Fun in the Sun, Fright at Night; a New AP Spanning 50 Years
The town of Roseville Beach is just like any small, touristy, coastal island town; sun and sand and salt, summer vacationers, queer joy, and a thin veil between a dimension of eldritch abominations and our own. Our bunch of beach-goers are thrown into the deep end, and must uncover What Lies Below.
"What Lies Below" is a six episode actual play series on the Tiny Ghost Chef Games YouTube channel. Our story begins with four beautiful beach-goers, Moore, L, Honey, and Jojo, residents of the town of Roseville Beach during the summer of 1976. They begin to unravel the mysteries of the town, searching for the cause of several strange goings on that have plagued the beach. But this mystery cannot be contained to one summer, or even to one decade. Half of this story takes place in that fateful 70s summer, and the other half flashes forward 50 years to 2026. The town (and the game) has changed to Brindlewood Bay. And our characters must finish what they started oh so long ago and deal with the consequences of their pasts.
This series stars an amazing cast of players, both veterans and newbies to the AP space. VJ (@vjharris), Tanner (@tannerazzinnaro), Jamie (@missjamiesunshine), and Syd (@syd.mattea) have an amazing chemistry that helps bring their characters and the story to life. All under the watchful game-mastering of Dan (@dan_the_baker), who for the most part gets to sit back and let the players play in their sandbox of a mystery.
Amazing character art by Barclay (@barcstravisart) and Marsh (@noozibii)
Our group of ecclectic characters include: Moore, who is actually a primordial sentient sludge who took over the form of a human; Honey, a person running away from a secretive past with no experience with the supernatural; L, a woman with a love for mysteries and penchant for turning into a crow; and Jojo, a moody man prone to esoteric outburts of monologues about the nature of life with a magic camera.
The series combines elements from both the games of Moonlight on Roseville Beach and Brindlewood Bay.
The story explores themes of: queer joy and friendship, grief, depression, and accepting the consequences of one's own actions; all through the lens of an eldritch entity that wants to help you be free (just in exchange of your immortal soul, willpower, and sanity). With stellar performances from all of the players, each of whom bringing an intense and emotional passion to their characters, What Lies Below is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
So grab a drink, stick your toes in the sand, and soak up the sunshine; cause this is a summer vacation that's to die for.
