Freeform RPGs

Presented by: Travis Hall
Written By: Travis Hall and Emily Jackson

…and release! Tumbling through the air, weightless, she was as close to true flight as anyone could ever hope to achieve. No harness to slow her arc, she reveled in the moment. The air caught the fabric at her shoulders, lightly, and wings made of gossamer webs flared behind her.

Tonight the creak of the rigging would be washed away by the roar of the crowd but that made no difference to her. She never heard anything during these precious seconds of freedom, of untainted joy. The jealousies and petty quarrels, the choices and expectations and boring routines were left behind at the platform.

Then she straightened, reaching for the sure safety of his hands as gravity drew her back into its stern embrace. One heartbeat. Two. By three he’d be there.

Four. Panic turned her words to a scream, leaving her last, desperate plea unvoiced…

A murder mystery for 19 circus artists.

Player Capacity: 19.
Scheduled: Friday 4pm.
System: N/A
System knowledge required: None.
Rating: MA 15+. Murder; grief; sex, sexual relationships, and sexuality
Seriousness: On the serious side. (5/6)

By: Random

University of California – Los Angeles Campus Internal Memo

To: All Students, Parapsychology Department, UCLA

From: Professor Cameron Winters, Parapsychology Department, UCLA.

Subject: Field Trip

All students intending to attend the field trip are to be at the loading bay in building C by 7:15 on Thursday morning so we can leave on time.

The field trip is optional, but will be worth extra marks for those who do it. We are intending to make a number of stops along the way, mostly at night, so you will probably want to bring pillows and blankets if you intend to sleep on the bus.

See you there.

A one-session freeform for 20 to 24 students and ghosts.

Warning: This game deals heavily with the concept of death, and as such may not be suitable for all players.

Costuming is appropriate for some characters.

Player Capacity: 20 to 24
Scheduled: Friday 7:30pm
System: N/A
System knowledge required: None. System will be taught during the session.
Rating: M. Game deals heavily with the concept of death.
Seriousness: Moderate, leaning toward serious. (4/6)

By: Pagrin

England, 1223 AD, the Trask Estate is playing host to the rich and powerful and a new Count Trask is having a birthday. Coming of age and into his inheritance, the new Count brings with him a chance for politics and plots.

While for other people tonight merely means feasting and fun.

There are those who are willing to risk even the Throne of England itself.

A game for 25 people to come together, form alliances or break long standing traditions.

This is a full rewrite of the original “Trask Book 2” game from the 90s.

Knowledge of the first Trask game is irrelevant. There are no cross over characters.

Player Capacity: 25
Scheduled: Saturday 12:30pm. Second session to be added if the first reaches capacity.
System: N/A
System knowledge required: None.
Rating: M. Some medieval morality and racism.
Seriousness: Average. (3/6)

By: Fi

Four days ago 3 young children at Lawson Station were reported missing. It appears that the children wandered away from the homestead during the night. It is unclear why the children would leave their rooms at this time. Bill Lawson the father of the missing children has been helping police with enquires but to date no further information to their whereabouts has been discovered. Police are also talking to Jack ‘Gulgulli’ Jones a local black

The Standard 12th September 1964
Alice Barnes

 
“Min Min now is nothing but the light. History tells that it was once a roaring shanty notorious for ‘lambing down’ the shearers on sunset run, with a ‘dead house’ and a graveyard nearby. So many were its crimes and murders of kerosene and brimstone, that in righteous anger they burnt it to the ground. The place was stories and desolation- but the dead men would not be forgotten on their stoney plain. Just as a rider was passing by, out of that graveyard came the biggest Jack-O’-Lantern in Australia!”
Account from the diary of Ernestine Hill,
(Walkabout 1955)

A missing persons mystery set in the Australian Outback for 11 players.

Player Capacity: 11
Scheduled: Saturday 7:30pm. Second session to be added if the first reaches capacity.
System: N/A.
System knowledge required: None.
Rating: M. Supernatural elements, themes of pervasive structural racism and sexism, and historical references.
Seriousness: On the serious side. (5/6)

By: Aaron Fenwick

The Crown of Mistmont was won by a usurper, by the sword, in blood. 

The highest rule of Mistmont is the rule of the usurper, the first to sit upon the throne and declare themselves usurper after the monarch dies is monarch. All their crimes are absolved. 

Reigns are either short and bloody, or generational and overwhelming. All want the throne, but to claim it marks you for death. 

Now the Monarch has died, of a heart attack, in the middle of court. All eyes turn to the throne…

“Usurper!” is a freeform roleplaying game for 15 players set in a royal court beset by betrayal and murder. Dark fantasy costuming would be appreciated, no prior knowledge of the setting or game is necessary. 

Warnings for themes of betrayal, inter-character conflict, mystical enslavement and religion. 

Player Capacity: 15
Scheduled: Saturday 4pm. Second session to be added if the first reaches capacity.
System: None
System knowledge required: None.
Rating: M. Violence, murder, and other assorted dark fantasy themes.

Presented By: Jay

In the quiet village of Ravenswood Bluff, ‌a demon walks amongst you. During a hellish thunderstorm, on the stroke of midnight, there echoes a bone-chilling scream. The townsfolk rush to investigate and find the town storyteller murdered, their body impaled on the hands of the clocktower, blood dripping onto the cobblestones below. A Demon is on the loose, murdering by night and disguised in human form by day. Some have scraps of information. Others have abilities that fight the evil or protect the innocent. But the Demon and its evil minions are spreading lies to confuse and breed suspicion. Will the good townsfolk put the puzzle together in time to execute the true demon and save themselves? Or will evil overrun this once peaceful village?

Blood on the Clocktower is a bluffing game with players on opposing teams of Good and Evil, overseen by a Storyteller player who conducts the action and makes crucial decisions. The goal of the game is to successfully deduce and execute the demons before they outnumber the townsfolk.

During a ‘day’ phase players socialize openly and whisper privately to trade knowledge or spread lies, culminating in a player’s execution if a majority suspects them of being Evil. During a ‘night’ time, players close their eyes and are woken one at a time by the Storyteller to gather information, spread mischief, or kill.

The Storyteller uses the game’s intricate playing pieces to guide each game, leaving others free to play without a table or board. Players stay in the thick of the action to the very end even if their characters are killed, haunting Ravenswood Bluff as ghosts trying to win from beyond the grave. Each character comes with their own special ability and no two players in a game are ever the same character.

Player Capacity: 7 to 12.
System: Blood on the Clocktower
System knowledge required: None. System will be taught during the session.
Rating: M. The game features themes of horror and deception, with players taking on hidden roles, including potential “evil” characters.
Seriousness: Moderate, leaning toward serious. (4/6)