Next of Kin | Learn to Play Heart 🏳️🌈
A frenetic race against time to rescue an old adventurer from his family of hateful weirdos. Learn to play HEART at a friendly, welcoming table!
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$30.00
/ Session
Details
2 players following this game
Weekly / Thursday - 9:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 2–3 Sessions
1 / 5 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
What does a retired adventurer do with a huge fortune, a pack of awful grandchildren who want it, and one day to live? Why, he hires some fresh-faced young delvers to kidnap him, of course. Your mission: outrun the dreadful family—dodging carnivorous buildings, ghost trains, and cursed mushrooms—to deliver your elderly client to his temple to die in peace. This mini-campaign of 2-3 sessions is a frenetic race against time as you're pursued by a family of hateful weirdos. Heart is a story-forward horror game about camaraderie and adventure amidst tragedy, doom, and terror. Expect high narrative stakes, meaningful story beats (that *you* choose!), and collaborative storytelling. Absolutely no rules knowledge required! This is a learn-to-play game. The mechanics of Heart are simple and fast to pick up, and pre-generated characters will be provided. Expect a friendly, welcoming table and a supportive, inclusive environment.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(48)
1 year on StartPlaying
183 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Beginner Friendly
Average response time: 7 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hi, I'm Emi! I'm a queer, trans GM who loves running games full of fun and whimsy, and creating spaces for players to have safe and exciting emotional experiences. I love GMing for players who want to be heroes; I love to present problems that can be solved with the power of friendship and doing your best; and I'm not interested in making anyone count their arrows or repair their boots. I also enjoy adapting tropes and archetypes, and seeing how players interact with them in unexpected ways. I'd describe most of my games as having "fairy tale energy." I'm happy to do custom bookings for groups or for duet games, for any of the systems I've listed here on my profile—if you think you might like my style and you have something specific in mind, shoot me a message and I'll give you a quote!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Players new to HEART should choose one of the pre-generated characters before the session, and pick two beats you'd like to hit. We'll flesh out characters and build connections between PCs at the beginning of the session, so no further prep necessary! More experienced players are free to build their own character using the standard rules for Heart (three minor advances, one major advance).
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Before session, you'll need to: - join my Discord server (requires a free Discord account) - fill out a consent checklist - choose or build a character - choose two beats for your character
What GM Emi brings to the table
- Visual aids on Owlbear Rodeo - A Discord server for in-game and out-of-game chatting and questions - Immersive ambient music and soundscapes - A welcoming, inclusive environment - Plenty of opportunities for horror, hijinks, and creativity
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How GM Emi creates a safe table
I'll send out a quick Google Form before the first session to inquire about players' limits and preferences. We'll review these limits (anonymized) at the beginning of the session. During sessions, we'll have "stop" and "pause" signals available to indicate if anyone needs to check in or change something. Dedicated buttons will be available on the VTT, and everyone is also welcome to use this system verbally—or just say "hey, wait, I'd like to check in about that"! Debriefing will occur after gameplay is over, while we're still on the call. Feedback and player safety is very important to me!
Content warnings
Safety tools used