Mutant: Year 0
Setting some goals – The Things To Do List!
Someone recently called me one of Edinburgh’s gaming celebrities. I’m kind of amused by that: I certainly don’t consider myself that way! Yes, I run a blog and may be fairly well-known around town, and I do try and keep the various gaming communities in the loop. I see myself as fulfilling more of a function than any aspiration to fame. I do have some aptitude for self-promotion though, it appears.
Try putting leashes on Tiamat and taking her for a walk – that’s how I often feel right now!
It’s no easy task being something of a local RPG pundit and organiser, and occupies quite a bit of time and effort on my part. Sometimes it feels like putting leashes on Tiamat and taking her for walkies. You can get caught up in things and it becomes very easy for others to expect you to maintain a certain “level of service”. There’s also a certain amount of information overload too, and trying to keep track of everything can be exhausting…
So. This something of a “place holder” post for me for the months ahead. August is a time when it’s fairly quiet at ORC, so I’ve a free weekend. With the Festival on I usually use the time to “recharge my batteries”. I’ve started to get the feeling I’m taking on too much and need to try and focus on achievable goals. So what I’m going to do below is list my current goals and priorities. They’re not all gaming-related, but it all helps. This might also be what I need to get galvanised into action (not in order of importance)…
- Actually write the damn novel I’ve been planning for years. More of a long-term goal really, but could do with outlining the plot in Scrivener.
- Finish the three Cthulhu stories I’ve outlined. They’re laid out in Scrivener.
- Begin my Open University degree – the BSc in Criminology & Psychology I planned on doing starts very soon.
- Get the bathroom of the flat redone – that’s going to hurt the cash flow a bit.
- To attempt to catch up old friends more often.
- Get the oathofshadows.net website live.
- Get the FB and Twitter feeds for Oath of Shadows online.
- Create content for oathofshadows.net.
- Get some of the more useful articles of the blog anthologised in a PDF with bookmarks.
- Get in more regular exercise. I occasionally walk for 30 minutes (about 1.5 miles) every lunchtime, do 30 minutes of weights and cycle 5km in 15 minutes. I should be doing that every day, really.
- Participating in more boardgames at [ELG] on Wednesday nights, although this may be scaled back a bit if I’m too busy.
- Participate in a game of Descent every fortnight. We start our first game tonight.
- Plan my next Achtung! Cthulhu game. Most likely Assault on the Mountains of Madness.
- Finish the Tyranny of Dragons D&D campaign. I’m uncertain if I’ll go to the second volume. I’m distinctly underwhelmed so far.
- Run Horror on the Orient Express – likely after ToD finishes. Will incorporate some Achtung! Cthulhu into it, but will be a bit of work.
- Write some new adventures for demo at Dragonmeet. I already have one for Conan…
- Research the Infinity universe. It does look interesting.
- Spend my store credit at 6s2Hit, the local wargames shop and actually play a few games there.
- Look at doing more demos of the Mutant Chronicles, Achtung! Cthulhu, Mutant: Year 0, and DUST Adventures at cons. I’m really looking forward to getting the books for MC and DUST.
- Create a Mutant: Year 0 Edinburgh setting and Ark. I’ll likely post it up here when I do.
- Be more active in playtests of the Infinity RPG, Conan, and John Carter for Modiphius Entertainment.
- Have a chat with the Conpulsion organisers after my recent review sparked their interest.
- Try and get to Dragonmeet, UK Games Expo and Q-CON over the next year, as well as Conpulsion, but to participate in more than just running games.
- Try and develop some more interests outside gaming. e.g. photography etc.
- Maintain the ORC Edinburgh site, get more folk to the pub meets.
- If needed (and given a product), playtest and write some more game reviews!
- Keep blogging – I must try and get more specific posts organised.
- Get in a demo of Firestorm Armada.
- Try to strengthen links with other Edinburgh gaming communities. This may be harder than it looks due to time.
- Get some more RPG freelance work (I’ve a few things possibly coming up.).
- Get “Special Projects” organised! I’m keeping quiet about these until they become a little more certain. One of them is a pretty big deal.
I think it might be worth checking back on this post in six months. I doubt if I’ll hit all of these goals, but I’m interested to see how I get on.
Surviving the UK Games Expo! And Mutant: Year 0
I got back from the UK Games Expo last Monday. It’s quite an experience if you’ve never been and something every gamer should try. I’ll try and break down my experiences by day.
Thursday
Thursday did not start well, but not the fault of theExpo. I repacked my case again, so the books wouldn’t roll around in transit – I bought a suitcase particularly for that reason, but the damn thing was heavy with the rucksack as well. I decided to take the train, as it might give me some time to finish writing and reading up on the adventures (and I hate spending time in airports!). I managed to spill Ribena down myself which did nothing to help my mood when the departures board in the station packed in. Fortunately it was fixed in short order. Next up, the train carriages electrics were acting up and the air conditioning had packed in. Not only that but I couldn’t find my reserved seat (I actually spent the entire journey in the wrong seat it turns out), as all the numbers were rubbed off and the electronics legends were off. Not an auspicious start.
Still arrived on time at the cavernous NEC where everything was eerily quiet and echoing at 5pm. So I set off for the Hilton. At least where I thought it was, as my phone couldn’t get a GPS fix. I wandered from one end of the NEC car park – which is pretty much 3/4 mile before realising I was heading the wrong way. So I’m standing in the middle of the car park, when I spot this tiny path through the woods. Considering the land is flat, all I could see were trees – I head unpleasant recollections of looking for the Hotel Baden in Tokoyo, when Expedia failed to mention the hotel address correctly, that the name had changed, and that the building had been remodelled…
So I thought, “Sod it!” and headed up the path, and Lo! There was the hotel entrance hidden behind the woods. What I didn’t realise was the lengthy trudge to get to reception on the other side. By now I was hot tired and sweaty. So finally went to check in, only to find that – possibly due to lack of sleep I’d not booked Sunday night too. One credit card charge later, I headed up the lift to my room on the top floor. I headed down to the bar, had a near-apoplectic fit at the cost and waited to hear from the Modiphius folks who were setting up in the Trade Hall. Also caught up with a few former Edinburgh gamers from ORC Edinburgh.
Helping the Modiphius Team setup was one of those “Shall we dance?” – with boxes – like some weird Olympic event as we shuffled the various books of Achtung! Cthulhu, Mutant: Year 0, and Cogs Cakes and Candlesticks into place on the tables and shelves in tight confines. We then declared our works good and as is the tradition of such endeavours, buggered off to the pub. We took our pints to the Open Gaming area and started playing the Conan RPG – ruddy good fun. Marc Longworthy,you did a great job keeping Chris, Nathan, Michal, and I on track as we did a Prison Break, Conan-style, in The Red Pit. We were pretty much dead on our feet in the wee small hours and headed off to sleep. A long day, but a good day.
Friday
I got up at a sensible hour and discovered the joys of the Hilton’s lack of network when I unpacked the netbook and found the wifi card was totally banjaxed, and dead weight but at least the books were on it if needed. No Cat-5 link connection, either. A series of short four-letter words were then repeated as a mantra.
I spent most of the day helping on the Modiphius stand. Or maybe hindering? I don’t think anyone knows as we were all so busy, occasionally getting in other’s way. I ran a demo game of Mutant: Year 0 from a few players and one chap bought the entire range of it on the spot. We had plenty of games going – Marc and Nathan did Mutant Chronicles 3e and Conan, as well as us all trying to flog the books to the punters. Looked of folk collecting their Kickstarter rewards across the Expo. Including AVP. Lucky gits. I think the others planned to do board games – the Thunderbirds mock-up was popular, and pretty much in constant demand – later that evening. I turned in early after we got booted out by the Stewards. I had the rest of the Cliché scenario to, um, write.
Saturday
It was a big day on Saturday. Three 4-hour gaming sessions with 1-hour breaks in between.This was a marathon day. I dropped into the stand briefly and mooched around a bit between games (I skippred breakfast after realising my first game would probably be starting before I got food (there was that mantra again). A full house of 6 players loved Achtung! Cthulhu (A Prayer for St. Nazaire – “Thanks Bill, that was cracking!”) – and later bought the books. The Mutant Chronicles combined Straffar Gattan 39 and also the Fall of Von Holle. The Players said they were definitely looking forward to the game and were exhausted by the end of it. Sadly, I missed the Modiphius Expo “team photo” earlier as I was dropping off the A!C books and had a clean shirt to put on, but my back is in one of the photos :).
I’d had to book a place in the restaurant, but had some food before the last game of the night, which was challenge. But a good challenge of GM skills. Enter the youngest RPG player in the convention: 7-year Chloe. She was a bit excitable (she was there with her Mum and Uncle), but had the table in stitches with:
Dwarves love gold? Isn’t that unsanitary? – Chloe (Age 7)
Obviously, I’d had to make my Action Movie plot more child-friendly, but she’s the only one managing to get a swear word into the conversation. There was a bit of a double-take on my part! The plot was rollicking ride involving Police Scotland’s Dwarvish Consultant, a plot by the Dark Elf King Oberon, and a Draconic Captain. And Ork Boyz building a pimp-mobile Battlewagon to the tune of the A-Team. I was on fire, and so was a building by the time the players had finished with the scenario.
At midnight I crashed – literally – into bed. I’d beat my personal best. Three 4-hour sessions done. Looking back, it’s probably for me to run these session back-to-back, as it leaves me with very little time to do anything. Plus the prep time needed.
Sunday
Sunday was really a day where you got the feeling everyone was panic buying (that bloody cash machine again!). I went back on the Modiphius stall where chaos taking a bit of a party with the others. This time running Achtung! Cthulhu Trellborg Monstrosities for two players, which lead to one of them buying the game, so that was a win. By mid-afternoon things were winding down and people were packing up – the trade hall was empty by 6pm! Sadly, everyone had gone when I got out of running Mutant: Year 0 later (which was lot of fun), and definitely a game I like running. I barely had a chance to say goodbye to anyone. However, there was a bit of a surprise later – I certainly don’t think it had anything to do with me (see below). The hotel radically changed too – all the character kind of felt bled out of the place, and it felt much more like an airport hotel. I think, if there was train on the Sunday I’d probably take it back to Edinburgh.
Surviving the UK Games Expo
There’s fair lot the Games Expo and it’s a lot to take in. There’s a lot of highs and lows I think, so let’s start with…
The Lows
- The Hilton is EXPENSIVE. Really expensive. £5.50 for a pint, £28 for a steak. If you want internet access you have to pay £14.99 a day, although there was some coverage in the lobby. Ouch. No Cat-5 connection like the Hilton in Vancouver, either. Next time, I’ll shop around for a better deal I think (as was recommended to me)!
- Waiting ten minutes for the bar staff to notice we were waiting to get served (sarcasm worked).
- The crowds may make some people anxious. It can be a bit hard to deal with the press of the crowd.
- There’s a sort of crowd Brownian motion in the Trade Hall didn’t give folk a chance to stop and browse. However as the Expo is heading to NEC next year, I suspect this will no longer be an issue.
- There’s one cash machine in the hotel and it ran out constantly (and charged £1.50 a visit!).
- My biggest regret is that I didn’t get much of chance to see the Expo, and this was my own fault in the making, but its something I’ll bear in mind for the future. Not just at the Games Expo either.
The Highs
- Getting a chance to play some awesome games with some awesome people. Next time, I plan to do some more open gaming.
- Well organised. Aside from a couple of minor things (see below) it pretty much went without a hitch to my perspective. Although a couple of GMs failed to turn up, apparently – given that the players paid for the game, it’s a little ignorant on those GMs part. The RPG organiser had made it quite clear to contact him if there were problems running a game days before.
- Seeing some great costumes. Loved those Jawas!
- Big tables that you could all comfortably sit around for RPGs with a respectable noise level. Luxury!
- Being able to demo games for folk who then went to buy the game 🙂
- Spending time on the stand with the Modiphius Team. You’re a great bunch. Hope to see you at Dragonmeet!
Survival Suggestions
- There were food trucks outside, so you didn’t have to eat in the Hilton – they’re moderately less expensive and there’s Subway in the NEC.
- The air in the halls dries out quickly, so stay hydrated. If you’re working in there, probably a good idea to take lip balm!
- Keep stuff in your room – you don’t need to take boardgames to the Expo – and it’s good to keep things light (rulebooks etc. can be left behind!). Taking an extra case definitely made it easier to transport.
- Give yourself some time to take it in and don’t commit yourself to running too many games as GM!
- Sunday evening is largely dead there – everyone’s gone by 6pm. If you can, head home that night.
- Try and find a cheaper hotel than the Hilton, or find a better deal online. The Hilton does sell out fast, though.
- 3G. If you’re got it, use it – don’t rely on the Hilton wifi network.
- Take a tablet or iPad and keep any rulebooks on PDF. It’s light and more portable, plus you can capture the insanity.
- Get to the breakfast queue for 7am.
And to end it all there was this.
Modiphius Entertainment’s Mutant: Year Zero (by Friya Ligan) won UK Games Expo 2015 Best Role Play Game Award. I missed this as I was in another part of the building – running it. 🙂 I’m not taking credit for it winning though – seriouskythere was a lot of interest in it at the Expo, and the book is great.
As RPGs go, I’ve really enjoyed running this. For Q-CON, I’m going to try and make things a bit more details, possibly extending the plot line into the Eden story arc. I love the cards and dice do make things quick and easy. Plus the book’s art really works well. The headcase in Lair of the Saurians may be interesting, too. I’ve not read it yet, but it looks fun to run!
Congratulations to the Modiphius team on the win (and Nathan and Mark for volunteering – next time I’ll stick around the stand and possibly play!).
Stonehenge!
To end things on a light note, I was amused to find that one of the RPG games rooms – Suningdale – had been left off the map of the Expo. As I was running a game in it, I scouted around a bit and found it named Sunnydale. That wasn’t the only typo. Special mention should be made of the ceiling-high banner in the Monarch room. Or Monrach as it was spelt in huge letters. Ouch. I was reminded of the now classic Stonehenge scene in Spinal Tap…
UK Games Expo 2015 – Preparation
I’ve been doing quite a bit of work prepping for the 2015 UK Games Expo in Birmingham (at the NEC) later on this week. I’ve offered to help the Modiphius team with the setup and will be running some demo games, so will be heading down on Thursday afternoon. Luckily, it’s not far from the station to the Hilton and exhibition hall.
I’ve few minor misgivings about the trip. One is that I maybe should have left myself some time to sit down and actually play a game, and to actually get around the Expo and see stuff. The other is pacing myself. Starting early in the morning on Saturday, my last game finishes at midnight. There’s a one-hour slot between games, so I’ll need to make sure I feed/hydrate myself properly. I expect Sunday morning to be fairly quiet, so will likely see if I can do some demos then at the Modiphius stand if needed.
After Q-CON last year, I learned from my mistakes and am taking a second case to the Games Expo and Q-CON I picked up a fairly cheap solid case from John Lewis. Last year I had to post some stuff back home ‘cos there wasn’t enough room, with the novels I had bought, and WarZone: Resurrection rules. While I recall, I must get the new Laurence Donaghy novel, Completely Folk’d at Q-CON.
As well as the requisite clothing and toiletries, I’m taking the following:
- Strepsils. I’ll need them.
- Dice. Not just the regular ones, but the Mutant: Year 0 dice too.
- Pencils and scrap paper.
- Achtung! Cthulhu miniatures.
- Achtung! Cthulhu Terrors of the Secret War.
- Achtung! Cthulhu haversack (to carry stuff around).
- Achtung! Cthulhu Keeper and Player books (I’ll be coming back with the Guide to the Eastern Front too).
- Achtung! Cthulhu The Trellborg Monstrosities
- Go tokens (and the movie counters) for use with Cliché, Mutant Chronicles, etc.
- A set of playing cards for Cliché.
- Mutant: Year 0 rulebook
- Mutant: Year 0 map
- Savage Worlds rulebook.
- The Worlds Greatest Screen GM screen.
- Call of Cthulhu rulebook.
- Binder with notes, character sheets, rules etc. for Cliché, Mutant: Year 0, Mutant Chronicles 3e, Conan RPG, and the St Nazaire material.
- Netbook and cat 5 cable (backup of PDF rules and to keep updated).
- Phone charger
I’ve still to finish prepping the Cliché adventure and character sheets. I really do need to knuckle down on that.
UK Games Expo 2015 – Prepping “like a boss”
So far there’s a lot going on for me at the UK Games Expo 2015 (and Q-CON a few weeks later!). I’ve volunteered to help out the folks at Modiphius Entertainment with set-up on the Thursday night and to run some demo games. The demo games will likely be on the Friday and Sunday, although they’ll shorter – 1 hour to 90 minutes.
As far as I know, Marc Langworthy of Red Scar Publishing/KPLangers and I will be running them at the Modiphius stand, like we did at Dragonmeet. I’m not sure if Marc will be running any of his “Purging of the Crucible” official Mutant Chronicles scenario. I think there’ll just be the two of us (possibly three of us) running the games so say “Hi” if you’re there!
As well as Mutant: Year 0 demos, I’ll be running a bunch of scheduled games as parts of the official games at the UK Games Expo. This is why I’m taking an extra bag to the UK Games Expo (and Q-CON). I’ve learnt that it’s worth it for the extra weight. I have a bunch of games outside the demos for Modiphius as follows.
- A Prayer for St. Nazaire – Achtung! Cthulhu (Savage Worlds, Saturday 10:00-14:00). SOLD OUT! Eep. Achtung! Cthulhu won best RPG last year. I’m pretty much ready for this. I’ve run it twice but my Savage Worlds knowledge needs polished. Characters are ready and plot is set. I’m taking the rulebooks and the miniatures – plus Savage Worlds of course.
- Mutant Chronicles (3rd Edition) – Straffar Gatan 39/Fall of Van Holle (Saturday 15:00-19:00). I’m hoping that the actual rulebook will be at the UK Games Expo, but otherwise this has already been run by me, so I’m fairly comfortable with it.
- Cliché: Movie Madness (Saturday 20:00-24:00). I’ll be running the Drunken Badger game of Marc Farrimond‘s Cliché RPG. I’ve not written the scenario yet, but I’m thinking Dark Edinburgh during the Festival.
- Mutant: Year 0 – For a mouthful of water (Sunday 15:00-19:0o). No idea how this will work out on the Sunday afternoon as the game has been nominated for “Best RPG” at the Expo – possibly running this just before the awards. Although I’ve created characters, I’ll need to flesh out the scenario a little more to fit in the time-frame. I’m also taking the cards and dice (as well as the rulebook), as they might be rather useful.
I’m hoping to do demos of the following games as part of my Modiphius slots (or maybe even play in one) – as well as Mutant: Year 0 if needed.
- The Trellborg Monstrosities – Achtung! Cthulhu (Call of Cthulhu). Part of the official A!C line. I’ve heard it’s good to run in a convention! Need to read up on this adventure – on the plus side it’s already written and tested.
- Robert E. Howard’s Conan: The Red Pit. I’ve a playtest pack for this, and have been reading through it. Crom!
- DUST Adventures. I’ve ordered the dice for this, pre-ordered it, and hope it’ll be ready in time for the Expo. It’s supposed to be nice and simple and I know the DUST gaming community are looking forward to it. I’ve not seen the pack for it, nor the adventure yet.
- Infinity RPG – Tales of the Long Zi Wo. I’m not at all familiar with Corvus Belli Inifinity RPG, but I’m planning to give it a bash. Need to read up a lot more on it though.
It’s going to be a fairly busy weekend. The UK Games Expo is massive, serious, and organised. The plus side is that the train goes pretty close by and I’m staying on-site. The Hilton is a bit pricey but they always are. I’m picking up a lot of little tips for conventions (Conpulsion, Dragonmeet and Q-CON so far), but I suppose a lot it is common sense. Certainly it’s something of an experience.
For more information on the games I’m running at the UK Games Expo, click the relevant image below – it’ll take you to the relevant part of the Modiphius website.
Conpulsion 2015 – Games I’m Running
As some of you may know I’m running a few games at Edinburgh’s Conpulsion 2015. This is Scotland’s biggest gaming convention, and I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been. I’ve got some great news – thanks to Red Scar Publishing‘s Marc Langworthy (a fellow blogger, writer and convention survivor), I’m running a playtest of the Modiphius Entertainment‘s Mutant Chronicles adventure, The Purging of the Crucible from Red Scar Publishing. Only at Conpulsion!
I’ll do a future review of my Conpulsion experiences in a future blog article. Below are some summaries of the games I’m running and some of the background.
Saturday Afternoon (3pm-6pm): The Purging of The Crucible
I’m honoured that I’m being allowed by Modiphius and Red Scar Publishing to run this playtest game.
Although I’ve known of the Mutant Chronicles series for many years, I’ve never actually played the first or second editions, or Doom Trooper. I do own Warzone: Resurrection. I picked it up at Q-CON last year, but haven’t played it yet! On the strength of what I’d read I decided to back the Modiphius Kickstarter for the 3rd Edition. I may also watch the movie. Oh, and as part of the Kickstarter, I’ll also be in the books somewhere as an NPC…
The Solar System is a roaring mayhem of death and war. The surfaces of the inner planets have been swept clean by the violent onslaught of the Dark Legions storming hordes of Nepharites, Razides, Pretorian Stalkers and Undead Legionaries. In the enormous cities of the far and distant future, heretics devoted to the destruction of humankind stalk the dark backstreets and gloomy alleys spreading their teachings of greed, jealously and war.
In the late 21st century a growing madness of plagues, wars, terrorism and environmental collapse led to the rushed terraforming of the colonies by the major corporations, an exodus from Earth and the final cataclysmic nuclear war. It takes hundreds of years to re-establish life as we know it on the inner worlds of our solar system. Imperial, Capitol, Bauhaus and Mishima now rule from their homes in the steaming jungles of Venus, the caverns of Mercury, the deserts of Mars and the many orbitals and asteroid homes of the solar system. Luna City is a vast neutral sprawl, many hundreds of years old, built up and over the first colony and mines.
A fateful exploratory mission to Pluto unleashes an ancient evil force ‘The Dark Symmetry’ upon the thinking machines of man. As technology fails (and even fights back), mankind is beset with conspiracy and corporate intrigue from within. Dark things gather on the edges of the colonies and whilst corporate war consumes the greatest armies of man, the Dark Legion’s citadels rise up throughout the worlds of the solar system and terrifying armies march out to consume all. They were defeated long ago, they will not be defeated this time…
As the Dark Symmetry’s malign influence on humanity grows, the Brotherhood with their strange powers, arise to unite the corporate armies as one and fight back.
Set in the time of the First Dark Legion War, The Purging of The Crucible is a dark tale of survival and technological torment created by Red Scar Publishing for Modiphius Entertainment and their Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition Roleplaying Game.
The best of intentions are the stuff of nightmares.
Exclusively at Conpulsion for the first time ever – this playtest game will take four players and plunge them headlong into the world of the Mutant Chronicles, as also featured in the Warzone and Doom Trooper games. It will may give players the chance help shape the final adventure and perhaps even the Mutant Chronicles universe.
System: Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition (4 players)
Other games I’m running are:
Saturday Morning (10am-1pm): For a Mouthful of Water
I’m usually a bit reluctant to buy or run post-apocalyptic games, but I was pleasantly surprised by Mutant: Year 0. There’s going to be a review of it in a future blog article.
Of course the world ends. It was always just a question of time. When it’s all over, Earth is still. Nature invades the ruined cities. Winds sweep through empty streets, turned into graveyards.
Yet life remains. In the Ark, a small settlement on the edge of a dead town, the People live. You are the spawn of humanity, but not human anymore. You are twisted funhouse images, mutated freaks. Your bodies and minds have incredible powers, but you are unstable. Fragile. None of the People are over 30 years old.
Except the Elder. Your leader, but not like you. One of the Old People. He has always warned you: Stay on your guard, stay in the Ark, or the Rot will get you. Or worse. So far, you have obeyed him. Chased off every stranger who came close to the Ark. Few dared to go out into the Zone. That is what the Elder calls the outside world.
But the safe days are over. Food is running scarce, and the fight for what’s left is turning violent. You hunger. Factions are forming, bosses on top and slaves on the bottom. In the middle, fixers who try to turn a profit from anyone and everyone. And the Elder is dying. You’re on your own now.
It’s time to venture out. To explore the Zone, to search for artefacts, for knowledge. To build, grow the land, seek out others, create a new civilization on the ruins of the old. Seek your origin. Maybe, one day, you will find Eden of the legends, the Old People’s haven in the middle of hell. That’s where salvation and truth await, the stories say.
Maybe it’s all bullsh*t. It doesn’t matter. You have no choice. This is the beginning.
This is Year Zero.
In a post apocalyptic future, a group of mutant PCs search for fresh water in the ruins of the Ancients, vital to their survival and those within the Ark.
System: Mutant: Year 0 (4-6 players)
Saturday Evening (8-11pm): Straffar Gatan 39
The first adventure using the beta test rules for The Mutant Chronicles, set in Luna City.
Straffar Gatan 39, a rundown tenement in the Nines – a particularly nasty part of the Perimeters. Dispatch has received multiple calls from residents reporting screaming on the third floor. Dispatch receives calls like this all the time and they mostly go unanswered, but after the sixth call a Patrol unit was dispatched….
System: Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition (4-6 players)
Sunday Morning (10am-1pm): The Truth Is Out There
Marc Farrimond, local Edinburgh gaming svengali created this RPG. Based on the making of movies, this uses a fun system for running various types of games. Check out my article on RPGs – Cinematic Style if you’re unclear on what I’m talking about. Marc regularly runs this game at Q-CON and it’s hugely popular, so hopefully it’ll be as popular at Conpulsion.
Have you ever watched a movie and wondered why the characters on the screen have a tendency to do things that no sane person would ever consider. People investigating strange noises in an abandoned house, or splitting up and exploring the area, even though they know that something is going on? Well, these are the clichés that we as viewers come to expect – even if they do make us groan out loud.
Welcome to Cliché, a roleplaying game with a difference. Cliché uses a narrative driven basis for its simple mechanics and will offer you hours of fun and entertainment without being bogged down with dozens of complex rules, tables or charts. Cliché is also completely dice-less meaning you can play more or less anywhere!
So what is Cliché? Many game systems use a complex formula of math to work out who goes first, how the player hits someone, or even things as simple as opening a door.
Cliché offers something far simpler, that retains the playability of a roleplaying system, and is driven as such by the actions of the players and the way that they respond to situations. Cliché is a game of modern cinema, and the use of clichés adds to the fun and can keep even the best Gamesmaster on his toes.
Cliché uses at its very root, the idea that an expression can allow a character to do something that will affect the outcome of an encounter.
Got your torch? Got your gun? Well, gear up because there’s something very wrong in Edinburgh Below… A game of monsters, magic, and mayhem – Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the X-Files.
System: Cliché: The RPG of Making Movies (4-6 players)
Saturday Evening (3pm-6pm): A Prayer for St. Nazaire
I’m a big fan of the Modiphius Achtung! Cthulhu setting. I ran A Prayer for St. Nazaire at Q-CON last year and also at Dragonmeet – both were well received as Call of Cthulhu games, but I’m trying Savage Worlds this time at Conpulsion. In a future blog article I’ll compare how it ran with both systems, plus review the game.
Discover the secret history of World War Two – stories of the amazing heroism which struggled to overthrow a nightmare alliance of science and the occult, of frightening inhuman conspiracies from the depths of time, and the unbelievable war machines which were the product of Nazi scientific genius – and how close we all came to a slithering end!
Play a huge range of classic wartime heroes such as Russian political officers, German U-Boat commanders, British commandoes, RAF pilots, US rangers, Washington investigators, London journalists, Hollywood starlets, and resistance fighters from all across Europe, who must all unite in the battle against the darker side of World War Two. Play a full campaign leading from the opening shots of the War in 1939, through intrigue and adventure in Occupied Europe, the siege of Berlin in 1945, and finally the cold wastes of Antarctica in 1946!
March 1942: A small commando force are dropped behind enemy lines to silence a Nazi listening post in the Loire valley. However, there’s more to Batz-sur-Mer than meets the eye.
System: Achtung! Cthulhu (Savage Worlds, 4-6 players)
See you on the other side!