Public Access: The Odyssey Tapes Mystery - An Analog Horror RPG
Public Access | Campaign
About the adventure
1992 - In the small town of Deep Lake, New Mexico, a TV station mysteriously vanishes. The public access studio known as "TV Odyssey", which in the 80s and 90s provided the citizens of Degoya County with such beloved local programming as "Happy Jack the Lumberjack & Friends", "Daily Affirmations with David Tilbert", and "Voyages to the Astral with Lunaria Gomez", simply ceases to exist. Though the official investigation eventually pins the blame on an electrical fire, no remains of the broadcast station are ever located. To this day, residents of Deep Lake refuse to talk about TV Odyssey or the shows it produced, acting as though it was never there at all. 2004 - You encounter a group of like-minded individuals united by a common history: each of you grew up as a latchkey kid in Deep Lake at the tail end of the 20th century, raised as much by TV Odyssey programming as your often absent parents. Nowadays, you and the rest of the "Deep Lake Latchkeys" are dedicated to uncovering the truth behind TV Odyssey and the enigmatic "Odyssey Tapes", the only remaining evidence of the TV station and its strange broadcasts. You and your newfound friends have elected to return to your hometown, renting a house on Rodenbecker Street, to investigate the many odd occurrences happening within Deep Lake. Haunted houses, UFOs, lake monsters, evil arcade cabinets, and twisted serial killers all lurk in the quiet neighborhoods, crumbling shopping malls, empty deserts, and looming forests of Degoya County, each in some way tied to the mystery of the Odyssey Tapes, the mystical "Pure-White Signal", and the ever-present specter of the "Big Man". Deep Lake calls to you, can you hear it? Public Access is an analog horror mystery-solving TTRPG from the designers at The Gauntlet, creators of Brindlewood Bay and The Silt Verses RPG. Based on the Brindlewood Bay game system, which puts the power of solving mysteries directly in the hands of the players, Public Access is a sprawling supernatural mystery steeped in the nostalgia of the 80s and 90s and the horrors of growing up, inspired by legends of analog horror such as Candle Cove and Gemini Home Entertainment and nostalgic 90s TV like The X-files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Goosebumps. Content Warning: Public Access deals heavily in themes of unhappy childhood, the societal ills of the modern age, and the grisly tropes of classic horror media. To quote the game's official content warning: "Cosmic horror, graphic violence, ritual sacrifice, and other unsavory things come up quite frequently. Additionally, this game occasionally touches on sensitive subject matter, such as sexism, sexual desire, childhood trauma, consumer culture, and other topics. You may decide that this is not for you, and that’s OK!"
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
“Roleplay Heavy” games place the focus on the story, the characters, and the world they live within, and tend to lean hard into the various roleplaying elements of the game. These games will frequently find the party talking with NPCs, exploring the personal elements of their backstories, or even having emotional moments around the camp fire.
Theater of the Mind
“Theater of the Mind” uses little to no visuals for scene settings and combat. Instead, the narrative imagery comes from the Game Master’s descriptions and character action and movement comes from Players’ descriptions.
5.0
(21)
4 years on StartPlaying
296 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Inclusive
Additional details
How to prepare
Players will need a free Discord account and a free Owlbear VTT account. Players will need a working microphone, a webcam is not required but is welcome. Familiarity with the rules of Public Access beforehand is also not necessary but appreciated.
What I provide
I will bring all necessary game materials, including rule cheat sheets, handouts, and character sheets. Music, sound effects, and dice rolling will be done through a Virtual Tabletop. The game will be run primarily through a dedicated Discord server. Public Access puts a lot of emphasis on player agency and the trading off of narrative control, so expect to be taking the reigns pretty frequently.
Gameplay details
Content warnings and Lines & Veils will be discussed during session 0, and as needed in private throughout the campaign. Public Access is an extremely narrative-focused game where the players wield a much larger amount of control over the story than in other systems, the nature of the story is in constant flux according to who is in the driver's seat at the moment.
Content warnings
Safety tools used
• Aftercare
• Bleed
• Breaks
• Debriefing
• Lines and Veils
• Open Door
• Session 0
How will character creation work
Character creation in Public Access is quick and simple, and will be done with the Keeper's guidance during Session 0.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Low
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Medium
Experience level
Open to all
Platforms used
• Owlbear Rodeo
• Theater of the Mind
$25.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Weekly / Saturday - 2:30 AM UTC
3-6 Hour duration
0 / 6 Seats filled
Requirements
Experience required: Open to all
Age: 18+