Image by Raymond Kotewicz (Photograph), James Harris (Design)
Nowheresville Radio: Player-Led Small-Town Mystery! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Roleplay everyday life in a secluded US town, while a mystery brews behind the curtain. Bust out the ten-speeder; it's time for nostalgic adventure!
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Thursday - 7:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 3–5 Sessions
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
At least a hundred miles from big city lights, a small town sits on the fault line of Normal and Strange -- what we might call "Nowheresville." Your imaginations will create an everyday setting where kids live for Summer break and adults pay their taxes, but mystery and mishap will soon start to creep in, drawing you deeper into the shadows that lurk just out of sight. Grab your backpack and a Sunny Delight and join a tailor-made adventure shaped by our memories and media of the past! *This listing can be enjoyed by players familiar or unfamiliar with the KoB system. Session Zero 40% off!* 📓Play a fully customized adventure using the rules-light, beginner-friendly Kids on Bikes system! 📼Indulge your nostalgia! Pick a vintage decade before the spread of smartphones and Wi-Fi, and create a town to fill with landmarks and rumors for the group to explore! 🚲Play as a kid chasing legends, a teen running from responsibility, or a grownup just looking for a break; small-town connections and strange happenings will bring your characters together. 💀Things get weird out in Nowheresville. KoB has room for many kinds of stories, but in this game you're more than likely to find yourself faced with the strange and wonderful: things that defy logic and that science can't quite explain. 🎭This is a system powered by imagination and group storytelling. So if you're looking for a character-focused game where you don't have to worry too much about stats, damage, and number-crunching, you've found it! [The target length for the game will be 3-5 sessions, including Session Zero, and will depend partially on the table's preferences]
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Sandbox / Open World
Meet the Game Master
5 years on StartPlaying
10 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, World Builder
About me
Hey, y'all, I'm James -- ArkhamHermit on most platforms. Born in chilly Alaska and living in the Utah red rocks, I played my first catastrophic game of D&D(3.5e) in my junior year of high school and was instantly hooked. With over ten years as a GM and with decades of experience in theatre and improv, my goal is to create immersive tales with your characters at the center. I put a heavy focus on creating a colorful, living world to serve as backdrop to your decisions and interactions. But don't get too comfy! Though I'm an RP aficionado, I also love putting interesting obstacles in the party's way, often leading to explosive combat (mapped and unmapped) where your powers of strategy will be challenged and I'll make sure every strike gets the dynamic and hard-hitting description it deserves. I have a penchant for punchy KOs. Most important to me is that my players get to enjoy their characters to the fullest. Even in a quick one-shot, I will do my best to take each character's backstory, motivations, and unique quirks into account whenever possible. This story belongs to you. And as an avid and meticulous homebrewer, I'm happy to make almost any player content possible in our game. I have the mechanical know-how to back it all up, and I'm more than happy to take the time necessary to help players understand every aspect of the rules as well! We're all in this together. If deep stories loaded with personality, rule of cool, rewarding action, rich aesthetic, and a personal touch are what you seek, then my table is for you. **My work has never and will never incorporate any AI-generated content.**
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
*NO advance prep needed!* Session Zero is our Town & Character Creation session! As a group, you'll answer creative prompts about the town to help kickstart our story. After we all can picture the town, you'll create your characters -- including age (kid, teen, adult), Trope (e.g., scout, babysitter, professional, etc.), flaws, etc. -- and answer some roundtable questions to figure out how they are all connected. In the time leading up to Session Zero, you can feel free to think about what kind of character Trope you might like to play and/or message me here or on Discord to spitball ideas. (Characters don't "level up" in Kids on Bikes, but they will often gain new tools and traits over time.)
What to expect
Preparing for the session
1. You'll need to join the Lost Fables Discord Server and make a Zoom account so you can join our game call. KoB is primarily Theatre of the Mind, so we're unlikely to have need for a VTT. 2. Read our safety doc and fill it out. 3. Make sure your mic is working properly before the session, as well as your camera if you want to share your lovely face (optional)! 4. Finally, make sure you have at least one full set of polyhedral dice if you like to roll in realspace.
What James Harris (Lost Fables) brings to the table
I've been GMing for over 10 years, due in no small part to my love of themes and aesthetics. I'll help bring your town setting to life with character work, ambience, and following your curiosity wherever it leads. I can't WAIT to see what you come up with -- from the year you choose to the secrets shared between your characters, every little detail will define our story! I want to know what sort of experience you're looking for. If you want lighthearted hijinx, I'll meet you at the treehouse. If you want action, peril, and terror -- it's time to go investigate the shady research lab.
Homebrew rules
1. The "Powered Character" system won't always be used, and it might not show up in the way you expect! 2. A Teen or Adult character can receive certain traits from their car in the same way they would from a bike
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How James Harris (Lost Fables) creates a safe table
Everyone's comfort is my top priority! I send a safety form to new players with my standard boundary expectations, as well as sections for any personal Lines/Veils, so we can all be on the same page about consent and everyone's preferences. Kids on Bikes has its own safety system employing biking terminology (e.g., coast, brake, detour) that we will cover during Session Zero to see if the party would like to utilize it.
Content warnings
Safety tools used