MASQUERADE: Update 2.0
Hello accursed undead! Thanks so much for helping us kick off a new Narrative Arc filled with intrigue, murder, and cryptic PNGs that must be mirrored during the correct lunar cycle. There’s a few major gameplay and above-table changes I want to cover, and a few special announcements (gay vampires).
SEASONAL JOURNALS
As touched upon in my previous update, Seasonal Journals will be rolling out towards the end of this month. Seasonal Journals will be tied to a specific Narrative Arc (in this case Masquerade), and will provide a number of thematic skill trees and unlockables to further progress your character once you have hit the Level 6 cap.
Some of these unlockables are permanent passive boons such as stat and skill increases, whereas others are unlockable abilities that can be triggered once per session (such as a gun). The design intention is to create abilities that encourage team play and creative approaches to the sandbox, with a focus on buffing allies or expanding your social and combat tool sets. Those that have accumulated an excess of stamps will be given the option to transfer this progress towards one of these progression trees!
CURSEMARK SYSTEM (EXHAUSTION)
As part of the Seasonal Journal roll-out, we will be introducing the Cursemark system. This is a thematic exhaustion system that will reflect the curse slowly eroding your soul. It’s intended to help us leverage tension throughout the monthly Quest Board, without having to rely upon Afflictions, which will be reserved for more lethal special events. Afflictions will remain unchanged, as we want death, and the choice to return from it at the cost of your humanity to remain a difficult decision.
The Cursemark will be represented by three cumulative levels of Exhaustion. To ensure that casters and martial characters are affected equally by this system, the exhaustion penalties will also affect Spell Save DCs. The Cursemark will spread as a response to fail-states and setbacks in Quests where you undergo significant physical or psychological trauma, but do not die. Cursemark levels can be lifted by successfully completing quests, or by achieving certain optional objectives during play (such as helping a healer escape captivity, or sitting down for a bit and contemplating the ghoulish nature of your own existence).
Once three Cursemark levels have been gained, if you gain a further level, you will receive an Affliction instead and be given the choice to revive your character. Fail-states or situations where you may gain a Cursemark level will be clearly declared and communicated to the table.
COMMUNITY TOWN HALL
Balancing all of these changes in an ongoing drop-in community game can be a challenge, and we want to make sure that we get it right. We’ll be trialing the seasonal journals throughout June, and will then be arranging a ‘town hall’ event in July where all members of the community will be welcome. We’ll address feedback we have received directly, reveal upcoming gameplay changes and tweaks, and host a Q&A.
SICKNESS
This is a polite reminder that if you are feeling unwell, please do not attend a session at the tavern. Our sessions are in an enclosed space, and involve being sat very close to other players for an extended duration.
TICKET SALES
All tickets for next month will be going on sale next Friday 16th at 19:00. This will include both Black Archives and Quest Board. Tickets for Beginners Night and Prologue are already live! Tickets for our next Narrative Event (LONELY HEARTS) will be revealed later this month.
SPECIAL EVENT TABLES
To address some of the feedback we have received, tables for special events will now include the name of which GM is running it. Tickets will remain capped at 2 per player to ensure everyone has an equal chance to play. This will go into effect from SECOND DREAM onwards. Our updated table list for SECOND DREAM is:
CABIN I: Crisium (Maxim)
CABIN II: Insularum (Gilli)
CABIN III: Ingenii (Phil)
CABIN IV: Serenitatis (Jenn)
CABIN V: Marginis (Luna)
EIDOLON BRIEFINGS + ARG
We’ll be launching an EIDOLON briefing channel that will contain monthly briefings following each special. This will also contain a ‘traffic light’ system for when there are new puzzles to solve, to avoid horrifying descents into madness.
MERCH STORE / WEAR THE TAVERN ON YOUR FLESH
Very soon you will be able to wear things on your body that tell everyone that you died, and it was nice. Our merch store will be dropping next week, with Aeturnum and Tavern themed hoodies, t-shirts, beanies, stickers and sacrificial effigies woven from human hair and teeth.
SEVERANCE: TISIS MINI-ARC
Severance will be a three part self-contained mini arc set in the vampiric continent of Tisis. Severance is a prequel to Masquerade, a hallucinatory blood-fueled nightmare that explores the failed attempt to assassinate an ancient incarnation of primal hunger. Severance will be running in place of the regular Quest Board in certain months, to keep all rotations in sync with our specials. It will be ticketed separately and allow you to bring a separate Level 6 character using our Character Creation Guidelines. We’ll have more info to share soon, so watch this space.
CONCLUSION
Thanks for reading and for all the continued support! I’d like to close out this update with another of my favourite sagely proverbs: 8 0 8 2 6 9 8 0 6 5 8 2 6 9.
