We have moved venue to the National Film and Sci-Fi Museum. Please make sure you have the correct venue details.
Games played in 2007
Descriptions of the games we played on 2007. See the games we have played page for descriptions of more recent games.
From September 4th to October 23rd 2007
A Brand New Beginning
So tell me... what's it feel like knowing that you're powerless to protect yourself in a world where you have more enemies that you ever had minions? (And you really had a lot of minions in your heyday). What's it feel like to, after all these years, start from scratch?
It's an end of age. The Pattern is Dead, The King is Dead, Your power base is gone. And you, you have to feel a little bit of guilt as you could probably have stopped it if you hadn't screwed up. Chaos will be out hunting the survivors and you're one of them. But don't worry, you have choices.
You're have a choice... give up or start again. You were of Royal Blood - no one is going to tell you how to live your life. What you do know is that this will be a Brand New Beginning and you can make of it what you will.
Maybe Corwin and the so called Design in Fenneval will help you. Who knows, it could simply be another yoke around your neck, but it could just be what you're looking for although it will be like painting a target on your back. Alternately, Shadow, endless Shadow - you could loose yourself in shadow and hope Chaos doesn't find you. Or maybe you'll choose Chaos - they might have subjugated your family, but maybe you can cut a deal?
A Brand New Beginning continues where Saving Grace left off and continues the story of the players as they vie for power, prestige and the lives of their family members.
What will happen next?
- Wiki Pages: Design For Living
- System: Amber Diceless RPG
- GM: Kevin Dennis
- Players: Sean McGuinness, Louisa McGuinness, James Illing, Shelly Formann, Anthony Edmonds, Mark Horne, Alex Vincent, Mark Kerr
MPD Suicide Squad
You were one of the elite, a super powered governmental agent who targeted non-registered Meta-humans and brought them down with extreme prejudice. But something happened and you crossed the line, maybe you went too far in your interrogations, were set-up by a jealous rival or have been selling contents of the evidence locker on the side. Now you wear orange prison overalls and are sitting in line for genetic and physical augmentation in order to work on the mines of Saturn. Your life is effectively over, when someone offers you one last chance at redemption.
The President's daughter's hover-sled was shot down over the Restricted Zone as she distributed aid to the people below. You are given the option: Go into the Restricted Zone and bring his daughter out alive and in one piece or go to Saturn. If you succeed in your mission you will be given a full pardon, a new identity, £1 million and a one way ticket to an earth colony of your choice. But will you fulfil your mission or decide that it's better to reign in hell than serve in heaven?
This is a Mutants and Masterminds game designed for up to six players but could take eight at a pinch. The city is designed and what happens will be up to the players once they get in the city. They can work together, work alone, achieve the mission or go their own way. I see the game as a cross between Escape from New York, X-Men and any bleak future film you care to name.
Players:
Dogs in the Vineyard round robin
Dogs is possibly the finest RPG ever written. Troubleshooters of the King of Life tour towns in an American West that never was, judging sinners and resolving problems as they go. The game also has a strong episodic nature: play is a series of towns, with each town taking 1-2 sessions to play through. I want to play this game and perhaps run a town or two.
I propose that we have a small group (3-4 people, including me) and we take it in turn to each run a town. If we run out of towns before we run out of sessions, we go round the cycle again. GMing Dogs is easy; town creation is also easy, but there's a huge list of pregenerated towns if you want to use them.
You can see our characters and the towns we fixed
Players:
Cauldron: The Zenith Trajectory
Using the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rules
Cauldron city of high adventure - where the weak are protected by the few and the powerful have better things to do.
You will be joining an existing group of adventurers who have already saved the city of Cauldron from the goblin hoards, vampires, and a renegade cleric.
The group currently consists of the following:
- Angus - Current leader of the group.
- Wallis - Bartender and Locksmith
- Arriane - A young slightly reckless female elf
- Grim - So good it hurts
- George - Grim's follower. Strong. Not too bright.
Previous (and possibly recurring) members of the group included the following:
- Tidrak - Favoured soul of St.Cuthbert -- Deceased
- Ispaka - Fast hands and faster feet - Once again, king of drunks.
- Terseon - Son of the captain of the guard and damm good with a sword - location unknown. Last seen lost in underground caverns being eaten by the undead
- Ulriksdal - Paladin of a god as yet unkown - Currently on his own, fighting for the greater good.
Several months will have passed since our surviving heroes escaped the near certain death of Triel's flooded lair. Now a new job offer awaits, a job with none of that messy do good altruistic nonsense. This one offers cold hard cash and shiny merchantable goods.
The Dwarf Ironlord Davked Splitershield needs his son rescuing from the slimy grasp of some kuo-toan ruffians who hold him captive in the temple of Bhal-Hamatugn. It's all to do with a family curse, deathbed reconciliation etc. Surely easy money for the new heroes of Cauldron?
Usual kind of thing a bit of wilderness trek, bloody big hole in the ground full of treasure, kill the monsters, take the gold, rescue the hairy dwarf.
Game stuff - this is part four in my Shackled City Campaign - it's a mix and mash 3.5 D&D with a degree of cinematic license and loose rule interpretation. This will also be a tough one - characters need to be at least 6th level or hope to be lucky.
Preference will be given to those players who participated in the last long block but I can accommodate up to 6 with a bit of understanding/complete obedience on their part.
Cauldron the Adventure Continues! Learn more about Cauldron, the place, the people who live there and of course the foolhardy adventurers.
Players:
Conspiracy of Shadows
The Conspiracy of Shadows game is intended to be a game of fantasy meets horror. In many ways it's perhaps what Dark Ages Call of Cthulhu should have been.
The system is strongly character led, with players defining their characters goals and even ultimate fate (using a Doom mechanic). The PCs form a 'cell' which will be fighting against a conspiracy as yet undefined. The rulebook does not define the conspiracy, it is developed by the GM based up on what the players choose for their PCs. During the game, I as GM, would be picking up on the elements players define on their PC sheets and trying to push the character's buttons, tempting them to use their Doom.
CoS is a game I've wanted to play for a while. It has a fairly light ruleset which should be easy to grasp but fun to use.
Players:
From 12th June to 31st July 2007
Serenity : Easy Money ...
Here's how it was : After Earth-That-Was got all used up we found a new solar system and hundreds of new Earths were terraformed and colonized. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the War, many of the Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the system, far from Alliance control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying.
Here's how it is : "Find a ship. find a crew. Keep flyin' " - Oh, yeah. simple words, words to live by, burnt into the soul of every captain. Lately though, that goal? It's been a mite trickier.
Recently you've had to take work from some folk with an … interesting … reputation. Still, needs must an' all. Far as you're concerned ain't nothin' too wrong with the work you and yours sometimes end up doin', 'though it turns out the feds tend to act all disagreeable when they catch you at it.
Conjure it might be an idea to keep your head down and your ship under the radar for a spell, but that ain't all that easy when you've got to work for a livin'. Luckily you've got a real simple job lined up, should be easy money …
Easy Money is for 4-5 players, using the Serenity Roleplaying Game. Shoot the bad guys, blow things up, make some money. Most importantly, stay shiny.
- GM: Martin Goodson
- Players: Alex, Kevin Dennis, Kevin Davies, Mat, Mark Kerr and Chris
Mooks
Over the last twenty-five years, the Mooks recruitment agency has established itself as the world leader in providing the highest quality henchpersons to mad scientists, evil overlords and supervillains across the globe. Now, for the first time, Mooks has opened its doors to a television film crew who will have unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the agency, the staff they place and their prestigious customers. At last, their true stories can be told!
Using Primetime Adventures, Mooks will focus on the lives of ordinary working men and women as they try to balance the demands of everyday life with their work in the world of international supervillainry. The player characters will probably be contract employees on placement from Mooks, but may also be supervillains or managers at the agency itself. The focus will be light comedy, with the occasional bit of darkness, and, given that the system is PtA, it will be highly player-driven.
- GM: Scott Dorward
D&D: Cauldron
Using the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rules
Cauldron city of high adventure - where the weak are protected by the few and the powerful have better things to do.
You will be joining an existing group of adventurers who have already saved the city of Cauldron from the goblin hoards and vampires.
The group currently consists of the following:
- Angus - Current leader of the group.
- Tidrak - Favoured soul of St.Cuthbert
- Wallis - Bartender and Locksmith
- Ulriksdal - Paladin of a god as yet unkown
- Terseon - Son of the captain of the guard and damm good with a sword
- Arriane - A young slightly reckless female elf
- Ispaka - Fast hands and a faster feet
Current activity of the group is tracking down the high priest of St.Cuthbert who is delivering the wands of water control to Cauldron. This is important to all of Cauldron as the annual flood festival is due to start very soon and already several lower level properties have been washed away. The group of course responds to the cry for help in this matter, but what is the sinister plan behind the kidnapping?
Cauldron the Adventure Continues! Learn more about Cauldron, the place, the people who live there and of course the foolhardy adventurers.
- GM: Craig Cousins
Silent Hill
- GM: Mark Horne
From March 27th to May 15th 2007
Trinity in Shadow
The world is not quite as we know it. The streets are darker, the criminals are meaner, and hope is a distant myth. Magic isn't confined to stories any longer, and far less so since the war and the terrible legacy it has left behind. In the country's centre of culture, New Eden, warlocks hide in the shadows, making ends meet any way they can. Some go to the police to work in their 'Crystal Ball' squads. They are considered turncoats and traitors to their own kind. They stand alone to try to put right the mistakes their brethern make. Mistakes like a young dead lady dumped in a back alley who points towards a trail that leads to a truth some would kill to keep hidden.
An 'Edge of Midnight' game for 3+ players.
- Proposed by Matt Sanderson
Saving Grace....
The ‘War’ against the invaders was going well, Benedict’s plans were meticulous as usual and we’d pushed them back all the way to the Fire Gate. Their backs against the wall, we continued to push.
We’d thought that Benedict was just 'that good' and that nothing could stand in his way – and to be honest, other than that little spat with Corwin, no one had ever considered Benedict defeat-able in anything. But the feelings of elation and the cheers of victory were all too soon.
The curtain of… Crumbling Shadow… to our rear, the rapidly dwindling forces of Chaos to the front, the Black Road, no more than 5 miles long. A momentary distraction as Brand appears with the Jewel of Judgement and is shot by Caine.
And that’s when things took a turn for the worst…. Why? Who knows but it was at that moment that the Black Road unravelled. Power previous poured into the Black Road, now unleashed, rushed back into Chaos like an elastic band finally released from its pinions. The raw strength was exhilarating and petrifying as it passed over us, through us, and around us. And that’s when it dawned on even the slowest of us – this is what Chaos was waiting for…. They’d fought their rearguard action waiting for the return of their strength and drawn in our forces making us easy targets.
It was, magnificent and mind blowing. Raw Chaos erupted from the ground as tendrils of energy ripped men limb from limb, the retreating chaos horde now stood its ground and pushed hard. A summoned demon host boiled out of the abyss, decimating our flanks. And at our rear, was the undeniable truth of the crumbling shadow that would spell our doom.
Many fell. The Pattern was simply too weak to withstand the concerted effort of the Lords of Chaos, so close to their home and so filled with Power. There was little we could do. What defence we could muster was being rapidly broken.
I’m not quite sure what happened next, but it was Corwin. He did something with Greyswandir, embedded it into the ground possibly. A moment’s silence where it almost appeared that the Universe held its breath – then everything went white… no, black… then… your room!
Summary:
Amber has lost the Patternfall War in a Big way and you’ve been deposited back into your rooms in Castle Amber. How, why, when, where, the others? Who knows, I’ll leave you to find this out. As always, our lives in the defence of Amber, the One True City!
The game is for 3+ players and will be run using traditional ADRPG rules and a home-brew Partial Powers system - and of course, NO DICE!
- Wiki Pages: Design For Living
- System: Amber Diceless RPG
- GM: Kevin Dennis.
- Players: Sean McGuinness, Louisa McGuinness, James Illing, Shelly Formann, Anthony Edmonds
Dungeons and Dragons
- Proposed by Craig Cousins
BPRD
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development assign a team to Milton Keynes after it is discovered that mortal enemies are meeting together. For centuries Vampires, werewolves and ghouls have fought each other but now they're forming agreements. The Vampires are also heavily investing in Milton Keynes' underground railway system. (Turned out they were using the Underground trains as a meals on wheels service.) The BPRD destroyed the underground and vampire's nest with high explosive, and a large chunk of Milton Keynes went with it. Then they finally worked out where all the statues of ordinary people had come from. An evil sorceror had awoken the concrete cows. The cows fed on people, drained them of their blood and life as they became genuine cows. Once they were whole they convinced 666 cows to assemble at Willen Lake for a mass slaughter. The sorceror summoned Cowthulhu from where he slept under the lake and only the BPRD could stop him.
- Proposed by James Hollywood
From January 16th to March 6th 2007
Existential Crisis On Infinite Earths
Ordinary family. Ordinary home. Ordinary car. Ordinary job. Everything about you was very … ordinary. Average. Unremarkable, even. You were happy enough, and yet somehow you couldn’t help feeling you were destined for something more than this. That, perhaps, you should be doing something … greater. It was the one thing that sometimes kept you up at night, the one flaw in your otherwise ordinary but happy life.
All that changed a week ago. The night burned white, the stars perfect spots of blazing black on a photographic negative of the sky. Looking up, shocked, you can dimly recall a burning sensation as if something were reaching deep inside you to pull you apart with blazing-hot knives …
And then you woke up to a different world.
The broad strokes are more or less the same, but the detail’s different. Same job, different boss. Same house, different city. Same car, different colour. Same friends and family but different people - as if the same characters were played by different actors. Most bizarrely of all, you now have another identity in addition to your own. An identity you keep secret from the strangers that are the loved ones you’ve known all your life.
Now, suddenly, you’re a superhero. Now, suddenly, you’ve always been a superhero.
And not just any superhero. You’re one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, one of the elite the world turns to when the planet needs needs saving.
Guess what? The world might shortly need saving…
A Mutants and Masterminds 2nd edition game for 3-5 players, Existential Crisis On Infinite Earths is an eight-part weekly miniseries featuring bank robberies, supervillains, destruction on a massive scale, more supervillains, a threat to all reality, a little girl called Eve … oh, and a little bit of an existential crisis. Maybe.
- Proposed by Martin Goodson.
Mage the Awakening
'You are cordially invited to attend the first festival of renewal held on New Year's Eve. Come to dance. Come to drink. Come to celebrate. Come.'
You are relatively recently awakened mages, either local or recruited from further away to make up numbers after a recent hard fought battle in the shadows wrested Milton Keynes away from their enemies. Today is the 31st of December, when you look back on the victories of the year past, and look forward to those of the year to come. Please, come.
A 'Mage the Awakening' game set in Milton Keynes in a campaign that is going to be strongly influenced by Sapphire and Steel.
- GM: Sean McGuinness and Louisa McGuinness
- Players: Kevin Dennis, Neil Smith, Shelly Formann, Anthony Edmonds, Mark Horne, Kevin Davies
Cthulhu Noir
Forget everything you know about Call of Cthulhu! While most Mythos-related games revolve around the desperate battle of investigators to save humanity from other-worldly horrors, Cthulhu Noir will revolve around player characters who would normally be seen as plot hooks, victims or even villains. This will not be an investigative campaign, but will draw its development from the motivations and backgrounds of the player characters, putting them on centre stage.
Using the Sorcerer system, Cthulhu Noir will be an attempt to create a fusion between film noir sensibilities and personal horror. Against a modern urban background of corruption, betrayal and moral ambiguity, the central characters will all, to varying degrees, have in depth knowledge of the Mythos and believe, possibly misguidedly, that they can use its power to further their own ends. What these ends are, and where the campaign goes, will be entirely up to the players. Do you want to use the knowledge hidden in unspeakable tomes to bring yourself temporal power and wealth? Would you prefer to bind lesser entities to destroy those whose souls the Great Old Ones have consumed, protecting humanity from their plans? Maybe you want to make unholy alliances with those who lurk beyond to bring humanity under your heel. It's your choice! Just be warned that power always comes with a price, and this time it could be your sanity, your soul or your humanity itself! How much of yourself will you be willing to sacrifice to get what you want?
You can see the discussion on the BBS that led to this offering, or more details about Sorcerer at the official web site.
- Proposed by Scott Dorward