Bluestockings: A Thousand Faces

Character: Oz Game: Apocalypse World 1st Ed Episodes Played: 12 Theme Song:   Comin' Home by Murdered by Death Keywords:  Stoic, unflinching, indomitable Can I let you in on a bit of a secret? Apocalypse World is, so far, my least favourite game that uses that system. I played it once for a few episodes as a Battlebabe when it first came out. I also playtested it back when the playbooks were tiny books. And then a few years and many hacks later, Rob said "let's play Apocalypse World!" because neither Rach nor I were into it. It was a great game. But I had no idea what the hell I was doing. It was probably the game I floundered the most in, like, ever. When going over the playbooks, I decided on a Touchstone, because I wanted to play someone who brought hope and vision to the wasteland. That and Rob said it was his favourite, and since he and I are oddly similar at times, I went for it. Despite circling all the things, Oz was a mystery to me. He started out...

Art by Charlie Bowater Character: Harp Game: Fall of Magic Episodes Played: 5 Final Song: If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen covered by Denmark + Winter Keywords: Fierce, Fated, Wild When last we left Harp, magic was still dying and she had not figured out how to save it. The interesting thing about Fall of Magic is how blind you go in. By episode 5, which we knew would be the conclusion, I had learned so much about Harp that I wanted to know her fate. When you play the game, you put your token on a prompt and work with the prompt. So in the beginning, when I put Harp on the menagerie of Ravenhall and was prompted with "the first time you saw real magic" I got to narrate, as Harp, that memory. This means, when you're sitting there, you're reflecting a lot on the past that forms your character as you go. You don't get to come in with a full sense of someone. All I knew was that Harp was a swineherd from Barleytown. I knew she was she/her. This is all. ...

Character: Robin Eleanor Winthorpe Game: Monsterhearts , Urban Shadows Episodes Played: 12+ Theme Song: Light a Fire by Rachel Taylor , I'm Just a Shadow by Shel , Gasoline by Halsey Keywords: Compassionate, self sacrificing, broken My first Monsterhearts character, Robin is probably my favourite character I've ever played. She initially started at the Mortal playbook, just an ordinary human in a world full of monsters. Her lover was the Infernal, a boy named Vincent who had a demon on his side. Her best friend was an elder god shoved into the body of a girl. There was an angel who followed her around, a werewolf who stalked her, and a Mummy that was the resident jackass. If you're really bored, you can read all about Robin's adventures here . That's right, I kept a diary as my character. It was a game about teen drama, and I felt Robin would be the kind of girl who kept diaries just so she could keep her head straight about all that had happened to her. H...

Character: Donahue O'Kelly Game: Urban Shadows Episodes Played: 3 Theme Song: Kings by Tribe Society Keywords: Casual, Calm, Clever I've played a lot of Urban Shadows this last summer. When I got invited to play a game with my younger friends, all of whom are now 20 - 22, I was hesitant. I didn't want to jump into drama the way I had run it for them. Initially I was going to make a down to earth hunter who had a lot of children she was responsible for. Instead, I ended up with a Veteran. Donahue is a veteran. In Urban Shadows, that means they're someone who used to be supernatural but has since retired. He used to be a dragon, until a fae double crossed him and now he's just a mortal man. Having lost everything, Donahue relocated to a shit town in the middle of nowhere to run his artisan jewellery making store (also on etsy) and make a life for himself while he also hunted down the fae to get his dragon back. He came into play in the game towards the sea...

Character: Warren Legacy aka Amp Game: Masks Episodes Played: 1 Theme Song: Rockstar by Rihanna , Confident by Demi Lovato  Keywords: Confident, Cold, Capable Warren shoots lightning from her fingertips or hands or whatever. It doesn't matter. She's badass and effective and has zero interest in your bullshit. About a year ago, she was squaring off with Dying Star, a supernova type powerhouse that had taken down Flare, a silver generation hero. Maybe it was Flare's age, or maybe it was just... luck. But Warren, or Amp as she's known, was left standing atop a rooftop with a very dead Flare and a very much alive Dying Star. It happened to be a storm. And Atti, Amp's brother, happened to be filming for his stupid youtube project. Amp happened to be able to challenge the raw power of the storm and fire all she had into Dying Star. Dying Star did just that, she died. And as the rain slammed down on them, a city saw a young hero and Warren felt the rising panic o...

Character: Trish Jones Game: Monster of the Week, Urban Shadows Episodes Played: ~8 Theme Song: Trouble is a Friend by Lenka Keywords: Kind, giving, compassionate A couple years ago my one group was between games and we didn't know just what we wanted to do. One person wanted to try gming and the rest of us didn't know what to play. So we picked up a few sessions of a game called Monster of the week. I played the Mundane, a normal human being who's caught up in the world of monster hunter. The Xander. Trish was full of life, always smiling, and kind to everyone. For Trish, I wanted to play a character that remained a good person despite what was happening around her and one that was always willing to give more of herself, to the point of getting into abusive situations because she always believed the best of people. She was my own altruism and optimism brought to extremes. In a way, she was designed to be the ultimate victim of the supernatural, the one who got bo...

Art by Charlie Bowater Character:  Harp Game:  Fall of Magic Episodes Played:  4 Theme Song: Part of Your Mudra by Emma Wallace Keywords:  Fierce, Impatient, Blunt Magic is dying, and the Magus is dying with it. Harp is the daughter of the Magus and a swineherd from Barleytown to the South. She's around twenty-seven and has a seven year old daughter named Wren. Harp's mother disappeared over a year ago, but it isn't uncommon for Barleytown women to go wandering, so none have looked for her. Fall of Magic is a quiet story game about the death of magic and the band of travellers who follow the Magus across the world to Umbra where magic was born to try to save magic itself. Harp is accompanying her father, Mazda the Magus, Caspian the thief and outlaw, and Fawn, the Elfar ranger across the country to seek out the land of magic. Harp was introduced to the world by remembering seeing the Magus for the first time when she had brought a pig with her to...

Artwork by Michael Komarck Character : Silya Tanzin Game : Before the Storm, part of the Seven Wonders anthology Episodes played as : 1 Theme song : none Key Words : Practical, Focused, Determined The Champion of Iriya, niece of the previous champion, powerful political figure, mother of three (almost four) children, general of an army, and bonded partner to the heroic prince, Silya Tanzin was a hero. She valued identity, who someone was rather than who others thought they were based on birth or title. At her core, she knew exactly who she was and her purpose in the falling kingdom, and very few things could waiver that confidence. On Sunday, we played a game of Before the Storm. It's a game about an adventuring party sitting down to dinner, their last dinner, before a great war the next day when only one side will walk away. You use playing cards to determine features. I chose The Champion of Iriya, a leader of armies, passion in politics, and a value of identity. Ano...