Phenonemon 2019

Being a curious case of satyrs
in the top paddock

“Sorcery and sanctity… these are the only realities. Each is an ecstasy, a withdrawal from the common life.” – Arthur Machen.

numinous
ˈnjuːmɪnəs
adjective

1. 1. 1. denoting, being, or relating to a numen; divine:
      2. mysterious or awe-inspiring, surpassing comprehension or understanding:
      3. of, relating to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural.

Bohemian Sydney, 1926: the pubs, wine-bars, coffee shops, scandal, gossip and sensuality of the street. Starving artists, poor musicians, writers scratching for a living, bit actors, and people with all sorts of strange jobs. The men seek the verities of beer, women and mammon. Mostly the beer. The women seek something a little more complex and indefinable. Led by Jack Lindsay, the Vision group seeks to defend True Art against the barbarities of modern life.

But something has entered this antipodean arcadia, something beautiful and terrible. Something deadly.

The Players

Sydney 1926: twenty five years since Federation …

Dulcie Deamer

Dulcie Deamer: novelist, charismatic ‘Queen of Bohemia’.

Download Dulcie character sheet (1.4 Meg PDF)

(Listen to Dulcie)

Jack Lindsay

Jack Lindsay: angry young poet, son of the immortal Norman.

Download Jack Lindsay character sheet (2.6 Meg PDF)

Kenneth Slessor

Ken Slessor: dapper journalist and poet.

Download Kenneth Slessor character sheet (4 Meg PDF)

Hope

Hope: street tough and sculptor.

Download Hope character sheet (2.5 Meg PDF)

Moira Dartley

Moira Dartley: Sydney Sun womens’ columnist, social climber.

Download Moira Dartley character sheet (2.3 Meg PDF)

Pan^ic is a systemless multiform, a retelling of Arthur Machen’s horror classic, ‘The Great God Pan’. It offers horror, mystery, an interpenetration of worlds, and, perhaps, an ecstasy.

BY HUGHES, SCOTT & HUGHES

PHENOMENON 2019

What’s the game again?

Seriousness: On the serious side, with interludes of levity.

Genre/Setting: Boozy art types in 1920s Sydney. Similar to Lovecraftian horror, but make no assumptions.

System: Systemless multiform.

A systemless game focuses on character interaction and storytelling. Typically, it means that very few or no dice-driven mechanisms are used. Genre conventions and a sense of drama drive the story forward. Systemless games sacrifice mechanism for emotional depth and intensity.

A multiform simply means the group does not sit round a table, but uses the full game space, as if on stage.

There are some stats on the character sheet – a simple roll low 1D6 system. These are establishing and motivational, and will be actually used according to group preference, from maybe-once to let-the universe-decide.

Movie Rating: MA 15+. Possible trigger issues with sexual content, suicide and bodily transformation. Please contact the designers if in doubt. We will discuss group trust and comfort before play begins.

Download the PDF blurb