Real-Life Weirdness

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Imaginary CEO steals imaginary money. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...d-of-identity/

He's not imaginary; he's just already ascended into a metaverse entity, leaving the tawdry mortal coil behind.

[Nicosomething]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Imaginary CEO steals imaginary money. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...d-of-identity/

That's some serious cyberpunk stuff there. Someone check on Neuromancer.

[Johnny1A.2]

Not exactly mysterious or anything, but it is something that you could throw at players in a game that might surprise them:

The floor of Lake Eerie is temporarily revealed...

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Not exactly mysterious or anything, but it is something that you could throw at players in a game that might surprise them:

The floor of Lake Eerie is temporarily revealed...

You misspelled Erie, but in this case it feels appropriate.

[L.J.Steele]

It's a good spoof

https://www.facebook.com/10008911874...tosOL-gB8&_rdr

Washington County Seriff's Office, Maryland

INFORMATION NEEDED: For several nights now, women in dinosaur costumes have been harassing motorists in downtown Hagerstown.
In an unexpected twist to the city's nightlife, a group of enterprising women has taken a bold step back in time, choosing a unique approach to the world's oldest profession. Presenting themselves as dinosaurs, these prehistoric temptresses are rewriting the rules of the oldest game in town – and they're doing it with a roar.

Dubbed the "Dino-Divas," these ladies have traded in stilettos for dinosaur claws and high heels for tails, giving the phrase "Jurassic Park" a whole new meaning in the alleys and dimly lit streets of Hagerstown.
Witnesses report that the Dino-Divas approach vehicles with a certain saurian charm, showcasing their unique selling points – from menacing roars to daintily waving tails. Some drivers have even claimed that these encounters are "extinct-ively" memorable.

The Dino-Divas themselves remain tight-lipped about their motivations. In a statement delivered via pterodactyl messenger, they declared, "We're just trying to bring a little dino-magic to Hagerstown. It's a tough world out there, and everyone could use a little Jurassic joy."

While the city grapples with the unexpected reptilian resurgence, one thing is for sure: these Dino-Divas are giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "prehistoric pick-up." Hagerstown's social scene is officially experiencing a Jurassic jolt, proving that in the world of nightlife, evolution is just a roar away.

If you are able to identify any of these "Dino-Divas" please let us know.

[L.J.Steele]

Cavity Creeps go Cyber

https://cybernews.com/news/toothbrus...-ddos-attacks/

(And the ref for you young'uns out there -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fLTh0IVOkQ)

[Varyon]

Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended.

A man in Georgia, Vermont successfully fended off an attempted home invasion using a muzzleloader, shooting one of the attackers, with the other two running off. Police found the wounded man in the neighbor's back yard; he survived the trip to the hospital and was listed in critical condition (I haven't found any updated version of the story to see if his condition has improved or worsened). A scenario like this would be unlikely to play out in many campaigns - most players and GM's tend to have characters fight tooth and nail to the death, and many game systems lack morale and fog-of-war rules and the like that would cause assailants to retreat in the face of someone who just expended the only shot their weapon had, but as seen here, certainly such a situation could be realistic.

EDIT: For clarity, the title I opted for isn't trying to make any sort of political statement, but rather is a reference to the following copypasta:

Spoiler:  

Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Varyon

... would cause assailants to retreat in the face of someone who just expended the only shot their weapon had, but as seen here, certainly such a situation could be realistic.

The question is if the attackers realised the gun was empty.

I've had a GM in a game fail to remember that a fired muzzleloader is pretty harmless. If that happens in a relatively calm setting where everyone was well aware of the technology, someone who's just seen their fellow-raider shot in a real-life situation might well fail to notice the kind of longarm used.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by johndallman

The question is if the attackers realised the gun was empty.

I've had a GM in a game fail to remember that a fired muzzleloader is pretty harmless. If that happens in a relatively calm setting where everyone was well aware of the technology, someone who's just seen their fellow-raider shot in a real-life situation might well fail to notice the kind of longarm used.

Players might fail to recognize that the weapon has been downgraded to a club, but there's a pretty good chance at least one of them will remember and inform the others. Hence why I mentioned fog-of-war mechanics - if the GM says the character is armed with a muzzleloader and has fired it, the players know the character is no longer as dangerous. If instead the fog-of-war mechanics (like the Situational Awareness rules in GURPS Tactical Shooting) indicate the characters aren't able to identify the weapon (or if they aren't even able to tell the character has a weapon), all they know is that there's been a big blast in their direction, which may cause them to decide "Oh crap, target is armed, run away!" which is probably what happened here (that and being on the receiving end of a shot from a muzzleloader is probably pretty dang frightening - loud bang, a freaking fireball in your face, stinging smoke in your eyes... not exactly my idea of a good time).

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by johndallman

The question is if the attackers realised the gun was empty.

Even if they (firstly) recognized that the gun was a reproduction musket rather than a reproduction Winchester repeating rifle and (secondly) kept cool enough heads under fire to remember how long it takes to reload one, I would argue that retreating was simple good sense. Are you going to bet your life that the kind of person who keeps antique firearms around doesn't have more than one?