Monster of the Week: Terror in New York City
$22.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Friday - 1:30 AM UTC
Dec 19 / Session 102
Session Duration / 2.5–3.5 hours
5 / 6 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
5/6
About the adventure
New York City has always been a bustling place full of mystery. But there's more mystery than the average New Yorker suspects... For centuries, the New Amsterdam Society (NAS) has overseen an elite team of occultists, monster hunters, and other "weird" individuals to monitor, address, and - when necessary - destroy magical and otherworldly oddities that threaten the citizens of New York City. But with NAS's regular team "detained" for reasons unknown, the secretive organization has assembled a new group to take up the mantle. You and your friends are that group, investigating reports across the five boroughs starting with a mysterious haunting out in Queens. Can you keep the nature of your investigation secret while saving the day? Terror in New York City will run monthly using Monster of the Week - an amazing, extremely easy-to-learn game system that looks to things like Buffy, The X-Files, and Supernatural to create a modern-day world of mystery and monster hunting. All players for the first game session in March 2020 will work together to build their characters during that first session, while drop-in players (which are welcome!) or long-term players that join later in the campaign will design their characters with me via email and then spend a few minutes at the top of their first session to get their characters into the group.
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(26)
4 years on StartPlaying
619 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, World Builder, Voices
Average response time: 5 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Like many, Dungeons & Dragons was my first step into tabletop gaming, and I wish I'd come to it much earlier that I did. But since I started playing about five years ago, it's become a true passion. There's nothing like being able to put the world aside and step into a new reality of heroes, monsters, and epic adventures. I love crafting an immersive, inclusive, and intensely personalized world in my games: one focused on character development and story arcs that players will remember as much as a great book or an amazing film. And more than anything, I love riffing off player choices and taking a story in new directions that surprise even me. D&D was of course just the first step. Since then, I've taken players on epic monster hunts through Monster of the Week and helped them live their medieval fantasy through King Arthur Pendragon. And for all you David Bowie/Jim Henson fans, look no further for your next step into the Labyrinth. With regard to experience, I've been a regular DM and GM for the past three years with games both in-person and online. I host a weekly table at Hex & Co in NYC with original adventures taking place in the Forgotten Realms setting. I also have experience with new players, creating a fun and easy-going atmosphere for people just learning the game. And a little bit about my non-D&D life. I'm a fundraiser and songwriter based in NYC, where I've lived for the past 15 years. I love film, theater, food, good (and bad) wine and Teeling Whiskey, and aggressive karaoke sessions. A huge fan of horror as well as camp classics. And as much as I love Marvel, I will always be a DC guy.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
All players at the first monthly game session in March 2020 will work together to build their characters at the top of that first session. All players joining later either as a drop-in player (again - drop-ins are welcome!) or a long-term player will design their characters with me via email and then spend a few minutes at the top of their first session to incorporate their characters into the group with any existing players. Character creation is incredibly easy, and I will be able to provide PDFs to fill in any information that you need - so there's truly nothing you need to bring to the table.
First and third Thursdays of the month
What to expect
Preparing for the session
To join the game, you'll need a webcam and mic (your default phone or computer cam and mic are fine) as well as Discord, which will host our voice/video/text. Also, I understand that some people prefer to not to use video, so if that's you, I'm totally fine with that. For actual gameplay, all you need is two six-sided dice. Other than that, I will provide everything you need to play!
What Nick Luckenbaugh brings to the table
I will provide a link to the Discord server as well as character sheet PDFs for everyone to create their character. I run Monster of the Week using theater of the mind, so there will be no digital grids on which to play - although in some cases maps or illustrations may be provided as a guide to players. In addition, I will be providing some supplemental information to players in advance about the very simple rules of the game as well as the different types of characters you can create. You can read this in advance of game play or not. Totally up to you, as the game is very easy to learn in the moment.
Platforms used
Safety
How Nick Luckenbaugh creates a safe table
Monster of the Week is a horror-based system to draws from shows like Buffy, The X-Files, and Supernatural to create a modern world where the paranormal is alive and well and ready to be investigated or destroyed. While there are overarching themes and plotlines throughout a campaign, each session is very much its own, self-contained adventure, making it great for both the casual and the dedicated player. What's more, it's incredibly easy to learn. All you have to do is describe the action your character is taking, and a roll of the dice tells you the outcome. (Only two standard, six-sided dice are needed, and the character sheets are incredibly simple!) Monster of the Week is the perfect role playing game for beginners while being engaging and thrilling enough for longtime players. To help ensure that every player is comfortable and having a great time as we traverse the themes of horror of the game, I'll be setting lines and veils prior to the start of gameplay with each player to ensure maximum comfort. These lines and veils will inform gameplay and ensure the ability to "fade to black" whenever needed. During the session, we'll be employing X, N, and O signals in chat as needed. We'll also be ending each session with a brief Highlight Reel and Wrap Session to discuss the game session and ensure fun and engaging future sessions.
Content warnings
Safety tools used