Games played in 2008

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From October 21st to December 9th 2008

The Night All Angels Cry

As far as any of you can remember, it has been a completely normal time recently...so why is it that all the PCs have just woken up on the battlefield the day after the Final Battle has occured? And where is most of the leadership for either side? The PCs will be members of the armies of Heaven and Hell, so most likely angels and demons, and hopefully will be able to put aside their differences to discover what happened, and why.

This game will probably be using Nine Worlds (available from IPR), although if people suggest a different system, I might consider using that instead.

Bliss Stage

Seven years from now, humanity is in ruins, devastated by a ferocious alien occupier from the edges of our understanding. The adults of the world have been undone by the aliens' seduction, and the future of humanity is now a slowly dwindling population of child survivors.

But there is still hope for humanity's future. A small group of survivors, led by a still-waking adult, have managed to reverse engineer the alien remotes, and have used this technology to make a new generation of weapons that can be used to strike at humanity's enemies in their world of dreams. This weapon is called an Alien Numina Inversion Machine, or ANIMa, and it it allows a teenage pilot to enter the dream world and form a mechanized battle-suit out of the spirits of her friends, lovers, and enemies. With this weapon, she can fight the aliens on their own terms, striking at the very heart of their occupation.

Now, after seven years of despair, this brave group of soldiers are striking the first blows of a war that will determine the fate of the earth, humanity, earth, and their own hearts.

Please note: Bliss Stage is a grim, grim game. It's a game for people who can't abide the cheery optimism of Call of Cthulhu or Kult. It's about child soldiers, and bad things will happen to young people. It is also pretty frank about sexuality. Don't sign up for it if any of these things will upset you.

Masks of Nyarlathotep

I will be offering this Call of Cthulhu Campaign It may need to run over two blocks but we could have a break in-between.

You receive a Mysterious wire from your friend the author Jackson Elias. He says he has information concerning the Carlyle expedition that disappeared several years ago and can you meet him at his hotel room in New York in a few days.

Set in 1925 this is a world spanning campaign Taking in New York, London, Egypt, Kenya, Australia and Shanghi

Tower of the Last Baron

Stop a war before it starts

From Paizo publishing comes module LB1. Using the D&D 3.0 / 3.5 rules this game is designed for four fifth level characters to investigate and stop the baron from siding with the Cheliax.

Tower of the Last Baron is an infiltration adventure for 5th-level characters compatible with the worlds most popular roleplaying game. Within you will find information on the lively and strategically important town of Piren's Bluff, Baron Vendikon's keep, and the strange beasts and loyal minions that aid the turncoat noble, as well as notes governing the town's many spies and dissidents.

Please note that this is not a simple hack and slash scenario. Some thought will be required lest all the adventurers end up in a dungeon chained up awaiting torture and hanging.

From July 22nd to September 23rd 2008

Uncle Rasmaes's Estate

One of the player's uncle has summoned them back to help with an issue that has cropped up. You and your friends will try and help him discover the weird and wonderful events that are causing the grapes to vanish from the fields and the workers to leave with no explanation. Expect to meet several different factions and maybe even plotters, pirates or persons vying for, something.

This game will be based in Glorantha and use RuneQuest rules.

Note that I am still waiting for my RuneQuest rulebook to arrive (No you're not Dave! - James)

Doom Patrol

Taking place in the established DC universe (the one in which Superman, Batman, the Flash, etc, all exist), the members of Doom Patrol are the freaks & outcasts of the superhero community. Scarred in mind or body, they are as far from normal as it is possible to imagine a human being, and even then...

Using the game mechanics from Don't Rest Your Head, this will be an episodic narrative depending on player-created content. I'll provide most of the superheroics, the players have to provide personal goals and obstacles for their characters. Hopefully, one of the emergent properties of this process will create a cohesive arc-plot!

Escape from Innsmouth

I’m offering this classic Call of Cthulhu campaign. Set in Arkham, Massachusetts during the twenties. The adventure starts off with a kidnapping. I don’t want to go into any more detail as to what goes on from there. I would prefer players to create their own characters. Perhaps we can do this online or you can give me a concept and I will create it for you.

Pendragon: China

It's China, 460bc. In state of Qin, ruled by Duke Huan. You, are young retainers of Lord Ghi, whose domain lies within the Yellow River valley, towards the north-west borders of the Chinese territories.

Confucius and Buddha are alive and beginning to spread their beliefs, but Taoism (ancestor and spirit worship) is the predominant religion.

The PCs begin the game as Lord Ghi summons his knights to defend Qin against the Mongol hordes to the north. You, of course, are taken along and you're obviously excited as this is the perfect opportunity to make a name for yourself in combat and bring yourself to the attention of Lord Ghi.

From May 6th to June 24th 2008

Dictionary of Mu

Marr'd is a dying world, but its dry and blasted landscape is still home to wonders and horrors. Sorcerers raise the ghosts of dead ideas to perform hideous acts of will. Nomadic barbarians do battle from the backs of ghost dinosaurs. Intelligent apes capture human slaves and force them into gladiatorial combat in a demonic arena that feeds on spilled blood. Intrepid adventurers search for the lost remnants of the old civilisation, digging out treasures of weird science that may save or destroy their world.

Dictionary of Mu is a sword and sorcery setting for the Sorcerer RPG. Player characters command the secrets of Marr'd's past, be they ghosts, dead ideas or lost technologies, and hold the fate of the world in their hands.

Sorcerer is a fast-moving, intense and brutal game, with characters balancing the ability to control unnatural forces with the risk of being consumed by them.

Story Games Smorgasbord

There are a lot of indie RPGs I'd like to play or run. My current favourite is Grey Ranks, a game of child soldiers in the doomed Warsaw Uprising of 1944. It requires exactly three sessions. I propose filling the rest of the block with a selection of other indie games, whether they be ones I played and would like to play again (e.g. Bliss Stage, The Mountain Witch, My Life with Master), those that seem to need a session or two to get the hang of (e.g. Capes, Universalis), or those that seem to have a different character when played over several sessions (e.g. InSpectres, Lacuna). We can sort out what games are played during the block, unless anyone has any firm ideas on what they'd like to see.

Earthdawn

The growing community of Lendan finds itself in a delicate situation. Bordered on all four sides by nations disinterested in its survival unless it has something to offer and infiltrated by Theran agents. Now that Darkpeak has been found destroyed, hope lies in once again reestablishing trade routes with the mighty Dwarven city of Throal to the east. Heroes must once again forge a path through the forgotten wilderness that was once Barsaive, and if they can create a legend for themselves along the way, all the better!

Now that Darkpeak has been cleared and the area made somewhat safer, refugees from the east have started arriving in Lendan. They are surprised to find that those that left before them have not been heard of. surely the predation of Artificier could not have completely stemmed the flow of refugees? Something else threatening must lie to the east, which means the road to Throal and prosperity still isn't clear.

Someone must be brave enough to face the dangers of the unknown and forge a way to Throal...

Earthdawn: Road to Throal

Dark Heresy

It is the 41st millenium. Mankind has reached the stars and conquered them, barring a few stubborn xeno holdouts. The Imperium of Man stretches across the entire galaxy. But this sacred edifice, headed by the immortal God Emperor, needs constant vigilance and sacrifice to endure. Inquisitors are those granted the authority to root out the heretic, the alien and the impure, and scourge them from the face of the galaxy. You have all, individually, attracted the attention of one such, and been recruited to act as investigators to root out the evil that lurks in the heart of the Imperium.

If you're aware of the background, great, otherwise this is a gothic feudal type setting, where technology is worshiped and maintained by it's own priesthood, psykers exist and are lures for the dark things that exist in the warp and life is generally crap for 99.9% of people. The feel I am going for is generally investigative with lapses into high violence. (Occasional or not, as the players dictate.)

Blood Rose Circle

There's a whole other world out there. One of magic, mystery, and horror. Problem is, the Average Joe doesn't seem to care. There are a few, however, that know the truth. By choice, or by nature, you are part of this other world, and it's always been up to you what to make of it.

Not any more. The streets of London have been plagued by darkness, and those that have stood against it are dead, or worse. Their sacrifice has bought time, but the darkness is still out there, and someone else is going to have to finish the job.

You have been chosen. You don't know who by, or why, but it's happened. Now it's time to get ready, because something is coming...

Using the Cinematic Unisystem rules, BRC is a game of modern supernatural mystery. Think a sort of Angel meets Dresden Files, with a bit of other stuff thrown in the pot as well.

From February 19th to April 8th 2008

Freedom of Information

A Cold City game: as the back cover says...

"As the Cold War rages in the full glare of the world media, the Underground War is fought in ruined bunkers, dank tunnels and bombed out apartment blocks.

In the divided city of Berlin, the Reserve Police Agency hunts down monsters left over from sinister experiments and twsited technology. Things from beyond our space and time, strange creatures altered by bizarre machines, the decayed corpses of undead soldiers, things that hide in the darkness.

But the Reserve Police Agency itself is riven by suspicion, mistrust and political ambition. The four occupying powers of Britain, France, the USA and the USSR all see the need for the RPA, all contribute personnel, all have their own agendas.

The great battles may be over, but the war carries on.

Join the fight."

Ideally, this is a game for exactly four players, with one character for each nation responsible for policing Berlin (Britain, France, USA and USSR).

For the Defence of the Realm

Cymnea, the Queen of Chaos.... Why does that name ring a bell? It takes you a day or two of hunting before you find the answer.... Cymnea was the First Queen of Amber! Now why does that thought send a shiver down your spine?

After the concluding events of A Brand New Beginning, the Scions of Fenneval raced back to begin the defence of their realm, fully expecting Chaos to mount an all-out offensive.

Rushing to gather defences for Fenneval, you are set important tasks for the Defence of the Realm. Fenneval needs leadership, a strong hand, and an even stronger defence. Who will take upon them this mantle... especially in a time when Chaos still looms menacingly over this land?

For the Defence of the Realm continues where A Brand New Beginning left off and will attempt to fortify Fenneval as the last bastion of Order in a multi-verse on which Chaos continues to strengthen its hold.

Wiki Pages: For the Defence of the Realm
System: Amber Diceless RPG
GM: Kevin Dennis
Players: James Illing, Shelly Formann, Anthony Edmonds, Mark Horne, Alex Vincent, Ben Fortune

Strange Times

A high fantasy game of mystery, magic and martial arts using White Wolf’s Exalted (Second Edition). Two to five players.

Description

Strange times have come upon the Winter lands.

Chasms split ice plains that have been stable for generations, only to close again just as suddenly. Ghosts of great cities drift on the wind, and those mortals who follow them find only madness or death. Mechanisms wander the landscape without pilots, apparently bent on completing some ineffable task. There are disappearances; youths -- always youths, and often comely -- who slip out one night, never to be seen again. The north has always been dangerous, and has always had its fair share of oddities, but stories such as these are becoming more and more common. Most troubling of all, the borders of the Wyld -- the unshaped chaos that lies beyond Creation -- have started to shift, moving in and out like the breaths of some great beast. And something is stirring in the depths.

A storm is coming.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the known world: A group of adventurers seek an ancient treasure, but will find more than they bargained for…

Game Structure and PCs

‘Exalted: Strange Times’ is a game of two parts. In the prologue (the first session or two), you are a group of adventurers seeking a treasure thought lost for centuries. These will be pre-generated characters. In the second part, you are Exalted: hyper-competent mortals granted the powers of the gods. You can either create these characters yourselves, or tell me what you want to play and I’ll put them together for you. The only restriction is that all of the PCs have worked together for a while, and have an interest in what’s going on in the North. (Liking each other isn’t necessary, but they must be willing to work together.)

Setting

The Haslanti League clings stubbornly to the frozen ground of the far north. In the skies above, their airships are a visible symbol of how this nation has not only survived, but prospered. The tribes of the League have prevailed in spite of the forces arrayed against them. The Guild and its slavers, the ten thousand dragons of the Scarlet Empire, the machinations of the many jealous gods… Even the Fair Folk: soul-eating terrors from beyond Creation. Some of the proudest amongst the Haslanti have said that there is no force in Creation or otherwise that the League cannot withstand. Until now.

Earthdawn

Run by Sam Thompson

Basically a fantasy post-magical-apocalypse game involving magically powered adepts in a world threatened by the Horrors from astral space.

Overview
In northern Barsaive, The Kaer of Lendan has emerged from its 350 years of hiding from the Scourge. Its population have spent the last year moving back into the ruins of there once proud white stone city. Formerly the crossroads of major traderoutes between Jarris to the west and the mighty dwarven kingdom of Throal to the east, Lendans' survival relies on re-establishing old trade routes and ensuring the local area is safe for the passage of merchants and their goods. Thus a party of adepts is needed to travel east and assess the lie of the land. It is also hoped that they can rediscover and open the Kaer of Darkpeak, whose population and resources would add to the city of Lendan and help ensure its survival.

Players: David Arthur, Mark Dewhurst, Mark Kerr & Martin Goodson

The Story So Far...

From November 20th 2007 to January 22nd 2008

STARGATE : Slaves Of The Gods

A dramatic serial in eight parts, using the Hollow Earth Expedition rules.

From the minutes of the recent extraordinary meeting of the Royal Society, a speech by Sir George Hammond:

'In 1928 the noted archaeologist Professor Daniel Jackson unearthed a large metallic ring, some 22' feet in diameter and of considerable weight, from a dig at Giza. The ring bore a large number of markings that defied translation, nor could the metal itself be readily identified.

Unfortunately the opportunity to study the ring further was lost, along with Professor Jackson and his fiancee Ms. Catherine Langford, when the ship returning them to England disappeared. No distress signal was ever received nor, despite a lengthy search, were any survivors found. The Hephaestus, along with her passengers and crew, was declared lost at sea.

Now, eight years later, a strange clue to the fate of the Hephaestus may have appeared. Two months ago a man was pulled from the wreckage of a small boat found five miles off the coast of the East Falklands. The man was dressed in rags quite unsuited to the climate, and died shortly after being returned to shore. He spoke only three words, of apparent gibberish, before dying : "Dal Shakka Mel". Upon autopsy the man was found to have an unusual birth defect in his abdomen, resembling nothing more than some bizarre manner of pouch.

However, the unusual anatomy of the deceased is not what concerns us today. No, ladies and gentlemen of the society, what concerns us today is the discovery, around this poor unfortunate soul's neck, of a locket recently positively identified as belonging to Ms. Catherine Langford. The back of the locket had scratched into it the initials "DJ" and a set of coordinates, lattitude and longitude corresponding to Ross Island, within the waters of Antarctica. The scratches have been determined to be recent, suggesting that - somehow - Professor Jackson is still alive. Ladies and gentlemen, I move that an expedition be sent to those coordinates in an attempt to discern what fate befell the Hephaestus, to say nothing of Professor Jackson, his fiancée, and the ring. Will anybody rise to second the motion?'

Time and Tide

Our town is a growing, thriving community. It has all the amenities a modern family needs, but still has enough of a small town atmosphere to make it the kind of place you'll want to raise your brood!

Our town is is a pretty little place, with historic buildings, traditional architecture and a sea-view that's the envy of the north-eastern seaboard!

Our town has a rich seafaring history, with family ties dating back many generations. People from all over the world come back home here to find their roots. Maybe you'll find relatives here too!

Our town is built on the dreams of its founders and residents, and what dreams they are!

We think you'll like it here in our town. Welcome to Innsmouth!

Time and Tide is a supernatural drama set in modern-day Innsmouth, with the players taking the roles of residents of the town. Maybe they'll be innocents, unaware of the history of their new home; maybe they'll be outsiders with secret agendas, looking to shine light in the dark corners; and maybe they'll be locals, steeped in the history and traditions of this unique place.

The system will be Primetime Adventures, so expect the story to be highly player-led. The tone will be quite serious, concentrating on drama, intrigue, weirdness and suspense.

Hostile Take-over

Paradise is lost, destroyed by our own hands, torn apart by our fangs and claws. For that, we are Forsaken.

Now we stalk among the human herds, wearing their sheep's clothing, our senses drawing us to our prey...

In the wake of the Brethren War, and the defeat of a staggering spiritual threat, huge areas of the Rocky Mountains stand untended, thier uratha guardians slain by spirit and werewolf alike. With a new wave of Luna's chosen coming into their own, it is time to reclaim those territories, and resume the task of guarding the world form a threat it can never know about...

You have been chosen to be part of this push. Newly changed, and still coming to terms with the truth of your nature, it falls on you to pick up the mantle of Father Wolf, and make the land your own.

Welcome to Manitou Springs...

Using White Wolf's Werewolf: The Forsaken, this is a game designed for 3-5 with little or no knowledge of the setting or system (though veterans are always welcome), and will be both plot and player driven.

Wiki Pages = Hostile Take-over
System = Werewolf: The Forsaken
GM = Alex Vincent
Players = Mark Horne, Mark Kerr, James Illing, Shelly Formann
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