Wire Run - An Introduction to Clarion

Wire Run - An Introduction to Clarion

Clarion was always a main event at the Silver Rings. It was impossible not to be. So many were initially won over by her striking looks, her casual confidence, her daring clothing, and her mystery. And if they weren’t won over by that, they were won over after they watched her fight. Brutality was the currency of the Rings, and Clarion had that in spades. “Shadowrunner” They whispered to her ghost, but never to her. She was a kind of impervious down here.

The arena smelled of cheap soy beer, greasy food, and sweat. Stank of a kind of iron that was never cleaned, a musk of those who worked a grind beneath hope.

A swaggering Foreign-born Oni was her opponent tonight. Shipped in from Thailand somewhere, the 300kg musclebound brute was almost her height again taller. But smart, too. Smarter than her other opponents. He stood careful, easy, an appraising look. There was no leering male sneer, and he did not pander to the crowd. This Oni understood, if he was to be paid so much for this fight, there was a reason, and she was it.

Clarion warmed up, bouncing lightly in her boots, eyes laughing at the way jaws dropped open and drool spilled onto concrete. They wanted her, and could never touch her.

“Kāishǐ!” Roars the announcer, and lights dip low.

Life - Falling Out

Life - Falling Out

You asked me once. To not share my writing with you anymore. It was too heavy, it hurt too much. It was too emotional for you.

So I stopped.

I never mentioned my writing to you again.

But I did not cease.

Choice - Silent

Choice - Silent

Do me a favor.

When you see posts of people fighting against racism, calling out discrimination, or even just being brave, forthright and honest...

Don't be silent.

Tell them "I see you. I hear you. Thank you." Even DM them, if you don't feel you can post that publically.

Don't be silent.

We hear that silence.

I'm still hearing that silence, more than a week later.

I've been hearing that silence my entire life.

Life - Culture and Games

Life - Culture and Games

I've been thinking and writing a lot of late about the intersection of culture and games. It has been a lasting series of thoughts upon which I have many ideas.

I've been working on Wire Run, my latest universe on and off for years. This is our second foray into it for the RPG table. This 'campaign', I have been working on for about 6 months. During my time creating it the first time, I spent a lot of time building my own lore. Basically taking what was existing, and doing my best to both remove problematic parts of what I perceive as being at odds with a modern Sci-Fi, and also laying foundation work for a sandbox world to play in.

That first campaign was set in Vancouver, about 60 years into the future. It was easy. From a design perspective, it was a simple crutch. The players were familiar with the locations, if not the history. They understood the geography, the places, the people. They know what it means to live in a slum section on the lower East Side. They know what the travel time is between Downtown and North Van. They have a cultural appreciation for what it means to live in Surrey, vs Kits.

It was so easy.