#Baltimore writers

[wylanzahn]

New-ish post, kinda posting this on different platforms and getting a general vibe check for some ideas I have. But basically this Halloween I want to actually do something for the TTRPG and Actualplay world (oh yeah I’m into those kinds of things). I want to try and get both players, GMs, and casual viewers alike something fun to look forward to this especially spooky season. I’ll probably talk a little more when we get closer to the actual season of scare-giving but just know that if you’re interested I’m still looking for people to join in!!

As my team and I’d first debut we’re going to try and do a two to four session actual play, which will probably be released in the weeks leading up to Halloween. We’ve had a couple good friend way in on the matter of “setting” but now I come to you fine folk. Mind you this is a horror campaign/arc so if…

Isn’t your thing, keep on a moving.

But without further ado here are a couple of the possible settings for our players, and myself, this coming espookee season…

1.) Somewhere off the coast of Florida, 1926 end of the first major housing boom in the state, a small island which calls back to the Spanish Empire, is Isla Boñyela, a small port made tourist location during the boom of disposable wealth in 1920s America. A small group of friends from the northeast tag along down for the perfect paradise vacation. Only to discover the island is much much older than anyone could have ever assumed. Whilst dealing with upstart gangsters, unnerving US soldiers, and the terrified locals they find something older than even undead conquistadors.

While I don’t have a working title, this is an old project in the running which I’ve had a few attempts at revamping over time. Its previous title was “perfect paradise vacation,” and runs on the Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition game. Anywho it’s a blast of fun with Caribbean lore, tone of anti-imperialism, and something dark lurking beneath the waves.

2.) 1950’s America, the nonexistent state of Mid-Atlantia (DMV coded) in a small suburban neighborhood where nothing goes wrong… it’s almost “All-Hallows-Eve” and little Johnny and Susie want nothing more than to trick or treat this year with all the big kids, Dad’s finally getting the big promotion at work, and Mom just got a new waffle iron! Sure everything is neat here in America. Heck you just got new neighbors! Newlyweds in fact from somewhere big and fancy, they sure aren’t like any of us in our simple town. But… and you can’t say exactly why but things are different. Or perhaps they’re all too the same? Everyday a repeat of ever other bland day that followed you over and over and over and over… and you could swear, while no one may listen to you there’s someone out there. Stalking you from outside your own home- or- perhaps, he’s just your friendly new neighbor welcoming you… to the end.

Ahhhhhh! I’ve also been working on this one for a sec and god writing it out does excite me. This is also a Call of Cthulhu game but modified/homebrewed to have a uniquely 1950s horror feel. This is definitely one of the more unique games I’ve written and am truly interested in seeing where it goes (even if we don’t choose it). This is for those who feel like isolation, fear of the unknown, fear from within, and liminal space horror comes best into play! So whadya say neighbor?

3.) The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend, or How I Learned to Love Strahd, okay so this one is a lot less horror-y and falls much more under the comedic spooky category, just so yall know. Deep in the middle of Barovia, the ancient kingdom of Vampires, meets a council of Count Strahd von Zarovich's greatest commanders and lieutenants to hunt down Strahd's greatest enemy Rudolph van Richten and his party of heroes known as "The Grape-Smashers." Strahd's lieutenants have been gifted powers greater than any mere mortals, but are these gifts enough to stop Van Richten, or even enough to stop the personal ambitions of each other? Come find out in "How I Learned to Love Strahd."

Okay, as much as this may seem like a joke suggestion it cracks me up and I feel like it would be ill-advised of me to not at least mention it. In an era where "The Curse of Strahd," is well-overdone at this point, it's worth a take from an all evil "revenge story." Obviously this will be in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, which, in my opinion, is really hard to use for horror, but this is a nice go-around. Come for the evil PCs, maybe a PvP battle or two, and a game of intrigue in the shadows of Barovia! All that and a buff Van Richten.

4.) Before Annapolis was ever called such it was known as Providence, a settlement of exiled Puritans in the Province of Maryland, but these early days were no easy set-up for the far-flung protestants... in the mid 1600s the English Civil War spilled out into their holdings across the waves as brother turned on brother, clan erasing clan, and something from the shores of the Old World would arrive in the New. When around every corner could be someone you've known your whole life, what's stopping them from hunting you in the depths of winter. All matters made worse when rumors of a witch begins circulating your small home.

Think "The VVitch" (2015) meets "A Field in England" (2013) meets Atun Shei's recent film "The Sudsbury Devil" (2023). It is the unexplored wilderness of early colonial Maryland, but the hateful warmongering that slowly builds that makes the horror and tension so clear. Unsure of what system we'll be using, but maybe the new Regency Cthulhu system.

5.) The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 destroyed some 140 Acres of Baltimore proper... and in it's rubble awakened something far worse. But you and your fellow survivors are just trying to get by in the aftermath of the fire... only for something to call out, whether some strange magicks or perhaps just a sickness... but sickness doesn't even linger like this... it doesn't call to you...

Some more local history, aspiring from the actual Fire of 1904 things quickly devolve from there as rumors of a cult begin to spread along the streets of Rosland Park... a mysterious illness leaving even more dead... and the death of an eclectic professor. Definitely using the Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition for this one.

Aaaaaaaand that's it! Let me know what y'all think!

[shythepoet]

Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay

Sallust

[theshatterednotes]

Countee Cullen, US poet

[the-musings-of-a-muse]

FENNEL AND SOREN ANGST IN BEGGING

:3

[baltimoresciencefictionsociety]

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society Welcomes YOU!

Whether you're near Baltimore, Maryland or not, if you're looking to geek out about science fiction, fantasy, horror, anime, and more, we'd love for you to join us! We've got things happening almost every week. MONTHLY EVENTS! Writer Critique Circle (zoom) 6:30pm ET 2/4th Thursdays Speculative Poetry Wkshp (zoom) 7pm ET 3rd Thursday Film Night! (live) doors open early 6pm ET 3rd Saturday Board Gaming (live) 4:30pm ET 3rd Sunday Anime Watch Party (live/discord) 2pm ET 4th Saturday Book Club (live/zoom) 7pm ET 4th Saturday TabletopRPGs (discord) 1pm ET LAST Sunday See bsfs.org for links and directions! Brought to you by the people who put on the annual Balticon Convention -- a 4-day celebration of all things science-fiction and fantasy -- held annually the last weekend of May.

[73chn1c0l0rr3v3l]

peri brown is one of my favorite companions & at least some of it is just the fact that she's so clearly an american being written by a bunch of brits

it is usually almost but not quite right & i never see that sort of thing as an american, which makes it novel

[1863-project]

thank you to Larry Pokemon for reminding everyone that I was, in fact, a baseball writer for a few years in my early 20s

[cherrywasteland]

Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse - Baltimore, MD

A refurbished screwtop lighthouse dating back to 1855, now open to the public on Pier 5. So beloved was this lighthouse, they made every effort to keep it standing.

[devinsturk]

My latest poem has just been published online by The Baltimore Review! You can also access an audio recording of the piece read by yours truly.

Junk Drawer by Devin S. Turk

I keep a collection of keys that unlock nothing looped together, tarnished neighbors on a lanyard and I imagine that they floss their metal teeth with junk drawer gossip. Sifting my fingers through the jar of spare buttons, I wonder if they whisper to each other in plastic voices and reminisce about the favorite shirt at last Thanksgiving’s dinner before the incident involving splattered cranberry sauce. I think the Monopoly piece holds a grudge against me, still considers itself a thief’s prize, but it is the only battleship I can hold in the palm of my hand, so it stays. Once, I inherited a pocket watch with a broken latch and I treasured the thing, would hold it up to my ears as a kid just to listen though I knew it wouldn’t tick. I suspect that when I turn away, its timeless arms reach for one another.

Devin S. Turk writes from personal experience about Autism, transness, and madness in the Mid-Atlantic United States, often with a cat in their lap. They have work published in Short Édition’s Short Circuit, Strange Horizons Magazine, and Disability Rights Washington’s blog, Rooted in Rights. Links to their writing and social media can be found on their Twitter, where they are active @DevinSTurk.

[cheshire-teeth]

[desi4018]

What you think? #boondocks deserves more seasons man I don’t care. Lol tag a fan Go to Www.comedianDesi.com for show tickets 3/3-4 Tacoma WA 3/10-11 ORL FL 3/17-18 VA 3/20 NY 3/24-26 CALI 3/31-4/1 BAMA 5/7 Philly 5/12-13 BUFF 5/19-21 CLT 7/16 CHI . . . . . #actor #comedian #writer #tourlife #indiana #comedy #baltimore #virginia #love #orlando #cleveland #funny #standup #desi4018 #florida #tacoma #newyork #Movingtargettour #cali #atlanta #philly #Chicago (at The Boondocks) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpK_lrsuMLI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kamaryphillips]

One of those days… ~~~~ #Actor #CharacterActor #LeadingMan #Booked #Singer #Songwriter #Artist #Performer #Producer #Activist #Musician #ActorsLife #SetLife #Music #IndieMusic #Writer #Baltimore #BmoreMusicCompany #Rap #HipHop #UrbanAlternative #URBANITE #LifeInBmore #CharmCityBeat@lifeinbmoretv #BmoreProductions #Theater #Musicals (at Richmond, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnpu5yNpYTY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[boutzie]

-will there ever be a moment, where I just breathe,

in and out of spaces not of my own, comforting

myself in the darkness, while simultaneously waiting

for the light, which to no end, seems impossible,

I discover my strength in those moments, hidden

beneath the sand, waiting for my chance, I scream

and break free, nothingness doesn’t seem to have

me, I taste the honey dripping, from vases, that

surround me, clinging hopelessly to the truth, the

power that comes from within me, am I real?

am I surreal? do you know? maybe so, but I do hope,

there will be a moment where I can just breathe and

let go…

Boutzie 🌻

[baltimoresciencefictionsociety]

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society Welcomes YOU!

Whether you're near Baltimore, Maryland, or not, if you're looking to geek out about science fiction, fantasy, horror, anime, and more, we'd love for you to join us! We've got things happening almost every week. For NaNoWriMo, we've got even MORE happening in November: Join us for write-ins! LIVE Every Sunday, from 2-5pm VIRTUAL Every Wednesday, from 6-10pm (zoom & discord) MONTHLY EVENTS! Writer Critique Circle (zoom) 6:30pm ET 2/4th Thursdays Speculative Poetry Wkshp (zoom) 7pm ET 3rd Thursday Film Night! (live) doors open early 6pm ET 3rd Saturday Board Gaming (live) 4:30pm ET 3rd Sunday Anime Watch Party (live/discord) 2pm ET 4th Saturday Book Club (live/zoom) 7pm ET 4th Saturday TabletopRPGs (discord) 1pm ET LAST Sunday See bsfs.org for links and directions! Brought to you by the people who put on the annual Balticon Convention -- a 4-day celebration of all things science-fiction and fantasy -- held annually the last weekend of May.

[heliosmou]

Baltimore should never be referred to as “Charm City”.

Stay off the streets of Baltimore between 4 PM and 6 PM. Traffic goes nowhere between those hours. Plus —this one is crazy — Baltimore allows 18 wheelers to drive on President Street. That’s like Chicago allowing these trucks on Michigan Ave and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. If they tried to pull that stunt, Chicagoans would revolt and crush those trucks faster than you can say, “Get the fuck out…

[alangreenstein]

Support Our #creatives® News: "Through the Eyes of Others," written and directed by Meagan Adele Lopez

I have been a part of  Meagan Adele Lopez’ project “Through the Eyes of Others” nearly since the beginning. I am an investor and the film is supported in part by my organization Support Our #creatives®. Here is a progress report on the film.

Introduction   I have been a part of  Meagan Adele Lopez’ project “Through the Eyes of Others” nearly since the beginning. I am an investor and the film is supported in part by my organization Support Our #creatives®.Here is a progress report on the film.[photo: Meagan Adele Lopez (from Meagan Adele Lopez)] Are you living your dreams? Twenty years post-graduation, one woman goes back to…