How would you run a campaign based on Scarfolk...

How would you run a campaign based on Scarfolk? I was thinking it could be an interesting setting but I don't know what to do with it from there.

What is scarfolk?

A totalitarian English town perpetually stuck in the 1970s where pagan rituals are commonplace, laws are constantly contradictory, and the government is so intrusive that the citizens spy on themselves

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Is it sort of like an English version of Nightvale?

is it like Nightvale without the eye-rollingly heavy dose of DIVERSITYYYY™ and virtue signalling

Basically, I suppose.

That's a redundant way of asking "is it like Nightvale but not shit"

I don't think it'd be easy to get the feel of it in a campaign, because it'll be a mystery to solve and there's not really a good answer for it. As a setting for a Call of Cthulhu-ish one shot adventure, it could work, because it's all atmosphere and no explanation for it.

Or run it like Paranoia but in dystopian Yorkshire. Replace "Friend Computer" with "Scarfolk Council", replace "security clearance" with [REDACTED] and set the players up as consultants hired by the council to deal with weird and rather unspecified problems. It'd still likely be a series of one-shot style games strung together, rather than a campaign.

Certain events in Scarfolk occur in certain years, so a long campaign, possibly about outside detectives investigating the town, could have different problems crop up over time, such as tainted food, festivities, or outbreaks of diseases to change things up.

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But what's the answer? It's a town stuck in a loop, endlessly repeating the 1970s. Why is it like that? Can you come up with a satisfying answer? Making it a puzzle to unravel isn't going to work, because the joy of it is how bizarre but familiar it is (as a britfag), not in providing explanations for why it is the way it is.

If the player characters come from outside, they will be playing characters that are going to ask a question that cannot be answered satisfactorily. Playing people within the community lets you enjoy the weirdness, as the people there have simply accepted it.

Paranoia, maybe Unknown Armies? Also fuck yeah, Scarfolk is awesome.

Okay so basically I have no idea what the fuck this shit is all about, but this poster is something my BBEG would put up everywhere.

He stops time just before someone is about to be killed and asks them if they want a job. If they refuse, they splatter across whatever horrible death awaits them in mere moments.... If they accept, he takes them out of this reality and transports them to one of his own devising.

He sounds pretty interesting

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that one too lol


These are great, and they are helping me to imagine how his policies would appear in plain writing - you know, for the layman.

The first one of the thread is a little confusing though.. what's that message all about?

check'd and love these concepts

The blog explains some of the posters. The first one is intentionally vague because it's supposed to be used in any situation.

I don't know about that.

Okay so...

the question was how do you run a campaign with Scarfolk posters? Or am I missing something here from my initial visit to the website?

BTW I kinda really want this to play in hotel rooms; you know, as a distraction.

Seems like more lefty drivel to me.

i dunno mate

its more of a cautionary "BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR" statement

Can you not just take interesting fiction on its own merit instead of shoving politics into bloody everything?

But it's obviously political.
Even leaving that aside I'd have to call "interesting" a stretch.
The whole is just pseudo creepy and lacking subtly.

It's not subtle in the slightest, sure, but one example isn't enough to weigh the whole thing down
there are also references to Snowden, Brexit, and Twitter in the blog

Dumping some faves

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well now this one's not subtle or creepy at all

he's just ripping off Shawn of the Ded

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