[ID: a banner for a game called "not a tabloid". it has a sepia newspaper pile as the background and lists the title in all caps. there is a textbox that looks like a taped on piece of paper that reads "completely normal interviews for completely legitimate newspapers". there are several question marks to one side and the text "2 player TTRPG". end ID]
So, here’s the thing. You’re one bad article away from getting fired and you maybe missed this morning’s pitch meeting when everyone was staking claims on stories. Your boss said you have one final shot to impress him and so he’s giving you the big enchilada of “completely legitimate newspaper” interviews to really make your comeback. The problem is, he kind of had a twinkle in his eye and didn’t tell you what the interview is actually about.
Get this interview over with and figure out what you’re writing about without giving yourself away.
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Not a Tabloid is a 2-player interview game where one player is an overworked tabloid writer and the other player has a Big Secret they're trying not to spill too early. The game is silly and comedic with a touch of the magical absurd.
There are 24 questions for the journalist, 20 hot topic words for the interviewee to roll, and over 500 possible options for the Big Secret, including "I had a child with my high school janitor to frame my sworn rival", "I ate bigfoot just to feel alive again", and "I brought a taco truck employee back from the dead because I made a bargain with a witch"
What you'll need:
Two players
Two 8-sided dice and a 20-sided die
A way of writing or keeping notes
Includes a formatted PDF and a dyslexia friendly plain text PDF
This New Years, I played in The Jaw of Victory, a Locked Tomb LARP written and run by @psychick. It was fantastic!
The Premise:
You are necromancers and cavaliers who have been sent by their Houses to serve in the Cohort. You all have just finished quashing the rebellion on a planet called Gliese 667 Cc out in the middle of nowhere and are having a little party for yourselves before returning to civilized space. Fighting on Gliese was hard, and a lot of the cities on the planet were destroyed, so its citizens will be relocated to a different planet. This happens all the time and it’s not your problem! (The Blood of Eden may disagree.)
Tonight Admiral Trillium Gamma is hosting a party to celebrate the victory and award special commendations for service and valor in the name of His Eternal Kindliness, the Necrolord Prime. The dress code has been relaxed, and attendees are encouraged to express themselves and their Houses in their costuming. Games, gossip, duels and romance are in the air!
But not all was as it seemed, and plots and treachery were afoot, and so started a murder mystery with many more secrets to uncover...
All Hail the Emperor Undying!
More pics under the cut.
Cavaliers, strike your best cheerleader pose!
Necromancers, strike your best catty bitch pose!
Two is for discipline, heedless of trial
Lieutenant Diana Tweyan, Cavalier
Three for the gleam of a jewel or a smile
Dame Trin Hattrick, Cavalier
Dux Alabaster Thaylaythah, Necromancer
Admiral Trillium Gamma, Necromancer and Host of the Party
Four for fidelity, facing ahead
General Iver Quadrumvitus, Necromancer
Officer Nestor Fort, Cavalier
Five for tradition and debts to the dead
Dame Senka Pyat, Cavalier
Lady Zeta Iovius, Necromancer
Six for the truth over solace in lies
Archivist Aristarchus Saturninus, Necromancer
Scholar Sia Van Shest, Cavalier
Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies
Dame Bathshira Themis, Cavalier
Lady Ursa Septentrion, Necromancer, who is dead (very aptly, our Seventh House Necromancer started the game as the murder victim, and was a ghost throughout the game)
Eight for salvation no matter the cost
Vicar Vorbia Scorpaenid, Necromancer
Nine for the Tomb, and for all that was lost
Matthias Nonius, Cavalier (yes, THAT Matthias Nonius)
Postulant Krysamorte Enneasmus, Necromancer
Those who have lost their partners...and the one haunting one of them.
Currently thinking about how in middle school I was in a rangers apprentice roleplay group online and I made my character a boy bc “I relate with boys more” and somehow remained oblivious to the idea that I might possibly be trans
Your life force shall be an acceptable trade, we will undo the curse.
Timelapse
Extra notes: my agenda is saving your idiot on death door and being smug about it afterwards like 'Haha you didn't think I'd let you die that easily right? You literally raised me to be the strongest human mage, you bastard!' vs 'There are witchweeds literally growing out of you, give it here before it kills you' *gets rid of the parasitic plants*