Bizarre Nomad Cycle

Just when you think you have seen everything, including Hello Kitty Gun Designs, you find something really new, like this approach to a truly “all-terrain” motorcycle:

The info about the bike comes from this site, where it reads:

“You may not have room in your garage (or budget) for a dirt bike and a snowmobile and a four-wheeler. But what if one vehicle could take the place of all three? That´s the idea behind the Hyanide, a wild concept vehicle created by German designers Oliver Keller and Tillman Schlootz for the 2006 Michelin Challenge Design. This year´s competition showcased vehicles made especially for California´s diverse and often rugged topography. Named for its supposed resemblance to a crouching hyena, the Hyanide is designed to run on a flexible rubber tread that spans the machine´s entire underside. So if any part of the bottom is touching the ground, the Hyanide should be able to move, no matter how deep the quagmire, no matter how rough the terrain. (…)

Both the front and rear of the Hyanide rotate into a turn, which would give riders extra control while making sharp turns or climbing hills. To drive the vehicle, you´d steer with your hands as well as your feet, and you´d wear special shoes that snap onto the pedals, like on a racing bicycle. To turn left, for example, you´d push the right side of the handlebar forward, to point the front of the tread left-it´s the same motion as on a motorcycle. At the same time, however, you´d also push back on the right pedal, angling the rear of the tread into the turn. This action would twist the tread into a crescent shape and whip the Hyanide around a turn.

The Hyanide currently exists only as a one-fifth-scale model, and Schlootz and Keller have no plans to bring a production version to market. Keep your fingers crossed, though-Hyanide´s unique drivetrain impressed a lot of automotive-industry heavy hitters at the Challenge Design. Maybe one of them has an overcrowded garage.”

Thanks to the guys from the Battlelords of the Twenty-Third Century RPG Forum, who brought my attention to this gem.

Transcon – A Cyberpunk 2020 Corporation

Transcon – Transport at the Speed of Change

TransCon – Trans-Continental Transport Corporation

Headquarters: San Francisco

Regional Offices: New York, Night City, Washington, Los Angeles, Houston, Washington D.C, London, Rome, Toronto, Paris, Hamburg, Helsinki, Prague, Seol, Sub-offices throughout North America and Europe.

Name and Location of major shareholder: Jonathan Demark, San Francisco (11.2% owned)

Employees: Worldwide; 1,200,000

Troops: 5,000 Covert: 50

Background: In 2003 Jonathan Demark, the owner of a private east coast transport company called De-Haul saw that the world was lacking in a single company to transport cargo around the world. The managing of cargo had to be carried out by several small companies, so he formed TransCon. The corporation is dedicated to provide cargo transport efficiently and reliably. Continue reading “Transcon – A Cyberpunk 2020 Corporation”

The Skill 'Intimidation' in Cyberpunk 2020

The Skill ‘Intimidation’ in Cyberpunk 2020

Author: David KNIGHTHAWK Simpson <knighthawk00@hotmail.com>

Intimidation: More Than Quoting Dirty Harry

Ever been to Muscle Beach, watched some of the body builders pump iron and think to yourself, “I wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley”? That is intimidation by physical means. Intimidation has a lot of opportunities for use, but too few GM’s take this skill into account during their gaming. Players also seem to underestimate its abilities and benefits. Why waste bullets when you can just scare them away?First, intimidation on its own; intimidating people, not in a face-down situation (which is primarily looks and a contest of wills) is frequently misinterpretted. Think of bullys. They rule through their reputation and intimidation. Initimidation (skill), COOL (stat), BODY (stat), relative size (characteristic), and REP, this combination should be used for mass (as in multiple-person) intimidation. Physical size matters, because instinctually we feel inferior or submissive to something larger than ourselves. (Majority of people think twice when talking to someone significantly taller or larger than themselves, and remember, your characters are SUPPOSED to be people, too.) Continue reading “The Skill 'Intimidation' in Cyberpunk 2020”

Ocelot's Gang Creation Chart

GANGS IN CYBERPUNK 2020

by Gary Astleford (ocelot@connectnet.com)

The article is a set of tables that allows you to create quickly some cool and individual gangs for the use in Cyberpunk 2020. Its tells you how big the gang is, what the focus, equipment and power of the gang is going to be.

You may roll the same gang type twice. This means that the gang in question is very narrow in its goals and its means of achieving them. This isn’t a bad thing at all, and it does nothing to make the gang more or less exciting, depending on how the GM interprets his results.

There is, however, a special case. If “Puppet Gang” is rolled, make a note of the result and roll on the chart twice more. The following two rolls indicate the Puppet Gang’s front – the type of gang people perceive them to be. If either of the two rolls result in “Puppet Gang” again, then it is common knowledge that the gang is, in fact, corporate owned and operated.

Note that not all gangs are evil, nasty, antisocial, and violent. Some are merely driven to such a course by outside influence and the pressure of the street. In addition, not all gangs are brought together because of poverty and lack of parental attentions. Imagine a gang made up of spoiled rich kids who douse vagrants with lighter fluid and set them on fire. Sound familiar? Continue reading “Ocelot's Gang Creation Chart”