Dark Future Ahead 27 – News from the ‘Net of a Cyberpunk bent

Which new technology will go horribly wrong?  Join me in reviewing some inspiration for cyberpunk gaming culled from my many trips into the worldnet.  Enjoy the news:

Hurricane Electric Internet Services has a lovely visualization of the global internet backbone.  Very visually pleasing and interesting.

The Australian Defense Force used a DroneGun (really an anti-drone gun) to disable drones around the ASEAN summit.  Here is more information on DroneShield the company that makes the DroneGun.

Just in time?  As the US Army is starting to assign microscout drones to its units.  It will be interesting to see how tactics evolve using tools like this.  More information on the Black Hornet drone direct from it manufacturer.

We can now watch the evolution of language in real time.  Be on fleek for the future.

A company is retrofitting cargo containers into mobile hydroponic farms.  What would you do if you stole one of these instead of your intended target?  More information on the company, Local Roots, behind them.

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

Notes: Image from Hurricane Electric Internet Services but do go look at the full sized one.

 

 

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Shadowrun campaign updates, Podcasting thoughts and a new Seattle Scream (#56) prop

Shadowrun continues to be played, not least monthly with 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 both the NorCal game and occasional one-shot adventure in Seattle.  The NorCal campaign, that I am a player in, has seen some more play and remains great fun and moving forward (latest report from that here).

I am plotting a short Shadowrun podcast that would be split half in-game/in-character advice to shadowrunners and half “how you do that in the game”.  Would that be of interest to people?  And if so, what would you like advice on?

The latest news from my campaign here in Seattle Scream #56, the troll town murders are from the last Saturday session, where the player found out how scary spirits are when you only have limited magic support.

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

Photo “dark city?” by twak is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

 

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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