Thursday, February 28, 2013

Inner City Blues

Weird Adventures presents the City and it’s world in the year 5888, an era of automobiles, machine guns, and jazz.  Of course, that’s not the only age when there’s adventure to be had:


About thirty-five years in the future, the City is again seeing hard times. A  grinding war continues with Red Lemuria. Political scandal and public corruption has eroded trust in institutions. The aging subway trains are covered with graffiti. Solace is full of abandoned buildings, crime, drugs, and poverty. The Circus, once the brightly lit crossroads of the world, is now the home of sleazy grindhouses and a haven for pimps, hookers, and drug pushers.

The reputation of thaumaturgy has suffered just like other traditional institutions. Murderous gurus, scandals involving sex rituals, and scam artists have led to the thaumaturgic arts being viewed unsavory and dangerous by the masses, and old-fashion and hokey by the counter-culture.

There are still adventurers, though--and more than ever they're quasi-outlaws sticking it to the Fat Cats and the Establishment. Most of the dungeons have been cleaned out, but there are plenty of treasures in the hands of the wealthy. And there are always monsters--just now some of them sit in positions of power.

Foes: thrill-kill cult gurus, street gangs, the decadent wealthy with secrets to hide, corrupt cops and politicians, the Hell Syndicate.


Media Inspirations: Film/TV: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Enter the Dragon, Kolchak: the Night-Stalker, Shaft, Sugar Hill (1974), To The Devil...A Daughter, The Warriors, Vanishing Point; Books: the works of Dennis Wheatley and Stephen King, the Doctor Orient novels, the Destroyer novels, exploitive seventies nonfiction about witches and the occult; Comic Books: Night Force, Swamp Thing, Vampire Tales and any of Marvel’s other black and white magazines; Music: Jimmy Page’s unused soundtrack for the film Lucifer Rising. The Shaft and Truck Turner soundtracks by Isaac Hayes, Superfly soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield;  any of Goblin’s music from Argento’s films.

7 comments:

Gus L said...

I can dig it!

Porky said...

That conflict with Lemuria has real potential too and there's no shortage of material to draw on. 'Nam in the World of the future City...

Unknown said...

This is really, really cool.

I play an art director for the Djinn Cigarette company whose involvement with a cult cost him his job, and who may or may not be romantically involved with the wife of a Hell Syndicate boss.

Trey said...

@Gus - Damn right.

@Porky - Yeah, who knows what sort of magical weapons of mass destruction are being used over there.

@Booberry - Thanks--and great idea!

bombasticus said...

Please tell us they have extremely limited time travel capability on either end to allow crossover "bleed."

Justin S. Davis said...

I somehow missed this entry.

But now that I've read it...


...my life is complete.

Seriously, so much evocative stuff here. Thank you.

Trey said...

Glad I could be of help. :)