Articles by Quinn Murphy
Quinn Murphy is the chief mastermind of Thoughtcrime. The former primary contributor and editor of the Ennie-nominated site At-Will, Quinn's work has been published in Kobold Quarterly and Dragon magazine. Games of all kinds ignite his passion.
Dungeons and DJs: A review of DMDJ
I’ve played and run games with and without musical accompaniment, and if I had to state a preference, I’d side with music every time. It can’t just be haphazard use of music though. It’s best when the music is appropriate to the situation that we are currently in. Lord of the Rings OST is thematic, but having a scene specific for our arrival at the Fey Court or exploring the sewers is what I prefer. Opposing this is time and ease of access.
How much time is a GM going to spend to find just the right music for a scenario? I’ve spent a lot of time on it myself, and acquiring a solid collection of tunes is time consuming and expensive, representing almost a side-hobby in itself. After you’ve traversed that obstacle, then you need to construct a setup that you can use without slowing down the game. Often that means more prep, and more equipment: getting a sound system in place, setting up your computer, getting a selection of music easily at hand and organized. If you attempt to add sound to your game without taking all of this into account, you risk bland ambience, distracting shuffles as you set up, or both.
DMDJ from Blueface makes a solid attempt at easing these pains. As an RPG music soundboard and dice roller for the iPhone/iPad, it offers great “at your fingertips” control in a convenient and portable package, surmounting some of the difficulties of setting up sound in your game, though there remain issues to address. [Read the rest of this article]
Agents of the Un-Kingdom: The Thoughteater
Logo by Daniel C. Hutchison
“The Null-men have chased us, I think, for several weeks. It becomes easier to remember but it is still difficult.”
“Several weeks, Roger? Really? It feels like just a few days.”
“That’s because you’ve never had a great memory to start with , Block, and these guys have –”
“Both of you shut up! Look at the Null-men over there. They don’t seem to be able to find us…this is good. We need to get moving.”
“Seriously. I don’t know how we got away from that…thing they had in tow.”
“I know, it was creepy.”
“A big ball of ugly.”
“Yeah.”
“Uh…guys? We’re moving towards them. Why?”
“Block, turn the car around! This is crazy!”
“I’m not driving, Steve!”
“But you always drive!”
“Yeah, but I don’t have a steering wheel. I can’t feel it. I can’t see it.”
“We’re almost on them! They’re right here!”
YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS.
“Whowuzzat?” “Who?” “What the Hell was that?!”
“Roger, hey, isn’t that our car, right in front of us?”
“Yes… and walking around…”
“Those are our bodies. That is us!”
“Then were are we?”
“I… don’t know.”
“We didn’t get away”
NO ONE GETS AWAY.
“Who…”
They were answered only with a cacophony of voices.
As the Conquering Dreamer’s forces dig further into an area, the arsenal they utilize grows. Nullmen are replaced, but the legion also begins to grow as victims are caught and transformed into new ambition-less soldiers.
New creations emerge as well, the most terrifying of which is the thoughteater. It turns out that all the Un-kingdom needs is your body. Your thoughts are useless garbage, which the thoughteater feeds on. [Read the rest of this article]
Agents of the Un-Kindgom: The Nullmen
“They came into town after the alpha dogs had torn it apart. They were dressed in black trenchcoats and they all wore these iron masks — totally smooth, no features at all — and they interrogated the survivors. When I say interrogated, I guess that’s what it would have to be, because they didn’t speak. There were no words, just… one of them approached you, pulled you close to its mask…and your mind started flooding with shame, with anxiety, with fear, and guilt…before you knew it you were revealing everything you know about anything. I could hear myself babbling and bawling like a baby, but I couldn’t stop. I just couldn’t stop. Once they got the person they had come for, they dragged him out of town and left us survivors here, weak, exhausted, and empty.
“Despite all that happened, it’s getting difficult to remember. If you had stopped by tomorrow, I don’t know if I could tell you anything. That’s what is truly terrifying. They have the power to attack us, to kill us and take our people, but also the power to make us forget what they’ve done. Maybe they’ve done this to our town a hundred times! And each time we forget, until they come in and take another soul, and we forget that person too. I can’t tell you who they took the other day.
“Worse yet, what if they are raiding our village and turning those taken into them? The people in the iron masks, were they once like you and me? What do they do with those they take? What…what…
“What were we talking about again?” [Read the rest of this article]
Agents of the Un-Kingdom: Alpha Dogs
“Imagine a dog that’s ALL bite. I mean seriously, look at the jaws on that thing. Funny looking, right? But if that weird little super-pug bites you it doesn’t just break the skin…it breaks down your reality, your potential. The more it takes, the stronger it gets. Eventually all your potential is chewed up, leaving what’s left of you as kibble for dogs.
“What I’m saying is, don’t be an idiot. Whatever that guy did to get the attention of the Nullmen and their hounds is all him; don’t throw your life away. C’mon, let’s go. Yeah, I know the screams suck. Cover your ears.”
The first wave of minions serving the Conquering Dreamer, Nullmen use Alpha Dogs to track and pursue their foes. Alpha Dogs feed on the same forces that cause alpha mutations, gaining strength and powers when it. Their attacks deplete targets both physically and psychically, leaving a comatose shell behind.
Appearance: Alpha Dogs don’t look frightening. Pugs with mottled furred and grossly oversized heads, it’s amazing that they can move at all. The dogs betray their appearance with frightening agility and speed. [Read the rest of this article]
