2026 - August to November Rotation

Horror on the Orient Express - Part 2

System Call of Cthulhu

Game Master Andy D

Venue: Glanville Hall Wednesday night

Horror on the Orient Express (HotOE) is a large Call of Cthulhu campaign totalling 20 linked chapters. Where the players take the part of normal people who become embroiled events that may have dire consequences for the world. With a torch in one hand and a .38 pistol in the other can they face down terrors from the beyond. If you like films such as The Mummy / The Mummy Returns and Raiders of the Lost Arc you will probably enjoy this.

This is the second part of Horror on the Orient Express Call of Cthulhu Campaign and will probably cover chapters 6 – 10.

The investigators are currently on the platform at Paris Gare de Lyon awaiting the Orient Express to travel to Lausanne. They have through various adventures recovered the left arm of the Sedefkar Simulacrum and learned something of its history and the mysterious Comte Fenalik

Why is it HotOE part two?

HotOE has 10 core chapters, four historic and six optionals. As such I will be running this over three or possibly four rotations, depending on how quickly things progress. I will be running it every other rotation if the club and real life allows.

How will it work over so many rotations?

It will not be necessary for the same players to take part in all the rotations, although it would be nice if there were some continuity from rotation to rotation.  Each chapter covers an investigation at a location such as Paris or Venice.  At the end of the chapter the characters board the Orient Express and travel to the next location. At the end of each rotation the PCs will be at the station waiting to board the Orient Express. 

At the start of the next rotation any new PCs will join the group and board the train. Those that are not on that rotation will stay behind. They can rejoin the investigation in later rotations. They will merely have caught a later Orient Express and will be on board when the new or continuing investigators board for that rotation.

Don’t worry you are not committing to 12 months of the same game.

When is it set?

The campaign is largely set in 1923. But there may be opportunities to play in other times like Victorian England, Pre-revolutionary France, the Crusades and even as Roman legionaries. These historic chapters give the players the historic background to understand what is happening in 1923.

I have never played Call of Cthulhu before.

Not a problem, if you can roll some dice you can play this game. If you don’t know the rules don’t worry I don’t either that’s my job.

Is it all investigation or is there combat as well?

Each chapter has it’s own flavour. Some chapters are more investigative, others have more horror or surreal elements. There are also chapters that may involve running gun fights or political machinations, Europe in the early 1920s was still recovering from WW1 and not the nice stable conglomeration of countries it is today.

Can I get more information from you?

Yes, happy to chat at the club or you can DM me if you want more info.

The Mark of Hate 

System Savage Worlds 

Game Master James

Venue: Glanville Hall Wednesday night

Swashbuckling suspense and horror in a fantastical city!

Paranoia and prejudice grip the city of Godorno.  Once dubbed "The Jewel of the East", the city has fallen on hard times.  The Overlord looks for scapegoats and his secret police hunt for the "Marked" - people born with strange abilities.

YOU and your companion are Marked, trying to make your way in this tangled maze of streets and waterways.  You will be given the run of Godorno, able to explore her mysterious highs and foetid lows.  Join a revolution!  Sooth tensions!  Explore arcane mysteries!  Or just try to get rich.  Whatever you do, your actions will matter and the city will react.  I'll be using some narrative systems to simulate the level of fear and persecution as the story progresses.

But an alien evil is stirring under the canals and plazas of Godorno.  One that may consume you all...

The game is about people with fantastical powers choosing how to stand up to persecution in an early-modern fantasy city, with a sinister subplot.  The story is loosely based on Mark Smith's gamebook "The Coils of Hate" (1993), of which no knowledge is necessary.  We'll be using Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition).

Aerosian Nights 

System D&D 5.5e

Game Master Saif

Venue: Glanville Hall Wednesday night

A shadow cuts the midnight sea, a vessel born of flame.

The Black Tithe sails where others sink, and none return the same.

Its sails are torn, its hull is black, its timbers soaked and worn.

A haunted ship of crooked paths where nightmares have been born.

Within its decks, the lanterns fade, the halls bend out of place.

Yet laughter fills the twisted rooms where desperate souls embrace.

They drink, they gamble, trade their cards, and drown their fears in cheer.

While every smile hides a fear of what awaits below and near.

Come aboard the Black Tithe, if fortune calls you near.

Where bargains bind, and whispers promise riches wrapped in fear.

For every soul the vessel claims, another debt is due.

And those who step upon its decks may never sail anew.

The Wild Beyond The Witchlight 

System D&D 5e

Game Master Shaun

Venue: Glanville Hall Wednesday night

The traveling extravaganza known as the Witchlight Carnival visits your world once every eight years. You have a dim memory of sneaking into the carnival as a child without paying for a ticket. That memory has grown foggy over time, though it still conjures a weird admixture of emotions—wonder and awe mixed with loss and regret. During this childhood visit, your character lost something. You tried to find it, but the carnival owners—a pair of elves named Mister Witch and Mister Light—were decidedly unhelpful.

“Silly little screeching cricket,” said Witch. “You forgot to buy a ticket.”

“The carnival goes round and round,” said Light. “The multiverse is our playground. Nothing’s free and nothing’s lost. Every visit has its cost.”

As time passed, your heart became less heavy, and you gave less and less thought to those childhood events. Now, for reasons you can’t explain, the longing to retrieve that which you have lost has resurfaced, as though an old spell has faded away, allowing you to feel the loss as sharply as if it happened yesterday.

The Witchlight Carnival has returned, and you find yourself standing near a ticket booth by the entrance at twilight, just as the carnival is about to open. There you meet others who look as troubled as you. Without knowing how or why, you sense that each of them has lost something as well. Perhaps fate has brought you together.

Triggers : theft, murder, death, body and mind manipulation, torture, enslavement, kidnap, body horror.

We will have a session zero for the first session where we will be making 3rd level characters with some tie to the story.

One rule I will be imposing is no humans, dwarves or elf characters while opening up all the other race options available.

Welcome to Beshedee!

System D&D 5e

Game Master Kat

Venue: Glanville Hall Wednesday night

Welcome to Beshedee.

A land of ancient forests, misty marshes, crooked villages, and enough superstitions to fill a Bag of Holding. Here, every river has a spirit, every crossroads has a story, and every old woman knows at least three ways to ward off evil. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about any of that.

Because you're professionals now.

After years of bruises, broken weapons, questionable lectures, and surviving the prestigious Monster Hunters Academy, you've officially graduated. Against all odds and, in some cases, against all expectations, you've earned your hunter's crest.

The timing couldn't be better for you lot! The High Lord has declared that the roads of Beshedee have grown increasingly dangerous. Strange creatures stalk the forests. Travelers disappear. Villages whisper of curses older than memory. And every successful contract earns a generous purse of coin, which, if we're being honest, probably caught your attention just as much as the "protecting the innocents" part.

Surely it'll be a simple job.

After all...

What's the worst that could be hiding in the woods?

We will organise a session zero to create characters and talk about everyone's hopes and expectations for the game. We are looking into level 3 and I am open to all official races and classes.