Merely Roleplayers

Originally published by International Podcast Month and shared with permission. Every September, International Podcast Month releases an all-new podcast episode every day. Find all the September 2021 episodes at internationalpodcastmonth.com.

Dust Wardens is a Powered by the Apocalypse system which uses tarot cards instead of dice to determine outcomes. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where covens roam the land, bound to one another by a magic called limerence. In this story, three intrepid chroniclers strive to document magical changes to the land, but arrive at their next destination with enough time to warn the people of what is to come. Now they must use their knowledge to help a thriving community avoid a terrible fate.

Content Warning

Possible Claustrophobia (underground spaces)

Credits

GM and editor - Ursula (Queer Dungeoneers)

Archie - Matt (Merely Roleplayers)

Kieran – Kelly (Tabletop Titties, Drinking and Screaming)

Rowan – Justen (The Babylon Podject, The Compleat Discography) 

Music: 'Borough,' 'Palladian,' 'Roadside Bunkhouse,' 'Illa Villardo,' 'Cicle DR Valga,' and 'Glass Beads' by Blue Dot Sessions

Game: Dust Wardens is by Nora Blake

IPM

Find transcripts on our website: internationalpodcastmonth.com/transcripts

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Via Ko-Fi

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The IPM theme was composed by Benny James. The IPM logo and art assets were created by Mathias Grelli.

The IPM Organizational Team include Cole Burkhardt, Tess Cocchio, and Therin Stapp.

No one knows what happened to the Blackout Four - only that none of them survived that final dark night. Merely Roleplayers hope to reconstruct the events of that night, live on stage.

Part seance, part crime scene reconstruction, part roleplaying game, Lights Out is a fight against fate to seize a glimmer of hope - before the dark draws in.

Programme notes

This production contains darkness and tragic death.

This premiere performance of Lights Out took place at the Pleasance Theatre, London, for the London Horror Festival 2021. The recording is by Andrew Crane.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Helen Stratton as Agnes Jones

Alexander Pankhurst as Freddy Harrison-Wood

Natalie Winter as Kate Walker

Richard Stratton as Harry Bleasdale

Matt Boothman as The Darkness

SOUND DESIGN BY: Andrew Crane

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

For full credits and more information about Lights Out, visit foggyoutline.com/lightsout

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

We look back at Vigil: Bad Dog. What did we achieve? What could have been different? And what does it all mean for the future of Sherrydown?

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Our promo this episode is for Monster Hour, a grimcamp Monster of the Week actual play set in the town of Firmament, Colorado.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Bad Dog, Act Five of Five: In which a community joins hands against unfathomable powers; and two cunning women receive unwelcome offers.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Our next Studio production will be Andromeda Ward Xmas, a festive paranormal hospital melodrama in two acts. We’ll be playing The Andromeda Ward by Chloe Mashiter, illustrated by Gerald MacDermott.

Our promo this episode is for Monster Hour, a grimcamp Monster of the Week actual play set in the town of Firmament, Colorado. Catch up now while the final arc is ongoing!

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

SFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: Dragon and Toast, Mirage and Gathering Darkness by Kevin MacLeod; Velocity by Lilo Sound; pigeons taking off by Glaneur de sons; Ancient Basement and Forbidden Resurrection by Tim Kulig; 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 Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Not everyone in Sherrydown is an ageless, magical monster slayer. Let’s meet some of the town’s ordinary folks.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Our promo this episode is for Upriver, Downriver, a tarot-inspired pastoral fantasy roleplaying game about sailing a ship on a magical river. Created by Ella Watts and Max Briar in association with MacGuffin & Company, Upriver, Downriver is currently on Kickstarter.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Bad Dog, Act Four of Five: In which a problem is not so much solved as displaced; the village green is vandalised; and Percy leverages her reputation.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

A Spy in the Stalls calls Lights Out, our first stage show, “thrillingly unconventional” and “absolutely worth your time”.

Our promo this episode is for Upriver, Downriver, a tarot-inspired pastoral fantasy roleplaying game about sailing a ship on a magical river. Created by Ella Watts and Max Briar in association with MacGuffin & Company, Upriver, Downriver is currently on Kickstarter.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

SFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: Soaring, Dragon and Toast, Long Note Two and Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod; soaring clouds by kangaroovindaloo; 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 Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Maiden, mother, crone. Past, present, future. We establish some lore about Gwynned’s mistress, the triple goddess Morrigan.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Our promo this episode is for The Prestige, a film podcast hosted by a filmmaker and a film academic, diving deep into a single film each episode.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Bad Dog, Act Three of Five: In which the occupation of Sherrydown expands; archaeological fraud is mooted; and hounds and ravens make their voices heard.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Tickets are now on sale for Lights Out, the first Merely Roleplayers stage show, at 8:30pm on Saturday 24 October at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington, London, as part of the London Horror Festival. It’s the second half of a double bill with The Scare Slam at 6:30pm. Book Lights Out and the Scare Slam at the same time for a combo discount.

Book Lights Out

Book Scare Slam

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

SFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: Dragon and Toast by Kevin MacLeod; soaring clouds by kangaroovindaloo; pigeons taking off by Glaneur de sons; 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 Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

We come up with some background about magical organisations in Vigil’s England, some of which will be highly relevant to Bad Dog.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Tickets are now on sale for Lights Out, the first Merely Roleplayers stage show, at 8:30pm on Sunday 24 October at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington, London, as part of the London Horror Festival. It’s the second half of a double bill with The Scare Slam at 6:30pm. Book Lights Out and the Scare Slam at the same time for a combo discount.

Book Lights Out

Book Scare Slam

Our promo this episode is for Birdwatching by Miranda Barrett, another London Horror Festival 2021 production.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Twitter @MerelyRoleplay

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Bad Dog, Act Two of Five: In which a threat is named; a girl ignores a warning from her elders; and Gwynned (among others) is made to feel unwelcome.

Programme notes

This production contains drug use, gross tentacles, and fantasy violence with some injury detail.

Tickets are now on sale for Lights Out, the first Merely Roleplayers stage show, at 8:30pm on Sunday 24 October at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington, London, as part of the London Horror Festival. It’s the second half of a double bill with The Scare Slam at 6:30pm. Book Lights Out and the Scare Slam at the same time for a combo discount.

Book Lights Out

Book Scare Slam

Our promo this episode is for Birdwatching by Miranda Barrett, another London Horror Festival 2021 production.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Persephone ‘Percy’ Byron: A Victorian monster hunter and half-sister of Ada Lovelace. Percy tried to time travel from 1852 to 1666 to stop the summoning of an apocalyptic demon, but something went wrong, and she landed in present-day Sherrydown instead.

Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

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:

Ellie Pitkin as Persephone Byron, the Exile

Alexander Pankhurst as Graham, the Summoned

Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

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

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

SFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: Long Note Two by Kevin MacLeod; bing-bong by Timbre (Freesound.org); 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 Facebook at Merely Roleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com