Brace Yourself!

November is coming!

Yep, NaNoWriMo is just over two months away.  I should at least start figuring out what I want to write.  I have a few possibilities right now, but nothing certain.  I'd create a poll, but I'm not likely to stick to the results.  Maybe if there's a request and it's not binding.  Let me know.

I do have a few possibilities already.  I'll present them in no particular order, with the parts I have figured out and the parts that I need to fill in before November.

Shadows of Tukayyid A BattleTech story, most likely done as a series of novels and novellas.  I've been in the mood for giant stompy mecha action thanks to reviewing Pacific Rim: The Black.  BattleTech is based on giant stompy mecha shooting and stomping each other.  The story will happen after the Clan Invasion is stopped after the Battle of Tukayyid and features two veterans of the fight.  The first is former ComStar Adept Joanna Kirk, pilot of a Black Knight, and Rebecca, a former Clan Ghost Bear freeborn MechWarrior, as they join a Free Worlds League mercenary unit that is looking to expand with pilots with experience fighting the Clans.  The first mission is forming in my head, and other missions are starting to come together.  I need to figure out other pilots in the lance and the mercenary company, though they are supporting cast.

The Courier  Initially conceived as a gender-flipped version of The Transporter, because why not, it's starting to get inspirations from Gunpowder Milkshake.  Maybe not the sisterhood of assassins based in a library, but the creation of connections between family who haven't really spoken to each other.  The main characters are Courtney, the courier, and her niece, Amy, who lives with her aunt after the death of her parents a few years prior.  The base plot is worked out, as is the rough map of where they're going.  The story should be a novel and could lead into a series if wanted.

Streetwise Valkyries I've mentioned the Valkyries before.  There's two possibilities to go with.  One is working on a few stories in the same vein as Subject 13 and I do have a few plots in mind for that.  The other potential is a crossover with Subject 13, turning Nasty into the Spider-Man or the Wolverine of the setting.  I have ideas for the crossover, so time will tell here.

Untitled Shadowrun story  I have a character idea for Shadowrun that dates back to the first edition, an elven decker who lost her parents during the Night of Rage and was subsequently taken into safety in the Ork Underground.  I've updated the character with each edition, but I never rebooted her.  Instead, I've aged her with the setting.  A recent edition, fifth, I think, had me realize that her career arc and mine were similar.  Ignoring that Skater's career has been mostly illegal and mine has been strictly legal, we've both gone through a number of major tech changes during our careers.  This gives me the hook I needed for an idea I've been playing with, and I do have the rest of the team worked out.  The first story might be novel length; follow ups could be serialized.

This isn't all the ideas, just the most prominent.  There's always a chance that a different story pops up and demands my attention, like The Elf's Prisoner had.  However, chances are good one of these will be chosen.

Mandatory cat photo (model is Jewel, photo by author)

Friday, Lost in Translation continues at Psycho Drive-In.

Saturday, Lost in Translation can be found at The Seventh Sanctum.

Cyberpunk 2020 v Shadowrun - Intro

Something I've been meaning to try for a while is creating similar characters in the top cyberpunk RPGs from the 80s.  Cyberpunk 2020 is getting noticed again thanks to Cyberpunk 2077 while Shadowrun recently had its sixth edition released.  Let's see how similar characters compare.

There are a few ground rules.  The first, no magic.  Cyberpunk 2020 does not have magic.  That means, all characters will be human,  There's just no getting around it.  Second, the characters have to be viable in both games.  That shouldn't be an issue, but some of the roles in 2020 don't quite work in Shadowrun.  Third, gear needs to be equivalent.  This is going to be the tough one.  I can't go by costs; the two games use a different base of reference.  Instead of going by costs, I'll be going by rough equivalence - a heavy pistol is a heavy pistol in both games.  The same goes with cybernetics; enhanced reflexes are done differently in the two games but are still enhanced reflexes.  Finally, core games only.  No supplements, at least mechanically.

What does that leave me?  My plan is to use ideas from cyberpunk novels.  Character types like the Street Samurai and the Hacker, both from Neuromancer, a combat driver, loosely based off Cowboy from Hardwired, a combat medic, like Nadia from Trauma Team, and possibly a Rocker, like Priss from Bubblegum Crisis.  Try to tell me either version of Bubblegum Crisis isn't cyberpunk.

Obviously, this will take some time.  Expect the first comparison to be the Street Samurai.  The concept is simple, street muscle with cybernetics.  Until then, chummers and choombas, keep your stick on the ice.

Friday, Lost in Translation continues at Psycho Drive-In.

Saturday, Lost in Translation can be found at The Seventh Sanctum.

Test Run - Sentinel Comics the Roleplaying Game - Time Travelling Ada Lovelace

 A weird idea struck me for Greater Than Games' Sentinel Comics the Roleplaying Game.  I`ll go through the same steps as the last two times, using the directed method that I used with Ringette.