Finding the Horror in History, with Eleanor Hingley

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349: Finding the Horror in History

Main Topic: Finding the Horror in History

History is rife with real horror, be it war, plague, famine or something less biblical. Incorporating these horrors into our games can add depth and texture, but what are the advantages and potential pitfalls of doing so? Which elements and eras are we drawn to? And what kinds of games might we create with this approach?

We discussed how to bring historical settings to life with Ross Bryant back in episode 301.

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Eleanor Hingley back to the Good Friends, following our recent discussion of small town horror. Eleanor is a lifelong horror fan, obsessed with Gothic and horror art since childhood. She has written for a bunch of tabletop roleplaying games, including Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game, Hollows, Aegean, Broken Weave, The Laundry, Heart, and many other game lines. She also writes interactive fiction for Choice of Games, and has had IF published in sub-Q magazine. Eleanor has released her own independent TTRPG zines, which you can find on her itch.io page: Ex Libris, Talking Thunder and Seed of an Idea. You can follow Eleanor on Bluesky.

Eleanor can also be found on her new Patreon site.

Eleanor has previously joined us to discuss:

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

Patreon Changes

We are still trying to implement the planned changes to our Patreon subscriptions ahead of the deprecation of per-creation charging at the end of this month. It’s taken much longer than anticipated, but Patreon’s customer service reps are finally talking to us. We shall post updates to our Patreon and Discord as we hear more.

October Horror Movie Challenge

Scott is once again undertaking the October Horror Movie Challenge, posting a review every day of a horror film he hasn’t seen before. Current highlights include Messiah of Evil and Why Don’t You Just Die! If you fancy joining in, you can find a lively discussion taking place on our Discord server.

Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum, Macharian Adversary Guide

Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum, Macharian Adversary Guide has just been released, featuring work from our own Matt Sanderson.

At the highest echelons of Imperial command in the Macharian Sector, Prefectus Castel and her office of adepts collect and curate threat assessments for Sector Lord Aulus Sejanus. Reports on xenos atrocities, depraved cults, and hidden sedition are collated from the testimonies of survivors, spies, and captives. Those reports not diverted or censored by agents of the Inquisition are presented to the Sector Lord and his advisors, whose swift and decisive action will surely address the adversaries at hand.

Or at least, so it should be, for Castel’s office is no different from other branches of the Adeptus Administratum. Constrained by endless bureaucracy and labyrinthine politicking, no report makes its way to the desk of Sector Lord Aulus Sejanus unless a dozen interested parties agree that doing so may serve their own interests. This deadlock leaves the sector vulnerable, abandoning whole worlds to their fate, leaving the grim task of facing down these enemies to others, most of whom are far from equal to the task…

Halloween Livestream with Symphony Entertainment

In what has become another Halloween tradition, Scott will be joining our good friends at Symphony Entertainment for a livestreamed improvised game on the 20th of October, at 8 PM UK time/3 PM EDT. As ever, the game will be run by Graham Walmsley, with Bridgett Jeffries and Scott as players. These short games are systemless and played for maximum creepiness. If you can’t join us live, the session should appear on YouTube not long afterwards.

Glass Cannon Live Recording

Once again, Scott wrote a scenario for our good friends at The Glass Cannon Network to run at Gen Con, and it is now available on YouTube. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (which may be published as “The King in Gold Lamé”) is a weird Elvis-themed romp through Las Vegas and even stranger realms, and features an all-star cast including Good Friends regulars Ross Bryant and Jared Logan.

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