This is a series of five sessions of Cartel in September on Tuesday evenings (BST). Cartel is a PbtA game of Mexican narcofiction by Magpie Games - this game deals with intense subject matter and the content warnings below should be read in full before signing up. General sign-ups will be available in 72 hours time (July 18th). This game will be played using the Open Table policy, so there is no need to commit to the full run. Though as with many PbtA games the play experience is often better over multiple sessions, and some playbooks may be less suitable if you cannot commit to the whole series, but this said characters dropping in and out will be fine. Sessions will be three hours in length, and we will play using Zoom. This game will be recorded, and may be released on Youtube with the consent of all participants.
Cartel is set in Durango, Mexico, in 2007. The characters are all working for, or associated with, the Sinaloa Cartel which is responsible for shipping drugs across the Northern border into the US. The cartel itself is starting to receive increasing pressure from both law enforcement and rival cartels, and tension runs high. This reflects on to the characters, who must live their lives under the pressure and violence of the growing drug war. We will play to see how far they will go to survive, and if they can get out with their life or humanity intact.
Content Warning: This game takes its inspiration from real-world drug trafficking across the Mexico/US border and the fiction around it. As a result a lot of potentially upsetting content may come up. In particular, violence, physical and mental abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, police violence, corruption, and economic deprivation and abuse. This is not a game about heroes, and the player characters will often be forced - by circumstance or game mechanics - to take unpleasant actions. It is also important to bear in mind that while our game will be fictionalised it deals with real places and events that have affected - and may still continue to affect - real people, and we should respect that and avoid dehumanising or stereotyping characters. We will have a discussion on tone and content before the game begins, as well as establishing Lines & Veils to provide a comfortable play experience. However, if the subject matter already mentioned features elements you are uncomfortable with, this is probably not a game you will enjoy. This game will take place under the Gauntlet Community Code of Conduct and the safety tools Script Change and X-Card will be in use. I will aim to get in touch with participants through either the Gauntlet Slack or email a week in advance of the game to confirm attendance and provide play materials.
Session 1 2020-09-01T18:30:00Z → 2020-09-01T21:30:00Z
Session 2 2020-09-08T18:30:00Z → 2020-09-08T21:30:00Z
Session 3 2020-09-15T18:30:00Z → 2020-09-15T21:30:00Z
Session 4 2020-09-22T18:30:00Z → 2020-09-22T21:30:00Z
Session 5 2020-09-29T18:30:00Z → 2020-09-29T21:30:00Z