Messages

1

RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: January 25, 2014, 10:04:01 AM »

Frozen trees in the snow: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/wired-aperture/2012-08/aperture-1-august

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: January 15, 2014, 07:27:13 AM »

Now for something completely different. Bacterial archaeology: http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-cholera-mysteriously-disappeared-1.14490

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: January 11, 2014, 09:24:18 AM »

Cool photos: http://www.weather.com/news/science/haunting-photos-ice-covered-buildings-20140107

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: January 07, 2014, 02:14:21 PM »

It sure is a good thing that strange, lost geographical features don't resurface, and unleash great evil upon the world in real life.

Oh wait.

Related, for those of you not in the know, the clonal colony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonal_colony

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: January 07, 2014, 02:07:22 PM »

Nothing horrible will result from this!  Nothing at all...  #wtfJapan

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9BT00520131230?feedType=RSS&irpc=932

I'm glad that someone posted this. I've been very lax on collecting fodder. I need to get back to it.

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: June 22, 2013, 09:47:00 AM »

Sanzhi UFO houses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanzhi_UFO_houses

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: June 18, 2013, 07:28:07 AM »

Carbon fiber elevator ropes may make incredibly tall skyscrapers possible: http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21579437-new-lightweight-lift-cable-will-let-buildings-soar-ever-upward-other?utm_source=feedly

Lighter, stronger ropes mean the main limiting factor in constructing higher skyscrapers would become the cost, says Antony Wood, an architect at the Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago. Dr Wood is also executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which, among other things, lists the official heights of skyscrapers. At present the tallest is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which was completed in 2010 and, at 828 metres, shot past the previous record-holder, the 508-metre Taipei 101 tower. The Mecca Royal Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia, completed in 2012, is now, at 601 metres, the second-tallest. The Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan, built near the site of the World Trade Centre’s twin towers (417 metres and 415 metres) that were destroyed by al-Qaeda in 2001, had its spire added in May to reach 541 metres. But work has now started on the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Its exact proposed height is still a secret, but it will be at least a kilometre.

With a big enough budget it would, says Dr Wood, now be possible to build a mile-high (1,600-metre) skyscraper. Even with carbon-fibre ropes few of such a building’s lifts would go all the way from the entrance lobby to the observation deck. Most would debouch into intermediate sky lobbies, where passengers could change lifts (not least because a mile-high lift which seemed to stop on every other floor would not be popular; it would be unutterably tedious and might force the poor souls on board to make eye contact).

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: June 13, 2013, 07:34:12 AM »

A giant stick insect, the tree lobster: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years?sc=fb&cc=fp

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: June 13, 2013, 06:50:07 AM »

I see this thread has been going strong in my absence, so I'll have to up my game. Atlas Obscura may be my new favorite website:

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-grotesques-of-chapelle-de-bethlehem

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-museum-of-witchcraft-boscastle-cornwall

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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Fortunes of War - the RPPR Iron Heroes campaign

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:24:34 PM »

So I absolutely love the concept and background of this campaign, a few questions though.

Why the decision to use the Iron Heroes rules, and I suppose this follow up could serve for a topic on your podcast, what makes you want to try certain systems?

The description and some of your mechanics are incredibly similar to one of my personal favorite games L5R, and with some tweaking I could see all the PCs as ronin thrust into similar scenarios having to follow various armies into war with foreign lands, each member trying to comete for specific markets.

Any chance of you coming to an east coast con to run a game...please?

I ran an Iron Heroes campaign way back in 2005 that was incredibly fun for everyone involved. Since then, I wanted to run one more IH campaign.

I should try to to go the east coast again. Once Base Raiders is out, I'll look at my options. Ah, the life of a freelancer - it's all feast or famine

The 2005 IH was the absolute best game I've ever been in. It's such a shame that it didn't get recorded. Somewhere out there there is a soulless hunter still searching for a way to get a new soul.

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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)

« on: May 22, 2013, 06:46:43 PM »

If the adventure features a whale I demand it also features a bowl of petunias 

"Oh, no, not again."

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RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: May 22, 2013, 01:20:46 PM »

Machete attack in London. Something that needs followed: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/22/police-respond-serious-incident-woolwich

Live feed: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/22/woolwich-two-shot-in-police-incident-live-coverage

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General Chaos / Re: Image Thread

« on: May 21, 2013, 07:46:15 PM »

Just over four years ago, I posted about the painting that someone had hung up in my office and how I had left the painting hanging on the wall. The original post is here.

I've deleted my old Photobucket account, so here is the painting again:



Today, I packed up my office because I'm leaving academia for a software company. I took the painting with me...

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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)

« on: May 21, 2013, 05:50:52 PM »

I'm so changing my log on to XxXSpaceWhalezXxX.

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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)

« on: May 20, 2013, 06:19:59 PM »

It will definitely feature space whales

Better not... I was told to stop people before they space whale tail again!

Fixed that for you.