Concept
At the edge of Violet City, if you squint, you can see the first bell tower.
You're a ragtag group of Rainbowlanders who never fit in or couldn't quite cut it in civilized society, so here you are—baking in the sun and squinting across the immeasurable vastness of the Ultraviolet Grasslands.
Who were you before? (Who cares?) Who will you become? (Who knows?) Will your provisions spoil? Will you be torn limb from limb by the vome? (None yet can say!) Will you survive the plains? Will you live to see the legendary Black City? (So few do!)
All is lain bare on the steppe, under the hump-backed sky. Just follow the bells.
Aim
Our aim is to play out the the journey of a caravan through the weird and wondrous landscapes and settlements of the Ultraviolet Grasslands, traversing its obstacles, overcoming its hardships, and probably (hopefully?) uncovering some of its secrets.
This is not a game anyone will win or lose. The trail is hard, and your character may die, but you can roll up a new character and the caravan will press on.
On each segment of trail, we will paint the landscape with a vibrant brush and dive into the dangers of the road. At each settlement, we will show our PCs carousing, exploring, and bartering with the strange people of that settlement. At each additional location or dungeon, we will play to have fun and find out what happens, and not worry about “100%-ing” the area.
Tone and Subject Matter
The tone of the scenario is psychedelic, weird, and metal.
The game will center on a travel narrative with subject matter including strange people and creatures, weird landscapes, physical violence, and material deprivation.
The focus of play should be exploration, discovery, and survival.
We can work together to establish additional boundaries and imperatives at the beginning of play.
Play
You'll be playing Troika! using the Ultraviolet Grasslands module.
This will be a campaign game, lasting several months, but the expectation is that you should be able to miss a session here or there without skipping a beat.
Sessions will last three to four hours, and we will meet face-to-face on a regular biweekly schedule. If you cannot make it to a scheduled meet, you may either bow out or take responsibility for rescheduling the meet if you don’t want to miss it.
Characters will be generated randomly, so don’t come with a character concept in mind, and do come ready to run with whatever you roll.
During play, you will be expected to speak definitively about your character’s actions and stick with the tone. Dice math will be at a minimum. Many challenges will require thinking beyond what is written on your character sheet.
This is an “old school” style game, so expect a high degree lethality to combat.