An online free convention. I only signed up for two slots on Friday because a friend decided to run a small invite only RPG convention on the same weekend. I got into one game.
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Friday Dec 5, 10am-2pm
Jamais Vu
System: Kult: Divinity Lost
GM: Dave - gmdave78
2 Players: a.pseudonym (Eric), Morgan Hua (Sophia)
Pre-generated characters provided.
Content Warnings: Disassociation, Depersonalization, Mundane horror, Dissociative amnesia, Acute mental illness, Hallucination, Breakdown of social order, PVP, Death, Violence, Loss of identity.
Eric and Sophie wake up in their suburban home and find that the familiar has become unfamiliar. They remember everything about their life but find themselves unable to attach any emotion to it. Even everyday objects become terrifying aberrations as the couple slowly drifts into insanity.
Before the sun sets that day one of them will be dead.
It was an interesting play test. We did mess with the GM's head a little. I (male) played Sophia (female). And a.pseudonum (female) played Eric (male). GM kept on mixing us up because our voices didn't match the PC and we had to correct him. Heh. GM will still tweak the game to improve it, but I enjoyed it.
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First we created backstories:
Sophie:
Profession: Etsy seller of handmade bad sweaters, custom knit to buyers specifications. Will knit double-necked sweaters as per Addams Family on request. Physical Appearance: Velma from Scooby-Doo, but maybe more scruffy.
What I'm good at: Organizing the house. I know where everything is and can tell Eric where his car keys are. Where the flashlight is. Where the tarragon is on the spice rack.
Collection: Cows. Figurines, plates, refrigerator magnets, Got Milk?, plastic toys, etc. Favorite is a standing cow displaying udders with the phrase "Udderly Fantastic!" Other is a complete collection of Animal Sound Makers with every version of a cow's moo. She has one of the original 1904 Moo Boxes made in Germany.
Eric:
Profession: Works in a local sporting goods store, maybe as manager or at least trying to become manager.
Physical appearance: Pretty average height / build. Dark hair, clean shaven, probably needs glasses but refuses to wear them so when he gets tired he starts squinting a little.
Good at: computers. the only one at work who understands how the ordering system actually works.
Collection: Comic books. Not so much collecting the ones that actually are worth money but the ones he likes. Reads them but puts them back in the mylar bag after.
Each PC had 4 blank sections to be filled out throughout the game: Thoughts, Values, Truths, and Beyond the Veil.
Thoughts are things your PC may think, it could be true or untrue. Values are things your PC values. Truths are things that are true and might affect game play. Beyond the Veil are creepy things you've seen.
During game play, as we rolled partial successes and failures, we mainly got Thoughts added and a number were choices given by the GM and we had to pick between generally 2 bad choices (for dramatic reasons). In some instances, we got new Values or Thoughts which became Truths.
At the end of the game these were my 4 sections:
Thoughts:
There's poison in the food.
I put the poison in the food. If I turn on the TV, I'll die. (got removed)
Eric doesn't know about the danger.
I'm in danger.
I would feel safer if I had a weapon. I love my husband. (got promoted to a Truth)
If Eric touches the rose bush, he dies.
Something is causing this.
I must not look at mirrors.
If stab him now, it'll be all over.
Eric sabotaged the lights.
Eric tried to electrocute me.
The police will kill me. As soon as I leave the driveway, I'm going to die.
I have a few moments to live.
Values:
It's ok to lie if there's a good reason.
Guns are dangerous.
Truths:
I didn't put something in the wine.
I love my husband.
The rose bush is important to me.
Beyond the veil:
There's something divine in me.
There was genuinely creepy moments as you had to choose between thinking you're loved one was going to lock you in the basement or stab you in the back (two Thought choices). Various thoughts were just unsettling. Some thoughts were prescient and foreshadowed what was going to happen.
The best scenes was the start where I'm making breakfast and realize I poisoned the omelets. I dump it in the trash, but pull them back out and put them on a plate to feed my husband. I mean if I was going to poison him, what harm would a bit of dirt do? Of course, he sees me pulling the omelets out of the trash and put them on the plate. He refuses to eat it, so I dump it back in the trash. A pretty funny scene.
Going down into the basement and finding the lights don't work is a standard trope, but it works especially if the husband is carrying an axe and the wife behind him has a chef's knife -- and is given the choice of thinking: lock him in the basement or stab him.
Waiting for the police (we called 911) after I had stabbed an intruder, hoping things would turn out ok, but also thinking, the police will kill me. And of course when they show up, they start opening fire.
In the end Eric lived (he avoided harm from the cops), but I had to dive out of a window, landing on the rose bushes, and stole the police car. Since my glasses were broken and it was raining heavily, I crashed the car and died.
I also liked how the emotional rollercoaster works in this game. We start of very suspicious of each other. During play, we started to trust each other. Then more bad things happened and suspicion came back in. An interesting game.
