Mysteries of the Ninth World 22: Ummm…I’m Debilitated

Map of Innsmouth showing the port, the streets, and all of the important locations from Lovecraft's story

Escaping from Innsmouth is a little more complicated then expected.

GM: Megan
Players: Aser, Chuck, Landan, Michael.
System: Numenera

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Decisions.” (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Mysteries of the Ninth World 21: The Esoteric Order of Dagon

A building that looks like mausoleum in black and white. The sign reads "THe esoteric order of Dagon"

The party travels to a new reality to retrieve a book. Should be easy, right?

GM: Megan
Players: Aser, Chuck, Michael, Shaunna.
System: Numenera

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Decisions.” (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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How a Blind Gamer Runs Games

Assistive technology is an amazing thing. I used to tell friends that for a large part of human history, careers for the blind were restricted to beggar, musician or soothsayer. That’s a fair bit of hyperbole, but by and large a wide swath of everyday occupations and leisurely pursuits were entirely closed off to people with even a minor visual impairment. But then came one leap forward after another in the world of computing and soon software existed that could read printed text aloud, turn computer output into spoken feedback and provide access to information in a coherent and digestible form. I graduated from law school in the top 5% of my class, record and produce a podcast enjoyed by literally dozens of people and make a nuisance of myself on social media just like anyone else. We truly live in a golden age. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day, I thought it would be useful to describe some of the tools I use to (effectively) run tabletop role-playing games online and in person as part of TRF. Continue reading How a Blind Gamer Runs Games

Mysteries of the Ninth World 20: Grand Theft Numenera

A  metal bracelet of a snake eating it's tail

As the heist begins, the party finds that security might be better then expected.

GM: Megan
Players: Aser, Chuck, Landan, Michael, Shaunna.
System: Numenera

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Decisions.” (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Mysteries of the Ninth World 19: The Best Laid Plans…

Overhead view of a city full of dirigibles and mist

The party needs to pull off a heist in order to get the information on their next step. However, reality keeps interrupting their perfect plans.

GM: Megan
Players: Aser, Chuck, Michael.
System: Numenera

More information on the game Megan is running to benefit the SPLC can be found here!

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Decisions.” (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Beyond the Threshold 11: Behind the Hedges

Topiary shaped like people sitting in a park

Finally away from immediate danger, the team tries to get more intel from an unexpected source.

GM: Aser
Players: Matt W, Megan, Phil
System: Night’s Black Agents

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Hitman”(incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Beyond the Threshold 10: Setting Charges

A sniper is in the grass wearing a ghillie suit.

As horror sets in, the team tries to find a way to retreat without being caught.

GM: Aser
Players: Matt W, Megan, Phil
System: Night’s Black Agents

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Hitman”(incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Beyond the Threshold 9: Like Cattle to the Slaughter

Cattle being lead through a narrow passage

The team starts to investigate a secretive facility near Mountain Home, Idaho.

GM: Aser
Players: Matt W, Megan, Phil
System: Night’s Black Agents

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Hitman”(incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Numenera: The Hideous Game

A pale creepy figure with long fingers and no eyes, but mouths covering it's head

Three adventurers try to find the answer to the nefarious game that is being played on the citizens of Qi before it’s too late.

GM: Megan
Players: Aser, John, Richard
System: Numenera

Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Decisions.” (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Review: Book of Unremitting Horror

Cover of the book of unremitting horror. Shows a creepy creature with long arms grinning menacingly at the viewer

One of the toughest parts of running an investigative horror RPG can be creating interesting monsters to terrorize your players. Unlike adversaries in more combat-oriented RPGs, the baddies in a horror game are more than just stat blocks: they need to have a complete background with hooks to discover in order to complete the investigation. Creating these can often be the most entertaining part of GM-ing games like Fear Itself, but sometimes it’s nice to have something to weave a story around.

That’s where The Book of Unremitting Horror comes in. This book provides a collection of fearsome creatures from your worst nightmares. Each entry provides a background for the creature including a story about a haunting and advice on how to run them in a game. And of course, the book also has stats. These entries are more than just single page write-ups, and can easily form the core of a scenario by themselves. In fact, Megan did this to create the one on one session we released for Halloween in 2015.

The thing is, the monsters and demons on offer in Unremitting Horror aren’t just your run of the mill catalog of things that go bump in the night. There are very unique manifestations of common tropes and urban legends that make for genuinely creepy reading. They include things like the Kooks, creatures that retain their immortality by feeding on the essence of young children, the Blossomer, a demon summoned by angsty teenagers in a fit of sex and cannibalism, and Sisterides, basically an MRA’s fears given form.

This book is a treasure trove of the sorts of horrifying moments that make Fear Itself, Esoterrorists and games like them so memorable. Some of the creatures featured in the book are used in the scenario Invasive Procedures, which The Redacted Files played in two parts. Another is featured in the one on one session entitled Soliloquy.

The book comes in both Gumshoe and d20 variants. We plan on using several of the entries in this book to terrorize our cast in the near future. We highly recommend you check it out and pick up a copy to inflict on your unsuspecting friends. You can purchase it on DriveThruRPG for Gumshoe or d20. It’s also available for purchase from the Pelgrane Press website.