Games Played in 2014

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Block 5: 18th November 2014 to 13th January 2015

Paranoia: Some Clones Wander by Mistake

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Rejoice, citizen! In the Computer's glorious wisdom you have been promoted to "Troubleshooter" along with an increase in security clearance!

Paranoia is a roleplaying game set in a darkly humorous future. In Paranoia, a well-meaning but deranged computer desperately protects the citizens of an underground warren from all sorts of real and imagined enemies. You play one of The Computer's elite agents. Your job is to search out and destroy the enemies of The Computer. Your worst fear is that The Computer will discover that you are one of these enemies.

Paranoia: A light-hearted game of terror, death, bureaucracies, mad scientists, mutants, dangerous weapons, and insane robots, which encourages players to lie, to cheat, and backstab each other at every turn.

Join me for several weeks of chaotic adventures and barely logical missions as we stumble from one catastrophe to the next. There is no real story arc going on here, this is aimed more at players who are just wanting to mess around for a long block. The game is very light-hearted and is not suited to those who do not like to lose - I imagine you will all die at least once in the first night. No knowledge of the rules is required - indeed, demonstrating knowledge of the system is a treasonous activity and grounds for execution in the world of Paranoia.

Further Info
  • System Paranoia: Troubleshooters (25th Anniversary Edition)
  • Number of Players 4 to 6
  • Tools Required 1d20, pencil and paper (to keep track of what your fellow players are up to)
  • Proposed by Oli Palmer

The Walking Dead: Autumn's Fall

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Deacon's Diary

Day 83: It feels like an eternity since the Walkers started rising; even longer since we started running for our lives. Even worse than the walkers are the other surivors, desperate to stay alive no matter the cost; laws have no meaning here anymore. There are only a few rules you have to live by: stay alert, stay armed, aim for the head, and never let a friend turn.

My group has been pushing west toward the coast for a couple of weeks now. We've taken losses along the way, but we keep moving, keep together. Autumn has come to a close, and winter is knocking on our door. Before too long we're going to find ourselves fighting just to stay warm, and stay fed. Supplies are tight, and no amount of rationing is going to see us through.

The way I see it, we have a week before things get bad. That's enough time for us to find an answer, to find food, medicine, supplies, shelter. It'll have to be, because it's the only time we have left. -Deacon

The Game

As a member of Deacon's group of Survivors, step into the world of The Walking Dead and fight for survival against the never-ending threat of the Walkers. What lengths will you go to to survive? What are you willing to do to stay alive? Can you find a safe haven before winter hits?

This is an open world adventure set in North Carolina, North America. How you decide to survive is up to the group. You will need to scavenge for supplies, and along the way you will need to decide how to deal with both the living and the living dead.

Further Info

Inverse World

Steampunk meets swashbuckling fantasy complete with sky pilots, angry sun gods and elemental themed races.

You and your friends have just inherited an ancient sky zeppelin along with an equally ancient crew after the death of an entirely disreputable uncle. The ship has a complicated relationship with the law, but you can put that behind you, right? What you decide to do with your new found freedom is up to you, but the omens are strange.

SS Whiteflag
  • System: Inverse World (Dungeon World supplement)
  • Number of Players: 3-6
  • Proposed by: Robin Poole

The Arkham files

You are new members of Dibden and Jones Inquiry Agency opening a new office in the Massachusetts university Town of Arkham .

Who knows what clients will step through your door and what Cases they will bring.

Running Call of cthulhu 7th edition and going to run a few of the older scenarios set in lovecraft country In the 1920s.

  • System :Call of Cthulhu 7th edition
  • Players :4-5 6 at a push
  • GM:Matt Nott

Tenra Bansho Zero

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Twelve years ago, Heaven fell.

When the Phantom Star destroyed Mount Jinrai, the earthquakes and tsunamis destroyed many realms on Tenra. Hekinan got off lightly: only a third of the cropland was destroyed, along with the capital city, Kuroishi. The regent, Iwa Wada, rebuilt the realm and the capital but only by extracting all he could from the peasants. After eight years, they could take no more and rose up, overthrowing the tyrant and liberating the people. The Northern Shinto Court soon recognised their leader, Hanako Kaneko, as the new queen and Regent. Freed from the technological constraints of the Southern Court, they built many Yoroi armours and Kongohki cyborgs to defend the realm from both outside threats and the remaining Wada loyalists, now turned to banditry in the forests and mountains.

Under Kaneko's rule, Hekinan is growing well.

But now, rumours are spreading of child in the north, speaking prophecies of the fall on Hekinan and death of Kaneko Hekinan-no-Tsakasa. These prophecies were repeated when the notorious criminal, Yama Okakaki, was crucified on the Cross of Revelation. Inexplicably, the Samurai then broke free. There are rumours of Southern Court support for the counter-revolutionaries.

And why has a magical, sacred cow turned up on the otherwise unremarkable Bashiko family farm?

As agents of Kaneko Hekinan-no-Tsakasa, you have been tasked to find the truth of the prophecies and return peace to the realm.

Tenra Bansho Zero, the over-the-top Japanese RPG of over-the-top hyper-Asian Japanese anime action. Skyships! Living dolls! Suits of armour powered by trapped souls! Hulk-transforming samurai! Healers with implanted death-worms! Ninjas! Exclamation marks! And more scenery-chewing than you can shake a wakizashi at!

(See the RPGNet "Inspirational art" thread, Tenra images on Pinterest, character images from Legend of the Five Rings, and photos of the old foot road from Tokyo to Kyoto)

Same page description

Who prepares the story? The GM prepares an overall situation, including giving objectives to the PCs. PCs and NPCs do what seems right at that moment. This might or might not lead to a good story.

What can players contribute to the story/setting? Their character's thoughts, actions, and backstory, plus occasional story bits when they spend a resource (such as whimsy cards or hero points) or make certain kinds of rolls.

The rules (including agreed house rules) will be: followed, come what may.

Player characters are: expected to work together. Major conflicts might erupt but you'll patch them up given some time.

How brutal is the game? Don't hurt my character without warning. Tell me what the consequences of failure could be and let me back out if I don't like it.

Doing the smartest thing for your character's survival: sometimes isn't as important as other choices.

After many sessions of play, during one session, a player decides to have her character side with an enemy. This is: only going to last until the other player characters find out and do something about it.

  • Players: 3-5
  • System: Tenra Bansho Zero
  • Proposed by: Neil Smith


Block 4: 2nd September 2014 to 21st October 2014.

War of the Lords

The world seems so dark and unclear. Things start coming back to you. Your childhood, your life, your memories...

The last thing you remember is being in the middle of a big fight as part of the "War of the Lords" as it had been called by the citizens of the world.

You open your eyes, looking straight up into the sky. Everything is spinning as if a strong force has knocked you from your feet. Was it a spell you failed to dodge or an attack from something or someone ... ? You can't seem to recall. None of that matters now. Instinct kicks in and you rise to your feet, armor still weighing heavily on your body. Your eyes start to focus and you see your weapon at your feet. The sound of battle is still echoing around you.

You stand up straight and the first thing you notice is the wall of dirt surrounding you.

"I must've fallen into a ditch..."

The light of the moon illuminates a stone which appears to have some inscription. It's a tomb stone with your name on it!

You scramble out of your grave but nearly fall back in as you see an army of Undead walking towards a hill just a stone's throw away. Atop the hill there is a man mounted on a horse, pointing his sword in the direction that the undead army is marching.

Why are the undead not attacking you? How did you not notice it before now? The stench of death emanates from your body...

"My god... I'm undead!"

  • System: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition (5th level characters)
  • Number of Players: Not specified
  • Proposed by: Andy T

The Nightmare of Devil's Rock

On the small uninhabited Orkney island of Devil's Rock, Professor Annag Stewart and her small team of archaeologists from the University of Edinburgh have made an astonishing discovery. Tunnels in the cliff face have been found that lead to a sealed underground chamber, with elaborate pictograms covering the stone used to seal the entrance. In their last report they announced their discovery of a suspected neolithic tomb, and their intention to breach through to the chamber the next day ...

And that's the last that was heard from them. The inhabitants of a number of nearby islands reported an electrical storm out at sea that rolled in from nowhere, and some unusual lights in the night sky similar to the Aurora Borealis. In the three days since, there has been no contact with the team.

Loss of radio contact on remote islands for a few days at a time isn't completely unheard of, and thus so far the authorities have not become involved.

A monitoring satellite belonging to the Unified Intelligence Taskforce also detected the storm and aurora, and they're deeply concerned. UNIT scientists have been unable to identify a cause for that storm. UNIT suspects extraterrestrial or paranormal forces are possibly at work.

Which is why UNIT Command in London has sent you, a Critical Response And Special Handling (CRASH) team, in to investigate. Your mission is to assess the situation, secure the area, and to call for reinforcements if you determine a threat exists.

No timey-wimey stuff, just a good old fashioned alien incursion. Can a small UNIT team cope with ... The Nightmare of Devil's Rock?

  • System: Doctor Who : Adventures In Time And Space (hardback edition)
  • Number of Players: 3-5
  • Proposed by: Martin Goodson

Caught in a Gorram Web

The Alliance has been gettin' a might twitchy lately: word on the Cortex is a new crime lord going by the name of "Spider" has sprung up and begun peddling a new drug called "Sapphire Mist". The worst part is he's making the Alliance look like all kinds of stupid as by all accounts hes currently locked up in one of the largest penal facilities they have at their disposal.

The Alliance have tried numerous times to root out the problem but with little more than an alias to go on their finding it real hard to stamp out the Spider. Guard changes, frequent cell searches, restriction of prisoner movement - none of it has done a lick of good.

The latest plan however has some merit. The Alliance have formed a group, off the records like, made up of less savoury folk from the 'verse. Folk who have Histories and if they can complete this task they get to return to their lives with a clean slate.

The task? Be publicly arrested and assigned to the prison where the Spider resides, dig him out and report back with some hard evidence. Sounds simple right?

The story arc may not complete within the block and may require additional slots in the future to properly finish. Each night should promise to be an entertaining episode however! Firefly is a very loose fluid system which favours collaborative narrative over crunchy dice rolls, please be warned.

  • System: Firefly RPG (Cortex Plus)
  • Number of Players: 3-5
  • Proposed by: Oli Palmer

Pulp Cthulhu : The Two-headed Serpent

Final part / Continued from last block

The Two-headed Serpent - A Pulp Cthulhu campaign set in the 1930s.

Adventures in the next block will see our heroes engaging in action around world. At present the team is poised to enter the volcanic caves of Iceland, where they may discover the truth behind troll legends.

This new version of Call of Cthulhu is oriented towards action and heroism. New players can be easily accommodated, though returning players will be given priority.

The game is playtesting both the new Pulp Cthulhu rules (for publication by Chaosium) along with a campaign written by club members Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker and Matthew Sanderson.


Block 3: 17th June 2014 to 5th August 2014.

Dark Alliance

Welcome to Vancouver.

The city of Vancouver is like no other place - peace reigns between vampire and werewolf. To the Kindred, the city is a 'safe haven' from the the raging politics of the Damned. To the Garou, it is the site of the Great Caern, a place of spiritual brotherhood. A generation has passed in peaceful silence... that's all about to change.

In this melting pot of occult you will play a werewolf, or Garou, a beast of nature fighting to preserve balance in a world that is rapidly crashing towards the Apocalypse. The game will begin with all players prior to their first Change, with the first transformation occurring in what should be a very bloody, disturbing opening act. The storyline should be completed within 1 block.

  • System: Werewolf: The Apocalypse
  • Number of Players: 3-5
  • Mature Content Warning: Werewolf is a game of "savage horror" and as such will contain scenes that some players will find a bit graphic (excessive amounts of blood, broken bodies with bits missing etc), caution is advised.
  • Proposed by: Oli Palmer

Eternal Lies

Continued from last block

Note, there will be at least one space for a new player.

STAR WARS : THE JEWEL OF YAVIN

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ...

Deep in the Outer Rim the galaxy's elite gather on Bespin's fabled cloud city to bid on the dazzling Corusca gem known as The Jewel of Yavin. Yet the rare gem's allure extends to the city's underworld, which rapidly jockeys to seize the fabled jewel as its own ...

Scrape together a crew in Bespin's shadowports and hatch a plan to steal the "unstealable" Jewel of Yavin. But beware who you trust and who you dare to double-cross. With hundreds of thousands of credits at stake it'll take a first-rate crew to pull off the perfect caper and escape to the stars.

The Jewel of Yavin is the second full-sized adventure for STAR WARS Edge of the Empire. It's a caper, it's a bank job, it's a heist. Think Ocean's 11 ... in Spaaaaace!

Scorched Earth

The World is burning.

It has been an age since the sun last set and civilisation is crumbling. Half of the world is locked in endless night, the other scorched by the light of the unwavering sun, only a narrow band of mountains remains temperature and it is here that you survive.

Scorched Earth is a Pathfinder campaign drawing inspiration from the High Fantasy and Dying Earth sub-genres, this is a world of magic and myth, but one that has been devastated when the epic magic used in an ancient war between Elves and Dragons caused the world to become tidally locked.

You are Watchmen, tasked with defending the last outposts of civilisation against the terrible things that dwell in both the dark side and the light. It is by your vigilance that the desert is kept at bay and by your swords that the cities stand. But defending your homes may be harder than you could have imagined. All contact has been lost with a small village higher up in the mountains, but all is not as it seems.

Pulp Cthulhu : The Two-headed Serpent

Continued from last block

The Two-headed Serpent - A Pulp Cthulhu campaign set in the 1930s.

Adventures in the next block will see our heroes engaging in action around world. At present the team is poised to enter the volcanic caves of Iceland, where they may discover the truth behind troll legends.

This new version of Call of Cthulhu is oriented towards action and heroism. New players can be easily accommodated, though returning players will be given priority.

The game is playtesting both the new Pulp Cthulhu rules (for publication by Chaosium) along with a campaign written by club members Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker and Matthew Sanderson.


Block 2: 1st April 2014 to 20th May 2014.

Eternal Lies

"They tried and failed?"

"They tried.....and died."

A decade ago, someone you cared about moved to California , in search of work, fortune, or fame. They disappeared.

A decade ago, people you respected tried to find out what happened to them. They died.

A decade ago, a band of occult investigators battled against the summoning of an ancient and monstrous evil. They failed.

Now, you must piece together what went wrong.

Investigate ancient crypts, abandoned estates, and festering slums. Explore choked jungles and the crushed psyches of your predecessors. Follow in their footprints and make new ones of your own.

This time, there won’t be another chance.

The world is yours to save ... or lose.

(Eternal Lies is a campaign book, and the story will take several blocks to complete. Contains mature themes.)

  • System: Call of Cthulhu.
  • Number of Players: 3-6
  • Proposed by: Andy Nicholson

Arena of Blood

Introduction

Welcome to the Arena of Blood, slave. May your battles be bloody, and your death swift.

"You awaken from the darkness. Overhead the sun bores blindingly into your eyes, washing the world with a white glare. The ground vibrates with the roaring of a hundred people, cheering and cajoling.

Gingerly you roll onto your hands and knees. You feel weak, a dry cough escaping your parched throat. Muscles crying in agony, you struggle to your feet.

Several partly armoured warriors stand on the sand ahead of you, battered tridents and swords in hand. Around you a handful of other figures struggle to their feet, naked from head to toe.

Somewhere above a horn sounds and a voice calls out. 'Let the games begin!' The warriors salute sharply, viciously grinning as they turn to you and the other naked figures. Glistening with the dried blood of a thousand battles, they advance."

Setting

You are a slave, forced to fight in the arena. Ambushed while travelling you were knocked unconscious, stripped, and dumped into this god-forsaken hellhole. Pitted against wave after wave of monsters, fighters, and beasts, there are only two ways to escape – victory or death.

Set in a classic gladiatorial arena, you are playing characters that are forced to fight in deadly combat for the amusement of the crowd. Each night you are locked up in the cells, held fast in chains and iron, come the morning you will be walked once again to the armoury, given arms, and sent to fight once again.

How do you win? It is said that those who fight their way into the upper echelons of the arena are eventually given a chance for their freedom. Others try to escape their cells and flee. Some try to worm their way out through words and favours with the guards. Most escape in the only sure way to leave – death.

Will you manage to escape the arena, or will you join the ranks of the forgotten dead? Victory or death, the choice is yours.

Character Generation
  • 5th Level Character
  • Core Rulebook classes, races, and feats (GM approval for any exceptions)
  • High Fantasy (20-point buy)
  • Two traits (assigned by GM based on answers to Character Q&A)
  • 0 gold, no equipment
System

STAR WARS : BEYOND THE RIM

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ...

Amidst the backdrop of the galactic civil war, a huge space station known as the WHEEL is one of the few places beyond the Emperor's reach, attracting low-lifes, fortune-seekers, and refugees alike.

A derelict message pod discovered by an illicit tech company on the Wheel gives new life to old smuggler's stories about a long-lost Separatist treasury ship, the SA NALAOR. The wreck lies at the edge of WILD SPACE, waiting to be found by those brave or crazy enough to look ...

Danger, Death, Adventure, and possibly fabulous Wealth, await those who seek to discover what really happened to the fabled SA NALAOR!

Beyond The Rim is the first full-sized adventure/mini-campaign for Edge of the Empire, and I wanna run it 'cos I think it could be quite fun. Simple as that.

Shadows and Superstition

The year is 1889, still at the height of the Victorian era. The gaslit streets of London have returned to normal after the spate of grisly murders that dogged Whitechapel the previous winter. Life, and un-life, moves on. But in the shadows the monsters remain, biding their time, watching, waiting..

Enter the player characters: young neonates just making their way in the lower levels of Kindred society. They are all a part of the political machine that drives it, whether they realise it or not. Will they attempt to stay below the radar, building their own tiny empires, or will they rise to true influence and power?

This is a sequel of sorts to the Vampire campaign I ran a couple of years ago. It is open to both new players and those who wish to reprise their characters (I still have the sheets!)

  • System: Vampire: the Masquerade.
  • Number of Players : 4-6
  • Proposed by: Amy Hewitt

Pulp Cthulhu

Pulp Cthulhu, the new supplement for Call of Cthulhu will be coming out later this year. Matt Sanderson, Scott Dorward and I are writing a campaign for it.

You are called in as part of members of a medical aid team to the war taking place in Bolivia. It won't be long before you're unearthing mythos secrets.

Each chapter will play in a few weeks. There will be investigation, but this being pulp, the bounds of what can happen will be raised. Your PCs will be able to take more, and they'll have some special talents. Plus, when they go crazy, and hey, that might just happen, then they may discover new insane abilities they never knew they had!

Expect some weird science, ancient races and hidden realms.

If this runs, we anticipate it taking 3 blocks.

To Bolivia, and beyond!

  • System: Call of Cthulhu
  • Number of Players: Not specified
  • Proposed by: Paul Fricker


Block 1: 14th January 2014 to 4th March 2014

Rise of the Runelords : Fortress of the Stone Giants

(Continuing from the previous long block)

The village of Sandpoint has been peaceful for a year since the heroes killed Barl Breakbones and banished the spirit of Karzoug, runelord of greed... ...but now some evil is stiring in the mountains, forming the normally pacifistic stone giants into marauding bands : who is behind it, and what new threats must the orphans of Sandpoint face at ...the fortress of the stone giants ?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the point at which we've reached in the story, I can only accept returning players this block. Apologies.

Horror on the Orient Express

(Continuing from the previous long block)

The Same Man Killed, Three Times in One Night!

A puzzling headline begins a front-page article found in the Times of London.

Three different men, yet with identical identification, were found dead in the same room of the Chelsea Arms. All were dispatched in a similar manner - stabbed through the heart.

The home of a valued friend burns to the ground, severely burning him in the process.

An odd summons, a surreptitious meeting, and a thousand-mile journey begins on the legendary rail service carrying the investigators to the Gateway of the Orient.

From London and Paris, to Milan and Sofia, and on to Istandul, facing danger and intrigue each step of the way.

Who knows what you'll meet at the end of the line ?

  • System: Call of Cthulhu (1920s-30s) 7th edition
  • Number of players: 3+
  • Proposed by: Matt Nott

Star Trek: USS Valiant

Stardate 45022.3 It is a time of great unrest in the Alpha Quadrant. Relations between the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans, are heavily strained after the recent end of the Klingon Civil war.

The USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, managed to uncover and foil a secret alliance between the Romulans and the House of Duras. Putting an end to their plans, order was restored to the Empire, and the Romulans were pushed back across the Neutral Zone. Even so, the memory of the war is still fresh and there are many grudges held on each side.

You are all members of the crew of the USS Valiant, an Oberth class starship pulled out of space-dock to assist with the war. Destined to be decommissioned, the recent events have spared the Valiant that fate, instead put to work patrolling the Neutral Zone for activity.

An report comes through from Starfleet Command. A rogue Federation vessel has violated the Neutral Zone, heading toward Romulan space. The last thing the Federation needs is a diplomatic incident. As the closest ship you are ordered to pursue them and turn them back.

Why would a Federation vessel violate the neutral zone? How will the Romulans react if they detect the intrusion? Will you manage to maintain peace in a time of high tensions?

  • System: Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG
  • Number of Players: 3–6
  • Proposed by: Anthony Edmonds

Echoes of War

A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying. You are one of the fine crew of a firefly-class ship, taking on jobs as they come and trying to survive in this gorram universe. Tone is light-hearted, aimed more at comedy but with a few serious moments – if you’ve ever seen an episode of Firefly, or seen the movie Serenity, you will know what to expect. Rules are nice and easy to pick up, we’ll likely spend the first night doing character generation, a bit of ship personalisation and some light rp scenarios to help flesh out the characters before busting into the “Echoes of War” storyline.

  • System: Firefly (GenCon 2013 Exclusive)
  • Number of Players: 3-5
  • Proposed by: Oli Palmer
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