"I am neither especially clever nor especially gifted, I am only very, very curious." (Albert Einstein)

Careless Talk

Author(s):Tony Mitton
Game EMail:tony AT tonymitton DOT com
GM(s):
Tony Mitton    tony AT tonymitton DOT com
Nathan Richards    Domino100 AT hotmail DOT com
Richard Salmon    rsalmon AT ishtari DOT co DOT uk
Male Players:Min: 13 / Max: 17
Female Players:Min: 6 / Max: 8
Neutral Players:Min: 4 / Max: 5
Total Players: Min: 23 / Max: 30

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On England's south coast in 1941, the brave men of the Home Guard are the only defence against Hitler's imminent invasion. Rumours run wild about spies and saboteurs in the area, with strange lights visible out to sea and tall tales of paratrooping invaders disguised as nuns.

Yet there's more to worry about than the War. A conscientious objector has been murdered, and his corpse has gone missing. Black market trading is rife. A wierd statue has been discovered on the shore. And the Three Bells Inn is host to a variety of strange and suspicious visitors.

Careless Talk is a fairly lighthearted game mixing themes from Dad's Army, Call of Cthulhu and other sources. It last ran at GenCon UK in 2001. The game uses a few card-based abilities plus a very simple combat system.


Mitton, Tony

Richards, Nathan

No, I am not 'that' Nathan! Who am I? Well, that is the great question, isn't it. You want what? My credentials? I'm don't want another credit card, thank you. How many years have I been playing games? Have you been talking to my boss? As a gamer? I'm not telling anyone that! It would make me sound positively geriatric. Yes, I know I am 40 years old this year, thank you very much! Why does anyone want to know anyway? Because I'm running a game? I am? I promised Tony Mitton last year that I'd help him run 'Careless Talk'? I must have been drunk. No, I'm not normally drunk.. only most of the time. How many games have I played? I don't remember. No, it's not because I was drunk in all of them! Only some of them. The bad ones. Well, there was this murder mystery game at Gencon one year where my character was one line: "You are the French chef. Did you kill him? No". Some went bad, some went mad and some ran away. No, I'm not talking about the characters, I am talking about the players. Which one did I do? You be the judge of that. I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way, ha ha. I am more sinned against than sinning! All right, yes, it is a lie. No, seriously, I have a certificate to say I am absolutely sane. I can produce a dozen witnesses to say the Doctor did not sign it under duress. Games I have written? Well, there was one. It had Brad Pitt in it. No, the film of the nearly same name, not the game! Talk in rhyme? All the time. Careless Talk? No, I thought about it very carefully, actually. Oh, the game? No, I did not write it but I wish I had written it. Of course, if it goes well, I'll claim I wrote it but if it goes badly then it's all Tony's fault. Have I run it before? No. All right, yes. Maybe. I don't remember. The nun in the leather raincoat with the beard? No, I am pretty sure I didn't snog him.. I think I would have remembered that!! Oh, you said 'Surely I didn't 'miss' him?'. I thought you said.. something else anyway. Are we nearly there yet? I need the toilet. Can I go now? I can? Goodbye.

Salmon, Richard

I've been playing in freeforms since 'Home of the Bold' at Convulsion in 1992.

In 2004 I was part of the writing and GM team for 'The Siege of Troy' (well we ran it in 2004, we started writing it it 1999!)

I played in 'Careless Talk' at Gencon, had a great time and have been hassling Tony to run it again. Last year Nathan and I offered to help GM it if he would submit it - I think the phrase I'm looking for is 'hoist on my own petard' . . .