Fatemaster Friday - Down! Down with the sickness!

[Kimberly]

Heya Breachers! 

This week, I’m taking a look at the newest Penny Dreadful to release, Uncontainable! But before we do, let’s look at what @stump_chunkman had to say about converting characters from one game to another!

Quote

Nah, go crazy with custom mechanics. The easiest way to crib this for flavor though might be to take a unique characters ability and 'Teddify" it though. I liked the effect "Cut By Hinamatsu" so I made it a ranged attack on a guy who would throw needles for tiny amounts of damage and then rip them all out with a magnet. Same mechanics as Hinamatsu's though. 

You can read the rest here! 

Now, while holed up in your house, practicing good social distancing, why not pass the time playing an online TTB game about… *checks notes* destroying a new outbreak. Oh… well this is a little timely, as I’m sure if you’re like me you’re doing your part to kick this pandemic right where it hurts! 

Uncontainable written by our very own @MattM, is an adventure where the Fated are called in to help investigate and stop the spread of an outbreak called the “Sloughing Sickness.” This has sprung up in the Quarantine Zone after the previous pandemic has settled down some months before. The Guild is reluctant to  provide their aid, so the Fated are beseeched by Angeline Wrent, a nurse working with the Disease Containment Unit (DCU). The DCU is working night and day to contain the threat, and the Fated prove instrumental in this endeavor.

Matthew brings some great direction in this Penny Dreadful. The marker system draws similarities in themes from board games that allow for “area control” to determine the status of the Quarantine Zone through Doctor and Contagion Markers. The Virulent Events are a great add-on to Ongoing Challenges that show the results of the sickness spreading and gear up for the final confrontation with the source of the outbreak. 

This new direction in storytelling is one of the things I love most about Uncontainable, as it allows players to explore the adventure on their terms, and makes the whole journey feel more organic than a typical linear progression. Do your players want to start at Cold Street to try and gain Asura Roten’s aid? Or maybe one of the Fated have a hidden Resser lair in Strangerskeep that they want to raid for supplies to help the DCU. Both of these options, and more, are available to players through the course of this Penny Dreadful. 

Overall, I think Uncontainable is an amazing adventure that shows off TTB’s unique storytelling qualities. Adding neat little systems to enhance play and existing mechanics gives the game a face-lift of sorts, and I’m totally on board with Matthew’s style! Uncontainable is available now on DrivethuRPG here. 

I want to hear from you about what “minigames” or enhancements you have made in your homebrew games to shake up TTB for your players. What worked and what didn’t? Would you like to see more of these sorts of mechanics included in future titles?.