Detroit on the eve of the 21st century

Wheat-fields in front of the Central Station

The once bustling Motor City has become all but a ghost town, with nature having reclaimed whole districts. For decades, the richer suburbs and the financial district managed to survive, while the rest of the town slowly withered. Finally, around the middle of the century, it became clear that metropolitan Detroit was dead. After that realisation, it was only a matter of months before all corporate and municipal activity were closed down. Those who could picked up and moved. Those who could not were left stranded in a dead city.

Today Detroit has become something unique, where frontier-spirit and gangland mentality has created something akin to a new Wild West. With drones and automatic weapons.

ADAMA

The Autonomous Defense/Assault Military Android (ADAMA), developed by UltraLohft Industries, Inc. is a cutting edge weapons platform, tailored for a wide variety of roles. Equally at home on the modern battlefield, on the streets, or in your home, the ADAMA is a force to be reckoned with. 

It comes off the assembly line with a powerful organic core processor, a state of the art targeting package, as well as a formidable array of leathal and non-leathal close quarters features. For customers wishing a little more bang for the buck, the ADAMA's biometric configuration allows it to be equipped with a wide variety of weapons (no hard mounts). 

A few pictures from Halloween

Tutorial: Headless corpse

The white tarp doesn't give much in the way
of contrast, now does it?

This Halloween we will have a serial killer haunt in our garage, the centrepiece of which will be the headless guy. Here's how he got made.

Materials:
Three old pool noodles
A few days worth of old newspaper
Two rolls of cheap duct tape (CAD 1.50 a pop)
Half a roll of masking tape (CAD 3.50 for a roll)
Shirt and pants from Value Village (CAD 15)
Severed hand props (CAD 7.50 total)
A pair of my wife's old shoes
Blood (buy it or make it)

Warfare and Wizards in the New World

The march towards Quebec, fall of 1775

General Arnold's march on Quebec in 1775 was fraught with adversity from the very start. His maps and boats were supplied by men loyal to the Crown, and the trek through the wild forests of Maine could not get under way until the first cold nights of autumn had set in. Of the eleven hundred men that set out to conquer the seat of British power in the Canadas, only seven hundred made it to the walls of Quebec. The woods, rivers and waterfalls claimed men and supplies, and as winter set in, savage creatures stalked the column. Had it not been for the bravery and determination of Benedict Arnold himself, and for the fierce magicks of the dark eyed sorcerer who rarely left the general's side, few doubt that the outcome would have been anything but a complete tragedy.

Armoured sea creatures

They can't protect themselves is the name of an exhibition intended to raise awareness about endangered marine species. From the project's mission statement: 

"Marine life has several natural defenses such as speed, camouflage and schooling behavior. However, these defenses are powerless against man-made threats including pollution, ocean warming, and overindustrialization. To convey our need to protect these animals, this collection of life-size armor was born. Transcending cultural and regional boundaries, these artifacts are meant to inspire all to preserve the ocean and the myriad of creatures that call it home."

How about a race of intelligent, armoured dolphins for your world?

Or samurai cranes?

This just in

Chain clouds on the horizon

It's funny what you find in your internets. Yesterday I checked the stats of this blog -- something I haven't done in a while, I must confess. One of the referring sites was a thread on RPG.net, and there I found an exciting little news morsel. 

Back in 2010 I wrote a review of the Norwegian RPG Itras by, and now I can report that an English translation is in the works. Behind this we find the German indie publishers Vagrant Workshop. I have found no further information as to when they intend on having Itras by available for you linguistically challenged gamers.

[Picture source]

Red vs. White, a blackpowder edition war

It's been a while, but I'm still alive. I've been posting sort of weekly at my new blog, I've been playing a few times a month, and I'm in the process of opening up a new outlet for my geekery. Historical reenactment. Truth be told, this isn't entirely new. About a decade ago I joined a medieval group in Bergen, but when that one got overrun by scary looking goth-chicks who liked to play with axes, I moved on. This time it's that North American speciality, military reenactment based around the period 1776 - 1812, that's caught my eye.

Fellowship of the Backstreet

I found this in my internets the other day, and I've had no choice but to watch it again and again. Go ahead, watch it and tell me it didn't make you chuckle at least once. I dare you.

A new blog

As I have gone from living alone to married with kids recently, I have not had as much time as before to produce lengthy posts about roleplaying on a daily basis. One of the things I've decided to take seriously after these changes is the safety of my family. To keep focussed, as well as to keep track of the necessary preparations, I've started a new blog. If you have similar concerns, pop over and see if it's something you'd like to keep an eye on. Oh, and don't expect zombies over there -- I'll keep them contained here on the BoW.