I’ve performed tabletop role-playing video games for forty years or so, however I’ve by no means performed in a “skilled” sport. That modified final week when – as a visitor of RPG Taverns in south London – I used to be given a run by one of many new adventures in “Welcome to Hellfire Membership“, which is the brand new D&D boxed set based mostly on the sport Eddie and mates play in Stranger Issues. (A play with a play, certainly.)
Impressions? Nicely, the oldsters at RPG Taverns have created a secure area for journey – bar on the bottom ground providing foods and drinks delivered to your gaming desk, and downstairs a warren of gaming rooms, all embellished in numerous vibes. (The Eighties vibe in our room was significantly robust – VHS, the A-team, they even had the tape-to-tape cassette deck I owned as a teen.) It’s not super-slick (the soundproofing is nonexistent, for instance) but it surely’s enjoyable, and the gaming tables have all the things you may want, together with giant tabletop screens to undertaking maps and different photos. (Additionally: I didn’t pay for my VIP journalist ticket, however £15 for a 2-3 hour session appears fairly good worth. My native escape room costs twice that for one hour.) They’re clearly aiming to create an actual sense of neighborhood, together with an ongoing marketing campaign world and a Discord server with plenty of energetic chat in between periods. They’re additionally very beginner-friendly.
Our DM Phil did an excellent job – pleasant, good pacing, fluent with the principles, spooky voices and robust descriptions.
As for the module? It appeared to have some pretty parts – maps, cube, DM display screen – and trod a pleasant line between the retro Eighties type dungeon-crawl, and some new and genuinely unsettling twists. It’s fairly trad, to the purpose of buying and selling on nostalgia. However should you like D&D, or like Stranger Issues and are D&D curious… I might advocate it. And should you’re based mostly in London and don’t have sufficient periods with a daily gaming group and need to meet new avid gamers in a pleasant setting with a secure arms operating the sport, RPG Taverns is properly price a glance.
(For these wanting a unique type of gaming expertise, Blades within the Darkish is kind of a visit.)
