Conpulsion 2024 day two

I have done the quiz. More on this later.

I played C7 Doctor Who second edition. I do feel it sanded off a bit too much from an already light system..

Congratulations to Banquo Award winner Aleksandra Brokman!

Conpulsion 2024 day one

£4000 at the charity auction! Including 50 for the lots I put in and me starting the bidding at 50 for something.

Hugo 2024 finalists

Hugo and related awards finalists for 2024 responding to the 2023 scandal with a lot of east Asian work.

I have actually read one of the novels!

D&D is up for dramatic presentation (long form) in a strong field. Doctor Who and Strange New Worlds both have two short form entries (justice for The Meep!) which could split their vote and let that great episode of The Last Of Us get it.

Nationals update update

The other GM in the category has had to drop out. Asking who the replacement is so I can say hello.

Nationals update

Okay, that’s 63 pages of printing so far for this Nationals game. (Not including the optional character pictures I’m still collecting.) And two of them are for me, in case I can’t get access to notes online.

... 64. I should have a name card as well as the players.

This is the game outline, also known as page 61.

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE

LAST DANCE

Three cheers to the mirror

Now the two of us

Can we have one last dance?

Thursday, Jet Black New Year

New York City is home to over ten million people and haven to hundreds of vampires.

The Camarilla, the vampire establishment, serves under the Prince, Hellene. She has ruled since the turn of the century – hardly any time to some Kindred, but you have only been undead a few years. The Camarilla runs like a feudal fief – or an organised crime syndicate.

And like any syndicate, it has rivals, lieutenants who would rather be captains, and enemies.

Standing outside are the Anarchs, factions hiding in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Some think a better world is possible, others only care about a better supply of blood.

Hellene also tolerates others like the Church of Caine, the Hecata families, and the blood bank racketeers of the Circulatory System, so long as they contribute to “the good of all Kindred” in their own ways.

Around the city’s nightlife districts a number of clubs form the Rack, with vampire backers ensuring Kindred can hunt there in safety, provided they not make a mess.

The most prominent club on the Rack is the Electric, backed by the host known as Saint, but many Kindred feel most free in Thea Corbin’s Goth and alternative club Absolution.

In December, the sun sets before five in the afternoon and rises after seven in the morning. So the Camarilla likes to keep its subjects busy.

The Midwinter Gala is one of the most extravagant cultural events in the Kindred year. Artists in every field seek to perform there, or in spinoff events better suited to their style.

Kindred bands like Cold and Tearstain and performers like the violinist Michael Devere and the dancer Melusine prepare for a few minutes in front of the Prince.

Last Dance are to take the stage at Absolution the night before, in three nights’ time...

Spider-Verse: The Spider Within

The Spider Within, a Spider-Verse short film about anxiety, raising funds for an education charity. Note to arachnophobes to avoid the end, as it goes past the usual Spider-Man levels of spiders being involved.

Immaculate

Immaculate (2024) (trailer) does its job well, with some good surprises and twists on a solid formula as well as one puzzling choice.

I do think it would be interesting to see a version where something like this goes well.

It’s also at times a rare-these-days Paperback Gothic Cover movie with a lot of creeping around a big dark house in a nightdress carrying a candle.

Also the second film I’ve seen this year starring Sydney Sweeney and both have birds hitting windows at one point, though it’s only important in the other one, here it’s a jumpscare that kind of deflates the atmosphere for a moment.

Trailers include The First Omen, great trailer for a film that has some distinct overlap here and the problem of being a prequel so will lose a lot of the uncertainty in comparison. And Abigail, yay! And Tarot, boo.

Spoilery bit

Pirates Of The Carebootean

Or, recurse of the Black Pearl.

As someone who loves the first and has seen them all in cinemas and went to the ride as a child and still wants an RPG... yeah, could go for more. Maybe reset the level of absurd giant building smashing stunts, as well as the having-that-lead issue.

And maybe Disney+ up a spinoff show, live or more practically animated? A proper comic series maybe... And an RPG...

Four years since lockdown became legally enforced here.

March 25th

Happy Tolkien Reading Day. commemmorating the day the Ring was cast into the fires of Mount Doom.

Demon: The Descent at 10

Demon: The Descent launched ten years ago today. It’s the only Chronicles of Darkness outside of Vampire: The Requiem and a couple of blue book one-shots that I’ve actually run.

Conpulsion programme

Conpulsion programme now with talks and panels and a time for the quiz. This time next week it should be ready to go.

Happy birthday Cat!

The Filmhouse

The Filmhouse has received a grant for restoration and reopening, and could be back by the end of the year.

Bloodlines 2 announced five years ago

Ouch.

In a land of purest speculation

A reminder of the heyday of official moderated World Of Darkness chats just gave me an idea that may or may not work depending on the social structures involved but...

A Curseborne official chat like New Bremen.

Also wondering how LARPable it will be. That seems fairly likely to be a factor.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Last time I saw the first trailer for a Beetlejuice movie I taped it on VHS.

What would you put in the Superpal Museum?

A request from committed hero at RPGnet for trophies for the Big Team in a four-colour superhero world.

Alien: Romulus teaser

Alien: Romulus teaser is very much selling a back to basics ALIEN/S movie, which forty-five years in is entirely fair.

X-Men '97

Having had a quarter of a century to pick a codename for Jean Grey so she doesn’t look out of place in the intro, I guess X-Men ’97 didn’t do that on purpose.

Interview With The Vampire season two trailer

“We can’t be the only good ones out there...”

Star Wars: The Acolyte trailer

“Your eyes can deceive you...” June the Fourth be with you!

Star Wars dot com interview with showrunner Leslye Headland.

Furiosa trailer 2

There will always be war, but to get home Furiosa fought the world.

Spring

Coulda fooled me.

Jim Ward

Jim Ward, one of the early D&D team, creator of Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World among other effects on the gaming world.

Primeval repeating on free TV

Primeval is on Sky Mix Mondays at 6.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all who celebrate. Ideas by Gar for Pelgrane games from 2020.

Alert

This year Easter Monday is April Fools’ Day, so be sure to check your miracles carefully!

Nationals update: inspiration attempts

Now have at least some of a plot, and seven of the eight requested characters are probably fairly interesting.

Have attempted to jumpstart my brain for a Vampire: The Masquerade one-shot since getting the category allocated by rewatching:

World Of Darkness: The Documentary

Near Dark

Dracula (1931)

Nosferatu (1922)

Dracula (1958)

Dracula (1992)

Cat People (1942)

End Of Days at New Year

Heartless

L.A. Confidential

Se7en

8mm

The Game

The Crow

The Crow: City Of Angels

Black Swan

The Batman (2022)

Daredevil season 1

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

John Wick

Constantine

Blade

Blade II

X-Men

Atomic Blonde

Dracula’s Daughter (for the 1930s Hollywood idea)

Max Payne

Strange Days

21 Bridges

... and watching for the first time:

What We Do In The Shadows season 4 (which I was going to watch anyway)

Morbius

In the latter case... the things I do for gaming.

Conpulsion Quiz update

Conpulsion quiz now submitted for approval, apart from the almost empty Books And Comics round and a vague idea for the write-in round.

The Books And Comics round was inherited and kept so I could do the Film And TV round without it being the only media round. And with the Hugos this year, not really wanting the traditional Hugo winning novel question...

Time Of Judgment

It was twenty years ago... the World of Darkness ended.

Thanks to Ian A. A. Watson for the reminder.

Yes, Bloodlines came out eight months after the end of the world. Insert delay joke here.

Comic Relief

Not a fan of Amazon exclusive red noses, but I understand the logistics.

Conpulsion Quiz draft away

Conpulsion Quiz draft away. Apart from the Books and Comics round. And a possible write-in round.

The Crow (2024) trailer

The first trailer for The Crow (2024) is here and I’d say it looks like another possibly interesting The Crow movie, it doesn’t especially feel like Eric and Shelly in particular but hey, Danny Huston as the villain is usually good value.

(And bonus World Of Darkness connection, the big concert venue is the Rudolfinum in Prague, which Bloodhunt players will also have massacred their way through.)

The Bad Batch 3.06 and 3.07

The Bad Batch continues to show off with atmospheric lighting.

“How should we light this little establishing shot of Omega and Wrecker having dinner?”

“Like Caravaggio.”

Deadpool Role-plays The Marvel Universe

Deadpool Role-plays The Marvel Universe, coming this summer, a comic and also an adventure for the new Marvel Multiverse RPG. That is some nice support for a new licence.

OOC solutions for game-shifting choices

“When a player’s actions turn the game on its head, it’s not just about controlling a character - it’s about the whole group’s fun.”

Four Heroes And A Murderhobo by Robin D. Laws

This goes for possibilities beyond sudden violent actions, but that’s certainly a common example.

Daggerheart open beta

Daggerheart open beta. Darrington Press sets out to make the kind of game Critical Role has always used D&D to do.

It’s clearly a child of D&D with classes and levels and whatnot, albeit with a nice 2d12 curve, but with theatre of the mind action including zone-ranged combat.

Special abilities and action tracks using cards and chits and other things a VTT would help with, I wonder how much could be skipped to minimise stuff at the table.

Collaborative worldbuilding, though I wouldn’t rule out sourcebooks.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - The Book Of Hungry Names demo

Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book Of Hungry Names gigantic computer gamebook from Kyle Marquis (Vampire: The Masquerade - Night Road) out April 25th, and intro chapters demo now.

Also a Tribes playlist! 

It's been fun threading the needle between the old and new interpretations of the tribes. The Black Fury song that opens this list is pretty classic, same with the Hart Wardens, but the Galestalker and Silver Fang songs break from the older editions.

Kyle Marquis on Bluesky

Godzilla won an Oscar

For special effects, after seventy years in the business well earned.

That character name update

Dallas

Diaz

Jordan

Mason

Rain

Sage

Sam

Story

Yes I know that’s three S names out of eight. Shut up.

Happy Buffy anniversary!

Buffy The Vampire Slayer premiered on TV in the US on this day in 1997.

Mother's Day

Happy UK Mother’s Day if applicable.

The naming of characters

Making starting Vampire: The Masquerade characters for a one-shot: under ten minutes.

Choosing one Conviction each: um.

Naming them: why hast thou forsaken me

International Women's Day

A safe and happy International Women’s Day.

World Book Day

Happy World Book Day!

RPGnet update

A couple days in and it’s certainly nice not having ads on RPGnet for T3MU.

FiveEvil is coming

FiveEvil from Handiwork Games and by Morgue Davie, coming soon to crowdfunding, inverts 5E for King-style horror with ordinary people in trouble. No Armour Class but a box for Suffering.

RPGnet merging with RPGMatch

RPGnet merging with RPGMatch, a startup for looking-for-group and other online RPG aids, a side project for the owner.

To Boldly Go

Keith R.A. DeCandido looks back at his pre-streaming Star Trek rewatches at Tor and Reactor.

The Lost Universe, an adventure from NASA

The Lost Universe, a free D&D adventure in search of the disappeared Hubble telescope, published by NASA.

Ludonarrative Dissidents season 3

Ludonarrative Dissidents season 3 Kickstarter for the system-fu with adventures and sourcebooks too.

Dracula's Daughter

A retro review of Dracula's Daughter. I had known about it being a mess behind the scenes with MGM holding rights for a payoff and unused and possible unusable scripts - it explains why the comic relief characters appear in two scenes at the start and never again and why a central character’s motivation is revealed six minutes before the end - but didn’t know about the Laemmle family being ousted from Universal four days after it came out, so am now leaning even more into running an adventure about vampires messing with it.

GM's Day

Appreciate us. APPRECIATE US!

Lisa Frankenstein

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

Jennifer’s Body creator Diablo Cody returns to this general field with a sweet little romantic comedy apart from the occasional murder and dismemberment.

Vampire population explosions

I see a lot of Vampire: The Masquerade games start with failed Sabbat mass Embraces to explain a table full of new clueless vampires showing up at once. (It’s a subset of the brewing conflict introduction where newly turned PCs are part of a rising problem, which I go for sometimes myself.)

I used a failed mass Embrace with just NPCs a while ago, the PCs helping unearth them and seeing if they could be brought back from the brink of madness.

And I just suggested adding NPCs to one example. It gives a relatable possible enemy, and if you want to lean into the personal horror maybe it includes people the PCs know. An equally fresh bunch of undead causing trouble feels different if they’re led by your sister.

moth

Curseborne

The Onyx Pathcast 300, in which we’re cursed.

Starting in medias res.

Supernatural and mundane.

Kinds seem to be families. Lykan and Bathorite elders talk, and young ones will fight like Montagues and Capulets.

Both families led by a mother. Perhaps with a capital M, they seem to have siblings and cousins they don’t really know.

Lykans and Bathorites are much as expected.

Characters have Edges, one example is Quick Read. And Spells.

Lineage Torments.

Places of deferment. The example here is an all night café called Neutral Grounds.

Curse Dice. Limited usage - cannot buy off Complications. Bad to run out of them though.

Cursebind.

Momentum and Complications and other features of Storypath Ultra.

Nationals T minus six weeks

Nationals is in six weeks, and the organisers want character sheets and the like for vetting in ten days’ time. Which should be fine... if I have anything done by then.

Yes I’m still swithering over this.

Normally I’d be well on the way, but I was assigned to GM Vampire: The Masquerade. This isn’t my first time assigned a not-first-choice category or even a Darkness category but it is my first time assigned to a one game category. And one that isn’t great for one-shots.

And I don’t know how well any of the players know the game in general or the current edition in particular, or their expectations or preferences.

And this is always the case but with less narrow categories I expect total newb-ness. Here I don’t have that.

I can absolutely do a standard mystery with a fight at the end, but, y’know.

(Small update: I now know what the other ST is aiming at, which definitely helps.)

Paramore, Thick Skull

I am a magnet for broken pieces

I am attracted to broken people

The Chocolate Experience

Fiasco of the week Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow looks slightly worse than the Christmas village scams reported somewhere most years but the use of algorithm-generated pictures and text in the advertising and the script pushes it over the bar. The work of someone who also publishes algorithm-generated conspiracy theory books, it’s a glaring example of how much that sucks impacting on the world outside the net.

It fails as the scam it looks like as well as the event it was meant to be. I’m sorry for everyone else involved - a number of the actors have spoken up about it as well as some of the audience.

It also seems like something that a more appropriate venue and a decent-sized student theatre or LARP group could put on properly and still turn a modest profit.

That said, expect to see an evil chocolate maker called The Unknown showing up in other things as people swipe that.

Dialogue

“Surrender or die! ... I don’t have a strong preference so it’s your call.”

March

At the end of the month, Conpulsion. Largely ready for the quiz except the Books and Comics round, which is always the most effort.