Actual Play Uk - Tumblr Posts
For too long, the world of indie roleplaying has been beset by ANIMAL CRIME.
It's time to clean up these indie roleplaying streets. And the only way to tackle ANIMAL CRIMINALS ... is with ANIMAL LAWYERS.
I'm making my Twitch streaming debut (😱) on 23 June with Actual Play UK, in a game of Maddy Searle's I'm Not Lion, a game where you play animals who think they're lawyers, and the more animal puns you use, the more convincing the judge and jury will find you!
I'm playing Crawl Newman, an ambitious snake prosecutor who's determined to make partner, whatever that means??
Going live on Twitch now, playing a snake prosecuting a dolphin for stealing a walrus's identity. Tune in to see if I make partner!
Today: planned another Monster of the Week session for @merelyroleplayers
Tomorrow: planning a two-shot of Heart: The City Beneath for Actual Play UK
Wednesday: GMing my first session of Lancer (not for public consumption)
You give me a week off dayjob work and I fill it wall to wall with RPGs 😇
Tune in this time next week
Four delvers rove deep, deep into the unreality of the City Beneath.
Each seeks to achieve the unimaginable.
But in a city shaped by desire, it can be dangerous to want too strongly...
I love this cast and I'm excited about the things I've got planned for them! It's a while since I've had the chance to run Heart – the campaign I ran in lockdown is up there with my best ever roleplaying game experiences.
Characters in Heart choose a Calling – the reason they're down in this extremely hazardous place – and the rulebook has this note saying that having everyone choose the same Calling can give you a nice focused campaign. That note has intrigued me for ages, and when better to give it a try than in a two-and-done game? So all four of our delvers for this game are seeking Enlightenment: they believe that somewhere in the City Beneath lies the means to achieve an otherwise impossible goal.
Tune in this time next week
Four delvers rove deep, deep into the unreality of the City Beneath.
Each seeks to achieve the unimaginable.
But in a city shaped by desire, it can be dangerous to want too strongly...
The Vermissian Sages apologise for the delay, which was due to technical difficulties
The delayed Actual Play UK voyage to the City Beneath will now depart
this Friday at 8pm UK/2pm Central
TODAY
I can't hang out in chat because while part 1 is airing, I'll be recording part 2. But join us for part 2 same time next week and I will be in chat gassing up this amazing cast!
The Vermissian Sages apologise for the delay, which was due to technical difficulties
The delayed Actual Play UK voyage to the City Beneath will now depart
this Friday at 8pm UK/2pm Central
We haven't heard from Callum since last year ... he's finally back in the new chapter of A Net Too Wide to Break His Fall. Also, Matt's game of Heart: The City Beneath for Actual Play UK is finally under way! Watch part 1 on demand now and catch part 2 on Twitch on 8 March.
A clearer look at my look for part 1 of Heart: The City Beneath, streamed on Actual Play UK the other week. In @merelyroleplayers I'm just a voice – since this game is on camera I thought I'd make more of an effort and try to match the feel of the setting!
The bracer is by Skinbound on Etsy; and I marshalled my extremely basic makeup skills into something that ended up too subtle for the camera, especially compared to Fiona and @maddyisabstract, who are, to be fair, consummate pros.
Lessons learned, and if you tune in for part 2 next Friday 8 March, you'll actually be able to tell I've done something with my face 😄
You want receipts?
Part 2 on Friday 8 March, 8pm UK
Have you played HEART : The City Beneath ?
By Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor
The game where you play beneath the City explored in Spire The City Must Fall, delving into a nightmare undercity that will give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of – or kill you in the process.
More dungeon crawling, more horror, great classes ( I mean Wizard as an addict to Magic ? Wonderful! Someone whose body is a hive for mystic bees ? Count me in! )
With a supplement running on Backerkit called Dagger in the heart
On top of all these Merely Roleplayers possibilities, a couple of things I've been a guest on are also eligible this year!
Unfortunately the Heart: The City Beneath two-shot on Actual Play UK, which I'm legitimately proud of, straddles the eligibility cutoff; part 1 came out within the period but part 2 was outside it. Because of the way the CRIT Awards do their awarding periods, though, it might well qualify for the 2025 round! So keep it in mind for next year 😂
In the meantime, here's what I've been in that does qualify:
Best of Actual Plays
Best One Shot
I'm Not Lion https://youtu.be/gkAg_Mqiq1U
(with Actual Play UK, in which I played a lawyer who's a literal snake and we reached a critical mass of animal wordplay beyond anything @maddyisabstract's lion judge could have anticipated)
Jason Statham Live https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/d20futureshow/episodes/2023-11-04T03_38_30-07_00 | https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/d20futureshow/episodes/2023-11-18T02_00_00-08_00
(with the D20 Future Show, in which I played Jason Statham's agent Grayson Bacon; recorded in Dec 2022 but aired on the podcast in Nov 2023)
Best of Their Games
Best Player | Indie
Matt Boothman https://www.instagram.com/merelymatt/
(I technically qualify for this category for my performances as Crawl Newman and Grayson Bacon in the above 2 one-shots – gotta shoot your shot, right? 🤣)
Nominate Merely Roleplayers in the CRIT Awards 2024
The Creator Recognition in Tabletop RPG Awards are open for nominations until the end of May, and lots of our stuff from the past year is eligible!
You all got us to the final ballot in 2 categories last year – thank you again, it was incredible to hear the words "Merely Roleplayers" read out alongside so many luminaries of roleplaying and storytelling!
Could we make it 3 this year?
Could we even make it to a win??
At this nomination stage, you're free to nominate whoever and whatever you like in each category. It's free choice, not multiple choice. Then people/things with enough nominations get put on the final ballot for everyone to check out and vote on.
Most of the categories ask for a link or social media handle to help the CRIT team vet nominations. Plus, I know from filling out my own nominations how hard it can sometimes be to work out what actually falls within the eligibility period (which this year is 1 Jan 2023–29 Feb 2024 – RPG vendors please put the publication date on the game's page!!).
So here's a handy list of what we've done that came out in that period, the categories you could nominate them in, and the relevant links and handles:
Best of Actual Plays
Best Series
Vigil: The Great Fire https://foggyoutline.com/roleplayers-episodes/category/The+Great+Fire
Vigil: Chief/Exec https://foggyoutline.com/roleplayers-episodes/category/Chief%2FExec
Vigil: Fear Itself https://foggyoutline.com/roleplayers-episodes/category/Fear+Itself
(and in the Studio...)
Falling Cadence https://foggyoutline.com/roleplayers-episodes/category/Falling+Cadence
The Queen's Dead https://foggyoutline.com/roleplayers-episodes/category/The+Queen%27s+Dead
The Office Party https://foggyoutline.com/roleplayers-episodes/category/Office+Party
Best NPC
Any and all NPCs from the above 6 productions, including 2023 nominee Ernest Bering, Agent of DoOm...
It's up to you to decide, based on his actions in Vigil: Fear Itself, whether oor Ernie belongs in this category or in:
Best Villain
Any and all villains from the above 6 productions, including Ada Lovelace (Great Fire), Max Dashwood (Chief/Exec), Morrigan the War Chieftain (Chief/Exec), the Harlequin (Fear Itself) and (possibly, as above) Ernest Bering, Agent of DoOm.
Best of their Games
Best Game Master | Indie
Matt Boothman https://www.instagram.com/merelymatt/
Josh Yard https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
Best Player | Indie
Ellie Pitkin https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Persephone 'Percy' Byron in Great Fire and Camilla Parnell in Falling Cadence)
Dave https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Mick Mason in Great Fire and Josh in Office Party)
Strat https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Brier in Great Fire and Jerome Picklepants in Office Party)
Chris MacLennan https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Kincaid in Great Fire)
Natalie Winter https://www.instagram.com/winternatters/
(plays Gwynned in Chief/Exec and Bess in Office Party)
Marta Da Silva https://www.instagram.com/nanaluvren/
(plays Harper in Chief/Exec)
Josh Yard https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Jinny Greenteeth in Chief/Exec)
Vikki https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Renko in Chief/Exec and Cadence Fairchild in Falling Cadence)
Alexander Pankhurst https://www.instagram.com/apankhurst/
(plays Graham in Fear Itself and Reginald 'Skinsy' Skinner in Falling Cadence)
Chris Starkey https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Cameron Jarvis in Fear Itself and Neville Flounder, aka the Living Shadow, aka Night Gannet in Office Party)
Ellen Gould https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Jess Butterworth in Fear Itself)
Helen Stratton https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/
(plays Stella Sylvester in Falling Cadence)
Fiona KT Howat https://www.instagram.com/unspeakablyfiona/
(plays the Skeletal Duchy in The Queen's Dead)
Naomi Clarke https://www.instagram.com/naomithinksit/
(plays the Draugr Earldom in The Queen's Dead)
Best of Podcasts
Best Podcast
Merely Roleplayers https://www.merelyroleplayers.com
Best Podcast Host
Matt Boothman https://www.instagram.com/merelymatt/
Thank you! Can't wait to see who gets nominated this year!
Part 2 is up on Youtube! Playlist both and have yourself a fleshly good time
Have you played HEART : The City Beneath ?
By Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor
The game where you play beneath the City explored in Spire The City Must Fall, delving into a nightmare undercity that will give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of – or kill you in the process.
More dungeon crawling, more horror, great classes ( I mean Wizard as an addict to Magic ? Wonderful! Someone whose body is a hive for mystic bees ? Count me in! )
With a supplement running on Backerkit called Dagger in the heart