Nocturne - A Homebrew Unknown Armies Actual Play Tablestory

This was a unique experience for me and will be for you regardless of whether you are familiar with D&D or not. The cast is 10/10, made me laugh, cry and sometimes yell into the abyss of my empty house with joy and frustration. The story weaving that Pumpkinberry has woven made this an experience I will never forget, what an genius. Finally the music was ties everything together so well bringing out the best in the scenes and characters. Thank you everyone who was involved.

I cannot recommend this show enough, but rather than just saying it’s good I’ll have a go at explaining why it’s worth your time.

Nocturne engages themes that are traditionally considered taboo. The important thing here is that this show isn't glorifying or making gratuitous use of them - it has real characters that have genuine emotional reactions to the things they face - characters that you immediately, almost instinctively identify with. It forces you to reflect on the things you're seeing, to really question how and why you feel the way you feel about what’s going on. I’m talking here about subject matter that honestly I think most people don't confront on a day to day basis. This could be friendships, relationships and most definitely the deeper, darker more mature stuff. Those internalised fears, the self-doubt, the things that you only talk about to yourself, if at all.

I don't get that catharsis anywhere else, so this show resonates with me like nothing else I've watched - and I’ve lost count of the amount of times that I’ve been brought to tears by laughter, sadness or a mixture of both - or been left white-knuckle gripping the edge of my seat as I’m enraptured by the horror I’m vicariously experiencing.

What makes good horror good is the tension. It’s not the jump scares, or the gore (though they both have their place), but the tension. And this show takes that pressure valve labelled TENSION and turns it up slowly, painfully, artfully - it keeps you enthralled. What motivates the characters isn’t experience points or some arbitrary vision of a ‘good ending’, it’s the pressure that constantly drives them on, the impetus that reminds them incessantly to keep SURVIVING.

You’ll see it repeated over and over in other reviews, but truly this show is like lightning in a bottle, it’s the perfect storm of collaborative storytelling with players that trust each other enough to be vulnerable with each other. And that’s the key. I could go on and on about the intricate, mind-bogglingly planned story and amazing production work (sound design in particular) being weaved by the GM (Pumpkinberry) and how excellent all the cast members are - but I’ll cut this review short by saying that you won’t regret taking the plunge.

Welcome to the Darkness.

Your eyes will adjust in time.

P.S This show stays with you long after the closing shout-outs are done, and is made all the better by the incredible community around it. I implore you to check out the Discord community - we Nocturnals of course indulge in all the fan theories and deep diving but really it’s just a group of people who - like the cast members - exalt in being able to feel emotional and vulnerable about something together, and that's something really special. Come and say hi!

I have never really been into live RPG but something in this had me hooked from the start. The participants lay themselves open giving the characters a depth I do not see in a lot of things like big budget TV progs and film. The GM keeps the pace taught and doesn't interject all the time letting the other players create a world you can picture but also keeps the suspense at a level that keeps you as a listener invested in wanting to keep listening. Each character has their own flaws and quarks but have to draw attention to the character of Brian played by Classypax who has you wondering what he is there for, but then hits you with the feels in a way that has you wondering 'Where the hell did that come from?' I can't recomend enough that people download and listen to this.