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Bored Ghost

A storytelling podcast that uses games to drive the stories. We play a variety of games, from Indy Published Collaborative Storytelling games to traditional Role-Playing Games, all with the intent to tell a cohesive and finite story in about two episodes.
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Now displaying: Category: downfall
Jan 16, 2019

“Carnal embrace is the practice of throwing one's arms around a side of beef.”
― Tom Stoppard, Arcadia


The beast lopes across the face of a barren world. An entire civilization festers beneath its skin.

To learn more about how Downfall is played check out our primer episode.

The Haven: 

The Glorge is a gargantuan creature of flesh that lumbers blindly, on multiple limbs, across the face of the world. In the dripping moist layer, between the thick folds of its skin and its oily pulsing muscle and flesh, an entire society has formed.

The Traditions:

Birth: Everyone in the haven can carry offspring and become pregnant. It is a little strange to not be pregnant. The spheres in their bodies of developing children are mirrored in the symbol of the cornucopia spilling grapes and fruits that is ever present in the iconography of the culture.

Communication: The common greeting is to make out with the person you're greeting. In this ritual you also exchange a metallic lozenge with a name etched on it. These are referred to as candies.

Justice: Secrets are the currency of the society. An entire 'secret' police force and the encouragement of gossip makes information a commodity and a liability. This behavior is encouraged by the allocation of sweet vat-grown tongue meat.

Death: A death that explores the heights of delicious pain and pleasure is a good death. There is an oil derived from growths plucked deep from the Glorge that offers altered and heightened perception and is used exclusively for death seeking.

Entertainment: The coming-of-age ceremony begins when the brood of children reaches the age of consent and partakes in a race into the depths of the Glorge to retrieve the largest cysts. The victor is named Master of Flesh and the others who survive the ordeal are granted a name etched metal 'candy' lozenge.

Relationships: It is forbidden to make emotional connections to others. People play games where they toy with others to make them have an emotional attachment. The only way to ceremonially purge this is to grow a vestigial heart and present it to the object of affection.

The Characters:

The Hero: Sheer, a Feel Agent for the secret police, has heightened senses in their tongue. They are a bit different in the society in that they have empathy that draws them towards reciprocation instead of playing games with other people's emotions.

The Fallen:  Master of Tongues, the leader of the secret police, seeks to maintain their control on the society.

The Pillar: Bloom, a peer from the same trial as the hero, works in the processing of the psychotropic Oil Macabre.

Find D on twitter @mxnurd

Find John on twitter @LordJoho

Find Ken on twitter @Berlingsbeard

Follow us on twitter @boredghostworld

Our Bored Ghost theme comes from the amazing Pat Cupples, see his band website Hotels and Highways.

Bored Ghosts we hope you found some distraction from your eternity in the void this week!

Jan 9, 2019

“People who live in society have learnt how to see themselves, in mirrors, as they appear to their friends. I have no friends: is that why my flesh is so naked?” 
― Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea

The beast lopes across the face of a barren world. An entire civilization festers beneath its skin.

To learn more about how Downfall is played check out our primer episode.

The Haven: 

The Glorge is a gargantuan creature of flesh that lumbers blindly, on multiple limbs, across the face of the world. In the dripping moist layer, between the thick folds of its skin and its oily pulsing muscle and flesh, an entire society has formed.

The Traditions:

Birth: Everyone in the haven can carry offspring and become pregnant. It is a little strange to not be pregnant. The spheres in their bodies of developing children are mirrored in the symbol of the cornucopia spilling grapes and fruits that is ever present in the iconography of the culture.

Communication: The common greeting is to make out with the person you're greeting. In this ritual you also exchange a metallic lozenge with a name etched on it. These are referred to as candies.

Justice: Secrets are the currency of the society. An entire 'secret' police force and the encouragement of gossip makes information a commodity and a liability. This behavior is encouraged by the allocation of sweet vat-grown tongue meat.

Death: A death that explores the heights of delicious pain and pleasure is a good death. There is an oil derived from growths plucked deep from the Glorge that offers altered and heightened perception and is used exclusively for death seeking.

Entertainment: The coming-of-age ceremony begins when the brood of children reaches the age of consent and partakes in a race into the depths of the Glorge to retrieve the largest cysts. The victor is named Master of Flesh and the others who survive the ordeal are granted a name etched metal 'candy' lozenge.

Relationships: It is forbidden to make emotional connections to others. People play games where they toy with others to make them have an emotional attachment. The only way to ceremonially purge this is to grow a vestigial heart and present it to the object of affection.

The Characters:

The Hero: Sheer, a Feel Agent for the secret police, has heightened senses in their tongue. They are a bit different in the society in that they have empathy that draws them towards reciprocation instead of playing games with other people's emotions.

The Fallen:  Master of Tongues, the leader of the secret police, seeks to maintain their control on the society.

The Pillar: Bloom, a peer from the same trial as the hero, works in the processing of the psychotropic Oil Macabre.

Find D on twitter @mxnurd

Find John on twitter @LordJoho

Find Ken on twitter @Berlingsbeard

Follow us on twitter @boredghostworld

Our Bored Ghost theme comes from the amazing Pat Cupples, see his band website Hotels and Highways.

Bored Ghosts we hope you found some distraction from your eternity in the void this week!

Nov 23, 2016

“Nice valley. Think I'll keep it.”
―Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

In our second episode the characters play out the scenes as the world falls apart no matter how hard the hero tries to stop it,

To learn more about how Downfall is played check out our primer episode.

The world of this game:

World Name: Many Goodly Things

Flaw: Materialism

Elements: Echo, Dust, Magnets

Traditions:

Architecture - The moving society is built on a series of magnetic flotillas of various sizes. The design aesthetics mirror the philosophies of the various clans that inhabit the structures.

Justice - The guilty are banished to the winds, stripped of magnet and clan. They are allowed to keep their birthstones.

Military - Clan leaders all answer The Lord of Many Goodly Things. Agents of the Lord wear a badge made of family cups beat into the shape of an inverted horseshoe magnet w/ a sword and oar crossed behind it.

Entertainment - Skiff Racers compete for status and resources for their clans. They ride on finicky hover sleds through the whipping dusts.

Birth - Clan lines are very important. Cross-clan marriage is common, but the clanner marrying in from another clan is stigmatized. Clan stones are kept even when marrying into a new clan.

Grief - No one grieves the cavern folk. Clanners who abandon their clan and society remove all their stones and their names are struck from the family naming chalices.

The characters for this game:

The Hero Racine Quartz-Angle

A wirey woman with long dirty blonde hair that she hides beneath her racing helmet. Her striking clear eyes are coveted trait in her Clan. She wears a racing jumpsuit embedded with magnets.

The Fallen is Sir Will

A soldier in the employ of the Lord of Many Goodly Things. He has become Racine's lover in the course of investigating her family since her brother went cavern folk.

The Pillar is Screed Sulfur Blast

A Sulfur clanner who married into the Quartz clan. He was a skiff racer until he pushed himself too hard and gained some permanent injuries that grounded him. He is now a clan Skiff Racing coach for Racine.

Find John on twitter @LordJoho

Find Ken on twitter @Berlingsbeard

Follow us on twitter @boredghostworld

Our Bored Ghost theme song is by the amazing Pat Cupples, see his band website Hotels and Highways.

Bored Ghosts we hope you found some distraction from your eternity in the void this week!

Nov 16, 2016

“He doesn't have a name so Death can't find him!”
― Waterworld, 1995

The heart of downfall is the world you will play in. Our first episode is the creation of this world and the characters at the heart of it's imminent destruction.

To learn more about how Downfall is played check out our primer episode.

The world of this game:

World Name: Many Goodly Things

Flaw: Materialism

Elements: Echo, Dust, Magnets

Traditions:

Architecture - The moving society is built on a series of magnetic flotillas of various sizes. The design aesthetics mirror the philosophies of the various clans that inhabit the structures.

Justice - The guilty are banished to the winds, stripped of magnet and clan. They are allowed to keep their birthstones.

Military - Clan leaders all answer The Lord of Many Goodly Things. Agents of the Lord wear a badge made of family cups beat into the shape of an inverted horseshoe magnet w/ a sword and oar crossed behind it.

Entertainment - Skiff Racers compete for status and resources for their clans. They ride on finicky hover sleds through the whipping dusts.

Birth - Clan lines are very important. Cross-clan marriage is common, but the clanner marrying in from another clan is stigmatized. Clan stones are kept even when marrying into a new clan.

Grief - No one grieves the cavern folk. Clanners who abandon their clan and society remove all their stones and their names are struck from the family naming chalices.

The characters for this game:

The Hero Racine Quartz-Angle

A wirey woman with long dirty blonde hair that she hides beneath her racing helmet. Her striking clear eyes are coveted trait in her Clan. She wears a racing jumpsuit embedded with magnets.

The Fallen is Sir Will

A soldier in the employ of the Lord of Many Goodly Things. He has become Racine's lover in the course of investigating her family since her brother went cavern folk.

The Pillar is Screed Sulfur Blast

A Sulfur clanner who married into the Quartz clan. He was a skiff racer until he pushed himself too hard and gained some permanent injuries that grounded him. He is now a clan Skiff Racing coach for Racine.

Find John on twitter @LordJoho

Find Ken on twitter @Berlingsbeard

Follow us on twitter @boredghostworld

Our Bored Ghost theme song is by the amazing Pat Cupples, see his band website Hotels and Highways.

Bored Ghosts we hope you found some distraction from your eternity in the void this week!

Sep 28, 2016

Patricia: "I wonder where we'll end up?"
Joe: "Away from the things of man, my love. Away from the things of man.”
― Joe VS. the Volcano

The heart of downfall is the world you will play in. Our first episode is the creation of this world and the characters at the heart of it's imminent destruction.

To learn more about how Downfall is played check out our primer episode.


The world of this game:

World Name: COM (Crucible of the Machine)

Flaw: Sloth

Elements: Fire, Music, Pasta

Traditions:

Birth- No one gives birth and more, children are provided in birthing pods randomly, no one knows their parents

Arts- Minimalist 'gas organ' music is all the rage, played on a central organ shaped like a lung

Death- A dying person must drag themselves to the Hall of Voice and hurl themselves into the lava. If their dead body is found it will be rolled out over the volcano's lip.

Religion- Replacing your organs with mechanical part is to bring yourself closer to the divine, the ultimate symbol is to have your heart replaced with an external heart.

Education- When children do go to school they are sent to trade or management, the trade trained are tattooed with a hammer on their forehead.

Fashion- People wear pasta as clothes, which is destroyed as they move about. It is replaced each morning by robots. It is a status symbol to have pasta build up on your body.


The characters for this game:

The Hero is Do-Org 5.

A skinny person with some muscular definition, shaved bodily, the pasta it wears is thin because it is active. One blue eye, one brown sets them apart. Middle aged for their caste- 45 years. 100% organic as is standard for its caste. Works as an organ player for the central gas venting organ. Wants to express themselves beyond the bounds of minimalist creative taste of the day.

The Fallen is Do-Vent 5.

A bit more muscular definition, shaved bodily, the pasta it wears is almost nothing because it is very active. A metal jaw replacement makes it different from its caste. Middle aged for their caste- 45 years. Works as an engineer guiding the poisonous gases through the venting organ. Has grown up in apprenticeship and worked with Do-Org 5 for some 25 years.

The Pillar is La-V

A pasta encrusted upperclass citizen, only 20% of La-V is still organic. It lays about on a palanquin and rolls out to appreciate the music of Do-Org5


Find John on twitter @LordJoho

Find Ken on twitter @Berlingsbeard

Find Lisa on Google+

Follow us on twitter @boredghostworld

Our Bored Ghost theme song is by the amazing Pat Cupples, see his band website Hotels and Highways.

Bored Ghosts we hope you found some distraction from your eternity in the void this week!

Sep 21, 2016

“There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors.”
Frank Herbert, Dune

The heart of downfall is the world you will play in. Our first episode is the creation of this world and the characters at the heart of it's imminent destruction.

To learn more about how Downfall is played check out our primer episode.


The world of this game:

World Name: COM (Crucible of the Machine)

Flaw: Sloth

Elements: Fire, Music, Pasta 

Traditions:

Birth- No one gives birth and more, children are provided in birthing pods randomly, no one knows their parents

Arts- Minimalist 'gas organ' music is all the rage, played on a central organ shaped like a lung

Death- A dying person must drag themselves to the Hall of Voice and hurl themselves into the lava. If their dead body is found it will be rolled out over the volcano's lip.

Religion- Replacing your organs with mechanical part is to bring yourself closer to the divine, the ultimate symbol is to have your heart replaced with an external heart.

Education- When children do go to school they are sent to trade or management, the trade trained are tattooed with a hammer on their forehead.

Fashion- People wear pasta as clothes, which is destroyed as they move about. It is replaced each morning by robots. It is a status symbol to have pasta build up on your body.


The characters for this game:

The Hero is Do-Org 5.

A skinny person with some muscular definition, shaved bodily, the pasta it wears is thin because it is active. One blue eye, one brown sets them apart. Middle aged for their caste- 45 years. 100% organic as is standard for its caste. Works as an organ player for the central gas venting organ. Wants to express themselves beyond the bounds of minimalist creative taste of the day. 

The Fallen is Do-Vent 5.

A bit more muscular definition, shaved bodily, the pasta it wears is almost nothing because it is very active. A metal jaw replacement makes it different from its caste. Middle aged for their caste- 45 years. Works as an engineer guiding the poisonous gases through the venting organ. Has grown up in apprenticeship and worked with Do-Org 5 for some 25 years.

The Pillar is La-V

A pasta encrusted upperclass citizen, only 20% of La-V is still organic. It lays about on a palanquin and rolls out to appreciate the music of Do-Org5

 


Find John on twitter @LordJoho

Find Ken on twitter @Berlingsbeard

Find Lisa on Google+

Follow us on twitter @boredghostworld

Our Bored Ghost theme song is by the amazing Pat Cupples, see his band website Hotels and Highways.

Bored Ghosts we hope you found some distraction from your eternity in the void this week!

Sep 21, 2016

This is a brief overview that lays out the basic of setting up and playing a game of Downfall. 

Recommended number of players: 3, Play time 2-4 hours on average

Downfall is a 'GMless' game, you don't need a Dungeon Master or Game Master setting up the rules and the world. 

We recommend picking up a copy of the rules from Less Than Three Games. They have copies available as PDF and physical books. Try your friendly local games store. If they carry role playing games they probably carry Fiasco.

In addition to players, Downfall only requires a handful of components:

1) Rulebook 

2) Character Sheets (3 total- 1 Hero, 1 Fallen, & 1 Pillar) - available to print or copy from the rule book.

3) Index Cards/Paper

5) Writing Utensils

1