Dark Future Ahead 30 – News from the ‘Net of a Cyberpunk bent

How dark is the Future?  As dark as you need it to be for an interesting game.  (Personally, I am pretty hopeful but happy, shiny futures are not as interesting to play in.)  Let us see what interesting things await us in the near future:

Food thefts become more common?  Look at the case of the purloined pistachios.  At the very least it would make for a different sort of adventure.

Looking at alternate forms of powers, what about harnessing the power of the wind through kites!  Kites can be used to generate power in several different ways and take up let space than a windmill and can even be mobile.  Or perhaps you would rather convert obsolete oil tankers into floating energy generators and maybe even factories as they travel the world, fishing for power.  Seems like a great place for a job.  Other companies are working on modular turbines that can be used in rivers and tidal basins and easily connected into existing grids (or create new ones in isolated areas).  This sort of turbine powering a small, out-of-the-way community could be a good centerpiece for a magnificent seven sort of scenario.  Interesting ideas all.

Speaking of interesting ideas, what about underwater greenhouses?  Using the water outside for temperature regulation, maybe hook them up to some of the generators above for a complete closed system.  A fascinating idea but harvesting and retrieving the plants grown seems a bit tricky.

Water systems seem to be a theme, Bechtel is working on ways to use water to improve the efficiency of cooling data centers, which is a huge energy sink apparently, so reducing energy costs for cooling such is important for a variety of reasons.  Again, another interesting place to set a mission.

So, who is watching you?  The Electronic Frontier Foundation has advice on how to know who is watching you and how at street-level surveillance.  Good things to keep aware of.

And more ways to use technology to learn things, there is a way to use a single laser to “see” what is in a room, useful if you need to break into that room, troubling if someone is planning on breaking in on you.

Need a campaign idea?  How about rescuing stranded and damaged container ships?  It is likely to be a growth industry, requiring specialized skills and nerves of steel, sound like player characters to me.

Now, to wrap up on a lighter note.  Need some ideas for new and almost real media for your game world, try NestFlix!

Photo underwater greenhouses from Nemo’s Garden and used without permission.

 

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June Shadowrun Campaign News and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#76)

Our Shadowrun campaigns continue:  we did get to play some more in NorCal, adding a new player and character.   My campaign is still mostly on hold due to other commitments, but I am still carving out time to CH a game a month (usually on every first Saturday at Tyche’s Games please drop by and join in if you are ever in the Athens, Georgia, area).

I did find time to review the latest Shadowrun book, the Sixth World Companion, which is currently only available as a PDF but will have a hard copy release sometime soon.  It expands massively on character options with new character creation methods, new variant metatypes, more qualities, rules options, an d more.

Now for something completely different, the latest Seattle Scream (#76), the Frontier Market story links back to a game some time ago while the Rusted Stilettoes report ties into two stories from last issue.  The MetroPlex in my campaign is changing, just in a different way from the official metaplot.

Notes: Image found of Google image search but its original source seems to have vanished from the web, it is actually of the Port of Oakland and ties into our ongoing NorCal mission.  Though it could refer to the Seattle dock upgrade as well.

Shadowrun Campaign News and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#75)

Shadowrun continues though slowly, currently GMing one game a month (every first Saturday at Tyche’s Games if you are ever in the area, come and join in).  Due to the work thing not sure when I will be CH more Shadowrun apart from the Saturday games.  However, still getting about a game a month in the NorCal set campaign which has been swell.

And, of course, what you are really here for, the latest Seattle Scream (#75), nothing directly tied to my latest adventures.  Though one of them did involve the Rusted Stilettos and the Banners, both gangs in Glow City, so it was on my mind.

For those interested in such things, I have a review of the latest Shadowrun resource PDF up, Shadowrun: Shadow Stock Lofwyr’s Legions. in case you want to learn more about who works for S-K and Drakes in the Shadowrun setting.

Are you slipping into the shadows?  If so, how is that going?  Watch out for those S-K operatives, they are serious jerks.

Notes: Image Nuclear Power plants. Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress collection. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel and is in the Public Domain.

Shadowrun Campaign News and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#74)

Shadowrun continues though slowly.

My Shadowrun demo games are played every first Saturday at Tyche’s Games if you are ever in the area.  Due to the work thing, not sure when I will be CH more Shadowrun apart from the Saturday games.  Though I have been able to play in some NorCal set games which has been nice.

A few minor changes to my house rules, taking into account some of the latest books, but –as always– a work in progress.  Comments and discussion welcome.

Here is some of the news from my campaign, recounted in the latest Seattle Scream (#74), only the Tornado Hydroponics story is tangentally related to one of the games we played.  But who knows what troubles on runners will get themselves into tied into what is happening in Seattle?

Speaking of Seattle, you can read my review of the new Seattle sourcebook, Shadowrun: Emerald City.

How are you runs into the shadows going?

Notes: Image from Max Pixel and used under the Creative Commons Zero – CC0 license.

Shadowrun Campaign News and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#73)

Still playing Shadowrun.  Actually managed to start the Songs on the Key of X campaign just in time for a bunch of work to drop in my lap, so I am not sure when we are going to play more.  Will keep up my Shadowrun demo games every first Saturday at Tyche’s Games if you are ever in the area.  And playing in the occasional NorCal set game.  Due to the work thing, not sure when I will be CH more Shadowrun apart from the Saturday games.

Did finally finish my review of Double Clutch which overall I am pretty happy with, though you can check out the review for more details.

Now for what you have all been waiting for, the new Seattle Scream (#73)!  The story about Nightmare Chorus is the aftermath of one of the runs, one that I had a great deal of fun with (and the players seemed to as well).

Hope that your Shadowrunning is going well.  Feel free to share your adventures in the comments.

Notes: Photo found on Pixabay and is free for use.

Shadowrun Campaign News for the start of 2022 and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#72)

Shadowrun moves forward in 2022, playing both online and in person (once a month), after a break for the holidays.  Getting ready to start the Songs on the Key of X campaign.  To do so, I had to wrap up the T3 (Total Tempest Tour) game, which we had started under 5th ed, to show you how long ago that was, but some of the player wanted to reprise their characters so here is an (in game) commentary on the end of the tour:

Dateline Seattle

I stand here on the tarmac of SeaTac international airport in the intermittent snow watching as Indigo Storm returns bloodied but unbowed from her Total Tempest Tour (T3) of Europe.  Like a conquering queen, she sweeps down the stairway from her private jet, guitar slung across her back and a cocktail glass of something neon blue in her hand.  She seems unaffected, or perhaps unaware, of the assassination attempts that took the life of one of her security team and the terrorist plot to sink the floating stage in Venice while she was performing.  She is happily trading barbs with the music press, myself among them.

    “Tempest!  Did you and your team have anything to do with the attempted coup in Hungary?”

    She laughed and finished her drink in a single gulp.  “Rock and roll has started revolutions before!  We certainly supported the aspiration of the people who tore down the reactionaries attempt to seize power!  The people will be free!”  She struck a dramatic pose and winked.

    “That’s enough for today, newsies!  I’ll see you -if you can get tickets- at the Inferno!” She laughed and slipped into a waiting limousine.

    From what my research had turned up, Tempest’s answer was mostly accurate.  Margit Kovács, leader of the Young Democrats of Hungary, said that Tempest interrupted her concert to issue a call to arms to oppose the attempted coup   It was the media blackout that the coup imposed prevented it from being widely distributed at the time, and after the event the new government suppressed it wanting the rising of the people to appear to have been spontaneous in their support.  But you can find a copy of it here:

<Media File – Indigo Storm leads the counterrevolution>

    It was not the only adventure that she had according to what this reporter has been able to uncover.  Information places her in the suburbs of Prague, Czechia, near to where a drug deal went bad leaving two people, both suspected syndicate members, dead.  No eyewitness or recording can confirm she was there but her hired car left the area shortly after shots were fired.

    In Copenhagen, she was confirmed on the scene in an aftermath of a boat crash that turned out to be a smuggling ploy that went disasterously wrong.  That same evening there was a scuffle outside her hotel that may, though this is unconfirmed, have involved gunfire and magic.  The hotel has only shared it security footage with the Danish Politiet and no amount of wheedling by this reporter was able to shake copies loose.  However a witness to the tail end of the confrontation claimed to see a large man or an ork in a mask bodyslam a man with an SMG.  My sources strongly indicate that the smuggling ring is tied to or run by one of the Russian syndicates.  Possibly the same group whose drug deal went bad in Prague though this is unconfirmed.

It was also reported that Indigo Storm’s private jet had to take an unscheduled landing in Reykjavík, Iceland after a flaw was found in the autopilot.  Indigo used it for a surprise, though brief, concert in the airport.  She framed it as a farewell to the tour in the same location it had begun, but witnesses said it she was extremely shaken getting off the plane.

So, perhaps our little novastar is hiding her light in the shadows on occasion?  She would not be the first, or is likely to be the last, who was tempted by the adrenaline rush of such dangers.  But time will tell if she will continue this dual life or return exclusively to the bright lights of stardom.

Now, I do have tickets to the show at the Inferno, so I hope to see you there.

Gina Andropolous signing off.

Still working my way through Double Clutch and hope to have my review finished soon, some good stuff and some wacky stuff there.  Already informed my group that there will be no anti-grav in my campaign, I find the total shift implied by anti-grav to be too jarring (not to mention one of my physicist friends had great trouble with the very concept which has always colored my thoughts on it).

Now for some news that is fit to use!  The new Seattle Scream (#72)!  The story about Lucidorable and the giving of toys by Namco are both the fallout from runs played.  Rare to have two runs make it into the Scream.

Hope your Shadowrunning is going well.  Feel free to tell us all about it in the comments!

Notes: Photo found on pxhere.com and is in the Public Domain.

Shadowrun Campaign News and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#71)

We continue to pay Shadowrun with both online and, gasp, actual in-person play.  I must say that I find managing to flow of Edge much easier in person with something physical to represent the pool, the officlal Edge tokens work quite well, but anything works.

Comfortable enough with the rules to start making minor changes via house rules to fit our style of play (you can see the current evolution here) but always a work in progress and there will be some things to incorporate from Double Clutch and the other source books eventually.  Any comments and suggestions welcome.

Sadly, I have fallen far behind on updating the screamsheets to go with the adventures, but here is (at last) a new one:  Seattle Scream 71.  The first story, the one involving the eco-terrorists is tangeltally related to a recent adventure, thankfully the violence was not their fault but they did take advantage of it.

Notes: Photo found on pxfuel and is free for commercial use.

I am doing a Shadowrun Podcast!

After pondering for many a year, I have finally buckled down and started my own Shadowrun podcast:

Your Sixth World May Vary

It is a short podcast about how to shape the Shadowrun world to your campaign and how to make the canon and metaplot work for you when possible.

Please give it a listen and tell me what you think. Still working on improving the technical side of things and those should improve as I get more practice.

Update: I am planning for it to be weekly with new episodes on Wednesdays.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Dark Future Ahead 29 – News from the ‘Net of a Cyberpunk bent

How will the world change as we move into the new corporate dystopia?  Join me in looking at some inspiration for cyberpunk gaming culled from my many trips into the matrix.  Enjoy the news:

It is a ridiculous vehicle but cost effective, even if it does look like a toy, meet the Ami.  For absurdity, a chase involving several of these could be hilarious.

For those cyberpunk setting that feature Neo-Soviets or aggressive Russians, here is their Cathedral of War.  It seems like a rather over-engineered justification for any future military actions taken by the Russian state, not disturbing at all.

How Red Bull uses football (and other sports) to build their brand, the success of RB Leipzig in German Soccer. An excellent example of how corporations use various means to advertises themselves which sometimes  becoming money making enterprises in their own right.

The celebrity impersonators making money on Cameo, it seems there is at least the chance to have some confusion on an extraction mission here.  Or possible a way to help pay for that body sculpt into an obscure 20th C actor.

Need something valuable and interesting to people to steal (or need to protect)?  What about Bob Ross paintings which are surprisingly rare given the number he painted . . .

Who says technology and superstition do not meet?  There is a superstition, maybe humorously played into, that a certain type of snack will keep your technology functioning properly . . .

Robots and cows, living together in harmony, at the Oldenkamp Diary.  Would be an interesting place for a chase or fight.

Notes:It has been a bit since I did one of these, hope you find it interesting.

Photo of the Cathedral of War found on Wikimedia Commons, comes from the websites (mil.ru, минобороны.рф) of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and is copyrighted.  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence.

 

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Shadowrun Campaign News and a new Seattle Scream Prop (#70)

We are continuing to play Shadowrun via the wonders of the proto-Matrix  (supported by Tyche’s Games our local game store) and we are getting back to limited in person play!  Hooray!

Our NorCal set campaign has moved to 6th World Edition rules, with mostly new characters, I am playing a magician as an excuse to learn the magic rules by actually using them.  We have played two session which was one run as there is a lot of adjusting for the players.  I hope to have some sort of writeup on that shortly.

Time fora new screamsheet: Seattle Scream 70.  The piece about Eye in the Sky films is related to one of the runs the characters were on.

Notes: Photo from Needpix.com and is listed as being in the Public Domain.