Meet Harper: student, realmwalker, Searcher. Harper’s not about that supernatural life, but weirdness just seems to stalk her like a shadow. PROGRAMME NOTES This production contains persistent peril; exploitative relationships, including manipulation and coercion; sibling tragedy; mind control, loss of memory and self; and violence, including blood and gun violence. Our promo this episode is for Deck of Many Aces, a Dungeons & Dragons actual play podcast made by actual asexuals and aromantics! Follow four heroes as they adventure through a fantasy world on the cusp of a technological revolution, augmented by magic. Each character's fate is tied to one of the 22 cards in the “Deck of Many Things”, a D&D magical object based on a tarot deck. https://shows.acast.com/deck-of-many-aces DRAMATIS PERSONAE AND OTHER DEFINITIONS JESS BUTTERWORTH: a twenty-something shift worker, Sherrydown born and bred. While working the tarot tent at Amazement Park, she was approached by Kit, a being claiming to be her spirit guide. GWYNNED: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress. CALISTARIUS SOFTBINDING: a local horror writer with a cult following, who sponsored the construction of a whole new wing of Sherrydown’s library. Calistarius Softbinding is a nom de plume. HARPER: a US exchange student trying to sever her ties to the Shadow realm she sometimes enters through revolving doors. DEPARTMENT OF OMISSIONS (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres. SHERRYDOWN, BRACKSHIRE: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office. OMISSION EFFECT: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon. CREDITS COMPERE: Matt Boothman STARRING: - Ellen Gould as Jess Butterworth, the Spooky - Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine - Chris Buxey as Calistarius Softbinding, the Expert - Marta da Silva as Harper, the Searcher ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst SOUND DESIGN BY: Matt Boothman EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman FIND US On Twitter https://www.twitter.com/merelyroleplay On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/merelyroleplayers/ On Tumblr https://merelyroleplayers.tumblr.com/ www.MerelyRoleplayers.com