A game running in the Hoax: The GMless Roleplaying Game Fabricated Evidence, Fast Talking, and Fallacies in Logic, led by Nathan Cavaliere.
You were tasked with making a grand scientific journey: to blast off into outer space aboard the Blunderfolly, discover a mysterious alien planet, and document the wondrous lifeforms you found there. Due to countless instances of gross incompetence, however, the Blunderfolly just wandered aimlessly in space for months before you had to stop the expedition and return home fruitless. That can't be the story you tell your advisors, though: just think of what it would due to your academic reputation! Instead, you are going to try your hardest to con your advisors into believing that you actually were the first person to discover intelligent alien life (rather than the fraud that you actually are). Pull out as many homemade alien tentacles, forged PhD-equivalent degrees from alien academic institutions, and fake corroboratory findings on imaginary space flowers as you can muster, because you are going to need all of them!
The system for this story will be Hoax, a comedic GMless TTRPG about fabricated evidence, fast-talking, and fallacies in logic. Hoax uses a combination of improv techniques, rhetorical tactics, and card games to tell the absurdly hilarious story of a group of scientists convincing their advisors of a fraudulent finding. A simple card game competition (based on War) between the players for the scientists and advisors that occurs simultaneously during gameplay decides whether the advisors believe the hoax or not. Hoax is currently in the process of being designed by your GM for this session, Nathan Cavaliere, the creator of Domains of Shadow, a storygame of gothic horror and Shakespearean tragedy.
This game will be great if you like Don Quixote, Documentary Now, Not for Broadcast, Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, Saturday Night Live skits, and other stories of absurdity and satire.
We will build characters in session.
Tone: Silly⚪⚬⚬⚬⚬ Serious
Combat: ⚪⚬⚬⚬⚬
Role Play: ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚬
Exploration: ⚪⚪⚬⚬⚬
The game will be hosted in room #2 of the con’s Discord server. Spectators are welcome.
CW: Be prepared for irreverent portrayals of authority and frequent discussion of fraud