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 Source: Tom Kirsch/Opacity (original photo), Anthony Robinson/Anfa (font - Sound-Sample) What is this game? Geiger Counter is a series of rules-light one-shot survival horror games where anyone and everyone could die. The characters grapple with their own flaws and desperately try to survive while a terrible Menace picks them off one by one and threatens to consume or destroy everything. You alternate between playing one of these Survivors and playing the Director, guiding how scenes develop and controlling the Menace in its deadly, insidious attacks. Above all else, the game prioritises telling an entertaining story over obsessively keeping your Survivor alive. We’ll be using Geiger Counter Gamma for this game – it’s the most recent and most streamlined version. This game in particular is set in a radio station operating out of a US rust belt ghost town that sends out a mix of music and myth, fresh (or not so fresh) tunes and folklore, crappy guests and cryptid news. The gimmick hasn’t been working as well as the investors hoped (lmao), so the station is being shut down. There’s just one last night shift to get through… Some inspirations: well, aside from all survival horror, The Ritual (2017); slimyswampghost’s art; US cryptids; Welcome to Night Vale (a little bit, but not hugely)   Source: slimyswampghost How do you play it? The players take turns being the Director, who picks a Survivor to focus their scene on. Everyone moves their character on the map and the Director sets the scene where the focus character is. Everyone there and the Director roleplay out what happens. The Director can always bring in the Menace. If different characters or the Menace have conflicting goals (like 'don't get killed' and 'murder everyone') we use the conflict rules to see who wins. During a conflict, each side rolls a dice pool and the winner is whoever has the highest 2-die total. Survivors roll the Survival pool, which grows with every death and other events. The Menace rolls the Menace pool, which grows with every scene they're in and other events. Winners achieve their goals, losing Survivors take a condition each. Conditions are things like Lost or Trapped, and are relieved when justified in-story, but your third is always Dead. The Menace, on the other hand, never takes Conditions and can only be killed by beating it after its pool reaches 8 dice. There are 8 semi-preset characters with names and Deceptions, which are basically secrets that may or may not be true. They're often character flaws, often linked to the Menace and always dangerous. A Deception is triggered every time a scene is set at Dark Secrets, a location on the thematic map. The idea is to play with your character's Deception in mind, but don't confirm one way or the other unless it gets triggered by someone else. I’ve also added some extra rules that should fill some gaps in the game, or help things run more smoothly and quickly in PbP.   Source: slimyswampghost What expectations should I have as a player? Responsibilities: The game is GM-ful. Everyone takes on the GM role (Director) as it rotates around the group. This role involves setting scenes and guiding the story by revealing new information and helping to narrate conflict outcomes. The Director also controls the Menace on their turn (if they decide to bring it into the scene). Post Frequency: Once every 1-2 days at minimum. If you can't post for a period for whatever reason, just let us know and we can work around it. Scenes shouldn't take much longer than a week, ideally. Shorter posts made more often are generally better than longer posts made less often. Some other things to keep in mind:
  Source: slimyswampghost How do I sign up? First, read the rules text – it’s very short, at 1 page (overall) of rules, 1 page of characters, and 1 page of map. Have a look over the extra rules above, but don’t worry too much about them until we’re actually ready to start. Second, fill out a character sheet (if you don’t have time to do it all at once, feel free to lay claim to a Name/Deception as long as you have time to fill it out later on): code:
Recruitment will run for a week from now or until we get 7 characters, at which point I’ll take the/a remaining Name and Deception. Any remaining Names will be used for shared characters, but they won’t have Deceptions. After that we’ll put together the Trailer, and then start the game. (EDIT: Also there's a discord here, not just for this game, that will be used for OOC talk - feel free to join even if you're just spectating.) 
UnCO3 fucked around with this message at 10:12 on Jun 9, 2019 |
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Jun 5, 2019 19:04
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Claiming a name right away, rest will be filled in later Name: Ryota Kanada Personal Failings: Narcissistic, ambitious, sarcastic. Job: IT guy/programmer Conditions: Deception: Must Bring Back Samples of the Menace for Study and Weaponization By Their Secret Backers Favourite Song: Brain Stew/Jaded by Green Day Backstory: Amateur programmer between jobs, working to pay the bills. Kinda glad that the radio station is dying. Answer any 3 of these questions: What have you seen lately? The code seems to keep... changing behind Ryota's back. Notes in the code appear overnight where there were none... What have you heard lately? Ryota's fairly certain he heard a very big 'bang' coming from the vents late at night. Who haven’t you met lately? Now, normally, the funder of the station, Eric Monroe, makes visits to check on things. Eric hasn't been here in the last couple of weeks. Junpei fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Jun 8, 2019 |
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Jun 5, 2019 19:26
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 Name: Paul Threnody Personal Failings: Impulsive, Impatient, Takes Things Personally Job: Electrical Engineer Conditions: Deception: Totally loses it and does the worst thing imaginable, putting everyone at greater risk Favourite Song: ”Stigmata” Backstory: An ex-con working for a lowest-bid contractor keeping the isolated radio station’s electrical systems online. Beat up coworker at his last job who owed him money. Doesn’t expect to be kept on once the station contract collapses. Answer any 3 of these questions: What haven’t you seen lately? Paul lives in an RV camper within running distance of the station, and when he first arrived he noticed single letters and numbers carved into nearby tree stumps, which he assumed were logger markings of some kind. Lately he’s noticed they’re all gone, as though they’d never been etched. He doesn’t know how this happened but he doesn’t think much of it. What have you heard lately? A couple of nights back, Paul had to climb the antenna to replace a fuse. Immediately after he’d done the deed, he heard a sound like someone whistling directly into his ear. He turned around so quickly that he slipped off the ladder and his harness was the only thing keeping him aloft. No one and nothing was there, at that altitude. He chalked it up to wind, or a bird. Who haven’t you met lately? Paul has always had dreams of meeting his mother, who he never knew. But while working at the station he’s begun to dream that she’s apart from him, he can see her in the woods and can’t hear her over the wind. She gets deeper and deeper into the thicket (or is she getting smaller and smaller?), and he keeps straining harder to get through it to her. Basic Chunnel fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Jun 5, 2019 |
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Jun 5, 2019 22:08
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All good so far, and following on from a short discussion on the discord, we'll be doing a round-robin after recruitment to link together all our characters (so player 1 links their character to player 2's character, player 2 links their character to player 3's and so on until every character is linked to 2 others).
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Jun 6, 2019 00:00
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 Name: Alicia Markusson Personal Failings: Does The Minimum Amount Of Work Required, Mean, Callous Job: Security guard Conditions: Deception: Is Infected by the Menace and Will Soon Become Something Like It or Something Far Worst Favourite Song: Loverboy - Working For The Weekend Backstory: Alicia has had a hard life and could only get a job as a security guard at a gimmicky radio station that wasn't even good enough to stay afloat to let her save up a decent amount for when she has to find another job. What have you seen lately? There's been some property damage near the station lately - gouges in the wall, a dumpster with holes ripped in it, and some scratches on the glass door. Alicia told the higher ups about it, but they haven't done or given anything to help find and stop whoever or whatever's doing it so Alicia just stays inside the station and waits until it stops being dark to see if anything else has happened. What haven’t you heard lately? A phone call from any fans. Seems like no one is paying attention to what's being broadcast which doesn't surprise Alicia at all. Who have you met lately? Some strange people sent by the higher ups have come around and asked how things are going. They don't really seem to care about what Alicia says, but she doesn't really care about her job either so she hasn't really thought about it much. They seemed a bit interested in the property damage but never followed up on it. Heliotrope fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Jun 8, 2019 |
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Jun 6, 2019 08:53
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 Name: Greg Matis Personal Failings: Depressive, Second-Guesser, Overly Analytical Job: Audio Mixer Conditions: Deception: Becomes Mentally, Sexually, Emotionally, or Physically Enthralled by the Menace and Desires to Join with It Favourite Song: ”Bleed” Backstory: A terrible student that toured a TV station once and was fascinated by all the knobs and buttons and sliders of the audio control room, Greg scraped and scrapped his way into the profession before realizing that it was incredibly boring, sedentary, time consuming, lonely, and dictated by those on high. Views the station closing as a personal failure. What have you seen lately? Sound boards are sensitive pieces of equipment, every millimeter of movement crucial in achieving the perfect sound balance. Still, sometimes you're too busy to not eat at your desk. Chalking it up to some spilled soda (and hopefully not barbecue sauce, as that stuff takes forever to get out), one of the console buttons for the mid-range has been slow to return to position, some sort of sticky friction leaving it feeling mushy in its socket. What have you heard lately? Everyone has "their song" that they use for calibration, and Greg's is the chaotic "Bleed" by Meshuggah. For angry phone calls, weird shrieks, and practice dealing with sudden sound peaks, the song is perfect for testing the full range of the sound system. After all, a good engineer can isolate an instrument, but a great engineer can isolate the sound of the bass pedal over the cacophony of sound. As it's the same file used time and time again, it was easy to chalk the weird distortion in the silent range between instruments to file corruption. Even WAVs get worn in. Who haven’t you met lately? The station owner. You'd think with such a small station closing down, they'd put in at least a symbolic appearance, but they've been nowhere to be found. Unless, of course, the soundproof audio booth has been forgotten. Again. Rhyos fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Jun 6, 2019 |
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Jun 6, 2019 16:47
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Current players:
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Jun 6, 2019 22:35
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 Name: Evolds Lācis prefers to be called “Tony” Personal Failings: Nosy, creepy, depressive, insomnia. Job: Writer. Conditions: Deception: Has Nihilistic or Religious Sympathies for the Menace & Its Apparent Goals, Desires to See em to Fruition Favourite Song: Raffi - Banana phone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIiZ3vvZ78s Backstory: Tony has been in this town all his life. He is a middle-aged writer living in his elderly mother’s house. Tony writes garbage stories for the radio station. He also writes fake reviews, terrible erotic fanfic, opinion pieces, & other content for a host of trashy media outlets. What have you seen lately? Tony likes sifting through the decaying remnants of the town in which he grew up in. He explores the wilderness surrounding the ghost town and enters the foreclosed and abandoned properties within it, searching. Sometimes, Tony sees terrible things at night, things he doesn’t tell anyone. What haven’t you seen lately? Mother hasn't been feeling well lately. Who have you met lately? A very well-dressed gentleman. MinutePirateBug fucked around with this message at 05:44 on Jun 10, 2019 |
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Jun 8, 2019 05:37
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Current players:
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Jun 9, 2019 20:37
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 Name: Victoria Zephyr Personal Failings: Humorless, Petty, Friendless Job: Accountant Conditions: Deception: Is a Spy, Plant, or Robot and Will Now Attempt to Destroy All Evidence of the Menace and Everyone Who Knows Favourite Song: The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations Backstory: Victoria was recently hired and sent in by corporate to oversee the inventorying and selling-off of the station’s assets. For the last few years she’s bounced from contract job to contract job—which suits her just fine, since she doesn’t need to waste time making friends with her coworkers. What haven’t you heard lately? The first night Victoria stayed at the motel, she could hear her neighbors—it sounded like a couple—talking about something. Over the course of the next few nights the hushed conversations turned into heated arguments, then shouting matches, then incoherent shrieking, and then…silence. Their car’s still in the parking lot. What have you seen lately? Over the past week insects have started gathering outside the station’s windows and doors in increasing numbers. It makes entering and exiting the building a nightmare. What haven’t you seen lately? Any police. Even a dead town like this has at least one cop, right?
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Jun 10, 2019 05:13
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 Name: Wade Lynch Personal Failings: Dispassionate, unflappable, distracted Job: Disc Jockey / On Air Talent Conditions: Deception: Wouldn't you like to know? Favourite Song: "Broken Aura" Backstory: If anyone is aware that Wade used to be a state celebrity in Ohio, calling games for the Reds in the mid 80's, they haven't said so. If they're also aware that he abruptly disappeared at the height of his career in 1988, they haven't said so either. None of Wade's old listeners would recognize him now - the familiar rasp is there, but the fire of play-by-play is replaced by a placid, even cadence that persists even when in the thick of the most gruesome tales that Tony churns out. What have you heard lately? Griping from Matis, who insists that Wade fills air time by opening empty call lines as though they were full and talking to himself. Sometimes, a crank caller or a robocall will actually come through, but Wade's sombre conversations persist as though the voice on the other end of the call is incidental. What haven't you heard lately? The white face hasn't called in these last few nights. Maybe he decided not to go through with his plan. Maybe he decided the time for talk had passed. What have you seen lately? There's somebody back there with Matis sometimes, a shivering man in an old onesie swimsuit. He always drinks the last cup in the coffee machine.. Maybe if Matis took those headphones off once in awhile he'd hear the teeth chattering.
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Jun 13, 2019 07:31
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 Name: Cassandra Ghezo Personal Failings: isolated, condescending, prone to obscure (or obscurantist?) jargon Job: guest (cryptozoologist) Conditions: Deception: Desires to Cultivate or Strengthen the Menace Because the Experiment Hasn’t Run Its Full Course Yet Favourite Song: Ghost – Monstrance Clock Backstory: A former academic biologist turned cryptozoologist. Her former colleagues think she jumped on the grift train when she saw that she could make more than the mean wage by pretending that cryptids are real for a hardcore audience of moderately wealthy weirdos. They don’t blame her. She doesn’t blame them. She’s seen things they wouldn’t believe. She's been a fixture at the station since its inception, and the only guest who's bothered to come more than once. Answer any 3 of these questions: What have you seen lately? Cassandra takes the same path from her RV through the edge of the town towards the station each day. Just recently, she saw entrails, spread out as if carefully presented, and torn as if they were peeled off some creature. Is this a warning, or a threat, or something else? What haven’t you seen lately? Stars. Who have you met lately? The drat dog. Cassandra never sees its face. It always seems to be staring away at something in the distance, across the husk of a town. And it never, ever barks, or moves, at least not when she’s listening or watching.
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Jun 13, 2019 13:32
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Our cast:
- Now for the rest of setup:
Link: Ghezo is a long-time angry commenter on Tony's reviews online. Answer: Zephyr – the insects Trailer: “Don’t tell me you seriously believe in monsters?” Ghezo glares over a table at three other people in a dingy basement room, gripping the main lever on an electrical generator. “I’m a scientist. I believe what I see." "You're not a scientist--" "I am. Trust me if you want to survive." She pulls down the lever, plunging the station into darkness. UnCO3 fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Jun 16, 2019 |
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Jun 13, 2019 13:32
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Threnody Link - Paul Threnody has been in a joyless, basically mechanical sexual affair with Victoria Zephyr. Answer - The loud "bang" from Kanada’s vents. Trailer - A grimy Threnody, in his trailer, tracking something behind the backlit covered windows with a pump-action shotgun. Soundless flashes of him blowing holes in the wooden door. Basic Chunnel fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Jun 13, 2019 |
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Jun 13, 2019 18:54
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Link - When they were in grade school, Greg Mathis and Tony found a dead vagrant by the train tracks, due to Tony's prodding they dragged him to an abandoned bus in the wilderness and daily attempted to revive the man. They stuffed "medicinal" berries into his maggot filled mouth, they found a car battery and attached it with jumper cables to the cadaver's battered and emaciated frame. Finally they would visit a self-described witch and bring back strange tomes and chant over the body. As the body desiccated Greg Mathis abandoned the project, whether Tony did or not is unknown. Answer - The audio. Trailer - Tony hides under a audio control desk as the lights flicker on and off in the background, the only sounds are a rapid heart beaten and the approach of heavy steps growing louder slowly. MinutePirateBug fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Jun 15, 2019 |
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Jun 13, 2019 19:19
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Link - There aren't too many computers in a radio station, but one of the ones most critical to the broadcast is in the audio control. Every time Ryota fixes one thing on it, something else breaks. It's not exactly his fault - it just kinda happens. Answer - The "representative" Trailer - Forthcoming Gesturing angrily in the halllllllway, the panicked determination in Greg's voice creaks. "Damnit Tony, this isn't like that guy back in high school! We can't just half-rear end this!" Rhyos fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Jun 15, 2019 |
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Jun 13, 2019 20:20
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Link-Ryota and Alicia have flirted and occasionally gone on dates when not working. Answer-Ghezo's dog. Trailer-Ryota runs through a dim hallway with a laptop on one arm, occasionally typing something in. "C'mon, dammit! Work!" He smacks the Enter key several times, then turns around and throws the laptop at the 'camera', before running away even faster. Junpei fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Jun 15, 2019 |
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Jun 13, 2019 20:31
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Victoria Zephyr Link – Victoria had a few biology classes with Cassandra Ghezo, back in college. They ended up sitting next to each other a few times, and chatted on occasion. Answer – Tony’s well-dressed gentleman. Trailer – A shaky shot of Victoria, who is bruised, cut, and panicked. She lets out a guttural shout as she swings a chair at the recording studio window. The trailer cuts to someone else right as it makes impact.
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Jun 13, 2019 21:12
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Alicia Markusson Link - The higher ups asked Alicia to keep an eye on Threnody, to make sure he doesn't get up to anything illegal while on the job. Answer - The whistling in Threnody's ear when he was fixing the antenna. Trailer - Alicia is kneeling down, using a desk for cover, pistol aimed at a door which something is pounding on and slowly breaking it. As it finally starts to fall down, her finger begins to pull the trigger.
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Jun 13, 2019 23:47
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 09:19 |
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Game thread is up. EDIT: Also, some guidance from the discord: Most scenes should be able to work out like this in terms of posts:
UnCO3 fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Jun 16, 2019 |
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Jun 16, 2019 19:07
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