In Celluloid Killer, the third instalment of the Crime City Blues series, players are assigned the roles of Hammettville Police detectives who are investigating a gruesome murder. As they delve deeper into the case, they come to the realisation that a serial killer is on the loose (62 pages).
The Celluloid Killer is obsessed with movies, and copies the murder scenes of well-known films for his killings. The adventure is firmly rooted in the thriller genre and should be played as a traditional police procedural, with no supernatural elements. However, it is connected to Sexual Holocaust, the first adventure in the Crime City Blues series, which had a horror theme inspired by Hellraiser. That scenario introduced a group of sexual demons known as The Apostles of Pain, who manage to cross over into our world.
While researching for a book on secret societies and occult sects at the library of a 19th-century eccentric millionaire, a Portuguese journalist found evidence that the Knights of Christ (the order that succeeded the Knights Templar in Portugal) had retained much of the esoteric lore from the disbanded Templars. However, this was merely the surface-level finding. The records of a 17th-century Portuguese knight revealed the Order of Christ's progress in harnessing ancient knowledge to manipulate telluric currents from the Axis Mundi, the supposed centre of the world or the universe. This discovery has the potential to unlock a power that had been lost to the world. https://youtu.be/ctp0zfaOO0A
A surreal horror scenario, heavily inspired by David Lynch's cult TV show Twin Peaks (1990), but it leans on other sources, like John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), The League of Gentleman (1999), Carnivàle (2003) and 1970s slasher flicks. There isn't specific mythology, and even the amount of supernatural and/or paranormal phenomena can be easily modified to suit different tastes. What's presented here is a detailed description of the titular small town of St. Cloud, WA, and its inhabitants, which provides multiple story seeds. In the end, there's a much more developed but unstructured plot hook that encompasses a series of events set in motion after the death of a local pre-teen girl. The final chapter, (Not) Wrapped in Plastic, is a plotline designed for those who want to play St. Cloud with a distinct Twin Peak's feeling, but without instantly giving away the whole story. If this and some of the characters' descriptions sound familiar at a glance (you're right, of course, it does!), that's only a superficial similarity, however. Indeed the inspiration isn't masqueraded, but St. Cloud can be run even if in your group there are players familiar with Lynch's work since the characters and the town's dirty little secrets are pretty different from the source. What remains very similar are the eerie atmosphere and the overall semblance of a soap opera gone insane. https://youtu.be/ovsBPoq5w2U
By default, the game is set in modern times, in urban environments, where danger lurks at every turn and death is never far away. However, you can use it to play horror games in different timelines. Combine it with Wretched Époque or Wretched Country for a 19th-century terrifying experience, pair it up with Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad for a near-future surrealistic horror campaign, jump into the far future by using Wretched Space, or set it in any other age. This book presents you with a sandbox-style setting inspired by the works of masters of horror, such as Clive Barker, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, John Carpenter, George Romero, Wes Craven, Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper, Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava, but expect sources of inspiration as varied as William Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, William Gibson, Paul Auster, exploitation movies and Leonard Cohen’s poetry. As a Game Master, you will find here tools and game mastering hints for running any style of horror game, such as Giallo, gore, supernatural, psychological, apocalyptic, surreal, sci-fi horror and more. Wretched Darkness uses a revised version of the Wretched mechanics, an old-school set of rules designed for playing characters that are not necessarily good or virtuous. The revised rules are still entirely compatible with previous versions, but they include new mechanics for sanity and the use of magic, as well as several new classes and playable races, such as Incubus/ Succubus, Loup-Garou, and the Wampyr. Player characters are also more vulnerable than they were in previous Wretched games: The Hit Point increase was downgraded (now by default you don’t roll for Hit Points when you level up, you only get 1 additional point per leve) and the level cap is set at 10. https://youtu.be/7Mnd5p-0tXY
As the title so obviously implies, this scenario is heavily inspired by Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes. Just like in Bradbury's dark fantasy novel, there's a mysterious travelling troupe arriving in a small town and granting people's wishes. As in the source material, making the townsfolk's desires come true is just a ruse for evil beings to feed upon their life force (and maybe a little more than that). Of course, the events will not be the same, the carnival is replaced by a European circus troupe, and this adventure allows the players to take the roles not only of children but also of the adults being tricked into submission or even the evil circus people. Naturally, this being a Red Room release, the adventure couldn't be as innocent as Bradbury's tale. That's why we crossed it over with the horrific and exploitative imagery of sexy fumetti, Italian adult comics of the 1970s/ 1980s.
The Memorial is a contemporary horror scenario inspired by Lars Von Trier's cult TV series Riget (1994), Milos Forman's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Killer Nun (1979), an Italian "video nasty" classic starring Anita Eckberg and Alida Valli. There's undoubtedly some Green Wing, ER, House M.D. and Scrubs in it, hopefully not that much, as it is meant to be horror, after all.
The Memorial was previously published by Postmortem Studios, part of the
Postmortem Giallo series. The new
Wretched Memorial is meant to be run using
Wretchploitation, an old-school game which emulates the exploitation movie genre and it also includes a few plot hooks meant for
Wretched Époque. Nevertheless, you will find it easily adapted it to most contemporary horror role-playing games.
The scenario takes place in a rundown old hospital,The Ernest Spencer Memorial, especially in its psychiatric ward. This surreal institution is populated by bizarre people with a troubled past and where strange things occur frequently. Part of those occurrences is of supernatural origin, but some of them are illegal experiments and common medical malpractice
Orpheum Lofts is a thriller/ horror role-playing scenario inspired by Dario Argento's Three Mothers Trilogy [Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and Mother of Tears (2007)], Polanski's The Tenant (1976) and Rosemary's Baby (1968), '80s and '90s sitcoms, and romantic comedies. Yes, it's a strange mix, but it will get weirder… As usual in Red Room adventures, there is no predetermined plot, only suggested ones, and no described scenes; instead, there are many story seeds. Though it was planned for a series of connected stories set in the mid-80s, Orpheum Lofts can easily be turned into a one-shot. The timeline isn't set in stone either. This book contains the scenario previously published by Postmortem Studios as part of the Postmortem Giallo series and also part of Her Heart was a Locked Room, and Nobody had the Key: A Giallo Series Companion, adapted to old-school mechanics. If you have purchased those two books do you need this one as well? No, not really.
Wretched Conspiracies can work either as a standalone setting for Wretched Role-Playing Game or as a sourcebook for Wretched Darkness. In Conspiracies, players can take the role of seasoned characters, already aware of the existence of otherworldly phenomena, or neophytes, for whom the world is subject to the rules of rationality. They can also be members of the Veil Syndicate, an enigmatic organization that tries to keep paranormal and supernatural phenomena hidden from the public, or trying to get the truth out there. You choose the way you want to run it, we provide you with the tools.
Within the hidden corners of the modern world, the Veil Syndicate discreetly carries out its operations, spinning intricate webs of deception and intrigue from the shadows of secrecy.
As members of government agencies, you have been initiated into this clandestine brotherhood, tasked with maintaining control over society and concealing the supernatural phenomena that lurk behind the veil of the mundane.
The Veil Syndicate, a formidable organisation with roots in ancient secret societies, has infiltrated the highest echelons of power in government, industry, and academia. Over millennia, these groups have merged and evolved into the powerful and enigmatic organisation that now stands before you.
With cutting-edge technology, powerful weaponry, and vast resources at your disposal, you will join the ranks of the Syndicate's elite agents, sworn to protect the organisation's interests and uphold its mysterious agenda (132 pages).
