(Indie RPG Club: 3-shot) Scum & Villainy, failing forward (and backwards) in time and space

TL;DR: Sign up to play with a consistent group! We’ll explore various ttRPGs of different settings, genres, and rule-types on a semi-regular basis, three sessions at a time. A sci-fi ttRPG that challenges the typical way we play ttRPGs will be our first choice.

Session Dates:

• Thursday, 11/07

• Thursday, 11/21 (Note: we’ll meet in the main event space)

• Thursday, 12/05

What is Scum & Villainy? Why this game?

The law calls you a criminal. The state-sanctioned cults call you a heretic. The crime bosses see you as a means to an end. But when you look in the mirror, that’s not who you see. Maybe scum — occasionally the villain — but to you and your crew? At least you’re telling your own story. And you get to see how that ends.

Scum & Villainy is a sci-fi, space-adventure roleplaying game in which you, the other players at the table, and the GM, create the story of a crew of space cowboys leaving their mark on the star sector. You accomplish this by running operations of questionable legality that will always help and hurt certain opposed factions vying for control of space. Save enough reward money to keep your ship fueled and functional, and you’ll maybe have time to plot your own schemes of sudden but inevitable betrayal. Or, just build weird stuff and explore Precursor ruins. The choice will always be yours, but you’re gonna carry that weight either way.

How will the club play this game, logistically?

From a gameplay perspective, players will take the first of the three sessions to decide on several different options to tailor the character’s adventures to the stories the group is interested in exploring. In this way, it will be up to the players to decide the story they want to tell, and they will then spend the next two sessions working towards that goal – and a satisfying conclusion – for their crew.

Accordingly, we will play Scum & Villainy for three sessions, at least. Because the club has wished to continue playing this game, we’ll go for another three sessions and continue the story. If not,  we’ll announce the next RPG we’ll be playing sometime in December!

Will I have fun with this system? What makes it different?

Scum & Villainy uses Forged in the Dark (FitD) as a ruleset. Although you’re still rolling dice (bring your d6s!), even success often creates more complications in any given scene. This is okay! Scum & Villainy (and by extension, FitD) gives the players many options to tell the GM “no” which sometimes even  includes traveling back in time to prevent consequences from happening in the first place.

What you get is a system that incentivizes dangerous, thrilling play, which can push you, as a player, to be bolder and more proactive than you might typically be in any given game. It’s a chance to try something new and experience that in a group of like-minded folk. It’s also a chance to make a mark on a story and get invested in a character and how they may relate to others – even in the far-flung future of space-faring civilizations.

Why the cost?

For the club event, we want players to sign up for (and attend) all three sessions. Even though we recognize this is a commitment, it’s because a lot of indie ttRPGs – including this one – shine brightest when people play and explore the game world in a consistent group. If you know you can’t make each of the three sessions (but still want to be involved), let the Events Manager at Pandemonium know (events@pandemoniumbooks.com), and we’ll try and work something out.

What is the Indie ttRPG Club?

Foremost, this group is about playing tabletop RPGs and co-creating interesting stories for the challenge and the thrill. We will explore different systems and settings to see what they can teach us about the hobby and the different stories we’re able to create together. If you’re not quite feeling the vibe of the selected game, stay tuned for future announcements!