Our Millenium's End game setting

We're playing Millennium's End in a future in which everything that could have gone wrong in our World went wrong, but not that wrong. Here's what our DM sent us.

"Some general information about the World's situation around July 2013:

USA

• Attack in 2011 by domestic terrorists against Obama (he survives but significantly reduces his public appearances, which is seen as a sign of fear and significantly damages the Democratic Party and moderate groups of Republicans who supported him).
• Attack against the Clintons on a visit to Africa. Hilary survives but Bill doesn't. She changes quite dramatically and some people talk of "a new Margaret Thatcher". It has multiple problems with the Obama administration for this but has such popular support that no one dares to remove her.
• Due to both international and local terrorism, and with the support of groups of Democrats who swing towards the Conservatives, the Senate approves the so-called "Patriot Act II" (which essentially revives the original Patriot Act and deepens it in many cases).
• With this move towards conservatism, the growing influence of the "Tea Party" and the vision of a "world war", the 2012 elections are won by Sarah Palin.
• Admiral Eric T. Olson (former commander of USSOCOM) is assigned as SECDEF.
• Admiral William H. McRaven (former commander of JSOC) is assigned as commander of USSOCOM.
• Surprisingly (or not so, as recent years events) Hilary leaves as Secretary of State.

South / Central America

• The "Drug War" continues to intensify in Mexico, Colombia and other countries (tens of thousands of deaths per year, increasing mechanization of the forces on both sides, less U.S. support outside its borders given the global situation).
• Colombia and Venezuela in war "virtual" (Chavez and Uribe remain in power, constant border skirmishes, the use of terrorist groups for "covert" attacks on the other side, special forces raids, numerous attacks on presidents and other military and government figures with varying degrees of success).
• In Cuba, Fidel Castro dies, his brother Raul deepes the reforms with greater openness to the USA but, with the whole world situation, almost no attention is paid to the country in the absence of significant natural resources.
• Indigenous groups in Brazil (possibly supported by foreign extremist environmental groups) get organized and threaten international interests. Because they compromise the investments that are maintaining the growth / stability, they are brutally repressed. Lula (who had managed to maintain power) is having a lot of pressure about this issue and his administration is quite complicated.

Middle East

• Iran's nuclear power plants, both public and secret are raided and destroyed with none being held liable. Despite the official denial, Iran accuses Israeli special forces to have perpetrated the attacks and declares that he will retaliate. Several Iranian missiles are fired at multiple targets in Israel (much of them are stopped by the new generations of Patriots, but some reach their target causing civilian and military casualties).
• Israel responds with air strikes that generate several skirmishes in the air (usually won by Israeli forces considering their superior training) and several bombing raids on Iranian military bases and infrastructure targets.
• What was climbing rapidly to a war is "stopped" by the UN Security Council (supported by the votes of Russia and the USA. They already have too many problems elsewhere to "tolerate" an open war between Israel and Iran which would get boh involved).
• Afghanistan is just as unstable today (U.S. forces remain there, changed a couple of governments but the Taliban / al-Qaida could not be completely eliminated).
• Iraq without the Americans is in constant instability (with suspected Iranian intervention in many cases) and on the brink of civil war.
• Syria / Hamas take advantage of the situation to intensify their attacks on Israel (short-range missiles and terrorist attacks).
• With the speech to defend its borders, Israel abandoned the negotiations with Palestinian groups, took back several concessions made and complete the invasion and occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Far East

• A second incident in which a supposedly DPRK torpedo sunk a frigate of the ROK. People of ROK forces the government to take a signficative military action (to avoid completely losing popular support), which results in an aerial bombing operation that destroys several strategic targets in the north.
• The response of DPRK (declaring the 1951 truce broken) is a ground invasion across the DMZ that generates a "shooting war" between the two countries, with thousands of casualties in the first two days of the conflict. Given the real risk that the invasion of the north to be effective (because of the numbers), USA intervenes "in fulfilling its obligations and treaties."
• In one of the defining moments of the decade, Hilary Clinton at a conference for the international press threatens to use tactical nuclear devices against DRPK if the invasion does not stops immediately. Russia is not going to let that happen and the consequences of using any nuclear weapon by the U.S. would be answered "in the most severe form," leading both countries to the highest state of alert had been seen since the worst days of the Cold War.
• A day after taking the world on edge, in a joint press conference, military leaders and KOR DPRK declare a new armistice (assuming there were furious diplomatic efforts of USA and Russia during those days with both countries, but nothing comes out). While the war stops, the whole region is extremely unstable with Japan and China in a state of constant alert. None have been involved directly in the conflict (at least publicly).
• The other "flashpoints" in Asia are still there: the wild Myanmar dictatorship, rhetoric and skirmishes between India and Pakistan, etc., although everyone receives a lesser degree of international concern under most significant problems elsewhere.

Europe

• In line with USA (and in many cases the vision of NATO as a "deterrent" important in situations that are occurring), there is a significant return to conservatism in most European governments, ending sometimes decades of control of Social-Democrats.
• In line with such movements and taking advantage of the "international unrest" there is a resurgence of various terrorist groups and / or nationalist movements (IRA, ETA, Red Brigades, etc.).
• Ethnic and religiuos problems are the cause of occasionally atentandos and incidents.
• Russia has several ongoing conflicts in their borders (especially Georgia), and several Islamic terrorist groups inside and outside its borders.

Africa

• Essentially the same problems remain and in many cases they're worse because the UN is more concerned with the scenario in Asia.
• Somalia (and to some extent other countries) is back in the state of the 90s, with a government totally ineffective and "warlords" controlling large areas of the country. The killings and "ethnic cleansing" are distressingly common and receive little international interest.
• Piracy is getting worse in all the areas close to Africa. Many shipping routes have changed and when that's not possible it has forced shipping companies to travel with military or para-military convoys."On future posts more about Black Eagle LLC, our characters and missions."

On future posts more about Black Eage LLC, our characters and missions.

Harald Sorenson

Harald, son of Soren, is the blacksmith of Odense (which means Odin's sanctuary), a small village in the northern coast of the Isle of Fyn. He learned the basics of the craft at a young age helping his father. However, his father was not a common blacksmith; his specialty was not the making of tools, weapons or armor, but of chains and shackles. His father was a blacksmith in a slave ship. Long, hard months at sea were spent plundering the coasts of Northumbria and East Anglia, to return with loads of slaves to be sold in Frankia or Frisia. Several years went by working in this horrible but lucrative business. During daylight hours young Harald perfected his skills as a blacksmith and also tried, in his idle time aboard the ships, to grasp the art of navigation. But at nightfall, in his dreams, he was haunted by the gaze returned by the slaves when he held fast the incandescent rivet while his father's hammer sealed their fate.

Many times they were followed after a raid but always, thanks to the gods, they had the good fortune to escape. As always, the men upwinded the sails to the limit and the slaves were forced to row until their calloused hands bled. However, this time was different; the sails on the horizon became larger and larger. Had the English become more daring? Were their ships now as good as the Danish longships? At bowshot, the English launched several flaming arrows, some of which landed on the ship and on the sails, which caught fire. The English rammed the Danes from the starboard side trying to disable the rudder, breaking several oars along with the arms of many rowers in the process. What followed was the bloodiest affair Harald had lived so far, since he was too young to take part in the raids on land. Helmets and skulls crushed by axes, arms and legs mutilated by swords, torsos pierced by spears, fierce looking men crying like children trying in vain to contain their spilling entrails with their hands.

The Danes, recovering from the initial surprise, managed to repel the English attack and bring most of the combat to the enemy ship. In the Danish ship, which was rapidly being engulfed by the fire, the slaves struggled to escape from their chains. Harald, dagger in hand, and his father, who wielded a hammer, were trying to fend off the assault of two English warriors. Harald stabbed one of them in the calf unbalancing him and his father sunk his hammer on the head of the attacker. The other warrior lunged forward plunging his sword into Soren, mortally wounding him. Harald let out a cry and dropped his dagger to stop his father's fall. The warrior lifted the bloody sword to kill Harald but fell pierced by a spear. Harald raised his father's hammer and repeatedly smashed the head of the wounded warrior.

From the smoke emerged the figure of Sven Magnusson, the Danish captain, who commanded Harald to accompany him to the other ship. Seeing that Harald refused to leave his father, he said: "There is no greater honor for a warrior than to die in combat; this burning ship will take him to the gates of Valhalla." After capturing the English ship, the survivors watched their longship being consumed by flames as the piercing screams of the unfortunate got lost in the distance.

Many winters have passed since then and now Harald and his assistant Ulrik attend to the village forge. During all these years he has forged many things but none as special as "Nedrivning", a hammer made from a rock that fell from the sky in the nearby marshes, beaten with his father's hammer and hardened in the water of the first thaw. He still remembers that night when the village völva awakened him and, along with Ulrik, they went to gather the rock. At the völva's request both worked relentlessly several days at the forge under her watchful eye. He does not remember having slept or taken any food, only the satisfaction of the endeavor seemed to have kept them up. The völva drew with charcoal the runes to be carved on the weapon and whose meaning he never found out. "Nedrivning" remains hidden, "awaiting the right time", in the völva's words. He has tattoed on arms and chest the same runes the völva draw for "Nedrivning".

---

Age 29; Human; 1.80m; 120kg; Bald, fat, tattooed.

ST 12 [20]; DX 13 [60]; IQ 13 [60]; HT 10 [0].

Damage 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 14 [4]; Will 13 [0]; Per 13 [0]; FP11 [3].

Basic Speed 5,75 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Block 9 (Shield (Shield));Dodge 8; Parry 9 (Axe/Mace).

Social BackgroundTL: 3 [0].CF: Norse (Native) [0].Languages: Norse (Native/None) [3].
Advantages - None
Disadvantages - Code of Honor (Pagan) -2 [-10]; Fat [-3]; Gluttony (12 or less) [-5];Vow (Minor) [-5].
Skills - Area Knowledge (Jutlandia)-13 (IQ+0) [1]; Armoury/TL3 (BodyArmor)-14 (IQ+1) [4]; Armoury/TL3 (Melee Weapons)-13 (IQ+0) [2];Axe/Mace-13 (DX+0) [2]; Broadsword-12 (DX-1) [1]; First Aid/TL3-13(IQ+0) [1]; Hiking-9 (HT-1) [1]; Merchant-13 (IQ+0) [2]; Navigation/TL3(Sea)-13 (IQ+0) [2]; Riding (Horse)-12 (DX-1) [1]; Seamanship/TL3-13(IQ+0) [1]; Shield (Shield)-13 (DX+0) [1]; Smith/TL3 (Copper)-12 (IQ-1)[1]; Smith/TL3 (Iron)-13 (IQ+0) [2]; Smith/TL3 (Lead and Tin)-12 (IQ-1)[1].

What the...!?

Since I started blogging the site has had an average of about 300 visits a month, but this month that count rocketeered to about 4800! Surely there must be something wrong, right? Have this happened to anyone else?

I've been barely posting lately (most of the attention goes now to my 3 month old son) but I wanted to take some time to welcome my latest followers: Grendelwulf and Rule of the Dice. Oh, and I haven't fogotten what I said on my last post about posting my GURPS and ME characters.

Update

I've never been a prolific blogger and now with my two-month son blogging came to a near halt. But at least I owe my followers an update.

My two Greyhawk campaigns are officially and indefinitely on hold. I'm currently playing AD&D/OSRIC on Google Wave (which it's possible because I follow it from work ;->) and Millenium's End once every two weeks. That reminds me that I never posted my ME character.

Now a friend that just returned from Japan (he was the DM of our Ars Magica game before leaving) wanted to set up a new campaign based on the scandinavian Eddas in which the Christianization was seen by the pagan völvas as the begining of the Ragnarök. It's going to be a dark fantasy-low magic campaign, and we're deciding which rules set to use. We're between GURPS 4e Lite or BRP Quick-Start Edition to keep it simple.

I'm going to play a blacksmith (I'll post that character too, promise!) and my wife a female warrior. Let's see if our little Ivan let us play...

The Oerth Journal is back...

...and looking for submissions! Check it here.