0 Furnace 2007. The Garrison Hotel, Sheffield. UK
Saturday 20th - Sunday 21st October 2007.
http://www.rpgfurnace.com/


The venue from outside


As we reflect on how brilliant the coming summer will be this year, I thought it was timely to remind you to take a look at Furnace, tabletop roleplaying game convention set in a converted gaol house amongst the hills of Sheffield. It is almost very castle like.
We're running the convention over the weekend of October 20th/21st 2007.

Main website: http://www.rpgfurnace.com

Many familiar tentacles will be there and some new tendrils too. Our game line up so far includes:

Call of Cthulhu 'Dr. Zugsmith Leaves for Cairo' Classic 1920s.
Call of Cthulhu 'The Legacy of Deacon's Wood.' Gaslight.
Call of Cthulhu 'Slapton Sands' Modern Day.
Savage Worlds 'Mission Arcturus' set in the 2300AD sci-fi universe.
Mythic Russia 'Party like its 1381!' run by the game's author Mark Galeotti.
'In search of the King' set in the First Age of Middle Earth and using a new game system.
Monkey 'The Bag of Wind' a new storytelling game based upon this much loved Chinese Classic.
Blood and Sand 'Enter the Arena' epic swords and sandal action using the MRQ SRD
'Bullet Cop Against the Mob' hardboiled 70s cop action.
RuneQuest 'She dreams of Empires' set in Michael Moorcock's Elric setting.
Plus expect more great games to be added to this list.

Five game sessions, Twelve tables, seventy gamers, one gaol. Will you be allowed home?!



Tabletop game of Serenity - I think they got into some trouble?


Evilgaz runs his games in one of the four cells


A game played in the 'basement cell' - note the clever use of the screen.


A Gloranthan miniature wargame


Me at Furnace's very own bar! - I was there a lot


Signup here: http://www.rpgfurnace.com/?page_id=13

To see photos of the venue and last year's event:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/furnace/pool/

So here are the games I will be running at Furnace 2007. There are a couple of new games that are debuting at Furnace plus one game that hasn't been played too often. If there is time and demand I may run one of my other Serenity games as well.

'We are the Boys...'
This is a new game based on a very popular TV series in the UK. This will not only stretch my scenario writing ability and my GM style but the HeroQuest games mechanic as well. Very much a 'beer & pretzel' game played for some laughs. I hope that it goes well.



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'We are the Boys...' by Darran Sims narrated by Darran Sims.
HeroQuest adventure for 6 players.
Newcomers very welcome. Maturity preferred.

It is the dark summer of 1940 and the storm clouds of war still hang over Europe. Nazi Germany is poised to do Hitler's bidding and invade this green and pleasant land. The Local Defence Volunteers will be the last bastion of England when the invasion comes; if they fail then the country will be under the Nazi jackboot and all freedom lost.
And where will the Nazi vanguard attack?
Walmington-on-Sea!

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Serenity/FireFly: HeroQuest
These are games based on the series FireFly and the film Serenity by Buffy's Joss Whedon. The player characters will be the crew of The Betty from Alien: Resurrection; Joss Whedon's first stab at a misfit crew of smugglers onboard an old, broken-down ship.



The first game, 'Echoes in the Black', has been run nineteen times now at various conventions and has always been over-subscribed.

The sequel, 'The Quick and the Dead', has only been run six times and has now been extended with extra dilemmas.

The second sequel [or is that threequel?] debuted at Conception 2007 and has only been ran once. I am running it again especially for Furnace 2007. 'Dead Reckoning' is the third in the series of Serenity:HeroQuest games and is completely brand new [though certain parts of the plot my be similar to the other games!]. It still uses the crew of The Betty but puts them in more perilous and immoral situations. Included with more silly props!  

Debuting at Furnace 2007 is the fourth in the series called 'No Power in the 'verse'. This is payback time and the Alliance and Blue Sun will suffer when the crew of The Betty discover the darkest secret yet and will try to bring an end to their evil plots.  

Due to the popular demand of these games a seventh player character has been added to all games. The games can be played in order to experience the full epic narrative arc but each game is also complete in itself and can be played as a one-off.

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'Dead Reckoning' by Darran Sims narrated by Darran Sims.
Serenity: HeroQuest adventure for 7 players.
Newcomers very welcome. Maturity preferred.  

"Feh Feh Pi Goh! This job should have been shiny!
Here we are floating in the black about to make a move on the 'verse's easiest mark, a Research & Rescue vessel doing 'science' well away from civilisation. The Guay Tuh Guay Nown patron said it would be like taking candy from a baby. "Just don't use sensors as you approach," he said, "use dead reckoning to get in close."
Not only have we just seen what they are actually doing the 'science' on but we have just learnt who the Lao Buhn is who is bankrolling this caper.
A certain Crime Lord with his own Skyplex and a very nasty rep.
Dead Reckoning indeed!"

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'No Power in the 'verse' by Darran Sims narrated by Darran Sims.
Serenity: HeroQuest adventure for 7 players.
Newcomers very welcome. Maturity preferred.  

"Well, they have hurt me jobs, hurt my pay, hurt my ship, hurt my crew and now they are hurting my head.
Well I say 'no more!'
I ain't sitting back on this one, no sir. I am goin' to take it to them. Hurt them hard. See how they like that! I coming at them straight and true.
No power in the 'verse can stop me!"

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Here is the latest games programme for Furnace 2007.
Thre are a few outstanding games still promised that have yet to be announced.

Call of Cthulhu Dr. Zugsmith Leaves for Cairo Classic 1920s.
Call of Cthulhu The Legacy of Deacon's Wood Gaslight.
Call of Cthulhu Slapton Sands Modern Day.
Savage Worlds Mission Arcturus set in the 2300AD scifi universe.
Mythic Russia Party like its 1381! run by the game's author Mark Galeotti.
Wordplay In search of the King set in First Age Middle Earth.
Monkey The Bag of Wind & Another Journey to the West? a new storytelling game based upon this much loved Chinese Classic.
SimpleQuest Life and Death A player driven fantasy game action using a modified MRQ SRD.
Elric of Melnibone "She dreams of Empires" run by the games author Loz Whitaker.
Call of Cthulhu (Delta Green) Der storch hat das Kind gebracht a game for five players by Gary 'Evilgaz' Bowerbank.
Savage Worlds (Pirates of the Spanish Main) The Golden Idol of the Unnamed Isle a game for 5 poxy swabs, by Gary 'Evilgaz' Bowerbank.
Qin:The Warring States The end of Zhao The new Martial art game set in Ancient China.
Collective Endeavour (Andy Kenrick), running all weekend various CE games (Cold City, Dead of Night, Contenders, A|State, Covenant etc).
Burning Wheel Enemy at the Burning Gates a game for four players by Newt Newport.
Hawkmoon A Ghost of a Silhouette Adventure in the new Hawkmoon RPG.
Shadows of Yesterday A Very Bad Night in the City Intense player driven fantasy adventure.
HeroQuest We are the Boys... A HeroQuest game set around a certain WW2 based TV comedy.
HeroQuest Dead Reckoning & No Power in the 'verse. Darran Sims's Serenity HeroQuest saga continues!

For full descriptions read
Glorious Peoples Game Programme Sept 3rd 2007

Sceaptune Games will be in attendance at Furnace 2007, running their games of RuneQuest all weekend.

For more details go see their schedule on their website.
While you are there check out their adventures/sourcebooks for RuneQuest.

My Furnace photos are now up.

One or two are just a little bit blurry as I did catch some of the action at the tables.
Plus I didn't want to distract or alarm people with the flash going off.  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/darran/sets/72157602605800484/

Feel free to comment here or on Flickr.

Bugger, I'd forgotten this was on, although I'd only have been able to play on Sunday anyway. Still, you all seem to have had a great time, well done for organising it Darran.