Apocalypse Keys Mystery "Sweet Dreams" Out Now!
Play as elite monsters investigating a cataclysmic candy landscape
“Sweet Dreams,” an original Apocalypse Keys Mystery from Calenmir’s RPGs, is now available in the shop, on Itch, and on DriveThruRPG! Released on Pie Day, this mystery lets you play as elite monsters investigating a cataclysmic candy landscape. It was written by Julia LaFond and features illustrations by Sebastian “DubiousArtiste” McKinnon.
What Is "Sweet Dreams"?
"Sweet Dreams" is a horror comedy Mystery for Apocalypse Keys which was released via the Omen Project. It's designed to be run as an approximately 3-4 hour one-shot, with options for extending play over multiple sessions. It also includes:
- Awesome art by Sebastian “DubiousArtiste” McKinnon
- Horrors lurking beneath the candy-coated surface of a cozy community
- Fairy tale allusions
- Free housing*
- A pie-eating contest
*For the Omens, not you. Nice try.
"Sweet Dreams" covers everything a Keeper needs to run it for their players:
- A briefing to kick things off
- Background info for the scenario
- A contact (i.e. the first NPC the Omens meet in the Candyscape)
- A custom Keeper move governing what happens when the Omens inevitably eat the candy
- A cheat sheet for beginning the Mystery
- People and locations of interest
- Threat playbooks
- The above-mentioned rules for expanding the Mystery beyond a one-shot
"Sweet Dreams" is great for Apocalypse Keys players of all experience levels, but as a one-shot with no additional player-side mechanics, it's especially handy for onboarding new players.
What Is Apocalypse Keys?
Apocalypse Keys is a Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) horror-superhero game about Omen-class monsters, or Omens for short. Their dark powers give them the potential to become Harbingers of the Apocalypse, but with the backing of the shadowy organization known as DIVISION, they protect the world instead. It is a battle on two fronts: even as they fight those who would destroy the world for their own game, Omens must tirelessly keep themselves from falling prey to their own dark desires.
These themes are integrated into the system's mechanics. Like most PbtA games, the success of failure of certain moves is determined by rolling a pair of six-sided dice. However, true success lies in moderation, and rolls above a certain threshold are considered disastrous successes, with consequences such as collateral damage. Meanwhile, the Ruin track marks Omens' descent into transforming into Harbingers, but also presents the opportunity to unlock powerful but corruptive new abilities. Character creation also reflects the immense freedom Omens have by virtue of their power, but I've already shared my thoughts in a seven-part blog series—a good starting place is the one about Batman.
How Is It a Mystery?
The structure of Apocalypse Keys storylines is based on investigating anomalies likely connected to the nefarious schemes of Harbingers of the Apocalypse. These investigation-based story arcs are referred to as Mysteries. Completing a Mystery requires collecting clues in the form of Keys before the Doomsday Clock counts down to zero and the Harbinger kickstarts the end of the world. There's a minimum number of Keys that Omens must find, but any time after that, players can decide to activate the move Unlock Doom's Door, put forth a solution to the Mystery, and roll to determine success or failure.
Yes, really: the solution to the Mystery is proposed by the players, and the correctness of the theory is determined by a move. Instead of having to deduce a pre-determined culprit or worry about missed clues, players can instead follow their interests without worrying about whether it's the "correct" story path, and Keepers can more easily tailor clues and events to the Omens' backstories. Since this level of collaborative storytelling requires improvisation from both the Keeper and the players, premade Mysteries are deliberately open-ended.
