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Untold Stories Project at Origins 2023!

We’re less than a week away from the registration for Origins Events for the 2023 Game Fair (which runs from June 21-25). Registration begins this Saturday, April 29th, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. With that in mind, we’ve laid out our schedule chronologically and have included event descriptions and who the GM will be. We’d also like to take a moment and recommend any of the events being run by Matinee Adventures. That is the group that Alex and Andy usually GM for at Origins and they are all truly skilled GMs. Some of them are alumni of our channel, including Laura who ran our East Texas University series and Paul who has been a wonderful Daedalus for us. You can’t go wrong with any of Matinee’s games!

We’d also like to draw special attention to our Saturday night Mega-Event: Hades Invasion. This will be a game for up to 25 players, spread across five tables, where players get the opportunity to play some of the main characters from our channel! The Freedom League, Freedom League Dark, Storm Breakers, Guardians of Haven, and Heroes of Tomorrow all come together to stop as Hades decides to violate the Pact and attempt to conquer the Earth.

Wednesday

12:00 p.m.

Crash Pandas: Trash Santa!
  • Synopsis: A group of whacky Raccoons must fill in for Santa on Christmas Eve Night. Drive the sleigh, deliver some gifts, avoid the neighbors, and win Christmas! There will be cartoon hi-jinks and ridiculous shenanigans!
  • System: Crash Pandas
  • GM: Wiccy
Deadlands: Long Black Train
  • Synopsis: The posse is on the way to Yucaipa, CA to take the train to Lost Angels. On the way, their stage breaks an axle and they are forced to walk the rest of the way. The posse arrive much later than expected and find a much darker scene than the sleepy whistle stop they expected.
  • System: Deadlands
  • GM: Deuce
Justice League: Security Breach at the Bat-Cave?
  • Synopsis: Bruce has been working on security upgrades at Wayne Manor ahead of Alfred’s birthday bash. Several members of the bat extended family have been asked to attend incognito just in case, but really, what could go wrong in Gotham….at a birthday party…in Wayne Manor?
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Chris Skinner

1:00 p.m.

Mega Man X: Fractured Future
  • Synopsis: Come play a game set in the Mega Man video game universe, with the chance to play a character from either the Mega Man or Mega Man X game series! This game is using Mutants and Masterminds to simulate the power of these powerful robots and reploids as they fight to keep their timeline from collapsing!
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Andy

6:00 p.m.

Marvel’s Avengers: What’s Wrong With Hulk?
  • Synopsis: After a recent run-in with new enemies in New York City, Bruce and Hulk seem to be having an identity crisis. The Avengers will need to once again assemble to solve the mystery before one personality is lost forever.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Chris Skinner
Rocketeer Corp: Valley of the Red Gates
  • Synopsis: The Rocketeer Corps stands ready to lend their aid in defending the world from the Axis. Allied Intelligence has sent the Corp to Southwest Poland to investigate reports of the Thule Society having taken up residence in the area.
  • System: Hollow Earth Expedition
  • GM: Andy

Thursday

8:00 a.m.

Mutants & Masterminds: Nightmare at the Magic Kingdom
  • Synopsis: The final(?) entry in the “Magic Kingdom” series. A group of teenagers who share the power of Disney heroes must come together one final time to stop the greatest threat to the Magic of Disney – one that threatens the existence of Mickey Mouse himself.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Aaron

9:00 a.m.

Titan City Chronicles: No Good Deed
  • Synopsis: A cry for help is heard over the music and chatter of the party within the hotel. Deciding to help only leads to more questions and problems for those people who still care enough to try and do good. Just remember what they say, “No good deed….”
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Deuce
The Shepherd’s Burden
  • Synopsis: You’ve tried to reinvent yourself over the course of your high school career, but is the Senior class trip your last chance? And if so, what happens if you don’t like who you become?
  • System: Things From the Flood
  • GM: Andy

10:00 a.m.

Crash Pandas: Trashtown Blitz!
  • Synopsis: Players are a group of street racing racoons out for glory by working together to drive a car and win a street race in this game of cartoon hi-jinks and ridiculous shenanigans!
  • System: Crash Pandas
  • GM: Wiccy
Justice League: Security Breach at the Bat-Cave?
  • Synopsis: Bruce has been working on security upgrades at Wayne Manor ahead of Alfred’s birthday bash. Several members of the bat extended family have been asked to attend incognito just in case, but really, what could go wrong in Gotham….at a birthday party…in Wayne Manor?
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Chris Skinner

4:00 p.m.

Marvel’s Avengers: What’s Wrong With Hulk?
  • Synopsis: After a recent run-in with new enemies in New York City, Bruce and Hulk seem to be having an identity crisis. The Avengers will need to once again assemble to solve the mystery before one personality is lost forever.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Chris Skinner

6:00 p.m.

Mutants & Masterminds: Whatever Happened to the AlterniTeens?
  • Synopsis: Claremont Academy has seen many famous heroes come and go through its halls. But when those alumni go missing, can the current Next-Gen solve the mystery and protect Duncan Summers’ legacy?
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Aaron

7:00 p.m.

A Superman for All Seasons
  • Synopsis: A group of Supermen from across the multiverse are summoned to stop the machinations of one of their own gone rogue.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Alex

Friday

8:00 a.m.

Titan City Chronicles: No Good Deed
  • Synopsis: A cry for help is heard over the music and chatter of the party within the hotel. Deciding to help only leads to more questions and problems for those people who still care enough to try and do good. Just remember what they say, “No good deed….”
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Deuce

9:00 a.m.

Rocketeer Corp: Cold Steel
  • Synopsis: Once again Allied Intelligence calls on the Rocketeer Corp, this time to rescue a compromised British spy team with vital intel from being lost to the Nazi’s prison camp working on a railway in Northern Norway. What intel does this team possess, and why is it vital the Rocketeer Corp rescue them?
  • System: Hollow Earth Expedition
  • GM: Andy

10:00 a.m.

Crash Pandas: Racoon vs. Racoon!
  • Synopsis: Players are street racing racoons out for glory! Teams will go head to head as they work together to drive a car and win the big race! This is a PvP game of whacky cartoon hi-jinks and ridiculous shenanigans! Prizes will be awarded!
  • System: Crash Pandas
  • GM: Wiccy

1:00 p.m.

Deadlands: Long Black Train
  • Synopsis: The posse is on the way to Yucaipa, CA to take the train to Lost Angels. On the way, their stage breaks an axle and they are forced to walk the rest of the way. The posse arrive much later than expected and find a much darker scene than the sleepy whistle stop they expected.
  • System: Deadlands
  • GM: Deuce

6:00 p.m.

Justice League: Security Breach at the Bat-Cave?
  • Synopsis: Bruce has been working on security upgrades at Wayne Manor ahead of Alfred’s birthday bash. Several members of the bat extended family have been asked to attend incognito just in case, but really, what could go wrong in Gotham….at a birthday party…in Wayne Manor?
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Chris Skinner

7:00 p.m.

Titan City Chronicles: Enemy at the Gates
  • Synopsis: A cry for help is heard over the music and chatter of the party within the hotel. Deciding to help only leads to more questions and problems for those people who still care enough to try and do good. Just remember what they say, “No good deed….”
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Alex

Saturday

10:00 a.m.

Marvel’s Avengers: What’s Wrong With Hulk?
  • Synopsis: After a recent run-in with new enemies in New York City, Bruce and Hulk seem to be having an identity crisis. The Avengers will need to once again assemble to solve the mystery before one personality is lost forever.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Chris Skinner

6:00 p.m.

Mutants & Masterminds: Hades Invasion
  • Synopsis: When Hades reneges on the Pact and launches an attack against Earth-Prime, heroes from across the Freedomverse must band together to stop the attack. A mega-event, spread across 5 tables and GMs, culminating in the fate of Earth-Prime itself.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Aaron, Alex, Wiccy, Deuce, Chris Skinner

Sunday

8:00 a.m.

Mutants & Masterminds: Nightmare at the Magic Kingdom
  • Synopsis: The final(?) entry in the “Magic Kingdom” series. A group of teenagers who share the power of Disney heroes must come together one final time to stop the greatest threat to the Magic of Disney – one that threatens the existence of Mickey Mouse himself.
  • System: Mutants & Masterminds
  • GM: Aaron

USP At Origins 2021, a Retrospective

USP At Origins 2021, a Retrospective

A few weeks back (maybe more like a month or so now), we put up a blog post letting you all know that USP would be represented by our A-team (Aaron, Alex and Andy) in person at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, at the end of September/beginning of October. Well, the con has come and gone, and we are back and (mostly) recovered from our foray into convention gaming. It’d been over two years since we’d had the chance to run games at Origins, and I will say that, while it was worth the wait, it definitely could have happened sooner. 🙂

I just want to take some time before we get to our recap to thank those that came out and joined our games, endured our sales pitches, had a great time with our games and maybe decided to join in on watching our Live Plays either live on Twitch or replayed on YouTube. Now, on to the recap!

Thursday:

Unlike other years, Origins started on a Thursday rather than a Wednesday. So, right off the bat a bit different, a bit shorter, but I think we all jumped at the chance to test the convention waters, (hopefully) see some friends we’d made at past cons and make some new ones.

For USP, the day started off at 12 as the show opened with Aaron running the third game of his Mutants & Masterminds-based Disney adventure series, this one titled Farewell to the Magic Kingdom. We followed that up with my game at 1pm, an anime inspired Super Hero game set in a world of my own creation (also using M&M), titled Shattered Spotlight. Both of these games went off with wonderful players and grateful GMs for the chance to tell these stories to a new audience. The evening was rounded out by Alex’s first game of the con, and a bit of a departure for him, as he ran an Avengers game using Mutants & Masterminds, titled MODOK Family Reunion, and my game, set in the universe of Syfy’s Warehouse 13 series, titled A Con to Remember. This marked the first (but not last) game not using M&M for our team, as I ran this one using the Savage Worlds: Adventurer’s Edition rules. I know there were a few hiccups, as can happen at any con game, but overall both of these games were well received by the players as well.

Observation: I don’t think I’d done that much talking in a mask at all during the pandemic. While it took a bit more focus to be able to hear the players at the table, and hydration was more key than usual (even if it was a lot more difficult), getting back into running games in person was a bit like riding a bike after a hiatus: a little rusty at first while you get your bearings, but then once you’ve got them your off and moving. For the con itself, the dealer hall wasn’t open (yet), and it was a lot more spread out than usual with less attendees, but we were back in person running games with a bunch of other GMs and players, which was awesome.

Friday:

The USP day started bright and early at 8am, with Aaron and I both running games in what is typically the opening RPG slot time frame. Aaron continued his foray using M&M, with a game based on the show Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, called Miraculous-Less: Tales without Ladybug and Cat Noir, and I ran a game using Things From the Flood, Free League Publishing’s take on the 90s, titled The Shepherd’s Burden (Fun note: come back in November/December when we do our end of season one-shots if you’re interested in this one, I’ll be running it for our streaming audience).

Alex took over for us in both the afternoon and evening slots, running a game in his Titan City book universe at 2pm, titled Big Trouble in Little Moscow, and then at 7pm he finished the night off for USP with another foray into the Marvel-verse side of things with Sinister Six: Symbiosis, a villain based game (both games using M&M). Another good day in the books for running games. Happy gamers, happy GMs, even if we did need plenty of tea and sore throat drops.

Observation: The dealer hall was open today. More gamers out and about milling around, more games being run. It felt a little livelier, a little more like a regular Origins. Alex did have a fun little moment in his Sinister Six game; a player pulled the fire alarm at the Daily Bugle, and at that moment in the convention center, the fire alarm went off as well. An eerie occurrence to be sure.

Saturday:

Once again Aaron started off the USP day with another offering of his Disney game, this time in the opening slot at 8am (I should have gone down, he had some no shows after we couldn’t get in during registration, but it was just so hard to get up and go!). Alex took the afternoon slot with another of his Titan City book universe games, titled The Jordanow Mysteries at 2pm, and then he and I closed out the night, with him running a game based off the Mummy franchise (the Brendan Fraser films), titled The Lost Library at 7pm, and I ran a game based on the film The Rocketeer, titled Rocketeer Corp: Valley of the Red Gates, using the Hollow Earth Expedition ruleset, at 8pm (note to self: never again run a game that late; I was super tired after this one).

Observation: Saturday definitely felt the busiest at the convention, the dealer hall was bustling, saw a lot more people wandering around having a good time. Masking was enforced each day, though I rarely saw anyone not when they weren’t eating or drinking, and gamers seemed to have no issues complying with the rules or instructions of the con staff (we all know how bad it is to fail a Fortitude Saving Throw). For me, Saturday was shopping day at the dealer hall, with plenty of new board games picked up for play (some of which happened that afternoon, as I unfortunately had a no show for the only RPG I ended up with on my schedule).

Sunday:

Aaron was the last USP GM to run a game for the con, as he finished off the convention with another offering of his Miraculous-Less game. With that in the bag, we at USP had successfully completed our gamut of games for Origins Game Fair. All in all, USP GMs ran 12 games for the convention. We had a great time meeting all the new players we had, seeing familiar friends, and just putting out a new set of stories into the world. We’re already looking forward to next year, and we hope you’ll join us in early June when Origins happens in 2022!

Origins Game Fair

It’s almost that most wonderful time of the year, and no, I’m not talking about Christmas; I’m talking about the annual Origins Game Fair that happens in Columbus, Ohio. Due to all of the crazy stuff that’s happened this past year and a half, Origins has been pushed from its usual summer dates of early to mid June to the end of Sept/beginning of October this year. Those of us at USP local to Columbus usually find ourselves at the convention whenever it happens; it’s basically in our backyard as it were.

For those who don’t know, Origins is a gaming convention that spotlights all the hobby has to offer; TTRPG, Board Games, CCG, Miniatures, you name it, Origins likely has it. It’s not quite GenCon size (for which I am eternally thankful; the horror stories I’ve heard), so it has a bit more of that easy going feel. There’s a plethora of interesting games being run, a large indie gaming presence, different industry panels and a whole lot more. For myself, I’ve been going since 2008; what started as just a day trip on a Saturday has turned into a yearly gaming vacation. I started running games in 2016, starting with my Cartoon Universe Fate games. Up until then, I’d not done any public GMing for a number of years, not since I had stopped running 4th Edition Legend of the Five Rings at my local gaming shop. Being around so many unique ideas finally brought my creativity to the forefront and emboldend me to run my games at the convention. So far, it hasn’t disappointed.

The three A-migos (Aaron, Alex and myself) will all be running games at this year’s convention, as long as it still occurs in person (as of this blog everything is still a go). If you’d like to play in a game run by us, I’ve listed down the event numbers, game titles, system, type of game and date offered below by GM. We’d love to see you in person, and have you sit in at one of our tables.

Aaron

  • 7732 Farewell to the Magic Kingdom, Mutants and Masterminds, Disney-esque, Sept 30 12pm
  • 7740 Miraculous-Less: Tales without Ladybug and Cat Noir, Mutants and Masterminds, TV Tie-in, Oct 1 8am
  • 7742 Farewell to the Magic Kingdom, Mutants and Masterminds, Disney-esque, Oct 2 8am
  • 7748 Miraculous-Less: Tales without Ladybug and Cat Noir, Mutants and Masterminds, TV Tie-in, Oct 3 8am

Alex

  • 8828 Avengers: MODOK Family Reunion, Mutants and Masterminds, Marvel Superheroes, Sept 30 5pm
  • 8829 Titan City Chronicles: Big Trouble in Little Moscow, Mutants and Masterminds, Author’s World Supers, Oct 1 2pm (Find out more here)
  • 8830 Sinister Six: Symbiosis, Mutants and Masterminds, Marvel Supervillains, Oct 1 7pm
  • 8831 Titan City Chronicles: The Jordanow Mystery, Mutants and Masterminds, Author’s World Supers WWII, Oct 2 2pm (Find out more here)
  • 8832 The Mummy: The Lost Library, Mutants and Masterminds, Pulp Adventure, Oct 2 7pm

Andy

  • 8824 Shattered Spotlight, Mutants and Masterminds, Anime Superheroes, Sept 30 1pm
  • 8825 Warehouse 13: A Con to Remember, Savage Worlds: Adventurer’s Edition, TV Series Adventure, Sept 30 6pm
  • 8826 The Shepherd’s Burden, Things From the Flood, Alternate History Young Adult Adventure, Oct 1 8am
  • 8827 Rocketeer Corps: Valley of the Red Gates, Hollow Earth Expedition, Pulp Adventure, Oct 2 8pm

Registration for games opens September 12th at 1pm Eastern. Head to www.originsgamefair.com to sign-up for a badge and register for games. Happy gaming!

New RPG Announcement: Necrobiotic!

Part of the driving idea behind the Untold Stories Project was to showcase new and underplayed RPG systems. So, when we saw the Kickstarter for Necrobiotic, we were intrigued. Then we saw that one of our guest GMs (the amazing Bridgett Jeffries) will be writing an adventure for the setting as one of their stretch goals. Well, with that in mind, we felt like we had to spread the word of the game and its Kickstarter launch. Bridgett reached out to Mitchell Wallace,  Co-Founder and CCO of Penny for a Tale LLC, to give us a quick description of the game.

So, without further ado….

Necrobiotic – A Dystopian TTRPG

In a broken world where the dead are machines that do the heavy lifting for us, we are just a cog in the social engine, alive at first and forever once dead. The greatest good is to protect human life, at any cost. Nothing is worth more: not the body’s sanctity, nor mental sanity.

In Necrobiotic, you can taste the whole spectrum of emotions, from the deepest horror and the bitterest melancholy to the most moving compassion and the lightest laughter, in a continuous celebration of life and a rediscovery of its fragile uniqueness. The original illustrations will drag you into the alleys of a wounded Florence, among human corpses with tanned leather hides, eternal monuments, and coarse foggy streets.

The original game system is based on deck-building mechanics with a standard deck of playing cards, though Tarot cards can also be used. Players will always know what they can do alone or together, and the game’s mechanics will easily push the player’s roleplay toward the character’s features, highlighting everyone’s specialties.

Necrobiotic is a dark celebration of life where survival is paramount. It features unique and emotional art along with a new card system that will draw your players into our grim future.

To back the Kickstarter for Necrobiotic, click here!