Para-Critters
-----OK, normally I don't go around posting things. I just give running commentary and help DE SysOp run this thing. But, now I think that it's time to give a little advice about the things in the dark. The kinds of things that will run out of the shadows and rip out your throat. Para-critters. And I should know, I was a LS Nightstalker for five years, and if you think that isn't a long time, I suggest trying it. Five years is a long time to deal with things that prey on metahumans. Read and learn.-----
Okay, so you obviously want to know how to stay alive or you wouldn't be in the tactics page. It's understandable. Now, my associate, Nameless, can tell you about the right gun to buy. He can tell you how to survive on the streets. But what he can't tell you about, is how to survive the dark side of the street. The side where things go beyond just dirty and scummy. I mean the dark side of the street where the shadows play tricks with your head.
In these dark places, you will find things you don't like. And you'd be surprised how much they don't like you back. Ever since the dark side of the street took my mother away from me, I've decided to stop watching them destroy us and start hunting them. You might ask what lies in wait in the shadows. The word used to describe there things best is what the big headed scholars at MIT & T call paranimals. When I was in the Star, we called 'em para-critters. Or you can just call them what I call them. Monsters. I don't care what the Awarened Rights fraggers say about 'em, things that hunt down metahumans and kill them are monsters and should be treated as such. If you think I'm unqualified to make this call, you can check my records and see the commendations and achievements I gathered before I quit running for the Star. I've nailed nasties that'd make you drek in your shorts. These things are killers, and they must be destroyed.
But, back to survival. When trying to survive paranimal attacks or hunting grounds (and yes, the Barrens ARE considered hunting grounds) there are many things that should be kept in mind. But, first and foremost, the important thing to remember is that just because it's a para-critter doesn't mean it's stupid.Sometimes they fool 'ya by walkin' upright, but seriously, most of these things are smarter than you'd think. Even your common ghoul can outwit you if you give it half the chance.
So, here's where I give 'ya what I know. I've broken it down into specifics here so you can apply different strategies to different crits. And remember, they'll surprise ya'. Don't take everything said here as honest to god truth. Each Paranimal breaks into a couple of sections. First there's the basic description of the crit. Then there's their vunerabilities. Lastly are tips on takin' 'em down and how to keep 'em down and how much bounty you can expect to get if 'ya down one and bring it to the Night Stalkers. With that in mind, read on if you think you're tough enough to bag a para-critter.
-----Can we say psycho?-----
--Normal (08-07-60/15:15:03)
-----Don't take what Dredd does lightly. He's taken down things twice as big as you.-----
--Arnie (08-07-60/15:48:17)
Ghouls>
Description: Ghouls are the most common para-critter found in the sprawl. Ther can be found in any place where there are metahumans that are dying or in poor shape. This makes the barrens a perfect breeding ground. Now, the UCAS can jabber all day if they wanna' about Awakened Rights and how they don't want to do what they do to live, but that is a poor excuse for murder. They know the difference between right and wrong just as good as us. It was a pack of ghouls who took down my mother and damn near killed one outta two of my brothers and probably woulda' killed my sisters too, the oppurtunistic bastards. My brother was lucky that he wasn't infected by the wounds as ghouls sometimes transfer their conditions onto their victims. Lucky for John, he didn't, or I'd have killed him myself.
Vunerabilities: Sunlight, bright lights, and me. Also, all second generation ghouls are blind, but this shouldn't always be taken as a handicap. Second gen fraggers can sniff out fresh meat pretty good and they can hear a pindrop from a mile away.
How ta' bag 'em: The first thing to remember is that you have to be quiet. Really quiet. Like I said above, these things can hear pretty good and hearing some newbie, wet-behind-the-ears shadowrunner weighed down with guns and ammo isn't too hard for them. More importantly, you gotta be careful about their numbers. It's common for ghouls to roam in packs to down their prey with more ease. Packs can number anywhere from three to ten ghouls each. Take this into account before you try to kill one. There may always be more. One of the things the Star teaches the Stalkers to do isto send in three heavily armed/chromed Stalkers first to draw the attention of the ghouls in a building. That draws 'em outta their hiding places. When they come out, a sweep and clear team of about five or six come in and take 'em down. This strategy can be used by any joeboy as long as he has the numbers to back him up as well as teammates he can trust.
-----I can't believe he just said that! Ghouls are an awakened species. They don't ask to become what they are! The only thing they can get sustenance from is human flesh. This is unfortunate, but unavoidable. It is simply not right to kill another sentient being over what it eats.-----
--Paranaturalist (08-07-60/16:01:48)
-----Good. Why don't you go ahead and make yourself their meal then?! Like I said above, I don't care what you say. These fraggers tried to kill my family. You think they'd hesitate to kill you? Better yet, find out for yourself. They'd eat you up like a fraggin' Bee Burger.-----
--Dredd (08-07-60/16:03:19)
Bandersnatch
Description: Bandersnatches are rarely found within city limits but it's happened before. I was doin' a run in this place in the Barrens called Purity on Halloween in '57 when I ran into one. The local gang, the Brain Eaters, were being manipulated by a group of nosferatu who had actually captured and enslaved a bandersnatch to watch over them. Now I know how powerful they are. Bandersnatches stand anywhere from two to three meters tall and have the nasty ability to render themselves invisible. While not always hostile, they will not hesitate to kill if they are either: A.) cornered or B.) hungry. They are covered with thick fur and are unusually strong. Think of them as easily annoyed, territorial sasquatches.Vunerabilities: That's one of the nasty things about bandersnatches is that theres no special way to take them down.How 'ta bag 'em: Guns. Big fraggin' guns with giant fraggin' bullets pal. The only way I've ever dealt with 'em is to just set the ole' Ares Alpha onto lead hose mode and start firing. If that doesn't work, I hope you've got grenades.-----Hey, Dredd, you left out a weakness!-----
--Morgana (08-07-60/16:54:43)-----What might that be?-----
--Dredd (08-07-60/16:54:59)-----Fire.-----
--Morgana (08-07-60/17:00:01)-----Just because every time my team sees 'em we light 'em on fire doesn't mean it's technically a weakness though...-----
--Dredd (08-07-60/17:12:03)
Vampires
Description: Okay now, put down those bad horror novels about romantic figures of the undead. Forget about the stories and holo-vids. And don't ever, ever use that old flatscan, Documentary of the Vampire (or whatever the frag it's called) as a reference. Vampires are nothing more than pale humans with a taste for blood and a bad problem with sunburn. Oh yeah, and they'll never die of natural causes. Give 'em time, and they'll have everything they'll ever need gathered over a couple of years, decades, centuries, whatever. Vampires are also particularly bad news because most of them are magically latent. They learn more powers as time progresses, so once they age, they get extremely powerful.Vunerabilities: All vampires have a severe allergy to sunlight and wood. Also, don't forget that the wood allergy is only applicable when you shove something wooden through their black hearts.How ta' bag 'em: For frag's sake use their allergies to your advantage. Hunt these fraggers during the day. During daylight hours, vampires are groggy and slow as this is the time they require to sleep. The most overlooked thing though that will kill a vampire is the easiest way to kill one. Sever its spinal cord or splatter its brain out and you'll kill it. Frag the sun. Thank god for Smith and Wesson.-----Um... I think this guy's a little bit violent...-----
--Dangler (08-07-60/18:23:19)-----You try killing these fragging things. You have to get violent to take them down. Vampires are some of the toughest critters alive in the awakened world.-----
--Lucas (08-07-60/18:58:03)-----I've heard rumors that there were vampires alive before the awakening.-----
--Shadowfall (08-07-60/19:02:15)-----Geez, Delaware, can't you keep out the naive ones? Vampires are the result of a disease Shadowfall. HMHVV wasn't even discovered until the middle of the 20's.-----
--Elric (08-07-60/19:26:43)-----Don't be too hasty there, Elric. There are some things that the awakened masses of humanity don't yet know, and one is that magical creatures have been hiding in lairs waiting for the awakening. Everyone knows about Ryumo appearing from his lair in Mt. Fuji and you take that as fact, correct?-----
--Spes (08-07-60/19:45:19)-----Whatever...-----
--Skeptik (08-07-60/20:13:51)
Nosferatu
Description: Before you guys start yelling, there is a difference between Vampires and Nosferatu asides from spelling. These things are twice as bad news as vampires. Take just about everything that sucks about vampires and multiply it by two. They're twice as fast, twice as strong, can go twice as long without food and they're also twice as ugly. Nosferautu have extremely pale, rough skin and null or sparse body hair. And to top it all off, 98% of all nosferatu are magically active as opposed to latent. For more info, see the Nosferatu Threats Posting.Vunerabilities: Severe allergy to sunlight, wood and me as seen above.How 'ta bag 'em: Very carefully!!! Nosferatu have this nasty tendency not to die when you'd like them to. They're extra fraggin' resillient. I had one pinned back in '56 on the Halloween job I mentioned earlier and I staked the fragger, thinking that it was a vampire. So when it ripped out the stake and stabbed me in the leg with it, I was more than a little surprised. I had to tackle the bastard with a leg that looked like a shishkebob and stake it through its eye to a wall before the thing could kill me. The only advice I can give is make sure that they're really dead when you've finished your hunt.-----Hey, "is it a vampire," Dredd?-----
--Morgana (08-07-60/20:26:12)-----Morgana, if you weren't my friend, I'd have killed you for that remark.-----
--Dredd (08-07-60/20:31:16)-----Oh, I think I touched a nerve.....-----
--Morgana (08-07-60/20:45:48)
Walking Dead
Description: For the most part, the walking dead are pretty quiet folks, and not just because they're dead. Your average zombie doesn't think too good on its own. It just stumbles around and watches itself rot. Zombies are common in places where voodoo magic is prominent, and I saw no few zombies while I was in the New Orleans division of the Nightstalkers. There are really two types of zombies: the North American zombie and its cousin the european Corpse Cadaver., I don't really bother to separate the two since there's really not much of a difference externally. The rule of thumb though, is that Corpse Cadavers can operate with a smaller degree of independence. While they still require a necromancer to summon them, they can take more complicated actions as opposed to zombies who take their orders rather literally. And forget that drek about people bitten by zombies. It's just not true.Vunerablities: Mild allergy to sunlight is all the weaknesses they have. Just about anything that'll render 'em to pieces.How 'ta bag 'em: Zombies aren't hard to bag when there's only a couple of them. Just go for removal of unnecessary limbs from them. Immobilization works best since decapitation just makes 'em uglier. If you can immobilize 'em, then they'll just flop around for a couple of days until they "die" again. They lose about a point of essence a day, and most don't start out with much anyway. Or, better yet, burn 'em to death. It's quicker. Also, use their stupidity to your advantage. Zombies will shamble into damn near anything, no matter how obvious their obstacles are, with the exception of corpse cadavers.-----God, these things are EVERYWHERE in New Orleans. Boko's make 'em like crazy out in the Bayou.-----
--Generic (08-07-60/21:16:37)-----I've heard stories from a survivor of the zone back in '57 back when they opened Bug City up. Supposedly, Gerome Standish, former mayor of the windy city was using them to keep his lofty position within the pecking order even after the wall went up.-----
--Newsie (08-07-60/21:26:15)-----The things you've heard... they're true. Me and a hand picked group of runners infiltrated the zone for an AAA megacorp and ran into this guy's forces. Most necromancers and bokos can handle about five to ten zombies at a time, but these guys that were working with Standish... They had a horde of zombies between about five bokos that numbered anywhere from eighty to a hundred and fifteen of the bastards. Things are dumber than whale drek at the bottom of the deep blue sea however...-----
--Tomo (08-07-60/22:15:19)
