the "mysterious magical elf" card all the time. It is like saying, that James Telestrian III is a understanding guy, if you have that Etiquette: Corporate.
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Kanfy posted:Yeah, I like Harlequin here which was probably noticeable in the update. Overall despite its blatantly fanservice-y nature, this whole part where you're just hanging out with some of the biggest names in Shadowrun is amongst my favorites across all three games. Not at the top by any means, but somewhere up there. I've been waiting all LP to express my dislike of him but I'm glad that it could be a cool scene for people who were more "in the know" than I was.
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OutofSight posted:Uh, no. Outside of the ONE Etiquette: Academic action he plays the "mysterious magical elf" card all the time. It is like saying, that James Telestrian III is a understanding guy, if you have that Etiquette: Corporate. His other conversation this update is him saying, "Nice to see you" followed by declaring that no he isn't going to talk about how awesome and powerful he and the people he hangs out with are, he's going to sell you stuff after the meeting. It's a pretty big difference from harlequin gleefully pestering the dragon because he can.
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RudeCat posted:I've been waiting all LP to express my dislike of him but I'm glad that it could be a cool scene for people who were more "in the know" than I was. Less "cool" and more "Oh jesus gently caress Harebrained you do realize that there's a difference between acknowledging the fanbase and pandering so hard you might as well be sucking some dicks right now right?" It's like when Drizzt showed up in the first Baldur's Gate game for a cameo, minus the self awareness that meant you could just murder him and take his stuff. and then showing up again in the sequel pissed and trying to get his stuff back so you could kill him again. Stroth fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Nov 2, 2017 |
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Stroth posted:Less "cool" and more "Oh jesus gently caress Harebrained you do realize that there's a difference between acknowledging the fanbase and pandering so hard you might as well be sucking some dicks right now right?" What? You mean like "Baldur's Gate? ![]() At least Harlequin had the decency to wait until you had high enough karma for the endgame run. Elminster was stalking you in the bloody forest at Lvl.1 and Drizzt was cheating in his fetchquest. Holy poo poo. I forgot how mad people can get about some dumb cameo, they don't like. Did GM-Harlequin killsteal the plot your last TT?
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As someone who never played Shadowrun TT, and only got halfway through this game before burning out - I have to say this scene would have had hardly any impact on me at the time because I had no idea who these people are. Seeing it from this perspective, that these are some of the most powerful people in the entire setting, and they're basically begging the PC for help to save the entire world - it's just playing to the fanbase! I was expecting a fairly low key storyline, tangling with the megacorps a few times along the way, I'm just a bit disapointed they felt the need to escalate it into an apocalypse scenario so quickly!
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Pseudohog posted:As someone who never played Shadowrun TT, and only got halfway through this game before burning out - I have to say this scene would have had hardly any impact on me at the time because I had no idea who these people are. Seeing it from this perspective, that these are some of the most powerful people in the entire setting, and they're basically begging the PC for help to save the entire world - it's just playing to the fanbase! They're still the head of a mega corp that rules the setting, a rep of another(as far as you know), an unknown talking poo poo to those two, and your neighborhood magic dealer. It's pretty clear that you are way, way in over your head at this point.
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Isn't it a thing in SR that the world is basically doomed to get eaten by stuff from outside our reality?
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Kanfy posted:Actually, since it's not really relevant to the main plot and tiptoeing around it is a little annoying for everyone involved I'm just going to tell you right now that Brackhaus here is, in fact, Lofwyr himself. It's not really a secret and you're pretty much told as much if you ask about it later on anyway, but I think the dialogue here is more interesting if you're aware of the fact from the start. Him being here personally is a good indication that we're dealing with some Serious poo poo with these bugs.[/i] I did not know this. A day when you learn something new first thing is a good day. Harlequin... not sure how I feel about him (Her? It?). I'm somewhat disposed to him because I am... sympathetic to hiding behind the mask of the Joker, pointing out the absurdity of how the world works, about how people will hide their heads in the sand and fight over politics when the world is ending about them. It's just not nice being on the other side of it, having the absurdity of your life being pointed out. Besides, Harlequin didn't fit in with my squad because I didn't need another gun, and I never liked having a melee character. And frankly, my character was a much better shot than him/her/it. I do like Harlequin's dialogue though. He's the only one having fun. This gathering though, is the classic reason why I despise elves. All hoity-toity, la-dee-da, acting so damned mysterious and superior. There aren't enough dick-punches in the world for me to express my hatred for them. And so to why they'd send in the player-character, well, that's the same as every other Lawful-Neutral or Lawful-Evil organization, isn't it? Send in the disposable oinks first before you commit any real assets. 1 million nyuyen? A drop in the bucket... provided they survive.
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Pseudohog posted:I was expecting a fairly low key storyline, tangling with the megacorps a few times along the way, I'm just a bit disapointed they felt the need to escalate it into an apocalypse scenario so quickly!
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painedforever posted:This gathering though, is the classic reason why I despise elves. All hoity-toity, la-dee-da, acting so damned mysterious and superior. There aren't enough dick-punches in the world for me to express my hatred for them.
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Tiggum posted:That's my biggest problem with these games. They start out telling you you're some worthless nobody who can never make a real difference but then it turns out you're actually the person who ends up saving the world. It's like, they had this opportunity to do something fairly unique with their games but then decided to just do what everyone else does anyway. That's part of the Shadowrun cachet though. These guys will go on and on about how they've got the power and you'd better toe the line and here's a million nuyen, but only one of them actually has the balls to go into insect hell with you and do the loving job. Shadowrun is about Shadowrunners being really good at this sort of thing.
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PMush Perfect posted:Painedforever confirmed for dwarf IRL. You don't have to be a dwarf to hate elves. You just have to have the common sense to not be an elf. And yeah, I thought Dragonfall did a lot better with its spin on this part, from both ends. On the one, you weren't a loser. You're an established member of the community with some influence to throw around. On the other, it wasn't "We, the Important People, acknowledge this crisis and think you should settle it, Random rear end in a top hat", instead going with "Oh, gently caress, no-one else is taking this seriously, and we only got involved because it got personal and we're too stupid to know when to back out." Less "Chosen hero" more "Wrong place, wrong time".
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I first encountered Harlequin when I played the Genesis version as a child, and while I'd never heard of him before I quickly realized he had to be someone from Shadowrun lore. I mean, come on. A big player in a dark cyberpunk world who suddenly shows up wearing frickin' clown makeup? To a job like his? And everyone just goes with it instead of commenting on how weird it is? Even as a dumb kid I could smell the fanservice.
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chiasaur11 posted:You don't have to be a dwarf to hate elves. You just have to have the common sense to not be an elf.
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Anticheese posted:Isn't it a thing in SR that the world is basically doomed to get eaten by stuff from outside our reality? Nah, not doomed any more than it was doomed to be taken over by insect spirits. It is a real risk as the level of magic in the world escalates though.
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The Horrors do come along and mess the world up every magic cycle, but the world has never been like it is now. Like, a magic eating weaponized bacteria that's great at killing spiritforms? That's the perfect weapon against Horrors.
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Anticheese posted:Isn't it a thing in SR that the world is basically doomed to get eaten by stuff from outside our reality? They dropped that plotline when they lost the rights to Earthdawn.
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PMush Perfect posted:Painedforever confirmed for dwarf IRL. Bwhahahahahaha! I mean, I could say "roflmao", but that doesn't adequately express the guffaw when I read this. Yeah, I kinda am. Short, that is, not a dwarf. Can't play them in video games though. "I'm already short," I think to myself. "Why would I want to play one in a video game?" I tend to go something orc-ish, or human if that isn't an option.
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Tiggum posted:That's my biggest problem with these games. They start out telling you you're some worthless nobody who can never make a real difference but then it turns out you're actually the person who ends up saving the world. It's like, they had this opportunity to do something fairly unique with their games but then decided to just do what everyone else does anyway. I kinda agree, I always really prefer the first half or so of the storyline in these games where you're doing your own thing for "pettier" reasons. Dead Man Switch especially where you're just following up on a lead initially because you have nothing else going for you. At least here the Brotherhood and the main character have already tangled a bit for lesser stakes so there's a personal "gently caress you" aspect to it as well.
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Ze Pollack posted:Samuel Haight To be fair, that dude was created as a joke.
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I'm ok with Harley, but it feels odd that he joins you like this. And his stats don't even remotely reflect what he's implied to be in the books. Course if he had his proper stats the end game would be a joke, but still..... Probably would have been better if he hadn't been in the group like this.
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Ze Pollack posted:the aesthetic is 80s, but the Metaplot's Favorite NPC (Around Whom Most Of The Major Setting Mysteries And Interfranchise Tie-Ins Swirl) is a very, very, 90s tabletop RPG foible. Samuel Haight was a cool ashtray, though.
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Is it ever explained how the insect spirits were dealt with in the previous ages and/or why the same methods can't be used now? I'm imagining the elves and dragons saying "we had to drop an asteroid on the Yucatan hive when the Saurian shamans hosed up, and in a later age we used some old Finno-Korean Hyperwar relics to crack open the earths crust and drop Atlantis into magma" ![]()
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wiegieman posted:The Horrors do come along and mess the world up every magic cycle, but the world has never been like it is now. Like, a magic eating weaponized bacteria that's great at killing spiritforms? That's the perfect weapon against Horrors. This whole discussion really takes me back. One of the few good threads on the overall garbage Dumpshock Forums was an ongoing debate about whether the 6th World could kick the Horrors' collective rear end with magitech.
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wiegieman posted:The Horrors do come along and mess the world up every magic cycle, but the world has never been like it is now. Like, a magic eating weaponized bacteria that's great at killing spiritforms? That's the perfect weapon against Horrors. To be fair, the Horrors are much worse than the invae. The latter aren't even invading, they are just getting the gently caress out of their native dimension as it is overrun.
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Lack of Gravitas posted:Is it ever explained how the insect spirits were dealt with in the previous ages and/or why the same methods can't be used now? Mostly in SR lore, it's a little deep-lore for the Returns games. As I understand it, the insect spirits are like locusts being driven forward by the wildfire that is the Horrors. They swarm, they devour, they move on, fleeing before the proper Horrors arrive. The Horrors are drawn by the really bad magic like living sacrifices with blood magic, general 'magic inflicting untold suffering' such as insect spirits, and even worse bargains than those made with insect spirits, calling actual demons to form pacts. Mana levels rising draws and sustains the Horrors, astral spirits from a hellish far realm; I think the main thing that kept the Horrors from annihilating everything last time was the actions of the denizens of the Fourth World [humanoids, dragons, etc] slowing down their arrival and keeping them from making a beachhead until the 'magical tide' went out and the world went too mundane for the Horrors to invade; basically the mana levels dropping is the Russian Winter to the Horrors' Napoleon.
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# ? Jun 17, 2024 14:34 |
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Lack of Gravitas posted:Is it ever explained how the insect spirits were dealt with in the previous ages By stabbing them in the face. Lack of Gravitas posted:and/or why the same methods can't be used now? Because they needed something to up the stakes for this game. Astral spirits aren't invincible in the physical realm and you don't need special anti-magic guns to kill them. They do take a lot more killing than something made of flesh and blood, yes. But it's "bring the anti-tank guns" more killing. Not "create a top secret black ops weapon" more killing.
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