Wire Run - Wreck

Wire Run - Wreck

Breathe in.

Breathe out. 

Breath in. 

Breathe out.

Breathe.

Stop. The last glimmering rays of a setting sun over the mountains. Refracted light bounces off steel and glass, these fading whispers of daytime, giving way to the neon shine of halogenic LED and false cathode crackle.

Stop.

Wire Run - Protest

Wire Run - Protest

"They deserved better." Were words found graffitied on a concrete wall beneath the overpass in the rain. And the words were true, red paint stain running down into a black drain.

But truth did not justice make.

Games - Language

Games - Language

I was asked during a game of Wire Run about how a player might instantly learn a language. There are provisos for it before. In Shadowrun, a player could download a langsoft, that is, a digital encyclopedic knowledge of a language (they are expensive) and in Matrix-esque "I know Kung Fu", simply immediately be aware. Heck, even in basic D&D a sorcerer or wizard can cast Comprehend Languages and simply be done with it.

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 - 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.

Wire Run - An Introduction to Starburst

Wire Run - An Introduction to Starburst

Two claps. The Widow raises her hands and the room, boisterous and filled with clatter and laughter falls to stillness. Her voice calls out, “Granddaughter! I have a task for you!”

Eyes dart nervously around, hands drop to waists.

They don’t see her coming.

Starburst takes two quick steps, and she vaults the railing. She falls completely soundlessly. She lands less so. Her heavy boots crash right through the plastic gaming table, drinks fly, tiles clatter across the stone floor. The players wisely keep their expressions to surprise or shock, and not anger. One young ork gangster almost rises, a protest on his lips.

But the fingers of her left hand trail his jawline, almost unconsciously, and his eyes roll back in his head.

She walks the room, unmindful of the staring eyes on her form. Ascends the stairs, and pushes aside the beaded curtain, curious about these strangers. These newcomers.

About what they want.

And who they are.

Thoughts - Neon City

Thoughts - Neon City

I like exploring places I shouldn't go. In the neon glow of Richmond and accompanied by the sounds of falling rain on concrete, I climb up steel barricades and hop down the other side. Wandering the darkness of iron and sleek chrome cars that pass me by unerring on their journey to meaningless destinations.

Usually I have music, but tonight the silence is company well enough. She's the best kind, the kind that doesn't ask me if I'm alright, or if I feel okay. She stays true her namesake, and dances around me, mirthless. Save the wind, the rain, and far away some other voices in another language.

I think that the nighttime glow of Richmond reminds me of the Ninsei City. Of Chrome and grime, the smells of humans and the feeling of dying dreams. I think it reminds me of a time and a place I'll never see, but long for as though it were home.