I have a talented friend named Ash who, as a game master, is a big proponent of incorporating life-sized props and some evocative theatricality into the role playing games she creates.
Last year we played in a scenario Ash concocted titled "Nighted" that I think used a simplified version of the Call of Cthulhu role playing game as the undergirding rules. She made a special GM screen that was adorned on the player side with pictures of the house and grounds we were exploring in the game. She prepared a slew of photographs to be handed out, as well as props like scrolls that got progressively more legible the more sanity we were willing to sacrifice in scrutinizing them. There were actual copies of books by the likes of Nietzsche with annotations and marginalia that offered clues. The lights in the room were connected to a remote control so that she could instantly dim them if certain events happened while exploring the game's house.
The players all had to wear masks Ash had created that were intrinsic to the unfolding plot; the players were all associates or friends of an eccentric anthropologist who had invited us to his home for a mysterious dinner party at which we were all handed masks to wear upon arrival.
The coup de grâce was the Ouija board our characters found in one room of the creepy mansion. Ash set out a real Ouija board and would move the scry with a powerful magnet under the table when we tried to communicate with the dead.
The video shows off a lot of the above, as well as the amazingly decadent feast Ash made for everyone to enjoy before we sat down for an evening of gaming.
It was the most immersive, enthralling one-off game night I've had in 35 years of gaming. As a player, it's hard to imagine going back to what will now feel like "vanilla" gaming by comparison.
Nighted RPG film from Joseph Procopio on Vimeo.
(The video was created by my amazing wife Ellen who spent much of the evening snapping pictures of us playing the game and then producing this video the next day.)
Last year we played in a scenario Ash concocted titled "Nighted" that I think used a simplified version of the Call of Cthulhu role playing game as the undergirding rules. She made a special GM screen that was adorned on the player side with pictures of the house and grounds we were exploring in the game. She prepared a slew of photographs to be handed out, as well as props like scrolls that got progressively more legible the more sanity we were willing to sacrifice in scrutinizing them. There were actual copies of books by the likes of Nietzsche with annotations and marginalia that offered clues. The lights in the room were connected to a remote control so that she could instantly dim them if certain events happened while exploring the game's house.
The players all had to wear masks Ash had created that were intrinsic to the unfolding plot; the players were all associates or friends of an eccentric anthropologist who had invited us to his home for a mysterious dinner party at which we were all handed masks to wear upon arrival.
The coup de grâce was the Ouija board our characters found in one room of the creepy mansion. Ash set out a real Ouija board and would move the scry with a powerful magnet under the table when we tried to communicate with the dead.
The video shows off a lot of the above, as well as the amazingly decadent feast Ash made for everyone to enjoy before we sat down for an evening of gaming.
It was the most immersive, enthralling one-off game night I've had in 35 years of gaming. As a player, it's hard to imagine going back to what will now feel like "vanilla" gaming by comparison.
Nighted RPG film from Joseph Procopio on Vimeo.
(The video was created by my amazing wife Ellen who spent much of the evening snapping pictures of us playing the game and then producing this video the next day.)
WOW! Great video, and your GM sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note, Dave. I'll be sure to pass on the kind words to my wife (for the video) and to Ash, the GM.
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