The Ballad of the Silver Spectres

You know you are in for a realm of mystery, conflict, and secrets when you begin an Actual Play and one of the main cast is adorned with a veil - making their face almost unrecognizable beneath. So it is of no surprise that EUphoria’s AP “The Ballad of the Silver Spectres” was ready from the get-go to take on themes of poverty and class disparity.

Using the Blades in the Dark System, Game Master (GM) Michelle Kelly (she/her) leads the Silver Spectres as they seek to infiltrate the wealthy and elite, in hopes of discovering what menacing plot is being brewed. GM Michelle led the beats of this show by the hand in the beginning, and over time let the players’ “slip through her fingers” as they took on the narrative and conflicts they had unraveled themselves – a truly great example of a Game Master setting their players’ up to make the story their own in the end, and together.

Balancing themes of the occult, to class disparity, to politics takes more than just a GM. The game featured three players: Bootleg (he/him) played by Claire Gaskin (she/her), General Arlo (he/him) played by Keshia Aliyah (she/her), and Ciorstan "The Harpy" (she/her) played by Sequaia (she/her). The players brought both a wonderful level of seriousness, and much-needed levity, for the listener. Amongst themselves, the players of this game balanced the gravity of the AP’s themes with humor at times when needed. Two great examples were with the use of props. Ciorstan’s serious undertones were brought to conversation from behind a veil – bringing a “podcast” and “left to the

listener’s imagination” bit to the video-style AP; whereas Bootleg brought a change of physical props to simulate character actions in actively swapping-out disguises – bringing a hearty laugh to both the cast and myself.

The AP also had wonderful features added as well. The use of music did not just set the mood, but seemingly synced perfectly during times of difficulty. Visuals (in cute pixelated format) to show the viewer what the party and general vibe of the mansion was. And subtitles that were not only exceptional, but of course very much so needed when you

have one player’s face just about completely covered. Excellent work by production on post, and a wonderful job to the team at EUphoria.

"Ballad of the Silver Spectres," produced by EUphoria Actual Plays is, simply put, a joy to watch. Michelle is a stellar example of what a game master should be. From the start, we as the audience know exactly where we are and what this world looks like as Michelle narrates. The quality of this narration is incredibly consistent throughout, and it never felt overbearing or lacking. She has a clear mastery of the system through which this story is being told and she is consistently guiding the players to find way to make it work for them and whatever hijinks they are trying to do.

Blades in The Dark serves as an exceptional backdrop for a group that is eager to make choices and deal with the consequences if the dice decide to tell their own story. There is fantastic interplay between the mechanics, the narrative, and the player characters who have sensational chemistry. The players themselves seem incredibly invested and their enthusiasm for the game is contagious. I often found myself laughing with them, or tense in a moment where the stakes were elevated. They are very clearly enjoying themselves, which made me as an audience member want to join in the fun. The characters themselves are all very distinct, and I thoroughly enjoyed the use of props and costumes, be it a veil, a cowboy hat, or mask. I was also intrigued by the relationships between these characters, despite only watching the screener. It is not often that a mother and son dynamic is played out on screen and I wanted to see more of them, learn more about their history and how they came to be criminals in the first place.

The use of graphics was also something that caught my attention. Maps, character portraits, and settings helped fill in some of the blank spaces that can happen and gave important context for the scenes. The music also helped carry the tone, supporting the performances by the cast and the gm. The series is fun, bold, and kind hearted but not lacking in stakes or air of intrigue. This is a game about choices and their consequences.

Video, PG-13

Adventure, Horror, Thriller

System: Blades In the Dark 

Content Notices: Screener: Poverty, class disparity, the occult, possession by a ghost, physical violence, reference to intimate partner violence

Full series: Poverty, class disparity, police violence, the occult, industrial action, attempted union-busting and strike-breaking, physical violence, poisoning, occult rituals, possession by a ghost, implied references to intimate partner violence and murder, fire, one instance of deliberate harm to an animal

Description 

While the workers of Duskvol fight for better pay and conditions, the gang known as the Silver Spectres infiltrate the homes and businesses of the wealthy elite and uncover a sinister occult plot.

This 4-part Blades in the Dark Actual Play explores wealth inequality and the power those with money and status exercise over those without. We are proud that the cast and production team of The Ballad of the Silver Spectres is 80% LGBTQIA* and 50% BIPoC, with 5 countries represented. This is what European tables look like.

Liberatory Artistic Practices

EUphoria shows, including Ballad of the Silver Spectres, are created with true inclusion at their heart. We try to achieve this through a combination of simple statistical diversity allied with shared responsibility among team members (avoiding any single person being in a position of authority) and a strong focus on safety and consent.

EUphoria has a channel-wide policy of casting, at minimum, two People of Colour in every production, as we are a majority-PoC team who have experienced tokenisation in APs and never want any of our GMs or players to feel that way on our shows. As a pan-European channel we also commit to a minimum of two different countries being represented in every show. 

In our casting applications, we invite all performers to share access needs if they wish to. These are not looked at or considered as part of the casting process, but those who are selected for the final cast will have their access needs reviewed by the showrunner, who will work with the cast and producer to co-ordinate the implementation of any necessary access measures.  EUphoria shows always have a planned back-up recording and/or streaming date so that there is no pressure for any team members to 'push through' illness or personal circumstances for the sake of the show. 

All EUphoria shows have a mandatory Session 0, which is facilitated by a staff member who is not a member of the cast or the producer. The facilitator will discuss cast boundaries on roleplay romance and sexual relationships (including EUphoria's channel policy of obtaining consent at least 24 hours before the show to roleplay romance, including one-sided romantic feelings, with another player), explain all safety tools in play for the show (at a minimum, X-card, Lines and Veils, open door policy), then read all lines and veils aloud, inviting any questions on clarity and making notes where required. Producer lines and veils are included in the lines and veils document as they are a part of the show. The safety facilitator remains in role after Session 0 is completed, and is available to be contacted by the producer and all cast members for check-ins, changes to the lines and veils documents, or any other support until after the show has aired. 

We understand that Actual Play is used by many audience members as a guide for how to play TTRPGs, and so if a safety check-in happens during recording of a show, this will be included in the final edit provided all cast members consent. A youtube short included in the playlist for Ballad of the Silver Spectres show an example from this show. 

Finally, EUphoria have clear Community Values policy which can be read here:

https://euphoriaap.com/#communityvalues

Everyone who joins our Discord and who appears in one of our shows must agree to these policies. Anyone who shows a continued lack of commitment to upholding these values will not be invited to appear on our channel in future and will be removed from our community Discord.