Update: It's looking like the game will be run on New Years' Day, January 1st. Time is looking like 5pm, GMT-5.

Starring:

Quex as Dave Buchanan, FBI Profiler.

Quantus as Roscoe Jasper, Canadian Military Police

DeadAwakeUK as Bernard Huffie, Chemist for the Ministry of Defense

Brunius as Charlie Green, DEA.

Will as Norman Jaden, FBI.

Charmander as Danil Oztroje, SWAT

Hello!

As many in the IRC are aware, we have talked about running a traditional RPG night for roughly an eternity. Last time those crazy downundas got up to some Shadowrun, but we're going to be running new World of Darkness, pre-God Machine Chronicle update.

"But Fortune!" I hear you cry, "I do not know how to play new World of Darkness! I don't know how to play old World of Darkness! I don't know how to even play a traditional RPG!". Nonsense! All you need in order to play is the following:

1. An uninterrupted three hour period over the Holidays that you are willing to commit to using your imagination. It's a muscle not often used, and could certainly use some exercise.

2. The patience to spend roughly 15 minutes on learning how to play and making a character. I promise that it truly will be that easy, and I will walk each and every one of you through it. I promise it will be painless, and fun.

3. Take it seriously. It will be a serious game. We can laugh and goof off, but at the end of the day, we will be playing a game with horrific elements, so let's keep that in mind.

4. Bring some beer, you might need it.

5. Miscellaneous things I am not a fan of when running games: Player vs. Player combat. Any kind of explicit sexual themes where the intention is expressing immaturity or titillation. Refusal to engage with the narrative (by all means, please do anything you like, as long as you truly believe it advances something meaningful). Probably other things I have forgotten as well.

Below, I will go over some general concepts, a couple ideas for games we can run, and afterwards we'll take care of related housekeeping.

What is World of Darkness?

World of Darkness is a traditional, pen and paper RPG gameline from White Wolf/Onyx Publishing/CCP. You may be familiar with Vampire: the Masquerade, which was the vampire module for the original World of Darkness (colloquially old World of Darkness). We will be playing as basic Mortals in the new World of Darkness ruleset.

You can expect a modern, urban setting. You will be playing very normal characters. Perhaps you are playing as a fireman, or an electrician. Perhaps you're an MMA hobbyist, or a desk jockey. The choice is your's to create whatever life makes sense for you. Just, please no "I MADE A NINJA" stuff. I will say no, it will be awkward. If there is any doubt, please see me.

Will I need to go out and buy/steal a book to play?

Nope! World of Darkness is an incredibly easy game to learn how to play. I could explain it over TeamSpeak in just a few minutes. The only part of the game that you will need a book for is selecting Merit points (You may know these as Feats from other RPG's), which I can help you with. It will be pretty much painless.

What kind of tone can I expect?

I'm a pretty decent Storyteller (World of Darkness's variation of a GM/DM), but I seem to only run a single sort of game. You will be playing some kind of normal person in some sort of modern setting, with strong horror elements. Depending on the scenario we choose, some may feature content including: sexual themes, death, loss of innocence, and other generally unsavory things. Regardless of the scenario, the tone will be pretty dark.

How many players do we need?

Ideally, four or five. We can function with three players, or six. Anything larger is unwieldy, and anything smaller will require some unique game design choices. Let's try to get four or five of you in here.

Please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have below.

Possible Scenarios

Since this is very likely going to be a one shot deal, I am going to run something I have run before. With the short notice, I think this will give my players the most fleshed out, enjoyable experience without requiring me to do 10 hours of world building for a single session. Below, I will list a few options and see if any of them appeal to those interested.

Option A) A group of acquired Government personnel (Think your traditional alphabet soup: FBI, CIA, DEA, FEMA, CDC, ATF, etc.) are brought together as a sort of task force to deal with a threat amongst an urban blizzard.

This one generally takes on a more detective style of play, with significant bursts of frantic action and all sorts of fun jargon. If you have ever found yourself wondering what you would do with a short timetable that, if not met, will result in "birds blue on blue", this will be up your alley.

Disclaimer: There is some sexual imagery in this one. It is not sexy. At all. It will be done respectfully, if horrific.

Option B) You are a group of children in a small, quiet community. As you reach your 10th birthdays, you are all subjected to a physical examination that could have dire consequences.

What you do with your knowledge, and how it will affect you when (and if) you have grown up is the central theme here. If you find yourself drawn to the queer, small towns that seem to have a dark past that no one speaks about, this is the scenario for you.

Option C) A group of seemingly unrelated strangers are given mysterious invitations to the grand opening of a new shop downtown. Who would go to such elaborate ends to have you attend the opening of what, at least, seems to be a relatively ordinary antique shop?

This one is a little more fantastical than I generally run. Fans of more heroic elements with a variety of familiar, yet somehow foreign, settings will probably find a good deal to appreciate here.

Option D) You sit in a sparse subway car, and even you can note the tension in the air. Something does not feel right. A few others on the train seem to be looking around as well. Occasionally your eyes meet their's. You see fear, and you feel it now, too. It's almost expected when the small huddle of men on the opposite end of the train car open their jackets, revealing automatic weapons. As they ring out, you feel warmth and then collapse. But then you hear a voice call out to you quietly, offering salvation.

If you are a big fan of the supernatural, this might be the game for you. You will find the political minefield of the Supernatural world is just as fraught with deceit, treachery, and danger as the real world. Will you find out what happened to you, and why? This one will certainly have more moments of actions than some of the others.

Those are probably the four scenarios I am most comfortable running in a one shot setting. Hopefully these appeal to those interested!

Housekeeping

When will we be playing?

Please use the following link:

WhenIsGood

This will let us coordinate schedules across multiple time zones. Make sure you select your time zone at the top before you highlight the hours you are free this holiday season. Special thanks to Quex for the heads up. This is up to who is interested in playing. We will find 4-5 players, coordinate a three hour block sometime in the holiday season, and that is the time we will stick with. I know the holidays can be chaotic, and it can be hard to coordinate, but please try your best. I will personally remain as flexible as humanly possible to make this happen.

How will dice rolls be handled?

Aranshada has generously created us an IRC dicebot. We'll use an IRC channel (Perhaps CBB2?) to do our dicerolls and TeamSpeak to communicate.

Disclaimer: My rolls will often not be public, however. Please know that should any cheating occur on my end, it is only to improve the experience for you. A good ST will, occasionally, fudge some rolls just a little to keep the wheels on. I will never, ever do it to screw you. I want to help play out this story with you as much as you do, I assure you.

What if I can't make the entire time window?

Please do not sign up. We need everyone for the entirety. If you doubt your internet's stability, please do not sign up. If you're not sure if you're interested, speak with me or do some independent research to find out first. This is very important for a cohesive narrative.

I have other questions!

You can post here, or find me in the CBB IRC. If we're Steam friends, please feel free to reach out to me there as well. I will respond when able.