[Shadowrun] A New Eighth Age?

[Kage2020]

If you're not familiar with the "numbers filed off" version of the Eighth Age of the Shadowrun meta-setting, I give you Equinox (here).

For those that aren't in the know, the gist of it is that in a "golden age" of technology, humanity managed to control the mystic cycle of the ages by creating a moon-sized mystical object that sucked up the mystical energies. In an "Age of Magic" it will prevent the cataclysmic rise of magic that would precipitate the opening of mystical bridges to the dimension of the Horrors--demons--that would come and ravage the world (a new "Scourge" for every age of Magic). Equally, it would smooth out the mana cycle so that no longer would be there "Ages of Shadow" where magic disappeared.

In Equinox, the Horrors (demons) would figure out a way of corrupting the great sphere--the moon-sized mana object that equilibrated the magical fields--that would ultimately lead to the destruction of Earth and the creation of a Terrestrial asteroid belt. Humans of the time would create a vast ring-structure that would be placed so that the Earth asteroid belt would flow through it and...

... I begin to lose the plot for the setting. Don't get me wrong, there are a huge number of interesting implications about the setting, but what I'm left here is basically a mystical Firefly.

So, if you had your druthers, what would your "Eighth Age of Magic" in the Shadowrun setting look like?

Would it even be an "Eighth Age"? Perhaps something happened in the Sixth Age to catalyse the change?

Maybe there was a new Dark Age in the Seventh Age (of Shadow) etc.?

 

[Silverlion]

As a fan of Shadowrun, I remember seeing the early Equinox stuff and thinking "That's not what I want at all.."

I'd keep the metahumans, there would be Elves, Dwarves, etc. I'd probably include some of the stuff from the various expansions (Sasquatch, and the pixie and Centaurs as playable PCs from the start.)

Tech would be pushed a bit closer to Mass Effect (and slightly beyond), Magic/Tech split would be a lot thinner if not gone. Allowing for enchanted guns/tools, maybe cyber limbs. Albeit cybernetic would be rarer since cloning and DNA modification were already in nascent form and I'd expand that.

Most people would probably default to "'genescrubbed" metahuman status meaning, healthier, more beautiful default with few of their old limitations (Allergies wouldn't be a disadvantage anymore one could buy because that kind of problem has been removed.) Magic would be more refined, and likely common. Most places (homes, shops) have some magic in use, and many people own enchanted clothes (even if the magic just is aesthetic stuff.)

Energy weapons would be common, replacing kinetic weapons in many arsenels (especially aboard ships)

Space travel would be regular even having mostly reliable routes through the solar system and some decent ones to the nearest habitable worlds, as well as ones being terraformed or people surviving in sealed environments.

Magic would be found to thread from planet to planet, so even on ships magic is possible if limited, but magical, mana batteries would help supplement that to a great degree.


There might be aliens, some of which are also magically capable and likely have their metahuman variants--albeit humans probably reign in the sheer number of subtypes. Not sure if I'd use UFO lore (Reptoids, Reptilians, Nordics etc) or just go hog wild with my own stuff (probably the latter creating aliens is fun.)


Octopi and Ravens would likely be uplifted, maybe dolphins and dogs. Apes would be possible but rare because there is a bit of a stigma to uplift them since they're close to humanity but the stigma would be on the company not the person.

Most people would use drones, even having a PAN that runs the drones using a limited AI unit, the drones pretty much act as limb and tool extensions when needed or do things like keep the weather off on planets, as well as act as extended senses.

Communication Tech would be advanced, and hacking would still exist but be expanded as most things would be run by computers. Want a soda? Tell your PAN-AI to order one from the vending machine, your account is deducted, and boom. Probably delivered by drones too.


AI would be common. Power suits would exist (up to 12' tall or so heavy units), androids as well some run as drones for AI, others housing the AI.

Lesser Horrors would exist and a lot of work would be simply going to a place and driving them out of this universe then shielding the locations with magic and tech to prevent their return.

I suspect it would look like Eclipse Phase and Shadowrun had a baby but with a little more space opera running through it.

 

[Kage2020]

As a fan of Shadowrun, I remember seeing the early Equinox stuff and thinking "That's not what I want at all.."

Tonally, it seems to be trying to be a new Earthdawn.

Almost everything else that you said was either in my Sixth Age build (what's really going on in spaace) or my special snowflake "Shadowrun Apocalypse" (SAPoc) setting.

Allowing for enchanted guns/tools, maybe cyber limbs.

I like this. One of the things that I had done with SAPoc was to introduce enchanted ammunition as a limited resource. (Also Imbuements, but that was then and now is a little bit different.)

I think this stronger image about what a liminal setting between the Sixth and Eighth Ages is what motivated me to post this. As I firmed up what might be happening in a spike event (pre-6th Age Scourge) I began to question what was D&D in spaaaaceee without the cool Spelljammer vibes.

Most people would probably default to "'genescrubbed" metahuman status meaning, healthier, more beautiful default with few of their old limitations (Allergies wouldn't be a disadvantage anymore one could buy because that kind of problem has been removed.)

And that kind of gene manipulation offers a whole new potential for interesting shenanigans. I love it.

Energy weapons would be common, replacing kinetic weapons in many arsenels (especially aboard ships)

On my own behalf, I watched Sixth Day and always wanted to put this kind of thing into a Shadowrun adventure. That was pre-Mars peeps that developed plasma weaponry, though.

Space travel would be regular even having mostly reliable routes through the solar system and some decent ones to the nearest habitable worlds, as well as ones being terraformed or people surviving in sealed environments.

While I enjoyed the astral folds angle, I did feel let down by the fact that location in space didn't really matter. For me it lost the kind of exploration vibe that I like in early space settings.

Magic would be found to thread from planet to planet, so even on ships magic is possible if limited, but magical, mana batteries would help supplement that to a great degree.

I really love the idea of "mana batteries" over "mana fields" in Equinox. It kind of reminds me of the good things about Final Fantasy: Spirits Within. Love it.

I did really like the notion of the magical field "signature" varying from world-to-world, but I don't think that I'm on board with the notion that an elf is different in every world. Sure, a great way of "aliens" being humans but... No, I like to have me some alien-aliens.

Most people would use drones, even having a PAN that runs the drones using a limited AI unit, the drones pretty much act as limb and tool extensions when needed or do things like keep the weather off on planets, as well as act as extended senses.

Is the Matrix still there in your view?

Lesser Horrors would exist and a lot of work would be simply going to a place and driving them out of this universe then shielding the locations with magic and tech to prevent their return.

I like this reversal of the Equinox standard. Tell me more!