Games Played in 2011

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Block 5: 1st November 2011 to 20th December 2011

Beyond the Mountains of Madness

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Recruitment Poster

To the ends of the Earth... to prevent the end of the world.

Is this how the world ends ?

The 1930-31 a team from Miskatonic University discovered an unprecedented range of huge mountains, and the scientific find of the century...yet within 24 hours they were all dead. The Rescue team were sworn to silence. Now, two years later, James Starkweather and William Moore intend to go to Antarctica to find out the truth of really happened - what REALLY lies BEYOND....the Mountains of Madness...

Dyers warning has been in vain, and not one but three parties of explorers have penetrated into the mountains ; the ends of the earth proves to have wonders and horrors beyond those the explorers ever expected ; Opportunity - or death- lie in store for those that unravel the mysteries of an elder world.....and now, the expedition leader has been kidnapped. His captors flee, with the party in close pursuit.

They draw ever closer to the darkness at the heart of the mountains...and faced with the terrible truth about what lies there, what will they do?


Guards! The Watchmen Encounter

D&D 4th Edition Campaign

Nesting along the ridges of Mount Vulcanus, lies the town and castle of Enlil. Standing at over one-hundred and fifty years old, the Lionheart family have held Enlil for generations, against war, peace and feud alike. Of course, ruling such a large town comes with its own requirements - a solid force of town guards to protect and serve the crown being one of them.

This is where you, the player, step in. As a member of the town guards, it is your duty to uphold and protect against those who would break the laws. Your training? Adequate. The risks? Mediocre. The pay? Depends how corrupt you are. You exist to serve, and you serve to continue existing.

Everything is fairly normal for you. Pickpockets, drunkards, thieves... but only days after strange hooded cultists begin showing up at the town gate, things begin to unsettle. The people start becoming restless and unhappy, reports of assaults and robberies begin flowing in - and to top things off, Mt. Vulcanus begins to shake.

Sounds like a job for the town guard.

Game Details

You are all level one characters of whatever class you wish - the town guard is made up of all the skillsets you can imagine. With only the most basic equipment to hand (you start unequipped with 100gp to spend) it is your duty to uncover the source of this unrest, and put an end to it... though that isn't to say there won't be temptation to stray from the path...

Anyone is welcome to join - you don't need any previous experience with the 4th Edition System to play!

Game Info

Cold City

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

In the divided city of Berlin, the Reserve Police Agency hunts down monsters left over from sinister experiments and twisted 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.

In 'Cold City' you take the role of a member of the RPA, those secretive Cold War monster hunters. Characters are defined not just by who they are and what they are like, but by the views of the other characters and the trust that they have in them. For each character is, at the outset, seen as a national stereotype, a cliched representative of their chosen nation. But is this really the case? Do they live up to the stereotype or do they show themselves to be wholly unique individuals? And how does this affect the trust that the other character have in them?

This is the first of a proposed trilogy of campaigns. The second will be Hot War, run by James Mullen, which will build upon the events of this game and look at the consequences in post-apocalyptic London in 1963. The third will follow the timeline into the future, with a rebuilt, totalitarian Britain.

Airship Pirates - Ten of the Crew had the Murder Mark

With a crew of drunken pilots,
We're the only airship pirates,
We're full of hot air and we're starting to rise,
We're the terror of the skies but a danger to ourselves.
-- Abney Park's Airship Pirates.

The year is 2150, and since the chronal Apocalypse of 1906 nothing is what it might have been. The world is a wilderness, full of man-eating lions, sabre-toothed monstrosities and far, far, worse. In grim, overcrowded, walled cities the Neovictorians dwell as clockwork police and fear of the Change Cage keep the lower-classes subjugated. Outside, in the wilderness, the Neobedouin struggle to eke out a nomadic existence in their vast caravans, and even the floating cities of the Skyfolk are not without danger. Nowhere, it seems, is safe in this perilous world.

Especially if you're one of those rare few whose lives seem nothing but a series of risky and dangerous enterprises, an airship pirate.

With a crew by your side and the deck of an airship under your feet, your trusty steam-powered pistol in your belt and a swig of rum in your belly, adventure awaits you as you take to the dangerous skies of a Steampunk future!

The scenario I'm currently planning on offering is loosely based on Abney Park's The Derelict, itself based on the classic poem, but that may be subject to change depending on just what sort of piratical knaves the game ends up with. Suffice to say, if you can yell 'Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!' at 20,000 feet you'll probably do fine.

An All Consuming Greed: Part Two

It's a dangerous thing to think we know everything - Jack Kuehler

The Childe of the Prince of Southwark may well have been successfully rescued, but there is still much afoot across the South of the United Kingdom. The Kindred of South London are still wary of returning to their homes... The sinister Country Club are still active... The mysterious Network have plans in motion... and where does the walking abomination Thaddeus Clarke, where does he fit in to it all? At the centre of this web of intrigue, Greed waits behind the golden door of its prison, guarded by Ariadne, waiting for any and all that would dare attempt to let this terrible force upon the world...

The second instalment of the Vampire the Requiem game begun in the last long block. New characters are more than welcome, no previous experience of Part One is needed as I'm sure people will pick up things along the way fairly quickly!


Block 4: 16th August 2011 to 4th October 2011

Clone Wars: 501st

"It's been said that the 501st got the best of the war. We also got the worst." ―Opening entry from the Journal of the 501st

The 501st Legion, will later become known as "Vader's Fist". History records them as an elite unit of clone troopers commissioned by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the Clone Wars that later became a stormtrooper unit.

But first they were just a bunch of clones, trying to survive. Welcome to your first day in hell, if you survive, you might just become the stuff legends are written about.

An All Consuming Greed

There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it - Buddha

Kindred society exists hidden in the shadows from humanity. Sheltering in the cities, their major sources of food, many keep their heads down and watch eternity pass... until someone rocks the boat. No-one ever thought that there was a Kindred presence in North Buckinghamshire until a high ranking member of the Circle of the Crone went missing there on route from York to London. Fearing a diplomatic incident might be approaching, the Prince of London sends a team of respected Kindred to North Buckinghamshire to find out what happened there, to get to the bottom of the mystery before anyone can point the finger of blame at the London Court. For these kindred, their Requiem is about to become a whole different tune...

[Note: Potentially, if this runs, it could easily develop into a campaign running over several long blocks - and can easily accommodate new characters coming and going between blocks, etc.]

Fever Dreams

A little over a year ago, Concupulous Eeeben, the eldest son of the current regent of Vornheim, led an expedition down the Fever Dream River to try to find the fabled lost city of Lanesh-al-Tarn. No word has been heard since then, and while the regent has not called for a rescue mission yet, it is only a matter of time. This is an opportunity for a clever group of rogues to win the gratitude of the most powerful man in the city, with all that entails. All they need to do is to find out the route Concupulous Eeeben took, raise the funds to follow him and to survive the expedition. What could possibly go wrong?

Lamentations of the Flame Princess is part of the Old School Renaissance movement, which attempts to capture the flavour and play style of early D&D. The mechanics are simpler than more recent versions of D&D, and there is more emphasis on the referee’s adjudication rather than having a rule for every situation. Player characters are fragile, and keeping them alive is a question of player skill, largely broken down to careful resource management, thinking situations through and paying careful attention to the environment. This is a much less forgiving game than you may be used to, and there will be death.

In tone, the Lamentations of the Flame Princess draws upon the tradition of Weird Fiction: that borderland between fantasy and horror. It is a mix of Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith and H P Lovecraft. It will be quite grotesque and gruesome at times, and largely free of moral certainties.

The rules of the game are available as a free download.

Exalted

Chapter one: Eyes on the prize

Your the rightful god kings of creation. your not anymore.. too bad, there is an artifact you want, go get it.

Exalted is a high power kitchen sink fantasy epic. where the actions of the player characters will impact creation. well that's the basics of my game, to be explained fully on the day of voting

  • System: Storyteller(exalted)
  • Proposed by: Mark Horne
  • Players: 3-4


Block 3: 31st May 2011 to 19th July 2011

Beyond the Mountains of Madness

Alt
Recruitment Poster

To the ends of the Earth... to prevent the end of the world.

Is this how the world ends ?

The 1930-31 a team from Miskatonic University discovered an unprecedented range of huge mountains, and the scientific find of the century...yet within 24 hours they were all dead. The Rescue team were sworn to silence. Now, two years later, James Starkweather and William Moore intend to go to Antarctica to find out the truth of really happened - what REALLY lies BEYOND....the Mountains of Madness...

....and their task is not easy. The expedition has been subject to threats, sabotage, the death of the ship's captain and a murderous arson attack.

Will the team manage find out who is trying to kill them? Who is the red haired man? Will love save Doctor Dibden? Will James Ford discover the secret behind the black opals? Will Harry get his exclusive? Will Fitzwilliam survive to make it to Antarctica? And most importantly of all, will Clive get a woolly hat to go with his scarf?

And faced with the terrible truth about what lies there, what will they do?


Smallville : Littleton

Being the adventures of a small and previously unremarkable group of people, living in a small and unremarkable English Town, who find their lives in turmoil as they are unexpectedly engaged in an epic battle of good and evil. Strange powers, dark secrets best left undiscovered, love and lust, hate and fury, foul lies and terrible truths ... and a Garden Centre. Think of it as the "Midsomer Murders" edition of Smallville ...

The Demon Queen's Enclave

Continuation of my D&D 4th Edition Campaign.

You have finally tracked Zirithian to his ziggurat in Deadhold, and the swift retribution of the light is at hand! That was, until you realised that there is a lot more going on here than just an undead power-hungry drow.

  • Proposed by Anthony Edmonds
  • 4-6 players
  • New characters and new D&D players welcome.

The Whitechapel Mystery - A Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle

London, England. It is the winter of 1888, and a notorious killer haunts the gaslit streets, stalking his victims through the night time fog. Each of his victims is found with throat slashed, body mutilated, organs removed. The human population brave the darkness with reluctance, travelling in groups when they must venture abroad. Though the Kindred of the city would not usually concern themselves with mortal affairs they are forced to take an interest when one of their own is killed, staked in the street and left to burn in the sun. Concerned, the Prince requires a group to investigate the murders and bring the killer to justice.

Enter the players: A group of neonate vampires, newly released from their sires, hoping to make a name for themselves in the city. They are perfect for the Prince's task: young, eager, and above all disposable. They must work together to uncover the truth of the Whitechapel murders, to earn their status, and to survive.

  • Proposed by Amy Hewitt
  • 3-6 players
  • Vampire: the Masquerade 3rd ed. (more or less)
  • Players new to the system welcome


Block 2: March 15th 2011 to May 3rd 2011

Beyond the Mountains of Madness

Alt
Recruitment Poster

To the ends of the Earth... to prevent the end of the world.

Is this how the world ends ?

The 1930-31 a team from Miskatonic University discovered an unprecidented range of huge mountains, and the scientific find of the century...yet within 24 hours they were all dead. The Rescue team were sworn to silence. Now, two years later, James Starkweather and William Moore intend to go to Antarctica to find out the truth of really happened - what REALLY lies BEYOND....the Mountains of Madness...

....and their task is not easy. The expedition has been subject to threats, sabotage,the death of the ships captain and a murderous arson attack. Will the team manage find out who is trying to kill them ? Who is the red haired man ? Will love save Doctor Dibden ? Will James Ford discover the secret behind the black opals ? Will Harry get his exclusive ? Will Fitzwilliam survive to make it to Antarctica ? And most importantly of all , will Clive get a woolly hat to go with his scarf ?

And faced with the terrible truth about what lies there, what will they do ?


3-6 players. Using the CoC rules.
Continuing from the previous block.

Star Wars: Legacy

Episode Five Long ago in a galaxy far, far away…

The story is set 130 years after Return of the Jedi. The Galactic Alliance (formerly known as the Rebellion) and the Jedi Order form an alliance with a race of aliens known as Yuuzhan Vong and the Sith sabotage it. After three years of fighting, the Alliance is defeated at Coruscant and its remaining territories are absorbed by the Empire which becomes the new galactic government. The Jedi Order is nearly destroyed during a massacre led by the Sith at the Jedi Temple at Ossus. The new Sith Order turns against Emperor Roan Fel and his Imperial Knights. Darth Krayt usurps the Imperial throne, though some parts of the Empire remain loyal to Fel.

Episode Five Part Two - The Seige of Manda'yaim [[1]]

In the last episode the players learned of a new Sith Lord called Darth Dukkha and that he has plans for Manda’yaim, the world of the Mandalores. A world that has cut itself off from the rest of the universe for ten years. Knowing that both the Empire and the Galactic Alliance have been compromised by Dukkha’s forces our heroes have to save the Mandalorians while coping with all the issues they have with each other. For 3-6 players using the SAGA version of the Star Wars Role-Playing game. Full details of Episodes One to Five can be found here: Star Wars: Legacy. This is an ideal jumping on point for anyone interested in joining the game.

Apocalypse World

Nobody remembers how or why. Maybe nobody ever knew. The oldest living survivors have childhood memories of it: cities burning, society in chaos then collapse, families set to panicked flight, the weird nights when the smoldering sky made midnight into a blood-colored half-day.

Now the world is not what it was. Look around you: evidently, certainly, not what it was. But also close your eyes, open your brain: something is wrong. At the limits of perception, something howling, everpresent, full of hate and terror. From this, the world's psychic maelstrom, we none of us have shelter.

The game setting, characters and issues are all created from an initial in-character session, the GM is there to mess with the players characters as much and as often as possible, but only in the interests of pushing their story in the most interesting places and showing how cool they really are.

A game of apocalyptic proportions from the author of Dogs in the Vineyard, 3-5 players.

Full Light, Full Steam

  • See the Solar System!
  • Defend the Crown!
  • Win Bounties on the Greatest Sea!
  • Battle uncivilised natives and nefarious villains for the glory of Queen and Empire!
  • Join the Royal Astronomical Navy!

Portray vibrant characters in a fantastic world of daring heroics, tasteful British culture, and incredible steam engineering.

None of the Solar Powers are as great as the British Empire... and none have as much to lose. Ply the ether of the Greatest Sea in Her Majesty's solar steamers, defending Britain from foreign plots and domestic crises alike. The safety and prosperity of the Empire rests on your shoulders.

A fast-paced action game of steampunk space-faring, somewhat similar to Space: 1889. An interesting part of the mechanics is thematic batteries (e.g. Gentleman, Hotshot pilot, Inquisitive); characters 'charge' their batteries by playing up the disadvantages and then 'discharge' them later to gain a bonus.

Also, they only way to gain experience points is to bring other people's thematic batteries into the narration.

More at the publisher's home page and an FLFS wiki.

Block 1: December 14th 2010 to February 15th 2011

Beyond the Mountains of Madness

See my game trailer HERE !

Alt
Recruitment Poster

To the ends of the Earth... to prevent the end of the world.

Is this how the world ends ?

The 1930-31 a team from Miskatonic University discovered an unprecidented range of huge mountains, and the scientific find of the century...yet within 24 hours they were all dead.

The Rescue team were sworn to silence.

Now, two years later, James Starkweather and William Moore intend to go to Antarctica to find out the truth of really happened - what REALLY lies BEYOND....the Mountains of Madness

All players will receive some props and audios of the game play to take away with them as souvenirs.

3-6 players. Using the CoC or WEG D6 rules (depending on player preference). This would be the start of the campaign so all members who can regularly attend will be welcome.

Update: This will definitely be offered this block as WitW has now finished.

Update: This will definitely be offered this block as WitW has now finished.

The Demon Queen's Enclave

...and so your adventure leads you into the dank depths of the Underdark in search of a great evil that has arisen from the depths of the land, and what you find in those perilous depths... and what you find in those depths... is a full scale war between the Drow and the Undead - and the Drow are losing.

Using the 4th Edition rules, a 14th level party will attempt to quell the evil that has arisen. Previous D&D 4th Edition experience not required.

The Night Visitors

Something is happening on your street, after your mum & dad tuck you in for the night; bins are being knocked over as strange gales blow up from nowhere; you hear eerie chittering noises drifting over the fields from the woods; and now your little sister says she saw a monster peeking in through her window. Your parents aren't taking it seriously, so its down to you and your mates to investigate the weirdness.

None of you are prepared for what you will discover, but it may be down to all of you to decide whether our world lives or dies...

This is a game for Little Fears: Nightmare Edition in which the PCs are all children aged 8 to 12 who are friends and family that live in one particular neighbourhood. There is an over-arcing plot that will be bled into the game session by session, starting from investigating the strange but simple things that happen on your street after dark and scaling up as more is revealed, until the fate of every life on Earth lies in your hands...
The design of the game is that I provide the background for the plot,so I know what has taken place, why it has happened and who is behind it, but it is up to the players, through their characters, to decide how they respond to the plot and thus determine how it all ends.

Monsters of London

A player-driven/led supernatural character drama set in contemporary London.

Who are the monsters? It could be Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Ghosts, Fae, Wizards, Witches, Demons, Devils, Angels, Dragons, Old Gods, Doppelgangers, Elves, Spirits, The Great Old Ones or any combination thereof ... or, indeed, anything else. The mythology of the game will be COMPLETELY open to the players to decide.

All that stands between humanity and this potential smorgasbord of evil is a motley crew, a small band of people with their own agendas, their own wants and desires (and possibly their own dark secrets), more or less united against the darkness that threatens to befall mankind.

Basically, a 'supernatural TV series' (think ANGEL, BUFFY, SUPERNATURAL, MERLIN, CHARMED, HIGHLANDER, RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED), HEX, ULTRAVIOLET, FRINGE, VAMPIRE DIARIES, ALIAS, TRUE BLOOD etc) where the players will get to decide on virtually every aspect of the 'show'. The only thing set in stone is that the background is contemporary London ... although even that could be changed a bit if a good reason presents itself.

I have some ideas for the plot, but these too are open to negotiation - if the players happen to come up with something better I'll shamelessly steal it!

So, there you go. MONSTERS OF LONDON. I'm looking for 3-6 players, ideally 4. Prospective players are strongly encouraged to bring the AWESOME.