Homebrew
en
English
'80s style Occult-Horror-Coming of Age
Homebrew
Roleplay focused
Hello Everyone,
I am looking for 2 players to join a new long-form campaign: Venice, 1983 — occult, terror, and coming-of-age.
A bit about the campaign
Your characters are 16 years old living in Venice. It is the 1980s: Walkmans, cigarettes smoked behind the school, parents who don't listen, a city that is beautiful and damp and too old to be entirely safe.
Something is wrong in Venice, and the adults around you can't see it.
Expect a slow-burn, atmospheric horror campaign: heavy on investigation, relationships, and mood. Low on combat (!) when violence happens, it matters and it hurts. Think Stranger Things mixed with Breakfast Club and Call of Cthulhu.
Why 16 years old
Sixteen is a threshold. Not a child, not an adult. Old enough to act, too young to be listened to. Everything is louder at sixteen: the first loves, the first betrayals, the first time you realise the people raising you are making it up as they go. Something is being lost, and you can feel it going.
That's the whole point. At sixteen your characters will be allowed to be wrong, to make bad calls, to trust the wrong person, to miss what's obvious. That's the material we build from. Their friends will be the centre of the universe; the party isn't a team, but a found family under pressure. And there will be moments when they genuinely feel they can change the world, because at sixteen you do, and sometimes you're even right.
Think Stand By Me, It, The Virgin Suicides: kids who walk into something too big for them, who love each other fiercely, and who come out the other side carrying something they can't put down.
To play this well you need to be okay being vulnerable, dropping the adult armour, letting your character be clumsy, scared, sincere, melodramatic. If that sounds uncomfortable, this isn't the table for you. If it sounds like the kind of story you've been wanting to tell, we should probably talk.
A bit about the format
- When: Tuesday evenings, 20:00 OR 21:00 CEST, ~3 hours per session
- Where: Discord, with video (fully online)
- Duration: long-form, expect 50 sessions
- Party: me + 3 players
- Ages: 18+ (characters are teens, themes are adult)
A bit about the rules
Custom homebrew ruleset. Minimal, easy to learn, built around roleplay rather than character sheets. You don't need to know it! I handle mechanics, you handle your character. Deal.
This is NOT 5e, I see rules to help with some conflict resolution, I am here for the roleplay and for character growth!
A bit about me
My name is Carlo. I've been running tabletop games for more than 30 years (sic). I'm a plotter. I like campaigns that are real stories, where each session has a place in a bigger arc but I don't railroad. The players decide what the characters do; I make sure the world reacts.
I'm also high-functioning autistic. In practice that means I care intensely about the world and its people, I'm direct when something at the table isn't working, and I'd rather you be direct with me too. Say what you mean, I'll do the same. It's part of why I run the kind of games I run.
A bit about you
I'm looking for players who:
- love story and character-driven roleplay
- are comfortable sitting with horror, ambiguity, and slow burns
- are okay playing teenagers: awkwardness, bad decisions, first loves, fear of adults
- are not here for power-gaming or rule-lawyering
The table is LGBT+ safe and welcoming regardless of gender, orientation, background, or experience level. New players are fine. What matters is that you want to tell a story with us.
How to join
Before anyone commits, I'll run a one-shot session in the setting so we can all see if we click. No pressure either way.
If you rached this part, then I will ask you to hop on the form linked below and see if we are compatible!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhvh6F5MRVYpG6G5-vto0QsLny2of_kVtFDiAMCTDcgY2awA/viewform