Merely Roleplayers

We create some more lore about ghouls, especially the specific one Cameron is bent on destroying.

Programme notes

This production contains blood, gore, and references to childhood trauma.

Our promo this episode is for The Secret of St Kilda, an audio drama by Haggis and Dragons Productions. Follow Lockie, a charismatic con man who escapes to St Kilda with the promise that this time he’ll change his ways. Unfortunately the island and its unusual inhabitants have other ideas. He seeks redemption and they seek a saviour, but you know what they say - no change without sacrifice.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Cameron Jarvis: An intense young man, obsessed with monster hunting since his parents and sister were killed by ghouls while camping outside Sherrydown.

Melody: The owner of Melodies, the cosy cafe and vinyl shop on Market Street. Melody is an ageless patchwork person animated by music, who fled her creator ages ago and has owned a music shop on this spot ever since.

Brier: A mischievous shapeshifting púca, the fae guardian of Sherrydown’s Rosebrier Forest.

Renko: A DoOm agent assigned to Sherrydown, furloughed since the office closed.

Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.

Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.

Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Christopher Starkey as Cameron Jarvis, the Wronged

Helen Stratton as Melody, the Constructed

Strat as Brier, the Monstrous

Vikki as Renko, the Flake

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Helen Stratton

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Tumblr @merelyroleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Quarry, Act Two of Four: In which the hounds of the Hunt are revealed; the Hunt keeps recruiting; and Brier makes a mess of Melodies.

Programme notes

This production contains blood, gore, and references to childhood trauma.

Are you involved in interactive performance in any way? Could you put a bit of cash to good use? Come to the first Interactive Soup at Theatre Deli Leadenhall, London on Tuesday 4 October. Tickets are £5 and include homemade soup and a vote. Five people pitch ideas, and the pitch with the most votes gets the night’s ticket money. Get on the mailing list to find out when pitch submissions open and when tickets go on sale.

Our promo this episode is for Play On Podcasts from Next Chapter Podcasts: epic audio adventures that reimagine Shakespeare’s timeless tales, featuring original music composition and the voices of award-winning actors. Each episode explores plays from Macbeth to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, created specifically for the podcast form by some of America’s most exciting playwrights, directors and composers, and performed by stage and screen’s best.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Cameron Jarvis: An intense young man, obsessed with monster hunting since his parents and sister were killed by ghouls while camping outside Sherrydown.

Melody: The owner of Melodies, the cosy cafe and vinyl shop on Market Street. Melody is an ageless patchwork person animated by music, who fled her creator ages ago and has owned a music shop on this spot ever since.

Brier: A mischievous shapeshifting púca, the fae guardian of Sherrydown’s Rosebrier Forest.

Renko: A DoOm agent assigned to Sherrydown, furloughed since the office closed.

Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.

Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.

Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Christopher Starkey as Cameron Jarvis, the Wronged

Helen Stratton as Melody, the Constructed

Strat as Brier, the Monstrous

Vikki as Renko, the Flake

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Helen Stratton

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Tumblr @merelyroleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

We establish some connections between the characters, and learn more about Melody’s tattoos.

Programme notes

This production contains blood, gore, and references to childhood trauma.

Our promo this episode is for Modified Roll, a Dungeons & Dragons actual play. Season 2 started recently with a new Dungeon Master and new players - it’s a great place to jump aboard!

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Cameron Jarvis: An intense young man, obsessed with monster hunting since his parents and sister were killed by ghouls while camping outside Sherrydown.

Melody: The owner of Melodies, the cosy cafe and vinyl shop on Market Street. Melody is an ageless patchwork person animated by music, who fled her creator ages ago and has owned a music shop on this spot ever since.

Brier: A mischievous shapeshifting púca, the fae guardian of Sherrydown’s Rosebrier Forest.

Renko: A DoOm agent assigned to Sherrydown, furloughed since the office closed.

Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.

Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.

Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Christopher Starkey as Cameron Jarvis, the Wronged

Helen Stratton as Melody, the Constructed

Strat as Brier, the Monstrous

Vikki as Renko, the Flake

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Helen Stratton

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Tumblr @merelyroleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Quarry, Act One of Four: In which a determined hunter sharpens his blade; a reluctant hunter comes to town; and the hunt marks its quarry.

Programme notes

This production contains blood, gore, and references to childhood trauma.

While we were off the air here on the podcast feed, we put on a whole production on Youtube! The Feed is a slow-burn comic horror mystery set in a Big Brother house where something is very wrong, told entirely through diary room videos. Add the playlist

If you enjoy Vigil, you should check out the Sherrydown Enquirer, a Monster of the Week mystery scenario and Sherrydown lore zine. Each issue contains a mystery for use with the roleplaying game Monster of the Week by Michael Sands, for the roleplayers among you; and some juicy history and information about the Sherrydown setting, for fans of Vigil. Issue 1: Playtime, issue 2: Cold Snap, and issue 3: Tourist Trap are all available, and issue 4: Bad Dog is coming soon. Buy every issue on itch.io

Ryne is a new roleplaying game about life in the footsteps of gods, designed by Furtive Shambles, as played on These Flimsy Rituals. You have just a couple of days left to back Ryne on Indiegogo!

Our promo this episode is for Play On Podcasts from Next Chapter Podcasts: epic audio adventures that reimagine Shakespeare’s timeless tales, featuring original music composition and the voices of award-winning actors. Each episode explores plays from Macbeth to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, created specifically for the podcast form by some of America’s most exciting playwrights, directors and composers, and performed by stage and screen’s best.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Cameron Jarvis: An intense young man, obsessed with monster hunting since his parents and sister were killed by ghouls while camping outside Sherrydown.

Melody: The owner of Melodies, the cosy cafe and vinyl shop on Market Street. Melody is an ageless patchwork person animated by music, who fled her creator ages ago and has owned a music shop on this spot ever since.

Brier: A mischievous shapeshifting púca, the fae guardian of Sherrydown’s Rosebrier Forest.

Renko: A DoOm agent assigned to Sherrydown, furloughed since the office closed.

Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.

Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.

Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Christopher Starkey as Cameron Jarvis, the Wronged

Helen Stratton as Melody, the Constructed

Strat as Brier, the Monstrous

Vikki as Renko, the Flake

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Helen Stratton

SFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: Mirage by Kevin MacLeod; and may include others made available to use without attribution.

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Tumblr @merelyroleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Announcing The Feed, a new Studio production - and Merely Roleplayers’ first video series!

In The Feed, seven contestants enter the house for a new series of the hit reality TV programme Big Brother. But they’ll soon discover that the reality is much, much stranger than they signed up for…

Programme notes

Watch The Feed on the Merely Roleplayers Youtube channel

Credits

THE FEED is a Studio production by Merely Roleplayers, starring:

Matt Boothman as Malcolm

Ellen Gould as Jake

Josh Yard as Henry

To create THE FEED, we’re playing Unreal, an asynchronous video journaling game by Josh Fox of Black Armada Games.

To get Unreal, support Black Armada on Patreon - or find more Black Armada games on Itch.

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Un-broadcast interview footage from the doomed documentary ‘The Making of The Andromeda Ward’ sheds light on the programme’s cancellation.

Programme notes

This production contains comic body horror, including mistreatment of human remains.

Credits

STARRING:

- Helen Stratton as Hetty Braithwaite, playing Jemima Jones

- Chris MacLennan as Judd Talisker, playing Rhys Haplock, radiologist

- Ellen Gould as Avril Sterling-Bow, playing Nancy Kent

- Strat as Riff Redgrave, playing Bret Buckingham

- Marta da Silva as Arizona Muse, aka Dante, playing S. D. Nymm

- Matt Boothman as Ron Barnes and Julian Smurmbley

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: The Andromeda Ward, by Chloe Mashiter and illustrated by Gerald MacDermott, supplemented by the Script Change consent and safety toolbox by Beau Jágr Sheldon

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Marta da Silva and Matt Boothman

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

The Lost Andromeda Ward Christmas Special, Act 2 of 2: What will it cost our heroes to outwit the hyperintelligent slime? And will Jésus have a merry birthday?

Programme notes

This production contains comic body horror, including mistreatment of human remains.

Our promo this episode is for The Secret of St Kilda, an audio drama by Haggis and Dragons Productions. Follow Lockie, a charismatic con man who escapes to St Kilda with the promise that this time he’ll change his ways. Unfortunately the island and its unusual inhabitants have other ideas. He seeks redemption and they seek a saviour, but you know what they say - no change without sacrifice.

Credits

STARRING:

- Helen Stratton as Hetty Braithwaite, playing Jemima Jones

- Chris MacLennan as Judd Talisker, playing Rhys Haplock, radiologist

- Ellen Gould as Avril Sterling-Bow, playing Nancy Kent

- Strat as Riff Redgrave, playing Bret Buckingham

- Marta da Silva as Arizona Muse, aka Dante, playing S. D. Nymm

- Matt Boothman as Ron Barnes and Julian Smurmbley

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: The Andromeda Ward, by Chloe Mashiter and illustrated by Gerald MacDermott, supplemented by the Script Change consent and safety toolbox by Beau Jágr Sheldon

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Marta da Silva and Matt Boothman

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

The documentary ‘The Making of The Andromeda Ward’ was never broadcast, but some of the interview footage can still be found in dusty corners of the internet.

Programme notes

This production contains comic body horror, including mistreatment of human remains.

Credits

STARRING:

- Helen Stratton as Hetty Braithwaite, playing Jemima Jones

- Chris MacLennan as Judd Talisker, playing Rhys Haplock, radiologist

- Ellen Gould as Avril Sterling-Bow, playing Nancy Kent

- Strat as Riff Redgrave, playing Bret Buckingham

- Marta da Silva as Arizona Muse, aka Dante, playing S. D. Nymm

- Matt Boothman as Ron Barnes and Julian Smurmbley

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: The Andromeda Ward, by Chloe Mashiter and illustrated by Gerald MacDermott, supplemented by the Script Change consent and safety toolbox by Beau Jágr Sheldon

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Marta da Silva and Matt Boothman

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

The Lost Andromeda Ward Christmas Special, Act 1 of 2: A slippery adversary interrupts preparations for a significant birthday at Bristol General Hospital.

Programme notes

This production contains comic body horror, including mistreatment of human remains.

Credits

STARRING:

- Helen Stratton as Hetty Braithwaite, playing Jemima Jones

- Chris MacLennan as Judd Talisker, playing Rhys Haplock, radiologist

- Ellen Gould as Avril Sterling-Bow, playing Nancy Kent

- Strat as Riff Redgrave, playing Bret Buckingham

- Marta da Silva as Arizona Muse, aka Dante, playing S. D. Nymm

- Matt Boothman as Ron Barnes and Julian Smurmbley

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: The Andromeda Ward, by Chloe Mashiter and illustrated by Gerald MacDermott, supplemented by the Script Change consent and safety toolbox by Beau Jágr Sheldon

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Marta da Silva and Matt Boothman

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Only six episodes of The Andromeda Ward were ever broadcast. These newly resurfaced backstage recordings may reveal what went wrong with the infamous lost Christmas special.

Programme notes

This production contains comic body horror, including mistreatment of human remains.

Credits

STARRING:

- Helen Stratton as Hetty Braithwaite, playing Jemima Jones

- Chris MacLennan as Judd Talisker, playing Rhys Haplock, radiologist

- Ellen Gould as Avril Sterling-Bow, playing Nancy Kent

- Strat as Riff Redgrave, playing Bret Buckingham

- Marta da Silva as Arizona Muse, aka Dante, playing S. D. Nymm

- Matt Boothman as Ron Barnes and Julian Smurmbley

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: The Andromeda Ward, by Chloe Mashiter and illustrated by Gerald MacDermott, supplemented by the Script Change consent and safety toolbox by Beau Jágr Sheldon

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Marta da Silva and Matt Boothman

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com