Tir-Na Nog’Th Game Book (2020)

Thursday

SLOT 3

(7pm – Midnight BST/GMT+1) (6pm – 11pm GMT) (2pm – 7pm EDT/GMT-4) (11am – 4pm PST/GMT-7)

Game Th-3/1: Cocktail Party!

GM: Mel M
On: Second Life
Cast: All welcome.
System: None

Description:

It’s divine decadence, darlings! You are all invited to a cocktail party for the start of Tir-na Nog’th Con to be held in Second Life, 7 – 11pm UK summertime on Thursday 30th July. Information concerning Second Life will be shared with people who’d like to come, and there will be an opportunity the week before to have a pre-meeting for people who would like to learn more, or bush up their Second Life skills. The cocktail party is, on one level, an opportunity to test whether Second Life would work for gaming … and on another level, it’s a chance to meet fellow Con-goers in an immersive environment.

Characters:

There’s no cost involved in downloading the viewer and creating an avatar. If you want to customise your avatar, you will probably need to do some shopping. But that is NOT essential.

Players:

1. Mel M (Hostess)
2. Amber B
3. Anna J
4. Claire McK
5. Esther vR
6. George K
7. Herman D
8. Kris F
9. Marieke K
10. Rodney A
11. Shadow A
12. Simone PM

Game Th-3/2: A Fresh Start

GM: Kevin D
On: Discord
Cast: 3-6
System: ADRPG

Description:

A new group of family members presented to the new King, a new beginning after the devastation that was the Patternfall War… and yet despite so much changing, were things now all that different? A forced marriage ultimately cut short, infighting between Amber and Rebma, a King now shorter by a head, and so many unanswered questions, the most pressing of which is the loyalty of those new family members who seem set on avoiding responsibility at every turn.

Characters:

Despite the name, this is a continuation game.

Players:

1. Kevin D (GM)
2. Andy R
3. Alan W
4. Dave C
5. Rachel W
6. Tym N

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Friday

SLOT 4

(10am – 5pm BST/GMT+1) (9am – 4pm GMT) (5am – Midday EDT/GMT-4) (2am – 9am PST/GMT-7)

Game Fr-4/1: The Fall of The House of Amber : The Heart Of Darkness

GM: Matthew B
On: Zoom (Backup on Webex)
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

You were trapped in a trump card. While you were trapped the worlds fell. Amber fell. Chaos was breached and the universe died. While you were trapped everything was lost. You may have been trapped for hundreds or thousands of years.

When the power behind the trump trap faded you were freed, from one moment of time to another. From a powerful and joyous past to a broken future. A future with thousands of worlds destroyed and shattered, tied together through a curdled shadow of fragments of worlds. A world fading and dying where too strong a will can shatter what remains.

What powers you have left are mere echoes, to be used cautiously, drawing from the world around them and your own soul and strength.

You are not the only person out of time. There are others. Some are creatures that have survived the breaking of their powers and exist as maddened versions of themselves and some, like you, were trapped. There is a plan: to find fragments of old powers, steal them, bring them together and make a sanctuary shadow – a lifeboat to survive the end of the world.

It is believed that a fragment of the Eye of the Serpent remains, swirling in the heart of a great shadow storm. It would greatly enhance the Raft. Possibly it could even be the corner stone of a new jewel of power. Of course getting to it and securing means venturing into an area totally blind

Characters:

All characters are based on 200 points, ADRPG rules both main rules and Shadow Knight. Any items or creatures over 6 points will have been sacrificed by you already to make the Raft. Shadows can be bought but I will rewrite them to match the current world, and you have not yet managed to get back to them. (This game may be running twice, if you want to be in both sessions you will need two separate characters). No bonuses for contributions.

Players:

1. Matthew B (GM)
2. Alan W
3. Claire McK
4. Esther vR
5. Kevin D
6. Marieke K
7. Vivek DM

Game Fr-4/2: It was this way when we found it

Note: This game slot was cancelled due to limited player numbers.

GM: Anna J
On: Discord
Cast: 4-8
System: Diceless

Description:

The cry of any self-respecting St Mary’s historian in response to a multitude of questions including – what happened here?  are you responsible for the damage to the rear lawn?  what is that strange smell emanating from pod three? – but not normally applied to history itself (even by the admittedly disaster prone faculty of the St Mary’s Institute for Historical Research).  The newly appointed director of St Mary’s – Dr Maxwell – has designed the perfect in-and-out mission to test out the latest batch of newly qualified trainees.  A quick jaunt to 1613 to see the King’s Men perform Cardenio, establish its authorship and if at all possible track down a copy.  What could possibly go wrong?

Characters:

Players can be security personnel or historians (both will be going on the mission) – please design an appropriate background accordingly – those familiar with the St Mary’s Institute may wish to design more senior staff to accompany any newly qualified trainees.  No points, no system, but lots of tea and biscuits.

Game Fr-4/3: The Worst of Times

GM: Andy R
On: Discord or Jitsi
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

Amidst the smoke and gloom the gutters run with blood – revolutionary Paris is a dangerous place, yet you have been offered both wealth and safety by a mysterious stranger dressed in black and red, of course first you have to do him a favour…

The PCs are recruited by Eric to investigate the activities of Cordell Fenneval (aka Corwin) during the French revolution.

Characters:

The characters are extraordinary Shadow Dwellers who have the misfortune to find themselves in Paris at the time of the revolution.

Full details of the character creation process can be found at https://tir.thelbane.net/

Note: I ran this game at several AmberCons around 20 years ago, this is a rerun of the same game, if you have played in it before please don’t sign up.

Players:

1. Andy R (GM)
2. Anna J
3. Ben McC
4. George K
5. Herman D
6. Pete M
7. Simon PM

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SLOT 5

(7pm – Midnight BST/GMT+1) (6pm – 11pm GMT) (2pm – 7pm EDT/GMT-4) (11am – 4pm PST/GMT-7)

Game Fr-5/1: One Lonesome Night in the Museum

GM: Dave C
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: LoGaS

Description:

There has always been a war fought, since the first spark of sentience on Earth humanity has struggled to control or appease the forces of the Universe. Tonight is the last moon in October and somewhere in London the fate of the world will be decided. Not all those who determine the end will know what they act for and of those that know some may choose not to act at all. A LoGaS game with distinct nods to Roger Zelazny’s “A Night in the Lonesome October” some Neverwhere and a smidgen of Rivers of London and of course what the players bring to the game.

Characters:

Players are asked to build a 10 point characters prior to game start and be contactable by email or Discord or similar electronic communication so that characters can be ready for the Con. A brief document, probably around two pages of A4 will be sent out prior to the game for those interested and anyone worried about not knowing London doesn’t need to, this is the London of Peter Grant and The Marquis de Carabas not that of some office bound accountant.

You may buy down as many stats as you want up to -25 (buying down in chunks of -10 or Chaos as it was known or -25 a standard human). I would advise against using any of the Great Powers with a Psyche or Endurance of less than -10. Let me repeat that I would strongly advise against using any of the Great Powers with low stats unless you have another mechanism in place. If you intend to take any of the great powers please consider how you came to learn them and how you have failed so far to cause major mayhem in the world around you.

Every character must be a member of some sort of secret organisation – MI5, The Laundry, The Golden Dawn. Whatever you want but you have to let me know and what your role is in that organisation. Should you choose to be part of a non-esoteric but still secret organisation all good but expect some whiplash moments as reality and preconception may are may not tally.

No artifacts above 4 points. Stuff capped at +5/-5. Wrighting and Invocation although not impossible would potentially prove inadvisable. Allies – please buy some.

Every character must have a dim, dark, dirty secret – either you write it or I’ll give you one. On the whole you’ll probably prefer to determine your own problems.

Please may I have characters as soon as possible, by preference no more than 1000 words/ character. Let me know what your character does, where they came from, where they live, what they like, what they hate, what they do. The usual oh and did I mention a dark secret – one of those please. Whatever you want to play you have to be able to work in London in 2020 without drawing attention to yourself.

Players:

1. Dave C (GM)
2. Andy R
3. Alan W
4. Darrell H
5. Kevin D
6. Pete M
7. Tym N

Game Fr-5/2: A Familiar Tale

GM: Jason P
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG

Description:

Once upon a time, far, far away, there was a magical land called Amber. It was ruled by a group of powerful and noble Princes and Princesses who partook in complex games to see which of them would rule for a time. They played these games very earnestly and sometimes a few of the family would just disappear, never to be seen again. However, as is tradition, once the games had finished, they all vowed to serve the winner faithfully.

As it happens, many of the younger members of the family often had pets, sidekicks, servants or friends. Funnily enough, few of the older Princes and Princesses actually saw the need for such companions and perhaps even considered them as a liability, quite wrongly as it happens.

Anyway, these assistants would often be called upon to perform deeds of daring-do, whether as part of the complex games, protecting the realm or just keeping their patron out of harm’s way. Yes, it is a sad, but true fact that the realm of Amber had many enemies who would do what they could to cause Amber’s downfall and ruin.

However, I digress. One day these helpers awoke to discover that their patrons weren’t anywhere around in the Castle, well at least anywhere where they would normally be expected to frequent and thus began the quest to locate the missing Royals.

Characters:

Characters are creatures, familiars, servants or the like created using a system that is (very?) loosely based on the Artefact and Creature Worksheet found in the the Amber RPG rulebook, and I will give more details after game allocations are published. If needs be, we might have to create the owners as well.

Note:

This was originally ran at ACUK 2018, so anyone would played in that game, may wish to avoid this rerun.

Players:

1. Jason P (GM)
2. Cort O
3. George K
4. Guy A
5. Keith PM
6. Robyn MK

Game Fr-5/3: Wide Awake

GM: Anna J
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG

Description:

It’s 2038 and you see an advert which sets your life on a new course.

“After its recent breakthroughs in cryogenic stasis and plasma rocket propulsion, Google aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Alpha Centauri. Several unmanned missions will be completed first, delivering supplies and establishing a suitable landing site before the first carefully selected crew will depart on a one-way mission. If we all work together, we can make this happen. We’re going to Alpha Centauri – come with us! The global search has begun for the first humans to set foot on Alpha Centauri and make it their new home. In an extensive training period, candidates will learn the skills they will need on arrival and in establishing an initial base camp. The combined skill set of each astronaut team member will therefore need to be multi-disciplinary. Just think, 1000 years from now, everyone on Earth will still remember the names of the first pioneers to set foot on Alpha Centauri! Please explain in 1000 words or less who you are and why your skills, experience and other personal qualities should earn you place on our crew.”

You can’t believe that your application has been accepted and that you’re in the running to be one of the lucky crew of pioneers making the first manned 88 year trip to Alpha Centauri. Astronaut training goes well and you’re not one of the many disappointed wash outs.

Then the news you’ve been waiting for – you made the final cut for the first crew which will be captained by one of your heroes – veteran astronaut Captain Eleanor Raymond – first person to set foot on Mars back in 2027. You get into your cryo-pod and gradually everything fades to black, just like the briefing they gave you…

…as you come back from the depths the first thing you become aware of is the sound of alarms ringing. Even in a foggy state you’re pretty sure that wasn’t meant to happen. Also you feel really cold…was that in the briefing on possible post-stasis side effects? As your vision slowly returns you can see flashing red lights to go with those alarms. All around you your fellow astronauts are waking up looking similarly confused.

You groggily sit up and that’s when it hits you – or to be more precise the absence of it hits you – no sign of Alpha Centauri on the forward display viewer. In fact nothing you recognise from the navigation training you received. And that’s when you notice the dead body and you realise it’s the Captain…

Characters:

Please submit your character’s application to the advert (1000 words or less) and an accurate summary of your psychological profile (as written by a trained professional rather than by your character!) in advance.

All characters are normal humans and start with average human base stats of 0. Pysche in this context governs perceptiveness, intuition and emotional intelligence. Warfare covers intelligence and recall as well as the usual. Strength and endurance as normal. You have 15 points to spend and can down-sell one attribute only by up to 5 points although you’ll need to explain how your character would still be selected for the mission with that shortcoming. No more than 3 points of stuff in either direction.

Briefing notes will be provided to cover important information from your astronaut training including your rank in terms of the command structure.

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Saturday

SLOT 7

(10am – 5pm BST/GMT+1) (9am – 4pm GMT) (5am – Midday EDT/GMT-4) (2am – 9am PST/GMT-7)

Game Sa-7/1: The Fall of The House of Amber: Knowledge Is The Only Reward

GM: Matthew B
On: Zoom (Backup on Webex)
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

You were trapped in a trump card. While you were trapped the worlds fell. Amber fell. Chaos was breached and the universe died. While you were trapped everything was lost. You may have been trapped for hundreds or thousands of years.

When the power behind the trump trap faded you were freed, from one moment of time to another. From a powerful and joyous past to a broken future. A future with thousands of worlds destroyed and shattered, tied together through a curdled shadow of fragments of worlds. A world fading and dying where too strong a will can shatter what remains.

What powers you have left are mere echoes, to be used cautiously, drawing from the world around them and your own soul and strength.

You are not the only person out of time. There are others. Some are creatures that have survived the breaking of their powers and exist as maddened versions of themselves and some, like you, were trapped. There is a plan: to find fragments of old powers, steal them, bring them together and make a sanctuary shadow – a lifeboat to survive the end of the world.

Careful divination is no easy matter when even looking at a world, or defining its future, can destroy it. Yet rumours of a hidden library – a last record written of the war, of the fall – abound amongst the shadow people. You are following the rumours searching out a previous attempt at building such a shelter. You need to make sure that the same mistakes are not made again.

Characters:

Character Generation: All characters are based on 200 points, ADRPG rules both main rules and Shadow Knight. Any items or creatures over 6 points will have been sacrificed by you already towards making the lifeboat. Shadows can be bought but I will rewrite them to match the current world, and you have not yet managed to get back to them. (This game may be running twice, if you want to be in both sessions you will need two separate characters). No bonuses for contributions.

Players:

1. Matthew B (GM)
2. Amber B
3. Esther vR
4. George K
5. Mascha K-

Game Sa-7/2: By Honour Divided

GM: Andy R
On: Jitsi or Discord
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

It has been 4 years (Thelbane time) since Patternfall.

Swayvil is dead, a victim of Eric of Amber’s Blood Curse, and the Throne of Chaos is empty.

A civil war rages in the Courts. One side wants peace and a chance to rebuild after the humiliation of Patternfall, the other claims that the honour of Chaos can only be restored by the destruction of Amber!

Note:

I ran this game at several Ambercons in the mid 90s, please don’t sign up for the game if you played in it then as it’s pretty much the same plot.

Characters:

The players will all be young noble members of House Kenric, a minor house of Chaos on the pro-peace side in the civil war.

Characters will be created ahead of the Con and as all the characters have grown up together an auction will be used at the start of the character gen process.

Full details of the character creation process can be found at https://tir.thelbane.net/

Players:

1. Andy R (GM)
2. Herman D
3. Jason D
4. Mel M
5. Edith B

Game Sa-7/3: Moonlight and Roses

Note: This game slot was cancelled due to limited player numbers.

GM: Herman D
On: Discord
Cast: 3-7
System: ADRPG

Description:

“Yes, I remember Avalon,” he said, “a place of silver and shade and cool waters, where the stars shone like bonfires at night and the green of day was always the green of spring. Youth, love, beauty – I knew them in Avalon. Proud steeds, bright metal, soft lips, dark ale. Honour!” ‘ R. Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon

You have been living in the land called Avalon for quite a number of years now. When you were younger, the land was in ruins, the silver towers fallen. But it has been rebuilt. The trade with other, stranger, places, however, seems to be gone, and so is the land called Amber. The old maps seem wrong, somehow.

And you seem to be one of the few people who remember those better times, if only vaguely, from your childhood. All of the others grew old, and died…

Setting:

An Arthurian-flavour game set in Corwin’s Avalon (yes, the Shadow that was destroyed…) after Corwin leaves it.

Characters:

75 points, no Pattern or Logrus, no exalted powers, no constructs. The Characters have no knowledge of the universe outside Avalon, have never heard of Amber, and to them the term Shadow would probably mean an evil ghost. Stuff is limited to + or – 10, and doomed Arthurian attitudes strongly encouraged.

Game Sa-7/4: Pirates of the Coral Sea

GM: Alan W
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG

Description:

“Red is the colour of the new Republic Blue is the colour of the sea White is the colour of my innocence That surrendered to your mercy.” (The Men They Couldn’t Hang)

Stealing from defenceless galleons with holds full of treasure is a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. Life in the Sargasso has been good, and giving the Royal Kashfan Navy the slip an entertaining pastime. Imagine your surprise when the defenceless galleons start sprouting deck upon deck of heavy cannon…

Characters:

Characters are talented individuals based on 50pts, plus an auction for artifacts, allies and creatures (details to follow). Details on available powers can be found here:

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SLOT 8

(7pm – Midnight BST/GMT+1) (6pm – 11pm GMT) (2pm – 7pm EDT/GMT-4) (11am – 4pm PST/GMT-7)

Game Sa-8/1: The Darkest Hour

Note: This game slot was cancelled due to limited player numbers.

GM: Anna J
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: None

Description:

The Darkest Hour It was a normal enough day, you did what you usually do, watched a bit of mindless but entertaining television and then fell asleep…but when you wake up you know that something is very wrong. You feel cold and you can’t seem to open your eyes or move. All there is is an icy blackness but then you begin to hear voices talking – several people who also sound frightened asking what’s happening, where are we? You realise that the two things you can do are speak and hear. Maybe together you can all figure out what has happened to you and how to escape?

Characters:

You are a human from 2022. Earth is much as it is now, minus the current pandemic and Donald Trump is no longer US president. You may be from anywhere in the world but at the time you were staying or living in London.

Please include in your character background what you do, who you live with and who your character cares about.[

Note: As you are unable to see, video is not required to participate in this one, only audio!

Game Sa-8/2: When Gods Fall

GM: David C
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: LoGaS

Description:

The sound of a young girl running and laughing with joy awakens you. All upon the Stair or those worlds that adjoin it waken to a similar memory. If not the laughter then the sound of a child’s running steps down a stone staircase and the hot smell of sand and stone. If not that then the smell of salt in the air and the sensation of azure seas and bright sands and the unbridled joy of a spade and bucket and castles to be built and rock pools explored. For the more dour and serious amongst you all a crimson red that pulsates and harkens back to the comet of some years past before Dayle and Vala disappeared and the brothers in orange returned to the Stair haunt your awakening. And for a terrified few, a young girl’s query in the aether, “Where’re my daddies and my mummy? I’m scared and my Grandaddy has gone away with the strange man and left me all alone, and I don’t think I can hold his balloon anymore ‘cos I’ll lose my bucket and spade and the tide is coming and that water looks funny and very, very dark. And I can’t hold onto everything at once, and I’m scared. I’m scared.”

The Stair is at war with rumour and lost doors, some say the old enemy is back. Others say it all started in the Agora when Ma Geneva got her best china out for guests and that nice Mr. Dudley didn’t come by for his jammy dodgers. Most though, most just feel it in their bones that something is coming. Others claim to have seen things moving in the dark of Shadow were the tears lie between Gossamer worlds and the other, a golden skiff is seen in many stories and in a few stories something more sinister and sleek is described. Apprehension is the watch word but all are sure that, that which comes is like the storm and it only knows one word, no.

Characters:

Any previous character. New characters to be built on 150 points.

Old characters please let me have up to 10 loose ends and threads you would like to be unravelled for you in the land of dreams.

Usual warning – I advise against invocation. Also Eidolon/ Umbra can be bought at lower levels, chat to me if of interest.

All characters to be submitted at least two weeks prior to game start and the players be contactable by email or Discord or similar electronic communication so that characters can be ready for the Con

Players:

1. Dave C (GM)
2. Alan W
3. Edith B
4. Gary B
5. Kevin D
6. Natalie A
7. Vivek DM

Game Sa-8/3: The Golden Circle

GM: Shadow A
On: Jitsi (Discord backup)
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG+

Description:

Queen Moire is dead, and Queen Meinwen (Martin’s daughter) is to be crowned Queen of Rebma. You have been looking forward to the coronation for weeks – it will be the social event of the decade, and everyone who is anyone will be there. Except, it seems, you. You are instead being sent off on an errand that isn’t important enough for anyone more senior to be saddled with…

Characters:

Characters will be Amber +50 and must be someone who would be invited to the coronation of Queen Meinwen. Players will select their character’s grandparent; parents will then be provided by the GM. Characters need to be finalised before the con, and receiving the grandparent asap would be helpful.

Partial powers and further information can be found here.

Note:

This game is based on a game that was run in 2015 at ACUK. Players who played in the original or the continuations are very welcome; it won’t be the same game, though some elements may feel familiar.

Players:

1. Shadow A (GM)
2. Darrel H
3. George K
4. Keith PM
5. Scott S

Game Sa-8/4: The Help

GM: Cort O
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG

Description:

Need a chair? a body hidden? a relatively unimportant soul? They have been used, abused and largely treated like furniture in campaigns uncountable. Come and enter their world, where no task is unreasonable, the table arrangement is always in good taste no matter what your dimension, and service is given with a smile…. and whatever other body parts are required.

Maturity Rating:

Easily evolves to match need of current group.  Can be run as child friendly, if not present mild adult situations are not uncommon depending on participants.  Game is intended to be fun/comedic, so heavy issues (rape, incest, etc.) should be avoided.  Participants with specific trigger concerns should express these concerns to the GM so they can be avoided or veiled in gameplay.

Characters:

• Name and short biography
• Responsibilities (e.g. is the character a cook, a maid, a gardener, a guard, etc)
• Notable Thing – the character can have one things they are known for, a special trait, but it should be able to be described in a couple of words, i.e. “Unusually Attractive”, “Notices Details”, “Sleeps Around” or “Always Disappearing”
• Stats – The character may have one stat at Amber rank, one at Chaos rank and two at Human rank.

Players:

1. Cort O (GM)
2. Amber B
3. Esther vR
4. Marieke K
5. Kris F
6. Rain D
7. Stephanie I

Game Sa-8/5: Amber Legacy: The League of Shadows – “The Auction”

GM: David MK
On: Discord
Cast: 3-5
System: Diceless House Rules

Description:

Your League of Shadows mission is to infiltrate a black market auction in Shadow Eregnor, acquire the goods, and bring them back to the Center for processing. Limit casualties and don’t get caught. Intel reports that some of the items for sale may be valuable personal effects from the Amber Royal Family.

Background:

Amber Legacy: The League of Shadows is an Amber DRPG setting focused on intrigue, espionage, and supernatural adventure in a post-Patternfall world with steampunk inventions side by side a quasi-Victorian mentality in response to the foreign invasion by Chaos. This is a collaborative game with all contributing to the scenario and world.

Random is King of Amber and in his reign new ideas have emerged about what Amber should and should not be. His influence has allowed for innovations in medicine, science, and technology to enter the Eternal City and its neighbouring realms, those of the Golden Circle Kingdoms. A trans-Shadow railroad is underway and royal airships dot the skies where dragons once ruled. Society too has shifted in part due to King Random’s wife, Queen Vialle, who has brought with her the values and charms of Rebma in this new age. Decorum and honour are held with high regard alongside academic pursuits and resourcefulness.

In response to this new age, King Random created a secret organization, the League of Shadows to meet the needs and prevent another catastrophic turn of events from occurring.

Agents of the League of Shadows serve as deniable assets. Through their actions, the realms remain safe and free from the legacy of the Black Road War. Yet at times it’s unclear who you serve, as the Sponsors use all weapons in their struggle for dominance in Amber, including League Agents like you.

Characters:

You are Agents of the League of Shadows. We’ll be using House Rules (still diceless) that will be shared ahead of time via email.

Players:

1. David MK (GM)
2. Jason P
3. Jon C
4. Pete M
5. Robyn MK
6. Simone PM

Game Sa-8/6: Silenced Witness

GM: Drew W
On: Jitsi,  back up Whereby
Cast: 3-6
System: None

Description:

You are in the United States, South West, living within 90 minutes of Las Vegas.  For whatever reason, you are now in the U.S. Marshalls’ Witness Protection Program. Your story starts in a debriefing in a rather nondescript Federal Office Bldg.

Characters:

Please describe your character, what you did/saw/were to be placed into Witness Protection, and have a personality not completely sociopathic. Be willing to moderately trust others, and work with others if need be.  What are your hobbies? What family do you have left if any? What have you been doing in your new life?

It is odd to be coming to any meeting, and yes your handler does seem to be a little on edge driving you to this locale.

Players:

1. Drew W (GM)
2. Andy R
3. Anna J
4. Alan McL
5. Herman D
6. Mascha K
7. Rodney A

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SLOT 9

(2am – 7am BST/GMT+1) (1am – 6am GMT) (9pm – 2am EDT/GMT-4) (6pm – 11pm PST/GMT-7)

Game Sa-9/1: Warlord’s Quadrant: Apogee’s Ghost

Note: This game slot was cancelled due to limited player numbers.

GM: Stephanie I
On: Zoom (Backup Discord)
Cast: 4-6
System: Modified Space Opera

Description:

It has been 50SY since the survivors of the ESS Apogee, an exploration and mapping survey vessel on a scientific mission to a border volume, were recovered by a small group of privately chartered mission specialists (mercenaries) from the Warlord’s Quadrant. The repatriation of the Apogee crew triggered an accelerated technological growth throughout the Federation of Planets and large cultural upheavals as ordinary society became exposed to the peculiar range of personal talents displayed by the returnees.

The returnees and affected members of the rescue mission ended up being interdicted and terminated by the Federation as a result of their subversive behavior, negative impact on social order, and crimes against bio-life and sentience. The Warlord’s Quadrant, rumored to be based on the forced utilization of emerged organic biotech talents to provide their technical infrastructure, was declared to be a Red Zone via a treaty negotiated by the original rescue crew. Wild rumors abound about the wealth of the Warlord culture, its savagery, and the strange alterations/adaptations experienced by those who visit the quadrant. There is also increasing evidence that the official statements regarding the termination/internment of the original rescue mission and returnees may be false. A thriving black market in ‘Warlord Tech’ exists, although much of this is generally bogus there are rumors of truly miraculous innovations that can be found for the right price.

Players characters will be individuals interested either in risking running the blockade to acquire Warlord Tech, or who have some reason to find out the truth about the returnees.

(Note: This will be a return to a setting run over multiple years at ACNW. Returning players are welcome. Also, players for this game should be prepared to accept an intermission in play in the event the GM is called out for emergency services duty.)

Characters:

Character generation is roughly based on the original Space Opera Game by FGU. The system is out of print and was originally designed as a dice driven, rules heavy play system. If you have a copy of these rules, you are welcome to use them to supplement your character creation process; however, it is not necessary and many players will probably have no access to the original system. I have a quick and dirty short version (that will be emailed once players are chosen.) [Ed. KD]

You should also be able to say, in one or two paragraphs, what your character’s culture was like and discuss what is personally valuable or important to the character.

Game Sa-9/2: The Scelestic Stars

GM: Meera B
On: Discord
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

When the lead of Amber’s security force says, “Send for the mages,” they mean you, your wicked little band of misfits and connivers.  You have a knack, though, for getting the job done.  For outsmarting the thieves, catching the scent of the murderers, and for surviving in near impossible situations, well, those of Amber City count on you. They pay well; in access to artefacts from the Castle, from scraps of spells off-handedly rattled off by the Sorceress, from  recognition, and of course, cold hard coin if you must. Your names are iconic, your exploits legendary, at least amongst your peers.

So when they send for you this time, you think you’re prepared for anything.  Then they bring you up the Stairs of the Mountain, under the fullest silver moon of your life–one so bright you cannot even see the stars.

Eh, what’s starlight for someone who was hoping to sleep off a drunk in the gutter, anyway?  Bring it on, boys. We’ll solve your so-called mystery and be back before the City of Ghosts has a chance to fade.

Characters:

Pregens will be provided.  If you played “City of Goats and Sorcery,” you might remember the characters.  If you haven’t, I like to think you’re in for a treat.

Players:

1. Meera B (GM)
2. Cort O
3. Darrell H
4. Laura B
5. Kris F
6. Rain D
7. Rodney A

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Sunday

SLOT 10

(10am – 5pm BST/GMT+1) (9am – 4pm GMT) (5am – Midday EDT/GMT-4) (2am – 9am PST/GMT-7)

Game Su-10/1: We Live In The Shadows: Black Bag

GM: Matthew B
On: Zoom (Backup on Webex)
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

You may think the little people don’t notice when tonnes of diamonds are put in the arms market, when custom guns are purchased and then go missing from the black market. When armies come and go from nowhere. But they do notice. They watch, and they learn.

Science and Magic come together as the little people start to move around, when an unknown army ravages a world people come together to bring in supplies from another. The refugees don’t care that they can’t read the writing on the cans, they are just happy to receive the food.

We have always existed in this world of titans. Now we need to find out more.

You are one of a group of mixed individuals being sent on a black bag operation to kidnap somebody for information. Don’t worry about dying. They have spares.

Characters:

All characters are 0 point characters. ADRPG rules both main rules and Shadow Knight. You may not buy people, or shadows. No bonuses for contributions.

Players:

1. Matthew B (GM)
2. Amber B
3. Andy R
4. Esther vR
5. George K
6. Pete M
7. Simone PM

Game Su-10/2: So there we were about to be….

Note: This game slot was cancelled due to limited player numbers.

GM: Pete M
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG+

Description:

You are scum, no that’s unfair on the Scum community, as you are trying to work your way up to the level of Scum. You are not an Amberite, nor an inhabitant of the city of Amber, nor an inmate of the Courts. You are a mere shadow and probably a shadow of some one of no consequence as well. Your current situation is a little unfortunate in that you are sitting in a condemned cell awaiting execution. (And if you are a management type that does not mean “residing in accommodation found to be inadequate for human use by the local authority waiting for your app to run” but that the authorities are chopping your head off in the morning, which doesn’t happen to enough people in management but then I’m a bleeding heart liberal.

So how did you end up in prison, that’s for your background to explain. Good backgrounds get one extra point, good short ones get two. (How long is short? Depends on my mood at the time.)

Why are you in prison, because the court decided you did something naughty enough to be punished for, at least to the level of beheading/hanging/impaling/crash dummy role/weapon test subject/some other local form of entertainment.

The door to the cell is solid, the guards don’t care if you die now or tomorrow. (There are bones lying/floating in the corners and the smell is horrific. The floor is bedrock and the walls are thick set stone and mostly below the water table. Most of the time you spend in the cell is filled with pumping the water out of it. And then …

Characters:

This is going to end in tears.

P(layer): Yes, but how do I make a character? GM: First think what sort of a criminal you want to be, then realise there are other players who are going to have exactly the same idea so go back and be sneakier.

GM: Then think about your stats… [KD: The rest of the rules for making your scummy villain will be provided later!]

Game Su-10/3: Where’s my brandy…?

GM: Scott S
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG, No Shadow Knight

Description:

It’s been 20 years since Patternfall.  Random is King and other than a small blip involving a little bit of weather at the start of his reign things are going well.  Or they were.

A drop in trade ships coming into Amber has been noticed.   Goods from deep Shadow are becoming rare and the King’s favourite brandy is down to the last 100 bottles in the castle cellar.  Random wants some answers….

Characters:

Character are children of Amber who are young enough to NOT have fought in Patternfall or been involved.  You WILL have walked the pattern and will be acknowledged as a child of Amber (Random would not pick you for this mission if not)

100 points with pattern for free.

Players:

1. Scott S (GM)
2. Dave C
3. Guy A
4. Marieke K
5. Edith B

Game Su-10/4: Blandings

GM: Mel M and Alan W
On: Discord
Cast: 8-10
System: The game is a crossover between Amber and the novels of PG Wodehouse, set in the Wodehousian universe, with elements of the thrillers of the 1930s – Dornford Yates, Sapper, John Buchan and Bulldog Drummond. The system is a variant of the Gentlemen and Players rules, created by Timothy Ferguson (see http://timothyferguson.wordpress.com/ephemera/amber/gentlemen-and-players/). Full notes will be supplied, and advice for newcomers.

Description:

There’s a problem with the drains at Blandings, but Flora, as always, has an excellent plan. You can all go and stay at Benedict’s castle in the Scottish Highlands!

It is less clear how enthusiastic Benedict is about this plan …

The Castle is reputed to be in a beautiful wild setting on the edge of a large and somewhat mysterious loch. There are said to be local legends about it, although Benedict is more than usually tight-lipped on the subject, and usually contrives to turn the subject to his military experiences. Of course, Benedict usually turns ANY subject to his military experiences, but still. There is excellent shootin’ and fishin’ and numerous mountain trails for riding or walking. Stalking is popular too … but only of deer. There’s also talk of Highland games and a ceilidh, so there will be plenty to do.

Characters: 100 point characters. The characters are children of the Blandings version of Amberites (except that Fiona and Flora are Aunts). Mirelle and Random Threepwood are too young to have adult children, so also out. You can all have one free Highland skill too.

Players:

1. Mel M (Co-GM)
2. Alan W (Co-GM)
3. Anna J
4. Caire McK
5. Herman D
6. Jason P
7. Kevin D
8. Mascha K
9. Stephanie I
10. Tom McK
11. Vivek DM

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SLOT 11

(7pm – Midnight BST/GMT+1) (6pm – 11pm GMT) (2pm – 7pm EDT/GMT-4) (11am – 4pm PST/GMT-7)

Game Su-11/1: Burning Coal

GM: Vivek D
On: ??
Cast: 4-6
System: Burning Coal

Description:

It is the turn of the 19th century: The great imperial powers vie for dominance, fuelled by coal and steered by the industrial combines and their brass-and-steel difference engines:

But not all their conflicts are played out in the open, by displays of military might or commercial conflicts – there are other, more shadowy arenas where the Great Game is also played.

At the heart of the British Empire we find The Ministry (it has a name, officially, on paper – but never speak it. It is always just The Ministry).

Home to the freak, the monster, the superhuman, the undead, the spy, the assassin and the mad scientist* and those simply… less trammeled by ordinary moral considerations.

This means you.

* The Society of Hypercognisant Artisans and Master Engineers prefers “Enlightened Engineer” over the vulgar and somewhat pejorative “Mad Scientist”.

Characters:

Players should pick an archetype or template to build their character on – Mad Scientist*, Monster, Super-spy, Werewolf, Golem, Demon-ridden Sorceress – feel free to plunder any and all of Pulp, Sci-Fi, Fantasy for an idea (or even come up with your own).

That’s who your character is. There should be a reason the ministry would want to employ you – some extraordinary ability, power or skill-set. There should also be a reason you work for the ministry: They might have stayed your execution for a crime (real or framed) in return for your service. Maybe they pay you vast sums of money. Perhaps they are the only source of a drug you need. Or possibly you’re just the right mix of patriotic and amoral that you do it because you want to.

Players:

1. Vivek D (GM)
2. Alan McL
3. Anna J
4. David MK
5. Marieke K
6. Mascha K
7. Tom McK

Game Su-11/2: Murder on Carnival Row

GM: Mel M
On: Discord
Cast: 4-6
System: Set in the Carnival Row Universe, this game will be Bespoke Diceless. You should download information about the Carnival Row setting here: https://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Carnival-Row-RPG.pdf, and/or watch the TV series on Amazon Prime.

Description:

Carnival Row offers a dark, fantastic world that calls back to the styles and social graces of Edwardian London, in a society still shakily recovering from a conflict that resembles European colonial wars — but with industrialised destruction that resembles World War I. There’s been a murder in Carnival Row, the fairish region of the great city, The Burgue.

So what? You might ask. There’s murders here every day. But this murder occurred in the vicinity of The Tetterby Hotel, run by the faerie Madame Moira, who has recently turned the place into an upmarket place for salacious entertainment of many kinds. People – well, men – come here to discover if the rumours about the fae are true.

So what led Miss Jennet Gorrish, respectable young lady from the upper class Finistere Crossing on the fashionable northside of the river Beorn to be found dead in the ornamental garden of the hotel, with an expression of terror on her lovely face? Is it a one-off case … or the start of something more sinister?

Characters:

You are someone caught up in the murder investigation. You can be police, friend or family of Miss Gorish, witness or suspect (and if you are a Faerish witness, you are also likely to be a suspect). You can be human (not necessarily from The Burgue) or Faerish. Come up with a proposal, and I’ll help you shape it.

Players:

1. Mel M (GM)
2. Alan W
3. Ben McC
4. George K
5. Scott S
6. Stephanie I
7. Tym N

Game Su-11/3: If it wasn’t for you meddling kids…

GM: Simone PM
On: Discord
Cast: 6-7

Description:

Ever since grand-daddy Oberon made his fortune on the stock-market, the Barimen family has had a reputation for being rich and powerful. However, after his untimely death, and many legal battles over his estate, that reputation is somewhat less deserved. Between his many ex-wives and his squabbling offspring, very little was left for you, his grandchildren. There was still enough money to send you to the best schools, and employ a servant or two, but, depending on how frugal your parents were, not much else. As you prepare to step out into the adult world and fend for yourselves, you find that your grandfather’s estate has offered you a free trip to investigate ancient ruins on a small island. Your parents won’t say why, but they’re not keen for you to go…

Set in a similar world to our own, but about 70 years ago. Influences of Indiana Jones, etc.

Characters:

Characters are young adults with a knack for sticking their noses in where they aren’t wanted. 20 points available. Powers: Probability manipulation 10 points, Communications 10 points, Disguise 5 points, Self-Healing 5 points. Stats: 10 point limit, 10 points makes you an Olympic athlete, chess grandmaster etc., 0 points is an average human, any higher than 3 points represents a significant investment of your time that should be reflected in your background. Stuff limit: 2 points. Good stuff could be a nifty item, bad stuff could be an outstanding warrant for your arrest, be creative.

Note: This is a re-run of a 2005 ACUK game.

Players:

1. Simone PM (GM)
2. Amber B
3. Cort O
4. Edith B
5. Esther vR
6. Rain D
7. Rodney A

Game Su-11/4: The Shadow Play

GM: Jason D
On: Discord
Cast: 3-5
System: ADRPG

Description:

In the reign of King Oberon, all of Amber is celebrates his wedding to his new bride, Paulette. In honor of the occasion, a gathering of such royalty that has rarely been seen. The hall is set for a great feast, entertainers have come from all the Golden Circle, and gifts have arrived from across Amber’s many allies and trading partners in Shadow. As a noble scion, your attendance is expected.

Characters:

Pre-gens (variant Elders) provided.

Players:

1. Jason D (GM)
2. Dave C
3. Kevin D
4. Laura B
5. Shadow A

Game Su-11/5: One Night in Amber

GM: Herman D
On: Discord
Cast: 3-6
System: ADRPG
Setting: Amber City, at some point after the first Chronicles.

Description:

“Well, it’s a long walk. But if you go all the way down to the docks, at the back of the cove, it’s a little to the west…. But maybe you shouldn’t. It’s kind of late, and that isn’t the best neighborhood after dark.”“… Bloody Bill’s.”

Bloodless bodies floating in the harbour. People disappearing from behind Bloody Bill’s. When the sun goes down, all sensible people close their windows and stay inside. What is that ghoulish light coming from Fiona’s tower at night? And whose ghost is haunting the alleys?

You and your group of fellow scoundrels are the newest upstart crew in the city of Amber. You have no rep to speak of, hardly two silvers to rub together, and most of all, nothing to lose. If you can navigate the scheming nobles, bloodthirsty gangs, and malevolent undead, then you might just come out on top.

Characters:

You will be playing “normal” people living in the City of Amber. 50 points, no Pattern or Logrus, no exalted powers, no constructs. More info (to come) at https://ambercity.obsidianportal.com/

Players:

1. Herman D (GM)
2. Darrell H
3. Drew W
4. Keith PM
5. Natalie A
6. Pete M
7. Robyn MK

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(2am – 7am BST/GMT+1) (1am – 6am GMT) (9pm – 2am EDT/GMT-4) (6pm – 11pm PST/GMT-7)

SLOT 12

Game Su-12/1: Far From the Light, Forgotten Children

Note: This game slot was cancelled due to limited player numbers.

GM: Stephanie I
On: Zoom (Discord backup)
Cast: 4-6
System: ADRPG

Description:

The Patriarchs of Amber and Chaos leave nothing to chance. Having made their alliances and proudly proclaimed their official progeny; there remain those whose existence remains unheralded, for whom the trumpets do not cry, toasts are not made, and official lineages are not charted.

You are such a one.

Perhaps you were entered into the creche at birth or have been renditioned/remanded at some later age…even as you might be called an adult in the world you were born to. It may not be clear to you why as of yet, then again, you may already have your suspicions, your deformities, your “madness” that the world you knew could neither cure nor explain. Or, you may be what the staff term a “recessive”, bereft of any of the strange powers or distorted forms of your fellow inmates.

For whatever reason, you now find yourself in a facility uniquely tailored to you and your kind. Tended by discrete attendants, kept in decent comfort if you behave, and even educated to some extent…but never allowed to leave.

Somewhere your kin sit in magnificent halls, make princely marriages, even shape reality itself to their will, while you spend your days under the watchful eyes of the staff of an institution.

Surely that should change?

Characters:

All characters are based on 250 points, ADRPG rules both main rules and Shadow Knight. No items or artefacts. Character subjective ages at time of game must be >15 years. You may choose how long your character has been in the creche and some allowances will be made for skill development in a confined setting. Each character must offer at least 1 “defect”, a reason why you were too weird, messed up, fragile, dangerous, or just plain too interesting to be allowed to wander around or be claimed openly as a legitimate or illegitimate descendant. You must also offer 1 inherent trait which would make you worth “conserving”.

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Backup Games

Game ??-?/1: Things Fall Apart

GM: Vivek D
On: Discord
Cast: 5-7
System: ADRPG

Description:

You were going about your normal every day life when you heard the scream… and the sky cracked open. Overcome with waves of vertigo and nausea, you staggered to the nearest wall for support, only to realise that no-one else seemed to have head the cry. Or noticed that the sky was broken.

Nobody else seemed to feel the pull, either. The calling, as some vast and sudden emptiness tugged at you, drawing you towards… what?

Characters:

The details of your home shadow are free.

You may pay points towards partial pattern powers: the more you pay, the more control you will have (although you will not start the game with full knowledge of what it is you have, and you won’t be on par with a “real” pattern initiate).

Note:

1) This is a re-run of an ACNI 2019 game.

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