RPPR Actual Play

Check out the Base Raiders website to preview the next major RPPR project! The Heroes of New Arcadia have righted many wrongs and saved many lives but no good deed goes unpunished forever. Their enemies launch a raid on their unprotected base, resulting in a major fight that pushes the group to their limits. After the battle, they decide to strike back but first they have to determine which of their many enemies attacked them and how they can best get revenge. Find out who their mystery foe is in this episode!

In this episode of Know Evil, the Firewall team pursues multiple agendas as they attempt to blend in with the scum swarm society. SAIRAC, the AGI, must learn to become more human in order to avoid detection when they leave the relative safety of the swarm. Bartleby must fulfill several Firewall missions. Gerrard has a chance to learn the truth of his own past on Earth. All the while, the team is pursued by their enemies, both personal and otherwise. As things start to go awry, the team decides to raid a group of criminals as part of a Firewall mission. Of course the raid does not go well...

At Gencon this year, we got to play a game of Shadows of Esteren, as one of the game's translators was nice enough to run it for us. While we did not have time to fully complete the scenario, we all had a great time playing the game. A group of amnesiac travelers find themselves trapped in a strange building, beset by enemies on all sides. Even though they don't know their own names, they will have to band together if they hope to survive and escape the wretched place. Find out what nightmares lurk in the Shadows of Esteren. Please note this is a con game, so it is noisier than normal.

A group of insomniacs with desperate lives find themselves in the Mad City, battling its nightmarish citizens in order to escape and possibly find a way to better their own lives. But can these broken survivors find the power within themselves to succeed? How useful is the power to have your life narrated by a disembodied voice? This two part adventure was recorded over a year ago and was previously part of the Killsplosion ransom preview Actual Plays.

The new tier of the Know Evil campaign begins! In order to hide out after the daring bank heist, the Firewall team retreats to the relative safety of The Stars Our Destination, a scum swarm that happened to be nearby. After ditching their weapons, the team gets a rare chance to rest and plan their next move. They have a chance to research the object retrieved from the bank safety deposit vault, catch up with their personal lives, and perform some side missions for Firewall. Of course, there are threats hidden in the swarm, waiting to strike out at them. If you enjoy this tier, you should get a copy of The Stars Our Destination and read up on this scum swarm! You can also check out the newcomer's packet in this post on the RPPR forums.

From Dennis Detwiller's Tumblr: “A Victim of the Art” is a Delta Green scenario set in the fictional town of Glenridge, Long Island. The investigators play Delta Green agents and/or friendlies brought in to solve a series of grisly murders which have rocked the small, rich, seaside community. The killer is not human – but the perpetrator is. A PDF of the scenario is available at the Tumblr page.

In this double length episode, the Heroes of New Arcadia deal with many challenges. The base of the Martyr's father, The Samaritan, has been found. But in order to get into the base, one of the heroes decides to make a bargain with a darker power. This begins an odyssey into the lower planes. Meanwhile, the Heroes must deal with Mayhem, a new villain with unusual superpowers and murderous intentions. Finally, the Heroes have to deal with the fact that their base is publicly known and undefended. This leads to a confrontation with enemies the Heroes have not seen before. All this and more!

Synopsis: The Firewall team has planned and prepared enough. It is time to pull off the most daring heist in the history of the solar system. They face the tightest security the inner system has to offer, all to steal an unknown object just so they can continue their pursuit of Manjappa, the man behind the Know Evil virus. Can each character hold up their end of the operation? Will Bartleby and SAIROC infiltrate the vault in time? Can the others secure the bottom level of the facility? Can the distraction team hold off security long enough? Find out in the thrilling conclusion of the moon tier of the Know Evil campaign! Don't forget to look over the planning documents and map of the Erato bank.

News: Please vote for Role Playing Public Radio as Best Podcast in the Ennie Awards! The last day of voting is July 29. Thanks for your support! Synopsis: The more I read about the London Olympics and the prohibitive security measures taken, like missile launchers installed on the roofs of apartment buildings, the more it sounds like a cyberpunk dystopia. And to cap it all off, there is literally a pre-arcology called The Shard that just opened in London. So I did what any self-respecting nerd would do. I added zombies. Enjoy.

Special: Download the planning documents used by the RPPR group to plan the bank heist. Synopsis: Robbing a bank is unheard of in the age of Eclipse Phase. The Erato bank is as heavily guarded as a military installation, with dozens of armed drones, guards, security systems and AGI infosec specialists protecting it. However, the Firewall team must retrieve an item from a safety deposit box in order to continue their investigation of Manjappa and the source of the Know Evil virus. But a bank robbery is no easy thing to plan. Furthermore, Firewall has to authorize this mission first, which requires a meeting of the proxies. Special note: Please vote for Role Playing Public Radio as Best Podcast in the Ennies!

In this episode, the heroes of New Arcadia have recovered from their confrontation in the abandoned Ideal base, but they have to deal with new complications in New Arcadia. They have new allies, Quasar and Galileo, but they must find a place for them to fit in. The heroes have a rare chance to socialize with some of their friends with a dinner party! Also, Norm gets a job. Clearly, this is a must listen episode.

Based on the children's classic, The Secret of NIMH, this game is based after the events of the movie. A great evil threatens the inhabitants of the Thorn Valley. After the captain of the guard goes missing, along with several artifacts that once belonged to Nicodemus, the mystic, a team of heroic young rats is charged with finding out what happened. As they journey far from home, they stumble upon humans threatening the valley, strange mysteries and monstrous dangers. Can they survive the final confrontation with evil? Find out in this special two session game!

Sponsor: For the latest news covering the entire tabletop role-playing industry, turn to Roleplayers Chronicle at roleplayerschronicle.com! Synopsis: The agents of the Empire have delved deep into the wilderness to find the source of evil and stop it. After meeting with the Eater of the Dead, an exiled druid, they find the final destination of their quest. Can they stop the evil without sacrificing their sanity? Have they already gone too far? Find out in the epic conclusion of Cthulhu Invictus!

News: Check out the new Raillery episode featuring Ross, Caleb, and Aaron! Synopsis: The Firewall team survives the ambush from the bounty hunter, but only narrowly so. In order to continue the investigation, they must enter Triad territory and get answers from the top of the criminal organization. Getting an audience with a fearsome Triad boss isn't exactly easy so the team must prove themselves worthy first. This requires a combination of finesse, streetwise, and brute strength. Can the team manage to meet the leader of the Triads? What secrets will they learn? Are pandas awesome or what? Find out in Know Evil episode 13!

The Heroes of New Arcadia have learned of an abandoned Ideal base, codenamed TIN CAN. They plan to access it to get crucial intel and possibly other assets necessary to protect the world from threats like the Collective. Enlisting the aid of Wayfarer, a powerful teleporter, they head to the remote base only to find they aren't the only ones who thought to raid this base. How will our heroes deal with the other intruders? Who is the man in gray? How much is a claymore mine worth? Find out in this episode of the Heroes of New Arcadia!

Message from Ross: This is the second of the guest playtest games. Enjoy! From SageNytell: In this session, we rejoin Jerith the Human Cleric (Upon Whose Skin Is Scriven The Name Of God) played by Graz; Meri... er, Amber Smith the High Elf Rogue (Of The Most Secretive And Deadly Order of Blind Assassins) played by Craig; and Kitterina the Wood Elf Ranger (Whose Ancestors Are Always Watching) as they travel towards a strange new destination - the mysterious Boltstrike Tower, leyline node of the great and powerful Archmage! They are joined by the disconcertingly popular Sven the Human Barbarian (Surprisingly Not Actually The Hero of Legend, Go Figure, played by Chris) in a fantastic adventure called Blood and Lightning featuring dungeons, dragons, 50's Scifi tropes, and lots and lots of Sven puns! Afterwards, the players and I discuss our feelings on the playtest and the system as a whole. P.S. Escalation Edition Pre-order Announced

Message from Ross: A RPPR forum-goer, SageNytell, is a playtester of the new fantasy RPG 13th Age. He recorded 2 playtest sessions of this unreleased game and offered it to us. Given what I've read about this game, I thought you all might enjoy a sneak preview of it. Let me know what you all think! From SageNytell: In this session, we meet Jerith the Human Cleric (Upon Whose Skin Is Scriven The Name Of God, played by Graz); Merisiel the High Elf Rogue (Of The Most Secretive And Deadly Order of Blind Assassins, played by Craig); and Kitterina the Wood Elf Ranger (Whose Ancestors Are Always Watching, played by Rachel). Our players battle a gang of desperadoes in a deserted ghost town and engage in a desperate struggle for their lives in Gobpocalypse! Afterwards, the players and I discuss our feelings on the system as a whole. (Spoilers: I used incorrect flanking rules from 3.5, this is fixed for the second session!)

Sponsor: For the latest news covering the entire tabletop role-playing industry, turn to Roleplayers Chronicle at roleplayerschronicle.com! Support Caleb the Know Evil GM in his Kickstarter, No Security! Synopsis: After barely surviving the ordeal in the Cognite bunker near the Somatek facility, the Firewall team must get to their next lead. Unfortunately it's a Triad held ship in orbit over the moon. As they make arrangements for their ship, the forks left behind on Venus will have to deal with their own problems, with implications that will affect their future operations. But even after the main crew arranges transportation to the ship, they find one of their past problems coming back to haunt them.

News: Support RPPR regular Caleb with his new Kickstarter! This is your chance to get Bryson Springs, Lover in the Ice and other original scenarios. Synopsis: Delta Green can't afford to send out agents on every mission. On low priority missions, they use friendlies, who are personnel with mythos experience but have not been inducted into the conspiracy. When an informant tips off Delta Green about a company up to no good in Picher Oklahoma, they send out a team of friendlies to investigate. However, little do they realize that they will stumble upon an ancient war between two mythos factions and that not everyone is entirely honest...

The second tier of the Heroes of New Arcadia campaign begins! After recovering from their epic battle with the Syndicate, the heroes have new threats on the horizon. But the heroes have been changed by their experiences, some mentally or emotionally while a few have undergone even greater transformations. The Collective is imprisoning all supernatural creatures, including ancient gods. After the heroes discover this, they investigate which leads to a search in the desert and a confrontation with an unnatural guardian. All this and more in episode 11 of the Heroes of New Arcadia!

After the chaos of the Robot Uprising in Nectar, the Firewall agents escape to the Somatek habitat to pursue their next lead in the Know Evil conspiracy. There was a Firewall contact at the station, an uplift security chief named Nissum, but he has gone missing. The team must gain entrance into the habitat, track down the missing agent and pursue their investigation. Along the way, they will deal with mercurial uplifts, ape pit fights and a devastating secret that would throw transhumanity into chaos if it became public. Find out what the secret is and what horrors await the agents in this episode of Know Evil!

In this final episode of the Slender Man campaign, the investigators have to deal with a threat at a chemical plant in the Tanner Neighborhood. The battle will be deadly but they may have a few aces up their sleeves. This was the last session we played of the campaign. I admit I didn't have an end game planned and I made the mistake of throwing in too many elements to make the game work, I think. If I had kept it a Hunter/Changeling game it might have worked better, but adding in vampires and prometheans because they were cool wasn't a good idea. However, I did have fun with this game and hope you liked it, even though it was run during the summer of 2010 (as you can tell by the references made in the game). The Moon fairy tale mentioned in this campaign.

In this episode, the investigators find the Grey Mansion and explore it to learn more about the families. They also have to deal with Little Red Riding Hood and her creator. As the mysteries of the city become deeper and darker, will the heroes ever find a way out?

The investigators have uncovered a conspiracy of four families that has brought great evil upon the city. Each family held a part of an artifact of great power but when they misused it, everyone suffered a terrible fate. In order to stop the Slender Man, the investigators must find the four pieces. One piece is in the Tanner neighborhood, and a strange little girl is more than they realized. What secrets does she hold and is an enemy or ally?

In this episode, the investigators are drawn to a goth concert held in an abandoned insane asylum. To learn more about Slender Man and the secrets that will be key to stopping him, they must find the artist hosting the concert and learn what they know. But it won't be easy. The artist has a few surprises of her own.

I'm on a trip right now but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some fine Actual Play episodes. The Slender Man campaign continues. In case you don't remember, the characters from Candle Cove were reused for a campaign I never finished about Slender Man. In this episode, they start to pick up the pieces and figure out how to deal with Tom's character and other threats. Enjoy!

After World War 2, the Allied Powers split Berlin into the East and West sides. Policing a ruined city after the most devastating war in history was no easy task. Black marketeering ran rampant. Opportunists exploited the German people when possible. In this chaotic mix, two women are murdered, both apparently by the same killer. Three groups of investigators find themselves forced to deal with the mystery; a pair of American military police, two Russian officers, and a few German criminals. Each have their own secret motives and few actually want to do the right thing for the victims. Can justice prevail in such a dirty world? Find out in this double length episode!

In this episode, the Firewall team must regroup after barely surviving a deadly battle with a powerful group of exsurgents but they will have little time before they must continue their mission. Gerrad finally rejoins the group with a new agent, an ultimate named Maxwell. They are in Nectar, a lunar city divided by morph type. Biomorphs are the elite while the poor must use robotic bodies to work and get around. These class distinctions have created an incendiary atmosphere and it's only a matter of time before someone lights the fuse. Can the team stop the riots and find out the next clue to Know Evil?

After our recent episode about the World of Darkness, I decided to return to it for a one shot. What I originally planned as a 2 to 3 hour game became a 5 hour epic and possible start of an episodic campaign A group of writers and artists have traveled to Anderson Island, Washington in October 1980 for a retreat and workshop. A place where they can work and study in peace. Little do they know of the evil buried on the island. After a night of shared nightmares, the first murder convinces a small group of writers to look into the secrets of the island, namely the secretive Christensen family and the ancient myths of Raven and Xelas. But can these temperamental creatives actually work together and solve the mystery or will they perish to the curse of Anderson Island?

While the Heroes of New Arcadia have defeated the Syndicate, there are still other threats and challenges to overcome. Chirop must work through the legal consequences of his crimes without compromising himself. Even after dealing with that, the heroes learn of a secret prison built with technology from the Ideal. What's going on? Who is behind this secret base and what does it mean for the rest of the world? Plus, Ross gets to play as new hero Wayfarer.

Support Pagan Publishing's Kickstarter for their newest book: Bumps in the Night! Have Scott Glancy run a game of Call of Cthulhu for you over Skype! Scott Glancy of Pagan Publishing ran an epic Delta Green game at PAX 2011, based on material from our very own Tom Church's Divine Fire scenario. In this case, the secrets of occult nuclear technology first developed by the Nazis were eventually acquired by the Libyans. Now a group of specialists must retrieve the scientists behind it and stop the program while the Libyan civil war rages on! Of course, things don't go according to plan. Find out exactly what goes wrong and how the team reacts, especially when they meet a familiar face...

The Firewall team has taken one step closer to the machinations of the organization behind Know Evil. On the Argonaut station Miter, the team uncovers a plot to ruin the reputation of an important media personality and put to a stop to it. They also find a link to research into TITANs, including a mission to retrieve new specimens from an active TITAN site. The team tracks down the researcher but isn't prepared for what they find...

The final battle between the Syndicate and the Heroes of New Arcadia begins! Deep in the Ideal Particle Collider known as Big Wheel, the heroes and their allies must fight a group of trained and dangerous superhumans, led by a powerful telepathic super-scientist known as Paragon. The heroes have cornered their foes and no quarter will be given to either side. This epic battle had 17 combatants (6 PCs, 5 NPC allies and 6 NPC villains) and lasted two entire sessions. Enjoy this double length episode and finale of the street level tier of the campaign!

A group of intrepid Roman adventurers has been ordered to investigate a supernatural threat endangering the Roman cities of Britannia. When they arrive, the heroes must first deal with the hidden dangers inside the walls of Roman settlements before venturing out to a farm afflicted with the unnatural. Underground cities, hidden cultists, enslaved mystics and more confront our heroes! Will they survive? Find out in this episode!

The intrepid band of Firewall agents have learned that trail of Know Evil leads to the Moon. In order to continue their investigation, they must farcast - that is to transmit their digitized minds into a new body waiting for them on Luna. This process is disconcerting for many but also provides a new opportunity to pick a better morph. As they acclimate to their new bodies and the restrictive policies of Luna, the agents must pick up the trail and figure out where to go next. However, they also have some personal time to explore their new surroundings. What do Firewall agents do to maintain their cover? Find out in this episode!

The Heroes of New Arcadia have made contact with the mysterious and powerful leader of the Syndicate, a telepathic scientist named Paragon. She wishes to deal with the heroes but will they accept a compromise or not? Furthermore, the hero Chirop must pay for his crimes but what will the federal government demand of him? As the seconds count down, can our heroes come up with a suitable plan to stop the threat of the Syndicate once and for all?

The threat of the Cthulhu Mythos is eternal but long before the heroic investigators of the 1920s and conspiracies like Delta Green, there were defenders of humanity from horrors beyond time and space. In ancient Rome, a group of skilled and cunning citizens has been charged with stopping a group of kidnappers. These criminals have taken many women from all walks of life, including the wife of a powerful man. But when these unlikely heroes delve into the mystery, they uncover a far greater threat to Rome than they ever could have imagined.

The Firewall team has found the secret base of the sky pirates but now comes the most dangerous part of their mission - infiltration. They must pose as the real sky pirates they killed and find the captured hacker they need to rescue. Of course, between them and their target lies dozens of armed and paranoid pirates. To make matters worse, the hacker turns out to be more than they initially thought...

In this episode, the heroes must stop the Syndicate's latest plot to destabilize the state! Fortunately, they have a new ally as guest player RJ joins the band in one session. In the second half, the Syndicate takes action against the heroes. Find out how in this episode!

A group of kids on summer vacation have found an unusual arcade game called Polybius. While its graphics are old, its gameplay is second to none. Unfortunately, it seems that those who play it are tampering with forces Man Was Not Meant To Know. Find out what happens when the spirits of dead video game enemies haunt the players that killed them! This was a ransom request game from the Killsplosion Kickstarter. Enjoy! Also Little Fears is a fun RPG.

In the post-war streets of Hiroshima, 1952, two Yakuza clans battle for control of the lucrative black markets and drug trade. The dominant clan is losing their hold because of the lack of leadership from their boss. He sends his two sons and two loyal enforcers on strange errands that have nothing to do with running the business. Soon, the Yakuza find themselves embroiled in a strange battle between the supernatural and their rival clan. Find out who lives and who dies in this one shot game!

The Firewall team must rescue a kidnapped hacker currently held prisoner by the sky pirates of Venus. In order to find the pirates' hidden base, they must lure in one of their raiding ships, take out the pirates and capture the ship. The best bait happens to be a luxury zeppelin filled with the idle rich. What better place could there be for a gunfight? Of course, there will be more than a few complications, including smuggling weapons on board, dealing with the ship's security and the other guests themselves...

When Ed Healy came to Springfield to visit Meta Games, I stopped by to run a one shot of Cthulhu Dark based on the video game Dead Island. Of course, this happened before the game came out so I basically with zombies at a vacation resort and made it up from there. We had quite a few players for this game including RPPR listeners, Ed Healy, Mike from Bear Swarm and some of the RPPR crew. Enjoy the mayhem! Also, BUY MY BOOK

This image comes from the hilarious webcomic, Wonderella. In this episode, the heroes of New Arcadia face a seemingly invincible foe - the leader of the Crystal Children cult. His powers stop anyone from attacking him directly or indirectly so he cannot be assassinated or captured. Can our heroes devise a means to stop this powerful psychic cult leader? Aside from that, the heroes have to secure the Hellmirror, a powerful and evil magical artifact but this isn't as easy as it seems, even though it resides in the police evidence locker.

This episode brought to you by Kyle Moss, a Killsplosion Kickstarter contributor. After the Firewall agents return to Octavia, the major aerostat city, they decide to track down the pirates holding their target captive. The team splits up to learn more about the mysterious neo-synergist hacker, research the route the pirates will take and maintain their cover as an XP show. The plot has several twists and turns in this episode so listen in to find out what complications will arise!

This episode brought to you by Viktor Engvall, a RPPR fan and Killsplosion contributor. The intrepid Firewall team has made their way to a secret aerostat on Venus called Cloud 9. A war has broken out on the station between Pax Familia and the owners of Cloud 9. The Firewall agents must navigate the unstable station, armed psychopaths at every corner, deadly traps and other threats in order to learn the secrets of the station.

In this episode the heroes of New Arcadia face two challenges: the Crystal Children and the occult mystery in Fiddler's Green. The cult known as the Crystal Children is led by a powerful metahuman with a unique ability that makes direct confrontations with him impossible. How will they bring this elusive foe to justice? When the other heroes delve into the mystery of the ghost lights of Fiddler's Green, they find a dire plot that must be stopped. However, this is easier said than done.

This scenario was played with the excellent ultra-rules-light game, Cthulhu Dark. Download the free PDF and try it out yourself! In a small town in the Midwest, things are about to change. A priest has turned to desperate measures to see his wish come true: to see the bible brought to life. Unfortunately, when the priest resorts to using a ritual in a book of the occult to make his wish come to life, bad things happen. Find out in this scenario what happens when the bible is literally made true as interpreted by Yog Sothoth!

News: Support the Killsplosion Kickstarter and get access to 10 preview RPPR AP episodes including the entire Slender Man World of Darkness Campaign! The Firewall agents have learned where the Nine Lives Syndicate operative is and how to get to her but she won't be there long. The team rushes forward to defeat her guards and capture her before she escapes. Once captured, she reveals her destination, a hidden aerostat on Venus called Cloud Nine. The team decides to venture to the aerostat in hopes of learning more about the conspiracy. What secrets are hidden on the station?

News: Support the Killsplosion Kickstarter and get access to 10 preview RPPR AP episodes including the entire Slender Man World of Darkness Campaign! No one knows what the mysterious entity known as Slender Man really is or what it does with the victims it abducts. Until now. A park ranger that survived the events of Candle Cove was later taken by the Slender Man. After a year, he returns a changed man. Other mysteries arise as the forces of darkness threaten the ranger and his friends. Can these mortals uncover survive? Find out in episode 1 of the Slender Man mini-campaign!