Advent calendar day 10: Ultraviolet (TV series, 1998 with Jack Davenport, Idris Elba, Suzannah Harker)
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // instagram // youtube
Some time ago I ran Cthulhu Dark Annihilation, and I mashed up the WaRP system with Cthulhu Dark for just a little more granularity in the game. That turned out not to be needed for that system or the scenario; but at the same time I thought about using it for a completely different game, revisiting Vampire: the Masquerade. It struck me that Cthulhu Dark’s ultra-minimalist approach to using Insight for madness could be turned to the rising hunger of the Beast in Vampire.
WaRP Dark Masquerade mashes up Cthulhu Dark with a bit of WaRP (Over the Edge) and applies it to Vampire. This is very much on the 1st edition side of Vampire. At the risk of being really pretentious quoting my own damn self:
something changed between VtM 1st and 2nd editions that the game transitioned from being a game about outsiders to humanity (Near Dark, The Hunger) to one about insiders to a secret society (Underworld, Blade). From there it degenerated to fanged superheroes. This was inevitable given the live action scene being focused around conclaves.
This is a fan project written by a fan of the very first Vampire, before the whole thing got homogenised into one World of Darkness, before the distinctions between games dissolved, before what was known about the World of Darkness exceeded what was not known thanks to the splatbooks.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Intro 00:07
Synopsis 00:54
Themes and Games 08:45
– Vampire Science 08:55
– Blade
– The Strain
– The X Files
– Proper Vampires 14:39
– pretty vs nasty vampires, or how the 90s ruined vampires
Other Media 21:52
– The Films
– The Last Man on Earth
– The Omega Man
– I am Legend
– The Vampire in Europe by Montague Summers
– Arktos by Joscelyn Godwin
– Fevre Dream by George RR Martin
– Ultraviolet
– Chill RPG
– World of Darkness
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive
Samples: “Is that you or are you you?” from Reappear // “Another version of you” from Thoughtless
We open our third season on Halloween with a look at werewolves.
Our analysis of the werewolf in book, film and television, plus roleplaying games.
Becky Annison, Elizabeth Lovegrove, Ralph Lovegrove
“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie
“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie
In this very special episode we decided the best way to treat Herman Melville’s classic was to go back to our analogue roots. We discuss open seas, confined spaces, love among the sailors, Ahab the Eternal Champion, and more.
To get your copy please send a stamped self-addressed envelope together with a 50p cheque or postal order to the address given at the end of the podcast.
This episode Liz and Ralph recommend short stories to each other: The Matter of Seggri by Ursula Le Guin, and Coppola’s Dracula by Kim Newman.
The Matter of Seggri from The Birthday of the World by Ursula Le Guin
Coppola’s Dracula by Kim Newman which you can read online here.
Elizabeth Lovegrove and Ralph Lovegrove
The Matter of Seggri 00:45 // Game ideas 08:40 // Coppola’s Dracula 12:30 // Game ideas 19:05 // The Quiet Year 24:55 // Dream Park 25:40
“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie
“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie
