Come and engage in the fun of generating the intricate web of character creation from the Smallville / Cortex+ Drama system.

Designed to emulate television dramas where a small ensemble cast and their interactions drive all the plot in each episode, the game's character creation system has been praised by many for being a delightful collaborative exercise in world-building, focused on melodrama, and creating memorable characters with tangible drives and desires. The nature of the show, the locations, the main cast, the supporting characters, and all their hopes, needs, petty squabbles and earth-shattering plans are all created together, guided by a step-by-step lifepath and all the players.

NOTE: This is just the character creation process, an enjoyable experience in itself, and may only contain some actual play of the system if there is time at the end of the session.

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About your GM:
Gareth is a GM with literally decades of experience running games completely from scratch, has trained improv performers, and loves everything in RPGs from intense drama to thrilling adventure to tactical combat to joyous silliness. But what he loves most is having a good time in the company of lovely people just like you.

Sometimes the world is in peril from the threat of an invading demon army. Sometimes the adventurers are needed to confront and overthrow an evil necromantic overlord. Sometimes the gods call out for champions to take their mantle and be their agents in the physical realm. And sometimes, well sometimes the tribe chief just needs a team of nearly-competent goblins to fetch you a nice hot burger (and fries!).

In Goblin Errands you play the underdogs, struggling to complete menial and mostly-simple tasks for your tribe. They don’t have a lot of strength, and they don’t have a lot of size, but they DO have gumption and a strange knack for failing upwards.

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Goblin Errands is a light hearted game where the players and GM will quickly create a world, make their characters and then hilariously struggle at completing a fairly mundane task. Perhaps they need to acquire a suit, deliver a carefully memorised poem, evict a family of racoons from the bathhouse, or simply make breakfast. Sounds easy right? It never is, not for goblins!

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About your GM:
I have been running Roleplaying games for over 30 years. I enjoy running games with a focus on character narrative and tend to run games on the fly. I also love alternative and independent games, many of which I have run at previous Go Play events.

Cairo 2099. The incessant Noise, that cacophony of streams, advertising, electromagnetic buzz fills the world. From it power and the beings that wield it have awoken. Mercenaries struggle to survive, crawling ahead to an uncertain future. Your future. Its a new era of a global mythical arms race, and you're a lost, Noised-up soul smack in the middle of it.

Your secretive employer sends you and your cyberpunk crew a new job to rescue a kidnapped girl and deliver her to a contact in the wealthy Oasis district. Time is of the essence. You may use any means necessary.

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About your GM:
GM of old. Not a stickler for the rules. Light, casual, fun-having. Helpful and story focused.

Greta Base, a small research outpost, has regularly sent samples and accompanying notes back for processing and integration. But not this month. Communications with the base have been lost and the commander of SS Metamorphosis has commissioned a crew of skilled and loyal and irreplaceable workers to investigate and restore communications.

Yes, truly irreplaceable. Not expendable at all.

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About your GM:
Hi I'm Bryn. I ran for Go Play last year and I am a experienced game master who's done conventions before and run weekly one-shots at the Carindale and Springlake Hotel D&D clubs.

After the collapse of the Great Kingdom of Humanity, survivors and refugees have fled into the shadowy Borderlands - a place haunted by all the faeries and demons and dark sorceries their ancestors banished. If humanity is to survive here, they will need Heroes able to adapt quickly to strange and mythic threats.

But enough gloom and doom, today is Market Day! And four friends’ happy reunion at the local tavern is interrupted by a call to action by a mysterious, mystical figure: a … sheep…?

Our four adventurers will need to enter the Faerie-haunted woods, hold off would-be sheep-nappers, invade a wizard’s tower and steal his powerful Wand of True Transformation, all in order to win the gratitude and rewards of a woolly sheep that swears black and blue it is an ancient and powerful wizard (just temporarily inconvenienced).

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A Wild Sheep’s Chase is a much-loved one-shot fantasy adventure, adapted for the game system Shadow of the Weird Wizard.

Shadow of the Weird Wizard is a Heroic Fantasy RPG by award-winning game designer and developer Robert J. Schwalb. Released in 2024, it offers a more “Family Friendly” vibe than his much-loved Shadow of the Demon Lord, without sacrificing its streamlined mechanics and depth of play.

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About your GM:
I'm a GM from waayyyyy back in the 80s, who prefers fantasy systems with clear rules but minimum "crunch", character- and narrative- driven sessions, long walks on the beach, and a side order of mimics with everything.

In 1943, a crack team of Vampire commandoes killed Hitler.

Now in 1950, it's Stalin's turn.

Load up the coffins, it’s time for the vampires of F.A.N.G. to ride again!

• Astrid: A former fighter pilot who can manipulate wild spirits and wields a machine gun.
• Chuck: A fan of westerns who uses acid spit and revolvers in combat.
• Cosgrave: A necromancer on the run from the East London undead mafia, skilled in dark magic.
• Iryna: Of noble vampiric lineage, she has access to wealth and occult knowledge.
• Nicole: A resistance fighter who favours explosives.
• Glint: A monstrous half-bat creature, possibly mute or maybe just shy.

Moscow will never know what hit it but be warned: Stalin’s had plenty of time to develop super weapons and occult strangeness. There could be anything down there but you can bet it’ll be nothing good.

Guns out, fangs out, let’s f***ing go!

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In Eat the Reich you play a team of vampire commandos are coffin-dropped into cold war Moscow and must cut a bloody swathe through Russian forces enroute to your ultimate goal: drinking all of Joseph Stalin’s blood.

Eat the Reich plays like a schlocky b-grade action horror film, complete with violence, tons of fake blood and a straightforward plot. Mow down Russian soldiers with your guns, flip their cars with your vampiric strength, quench your thirst with their blood, and blow up their bases with their own rockets.

Better Red Than Dead is a home-brew sequel to the original published Eat the Reich game. You don’t need to have played the original game to play this session.

The game is simple to learn and has a quick and punchy action system. Players do not need to know anything about specifics of the setting or the system, but may want to bring a large handful of your best D6's to roll.

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About your GM:
Hi, I’m Ben: long time Go-play player, GM and dogsbody. I’m here to bring you a session of sardonic, over-the-top vampire violence – think Red Alert meets Helsing (Abridged).

The alien and the daemon are two of humanity's greatest foes - even when they're not working together. A Killteam of Deathwatch Space Marines are deployed to the oceanic warfront of the planet Charybdis Prime with a mission to support the Imperial Guard in their war against the blood-hungry aliens inhabiting it - but a more otherworldly evil has designs in motion. The Killteam must storm through the enemies arrayed before them, even if it costs their lives to do it - if they fail, the billions of human souls in the Charybdis system are doomed.

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Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch is game of great deeds, treasured brotherhood, and a never-ending struggle against the darkness lurking in every corner of the galaxy. It uses a d100 system, and rewards bold action choices and heroic sacrifice.

A selection of pregenerated characters will be provided on the day. Knowledge of the setting is beneficial, but not essential. Knowledge of the system likewise, but we'll use a stripped-down version of the rules so we can get right into the action.

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About your GM:
I'm a 39-year-old Storyteller who has spent more than half his life running games of various kinds. I'm studying writing at UQ right now so I can get some of the stories I have to tell published, but I'm keen to run some kinetic action in the Warhammer 40,000 setting - a little bit of the old fraternal guns-n-glory fantasy. Fight the aliens. Die with honour. Live on in legend.

This job stinks like the Nile on a hot day but if you didn’t take it, someone else would.

It’s been a difficult few months and money is tight. Whatever led you to become a merc in the Megacity of Cairo – money, glory, magic artifacts – well, you’re still working on it. Desperate times, however, seem to call for equally desperate employers – those who are willing to pay an obscene amount of money for a job that must happen today, right now, no questions asked.

A young girl, Jala, been kidnapped (so far so good) been taken by an armed and dangerous individual (uh, less good), possibly a member of an extreme ideological gang (getting worse), or even a rival corp agent in disguise (oh for f***’s sake).

The kidnapper was last seen heading to El Souk, the Megacity’s gigantic street market and a known hotbed of destabilising anti-corporate activity. Your employer warns that locals there may be hostile to your presence, particularly if they know you’re on a mission.

Right, get the girl to the Oasis district by the end of the day. How hard can it be?

Ask me tomorrow.

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The Mist Engine is a system built upon the Powered by the Apocalypse framework but with significant additions and modifications. The core mechanic revolves around describing characters and actions using tags (descriptive phrases like “lightning reflexes” or “lucky son of a gun”), which then influence the outcome of a 2d6 roll.

It’s a narrative-focused system that allows for dynamic character development, cinematic action, and engaging storytelling in the magical cyberpunk setting of Cairo: Otherscape.

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About your GM:
I’m JC - I’m on a journey learning to GM as I work through playing all the RPGs I own.

In the misty town of Kingsport, teacher Cecil Blackburn uncovers an amulet created by a fallen Ancient One, Asterias. Now, citizens of the town have gone missing, and something unnatural haunts the seaside. It's up to the investigators to track down Cecil and the amulet, before the comets of Asterias can resurrect the world-eating god...

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Arkham Horror is a pulp horror RPG based on the works of HP Lovecraft and the Arkham Files line of board games. Using a dynamic dice pool system, players take on the role of heroic investigators seeking out mysteries of the mythos and defending the world against eldritch horrors.

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About your GM:
As a GM, I favour a mixture of gameplay and roleplaying at the table, encouraging my players to engage in both sides of the game. I love to play with themes of pulp adventure and mystery, telling stores of grand heroes pulling off thrilling stunts and facing off with sinister villains. I have a good deal of experience GMing a variety of games, and I welcome players who are eager to try something new and give it their all.

A secret scientific expedition has gone missing. The fighting fourth imprisoned for war crimes and now awaiting execution are given a glimmer of reprieve. Recovered the missing Dr Phospherou and his research from within the Mournland and rendezvous for extraction and a royal pardon.

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Game system: D&D 5e 2014 rules. Level 8 PCs required.

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About your GM:

Grimdark fantasy collaborative storytelling equal parts combat RP exploration. Old school influenced playing since 78

Boast about the perfection of your fencing style - who will understand its superiority if you don't tell them about it? Provoke a feud with another player by seducing their beloved sister! Fight drunken duels in the street outside dens of vice and iniquity - it's not like the laws apply to you!

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Described variously as 'Bridgerton, only really violent' and 'an extra-horny Cobra Kai only with swords', this is THE classic story game of playing the useless, frill-bedecked, lovelorn, fencing-obsessed minor nobility of a renaissance-era fantasy city. The low humour and high drama of Shakespeare, and the violence and irresponsibility of Deadpool await... the Dueling Fops of Vindamere.

Rating: MA15+ (Romance, depression)

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About your GM
Paul Douglas enjoys doing deep dives into setting, system and character in preparation for a game as much as he enjoys having to wildly improvise when the players invariably go off-piste and he has to frantically make things up based solely on the vibes. He is tremendously grateful for this opportunity to justify his huge and growing collection of games to his wife and children.

Five years ago the world ended. Almost every human on earth died. Five years later you have survived somehow. But what have you lost? And what is the one thing you still hold onto? The only way to find out is to go back, step by step, into the past.

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Five Years After is a revolutionary new tabletop storytelling experience that uses reverse chronological storytelling like in the film Memento. Your character is written on index cards and is whittled away piece by piece. You know what you became: find out why.

Five Years After will be the next release from Steve Dee and Tin Star Games (Relics, Partners, The Score), arriving for purchase in late 2025. Go Play attendees will be the first to preview this new game in action.

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About your GM:
Steve has been working in the RPG industry for 25 years and has won many awards for his work on games such as Vampire: The Requiem, Dr Who, Chew, Shadow of the Demon Lord and every edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. He is the president of Tin Star Games which publishes The Score, winner of Best Tabletop Game at the 2024 Freeplay Awards. His first book on game design was published in 2025 from CRC Press. In his designs he likes to push the envelope of what’s believed possible but also designs for everyone: he doesn’t believe you need experience to get good at playing RPGs.

1521 - Tenochtitlan, the greatest city in the One World, burns. After an extended siege, the Spanish Conquistadors have taken the city. The Aztec people are being enslaved or put to the sword by the vicious invaders.

You are pochteca, the elite ambassador-merchants of the Aztec Empire. You have survived plague and starvation only to be captured by a group of Spanish soldiers - and they want your gold.

The only advantage you have is that you previously hid your fortunes around the ruins of the city. Your old life is gone. If you are to survive at all you will need to evade these soldiers, retrieve your fortunes and somehow escape the sack of Tenochtitlan.

The Spaniards are hungry for gold - can you escape with your fortunes intact, or will you die a flowery death?

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Unknown Armies is an urban fantasy horror game about broken people conspiring to fix the world and desperate people in desperate situations. Pregenerated characters will be provided with their own goals and obsessions.

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About your GM:
Hi I’m Angus. I’ve been running RPGs for 17 years and counting. My favourite game is Apocalypse World, which I love so much that I got a tattoo to celebrate it. I love introducing new players to the hobby and old players to new games. I guarantee you'll have fun at my table, by any means necessary!

Protect the public peace as totally inappropriate cops in a world where representatives of all genres of books, TV, films and the effluvia of popular culture mix in a volatile stew. The rules-light game system makes it easy to improvise characters, situations and results; it keeps the fun fast and flowing!

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Game System: Genre Cops!

Designed right here at Go Play Brisbane, GENRE COPS! is an opportunity to yell cliches and watch mismatched tropes explode against other while struggling to work out how to do any sort of police work.

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About your GM:
Gareth is a GM with literally decades of experience running games completely from scratch, has trained improv performers, and loves everything in RPGs from intense drama to thrilling adventure to tactical combat to joyous silliness. But what he loves most is having a good time in the company of lovely people just like you.

In an undisclosed part of the midwest, a clandestine missile silo classified to much of the military, makes an emergency call on a tapped comms line. This is the first FIST has heard of this facility and it’s likely CYCLOPS has as well. Fortunately, the heli will be at your position in 30 because you and your team happen to be closest to the site. You don’t know what’s in it. You don’t know what happened. Because it’s your job to find out.

You'll be playing paranormal mercenaries doing the tough jobs no one else can, as part of the legendary rogue mercenary unit called FIST. The paranormal secrets of the Cold War are your bread and butter, and you fight for your life to make ends meet alongside others like you: stopping disastrous science experiments, infiltrating occult compounds, neutralizing eldritch horrors—all in a day's work. FIST is inspired by Metal Gear Solid, The A-Team, and Doom Patrol.

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About your GM:

Howdy adventurers,

I’m Dean and I’ve been playing roles before I knew they made rules for it for the last decade. I’ve crossed many-a system and tried boundless forms of the hobby but have settled into a very smooth, fluid way of telling our little stories in a cool, cinematic way. If you like building a character and letting them go to surprise you with their decisions, you’ll feel right at home. I love to bring in all that the players are excited about and want to nurture, and want to help those who want to perform at the table but are hesitant or shy about their experience. I love to create, explore, react and reflect. If you do too, jump in!

Lord Walnut is dead.. and someone in his household is the murderer. His lawyer has called in Lady Susan P.I to investigate. So… who did it? In this scenario, each player takes on the role of an important member of the household at the time of Lord Walnut’s death. So naturally, every player is a suspect. Throwing accusations and unveiling secrets is the name of the game. Together with the GM the group will build the case and create the final results as part of the story.

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Welcome to Good Society, the Jane Austen roleplaying game. Play out your very own regency drama of balls, estates, passions and desires. Good Society is a highly collaborative game where players manage their reputation, engagements, and social status, and ambitions. Manage your secret desires and relationships to find out what happens!

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About your GM:
GM Ashleigh has spent the last decade in the RPG world. She loves to share new and different systems to those willing to try different ones. Ashleigh loves telling stories and providing opportunities for other to tell stories. She is an RP heavy DM and loves to prompt chaos when and where possible.

Five years have passed since invaders appeared from the sky and civilisation was destroyed. Many people died; you among them. In this world where the remnants of humanity live desperate lives under constant threat, you have been resurrected and given a new body – for just one day.

What you can achieve is limited. Almost certainly, you can't change the world. It's already ended. But, maybe, you can do something for someone who is still alive. Maybe, one more time, you could see that person or place again. Perhaps, an unfulfilled wish...

In this ruined world, you are granted just 24 hours to resolve your regrets, and create for yourself a good ending.

(^ my rough translation of the official blurb)

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Lost Record is a Japanese game set in the ruins of our world with a simple, novel system. The player characters have been returned from the dead using an incomplete backup by the former Earth defence system AI Erebos – as an apology for failing to save them during the invasion. This game will be set in the ruins of Brisbane – warped by alien invaders and the battle - where survivors live in small groups and people trapped in machine bodies go mad.

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About your GM:
I generally run narrative games with a focus on characters making tough choices. Currently dabbling in Japanese games.

In this time bending adventure you will be waking as the little guys in a castle - a Page, a Squire, an Apprentice, a Stablehand, and so on - and be accidentally shocked back through time when a demonic invasion strikes at midnight! And on the eve of a royal wedding between two rival kingdoms, no less.

When - not if! - you all die each time, your day resets and you will have another chance to try to stop the coming apocalypse.

Learning where and when the King, Royal Mage, Princess bride, elven groom, and all other npcs will be firing the day and before a dark conspiratorial ritual completes will be the key to rescuing the wedding, stopping the end of the world, and saving your own skins.

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Characters will be pregenerated so just bring your dice and your wits and we'll have those demons stopped in no time.

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About your GM:
I love focusing on narrative and providing interesting challenges that encourage use of all skills and abilities of characters of my players in D&D.

Interrupting a lonely stretch of highway, nestled between towering pines, lies the Shelterwood Inn. To the weary traveler, its blazing neon sign promises a restful stay … but a deep darkness hangs beneath the glow. On this rainy night the fate of two parties will intertwine, and both will face that darkness: one to survive, the other to control.

One Night at the Shelterwood Inn is an official collaborative adventure from the creative teams behind Liminal Horror and Triangle Agency, playable in both game systems. Part 1 showcases Liminal Horror, take the role of unfortunate souls stranded in a lonely hotel with something sinister hiding beneath the surface.

You can play either or both sessions – the choice is yours.

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LIMINAL HORROR is a rules-lite, adaptable Survival-Horror roleplaying game about normal characters and their struggles against the things that go bump in the night. The game focuses on surviving the weird and Investigating horrors while blending simple, old-school inspired rules with modern, narrative first principles. Survival is not guaranteed and those that do make it through the night are often forever changed.

Liminal Horror is not a game about solving mysteries, but rather surviving them.

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About your GM:
Hi, I’m Martin. I have been running and playing TTRPGs for the better part of 15 years.

I was involved for a number of years running weekly one shots at local Brisbane libraries. As an amateur game designer, I love to play as many different systems with as many different people as possible.

I prefer to play games that are ‘play to lose’ that provide an interesting shared experience.

Interrupting a lonely stretch of highway, nestled between towering pines, lies the Shelterwood Inn. To the weary traveler, its blazing neon sign promises a restful stay … but a deep darkness hangs beneath the glow. On this rainy night the fate of two parties will intertwine, and both will face that darkness: one to survive, the other to control.

One Night at the Shelterwood Inn is an official collaborative adventure from the creative teams behind Liminal Horror and Triangle Agency, playable in both game systems. With Triangle Agency, take the role of Field Agents straddling the line between containing a paranormal phenomenon and maintaining a cover.

You can play either or both sessions – the choice is yours.

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TRIANGLE AGENCY is a game about wielding enormous power and navigating bureaucratic red tape, all while tending to the obligations present in your personal life. You play as Resonants: human beings who have bonded with Anomalies and gained supernatural powers. The Agency also assigns you with a Competency, which defines the rules by which you are expected to conduct yourself. Of course, every character also has a Reality, which represents the ever-present effects of their personal responsibilities.

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About your GM:
Hi, I’m Martin. I have been running and playing TTRPGs for the better part of 15 years.

I was involved for a number of years running weekly one shots at local Brisbane libraries. As an amateur game designer, I love to play as many different systems with as many different people as possible.

I prefer to play games that are ‘play to lose’ that provide an interesting shared experience.

I was involved for a number of years running weekly one shots at local Brisbane libraries. As an amateur game designer, I love to play as many different systems with as many different people as possible.

I prefer to play games that are ‘play to lose’ that provide an interesting shared experience.

THE SCENARIO: The women of Rome become entangled in each others lives, as they vie between themselves and their classes, they also face a larger existential threat. NOTE - this game is improvised, there is no 'story' set ahead of the game, the rules fully support the generation of narrative among the players.

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THE GAME: Oppian Wives is named after the Oppian Laws which were designed to curtail the control of finances and conspicuous consumption by women, which traditionalist Roman senators believed was causing societal disharmony.

Oppian Wives is a game about the challenges facing women in the Roman Republic, drawing on the drama of their vulnerability, opportunity, threats, communities, and subtle power.

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THE RULES: The game is a purely political / social roleplaying game – there is no combat. The game uses elements of and influences / principles from Fate, Drama System (Hillfolk and Malandros), and PbtA (among several others).

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About your GM:
Mark loves narrative games, with low 'crunch' and evocative rules that get right to the heart of characters, relationships, and desires.

He helps run 'Brisbane Social RPG' which coordinates frequent, safe, public games that anyone is welcome at, as well as organising multiple small RPG events throughout the year across Brisbane.

His GMing style is almost entirely improvisational, and with his great experience at this you will be surprised the whole thing wasn't scripted beforehand...

Welcome to the One Land, where large beasts roam and cause havoc, and you – the wilders – are tasked with hunting, cooking and protecting the people, the land and the other beasts.

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Wilderfeast is an RPG about becoming part of the natural world by making it part of you! Players assume the role of “wilders”: monster hunters / chefs who wield gargantuan kitchen implements and gain powerful mutations from each monster they eat. Using those powers, they seek harmony between humanity and the wild. All creatures, be they humans or monsters, obey the One Law of the One Land… you are what you eat!

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About your GM:
I’m JC – I’m on a journey learning to GM as I work through playing all the RPGs I own.

Since time immemorial you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins. Of mysterious origins and the source of many a superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your hamlet.

But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds. With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul?

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About your GM:
I like to encourage player input and do my best to ensure everyone has equal say and attention. I like games with straightforward rules and plenty of consequences/RP elements for a character. I'm drawn to DCC among others as while it pares down character class, it gives you many, many tools to ensure that no wizard is ever exactly the same, and so on. I am a fan of non-combat encounters too, as I like seeing my players get the chance to use their backstories and equipment to solve problems.

I enjoy the communal story that unfolds and relish in players trying systems outside of D&D. DCC is a bit more dangerous than some other RPGs which I like as it encourages the 80's-90's tv serial tactics of sneaking, subterfuge, and of course, running away to fight another day.

Paris, 1900. The City of Light glitters in anticipation of the Exposition Universelle. Electric lamps shimmer on wet cobblestones, champagne flows in Montmartre salons, and the bourgeois elite indulge in decadence behind gold-gilded doors. But beneath the perfume and powder, something ancient stirs.

High society men—bankers, diplomats, industrial titans—are vanishing or found hollowed, as if consumed from within. The only thread linking them: whispered attendance at Le Lotus Pourpre, a clandestine, Oriental-themed gentleman’s club tucked in the shadowed arcades near Rue Saint-Denis. There, incense hangs thick, masks conceal identities, and rumors tell of rituals cloaked in silk and shadow.

As the world’s eyes turn toward Paris for the grand Expo, you and your fellow members of the Society are drawn into a chilling investigation. What ancient hunger prowls behind the lacquered screens of the Lotus? What price was paid to summon such a thing—and by whom?

Unveil the truth before the devourer slips back into myth... or the city itself becomes its final feast.

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A Vaesen mystery set in a gilded age where nothing is as civilized as it seems.

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About your GM:
Hi, I'm Miguel. I have been playing since the early 90's, so about 30 years or so, and migrated to Australia 18 years ago (so I still have an accent).

Like many others, I started with the D&D Red Box, but have since moved to more narrative and free flowing systems like Powered by the Apocalypse or Free League, although every so often I still enjoy the crunch. When you make a roll, it's because there are some serious things on the line, so make them count.

Revenge. It consumes you now.

They came for your lord and there wasn’t anything you could do about it. But they made a fatal mistake in letting you live. For you are one of the Shinobi - master of the blade, deadly with shuriken, friend of the shadows.

You will see them pay. Whatever it takes.

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In Shinobi Revenge you play a member a clan of shinobi (ninjas) who are looking to avenge your murdered lord. Manipulate your agents, throw shuriken, and flip backwards into trees to achieve your goals.

Shinobi Revenge builds upon the Forged in the Dark ruleset which encourages character-driven, cinematic play that skips to the good bits.

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About your GM:
Hello, I'm Mark, the creator of Knight and the upcoming Shinobi Revenge. I'm a casual, narrative focused gm looking to create meaningful, emotive stories.

In Vaesen: Silver of the Sea, you and the other members of the Society are drawn to a remote Nordic fishing village, battered by storms and haunted by old songs whispered on salt winds. The locals speak of drownings that shouldn’t be, of silver scales left on thresholds, and eyes in the deep that promise riches – or ruin. Here, superstition tangles with truth, and something ancient and hungry waits beneath the waves. In this Nordic, horror, folk-tale you’ll sift through salt-crusted myths, face the lure of the sea’s silver bounty, and risk your sanity to uncover what truly calls the fishermen to their doom.

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About your GM:
Owen is an experienced Game Master with years of running TTRPGs and LARPs across a wide range of systems. He loves crafting immersive adventures that blend thrilling combat, intriguing mysteries, and rich, theatrical roleplay. His favorite worlds to explore lean into dark, horror-fantasy themes, full of haunting beauty, tragic twists, and unsettling secrets – always balanced by moments of absurd humor and delightfully strange characters to lighten the mood when things get heavy.

A big fan of game mechanics, Owen attempts to use rules thoughtfully to create real stakes and memorable challenges, encouraging players to push their limits and shape the story together. Above all, he’s dedicated to fostering a safe, welcoming table for everyone, using safety tools to ensure players can dive deep into the drama—and the laughs—while feeling comfortable and safe.

The remote Alaskan town of Whittier was once a bustling military port and staging area, filled with government employees. Barely sixty years ago the military withdrew and the town became a port for commerce and tourism, filling the town with businesses and families.

Lately, the steady rhythm of life here has been rattled. Boats have been rammed by orcas. Mass wildlife deaths in the water and on the land have left rotting remains. The people of Whittier are doing their best, but tourists don't go where it stinks.

And just last month, the military has begun to repopulate the town. Army engineers are everywhere, but no one know what they're building.

And hidden among the population are the Kresnik, spirit powered guardians of the area. You are one of the Kresnik and along with the others you will uncover the mystery and restore the town to life again.

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This game uses rules based on Don't Rest Your Head and are available here.

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About your GM:
Hi, I’m Martin. I have been running and playing TTRPGs for the better part of 15 years.

I was involved for a number of years running weekly one shots at local Brisbane libraries. As an amateur game designer, I love to play as many different systems with as many different people as possible.

I prefer to play games that are ‘play to lose’ that provide an interesting shared experience.

Let’s tell a story. Let’s tell it like a TV show. Like the best TV show that never was.

Let’s make up a premise on the spot, finding an interesting idea to explore together. It can be dark and serious, melodramatic and complex or sarcastic and funny - or anything you can imagine. The system gives us the freedom to create any setting we like really easily.

And then let’s fill it with compelling characters that have complex issues they are working through. Maybe they all have competing goals, opposing philosophies or wrestling with insecurity. They will all have a conflict; something which complicates their lives (and makes for great TV).

Once that’s in place, the double session means we can together we can play out several episodes of the greatest TV show that never was.

Do you want to tell a story with me?

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Primetime Adventures is the groundbreaking RPG system that gives all the structure and tools to emulate the best of TV story telling. The game was made to simulate shows like Firefly, Friends, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Gilmore Girls but also can be used to tell stories like Severance, Silo, Andor, Ted Lasso or House of the Dragon … basically anything you think would make a TV show that you’d want to watch. It’s a blast.

This is a double session game; 7 hours of game play, with 1 hour break for lunch in the middle.

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About your GM:
Hi, I’m John, one of the organisers of Go Play. I love running story-driven games where the player characters’ choices and interactions are the most important parts of the game. I get a kick out of finding ways to tie multiple plot points and character goals into a (mostly) cohesive narrative. And really, I just love RPGs and sharing them with other people – if you’re experienced or not, I just want to tell a cool story with you.

In the distant future, wars are fought with a new age of cavalry and soldier. You are pilots that use mechanised suits known as a Lancers to fight in wars across the galaxy.

Your mission today: a merchant vessel has gone missing and your team has been hired to recover it. Join your fellow pilots, searching for clues as to the vessels location across a vast planet and racing against pirates to retrieve its precious cargo.

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About your GM:
I've been running games since I started playing RPGs back in 2010. I love running more tactical systems like Pathfinder 2e and Lancer and injecting them with a light-hearted sense of fun and goofiness.

On paper, it’s the perfect job: A swanky party right in the luxurious and wealthy district of Brightstone, full of posh marks drunk on superiority and top-shelf liquor, and months of work to get you and your crew in the door. Clean in and clean out’s the name of the game so you best be on your toes. But nothing’s ever a stroll down the canal in ol’ Doskvol. It’s the swingin’ sixties and ‘tween the food shortages, the reality malarkey and the bluecoats taking their slice, one wrong move and you're brown bread, mate.

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About your GM:

Howdy adventurers,

I’m Dean and I’ve been playing roles before I knew they made rules for it for the last decade. I’ve crossed many-a system and tried boundless forms of the hobby but have settled into a very smooth, fluid way of telling our little stories in a cool, cinematic way. If you like building a character and letting them go to surprise you with their decisions, you’ll feel right at home. I love to bring in all that the players are excited about and want to nurture, and want to help those who want to perform at the table but are hesitant or shy about their experience. I love to create, explore, react and reflect. If you do too, jump in!

Someone at Go Play has been murdered - and it's up to your crack team of detectives to find out who, how, and why. In the style of great TV crime shows, we'll generate our cast, victim, and suspects. Then the game proper begins and we'll run through a series of scenes which document the procedural investigation of the mystery. Card draws and random words from the dictionary ensure twists no-one sees coming, and the rules ensure a satisfying solution. Get ready to crack the case!

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About your GM:
Peter has been roleplaying for almost 30 years and still enjoys its unique blend of drama and tactics. He prefers lighter systems, a cooperative style of play, and creating a space where everyone can contribute equally. He is the less glamorous half of Tin Star Games, publishers of Partners.

You have been summoned to the Witch Cat Inn south of Upsala. Private detective Olaus Klint has noticed strange things going on there and requests your help. Olaus sent you this invitation with a hand-written note at the bottom:

THE DANCE OF DREAMS
A shadow play of horror, murder, and revenge!

Let yourself be enraptured and terrified by shadow theater with clockwork as amazing as that of the master’s constructions on the continent. Watch as evil smiles, good people go to their doom, and spirits come to life! Follow Oscar Hjort’s encounter with the Black One, his struggle, and finally the betrayal which claimed his life. Hear the tunes of the enchanted flute that sends souls dancing to hell. The show will premiere shortly at the Witch Cat Inn. Not for the faint of heart!

“Meet me tonight at the Witch Cat Inn /Olaus.”

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About your GM:
Brian grew up during the Satanic Panic 1980s in the US but somehow managed to receive the Basic Dungeons and Dragons set from his parents as a 10 year old. He fell in love with D&D, playing this and moving on to other games during his childhood. He went into a gaming "deep freeze" after university and started playing again about 5 years ago when discovering 5th edition with his son. Now he mostly runs all sorts of D&D and D&D-like games, with a strong preference for the craziness of Dungeon Crawl Classics and the simplicity of Old School Essentials (B/X D&D). He loves to run "theatre of the mind" games with a heavy emphasis on player role playing and problem solving, giving them situations to create either sensational successes or fantastic failures. He definitely prefers "rulings" over "rules" when running games, allowing players to experiment and react to situations that make for better stories rather than continue to check conditions, modifiers, and extensive rule tomes on the fly. Brian currently serves as the Vice President and Youth Engagement Coordinator for the thriving Northside Adventure Gamers Association (NAGA).

It is the 1920s and you have just arrived in Far North Queensland with a member of a party of engineers to survey a marsh on an isolated sugar plantation north of Cairns. However all is not well in the cane fields. There are stories of a ghost haunting the banks of the local swamp and luring passersby to their doom. During the sultry tropical nights something deadly is crawling out of the water and prowling the grounds of the Nettlefield Manor plantation. Is everyone going troppo in the heat and humidity? Or is something more sinister going on? You need to find out so you can get on with your work, after all you don't believe in ghosts...

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This jazz-age (1920s) Call of Cthulhu scenario with a difference, written by Jane Routley. You will play an investigator trying to solve the mystery of The Haunted Swamp.

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About your GM:
I have been an RPG player on and off for decades and have come back to gaming after a long absence. I enjoy delving into the role playing and keeping momentum in a game and have been an active member of the Cthulhu Brisbane group, helping organise events and running oneshot games.

You have tracked a traitor from you last space heist to Planet Grok?! A fractured planet and interdimensional dumping ground surrounded by an all-encompassing space station controlled by a malicious AI.

You know he's here, the transdimensional locator you planted on him says so. Track him down and get back what's yours!

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Game System: Grok?!

GROK?! is an adventure role-playing game where you assume the role of an adventurer in a gonzo world of boundless plausibility and use your ingenuity and resourcefulness to overcome strange and perilous threats.

When doing things, characters roll a die with very simple results, i.e. a roll of one or two is a failure with additional consequences. A roll of three or four are a success result; a roll of six or higher is a result that is both successful and beneficial to the player character in an additional, unexpected way.

In other words, it uses the basic structure of improv - with "no, and...", "yes", and "yes and..." being your possible die result – the players and GM have a lot of leeway to interpret and roleplay the results.

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About your GM:
GM Keelan is a story-focused GM who likes to be a fan of the player characters and loves to see what curve balls they throw at the GM during the game. A lot can happen, and it’s always fun to play to find out!

The Inn at Five Points is a local landmark, known for decent food, good drink, a good night’s rest—and a special reputation for neutrality. Warring parties use the Inn to negotiate and make peace. And now the amenable neutrality of the Inn has attracted the attention of the Crawling Lord, the most and extreme defender of Law.

Can a rag-tag group of adventurers prevent the ascension of the vial Crawling Lord? Will they ever see the light of day again? And what exactly makes Arlo and Quendy’s rosemary bread so addictive? All this and more shall be answered at The Inn at Five Points.

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About your GM:
Brian grew up during the Satanic Panic 1980s in the US but somehow managed to receive the Basic Dungeons and Dragons set from his parents as a 10 year old. He fell in love with D&D, playing this and moving on to other games during his childhood. He went into a gaming "deep freeze" after university and started playing again about 5 years ago when discovering 5th edition with his son. Now he mostly runs all sorts of D&D and D&D-like games, with a strong preference for the craziness of Dungeon Crawl Classics and the simplicity of Old School Essentials (B/X D&D). He loves to run "theater of the mind" games with a heavy emphasis on player role playing and problem solving, giving them situations to create either sensational successes or fantastic failures. He definitely prefers "rulings" over "rules" when running games, allowing players to experiment and react to situations that make for better stories rather than continue to check conditions, modifiers, and extensive rule tomes on the fly. He currently lives in Narangba and serves as Vice President and Youth Engagement Coordinator of the thriving Northside Adventure Gamers Association (NAGA).

Dugsy's Holloway outfit is taking pressure from all corners, and we, us underlings are all feeling it. Where will this caper take us? Sorting some too big for their boots teens, dealing with the Albanian Mafia, who knows even hobnobbing it with the toffs in the posh end of town.

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The Kid from Kensington is an adventure for a crew of London gangsters using the Savage Worlds Tuff Guys setting. Think Guy Ritchie: Lock Stock, Snatch and The Gentleman movies.

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About your GM

I've been running and playing games since the early '80s. Started with D&D then moved on. I enjoy horror gaming and gritty realism. My favourite games are Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds and the Free League games.

The Royal Torchfire Theatre is the tarnished jewel of Sharn’s entertainment district. It has proudly showcased a wide variety of spectacular shows on its tiny stage for the last three centuries, ranging from arcane ballets where the dancers never touch the ground, to whimsical poppet shows, performed entirely by magical constructs. Unfortunately, no such show will occur today.

The doors are shut, the lights are off, and theatre is haunted.

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About your GM:
As a GM, I favour a mixture of gameplay and roleplaying at the table, encouraging my players to engage in both sides of the game. I love to play with themes of pulp adventure and mystery, telling stores of grand heroes pulling off thrilling stunts and facing off with sinister villains. I have a good deal of experience GMing a variety of games, and I welcome players who are eager to try something new and give it their all.

You are a Thread Runner – part myth, part misfit, and all heart. You walk the seams between two worlds: the city above, where strange cracks are starting to show, and the UnderCity, a twisted wonderland where magic clings to broken things and old stories refuse to stay buried. When a peeling mural begins to Fade, its painted neighbourhood vanishing one brushstroke at a time, you are thrust into a race to uncover the truth and save a hidden community before it’s erased forever. Confront the twisted machines of the Static, curious spelunkers, and your own fading memories in a tale of dark whimsy and fairytale adventure.

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About your GM:
Nathan Russell is a game designer, teacher, and pug wrangler from Newcastle, Australia. He’s the creator of the RPGs Neon City Overdrive, Freeform Universal, and the Osprey Games titles Hard City and Tomorrow City. Nathan leans toward rules-light, story-rich RPGs that put character and creativity front and centre. He also founded NaGa DeMon (National Game Design Month) to help others bring their own games to life. Expect games at his table to be fast, fun, and full of cinematic moments.

A killer is on the loose, stalking their victims from the darkness. One by one they fall. One by one, the survivors' terror rises.

But you don't know this at first. Everything seems normal, perhaps even wonderful, until one falls. The killer is stalking you. Will you be the next to fall, or will you remain standing at the last, triumphant over the menace

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The Final Girl is a horror movie roleplaying game emulating beloved horror films where characters are picked off one by one. Create the cast, kill them off in style, and find out who will Survive to confront the killer. No player experience is necessary.

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About your GM:
I've been gaming since last century and love indie games that require no prep. I run Final Girl at every con I go to and it's heaps of fun.

Were you there when they cames and saw us with their deadened stares? Were you there when they mechanically unleashed a hail of deathly arrows? Were you there when they jauntily rushed forward as a horde screaming "G'helli" (Brains) ready to slice all with their fey blades. Be the party that is there to take on the Zombelf Horde.

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This is a D&D 5th edition (2024) adventure for 6th level characters. Either play one of the provided characters, or, bring one created using D&D 5th edition (2024) handbook (including races). If bringing a created character you may equip them with 1000gp worth of items from the D&D 5th edition (2024) handbook (except no firearms) and no magic items.

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About your GM:
Mark’s story is probably very familiar – geek at school who read Lord of The Rings during a holiday break in high school, and then his brother brought him to a Dungeons & Dragons game and that was it – everything changed. Today, Mark engages in adult storytelling, and is an actor in Brisbane Playback Theatre that does improvised drama based on people’s shared stories. Mark loves epic fantasy adventures and worlds that weave in the various mythologies, cultures and histories parallel to earth. He loves when players are creative, thoughtful and work together as a team to face challenges and solve problems, and most importantly, enjoy themselves.