By Håken Lid and Ole Peder Giæver

In a world of perilous adventure and dark dungeons filled with precious riches, one group of aspiring adventurers are having their first day in a new job, and it’s not quite working out as planned. The Hirelings is a role playing game in which you play out the preparations and the aftermath of a failed dungeon crawl.

The Hirelings draws heavily upon cliches from fantasy role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, video games, comics and fantasy literature. The characters in the game are all novice adventurers, who are preparing to head out on their first real quest.

The game is divided into five parts: A pre-game workshop, three acts describing the preparations, the implementation and the aftermath of a dungeon crawl, and finally an epilogue and allotment of experience points. The game mixes LARPing with narrative storytelling techniques

This game is from the "Larps From The Factory" book by the Oslo and Trondheim Laivfabrikken.

2277, May 17, Asteroid Habitat Aoraki Mountain, Captain's Address to Crew:

"People, we've done this before. The system newcomer Oblivion, whatever its mass, is just another flying rock. Killing rocks is our trade - we have the technology, the manpower, and the will. Earth will not fall on our watch."

2278, April 4, Asteroid Habitat Aoraki Mountain, Captain's Address to Crew:

"... in light of Oblivion 3's failure due to catastrophic equipment malfunction, technical crews will be inspecting Aoraki's infrastructure early this year. We trust that our crew will behave in the spirit of Aoraki as Oblivion passes through our orbit..."

2278, April 4, Captain's Private Log

"This isn't over."

For more than a hundred years the people of Earth and its surrounding space habitats have been fighting the Rock War - a collection of solid masses are passing willy-nilly through the Solar System, many of which could profoundly damage the mother planet. Most have been neutralised - humanity is winning! But now the largest planet-killer of them all, code-named Oblivion, has defeated the last three attempts to divert it. Soon it will pass through the orbit of Asteroid Habitat Aoraki Mountain, almost close enough to see, and the Captain has one last desperate gambit in mind...

But oh - this will cost. Join the habitat's officers in the last two hours before an irrevocable decision is made. Sometimes there aren't any good choices.

What compromises will you make, in the Face of Oblivion?

A play reading of William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas's epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valour and villainy of Shakespeares's greatest plays. 'Tis a tale told by fretful Droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying... pretty much everything.

Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter, William Shakespeare's Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the experience you've been looking for.

Loyal Citizens, you are called to action by your friend the Computer. A mission of the utmost importance, critical to the very safety of [ERROR: INSUFFICIENT CLEARANCE] itself!. You are instructed to report to meeting room [ERROR: LOCATION DELETED] for your orders.

The Computer reminds all loyal citizens to be alert for Commie or Mutant Treason, especially [SUBVERSIVE MATERIAL INTERCEPTED AND DELETED] which has been detected even among your fellow Troubleshooters.

Stay alert. Trust no-one. Keep your laser handy.

The rabbits of the Warren enjoyed a peaceful, contented existence -- until the coming of the Men and the Iron Way. Now the rabbits are trapped between the advancing devastation and the foxes’ dark and deadly woods. A small brave band sets out to seek the advice of a hermit seer -- but what will they find when they return, and what will be the cost of following the seer’s advice?

Ill-Fated is a game of contradictions. Everything is decided in advance, but it's entirely up to you how it plays out. The setting might be gritty noir, but you could also be nuns. And nobody wants to pull from the major arcana, just in case the ice cream truck shows up.

Ill-Fated is a kitchen-table-designed roleplaying game which takes Tarot cards as its primary mechanic. Three cards determine your character, and another four determine the game's setting. A number of the remaining cards are placed in the centre of the table - these are the game's plot. So, everything is already decided, in a way. What order you play the plot cards in, and where the game goes from there, is entirely up to you.

The most recent Ill-Fated game featured a group of teenagers traveling in a van to play in a Battle-of-the-Bands show at the Hard Rock Convent in St Petersburg, Florida. Things can get a bit out of hand.

Once again we have a heavy presence of EPOCH at KapCon. For those who haven't tried it, EPOCH is a cinematic survival horror rpg, strongly influenced by the indie-gaming paradigm, by long-time KapCon GM Dale Elvy. It has quick character generation, and a game structure which pushes the story in the arc of classic survival horror movies such as Alien and The Thing. Last year the EPOCH GM's racked up an impressive bodycount - over 60 characters as I recall (and yes, they kept score). This year... well, it's really up to you.

EPOCH games at KapCon 23 include:

You are Vikings! Conquerers of the North, followers of Odin, warriors, and you have just sailed across the sea with Thorkin the Tall to attack England!

Having crushed a small barony, you have been leave to do what your particular vikings does best - oust drunken Englishman from the pubs and tell them off for giving into the sin of alcohol! But can you do it without giving into the sin of drink yourself?

A silly apocalypse-world hack designed to maximize ridiculousness, slapstick, and as many opportunities for laughable accents.

Disclaimer: Any resemblances to Vikings living or dead is purely coincidental.

March, 1941. As the German war-machine rolls on, Britain stands alone at the brink. In London and other major centres, the blitz rages and the country hold its breath and waits for the next attack. Though the threat of an imminent invasion may have passed, the country is still under siege, and many fear that it will on be a matter of time before the Nazis arrive.

All of this seems a lifetime away from the picturesque village of Blakely. Here the volunteers of Blakely Home Guard patrol the village and keep a watchful eye out for a German invasion as the country’s last line of defence. Events, however, will soon bring even greater horrors to Blakely and prove that heroes can be found in even the most unlikely of places.

EPOCH is a game of character-driven survival horror. The goal is to deliver a tense and scary experience in a single game session. EPOCH players are active participants in the creation of the game atmosphere and have complete control over the creation and ultimate fate of their characters.

The open road stretches out before you; a half-heard whisper of freedom in the wind. It’s time to escape the grind and stress of everyday life. You deserve a break after all, and where better then a picturesque mountain cabin with the people closest to you, far from all those modern pressures. As they say, sometimes it's about the journey, not the destination.

EPOCH is a game of character-driven survival horror. The goal is to deliver a tense and scary experience in a single game session. EPOCH players are active participants in the creation of the game atmosphere and have complete control over the creation and ultimate fate of their characters.