Arcane Underground

Everything Is Falling Apart

matthewgrau@cthulhutech.com — 2008-11-12T20:09:28-08:00

Here's a peek at one of the minor plots from the Damnation View:

"Crime is something that will never be gone from the world. People will always want something someone else has without having to work for it, they will carry anger and hate in their hearts, and they will see the value in profiting from providing contraband things. It wasn’t long after the earliest civilizations formed that the first criminals started to break the first laws.

The New Earth Government does pretty well when it comes to policing crimes, especially given that there are many new crimes the likes of which mortals have never had to deal. The kinds of crimes that affect the lives of everyday people are the kinds that the NEG is particularly good at managing. Thefts, burglaries, drug related offenses, and assault don’t happen with the alarming frequency that they once did. Street crime, as it is often referred to, is something that is not the threat it once was.

Or at least it hasn’t been, until now. In an effort to destabilize a teetering society, the Disciples of Death’s Shadow have decided to help bring back street crime in a big way. Over the course of 2086, things are going to get worse for citizens of the New Earth Government in ways they weren’t expecting."

Sneak Peek: Technology

matthewgrau@cthulhutech.com — 2008-11-10T21:03:24-08:00

Okay, so here's a sample from the Damnation View pop culture section on Technology. There's been some confusion around PCPU's and people have had a hell of a time saying that acronym, so here's something to help out.

Technology
PCPU’s are a part of everyday life and one of the most popular consumer electronic devices every year. Unfortunately named by engineers, the PCPU has come to be known as a “peek.”

Imagine Technologies, a quietly owned subsidiary of the Ashcroft Foundation, has distinguished themselves as the company to watch where peeks are concerned. This year sees two fabulous releases. The first is the iPeek, the long awaited hand-held device. It is the cutting edge of everything peek related and stylishly designed to boot. The device is about the size of a hand-held notepad and only a few millimeters thick, with massive computing power. Downloadable software applications make it so that the iPeek does pretty much anything a consumer needs it to. They are the “it” thing as far as Peeks go. Their other offering is the new iWatch, a peek the size of a medium-sized watch. The iWatch can be placed on a surface and has built in HIU functionality, making it the most useful peek of its category. While not as powerful as the iPeek, it is more portable and harder to lose.

Imagine Technologies’ primary competitor in the marketplace is Micrologic, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chrysalis Corporation. Micrologic, trying to pretend they are not behind the curve, releases their new peek, the Pocket Peek. It is neither stylishly designed nor as powerful as the iPeek, but the massive marketing campaign and lower price-point make it a competitive offering.

In the Thick of It

matthewgrau@cthulhutech.com — 2008-11-06T14:25:21-08:00

I've been so in the thick of writing the Damnation View that I haven't even thought to post about it. Let's at least cover a few of the basics.

The book is slated to be released for the GAMA Trade Show in April '09 and will be 128 pages. We haven't decided whether or not it's hard or softcover yet, but I would prefer hardcover. I don't have a price for it yet, either, but I suspect it'll be around $35 (but don't quote me on that).

This is the first of our story books, introducing the epic CthulhuTech metaplot. It advances the storyline of the setting and covers the big events of 2086, as well as taking a look at pop culture trends. It contains four major plots, two of which are designed for NEG military games and two of which are designed for law enforcement, arcane underground, or Eldritch Society games. However, I'm writing sections about how to weave Characters into pretty much any of the plots, so you can play whatever you want. There are also four minor plots that get 5 or 6 pages each that add some interesting texture to your game and can be used as subplots or shorter stories. Additionally, there is a section discussing pop culture, including cars, tech, movies, music, and fashion.

That's enough for today. I want to talk more about this, so I'll save myself some topics. :)

Back & Soon

matthewgrau@cthulhutech.com — 2008-09-22T20:47:59-07:00

I am back from my varying travels and I am finishing up the new edition of Dark Passions. I will be starting on hardcore Damnation View development next week.

Not Coming This Summer

matthewgrau@cthulhutech.com — 2008-07-31T18:43:28-07:00

With the switch in publishers and the re-release of the Core Book and new release of Vade Mecum (and the pending re-release of Dark Passions), it's not really feasible for us to release the Damnation View as well. We'd just be flooding the market. At least with the way things are rolling out, CthulhuTech will finally be regularly printed and in-stock, building a solid base for the Damnation View next Spring.

I am already writing the book. Hell, it was outlined two years ago, so it's just a question of finally getting down on paper what's already been rolling around my head. The only book I wish we could release first would be Ancient Enemies, because the metamorphosis rules could come in really handy in the Eldritch Society plot-line. But no matter, you'll be able to get by without it.

Development on the book has stopped for the moment because of the publisher switch and both Comic Con and Gen Con. Then I go to Burning Man (my 8th year in a row). I'll start in again in early September and I'm sure I'll have more to say about it then.