Bedlam Hall - A Macabre Victorian Role-Playing Game
Created by Monkeyfun Studios, LLC
A dreadpunk tabletop rpg combining Downton Abbey with the Addams Family, including backstabbing politics and horrible secrets.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Concerning the Madness of Seeking Perfection
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 09:48:15 PM
Hello again, my lovelies,
It has been said that perfection is not a gift, but rather a temptation. To those who consider themselves artisans, craftsmen or creators of any sort, they know what it means to be plagued with the nagging tooth of what could be, what could be possible, if only we did not inhabit such mortal shells plagued with frailties and limitations.
So we continue the refinement of our efforts, pursue improvement to our meager skills in order to barely approach that which has driven some of us to madness. Our best never being quite good enough, driving us further with an unhealthy obsession. Other infringements upon our time and attention, such as our friends and loved ones, even our health, these things rarely matter in our pursuit of achieving that which has not existed before - a perfect demonstration of our craft, that can never be replicated once it has been obtained.
I am hesitant to say that we ourselves are not above such attentions and obsessive behavior. You should see our sock drawer, really. We have begun matching mates by thickness - it's the only thing that truly matters. But we have also applied these compulsions to Bedlam Hall, which we feel you deserve. As such, we have made revisions to the electronic text that have been graciously suggested by many of you (a special word of thanks to Mr. Richard Forster), and have made this new electronic version available through BackerKit. These changes have also been applied to our physical copy that has been submitted to DrivethruRPG, and we are expecting a new proof to review in the mail.
In the meantime, we have also provided Character Sheet templates also through Backerkit, which is now available for download as well. Now you have the option of running your friends through quick jaunts to Bedlam Hall as we continue our determined pursuit of providing you the finest publication possible.
Concerning Lost Aviators and Digital Distribution
over 6 years ago
– Sun, Aug 13, 2017 at 08:43:53 PM
Hello hello, my lovelies -
Amelia Earhart was a fine woman. Her courage and determination to transverse our globe is an inspiration to us all, to do so on her own terms without fear or hesitation. A jump into the unknown, as it were. We salute that type of lion-hearted pluck, and find great leadership in challenging the unknown.
The fact she was never seen again should be irrelevant.
We say this, because as we are readying ourselves for our trip to GenCon 50 in Indiana, it occurred to us that we too may disappear from the face of the earth, leaving future generations to wonder whatever happened to that Kickstarter project from those monkey people. Fear not, allow us to share our good tidings with you -
Our wait for printer approval has now been concluded, and we have requested a physical proof copy of both Bedlam Hall and Gruel Truck! for final inspection. In the meantime, we have distributed the digital download to all of you beautiful people who have invested in this endeavor and provided us with all your vital information. Once the physical copies have been reviewed, we will begin the physical distribution of the expedited copies and materials. Once those have been distributed, we will continue to those of you who opted for a regular, leisurely timeline. And well done for that, might we add. We applaud your patience.
If you will be in attendance for GenCon, come find us sharing space with the Exile Game Studio chaps at an area somewhere between Booths 1929 and 2029. It will be a mystery to us too, not unlike where Amelia Earhart eventually ended up.
We will be sending additional correspondence to those of you who have ordered personalized game sessions in order to schedule your game appointment after we return from Indiana. (Provided we do, of course). We will also be reaching out to you lucky souls who dared to brave our seance dinner at a secret mysterious location in the Los Angeles area, with all pertinent details of the event. Fear not, if we don't return, we will still reach out to you. It just may be in another form.
Concerning the Value of Patience and Outrunning Bloodthirsty Tigers
over 6 years ago
– Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 07:55:59 PM
Hello once again, my lovelies -
The passage of time is a strange observance within one's mind. In certain circumstances such as a pleasurable Sunday in the park with the family, time seems to race by us with the speed and alacrity of quicksilver. Add an unfortunate side detail however, such as the park being filled with escaped man-eating tigers, and the participation of these same events can be quite lengthy in our observance of time. They can seem like they go on forever, especially when pursued by a man-eating tiger. Suddenly time no longer passes so expediently, although speed is now best observed in whether we are of a faster pace than our second cousin whom we were never that close to, come to think of it. We don't need to be faster than a tiger, just our cousin. Time, speed, and survival are ultimately a matter of perspective.
As such, we continue to wait for DrivethruRPG to approve the Bedlam Hall text in order to receive the proof copy and give our final approval. However, we assure you - although our hands have been accused of the devil's work, they are never, ever idle. As we wait, we have also completed the final layout and artwork for the accompanying mini-game, Gruel Truck. We are quite grateful for the excellent work provided by Mr. Scott Irwin and have also submitted the Gruel Truck text to DrivethruRPG. In order to tantalize and whet your appetite, allow us to show you the final cover artwork -
If you had previously opted to only receive Bedlam Hall, you may be reconsidering your previous choices and may wish to acquire Gruel Truck as well. Never fear, my loves. Professor Backerkit's delightful contraption still allows for you stragglers to keep pace with the rest of us and place your order (at this fine location). You will certainly not be in any disadvantage of course... and we would never ever release a man-eating tiger in your presence. Just to be certain though, we recommend you act soon.
Concerning Seeking Approval from an Uncaring Universe
almost 7 years ago
– Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 11:42:33 PM
Hello again, my lovelies...
Approval is something we all seek in our daily lives - approval from our loved ones, those we respect, that serves as an acknowledgment of our efforts. They signify a job well done, and a value to the struggles we attempt to surmount (both seen and unseen).
Certain things in our lives, however, should not be approved - unseemly behavior in public, for example. Or taking actions that result in the flagrant harm of others. Or those awful cargo shorts we just refuse to retire from our wardrobe, knowing they go with nothing we own and make us look frumpy and disheveled in a social gathering. Ultimately, they are examples of a breaking of the social contract we share as members of society - overall we are making things worse, and if we consider ourselves to be productive and upstanding citizens of our shared community and ethic, we should refrain from such behaviors. They lessen our mutual values.
In order to overcome such slights and indiscretions, we must acknowledge our shortcomings and apologize for our behavior with humility and earnest. With that, we must sincerely apologize that Bedlam Hall has been submitted to DrivethruRPG for final approval before printing. We acknowledge this was wrong on our part, because it means the book's publishing is indeed about to occur. Perhaps DrivethruRPG may take serious steps in inhibiting this social faux pas from general release, it is quite possible that the law may be engaged to place some sort of injunction. But we truly doubt it, and cannot escape the fact that we're afraid Bedlam Hall is indeed on its way to being printed and for that, we hope you can forgive us in some fashion.
Perhaps not today, and we understand this. We deserve nothing less than your scorn and disapproving glances. We're quite ashamed of our actions ourselves.
Of the Renderings of Scale
On other matters, we would also like to make a brief correction regarding the size of stickers that are being offered as part of our pre-order catalog. Technically it is not truly a correction because the size and dimensions of the stickers were not specified. However, we wanted to clarify that the size of the stickers that are available will be 3" by 3", with three distinct designs on each. We will indeed be changing the image available on BackerKit to better illustrate this change in design but for now, here is a quick photograph of the three designs:
Of Trips to Indianapolis
In regards to our upcoming visit to Indianapolis and the GenCon convention, we are both delighted and mortally frightened that all of our scheduled games are completed filled, and in fact were filled within the first day of the convention schedule's availability. For those of you who have signed up for one of our games, we really think you might want to re-consider and shan't take this personally if you opt to disappear into the night without a trace. This was how Uncle Howard left the family, you know. Or at least that was what we were told when we were very young that Howard left to go live on a farm with some of our older household pets. However, we will indeed be within the Dealer's Room Hall with fifteen thousand of our closest friends, peddling our wares. We will indeed be sharing a table with the good people of Exile Game Studio, makers of the fine product line, Hollow Earth Expedition. Although we doubt we will be running any additional games of either Bedlam Hall or Spirit of 77, we will be on hand to meet with you all and apologize personally for our terrible actions. It's the least we can do, consider these cargo shorts.
Until then, as always, ta, darlings!
~The Monkeyfun Gang
www.monkeyfunstudios.com
Concerning Illustrations and Improvements
almost 7 years ago
– Sat, Jun 24, 2017 at 07:23:32 PM
Hello again, my lovelies...
We have now begun the warm, pleasant descent into the sweltering torture known as summertime. I don't know about you, but summer holds special memories for me personally - a fond remembrance of days past in an idyllic, picturesque youth. I remember those fine, warm days cavorting around the swimming hole near our town, and the one summer when my aunt requested I whitewash our picket fence while my best friend Huckleberry and I discovered...
No, wait. No. I may be mis-remembering this.
In any event, progress continues as we do our reviews of the initial Bedlam Hall layout, along with some final adjustments that have proved necessary in order to sleep through the entire night. We keep finding strange imagery and markings on pages we had previously thought to be complete. However we continue to accommodate these strange turns of events whenever possible. It certainly must be our minds playing tricks on us again. You did hear that shrieking in the distance, didn't you? Our sincerest show of gratitude to our dear associate, Professor Violet Baldwin for calming our tattered nerves and clarifying items of note within the main text. "Defenestration" is a much harder word to spell correctly, it would appear.
Of Grueling Illustrations
In addition to our progress surrounding Bedlam Hall, we are pleased to announce we have enlisted the illustrative efforts of Mr. Scott Irwin for the interior art work for Gruel Truck! We knew Mr. Irwin was our sort of artist when he showed us his work involving a person welded to their own dog.
It's conceptual. And indeed, we got it.
We will be sharing his initial sketches as they become available, and we promise no dog-welding will be taking place at this venture. We make no guarantees about our next project, however.
Until our next update, we wish you pleasant thoughts and think of you often.
