TTRPG Pickup Con Games Schedule

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Pickup Con Schedule

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Filtering by: “Nathan Cavaliere”

Hoax: The Modern Atlantis Wasn't Built to Code
Jul
23

Hoax: The Modern Atlantis Wasn't Built to Code

A game of Hoax: The GMless Roleplaying Game Fabricated Evidence, Fast Talking, and Fallacies in Logic, led by Nathan Cavaliere.

You were tasked with making a great scientific discovery by building a self-sustaining underwater settlement so humanity may spread to the seas. You dubbed what you created the Modern Atlantis. This is an especially apt title because, like Atlantis, it was horribly built and run by bumbling dimwits; also, it's probably going to fall apart on itself so entirely that people in the future will question if it even ever existed. That can't be the story you tell your advisors, though: think of what it would due to your academic reputation! Instead, you will con your advisors into believing that the cursed underwater city you made is totally sustainable and safe to live in for the long term. Creatively "re-interpret" those oxygen level readings, prepare your best empty inspirational rhetoric, and hide that gaping hole in the protective wall, because you are going to need to use everything you have to get someone to think that your disaster of a city is a good idea to continue building.

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. There are no character levels in Hoax, only air pressure levels which are much higher than they should be.

This game will be great for new players.

Tone: Silly⚪⚬⚬⚬⚬ Serious

Combat: ⚪⚬⚬⚬⚬

Role Play: ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚬

Exploration: ⚪⚪⚬⚬⚬

This game will be hosted in room #1 of the con’s Discord server. Spectators are welcome.

CW: Dark Comedy and Discussion of Natural and Technological Disasters

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A Report on the Blunderfolly Space Expedition Hoax
Jun
18

A Report on the Blunderfolly Space Expedition Hoax

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

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A Report on the Blunderfolly Space Expedition Hoax
Jun
17

A Report on the Blunderfolly Space Expedition Hoax

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

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The Beast of Semirechye
Jun
26

The Beast of Semirechye

A game in the Domains of Shadow system led by Nathan Cavaliere.

The year is 1915 in the Semirechye (semi-retch-eye) Oblast, a province of the Russian Empire in what is currently Kazakhstan. A nation pulled into the shadow of a world at war finds itself at the edge of another terror: a nameless monster only spoken of in whispered tones. Reports will soon come from all across the region of sightings of a barely seen horror, artifacts stolen in the night, cattle found mysteriously slaughtered in the fields, strange noises coming from the lakes and mountains, and, worst of all, people going missing without explanation. Terrified locals and Russian officers alike will take desperate measures to defend themselves and their livelihoods and hunt this beast down. What starts as an investigation into what is assumed to merely be an unusually violent animal goes awry as revelations of conspiracy, mutiny, and witchcraft are brought into the blinding light of day. This is the story of the Beast of Semirechye, the people who witnessed it, and the turmoil that resulted from their actions. Domains of Shadow is a GMless storygame of Gothic Horror and Shakespearean Tragedy with a focus on dramatic effect, smooth pacing, and streamlined rules. There are two elements at the foundation of Domains of Shadow. The first is a non-continous story structure consisting of multiple distinct scenes where the role of creating the introductions to scenes rotates between players. The second is the Blight, which represents the influence of the Otherworld on the human mind, and the way that it drives people to their loss of composure and possible tragic downfall by promising them inner strength and dark occult power.

This game will be great if you like stories about Cryptids and Folklore.

Pregenerated characters will be provided.

This game will be great for new players.

This game will be very serious and lean toward role play over combat.

This game will be hosted on the con’s Discord server and spectators are welcome.

CW: Cryptid Horror, Assassination, Mutiny

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Idiocy on Ice
Jun
20

Idiocy on Ice

A game using the Fiasco rules, led by Nathan Cavaliere.

"Things were already running off the rails before you came in, but this is the story of the events leading up to the moment when the scatstorm broke out and everything fully fell apart. Those events are mostly your fault. It was scarcely a year ago when the international community established the 1Responsible research station in Antarctica. Due to various mysterious circumstances involving unexpectedly militant donors, mysterious chanting beneath the ice, and an elephant seal breeding ground, the expedition failed. You will be playing as the group of fresh meat who were so unfortunately sent to return to the site and continue 1Responsible's mission: to enact deep bore drilling using a particle accelerator. But some of them just couldn't be happy with the bare minimum and got more ambitious with their plans. All of these plans ended up going disastrously wrong over the span of a few days. Join us for Idiocy on Ice: a homebrewed playset for Fiasco: The Storygame of Powerful Ambition and Poor Impulse Control.

Good if you're a fan of zany comedy, plays with too many doors and Cohen brothers films.

Content warnings - comedy violence, poor choices.

No prep necessary. Game will be played on Discord with a Jamboard component.

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The Tragedy of the Howling Ruins
May
23

The Tragedy of the Howling Ruins

A game in the Domains of Shadow: The Storygame of Gothic Horror and Shakespearean Tragedy system, led by Nathan Cavaliere.

In the Winter of 1850 a small crew of researchers will arrive at the top Lake Inar in the North of Finland. The expedition was organized by the Royal University to study the elusive Turukhan Wolf subspecies and their mysterious behaviors. After trekking through the desolation of the inhospitable countryside the crew has finally arrived at the ruined Castle Koulemant, which local rumour holds is a common retreat for Tundra Wolves when Winter strikes. The ill-fated voyagers will soon come to discover, however, that even though this place has been long abandoned by humanity, far more than wolves haunt these cursed ruins. And even worse, the team will soon understand, all too late, that some of their crewmates are more involved with these dark powers than they claim…

This game will be great if you like The Fall of the House of Usher, Frankenstein, Hamlet, and other tales of Gothic Horror and Shakespearean Tragedy.

Characters will be provided. Domains of Shadow is a GMless system that is in the later stages of development. The system's main focus is on streamlined rules, smooth pacing, and dramatic effect. The game runner can easily explain the lite rules as they become relevant in play.

This game will be great for new players.

This game will be very serious and feature role play almost exclusively over combat.

This game will be hosted on the con’s Discord server and spectators are welcome.

CW: Themes of Horror and Tragedy, Intense Emotional States, Harm from Environmental Phenomenon, Dark Magic, Violence by and Against Animals,

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