Jaded Gamer Diary - The edition nobody wanted until they did.

 

The edition everybody said they weren't going to buy.

It started quite some time ago. Here locally every little leak about the new edition of DnD (DnD One, 5.5, 6th already, etc) people were bitching about. The usual bullshit, some saying it's going "Woke", or the usual grognard saying now ADnD was better like they always do, many saying it's just a cash grab. Whatever. But everybody was bound and damned determined to tell everyone, especially those working at game shops, that they weren't going to be laying down any cash for the new version.

Already we had seen a huge drop in sales for new DnD material. Ever since Wizards went full moron with the OGL debacle we have a hard time selling their product for the line. So we got stuck with extra copies we really don't want.

So, my employer and FLGS, didn't order that many copies. A lot less hobby covers and only a few regular covers. Now he also had to preorder ahead for all three corebooks. So raising the number you wanted to get was damned near impossible.

Then guess what happened? C'mon guess. You know what the answer is. 

Everybody bought the damn thing they said they weren't going to buy.

So our hobby covers sold out really damned fast and we couldn't get anymore. Had a few folks accuse us of having a bunch stashed back to sell later at a higher price. Others doing the usual pouty fit. Some even saying they knew they should have ordered it online from some other shop that "actually stocks it". The fuckers who said they weren't going to buy it at all ever are suddenly mad that we didn't have it for them to buy.

It's times like this that I feel DnD has more jackasses in it's community than any other game. Then I remember to how I've seen Vampire: The Masquerade fans act many years ago and they still hold that number one spot. 

Superman | Official Teaser Trailer

Now I'm ready to see the new Superman movie. 

Weekly Health 12/16/24

 Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 353

Welp I stayed the same this week. Better than going up. Between the extra hours at work and the bitter ass cold front that came through I haven't been getting out and walking that much. At least I didn't go up. So I'll just keep on moving forward I guess. 

Food Review - Super Stack Chili & Lime

 

I should have suspected something. My boss at work asked me if I wanted the rest of his chips that were in a Pringles knock off can. He said they weren't to his liking, but as soon as I said sure he was out the door with a quickness. All it took was eating one to know why he didn't want them anymore.

It's a burst of flavor. Just not the kind you want to have in your mouth. Not so much the chili flavor but the overwhelming level of citric acid and fake lime flavoring that just absolutely should be illegal. Probably is in some countries. I have absolutely no idea how in the hell people can eat these things. These will leave you with a twitching eye and a yearning for the time before you knew these existed.

Do not buy these, do not eat them, don't even make eye contact with the can. 

Jōvan Sex Appeal - The Power (1978, USA)

They just made better commercials back in the day. 

Roll A D10 - What they want in payment

 

Sometimes the supernatural entities want strange forms of payment for their services. It's not all human sacrifice after all. So what are ten things they could want in return?

What do they take in payment?

1 – Human teeth that have been removed from a living person.

2 – A lock of hair from a virgin.

3 – Human fingers, fresh human fingers.

4 – A small vial of YOUR blood.

5 – Currency from a country that no longer exists.

6 – Dust from the collapse of the twin towers on 9/11.

7 – The spent shell casing from a bullet that took someone’s life.

8 – Personal belonging of someone who was executed by the government.

9 – A vial of blood from somebody who has a net worth over 25 million dollars.

10 – A jar of liquefied human brain.

Cyberpunk Six Pack - Specialty Services

 

In the dark gritty cyberpunk future there are times when you need some specific services for your edgerunner. Well here's a six pack of services that you may not think of. But at some point my prove to be rather useful. 

Six Cyberpunk Services

1- Speedy Lupe Crime Scene Clean Up. When all hell breaks out at your business and the cops come buy and scrape up the bodies but leave you with the mess. Call Lupe Fernandez and his trusted crew of cleaning experts to get your place spotless and back up to code so you can open without your customers tracking bloody footprints everywhere.

2 – Cybersex Dysfunction Solutions. Whether it’s a clenched up Midnight Lady or a flaccid Mr Studd. CDS is here to help. Any sexual complications due to cybernetic malfunction or interference is our area of expertise. Up and including Virtual Vickie addictions.

3 – Virtual Courtesy. This company provided holographic staffers for all your needs. Whether it’s a waitress to checking to see if patrons need anything to a nursing assistant taking notes while you diagnose a patient. They’ll be there for you and your customers.

4 – ReHarden. Did your Metal Gear get mauled? Your favorite kevlar nearly get killed? That leather jacket in tatters? We repair all your damaged armor and get it as close as we can to like new. Years in business of fixing those things that save our lives.

5 – Cheap Suits Security. Want to impress somebody by looking like you have a private security detail or a bodyguard? Give us a call. We’ll put an impressive appearing group of folks together to escort you wherever you need to go. Although they aren’t really security and any trouble you run into, well, you’ll be on your own.

6 – MisFaced. Want to clog the facial recognition software algorithm? We’ll digitally layer your face into thousands of videos and photos complete with fake names attached then spam the servers with them. After a few weeks any attempt to pull your identity from a simple face scan will pull up hundreds of results.

Magic Item Six Pack - Special Pistols

 

How about some modern day magic items of the firearm variety. It's always fun when you throw these little bad boys into a game. If you're looking for more modern day magic items you can always pick up my small compilation of such things over on DrivethruRPG. 

1 – Fear Monger. It’s metal is damaged, pitted and rusty. The wood is stained black and chipped away. But whenever it’s held anyone seeing it is struck with fear of the person whose hand it is in.

2 – The Assassins Friend. Very ordinary looking pistol with a few notches carved into the handle. Every time this pistol takes a life the damage it inflicts is increased by at least one. The more important the person is the more damage it will do.

3 – Memory Soak. Very old and well worn handgun with multiple initials carved into the handle. When the PC is in a tense situation and holding this firearm they get sudden flashes of relevant memories from others who have owned the gun before. Possibly giving them insight on what to do next and maybe even a skill bonus for using it in the next few rounds.

4 – The Brothers. A pair of identical silver and brass decorated dueling pistols. When the PC possesses one they can feel where the other one is and are even somewhat drawn to it. But if they ever have both at the same time the owner dies from a sudden heart attack.

5 – Mistrusted Curse. A small compact pistol, easily concealable. Any person who has this firearm on their person finds that others doubt everything they say and are suspect of their actions. The longer they are around them the more they get animated about their suspicions.

6 – Forget Me. A flashy polished up pistol with gold leaf decorations on the handle. When you carry or wear this firearm out in the open people just don’t notice you. Security doesn’t stop you, walking through metal detectors doesn’t set them off, even video cameras only capture a blurry image of you.

Please give my Ko-Fi page a visit if you would. 

Weekly Health 12/09/24

 Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 353

Okay so I lost the two extra I gained back and then another half pound to boot. I'll take that. Back towards creeping towards the right direction. 

Pulmonologist appointment today to go over the result of how things are going since I started using a CPAP. I went from averaging 40+ stoppage of breathing per hour down to an average of one. That's one hell of an improvement. My blood pressure was also down even after driving myself there and dealing with morning school time traffic. Due to the immense improvement the CPAP has made he's putting off the next appointment until six months from now. 

So that means less time in a doctors office for me!

Nothing else much has changed. No new meds, same dosage on everything. 

Roll A D10 - Cyberpunk Funny Hat Characterization

 

Funny Hat characterization is an old writer and film maker trick to help you remember a particular character. There is something odd about the person that just stands out so you automatically associate that with them and it triggers your memory of them every time you see that 'thing'. So here are ten 'funny hats' for your next NPCs a Cyberpunk game. 

Cyberpunk funny hat characterization

1 – They have a cybereye that moving around all over the place

2 – Always wears a ball cap that says Arasaka Reject Squad

3 – Wears a holojacket that is always displaying graphic hentai scenes

4 – Has a light tattoo of a dollar sign on the top of each hand

5 – Always has a small drone near them playing synthpop tunes

6 – Has a high pitch squeaky artificial voice

7 – Has a lone cyberarm that is painted construction zone orange

8 – Carries a cyberdeck built inside an old style ‘brick’ cellphone

9 – Uses a handheld portable AI assistant to do all their talking

10 – Has an a cyberneck that is twice as long as anyone’s regular neck

If you like this blog please show me a little love on my Ko-Fi page!

Jaded Gamers - Block the Toxic.

 

Okay now let me get started on this one. I'm all for whoever wants to play tabletop role playing games should be allowed to do so. The biggest scumbags should be allowed whatever hobby they want to dump money into if they wish. HOWEVER nobody else that is that hobby, or the communities they form, are required to put up with them. 

This is not gatekeeping plus it accomplishes a few things. First it protects your own mental well being. Nobody should have to put up with toxic individuals spewing hate into their field of view. Second it protects your ability to have fun participating in your hobby. Once you aren't having fun there is a good chance you may drop out and move on. Third it reenforces to assholes that nobody has to listen to them. Which needs to happen a lot more often.

A lot of the feelings of accepting anybody that wants to come to the table stems from the early days of tabletop roleplaying. When finding new people or those who were interested were far and few between. Back then people put up with some assholes just so they could either have a full table of player or so they could be a player at a table. Now that's no longer an issue. Plenty of people to chose from so be picky about who you bring into your circle.

On social media platforms block them. Don't be afraid of that button. People have FINALLY leaned hard into this idea over on BlueSky and guess what? It's fucking working. They are still there but the reach of their hate is drastically diminished. So diminished that some have simply given up and moved on back to where they came from. If the social media you use doesn't have a full block function then it's time to find one that does and move. Trust me, it's not worth wading through the shit for a little bit of interaction. 

At your table you can tell them to leave. Introduce them to the world outside of your private gaming area. If you are at a table that lets every asshole in to do as they please. Then you really need to find a new group. I know that's hard but sometimes it has to be done. Take the other good players with you, help them find a place away from the pricks who are making things terrible. 

Don't let anyone guilt trip you into thinking that you have to provide a place for everyone. Because you sure as shit do not. 

Another thing is do not let them attempt to gaslight you into thinking that their toxic bullshit is something else. The old "You're only doing this because of my politics" or "You just can't handle people telling you the truth" crap is an absolute pile of garbage. Also they are major big ass red flags. They pull this shit you need to kick them away even faster.

Roll a D10 - What does the monster feed on

 

Sometimes it's good to change up things. Like what a monster feeds on. Well here's a list of ten ideas for you to roll on. 

What does it feed on?

1 – Human Spinal Fluid, the younger the better.

2 – Dissolving flesh and absorbing that through its touch.

3 – Psychic feeding off of human emotions, pain being what nourishes it the most.

4 – Devouring the flesh of humans.

5 – Good old fashioned, and very cliché, blood.

6 – Brains of mammals, the smarter the more nourishing.

7 – Bone marrow.

8 – Rotting and decayed meat.

9 – Heat, the hotter it gets the faster and tougher it gets.

10 – Electricity, and lots of it.

Fantasy Six Pack - Magical Fair Foods

 

In a fantasy world it's always fun to have some passive magic that really isn't anything more than a cantrip. In this case it's a six pack of some slightly magical foods that are sold at larger fairs and events. 

Slightly magical fantasy fair foods

1 – Smokin’ Speakin’ Chick’n Wings. A small pack of four smoked and sauced chicken wings. Once eaten you’re every fourth word spoken comes out as a chicken squawk. Lasts for 2D6 minutes.

2 – Rose Hard Candies. A small pack of three rose colored hard candies. Whenever you have one in your mouth everything in your field of visions has a rose pink tint to it. Makes natural firelight look really pretty. Each candy lasts about five minutes.

3 – Tongue Pleasing Frog Legs. Two frog legs, batter dipped and deep fried on a stick. Slightly spice and makes you salivate quite a bit. Once consumed your tongue will increase in length to twice it’s size and you can pop it in and out of your mouth like a frog. Lasts for 2D6 minutes.

4 – Happy Sticks. Three six inch long crisp bread sticks filled with a sugar and browned butter mixture. Served in a brown paper wrapper shaped like a cone. For each one you eat you spend six minutes thinking everything is blissfully fine and dandy.

5 – Cold Fruit Cocktail. A mix of fruit juices, sugar, and a bit of alcohol kept as cold as possible. Served in small cups or poured into whatever the fair goer has. While you are drinking this you feel a slight chill and can see your breath as if your in a very cold climate.

6 – Lightening Candy. Crystallized hard candy on a stick that comes in a variety of colors. The flavor is pretty much just sugary sweet. However whenever a person who has been eating one gets close to somebody else who is it creates harmless bursts of colored electricity to go back and forth between them. Lasts for about fifteen minutes.

Horror Six Pack - Gore Soaked Spells

Time to pop open a Horror Gaming six pack!

Every now and then you just want to make your players cringe. Especially when it's something bad happening their characters or to the people their characters care about. Here are some really nasty spells to give the bad guys to help this happen.

Gore soaked spells

1 – Pop. Creates a small sphere of super heated liquid to generate inside of a targets skull. Immediately liquefying the brain and causing their skull to blow apart from the pressure. Those nearby are usually struck by chunks of the scalding brain and bone matter.

2 – Back Pain. Seizes the vertebrae in a targets back and spins each one in place the opposite direction of the one next to it. Immediate agony and pain as the spinal cord is shredded and their back is turned into what looks like a meat grinder running at high speed spraying blood several feet out.

3 – Skin Tight. Causes the targets skin to tighten up and shrink up. Causing severe pressure to build up and excruciating pain. Within a minute the skin begins to tear itself apart splattering anyone nearby with blood as it does so.

4 – Blood Transfusion. Transfers the blood inside one target into the body of another. Extremely painful for both but the one receiving the extra plasma begins to swell and starts to spray blood out of any wounds and body cavities as their body over fills.

5 – Words Can Kill. Whenever the target speaks their words are carved into their skin across their body. The bleed excessively and will not clot normally unless the wounds are bandaged tightly. The more they speak, or even scream, the more words that are carved into them.

6 – Joint Aches. Every joint on the target instantly bend completely in the wrong direction. Usually causing many to split open, snap and tear cartilage and tendons completely.

Cyberpunk Six Pack - Street Media Teams

 

At the street level there are all kinds of different groups of folks tapping into the media frenzy. Money can be made just about anyway. Those at the bottom are the most desperate for some bucks just so they can get by. So here are six street level media teams your Edgerunners may run into. 

Six street level media groups

1 – JamCamz. This a group of skaters, high speed bike riders and others who are hooked on fast personal transport devices. They all have cameras mounted on their helmets and make a habit of chasing cops and rushing to scenes where something is taking place. Most of their product is video footage, although a few have gotten quite talented at doing quick and dirty reporting quips while filming.

2 – Poser Squad. These people never show their real face. What they do is disguise themselves as various workers and slip into secure facilities with small concealable cameras. Exposing illegal activities going on behind closed doors in all sorts of businesses. The bigger the business, the better. Everything from illegal dumping of toxic chemicals to full blown sex trafficking rings have been exposed by these folks.

3 – All Glamour. Chasers of the rich and famous. They track down celebrities and catch them reveling in the all the wonderful perks of being rich and well known. Often they will compile footage of an individual star together as a ‘Glam Packs’ and sell it to network. Sometimes they even manage to bag an interview or a quick exchange or two with those they are following.

4 – REAL. This small group goes into the combat zones, the homeless centers, slums and everywhere else where society is falling apart or completely failing. Interviewing people, showcasing their hardships and pushing the idea that things are really, really, bad. Most networks won’t even touch their stories so they run a few streaming channels showcasing their work and advertise via bumper stickers, street tagging and other such low cost means.

5 – Eyes in the Sky. A group of netrunners and techies who specialize in drone operations. Using some highly modified drones equipped with some of the most cutting edge cameras they send these into areas where events are happening right now. Shootouts in the streets, high speed police chases, gang wars, anything that can be viewed from above. Then they sell the footage to the networks with a quickness before the story can even begin to cool off.

6 – Politics Suck. A group of folks who are tired of politics at almost every level. So they follow any elected official they can around and try to capture them engaging in illegal activities. Not to mention having a few people hack their Agents or home computer systems to dig up some dirt as well. Most security for politicians have full privileges to rough up those who are part of this group that get close.

Weekly Health 12/2/24

 

 Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 355.5

Well fuck. Gained back two pounds. Thanksgiving sure didn't help. Neither did working extra hours this weekend and eating whatever I could when I could. Boss bought us pizza one day, next day I was offered fast food that I didn't have to pay for. So yeah. Sucks.

I'm up to about 6 to 7 hours on the CPAP now. Falling asleep a lot faster with the face hugger on me than I did before. So I'm getting used to that. Feeling much better in the mornings than I used, like actually somewhat rested.

Nothing else to report. No medication changes or appointments.

Roll a D10 - How are they getting rid of the bodies?

 

Sometimes the psycho's causing trouble in your horror games need a way to get rid of the bodies. Especially if they are starting to stack up some numbers. Here are ten non-supernatural ways that a killer or group of killers can get rid of their victims bodies. 

How are they getting rid of the bodies?

1 – Into an old ventilation shaft that leads down to long abandoned mines.

2 – Strapping them to cinder blocks and dropping them into an old water filled quarry.

3 – Sealing them in old concrete septic tanks in a section of the city where nobody lives anymore.

4 – Putting them through a wood chipper and spraying them into a local river.

5 – Crushing them inside of old cars in an a junkyard.

6 – Putting them in large suitcases and tossing them into garbage dumpster to be hauled to a landfill.

7 – Sealing them in 55 gallon metal barrels and storing them in a storage unit that’s been paid ahead for years.

8 – Dismembering the bodies and tossing them into the pens at a pig farm.

9 – Placing them in the grave that has been dug and prepared for a funeral. So the casket is dropped down over them.

10 – Tossing the dismembered pieces into a funeral home crematorium with the body of someone being cremated.

Roll a D10 - Cyberware Chop Shop Names

 

Not everything is new in a Cyberpunk world. Sometimes you have to get something that's been used before. Even when it's mechanical replacements for part of your body. Not to mention some of these places will be happy to take some 'salvaged' cyberware off your runners hands in exchange for cash or services rendered. So here are ten names for shady places like this. 

Cyberware Chopshop Names

1 – Parts is Parts

2 – RePsychoed Wares

3 – Second Hand Hands

4 – Scraped Up and Resold

5 – Freed From Meat

6 – Not Fresh But Refurbished

7 – Traumatic Team

8 – KMFDEAD

9 – Pre-Owned Chrome

10 – Parlor Reprocess

Roll a D10 - The Creatures Weakness

 

Something specific can hurt and possibly kill the creature. What is it?

 Weaknesses of the creature.

1 – Bleach, antiseptic and most harsh cleaning chemicals cause severe burns.

2 – High pitched whistling causes severe pain and is deafening to the creature.

3 – UV light sets the creatures skin on fire instantly and can reduce it to ashes withing a minute or two of intense agony.

4 – High pressure air, causes the creatures skin to blow off in large painful chunks.

5 – Radiation from a microwave, pushes the creature into fits of raging pain just being near one while it’s running.

6 – Good old fashioned fire, the biblical cleanser.

7 – Sunlight, how cliché.

8 – A book made of human flesh that it’s bound to. Destroy the book, destroy the creature.

9 – Knowing the creatures name, one you have that you can control it.

10 – Seeing it’s reflection in a highly polished large mirror will destroy it. Smaller mirrors will cause it pain.

Roll a D10 - More Affectations for Cyberpunk RED

 

During character creation in Cyberpunk RED you have a chart of Affectations you can roll on or choose from (page 47 in the corebook). Well here's another ten choices for you to add to that list. Some of these were suggested by my current game group. 

New Affectations list

1 – Fangs/Sharpened Teeth

2 – Overcoats/Long coats

3 – Lots of Jewelry

4 – Excessive amounts of makeup

5 – Face masks

6 – Elbow and Knee guards

7 – Eye glasses of various designs

8 – Cat Ear headbands

9 – Headphones

10 – Wristbands of different colors

Neon City (1991)

 

Neon City

You can watch this one for free over on Tubi or, if you really feel like it, you can pick up the Blu-Ray over on Amazon. 

This foray into post apocalypse film is an interesting treat. Mainly just because of some of the cast we have here. We have the always dependable Michael Ironside, then there is Vanity who has never been in what we would call a ‘good’ movie, Juliet Landau in a post Buffy appearance, oh Richard Sanders is here so nice to see Les Nessman working, then finally we have the walking wall himself Lyle Azlado. I mean how could you not watch this film with this line up. Okay, you could very easily not watch this film which is what so many others have done. But here I am, watching it.

Now one interesting thing is they don’t use your normal run of the mill nuclear apocalypse in this one. As the move goes on you find out we are in an environmental apocalypse. A real 80’s/90’s one which involved the ozone lair and air pollution. Something a bit different there. Taking place in “North America, Western Federation 2053 A.D.” so at least we don’t have the problem of the current year having caught up to this tale of the future.

The film opens with the usual credits and somebody riding a bike across the flattest land that I’ve seen in a while. Is this Kansas? Did they film this in Kansas? All with that wonderful background music that you just know you’ve heard someplace else and the red filter on the lens.

Soon we get to meet all the characters. Harry Stark (Ironside) a gruff ex-ranger who has dark past filled with loss. Reno (Vanity) a gruff convict on the run who has a dark past filled with loss. Dickie Devine (Nessman, I mean Sanders) a comedian/magician who has a dark secret about what he sells on the side. Bulk (Azlado) a big lovable bear of a man who has a dark past with Stark. Twink (Landau) a spoiled rich girl with a shiny happy past filled with zero loss. Plus several others. Most with dark pasts of some sort. Except Twink, she is dark free, which is really opposite of the role Landau is most known for.

Basic plot is basic. They are traveling across Damnation Alley… I mean across post apocalypse USA from one city that is trash to another less trashed city called ‘Neon City’ in a big ole’ fancied up camper truck. Mostly driving across what looks like Kansas during the winter, until there are suddenly hills out of nowhere for them to do things near. Many times I’m wondering if they used the pile of trash sets left over from the background of Spacehunter. But Max… I mean Stark continues on leading his band of intrepid travelers onward.

We get a good dose of how terrible things are when you can get ‘bye bye bags’ which are just jars of poison so you can kill yourself to escape the terrible things that have happened to you. Killer environment effects called ‘brights’ that can pop up out of nowhere during the day and cook you. A gang of scumbags that kills everyone else. But the roads seem to be in decent shape under the snow as this fancied up Winnebago plows along. Going from location to location to either kill things or have an awkward sex scene right in the middle of whatever the hell is going on.

The dialogue in some spots is a bit cringe and just dumb. Early on they use a lot of drunk cam for action scenes so you can’t see what the hell is going on. Acting is decent enough but nothing to write home about. Ironsides, as usual, does more acting with his facial expressions and forehead than anything else. But all in all this does rate slightly above most 90’s scifi post apocalypse fare.

All in all it was a fun to watch bad movie. Nothing great to write your parents about. I just wish Les would have survived, but I guess a bullet was more deadly than the WKRP Turkey Drop. Do I recommend it? Well yes, but don’t pay to watch it and don’t make time in a busy schedule to watch it either. But if you’re bored and got some time to kill then this makes a great filler.

"Don't forget to get my most important acting asset into the shot, my forehead."

The Receipt Jar App

 

Now this is not a paid advertisement and the first time I've ever posted anything like this. I am actually recommending an app that I have made a little bit of money using. Not a lot of money mind you, this is no gold mine, it takes a while. I've been using the Receipt Jar App scanning in my receipts for purchases. So far over the past few months I've made fifteen bucks. Now that's not much but it's still fifteen bucks I didn't have before.

It takes printed receipts from just about anywhere. It even works on the ones from the small business game shop I work at. You just build up points from scanning them in and after you reach a certain amount you can cash them out in a variety of way including e-gift cards. Me, I'm simple, and I have it put straight onto my PayPal. 

If you want to give it a shot HERE IS THE LINK to the app store. Also if you could please enter this code: JOHNN29CH and it will give me a few points for the recommendation. 

Again, it's not a gold mine. There is a limit on how many receipts you can scan in a seven day period. It takes time. But I will honestly say it has cost me nothing but a little bit of time to snap pictures. 

Weekly Health 11/25/24

 Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 353.5

I'm down one pound this week. Bringing my total loss up to 8.5. It's slow but at least I'm tip toeing in the right direction. Had all sorts of folks give me eating advice. Most of it included buying food that cost two or three more times then what we are paying now. That is not an option at all. We barely make ends meet and I have to eat what's cheap. Which is usually stuff that's not very healthy. But I'm doing the best I can.

Getting easier to use the CPAP. At least this week wasn't bad. Almost yanked the machine into the floor one night when I was tossing and turning in my sleep more than usual.

Working more hours at work and back on a closing schedule again. Which means I'll be up walking more so that will help.

Everything else is about the same. 

Roll A D10 - Stories for your Media to chase

 

How about some stories that can be given out as assignments to your media characters. Some mundane, some potentially very deadly. These also work good as story hooks to throw out to see what the players want to do as well. 

Stories for your media to follow

1 – Out of control AI supervisor locks employees in until they reach their quota.

2 – Someone hijacking full septic clean out trucks and then setting them on autodrive spraying fecal matter all over high end neighborhoods.

3 – Follow up leads about a terrorist cell that has a flesh eating virus they plan on releasing. And they’ve used it on the last four reporters that came looking for them.

4 – Meet up and interview a Netrunner who hacks into hospitals and causes medicine bots to give fatal doses to patients.

5 – Follow around a politician to catch some dirt on him. Turns out to be the most wholesome non-corrupt person ever. They keep offering to pay more and more to catch them doing something.

6 – A series of warehouse burglaries which turns out to be food warehouses and the people breaking in are folks from a homeless encampment that are in desperate need of that food.

7 – Check on rumors of a black market cyberoptic reseller who puts hacks into the eyes that allows him to see direct video feeds from them.

8 – Someone is direct hacking screamsheet kiosks to give out unregulated news articles from guerrilla unregistered news agencies.

9 – Underground print shop making up unauthorized educational material and distributing it to poverty level families.

10 – Find information about a cannibalistic cult that has seeped into the higher society of the city and are purchasing children from orphanages for their rituals.

Roll a D10 Companies of Quality

 

The big corporations have the corner on the mass market. But their stuff is cranked out by the millions and everything looks the same. Plus the quality can sometimes take a hit as well. But there is always room for smaller companies to come in with highly specific areas of expertise. When you walk around with work by these folks you get notices for your style and for using the best.

Remember is you like the posts you see here you can always buy the blogger a Coffee to show your support. 

Here we go. Ten companies that are of high quality. 

1 – Urban Rapture. Makers of specialized, high quality firearms. Most are custom ordered for the buyers very specific demands.

2 – Flesh Grinder. They make very deadly melee weapons with all sorts of features. From things that spray blood when they hit to poison injectors.

3 – Hardshell. Body armor that is custom fitted to the buyer. Measurements are taken and every thing from load bearing points to flexibility is figured in.

4 – Power Projects. Makers of experimental powered armor and load reducing worn robotics.

5 – Shogun. Street bikes and riding gear with a kick. You want to go fast and look the top of the line at the same time? These are the folks.

6 – Inner Voice. The go too experts for personal communications technology. Producing the most reliable and malleable squad level communication equipment available.

7 – Lancer Tools. When a Techie needs to tools for his job, these are the people they can trust.

8 – New Atlantis. Premier makers of cyberspace technology and software. Also hosting on the most stable and popular virtual locations in the net.

9 – Hardwire. When your custom cyberware specifications go way beyond the normal these are the folks to hire for the job. Doing the most outrageous cyber mods in the world today.

10 – Nu U. If you need to change your appearance these are the sculptors you want. From simple nips and tucks to full on height adjustment and even full gender change. They are the best.

Roll a D10 - Modifications in a Techies car

 

I decided to have a bit more fun with this one. How about ten random things a Techie has done to their ride. Because we all know that they aren't going to run around in anything that is stock.

Modifications you may find on a Techies ride.

1 – Custom fitted hidden drop down armor for the windows and along the inside of the body.

2 – An electro scanner that pics up higher than normal power usage and charts it on a map used by multiple other techies.

3 – A rear facing scrambler that interferes with various frequencies of wireless communication.

4 – A mobile fold out repair bay built into their trunk.

5 – Faraday cage built into the backseat to throw salvaged or looted electronics in to prevent them from being traced.

6 – Multiple dash-cams facing every direction and kept in constant contact with a server via cellular towers.

7 – An amalgamation of agents/cell phones that are all shown as ‘driving’ to traffic monitoring apps. So it always sees a traffic jam and redirects other drivers away from wherever the Techie is driving.

8 – An anti-pursuit system built into the trunk. It launches full sized bricks covered in an instant adhering paste onto the pavement behind the vehicle as it’s driving.

9 – Full on old style no electronics gas guzzling land beast of a car. With a built in EMP device that has a range of 50 foot radius all around it. Can be used while driving of course.

10 – A full on radio hacker that hacks into the car radios of those around you and tunes them to the station, or streaming service, the Techie prefers.

Weekly Health 11/18/24

 

Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 354.5

Edit: Did a reweigh three times. Stayed the same weight. Kind of a let down but at least I didn't go up.

I haven't said much about having to deal with being on a CPAP while I sleep now. But nothing much has changed. Still having issues getting used to it. Some nights are good, some nights are bad. I will admit on good nights when I get a good chunk of sleep I can tell the difference in how I feel when I wake up. But it's getting that good nights sleep on a regular basis which is the problem. 

Stress levels have been up this week due to certain things. But that is temporary and will pass at some point. But I could feel that blood pressure spike that's for sure. 

Roll a D10 - Random Cyberpunk bar names

 

How about ten random cyberpunk bar names for your game. Some with just the tiniest morsel of extra info. Made with a little help from my gaming group.

Cyberpunk Bar Names

1 – Hard Drive

2 – Leadheads (full of chromers)

3 – CZ Brews (combat zone sports bar)

4 – Slosh n’ Go (automated kiosk and conveyor belt serving drinks and drugs)

5 – High Caliber

6 – Wild Boys Clubhouse

7 – E.M.C. (Elegant Murderers Club)

8 – Minimalist Drinking Age (all drinks are clear and served in identical glasses)

9 – No Bootlickers (anti corp edgerunner bar)

10 – Electric Dead

If you are enjoying these D10 lists you can buy me a Ko-Fi as a sign of appreciation! 

Roll a D10 - Names for Netrunner Hangouts

 

Sometimes the netrunners just like to unwind around those who are of similar interests and occupations. Here are ten names for hangouts that netrunners may frequent. 

Netrunner Hangout Names

1 – The Digital Chimera

2 – Console Holster (western/cowboy themed)

3 – Monochrome (decorated with older tech)

4 – Lord Nikon’s Castle

5 – Secret Datafort

6 – Parasites

7 – Black Sky Infinity

8 – Dreamlounger

9 – Vaporware Vickies

10 – Dead Node

Roll a D10 - What is in the Nomads pockets?

 

Time for a little bit of cyberpunk flavored randomness. While looking through the pockets of a Nomad, either deceased, being searched or while the are unconscious, what do you find?

What did you find in the Nomads pockets?

1 – An old fashioned metal cased compass

2 – A chip box containing six different language chips

3 – High ends set of sunglasses in a bulletproof case

4 – A large key ring with 40+ different keys on it

5 – Small pocket journal written in code, no key is provided

6 – Pocket photo album of Nomad family members

7 – Highly polished palm sized mirror in a protective case

8 – Pack of high end triple nicotine cigarettes

9 – Pouch of caffeine infused long cut chewing tobacco

10 – Dataslug filled with various atlases and city maps

Roll a D10 - Who is the cult leader?

 

Who is the cult leader in the small town, the one no one would expect?

1 – The young popular science teacher at the middle school.

2 – Owner of the home-style bakery that opened up a couple years ago.

3 – The police dispatcher that helps organize the Christmas toy drive every year.

4 – That old guy who is always panhandling at a couple different intersections in town.

5 – The kindly old lady who has run that fabric and craft store in town for decades.

6 – The garbage collector.

7 – The guy who always seems to be working the counter at a local convenience store.

8 – The nice old man who sits at the local diner all the time talking about what he did “after the war”.

9 – A popular high school cheerleader who seems very shallow about everything.

10 – The town drunk who spends a lot of nights in the local jail sobering up.

KMFDM - JUKE JOINT JEZEBEL | REMASTERED | - Official Music Video

Weekly Health 11/11/24

 

Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 354.5

Well now at least this time there is progress. I was up a pound last week to 360 but now I lost that and then some more. So I'm not down a total of 7.5 pounds. Just gotta keep going the same direction. 

Mentally I'm in the toilet but that's due to a lot of factors this week. Going to try to start working on some new material for Truly Rural this week and push myself to be at least a little productive. 

Time to go do some more walking around a local park while playing Ingress.

Deloraine - Odin, Havranů Pán (Lord of Ravens) - OFFICIAL VIDEO

Weekly Health 11/4/24

 

Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 360

So I'm up one pound over last week. Not happy about that. But this week has been hard on me. Had a cold or sinus issue, messed with my sleeping on the CPAP. Last night I didn't even make it an hour because I was coughing to much. 

Weight wise I haven't been eating anything bad. But I didn't get out to walk as much due to weather and coughing. So I'm assuming that's part of it. 

Mental health is in the toilet as well. I've always had huge issues with 'imposter syndrome' with anything I work on. It's why I never finish hardly anything or just stop working on things I am getting done. That hit hard this week as well. 

Just a bad week. Hopefully. Next week we'll see if it's a trend. 

Only War Tabletop Terrain

 

One of the great things about working at a game shop is meeting lots of other gamers. Thankfully for me, most of the time it's a good thing. Especially when you see some of them really moving into the hobby and becoming creators.

Bud and Terry are two such folks. They met each other playing Warhammer 40k and quickly became great friends. Now they are in business together making some high end 3D printed terrain for tabletop wargames. Most of it with a Warhammer theme and feel.  

You can find them at their website, on Instagram and Facebook.

I enjoy talking with these guys every time they come into the shop. Although I've only got to hang out and talk to them a little bit while not on the clock. Someday that will happen more often I hope. 

But check out their growing business. It's pretty awesome. 

Weekly Health 10/28/24

 

Starting weight: 362

Weigh in this week: 359

Getting more used to the CPAP but it's still an issue. Couple of nights went really well. Last night was rough but I also had a cough from allergies pumping up a bit because of the fall season settling in here really well and leaves dropping. 

Haven't gotten as much walking in as I had hoped. Been a busy week doing some other stuff. No other medicine changes, issues, or doctor visits to mention. Just working slow and steady towards cutting my weight down and doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Playtesting Credit my group has gotten

 

My current group has gotten some playtest credit. Some of them it was their first time and for others, and me, it's been many years. But hey we got it done. So a big shout out to Tyler, Lori, Jason, Niki and Zach. One of the best groups I've had in a really long time.

The top one is from the Shadow Scar Starter Kit from R. Talsorian Games. The bottom one is for Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn also from R. Talsorian Games. 

It was a great pleasure actually getting the chance to do something for that company. I've been a fan of their stuff since the very early nineties. At one point or the other I've probably owned almost everything they've published. Although some 'vanished' from my collection and others I sold off when rent needed to be paid. But my Cyberpunk material I've always kept.

Now playtesting a new game with an all new system was really cool. Hopefully it really catches on and sells like hotcakes. Can't wait until the next assignment. 

My health issues

 I really need to start working on getting more healthy. Ever since my stint with Covid that landed me on a ventilator my body has been going down hill a lot. I've always been overweight, but my doctor was always surprised that when they did tests I came back really well. Now, however, that is not the case. Everything has has gone downhill pretty fast over the last couple of years and my weight has gone up.

Currently I'm on medications for my Thyroid and for Cholesterol, daily aspirin because my blood is naturally thick, and 2000 IU of vitamin D daily. Just started using a CPAP for sleep apnea. My blood pressure is still relatively decent so they haven't started me on anything for that. My sugar level is all over the place though. So I'm working on cutting that back via diet before medication.

I also have back problems. Had a bulging disc that was never taken care of, pain in my right hip, my right shoulder has arthritis setting in from an injury. So lots of fun stuff there.

My weight is 362. That's a big problem. 

So I've started cutting back on what I eat and trying to get out and walk more each day. Will be doing more as I can and doing weekly updates here. 

The CPAP has been hard for me this first week of using it. A bit of anxiety from having been on a vent before. Having medical equipment strapped to my face and a feeling that my air flow is restricted is not a fun things for me. But I'm getting better and more used to it. 

So here is the start to getting healthy.

Skinny Puppy - Pro-test (The Greater Wrong Of The Right Live)

FAUN - BLOT (Official Video)

How Effective are Exploding Slugs and Coinshot?

I've known many a gamer over the years who insist that all those specialty shotgun rounds are amazing and do great things. Therefore they should get all sorts of bonuses for using them. Well guess what. Yeah they ain't all that. 

Members of the Guard webpage

 

Well I've started work on trying to get one of my old homebrew ideas up and fully running into a stand alone game. So to do so I've decided to go with a route that brings me joy and nostalgia and sat up an old fashioned webpage over on NeoCities. Learning HTML again was actually kind of fun surprisingly. 

I'm taking my old 'Question of Faith' setting and morphing it into a more defining title of "Members of the Guard". Then slowly pulling bits and pieces I have scattered all over into that one central location. You can find that webpage RIGHT HERE if you are interested. 

Also threw a Ko-Fi link at the bottom and a link to my Truly Rural Productions facebook page on there as well. Hopefully this will gain a little bit of momentum once I get to set down with my group and do some actual playtesting. 

Any questions feel free to drop them into the comments here. 

Karliene - Not Our Day to Die

Netflix x CDPR x Cyberpunk | Special Announcement | Netflix

RPGaDAY 2024 - Day Twenty One

 

Classic Campaign.

I'm going to go with a premade campaign, not one of my own invention. Mine usually fall apart part of the way through and things just don't work out. But this one had some really good moments in there. It's Land of the Free for Cyberpunk 2020. Now I have the actual boxed set, not the all in book form reprint. So all the big map is there, the props and hand outs, it's really a nicely done little kit. 

This takes you on a great ride across the United States of 2020 from New York, across the Appalachian territory, down to the gulf, up to Texas and then finally to Night City. So you get much more of a feel of what life is like all across the very changed landscape the the cyberpunk future. Now the Home of the Brave sourcebook is great to have with this if just for the amount of extra details you can get for the various regions. Really helpful when the party strays off course a little. 

Two thumbs up, highly recommened. 

RPGaDAY 2024 - Day Twenty

 

Amazing Adventure.

The entire line of adventures from the original edition of Twilight 2000. They were absolutely great to play through. Had everything you needed and were fun. They are a bit 'railroad' style by today's standard. But back then they were simply amazing. 

RPGaDAY 2024 - Day Nineteen

 

Sensation Session. 

For this one I'm going to actually link to another post on my blog. My current campaign with the Squad Who Can't Catch A Break and all their shenanigans. A few games into the Land of the Free boxed campaign set for Cyberpunk 2020 and things break loose pretty quick. This session was so much fun from beginning to end. It's also why the entire party of characters is wanted by the Appalachian government. Pretty much war crimes on the freeway of flames. One of those times where I shook my head and wondered why the hell did I ever give Brick a flame thrower. 

Yeah those were good time. Some of those character are still, surprisingly, still in play. 

RPGaDAY 2024 - Day Eighteen

 

Memorable moment of play.

Many years ago, in a Twilight 2000 game. I'm playing my Captain who is a tanker and has the nickname 'Captain Cornbread'. Trekking our way across Europe and we get in a heavy fight. The tank I'm takes a pretty heavy hit and we do all the checking for armor, ablative armor, etc and it rocks my characters world pretty hard. However when the big hit was rolled on me another player at the table yelled out over coms "Oh hell we got fried cornbread now!". 

That derailed everything for a moment. But it really made that instance so much memorable. 

RPGaDAY 2024 - Day Seventeen

 

An engaging RPG community. 

I've spent the last year slowly pushing back into gaming communities online. I fell out of them for a while, some due to burnout, partially because of assholes I got tired of dealing with and also because platforms closed up and people kept moving around. 

So far I've found a lot of luck over on Bluesky and the Mastodon server dice.camp. Both of which have some really good solid gaming folks on there. Also I started finally messing around on Discord, something I had been avoiding like the plague. It's hit and miss for me still but I can see the allure. 

Now I'm not going to mention my negative community encounters on here because I think this should be a more positive thing. Hope you all have some great online circles that you fit into well.