Black History Month - Heartbeats in Perfect Sync, Episode 1 - As the River Breathes

EUphoria Actual Play

Several countries in Europe celebrate Black History Month and Black Excellence in October. In collaboration with the UK Tabletop Industry Network (uktin.substack.com), we're shining a light on the talented Black TTRPG designers and performers in our local community.

You are ordinary people connected to your city in an unusual way - when negativity builds up in the hearts of people, you’re given the literal weapons to fight back against it. Your relationships are a terrible power - there’s strength in passion, and destruction in heartbreak...

Designed by Nathan Blades, Heartbeats in Perfect Sync is a tabletop RPG inspired by the shounen battle aesthetic in certain JRPGs. Play as a group of ordinary people who fight monsters with ridiculously over-the-top weapons. Use the Heart Rate system (a pool of dice that increases and decreases as you make rolls and ratchet up your character's emotional tension) to perform astounding Perfect Sync attacks with your allies on the same wavelength. But beware - if your Heart Rate gets too high or too low, your character will become Heartbroken, a dark version of themselves with new abilities and a high budget transformation cutscene.

Content Warnings for this game of "Heartbeats in Perfect Sync" include: stress and panic, pollution horror, forced labour

The GM - Nathan Blades. Nathan is your androgynous android late night DJ! They're a TTRPG designer, voice actor, and sometimed VTuber. You can catch them as Captain Orimar Vale on the Campaign: Skyjacks Podcast, and buy their games (including Heartbeats!) at TheNeonCaster.itch.io

The Players -

Tendai - Tendai (they/them) is a queer TTRPG player and budding GM with a fondness for horror, mythology and storytelling. They love playing in various systems and bringing their characters to life as a part of a bigger story. Behind the scenes, they are a writer, cultural consultant and sensitivity reader.

Chochy - Chochy (they/them) is a chaotic cosplayer and variety streamer with a focus particularly on indie games- currently doing a new one every week for the year. An active member of the stream team Black Twitch UK, and the Twitch Black Guild. Can usually be found at twitch.tv/chochyplays causing trouble!

Lloyd - With a love for narrative storytelling countered by a craving for esoteric mechanics, Lloyd (he/him) brings a nuanced love of emotional roleplaying to any game or setting he gets his hands on. Guaranteed to choke back tears at least once per campaign. Twitter - @druggeddwarf

Ruben - Ruben Ferdinand (they/he) is a Dutch-Surinamese tabletop enthusiast, cat dad, and queer activist based in The Hague.

/ urbanfriendden on Twitter and Bsky for mostly weird jokes. Frequent appearances on The Neon Caster channel!

EUphoria is a community dedicated to the best and brightest TTRPG talent within Europe and outside the U.S. We're committed to inclusive tables that uplift marginalised communities (POC/BAME LGBT+, women & femmes, neurodivergent, disabled, immigrants) and share diverse stories and games.

Mentioned in this episode:

Argo-0 Kickstarter

A Tabletop RPG inspired by Greek Myths, Retro Cartoons, and Classic Anime. Click the link to back the Kickstarter!

Argo-0 KS

Cryptid Creeks

This episode is sponsored by Cryptid Creeks by Hatchling Games. A family-friendly TTRPG of eldritch mystery in a rural community. Click the link to get your copy!

Cryptid Creeks