Role Playing Public Radio » Actual Play

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 13

Ross — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:50:43 +0000

The Paragon Tier begins!

A year has passed since the destruction of the thieves’ guild. The Water Barons now control Border Town, the second settlement of the colonial government. With their new power comes new challenges and new allies. A dragonborn sorcerer joins their ranks, played by Bill. What else happens? You need to listen to find out.

The New World Campaign has continued on the RPPR Actual Play Podcast. Get a complete episode listing here.

You can check out episode 14 here.

RPPR Actual Play: Call of Cthulhu – Divine Fire playtest 2

Ross — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:11:27 +0000

A group of prisoners has been shipped to a remote laboratory in Nazi Germany during the final days of World War 2. But when they arrive, their guards disappear and they are left to their own devices. The lab is deep within the wilderness and a raging snowstorm makes escape on foot impossible. What happened to the lab’s personnel and what is still inside? Find out in Tom’s second playtest of Divine Fire, a WW2 Call of Cthulhu scenario.

RPPR Actual Play: The Age of Masks 3

Ross — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:09:31 +0000

A group of vigilantes has learned about a secret project codenamed Long Stairs by the US military. They’ve found the base and must plumb its depths to find the truth behind the mystery of all masks, both good and evil. What dark secrets will be uncovered? Who will be spared? Find out in the thrilling conclusion of the Age of Masks.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 12

Ross — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:17:23 +0000

SHIT JUST GOT REAL

Apologies to MSpaint adventures!

It’s time for the final battle between the Thieves Guild and the heroic ragtag army of underdogs (i.e. the players)! Who will live? Who will die? Who will die, then live because the players bitch enough to make me change my ruling? Find out in Episode 12

RPPR Actual Play: Mutants and Masterminds – The Age of Masks 2

Ross — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:21:20 +0000

The White House
Washington
March 15, 1984

Costumed Vigilantes, Adventurers and Criminals & The Reagan Act
Executive Summary

Today, President Cheney is proud to sign the Reagan Act into law. The tragedy of last year’s Air Force One attack galvanized Congress to finally outlaw so-called ‘masks’, as they are a clear and present danger to the American people. After decades of tolerating these fringe radicals out of a misguided notion that they could protect society better than our lawfully elected public officials and trained police officers, the 113 deaths on that fateful day has shown us the truth: that men and women who hide behind masks are not to be trusted.

The Reagan Act: Named in memory of the late president, the Reagan Act makes costumed adventuring without prior approval of the US government a federal crime, in of itself. A 6 month amnesty will be granted to all costumed vigilantes The Act also raises the penalties for enhancile related crimes.

Costumed adventuring is defined as committing a crime (including any vigilante related crimes) or otherwise endangering public safety and national security while in a costumed alter-personna. Furthermore, anyone wearing a costume of any kind must identify their true identity if asked by a law enforcement official.

Masks Today: The Saraswati Institute, the world’s only think tank specializing in studying costumed vigilantes and criminals has released the most in-depth study of the topic, Capes and Masks: The Secret world of Costumed Adventurers and its conclusions support the tenets of the Reagan Act.

Main Points of Capes and Masks

Costumed Vigilantes cause more crime than they stop: Study after study has found a ‘broken window’ effect when costumed vigilantes operate in a given area. While this seems counter-intuitive, extensive interviews with criminals, police and even a few vigilantes found a common cycle.
•   A vigilante’s initial operations in an area creates a temporary reduction in crime.
•   The police respond by lowering their presence in the area and focuse elsewhere.
•   Criminals, forced out by the police, move in the vigilante’s turf, raising crime.
•   The vigilante responds by using psychological warfare and more violence.
•   Criminals become desperate, using greater amounts of violence and depravity.
•   Crime rates are generally higher in a vigilante’s turf as a result.

Prosecuting criminals caught by costumed vigilantes is harder: While the conviction rates vary from state to state, many of the prosecutors interviewed for the book agree that a suspect who is caught by a mask has a much better chance of being acquitted than if the police conducted the investigation. Evidence gathered by a vigilante is thrown out in 64% of cases at least part of the time as there is no chain of custody. Other defendants have been freed on a variety of technicalities ranging from haebas corpus issues to the right to face one’s accuser. Of course, many vigilantes hope that suspects will be freed so they can seek revenge in private, such as the infamous ‘Meathook Killer’ Ted Logan who was beaten to death by a costumed vigilante after he was found not guilty. It was later shown that the same vigilante had hidden evidence from the police.

Costumed Adventurers are entirely unaccountable to society: Power brings corruption. Many vigilante supporters point to isolated instances of governmental corruption as proof that the masks are needed. However, many costumed adventurers have shown themselves to be more corrupt than any public official.
•   In Texas, a costumed vigilante raided drug dens and gave the contraband to minors during orgies as part of his ‘psychadelic counter-revolution’.
•   A group of three vigilantes burned the headquarters of a legitimate political organization in act of terrorism. Five of the organization’s leaders died in the blaze.
•   A female vigilante disrupted a peaceful pro-life group, crippled a Catholic bishop, and committed a lewd act with another woman during a public parade.
•   In the most egregious example, a costumed adventurer named Doctor Electro destroyed his notes on a new system of fusion energy that could end the current energy crisis, after the Department of Defense spent over $2 billion dollars funding his research. Doctor Electro is still at large.

Costumed Adventurers abuse banned enhancile drugs and technology: The Geneva Convention banned the use of any technology that could create super soldiers but costumed adventurers frequently abuse thesm. The dangers of enhancile technology is so great that not even Communist China or North Korea incorporates their use. Researchers believe that over 80% of masks make use of enhancile drugs or other forms of technology. Virtually all costumed adventurers deny using these technologies but the evidence indicates otherwise. As Dr. Sullivan explains “the idea of a single combatant defeating ten or more hardened criminals with only martial arts and a few gadgets is insane. There are literally hundreds of reports of vigilantes performing impossible feats and surviving injuries that can only be explained through enhancile technology.”

Masks on the Decline: Many of us remember the Freedom Squadron and other costumed adventurers who fought bravely in World War 2. While they served nobly, their modern counterparts are anything but noble. Fortunately, their numbers are dwindling. Most reports put active masks at anywhere between 200-400 in America alone.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 11

Ross — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:36:50 +0000

In order to celebrate the success of the second RPPR ransom the Goblin Hulk, we’ll post the next episode of The New World Campaign. In this game, we introduce a new player, Mike, who takes over the NPC warforged named Watcher. The Water Barons have learned of the thieves guild’s stronghold and now must march on it with their ragtag army. Can they survive the dangerous wilderness with their army intact or will the many traps, hazards and wandering monsters stop them before they can even fight the guild?

RPPR Actual Play: Mutants and Masterminds – The Age of Masks 1

Ross — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:28:20 +0000

So you want to be a superhero? No such thing.

But. You can be a mask, which is why you’re here. You said superhero but you meant a mask.

The difference? Simple. Superheroes didn’t choose to be what they turned out to be. They made the best with what they had. That’s why they died off. Masks want to be masks. Need to be. The governments, all around the world, passed those crackdown laws. That took out most of ‘em. But the call of the mask is still strong enough. Strong enough to call you.

Here’s what I got. First number here is for this company. They make body armor and costumes on the sly. Light weight kevlar sewn in, lead weights on the knuckles of the gloves, maybe a few extras if you got the bucks. Cheaper if you already got a design but they can come up with something. You got an idea on the design? Good. Only hacks let someone else do it.

Next number is a street doc. Stitch your boo-boos right up. Cheap too. Oh and you’ll need that number. Might want to tattoo it on you or put it on speed dial on your wrist communicator. Hey, no need to get cocky. You need this number.

Oh yeah, you got some moves. You’re fast. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t be talking to you if I thought you couldn’t hack it. But it don’t matter how fast you are. How strong. How tough. You will bruise, you will break bones and you will bleed. But that’s part of the thrill you know?

Masks dance the dance because they’re fucking crazy or they love the thrill or both. Oh sure you gotta stop the bad guys. But that’s not the point. Masks do what no one else can.

Third number is Hal. He’s a trainer. Runs a 24 hour gym in the roughest part of the city. Doesn’t ask questions, about anything. Can get you some weapons too. You gotta keep in shape, right?

You want extra juice? Lemme give you a number. There’s a black market for, shall we say, performance enhancements. My advice is to not fucking touch them. Masks who dip into that shit get burned. The cops have an anti-mask unit you know and they make examples out of any freak who throws a car on the evening news. Not to mention the side effects, cancer the least of them. Lost a lot of good people to them. Your call.

The place? Nah, kid. I gave you a lot but I can’t give you that. You gotta earn the right. It’s the only place where masks can relax and they are a goddamn exclusive crowd. Before the crackdown, there was over a thousand masks worldwide. Now, maybe 100 at any given time. Most masks die or get caught in the first month. Some study said the average mask’s career is 2 years. Oh sure, some go on for decades. Most don’t.

I know you need this. Just pass the cash over and you get the numbers.

Don’t forget the RPPR Goblin Hulk Ransom is still underway! You can get the entire Age of Masks mini campaign early if you contribute.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 10

Ross — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:31:39 +0000

The Water Barons must now take a stand against the Thieves Guild. Lines are drawn, preparations are made and the final confrontation draws ever closer. This session and the next two sessions mark the conclusion of the heroic tier of the New World RPPR campaign.

Also, be sure to check out the next RPPR ransom, the Goblin Hulk module.

No one welcomes the goblin horde into their land. No one wants the goblins as guests or friends. No one, not even the other monstrous races, trusts the goblins. They are as the locust, a ravenous swarm consuming or despoiling all within reach. Normally, they are held back by the armies of civilized nations but the New World lacks an organized defense.

The first goblin ship has laid anchor off the shore of the New World, a massive hulk that holds together despite its improbable construction. It is a ramshackle floating fortress with countless goblins nesting within it. Its very presence destabilizes the region and if left unchecked, the goblins could overrun the New World.

This is a ransom project. If the ransom is met, The Goblin Hulk will be released as a free PDF by September 20, 2009 at the latest. Preview material including monster stats and maps will be released on a regular basis.

The Goblin Hulk is a multi-purpose dungeon module suitable for any 4E game. The hulk can appear in any harbor or shore, threatening all nearby. It is designed so that you can use it as:

*A starting town for evil or unaligned player characters – the bazaar is open to all and characters can use it to gain gold and power. Level 1 characters can even help one of the goblin chieftains gain power in the hulk.

*A level 6 adventure for characters to sneak into the hulk and rescue captured friends or escape from the hulk themselves.

*A level 12 adventure for a band of heroes to storm the hulk, slay its defenders and sink the ship before the goblins gain a permanent beachhead in the New World.

RPPR Actual Play: Tom’s Call of Cthulhu WW2 playtest

Ross — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:26:39 +0000

Tom, the co-host of RPPR has long since been a featured player in the actual plays but the table have now been turned. In his first ever game of Call of Cthulhu, he pits a group of German soldiers against the horrors of a Nazi experiment gone wrong. In the winter. In a remote base. With little chance of escaping. Thanks a lot Tom.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 09

Ross — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:59:46 +0000

Meet Pontifex. The tribes of the New World call him Grandfather for he is older than any living creature. He has slaughtered entire tribes, commands all to do his bidding if need be, yet no tribal thinks to slay him or even hate him. What point is there in warring or hating a force of such power that it might as well be a hurricane or an earthquake? The Water Barons meet Pontifex for the first time in this session.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 08

Ross — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:44:26 +0000

A new dawn breaks for our intrepid heroes, the Water Barons. They finally decide to explore the Lemurian ruins near the colony. Will they survive the deadly traps and deadlier denizens of this dungeon? Find out in game 8 of the New World Campaign! Related posts: RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The [...] Related posts:

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 07

Ross — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:19:57 +0000

In this session, the Water Barons confront a dangerous beast that stalks the colony. It has killed and terrorized the simple workers of the colony and no one dares to venture outside the protective walls of the colony. Find out who pays the ultimate price to stop the beast! Related posts: RPPR Actual Play: 4E [...] Related posts:

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 6

Ross — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 04:34:28 +0000

Show your support for RPPR by donating to the New World Campaign Primer Ransom! There’s less than a week to go.

The Water Barons (I.E. our intrepid heroes) face many new threats and dangers this session. The thieves guild has its own designs on the New World. A rival adventuring company becomes popular in the colony. The grippli must gain legal protection so they won’t be enslaved by the slave trader Axgore. Find out how Tom, Cody and Jason deal with these threats and more!

RPPR Actual Play: Call of Cthulhu – Wrath of Cthulhu Game 73

Ross — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:44:48 +0000

For the last year, I have been writing and running a massive Call of Cthulhu campaign. I have not breathed a word about it so I could unleash it to the world in one massive release. However, everything fell apart in the last session. I will post this as a warning to never give the players what they want. I deleted all of my notes and game recordings in a fit of rage so don’t bother asking about them either.

P.S. Check out the New World Campaign Primer Ransom if you haven’t already.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 5

Ross — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:22:54 +0000

In this session, the players continue their struggles against the goblins massing in the New World. Theolonius the merchant lord tries to manipulate the players but will it pay off? How will Cody’s romantic exploits be used against him? Will the grippli be rescued? Find out in session 5!

If you enjoy the New World Campaign, please consider contributing a few bucks to the New World Campaign Primer Ransom. If the collection goal is met, I will write and publish a free PDF primer of the New World Campaign on the RPPR website, with a new adventure, 5 new feats, 5 new monsters and more!

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Campaign Game 4

Ross — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:49:17 +0000

Rejoice! Game 4 of the RPPR 4E Dungeons and Dragons New World campaign is here! The party has to deal with the horde of goblins migrating to the new world as they are threatening their grippli allies! Plus, romance, orc migration, intrigue and a daring escape from a goblin ship. Oh and loads of profanity, banter and violence. Sweet, sweet violence.

This episode brought to you by RPGNow. GM day is March 4 and they have a big sale going on all week with tons of titles at 25% off or more.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons Tides of Doom

Ross — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:29:04 +0000

Tides of Doom, part of In Search of Adventure
Run at Visioncon.

Synopsis: The village of Crafthaven has awoken an ancient evil buried underneath. Can the brave heroes stop the cult from completing its ritual? Oh, and this dungeon isn’t just filled with Lovecraftian monsters. It corrupts all who spend time in it. Even the poor halfling paladin who becomes a freakish hunchback by the end of the adventure. Find out if good prevails before the Tides of Doom drown them all…

I wrote the adventure for Goodman Games and ran it for some friends at a local gaming con, hence the people wandering in at random intervals. As an after hours game, this is a more relaxed and casual game than usual. Also, this is a classic hack and slash dungeon crawl, filled with combat and traps. Very little social interaction compared to the new world campaign.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E DnD – The New World Game 3

Ross — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:19:24 +0000

4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons
The New World Campaign- NSFW!

GM: Ross Payton

Players: Tom, Cody, Jason and Dan

Synopsis: The adventurers have gained some new friends, a tribe of grippli. They’ve also made some new enemies, the thieves guild. Furthermore, a horde of goblins has arrived in the new world, their massive hulk anchored in the bay. The goblins seem content to work as laborers for the colony but who knows how long that will last? The party starts their new business as water barons selling precious H20 to the settlers. They also decide to try to sign a peace treaty with the Black Raven tribe. Oh and there’s a giant lobster monster named Pinchy, a dwarven cartographer, snotty noblewoman, Cordelia and a goblin ambush. Plus all four players are together for the first time in the campaign! Oh and this is still very not safe for work.

RPPR Actual Play: 4E Dungeons and Dragons – The New World Session 2 NSFW

Ross — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:59:26 +0000

The New World
a 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Campaign
Session 2

Players: Tom, Cody and Dan

IMPORTANT NOTE: This game is full of profanity, even by our standards. This is very much NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Synopsis: The kingdoms of the old world have discovered a vast new continent across the ocean. Brave settlers have started the first colony in the net world. Among them, a small band of adventurers eager to earn glory and gold. In the first session, the characters ventured into the wilderness to find a source of fresh water. Upon finding a river, they came across a band of natives part of the The Black Raven tribe who fought them. After capturing one of the tribal warriors, the players learn of an ongoing tribal war and decide to talk to the other tribe, known as the Gray Fangs. The Gray Fangs tell them that a powerful water spirit can teach them a ritual that will conjure enough fresh water to supply the colony. However, after the characters ask for the spirit’s help, the spirit sends them to a dungeon in order to see if they are worthy.

The characters must find a way out of the dungeon in order to learn the ritual. Two groups stand in their way: a band of thieves and a tribe of primitive frog people. In this session, I called them tasloi, but in proper D&D lore they are called the Grippli. This mistake is corrected in the next session.

Due to a technical snafu on my part, the first session recording is gone. However all other sessions are backed up so this will not happen again.

RPPR Actual Play: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Ross — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:33:11 +0000

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a delightful story by L. Frank Baum with an intriguing mythos. Rankin-Bass produced a claymation adaptation, which is where Katie and Jonny first discovered it. There have been a few other incarnations as well, including a Japanese anime.

Jonny always thought it would serve pretty well as a fantasy RPG setting, so when Katie suggested a one-shot game based on it, he heartily agreed. There will be two “adventuring parties” if you will- the immortals of the forest of Burzee, and the children of the laughing valley of Hohaho. Katie will act as a storyteller for the children, and Jonny for the immortals. The two groups will have separate adventures leading up to a unified finale. We will have pre-generated characters. We’ll be using the Reign system, which is based on the One-Roll Engine.

(Note from Ross: I was a player in this game but I forgot the names of all of the players. If you were there, post in the comments and I’ll update it.)

Actual Play: Delta Green Eyes Only – A Night on Owlshead Mountain

RPPR Actual Play: Call of Cthulhu – A Murder of Crows

Ross — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:34:47 +0000

There is trouble in Bethlehem….

Thousands of crows have taken roost in the woods surrounding Bethlehem, NH, mercilessly attacking anyone who tries to enter the forest. The human population is outnumbered more than ten-to-one, and the birds are growing more bold every day. Can the investigators solve the mystery behind this unnatural infestation? Can they save the town of Bethlehem from a disaster of biblical proportions?

Murder of Crows contains everything a Call of Cthulhu group needs for an evening’s worth of Mythos-inspired fun, including pregenerated characters. It is the first in an innovative new series of Call of Cthulhu scenarios and supplements from Super Genius Games.

This scenario was recorded at ShaunCon, so it’s a bit noisy. Fortunately our Zoom H2 recorder managed to get most of the voices of the players fialry well.

Keeper: Jon Hook

Buy the scenario at RPG Now

In case you missed it: Fear Itself Actual Play

Ross — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:00:31 +0000

As an experiment, I posted two actual plays on Oct 22. However, most of you didn’t realize that. So, I am reposting the Fear Itself Actual Play so those of you who subscribe via Itunes and other RSS podcatchers will get it. If you already downloaded the Fear Itself AP, do not download this.

This Fear Itself game is a follow up, based on the aftermath of Profane Miracles using the Fear Itself RPG. A new drug appears in the LA ghettos, one that transforms innocent humans into ravenous monsters. Two normal residents, a priest and a loner try to survive the horrors of the streets and the things the lurk in the shadows.

If either game interests you, take a look at the Pelgrane Press GUMSHOE website for more info.

RPPR Actual Play Double Feature Halloween Special: Esoterrorists and Fear Itself

Ross — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:27:22 +0000

Esoterrorists: Profane Miracles

Players: Tom, Cody and Dan.

Synopsis: The first Actual Play is with this published scenario from Pelgrane Press, using the Esoterrorists RPG. Jonathan Bentley, millionaire financier, has been raised from the dead at a Los Angeles charity ball by self-styled “psychic to the stars” Cassandra Madrigal. Is Bentley really alive, or in some other state? What is his wife Grace’s involvement. Is Madrigal an agent of of esoterror, and how deep does the conspiracy go? Your team must move from the opulence of high society, to the dangers of The Core and Skid row, to mansions and hospitals. If you can avoid heavily armed criminals and survive the machinations of esoterror agents unscathed, it will be a miracle in itself.

The second game is a follow up, based on the aftermath of Profane Miracles using the Fear Itself RPG. A new drug appears in the LA ghettos, one that transforms innocent humans into ravenous monsters. Two normal residents, a priest and a loner try to survive the horrors of the streets and the things the lurk in the shadows.

If either game interests you, take a look at the Pelgrane Press GUMSHOE website for more info.

Actual Play: GURPS Modern League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – Episode 2

Ross — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:51:43 +0000

Synopsis: Three heroes must save a village and its hidden treasure from a horde of maurading mercenaries. The heroes are mistmatched characters from comics, tv and film while the bad guys are a rogue’s gallery of villains from all over popular culture. Oh and the village is Mayberry. No, you’re not hallucinating after a night of cable tv and Mexican food. It’s the second game of GURPS Modern League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This gets a bit over the top but everyone had a blast.

Players:

Jason as Dean Winchester
Tom as the Lizard from Marvel Comics
Aaron as a former ghostbuster

Actual Play: Call of Cthulhu – Dig to Victory!

Ross — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:31:02 +0000

Trench warfare in World War 1 was horrific. Millions died from disease, chemical weapons, barbed wire, machine guns and other forms of industrialized death. However, the British tunnelers dug massive underground systems to support the soldiers and to undermine German trenches. In this scenario, a few men from the 117th tunneling company found themselves tunneling to something far more dangerous than the Germans.

This is a playtest for an upcoming book by Pagan Publishing and was run at Gencon 2008.
Keeper: Adam Scott Glancy
Players: Greg Stolze
Ross Payton
Tom Church
Allan Goddall
Kevin Pezzano

Actual Play: Wushu Dodgeball – To Save The World

Ross — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:13:39 +0000

Galactus has challenged the people of Earth to a tournament of dodgeball. Only an unlikely team of misfits stands in the way of Earth’s total destruction. Sound like the new Bruckheimer movie? Naw. It’s our Actual Play one shot using the free action RPG Wushu.

The Player:
Tom: A sapient raptor/actor tired of being stereotyped as a vicious man eating dinosaur
Drew: Henry from the TV Show Eureka, a NASA engineer turned auto mechanic.
Linton: The fat guy from Hot Fuzz and he’s a cylon.
Jason: Ahnuld the Governator
Cody: Former President Martin Van Buren – with electricity, liquid and portal powers.

No, I’m not kidding. That’s what they played.

Actual Play: GURPS Modern League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Episode 1

Ross — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:26:25 +0000

In a world..Our world…Everything is true. Every story you’ve read, every movie you’ve seen, every game you’ve played actually happened. At least those that take place in the here and now. This is the first session of a GURPS 4th edition campaign premised on taking the Alan Moore comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and making the concept contemporary. Anything that takes place in the ‘here and now’ is true. James Bond, Half-Life, Ghostbusters, Hannibal Lector, the X-Files, annoying sitcoms and Freddy Krueger all co-exist in the same world. In this first adventure, the PCs must break into the HQ of Ghostbusters Inc. to retrieve the data of Project Miskatonic before it is too late…

Players:
Jason - Dean Winchester from the TV Show Supernatural
Tom – Basically a pre-med student version of the Lizard
Bob – A Highlander French aristocrat
Drew - Kabuki the ninja assassin babe
RJ – Firestarter age 25
Aaron - An employee of Ghostbusters Inc.

Actual Play: GURPS Yakuza – Stray Dog

Ross — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:10:29 +0000

Based loosely on Kinji Fukusaku’s Battle Without Honor or Humanity film series and the Akira Kurosawa film Stray Dog, this game takes placed in Hiroshima Japan, 1946. The players are members of the Yamagata Yakuza clan, the newest and smallest family in the city, vulnerable to foreign gangs and larger Yakuza families. A confrontation with a rival gang turns deadly and an American .45 automatic is the key to a deadly mystery…

GM: Ross Payton
System: GURPS 4th edition, 50 point characters.

Players: Tom Church and Jason Ariciu

Actual Play: The End of the World as we know it?

Ross — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:54:33 +0000

Call of Cthulhu One Shot: The End of the World as we know it?
Game run by Ross Payton

Players: Tom, Jason and Paul

Synopsis: This is a bit of an experimental game. Instead of the PCs being heroic investigators trying to save the world from evil, they are the leaders of a Midwestern city as the Apocalypse starts. Can they save civilization from rampaging cultists, ghouls, and other disasters? Will they trust the rag tag band of investigators who claim they alone know the secret truth and rave about gods and demons? Will they make stupid jokes at my expense? Find out in The End of the World as we know it.

Actual Play: Delta Green Eyes Only – A Night on Owlshead Mountain

Ross — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:20:58 +0000

Keeper: Ross Payton
Players: Tom Church, Jon and Katie Carter, Matt Howell, Meriam, and Paul

You are cordially invited to a night at the opera.

“A Night on Owlshead Mountain is a Delta Green adventure that pits investigators against the deadly, lingering aftereffects of Mi-Go activity in rural Vermont.

The long awaited Delta Green supplement, Eyes Only is finally out. The RPPR crew tries out one of the scenarios as a one shot session.

Be seeing you.

Little Fears Actual Play: Night of the Squashed Cat

Ross — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:02:28 +0000

RPPR is always expanding, so we are proud to present our first Actual Play. In the future, we’ll bring you a wide variety of games. Please let us know what kind of games you want to hear. Bear in mind this recording was made in 2005 with a simple voice recorder. However is is perfectly understandable.
Synopsis: Little Fears is essentially a horror game about kids for adults. It can be very dark, but this was my first game of Little Fears so I ran it middle of the road. I based it on several of the stories in Scary Stories to tell in the Dark and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

The setting: All of the PCs lived on the same block, so their parents got together and bought a time share at a large cabin in the woods far away from home. There is no TV and no video games.

One day, all of the parents left to visit the lake. They hired a babysitter, a teen named Chad who was kind of a good ole boy. Of course, they complain to Chad that they’re bored. He tells them that being bored is better than they know. You see, Sophie’s mom once ran over a cat but it survived being squashed flat. She felt bad for the animal so she brought it to the cabin and fed it. It’s still in the basement looking for its next meal…

The players (all played 8 or 9 year old kids):

Mikey Athletic and outgoing
Jeni, future cheerleader with cellphone
Stanley: Bookworm with a beagle named Atreyiu
Sophie: Tall and wants to be a cop.

Overall, i think everyone had fun and were appropriately creeped by the squashed cat. It was a great monster as I could simply have it brush by the PCs to scare them.

Also, the rules for Little Fear work well for the game. I didn’t explain the belief rules beforehand but I did let them use it when they figured it out on their own.

Some things that worked well with the game:

The Squashed Cat was a great monster because it was both easy for players to visualize and it was damn useful as a GM. Whenever they went into the house, I could just have the cat brush up next to a player’s foot since it could hide under a sofa or dresser.

Having it slither over a character who had fallen down, describing it great detail (you feel a leathery weight over your face and the stench of roadkill and pee overwhelms you) I think worked pretty well. The PCs never saw it in great detail, I always made it vague and uncertain.

Giving the players some breathing room so they could recover a bit helped. If I had made it nonstop scary stuff then I think the players would have gotten numb.

I foreshadowed several times which helped. For example, the PCs saw the headlights of their parents’ car in the distance. Then later, the headlights disappeared, just as a ghost was stalking them.