Ascending Crane
First Post
The TV, once static – now shows a blue seven in a circle on a white background. Typical news music plays softly. At the bottom of the screen, text appears:
[SIMULCAST IN ELVISH]
The camera pans across the news studio, where two talking heads in expensive suits sit, shuffling a pile of paper in front of them. The man is older, with a professional touch of gray in his hair at the temples. The woman, obviously a half-elf, appears younger and far more demographically appealing to 18-26 year old males. The man nods and begins to speak as the camera focuses on him.
“Good evening, I’m Charles Patterson.” Quick cut to the woman, her slightly pointed ears powdered for the camera. “… And I’m Carin Greenmeadows.” Back to Charles, who now wears his ever-present grim smile. “And this is the Los Angeles evening news.”
“President Aaronson spoke out today against the war brewing between Thay and Cormyr, calling it a, ‘potential tragedy in the making’. He called upon the Thayvian leaders to cease their recent border aggressions and to begin talks. Cormyr, if you recall, started an international firestorm of controversy when it voted to increase the sales and import tax of magical products created in Thay. Here, recent polls show that Thay products are in 75% of American homes. How this might affect our own international policy has been on the minds of many of the world leaders.”
Carin nods sadly at Charles, and faces the camera. “A fire broke out earlier yesterday morning at Dodger stadium, causing an estimated three million dollars worth of damage. The fire was quickly contained by the LA Fire Department, but sources close to the investigation state that it appears to have been arson, magically set. This is the third such incident in a month. As reported last week, Grauman’s Kara-Tur Theater was also the victim of arson, although the damage there was minimal, and there are no suspects. We’ll keep you updated as the investigation continues.”
The camera switches back to Charles, who now has an upbeat smile in place. “In entertainment news, the music artist known as Storm has recently released a new CD, and already the first single, “Tears of Sylune” has hit number one on the billboard charts. Fans stood outside of Twisted Tower Records overnight, braving 60 degree temperatures – all to be the first to have Storm’s newest.
“After the break, the latest on the supreme court ruling that states the Cult of the Dragon will not be allowed to apply for tax exempt status….”
The screen fills once more with the circled seven, and then fades….
******
Welcome to the Forgotten Realms of America, a PBP game I shall be starting as soon as I have five good and dependable players. I’m using the d20 Modern rules – mixed with the magic of the Urban Arcana campaign and blended with the Forgotten Realms world.
Your characters should be the type typically found in our modern age – students, police officers, day laborers. But this is a world that has magic – so students can study conjuring at UCLA, the LAPD carry silvered longswords because the Crips are lycanthropes, and day laborers are usually downtrodden orcs and half-orcs. And let’s not forget that that President Kevin Aaronson is not only a world leader, but a powerful mage (trained at the Harvard School of Thaumaturgy, of course).
Please be advised that I am not sticking to 100% canon Forgotten Realms. That would be a near impossibility! So you will see many things that are similar, but subtly different. The game will be serious, for the most part – although it may occasionally mock the realms, ourselves, and perhaps our own world.
Specific rules for the game will be forthcoming, once I see if there is any interest!
[SIMULCAST IN ELVISH]
The camera pans across the news studio, where two talking heads in expensive suits sit, shuffling a pile of paper in front of them. The man is older, with a professional touch of gray in his hair at the temples. The woman, obviously a half-elf, appears younger and far more demographically appealing to 18-26 year old males. The man nods and begins to speak as the camera focuses on him.
“Good evening, I’m Charles Patterson.” Quick cut to the woman, her slightly pointed ears powdered for the camera. “… And I’m Carin Greenmeadows.” Back to Charles, who now wears his ever-present grim smile. “And this is the Los Angeles evening news.”
“President Aaronson spoke out today against the war brewing between Thay and Cormyr, calling it a, ‘potential tragedy in the making’. He called upon the Thayvian leaders to cease their recent border aggressions and to begin talks. Cormyr, if you recall, started an international firestorm of controversy when it voted to increase the sales and import tax of magical products created in Thay. Here, recent polls show that Thay products are in 75% of American homes. How this might affect our own international policy has been on the minds of many of the world leaders.”
Carin nods sadly at Charles, and faces the camera. “A fire broke out earlier yesterday morning at Dodger stadium, causing an estimated three million dollars worth of damage. The fire was quickly contained by the LA Fire Department, but sources close to the investigation state that it appears to have been arson, magically set. This is the third such incident in a month. As reported last week, Grauman’s Kara-Tur Theater was also the victim of arson, although the damage there was minimal, and there are no suspects. We’ll keep you updated as the investigation continues.”
The camera switches back to Charles, who now has an upbeat smile in place. “In entertainment news, the music artist known as Storm has recently released a new CD, and already the first single, “Tears of Sylune” has hit number one on the billboard charts. Fans stood outside of Twisted Tower Records overnight, braving 60 degree temperatures – all to be the first to have Storm’s newest.
“After the break, the latest on the supreme court ruling that states the Cult of the Dragon will not be allowed to apply for tax exempt status….”
The screen fills once more with the circled seven, and then fades….
******
Welcome to the Forgotten Realms of America, a PBP game I shall be starting as soon as I have five good and dependable players. I’m using the d20 Modern rules – mixed with the magic of the Urban Arcana campaign and blended with the Forgotten Realms world.
Your characters should be the type typically found in our modern age – students, police officers, day laborers. But this is a world that has magic – so students can study conjuring at UCLA, the LAPD carry silvered longswords because the Crips are lycanthropes, and day laborers are usually downtrodden orcs and half-orcs. And let’s not forget that that President Kevin Aaronson is not only a world leader, but a powerful mage (trained at the Harvard School of Thaumaturgy, of course).
Please be advised that I am not sticking to 100% canon Forgotten Realms. That would be a near impossibility! So you will see many things that are similar, but subtly different. The game will be serious, for the most part – although it may occasionally mock the realms, ourselves, and perhaps our own world.
Specific rules for the game will be forthcoming, once I see if there is any interest!
