Real-Life Weirdness

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

You've never heard an expert in a reasonably new field of technology claim that nothing can go wrong before?

"This ship is completely unsinkable." (RMS Titanic)

"No commander would be heartless enough to have his soldiers charge an emplacement protected by such a weapon, which will bring an end to warfare." (the Gatling Gun)

"It is impossible for the Americans to have sufficient material for a second bomb." (Hiroshima/Nagasaki)

"Administering treatment to Nelson Mandela to prevent him from succumbing to his tuberculosis cannot possibly result in a Reality Quake." (FNORD)

I'll also note that this wasn't the first time two trains had a head-on collision for purposes of a spectacle, it was just a notable one due to both the scale of the spectacle and the fact it went horribly wrong.

[Varyon]

So most likely a very elaborate April Fool's Day prank, but certainly an interesting idea - Forgotten Weapons has an article (with two videos, one by Ian and one by a co-conspirator by the name of Jackson Crawford) about an early discovery by Vikings of gunpowder, and further posit that the mysterious atgeir wasn't a spear at all, but rather an early firearm. I've only watched Ian's video so far, but it's convincing enough that I didn't think to check the publication date until at the end of the video where they act as though Ian has accidentally shot a sheep who wandered onto the range while testing his "reproduction" of an atgeir.
(In fact, I started writing this post before I realized it was a prank, so I had to go back and rewrite it once I thought to check the date)

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Varyon

So most likely a very elaborate April Fool's Day prank . . .

It is, as admitted in a follow-up video.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Varyon

So most likely a very elaborate April Fool's Day prank, but certainly an interesting idea - Forgotten Weapons has an article (with two videos, one by Ian and one by a co-conspirator by the name of Jackson Crawford)
...
(In fact, I started writing this post before I realized it was a prank, so I had to go back and rewrite it once I thought to check the date)

Both Ian and Jackson had a heap of hilarious hints in both of their videos
My favourite is the Icelandic expert who's comments in Icelandic are subtitled as being supportive. Thing is, said expert can both speak fluent English, and the subtitles did not match what he was actually saying which was basically calling the whole idea as hogwash.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by johndallman

It is, as admitted in a follow-up video.

Yeah, I watched some of that after posting. Great stuff.

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Both Ian and Jackson had a heap of hilarious hints in both of their videos
My favourite is the Icelandic expert who's comments in Icelandic are subtitled as being supportive. Thing is, said expert can both speak fluent English, and the subtitles did not match what he was actually saying which was basically calling the whole idea as hogwash.

The fact he was immediately like "Oh, this is great and wonderful and smart and handsome" in the subtitles was suspicious, but - not being someone who speaks Icelandic or is familiar with any part of that family of languages - I chalked that up to the clip where Ian introduces the idea being staged (that is, they'd already discussed it so the guy was familiar with the concept, and then were like "You know, for this video it would be great if we had a scene where Ian introduces the idea to you," and the expert wound up not being a very good actor). I really should have caught on when he stated they got the nitrates from the antifreeze-shark, but his verbal sleight of hand (sleight of tongue? that sounds... off) of just talking about "nitrates" to conceal that the nitrates in the shark and the nitrates in black powder are different substances. I've not watched Jackson's video; apparently he went a bit ham-heavy, but having not seen any of his videos in the past, I may have just assumed that was his style.

It was a well-made prank, and if nobody runs a game with firearm-equipped Vikings, I will be disappointed.

[cptbutton]

Russian T-90 Tank From Ukraine Mysteriously Appears At U.S. Truck Stop

The folks at Peto’s Travel Center and Casino in Roanoke, Louisiana see all kinds of vehicles pull up, but Tuesday night was different. What ended up in their parking is certainly something of a mystery, to say the least.

Someone left a Russian T-90A tank, which open source intelligence (OSINT) trackers say was captured by Ukraine last fall, on a trailer after the truck hauling it broke down and pulled into this truck stop off U.S. Interstate 10. An employee at Peto's and the individual who first posted the images on Reddit shared them with The War Zone.

Sounds like something PCs would do. Maybe the GM didn't start enforcing encumbrance rules until halfway through the scenario?

[Dr. Beckenstein]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

Russian T-90 Tank From Ukraine Mysteriously Appears At U.S. Truck Stop

Man, this Ukrainian Tractors really keep on going.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

...Sounds like something PCs would do. Maybe the GM didn't start enforcing encumbrance rules until halfway through the scenario?

"OK, somehow you've managed to somehow smuggle a MBT out of an active warzone, making perfect rolls for your bribery and intimidation skills.
You all survived the ocean crossing, even if the cyborg sharks with lasers did mess up the ship.

So... deal with it. You've got a tank stuck in the boondocks. Roll to find a replacement prime mover for the towing rig."

[L.J.Steele]

FBI newsletter warning about violent extremists pretending to be mere LARPers.

https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/feature...lent-extremism

I really don't know what to say...

This part is demonstrably false...
Relationship with Law Enforcement

Role players will not discuss law enforcement concerns on social media or provide guidance to each other if confronted by an officer. Also, they will have no demonstrated interest in criminal cases involving claims of LARP.

I've had talks with SCAdians and other folks about legal ownership and transport of edged weapons and what to do when stopped by police.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Roll to find a replacement prime mover for the towing rig.

"I saw a rig that could haul that tank. Er, if you want to get out of here, you talk to me."