Diamonds and Coal

By Emily Care Boss & Julia Ellingboe
Players: 24
Genre: Steampunk plague
Diamonds
and Coal is based on Chad Underkoffler’s table-top RPG, Dead Inside, with the
sensibilities of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd
and Fail Better Games’ addictive html game Echo Bazaar, and set in a steampunk
flavoured Northern England mining town.
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne,
1852, near the heart of England’s mining industry, a strange illness takes over
the locals. Those affected describe the feeling as having lost one’s soul,
feeling empty and hollow. Commonly called “The Sickness”, it’s taking over
Newcastle at an alarming rate. Some say the earth has given up too much coal,
and now asks for something in return – a taste of humanity or a little soul.
Others say the wealthy and elite have grown tired of money and now need the
same. Whatever or whoever causes the Sickness, those afflicted find they gain a
new awareness of the world around them. Some describe being able to see
diamonds amidst the depressing, dingy soot that covers daily life. They see
otherworldly beings, from shimmery creatures that beckon the Sick to a calmer,
safer world, beings who help and prey upon the afflicted, ghosts, and terrible
things with no name. Those afflicted can seek help from these supernatural
beings, sometimes fighting back against them. They must seek help from all whom
they meet: mortal, mage, ghost and spirit. And help each other along their own
road to redemption or perdition – everyone’s fate hangs in the balance. As more
people fall ill with the Sickness, a number of powerful people who understand
the source of this Sickness descend upon Newcastle to help and hurt any Geordie
who bears the mark of this peculiar illness.
Cost: free
Available from: http://static.squarespace.com/static/53d9a7cde4b0e6c5ed6457bd/t/53fd39a5e4b09024f2bde783/1409104293348/Diamonds+and+Coal.pdf
Category:Emily Care Boss
Category:Julia Ellingboe
Category:20-25 player
Category:Historical
Category:Plague
Category:Steampunk