An Emo adventure for Troika!

This is dedicated to a younger me. One that screamed about my infidelities, a me that believed that all of October would be blue, and I would forever be weak and have a Glassjaw.

This review is about raw emotion. The adventure is the epitome of the late 90s and early oughts’ Emo scene. Her Heart in a Porcelain Jar [$8] (PDF available here [$5]) is a small quick adventure module ready to be run in Troika! The book is written by Evey “Filth Gnome” Lockhart and illustrated by Spooky Rusty and Tony Jaguar (as Spooky Jaguar), layout by Tony Jaguar.

This booklet was sent to me by Spooky Rusty for review; however, the views expressed are my own.

This booklet is a mini Crapland style Troika! setting and adventure. What it is, is as important as what it is not though.

It does not claim to flesh out a full adventure with plot points and story line that will lead you to a conclusion.

It does not claim to be an adventure that you will fight and destroy a big bad evil creature.

It does give a small glimpse into the heart of a troubled girl (Joanna Decanter) who has given her heart to a love and has run away from a metaphorical wizardess who is her mother (Annette Decanter). This story does not preclude that you even need to go on an adventure and I posit that you could sit around in the abandoned apartment and just have the characters talk.

This can be an exploration of the human soul. A walk through the lives of youth who are troubled with the overbearing dominance of family at a critical time in their lives. Looking for meaning in the life they want to lead.

It reminds me of sitting in the apartment of my girlfriend in college, just hanging out with her room mates talking about life. About video games, about our families and the unrealistic pressures placed on us as young adults looking for our “self”.

This is an exploration through game of our self and how we become, and what we do not become. Life is weird. So is this book.

So what is it and what do I actually get with this adventure?

Well this is an eight-page staple bound book in A5 size with 5 locations, a d3 encounter table, 5 playable characters, and a small story line that can be used to run an actual adventure style game if you chose to do so. The inside is black and white, the cover is a beautiful drawing of a red heart on black paper that is being squeezed.

The story does allow for an adventure to be run, but I honestly would imagine a group of friends sitting around an apartment talking. Though maybe they decide to go the 24 hour dinner, again more talking would ensue, adventure would most likely find them eventually as one of the encounters rolls randomly. Setting off a possible chain of reactions that leads to a climax and conclusion.

Or it can not be this and you can just sit around and explore emotion. Whatever you choose is good by me.

Derek Bizier, the Halfling Scenester

Bonus: If you are still here check out this adventure that kicks like the Warped Tour. It is the perfect addition to Her Heart… as a new place for the characters to head off to. Maybe they got tickets to the latest festival. Take them on a ride to Welp Fest, by Adam Clark. The booklet is a play on the Scene of the early and mid 2000’s. Check it out and see if you can identify the bands that are playing and enjoy the fun that ensues from attending a music festival with our intrepid emo crew.