Next year I will be starting a new campaign. It is set in my own campaign world and has a 19th century/Victorian feel and a classic horror/mystery theme (vampires, werewolves, mummy's, murders in the rue morgue, phantom of the opera, etc.). I have already selected some adventures for the campaign, but I am looking for ideas to create the 19th century atmosphere in the campaign. I am not after historical accuracy, but more after 19th century atmosphere. I have also decided that the 19th century elements, such as trains, telegraph, etc. should be based on a combination of magic and technology, e.g. the steam in the steam train will be heated by a captured fire elemental, etc.
What I am looking for is a number of gadgets which might fit in the setting, e.g. how would a photo camera work? How does the telegraph work (magic item based on message/sending combined with tapping in morse signals?), etc.
It is tempting to use the ideas from Terry Pratchett's novels, but I am looking for a somewhat more serious angle, since too many of these will probably undermine the horror/mystery atmosphere in the campaign.
The PCs will be working for an organization allied to a LG faith, specialized in fighting undead and other supernatural beings/phenomena. I am thinking about giving the PCs equipment they can use, e.g. stakes for defeating vampires, silver arrows and bullets against werewolves, etc. But I was also thinking about special gadgets ("James Bond" type, but with a 19th century flavor). These should be minor magic items, alchemical items or just mundane/masterwork items. They should not be too powerful, but they should add to the atmosphere.
And what would be a good prestige class for fighting undead or lycanthropes? Any ideas are very welcome. Thanks in advance.
If i recall correctly, the Ravenloft setting has the boxset called Masque of the Red Death which might prove useful. I believe its in pdf format as well.
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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If you like comics, Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" series could also prove helpful. And some of China Mieville's works could provide inspiration as well.
Don't forget the outdoor gas lamps, whatever you do. The muted light combined with fog is essential to setting the stage for any Victorian Gothic game or story. If you want to tie a magic element to them, make the gas lamps imprisoned Will O' Wisps instead of standard gas-powered lamps. (Imagine the scenario to come when someone frees them from the lamp posts...)
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As Lorderl mentioned, the Masque of the Red Death was set in Gothic Earth, in the 1890-1899 time frame, I believe. The Fraternity of Shadows has some info and materials on Gothic Earth (link) in many of the netbooks. Paizo has most of the 2E stuff here like the boxed set, the Guide to Transylvania, and Gothic Earth Gazetteer. Arthaus/White Wolf did publish some 3.5 Masque stuff which may be available in various online sources, although I've read some reviews on it that weren't great.
There was also organized play for a while (Living Death) and their website had the 3.5 Living Death Campaign sourcebook, with Gothic Earth classes, skills, etc. Unfortunately, that site is closed down, and I don't know if that sourcebook is available anywhere (I don't have it myself).
Etherscope! It's an awesome setting, full of tasty steampunk victoriana.
Yes, indeed, Etherscope and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen! I would also recommend Stirling's book The Difference Engine about a world shaped by the early development of Babbage's counting device. Additionally, it only lasted one season, but there's a Canadian TV show that was called the The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne. (Despite the occasional cheesy bit - an army of rocket-propelled vampires, say - it had great visuals and some nice technology like you're talking about.)
What basic rule set are you using? If d20 Modern then look at Imperial Age from Adamant, even if you are not the Engines supplement is adaptable for all of your steampunk needs. If you are looking for a single source then I say go with Etherscope.
I would also highly recommend the Expedition to Ravenloft module for either DnD or d20M, it sounds like exactly the sort of thing you are talking about for a campaign setting. Even if you dont use it as is, there is lots to cannablize there.
There was an undead hunter PrC in a Dragon issue a few years back, but exactly where escapes me.
I have found any Space: 1889 books are pretty useful for coming up with Victorianistical gadgetry.
Also Cthulhu by Gaslight stuff is really good for atmospherics from the period. (Assuming no one actually needs to breathe the atmosphere.)
Madgael is correct -the Cthulhu by Gaslight book is essential for this sort of setting, and is mostly "fluff" (the good kind) without a lot of incompatible rules stuff to bog down a conversion. Invaluable information!
I'm actually right in the middle of pouring through a number of the Gaslight adventures after going on a Cthulhu eBay buying spree. The adventure books Dark Designs and Sacraments of Evil for Call of Cthulhu 1890s are just amazing, incredibly complex and vibrant adventures. Like the core Gaslight book, the adventures are written in such a format that rules conversions would be a snap -mostly the meat of the game with all the numbers and such at the back. Also, the Chaosium rules are simple, intuitive and will be familiar enough with a 3.x player/DM that you wouldn't be totally confused (3d6 base stats, no classes but all abilities are skills based on % points) when you go to convert the adventures -ESPECIALLY considering that such adventures are more roleplaying and less combat (really -very little combat in most), which is an important aspect of such games. It isn't GURPS, in other words (ALTHOUGH, th Steampunk and Steamtech books by GURPS are both AWESOME sources of info, although the rules are so mind-boggling to me! Steamtech is a whole book of cool gadgets, real and imagined -HARD conversion, though...)
I would pay careful attention to social class and graces, and have fun curbing some of the baser habits of D&D players (for example, higher class characters are much more likely to cooperate with the law than in a standard D&D format and more highly value their standing and reputation).
I encourage you to look up the recent Horror Adventures? thread in this same forum -it should be toward the bottom of the page, but addresses some of the issues you'll face as a DM trying to establish horror in such a setting...
Also, the Steam & Sorcery book is pretty good (by Sword & Sorcery -for 3rd edition), and even some aspects of Dragonmech. Etherscope, in my opinion would have been the SHIT if they hadn't have watched the Matrix 10 too many times when writing it -they nailed the Steampunk vibe, but tried too hard, in my view, to mix in those much too modern Matrix concepts into the game. They work for the most part, though, and I do like it a lot...
And get those two Cthulhu books -the adventures are TOPS!
Fleece
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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I agree with Lorderl and Bryan. I am a big fan of Ravenloft in general and Masque of the Red Death is brilliant. It was originally done as a Ravenloft tie-in Box Set for 2e, but was re-released under 3.5 by Sword and Sorcery when they had the Ravenloft License. (My 3.5 cost me $80 but it was worth it as far as I'm concerned!)
The Kargatane used to be the premier Ravenloft site before the stopped producing new works, but it is still up. It was a brilliant resource in it's day (and still is quite good for anyone wishing to use Ravenloft.
Secrets of the Kargatane
Thanks for all the information and tips. It almost overwhelmed me :-)
I am going to use the 3.5 rules, since the players prefer these rules. So it is going to be a D&D campaign with some extra tweaks. I had already dug up some Masque of the red death adventures from old issues of Dungeon, which I am going to use. I am also going to use some Ravenloft adventures.
The gas lamps with will-o'wisps is a good idea. I was thinking of using lamps with a continual flame, which could be shaded when not in use, but this idea sounds more interesting.
I will check out some of the other sources. No idea there was so much!
You might want to look into Greg Keyes's Age of Unreason series. It's 18th century, not 19th century, but it has lots of alchemical items. My favorite is the affinity crystal. Basically a pair of crystals are made, and what happens to one, happens to the other, so it's the basis for long range communication, kind of like a fax machine, but only tied to those 2 crystals. So if someone is in the Old World, and wants to communicate with someone in the New World, they have to physically transport the other half to the required locale.
They also have alchemical-powered pistols that shoot what are essentially eldritch blasts. And water-repelling shoes for skating along the surface of un-frozen canals.
Thanks. I know the books, but have not read them.
I downloaded Sorcery & Steam yesterday, and my first impression is positive.
May I also recommend 'Shadows over Baker Street', a collection of short stories by modern authors written in the realm of "What would happen if Sherlock Holmes met the world of HP Lovecraft?" Just finished reading it, there are a couple of turkeys, but most of them are very well written. No game info, but might help you get the vibe right!
I love your ideas and approach, (I'm a big fan of the old 'Wild, Wild West' TV show, where an independent Secret Service agent used 1800's James Bond gadgets!) if you aren't already overwhelmed with volunteers, consider me interested when you get started!
Good luck!
Laters,...
And don't forget "Brisco County, Jr.," starring Bruce Campbell!!!
And don't forget "Brisco County, Jr.," starring Bruce Campbell!!!PRAISE BE TO THE NAME OF BRUCE!!!!1
AND ALL BOW DOWN BEFORE HIS BOOMSTICK!!!
And don't forget "Brisco County, Jr.," starring Bruce Campbell!!!
Ah yes! All hail 'The Chin'!!! :)
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And don't forget "Brisco County, Jr.," starring Bruce Campbell!!!
OK, I need to ask. Perhaps I am an uncultured slob, but what was the appeal of this show? I watched the first few episodes, and besides a guest appearance by Tasha Yar, I don't see what was so incredible about this show. Should I watch more episodes? Am I missing something?
Do I not understand art? Please, let me know!
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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OK, I need to ask. Perhaps I am an uncultured slob, but what was the appeal of this show? Please, let me know!
Not having ever watched it myself all I can say is this:
The show itself might be a steaming pile of crap, but as long as it has Bruce Campbell in it it's OK by me. ;)
It was a lot of fun, it never took itself too seriously, and it had Bruce Campbell. Pirates in the old west? Technological advances - sorta? A blonde femme fatal? A horse (Comet) that communicates with his rider? Besides, if you haven't seen the twin Swedish blacksmiths, the Schwenke sisters, you haven't watched it enough.
I rented it on DVD from Blockbuster a few months ago, and it's great! It was able to straddle the silly and the serious with aplomb. Also, they did a period 1 hour show on a 7 day shooting schedule, which is pretty amazing, considering they had something like 22 or 26 episodes in their first season.
I love your ideas and approach, (I'm a big fan of the old 'Wild, Wild West' TV show, where an independent Secret Service agent used 1800's James Bond gadgets!) if you aren't already overwhelmed with volunteers, consider me interested when you get started!
I live in The Netherlands. So probably that will not be feasible.
I wish you were running this in my area, I love Victorian/Steampunk stuff but my gaming group isn't quite as enthused.
Unfortunately I live a long distance from New York. But I will keep you all posted when it starts (probably in January).
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I love your ideas and approach, (I'm a big fan of the old 'Wild, Wild West' TV show, where an independent Secret Service agent used 1800's James Bond gadgets!) if you aren't already overwhelmed with volunteers, consider me interested when you get started!I live in The Netherlands. So probably that will not be feasible.
I wish you were running this in my area, I love Victorian/Steampunk stuff but my gaming group isn't quite as enthused.Unfortunately I live a long distance from New York. But I will keep you all posted when it starts (probably in January).
Please do! I also enjoy the Victorian era; too bad it does seem to have a more limited fan base than straight-up fantasy. And hey, if you ever decide to run a PbP ... ;-)
I will keep that in mind. But with 2 D&D campaigns I will probably be much too busy.
Have you ever seen "Castle Falkenstein"? It has a wonderful steam punk flavour to it and it is set in a fictional version of the Victorian universe--so for example Otto von Bismarck is the villain trying to take over Bavaria, but Bavaria's romantic king is genuinely supported by fae. There are books for it describing steam punk devices, it has ideas for clothing, fighting styles and everything. Anyway I think you can still buy the game, for GURPs at the very least.
In December, Adamant Entertainment will be releasing their Imperial Age Omnibus. It uses d20 Modern as a base, so its compatible with any d20 material. Its an update of previously released material, all available in pdf, and some new goodies.
Its one of the better Victorian age settings. It can be used as mundane, magical, fantastic, weird science or any kind of combination.
Thanks for the tips!
I promised to keep you informed of what we are going to do in this campaign. We have not started yet, the simple reason being that two playing sessions were cancelled, one because of illness and one because of the holidays. So we have to finish the other campaign first, which is going to take 1-2 playing sessions. Everything I got from published adventures I have put behind spoiler buttons.
The setting is my own homebrewn world, in which I have run various campaigns so far. There was a conflict between a god of magic and a god of technology, which has been solved in a previous campaign. This cleared the way for the combination of technology and magic in a steampunk campaign. I am going to use the rules of Sorcery & Steam, since they suit the campaign world.
The PCs start out on a steam train journey from a port city in the north to a mountain city which is loosely based on Geneva: a ski-ing resort on a lake where the rich and famous spend the winter. They are travelling there for the midwinter festivities. I am going to use the adventure Falls Run from Dungeon issue 67, which I am rewriting for 3.5.
In the notes they find in the first adventure they read that the journalist bought a strange and grotesque mirror in a curio shop in the port city. He got fascinated by the mirror. When he gazed into it, he saw a strange and horrible city buried in the ice. Shortly after the mirror was stolen from his hotel room. The thief feels a compulsion to travel through the mountains and locate the city, but of course he cannot find it. The thief arrives in the mountain city in a very bad condition and collapses in the street. He is brought to a charity where he is nursed back to health. The head nurse working there also finds the mirror, which he clutches to his breast and refuses to let go. She has to pry it loose. She takes it away from him. The thief's body is cured, but not his mind. He is hallucinating and is having nightmares. The head nurse, who seems to be immune to the effect of the mirror, arranges to have him brought to an insane asylum. She decides to bring the mirror to the local museum.
The PCs arrive in the mountain city. In the train they have met a lawyer who works for a mysterious organization. It is a sort of secret service for the supernatural, led by a LG faith. The PCs are asked to join in order to solve supernatural crimes. If they follow the lead of the stolen mirror, they are referred to the museum.
When they have solved this problem, they discover that in the meantime the mirror has been stolen from the museum. The museum director refers them to the charity, where they hear about the patient that has been transferred to the insane asylum.
From here they are probably going to pick up the trail of the mirror again. Or they get a new commission for a crime to solve.
One of my players is going to play a LG hellbred sorcerer. The hellbred is from Fiendish codex II. This is a person who was a horrible sinner in his previous life and regretted it just at the last moment, when his soul was already travelling to hell. He gets a final chance to prove he repents, but this character is tainted by evil and looks sort of like a devil. The player has decided to let his character wear heavy robes and a mask, so that nobody can see what he really looks like.
The player left it to me to invent a background story for this character, since the character does not remember his past life. He only knows he did something terrible and has to make up for it. I want to make the background story really gothic and make this character an inquisitor or a witchfinder living in my campaign equivalent of the late middle ages. He terribly abused his power and tortured many innocent maidens, etcetera. The character has all the equipment of a level 1 character, but I wanted to give him one extra item of his previous life. This could be a torture instrument, but it is nicer if I can make it more subtle. It could be something that belonged to one of his victims, preferably a medieval item about which Victorian people do not have a clue what it is for. I was thinking of a spindle, but any other ideas are appreciated.
I also wanted to give the character an allergy, e.g. to sulphur or another substance. Preferably something related to his former life, or to hell. E.g. he could be allergic to incense if he was a priest.
The character will literally be haunted by ghosts from his past. Probably I will also add a descendant of one of the victims as recurring enemy, preferably a woman who discovers that the hellbred is actually the witchfinder who tortured her ancestress to death.
This is just a rough draft. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to post them.
We will be starting off at last (with some delays). 3 of the 5 players have already rolled characters:
A LG monk from a monastery that also contains a famous brewery.
A NG hellbred sorcerer with a darkly gothic previous life. He carries a large iron key with him, but does not know what can be opened with that key. He wears a mask to hide his devilish features. The player does not know anything about his mysterious past either, but it will involve a gothic mansion with a dark dungeon.
A LG female cleric of a Celtic fertility goddess. I am going to connect this character with a sort of neo-romantic Celtic revival movement.
The other two will probably be a CG fighter and a CG rogue.
I will start out with the adventure Falls Run, from dungeon issue 67. This was originally a Ravenloft Masque of the red death adventure. I have been longing to run this adventure since its publication.
I have made a rewritten version to 3.5th edition, and have added some things. E.g. the train uses a fire elemental to heat the steam. This elemental is going to escape when the train derails, and the players will have to fight it.
The PCs will get to know each other, because they are in the same train coach. The hellbred will literally be cast out of hell, and will be falling through a dimension portal though which the others will smell a whiff of sulphur.
There were false rumors about a haunted house in Falls Run. I have made it a real haunted house, haunted by a poltergeist. I have also added an undead monster to the cemetary, which is actually one of the victims of Jessik. So it can function either as a monster to be defeated or as a clue.
Jessik will be a member of a larger lycanthrope cult which will surface now and again in the rest of the campaign. Probably my players will buy silver bullets soon enough.
I have also added a story line about a mysterious mirror which has connections with some cthulhu-like creatures. So far three persons have owned the mirror, but had it stolen from them. At one point in the story the PCs will hear the mirror is in a museum, but when they visit the museum it is stolen again, and a mysterious foreigner from the southern desert kingdoms was seen near the museum.
You really want to check out _Unhallowed Metropolis_ by Eos Studios/games/whatever, if only for the flavor. It is exactly what you're looking for.
-Ben.
Thanks!
After a lot of delays (including me spending time in hospital because of an operation) we finally started the campaign this weekend. It was a great success. The Victorian/Gothic atmosphere was right there from the beginning, and the players reacted to it fantastically. It looks like it will become a nice combination of horror, combat and investigation. I used a lot of Victorian-style pictures as handouts, and that worked very well.
I hope I can keep this up. And that my health does not fail me (I am still convalescent).
Congrats on getting started! (I hope you recover as well also.) Looking forward to hearing more.
Have you looked into Rippers? It takes some of the themes from the Van Helsing and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movies and is all about being a monster hunter in Victorian Europe. It has gadgets, magic and rules for societal status.
Also the regular Ravenloft line that came out for 3.0 had a lot of fluff and might be worth looking into.
To be more specific, definitely grab the Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide for 3.5 ed. Over half of the book features advice for DM's to run gothic/Victorian, supernatural based settings, such as giving tons of ideas for setting mood, selecting music, playing/voicing NPCs, etc. It's a MUST have for the kind of campaign you are runnning. No rules conversion necessary! It has been an invaluable book in my campaigns.
I have the Ravenloft book. I am going to use fear and horror checks too.
Does anybody know whether there exists a published adventure based on a journey or voyage of discovery? I am thinking along the lines of Amundsen/Scott and Stanley/Livingstone, but also Journey to the center of the earth or 20,000 leagues under sea or even The lost world. (However, not the Isle of Dread, since I am already DM-ing Savage Tide with another group.)
Ideally I am looking for an adventure where the discovered location harbors a dark, gothic secret, e.g. an ancient evil civilization or a horrible monster entombed in the ice of the North Pole. The PCs should be part of an expedition along with some NPCs. One of them should be a traitor/saboteur or have ulterior motives. It would also be nice if they travel by zeppelin, submarine or another strange vehicle.
But only the discovery part will also be OK, since the rest I can always add to the adventure.
Dangit! Reading this thread makes me want to run Ravenloft again! Which is kinda crappy, since I just started a Drow War: The Gathering Storm campaign a few weeks ago. Too late to switch now ;(
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There are rules for underwater adventuring, as well as a submarine in Fantasy Flight Games "Seafarer's Handbook" (uses 3.0 rules)...
Also, Monkey God Enterprises "Frost & Fur" details adventuring in extreme cold environments (uses 3.5 rules)...
WIth a little imagination, one could adapt this adventure into a "gothic" themed adventure with an ancient evil entombed within...
*EDIT*
It's a bit of a "do-it-yourselfer", but this could be an interesting local as well...
Thanks. I will check it out.
Frostburn and Stormwrack will help me out with the rules as well.
It is not a problem if I have to adapt adventures. I have made a list of adventures for this campaign, and most of them I have to adapt. But I choose them for the atmosphere. However, I discovered I had a lot of real steampunk themes covered, but not this one.
There is an adventure with diving equipment (whitelake mine from Dungeon 18), but the trouble is that it is set in a lake. I was thinking along the lines of a deep sea diving expedition or a polar expedition.
For all the people who would like to play, unfortunately the distance is probably to great (I live in the Netherlands).
But perhaps this thread can serve as inspiration.
I started the campaign with Falls Run from Dungeon 67. The players know that a journalist has mysteriously disappeared and are now investigating his disappearance. However, the killers have already discovered they are investigating, so they will react sooner than expected. Next time it is getting dangerous!
My daughter (she is 10) is thinking up all kinds of theories about the disappearance/killing since we played, and that is just wonderful. She is also writing down the story in the form of a diary. She is really enthusiastic.
You know, one thing I was considering for your setting is this Dungeon Article:
Dungeon 77 has an underwater adventure in which the pcs use a magical submersible like device.
Do you mean this one?