The School of Night

“Black is the badge of Hell; the hue of dungeons and the School of Night.” Queen Elizabeth’s realm lies vulnerable, not just to the Spanish or the plague, but to occult forces perhaps more dangerous than either. You study those forces at the risk of torture — at the risk of your soul — but you must hold them at bay or see England destroyed.

This GUMSHOE campaign frame sets the PCs on the stage with John Dee, Christopher Marlowe, and Sir Walter Raleigh … and perhaps with traitors in their ranks.

Your School of Night campaign might resemble a 16th-century Night’s Black Agents investigation of a demonic conspiracy, a picaresque “weirdness and monster hunt” game a la Fringe, Supernatural, or The X-Files, Tudor ghost-breaking and exorcism played for psychological and proto-scientific chills, or feature straightup horror of the Cthulhoid or Gothic bent. It might feature “wolf in the fold” gaming as players betray Raleigh to the Tudor police state for their own masters, or play up the espionage element in true “wildernesse of mirrors” style. Or it might combine all of these elements but really feature the fun of carrying rapiers, casting Enochian spells, and playing the dozens with that new-fledged goose Shakespeare down at the Mermaid Tavern.

The School of Night includes new abilities (Tod-Spotter), arms and armor, magickal abilities, historical scolars, and the opposition (necromancers, werewolves, demons, etc.)

Praise for Ken Writes About Stuff,

“The content of KWAS is top-notch, as one would expect from a RPG luminary like Kenneth Hite” –Daniel D.

“ brief injection of Hite-ian awesome … they’re just about the right length to digest in a single sitting, and full of amazing ideas that will make anyone’s game into a flavourful occult gumbo” – Bill Templeton

The School of Night is the seventh installment of the second Ken Writes About Stuff subscription.