Gauntlet Video Roundup - March 5, 2021

Greetings, and welcome to the weekly Gauntlet Calendar video roundup! Enjoy these recordings of online games organized through Gauntlet Calendar and the Gauntlet RPG Community. These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the selection of games available every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play or watch more games like these, check out the links and information at the bottom of the post.

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Gauntlet Community Open Gaming

Monster of the Week: 1890 Cthulhu London
Blake Ryan runs for Brandon Brylawski, Mander, and Michael

Monster Squad
Rich Rogers runs for Darin, Mark, and Mike Ferdinando
Three middle-schoolers save Rola the spider monkey from evil scientists and a scary silverback gorilla.

Hit the Nazi - Retrieve the Ark
Alun R. runs for ABS, Dan Brown, Michael Mendoza, and Steven Watkins
Nelson (the Hustler/Gumshoe), Lucy (the Friend/Air Ace), and Irene (the Professor/Inventor) literally run in to Bruce (the Daredevil/Explorer) as they pursue the kidnappers of 'Gus' the world-famous boxing kangaroo through the rainy streets of New Gauntlet City. There's an FBI Special Agent, and a clue that takes them to Casablanca in search of Gus' mate. Then...mayhem at a secret Nazi desert base, an eccentric hollow-earther and his sister-in-law, and the biggest kangaroo you ever did see...

Hearts of Wulin: Tarkir - In the Shadow of Dragons (Session 1 of 2)
Alexi S. runs for David Schultz, Greg G., Jan, and Matthew Doughty
At a dragon-ruled mountaintop monastery, hearts are entangled and battles are fought. Scholarly Li Xiu is asked to fight an exhibition match with her fiery sister, as her gallivanting betrothed, Junyi, looks on. Perpetual student To, aka Little Bird, gives a tour of the monastery to Kirada, emissary of the barbaric Atarka clans. But what's this? Secret love notes, heretical techniques, and an attack led by a bear shaman! Who will prove worthy in the dragons' eyes, and who will fall broken from the mountain?

Character Keeper Panel
Gerrit Reininghaus facilitates for Bethany H., Donogh, and Michael G. Barford
Our Character Keeper panel is available online. Such a great discussion on the beauty of keepers and what we love about making keepers.

Hearts of Wulin: Academy of the Blade (Session 1 of 2)
David Schultz runs for Adrian, Bryan, and Danielle B.
In this variant of the core Hearts of Wulin game, we are transported to a shoujo anime boarding school--with duels! Our cast consists of beastly delinquent Wen, saboteur Lucia, and new girl Hana, as they are called upon by the shadowy student council disciplinary committee to assist in planning the first annual Kingfisher Ball. Whose hearts will be broken as students pair up to go to the ball--and just what is the dark fate that awaits the winner of the dance competition?

Hearts of Wulin: Academy of the Blade (Session 2 of 2)
David Schultz runs for Adrian, Bryan, and Danielle B.
Tensions boil over as Wen discovers the secret of the black rose that threatens to imprison a student sacrifice; Lucia is split between romance, clearing their name, and sabotaging the ball; and Hana finds herself relying on her deadly pair of chopsticks to defeat the keeper of the black rose once and for all!

Against the Dark Conspiracy: The Harker Intrusion
Alun R. runs for Blake Ryan, Mario C, Michael Pelletier, and Shane
Katerina (former GRU Provocateur), Stefano (ex-Cosa Nostra Scalp Hunter), Jasmin (former French DGSE Analyst), and Rasheed (ex-GCHQ Hacker) travel to Marrakesh to protect a journalist being pursued by the Conspiracy. Some of them blag their way into her hotel while the others try to draw the out of the shadows. Then there's a hyped-up brute and a shooting before they head to Romania and an archaeological dig funded by the British Council...that leads to a crypt, a surprise reunion, confused loyalties and the head-shot to end all head-shots...and revenge...

Hearts of Wulin: Tarkir - In the Shadow of Dragons (Session 2 of 2)
Alexi S. runs for David Schultz, Greg G., Jan, and Matthew Doughty
Under the eye of Dragonlord Ojutai, a drama of broken hearts, families in conflict, and forbidden techniques comes to a calamitous climax. Li Xiu makes a profound sacrifice for her beloved Na-Nu. Junyi sneaks off to a romantic meeting in a garden and gets entangled in a different way than he expected. To, aka Little Bird, fights battles beyond his scale and somehow triumphs. Kirada uncovers a treacherous magical conspiracy and makes a desperate mountaintop stand. Who will rise, who will fall, and will the monastery still be standing come tomorrow?

Escape From Dino Island
Mike Ferdinando runs for Bjorn, SalamanderJames, Trayvon, and Will H
Our survey team found far more than they bargained for while surveying an eccentric billionaire's newly-acquired private island. NOTE: This game ended up in two separate videos, so please see both Part 1 and Part 2; I haven't been successful trying to stich them into a single video.

Swords of the Serpentine: The Dripping Throne
Mike Ferdinando runs for Brianna, Chris, Francisco Olivera, and Simon
Our heroes were hired by a ghost to solve his own murder, and stumbled across a dark conspiracy involving a cult dedicated to a tentacled god.

Naked City Blues
Shane runs for Jamila R. Nedjadi, Jim Likes Games, Michael Pelletier, and Sabine V.
A group of private detectives are hired to dig up some dirt on a young actress who may be attracting the wrong kind of attention, in @Mike Ferdinando (he/him)'s game of hardboiled investigation, Naked City Blues.

Trophy Gold: The Godsmouth Heresy
Mike Ferdinando runs for Jennifer, Jon Grim, Marc Majcher, and Sam Zimmerman
In the cliffside city of Kaer Maga, the treasure-hunters were hired by the priests of Sister Pharasma, goddess of the Cycle of Life and Death. The priests manage the Godsmouth Ossuary, the most prestigious place for the dead to be interred. Someone has been stealing corpses, which is a great scandal, and the priests pay well for finding who or what is behind this and putting it to an end. The treasure-hunters then crawl a dungeon that was once a series of crypts and catacombs holy to the early church. This is a conversion of a module written by Rob McCreary for the Pathfinder RPG.

Vultures
Donogh runs for Kass Helfant, Mander, and Steven Watkins
A dangerous Mecha Pilot is pawning old licenses to allow other rebels to eschew Space Mom's loving embrace. Join the crew of the Papoose: Aurora the Holomancer, Sharron the Neon Believer & Edison the Ad Junkie along with their decrepit but well-meaning AI Boots as they track the rebels to a mech graveyard in the Fine Ster IV system.

Star Wars Saturday

MoonPunk (Session 4)
Rich Rogers runs for Dr. Jason Cox, Francisco Olivera, Steven Watkins, and Will H
The Punks experience a prison break, a riot, and an Imperial crackdown. This is where the fate of Wothe is decided!

Gauntlet Calendar

Return to Brindlewood Bay: Finale
Lowell Francis runs for Dan Brown, Patrick Knowles, and Will H
Snowed in alongside a host of familiar suspects, the Mavens must try to unravel the final ceremony before more die at its hands.

Free from the Yoke: Firebird Suite (Session 5)
Lowell Francis runs for Bryan, David Jay, Puckett, and Sam Zimmerman
Ten years have passed and the Arbiter now looks to a war with the south, but the Kingdom of Drago turns aside the first attack with suspicious skill.

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars: Victor Sector (Session 1 of 4)
Donogh runs for Bryan, Puckett, and Rich Rogers
A listening post on Yeats previously cleared of giant dirt worms has gone quiet. The company are sent to investigate, as they find Uplifted Apes wielding powerful weapons and able to hack their technology.

ALIEN: Ruin (Session 4 of 4)
Jason Zanes runs for Alun R., Paul Rivers, and Will H
In the finale, our heroes must brave the Alien Hive and ancient Alien Temple. Bryant meets something even more manipulative than him, Baldy copes with his mother's death, and Noah holds the fate of human civilization in his hands.

The Veil: Inheritance: System Matters (Session 1)
Lowell Francis runs for Patrick Knowles, Sherri, Steven Watkins, and Tyler Lominack
We establish characters and then I make them broke, forcing them to take a questionable job extracting a target from a disaster tourism cruise liner.

Gauntlet Book Club

Wolfsong/Bite Marks (Session 6 of 6)
David Morrison runs for Drew D., Jamila R. Nedjadi, Sabine V., and Steven S.
In our dramatic finale, Ghost's nightmarish encounter in the dreamlands leaves the pack reeling, Ivar and Jax demonstrate that sometimes it's the big bad wolf who comes to the rescue, and Cody fully takes on the role of Alpha as he leads the pack to stand up to their past.

You can see all these videos (plus all the ones that have come before) on The Gauntlet YouTube channel playlists, and be sure to subscribe to catch all our great podcasts!

If you'd like to catch these sessions in an audio-only podcast, check out the community-run Hangouts Podcast at http://gauntlet.hellomouth.net/.

If you'd like to play in games like these, check out the calendar of events and the Gauntlet Forums where games are announced, or catch one of our Gauntlet Community Open Gaming free online mini-conventions!

To support The Gauntlet, please visit the Gauntlet Patreon. Everyone is welcome to sign up for Gauntlet Calendar games, but Patreon supporters get extra options like priority RSVP for Gauntlet Calendar games and joining the Gauntlet Slack team where special events and pickup games are announced.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!