Dark Future Ahead 26 – News from the ‘Net of a Cyberpunk bent

How will the future be dark?  Join me in reviewing some inspiration for cyberpunk gaming culled from my trips into the world matrix.  Enjoy the news:

A humorous look at living off the grid: How I went dark in Australia’s surveillance state for 2 years.

International Armoring has upgraded the defenses of a Tesla Model S for their security and environmentally conscious customers.

While Battelle upgrades and fortifies conventional pickup trucks and SUVs for use by the spooks and special forces.  Amazing that they can conceal so much armor and equipment in a vehicle.

This seems like the sort of place you would need to find someone among Hawaii’s last outlaw hippies.

Perhaps they can move into 3D-printed houses?  Icon builds a house in Austin at SXSW in under a day as proof of concept.

A slight tangent but worth thinking about, the increasing gender fluidity of names.  Worthwhile pondering for character names in the future.

There is a massive complex in China that produces six billion cockroaches a year!  They are used in medicine and as animal feed.

What visions of the coming dark future have you seen recently?

Notes: Photo “Tesla Model S 85D” by Werner Bayer is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

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Review – Shadows in Focus: Morocco (Shadowrun)

Shadows in Focus – Morocco is a location sourcebook for Shadowrun and provides useful information on Morocco and its environs that would be useful to the sorts of people who are Shadowrunners. It is the sort of book you need if you are going to run a game set in or around Morocco.

Shadows in Focus – Morocco is a location sourcebook for the 5th edition of Shadowrun, this particular book covers the shadow nexus of smugglers, corporations and nationalism that exist in the Morocco of the Sixth World.

Morocco is a gateway to the Mediterranean and Islamic worlds so it serves as a nexus of trade, legal and illegal, as well as a gatekeeper of the Gibraltar straights. In the Sixth World, it suffered heavily during EuroWar II which saw it invaded by European forces driving back the Islamic forces which had used it as a stepping stone to invade Spain. Morocco has rebuilt with heavy corporate aid making many see the government as a puppet of megacorporate interests. The truth is more complex with the Morocco government, corporations, traditional social groups and other factions all vying for power.

Review – Shadowrun: Dark Terrors

Shadowrun: Dark Terrors is a sourcebook for Shadowrun and provides a lot of information, a lot of interesting information on the dark corners of the Sixth World but not a lot of advice on how to use or incorporate that information into a campaign, especially an ongoing campaign. I enjoyed the read but, for me, there is almost nothing I can or would use in my ongoing street level campaign. I am not sure who the target audience for this book is, it seems like it should be a GM’s book but there is just not enough here to hang campaigns on, in many cases there is barely enough to hang an adventure or two off of. Equally, players can read it and be scared of the horrible things out there but there are not any tools to help you fight the terrors. So, ultimately, I am not sure what this book is for beyond pushing the metaplot(s) forward (especially on CFD) a little.

Shadowrun: Dark Terrors, is a Plot Sourcebook for the 5th edition of Shadowrun, this particular book covers a variety of dangers, threats and evils, primarily magical in nature that exist in the Sixth World.

The book begins with one of the ubiquitous fiction sections,

More Shadowrun campaign updates and a new Seattle Scream (#55) prop

The Shadowrunning continues with more games, including monthly the introductory games at Tyche’s Games (every first Sat, feel free to join us), and the occasional game as part of our Thursday night rotation.  So hot on the heels of the last issue, there is a new issue of the Seattle Scream (#55, March 2074).  The main news story, about ManaWave Technologies, is the endgame of three years or more of in-game encounters with Dr Shipson’s machinations.  So happy to have her motives finally unveiled.

The NorCal, that I am a player in, is back in session and remains great fun and moving forward (latest report from that here) though we have just lost one of our players due to medical reason.

Now, be careful out there in the shadows my friends.  The world is cruel and dangerous place.

Photo “IMG_0422” by Margo Maier-Moul is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

Dark Future Ahead 25 – News from the ‘Net of a Cyberpunk bent

Is the future dystopian or just dark?  Join me in reviewing some inspiration for cyberpunk gaming culled from my expeditions into the matrix.  Enjoy the news:

A look at how climate change is opening the arctic to exploration, and exploitation, and the machines that will allow such to happen.

There are many kinds of punk, take a look at the AfroPunk scene, now taking place in Africa!  Lots of interesting energy and exciting visual styles there.

Interested in options for housing?  What about living units made from concrete water pipers?  Not portable (at 22 tons each) but sturdy and easily to stack into a structure.

To circumvent restrictive software locks on their ability to repair their own tractors and agricultural equipment, American farmers are hacking their John Deere equipment!  Sticking it to the man, go farmers.

A mutant crawfish that effectively clones itself is overrunning European waterways, sure seem future dystopian to me.

This is how China expands into a country, would a megacorporation be much different?

What visions of the coming dark future have you seen recently?

Image “AFROPUNK (commissioned work) 2006” by CHRISTOPHER DOMBRES is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Shadowrun Campaign Update for the New Year (’18/’74) and new Seattle Scream prop (#54)

The Shadowrunning continues apace, with monthly introductory games at Tyche’s Games (every first Sat, feel free to join us), and the occasional game as part of our Thursday night rotation.  Indeed, the central story (about metahumans and schools) ties into these Monthly games and how the last two have played out.

The NorCal set game on occasional Thursdays, which I am a player in, remains great fun and still moving forward (last report from that here) though we have just lost one of our stablest players due to medical reason.

I even had a chance to play my Seattle based character Slappy in a one-shot adventure themed to the New Year!  Rah!

Again, I have fallen behind on keeping up on the Seattle Scream but here is a new issue for the New Year (#54, February 2074)!

Now, be careful out in the shadows my friends.  Trust no one and keep your weapon handy  More news soon.

 

Dark Future Ahead 24 – News from the ‘Net of a Cyberpunk bent

As you start a new week, let us look to the future and share some inspiration for cyberpunk gaming culled from my expeditions into the matrix.  Enjoy the news:

What better vehicle for a evil corporate CEO or power player than a private submarine?  Yes, Migaloo Private Submersible Yachts can provide what you are looking for!  Along with customized artificial islands!  Not that they have actually built either yet, but the are both technically possible and make great setting for an adventure.

The army is looking into replacing its heavy lift helicopters with tilt-rotor aircraft that fly further and faster like the Bell V-280 Valor.  Helicopters may be becoming a thing of the past at least for the military.

Troubled by pesky drones?  Use a laser-armed Polaris MRZR ATV to burn them from the sky!  Constructed by Raytheon from commercially available technologies assembled into a usable package.

Grow plants to trap carbon, brilliant idea, who would want to stop it?

A mission gone right or gone very wrong?  Missing Russian helicopter found in Norway Arctic sea.

And more anti-surveillance tech for you urban punks under the eye of the Man.

What visions of the coming dark future have you seen recently?

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