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Victoriana


Steve

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I came across this Steampunk setting in my FLGS, a fantasy RPG set in the Victorian era, using the Fuzion System. From what I have read so far, it looks to be pretty good. While I am not that interested in the Fuzion system nowadays, at least it should be fairly easy to convert to Hero System.

 

Anyone else seen it yet? I think it just came out recently.

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Re: Victoriana

 

Originally posted by Steve

I came across this Steampunk setting in my FLGS, a fantasy RPG set in the Victorian era, using the Fuzion System. From what I have read so far, it looks to be pretty good. While I am not that interested in the Fuzion system nowadays, at least it should be fairly easy to convert to Hero System.

 

Anyone else seen it yet? I think it just came out recently.

 

Do you have a link?

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Re: Victoriana

 

Originally posted by Steve

I came across this Steampunk setting in my FLGS, a fantasy RPG set in the Victorian era, using the Fuzion System. From what I have read so far, it looks to be pretty good. While I am not that interested in the Fuzion system nowadays, at least it should be fairly easy to convert to Hero System.

 

Anyone else seen it yet? I think it just came out recently.

 

I haven't seen this one yet, but it sounds very interesting. I was a big fan of Castle Falkenstein, as well, which would work out much better in Hero anyway :)

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Originally posted by AlHazred

My poor credit card thanks you for your mini-review. Now to go back to my attempt to combine Castle Falkenstein with GURPS Goblins...

 

You're very welcome -- and the book now has the distinction of being the only thing I've ever returned to a game store, ever. Yikes!

 

-Shelley

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Originally posted by ShelleyCM

I picked up a copy of it today (and GURPS Age of Napoleon, and Steam Tech, and a Waterloo game....arg....my poor Citibank card!)

 

Victoriana looks very cool.

 

-Shelley

 

GURP's Age of Napoleon? I may have to get that one. How is it? How crunchy?

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Originally posted by Spence

GURP's Age of Napoleon? I may have to get that one. How is it? How crunchy?

 

It's really quite good. Packed with history, adventure seeds, campaign ideas, period details... Any game book that has a write-up of Admiral Lord Cochrane is the coolest ever, just by itself, but it's full of neat historical bits. I was irritated that Stephen Decatur was listed with admirals, since he was a commodore, but that's a minor quibble (they didn't call him an admiral, just listed him there). There's lots of public domain art, maps, and useful information about how everyday life was lived. My cursory read didn't spot any historical inaccuracies, either, which is a big deal for me.

 

The bias is (naturally, in a game book) in favor of the military aspects than the social (in the Bibliography, there are several Hornblower film credits listed independently while "Any of the recent Jane Austen adpatations" are lumped into one category and not even mentioned by name, which any Janeite knows is ridiculous because some are more accurate than others) but that stands to reason, as I figure may be the only gamer out there who cares which random poobah gets however many guns in their salute AND where they should sit at the dinner table in relationship to other poobahs. :)

 

In a nutshell, I don't think there's anything in the book (other than GURPS stats) that I don't already have in one reference book or another, but it was so nice to have all that information together in one place that I felt it was money well spent.

 

-Shelley

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D-Man's character design tactic for Victorian Hero:

 

Perk: Peerage/Aristocrat (5 Points)

Perk: Seated member of the House of Lords (3)

Perk: Obscenely Rich (15 Points)

Perk: Sr. Officer (Colonel ?), Army (5)

Perk: Top Man (3) - Intelligence Position

Skill Enhancer: Well Connected (3)

Influential Contact - In Business (3)

Influential Contact - In Government (3)

Influential Contact - In Military (3)

Reputation - Quintessential Gentleman (3)

High Society +2 (7)

97 Points "Other" (beating people on the head, etc.)

 

In the Victorian Era social precedence and reputation is... everything

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I have been working on it! It's such a fun genre to work with -- very much suited to all sorts of styles of play. Recently I've been researching the criminal aspect of play -- without a regular, organized police force, how the PCs deal with bad guys, that kind of thing.

 

-Shelley

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That's actually a topic I can help you with!

 

Wow, an actual use for my CrimJ degree (wooohooooo!!!!).

 

The origin of the British police lies in early tribal history and is based on customs for securing order through the medium of appointed representatives. In effect, the people were the police. The Saxons brought this system to England and improved and developed the organisation. This entailed the division of the people into groups of ten, called "tythings", with a tything-man as representative of each; and into larger groups, each of ten tythings, under a "hundred-man" who was responsible to the Shire-reeve, or Sheriff, of the County.

 

The tything-man system, after contact with Norman feudalism, changed considerably but was not wholly destroyed. In time the tything-man became the parish constable and the Shire-reeve the Justice of the Peace, to whom the parish constable was responsible. This system, which became widely established in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, comprised, generally, one unarmed able-bodied citizen in each parish, who was appointed or elected annually to serve for a year unpaid, as parish constable. He worked in co-operation with the local Justices in securing observance of laws and maintaining order. In addition, in the towns, responsibility for the maintenance of order was conferred on the guilds and, later, on other specified groups of citizens, and these supplied bodies of paid men, known as "The Watch", for guarding the gates and patrolling the streets at night.

 

In the eighteenth century came the beginnings of immense social and economic changes and the consequent movement of the population to the towns. The parish constable and "Watch" systems failed completely and the impotence of the law-enforcement machinery was a serious menace. Conditions became intolerable and led to the formation of the "New Police".

 

:D

 

Since most constables didn't have anything akin to the sort of formalized training that took place after 1829, and didn't have many resources at their disposal, the PCs could get away with quite a bit if they were smart, or knew the right people.

 

In addition, the constable was often required to enlist the aid of private citizens (we did the same in America: "possies")invested with temporary authority. If a group of able bodied PCs of good reputation were to offer aid they may well be embraced with open arms.

 

If they took care of something themselves -- it would depend on the constable in question or the connections they had. If they seemed to have a legal right they probably wouldn't be interferred with.

 

Interestingly -- constables seldom executed warrants. Those were usually executed by private goons in the employ of the attorney who obtained the warrant.

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Neat -- thanks!! I'll solicit your comments before I post my update, then (if you don't mind).

 

By the Regency, in London, you run into the Bow Street Runners -- one of my PCs in my 1793 game is a gentleman who helped the Runners out. That was a fun PC! I think it was in the early 1820s that there's an official London police force ( or thereabouts).

 

Have you read the Julian Kestrel mysteries by Kate Ross? They're a lot of fun.

 

-Shelley

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I'd be happy to take a look at it.

 

I haven't read them, but I'll look for them. I like detective/mystery stories a lot.

 

FYI - Sir Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police in London in 1829.

 

It took 10 years to absorb all of the various Patrols (the Bow Street Runners were first).

 

Scotland Yard was initially set up at 4 whitehall palace.

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Originally posted by D-Man

I'd be happy to take a look at it.

 

I haven't read them, but I'll look for them. I like detective/mystery stories a lot.

 

FYI - Sir Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police in London in 1829.

 

It took 10 years to absorb all of the various Patrols (the Bow Street Runners were first).

 

Scotland Yard was initially set up at 4 whitehall palace.

 

Thanks -- at least I nailed the decade . :)

 

The Kestrel mysteries are cool. Kestrel is a dandy a la Beau Brummel, and he develops a penchant for investigating murders. There are only four books (the author died young, sadly). The first one has PoV issues (too much head-hopping) but she has it down to an art form by the last. You don't learn much about Kestrel during the course of the books, not til the end -- he's as much a mystery as the murders he solves.

 

-Shelley

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Originally posted by ShelleyCM

I have been working on it! It's such a fun genre to work with -- very much suited to all sorts of styles of play. Recently I've been researching the criminal aspect of play -- without a regular, organized police force, how the PCs deal with bad guys, that kind of thing.

Dueling or ruining their social standing? he said before even looking at the site...

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Here is The Table of Precedence for Women, according to the Stockdale 1818 Peerage:

 

The Queen

The Princess of Wales

Princesses, Daughters of the King

Princesses and Duchesses, Wives of the King's Sons

Wives of the King's Brothers Wives of the King's Uncles

Wives of the eldest Sons of Dukes of the Blood Royal

Daughters of Dukes of the Blood Royal

Wives of the King's Brothers' or Sisters' Sons

Duchesses

Marchionesses

Wives of the eldest Sons of Dukes

Daughters of Dukes

Countesses

Wives of the eldest Sons of Marquesses

Daughters of Marquesses

Wives of the youngest Sons of Dukes

Viscountesses

Wives of the eldest Sons of Earls

Daughters of Earls

Wives of the younger Sons of Marquesses

Baronesses

Wives of the eldest Sons of Viscounts

Daughters of Viscounts

Wives of the younger Sons of Earls

Wives of the eldest Sons of Barons

Daughters of Barons

Maids of Honour

Wives of the younger Sons of Viscounts

Wives of the younger Sons of Barons

Wives of Baronets Wives of the Knights of the Garter

Wives of Bannerets of each Kind

Wives of the Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath

Wives of the Knights Commanders of the Order of the Bath

Wives of Knights Bachelors

Wives of the Eldest Sons of the younger Sons of Peers

Wives of the Eldest Sons of Baronets

Daughters of Baronets

Wives of the Eldest Sons of the Knights of the Garter

Daughters of Knights of the Garter

Wives of the Eldest Sons of Bannerets

Daughters of Bannarets

Wives of the Eldest Sons of Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath

Daughters of Knights of the Bath

Wives of the Eldest Sons of Knights Bachelors

Wives of the younger Sons of Baronets

Daughters of Knights Wives of Companions of the Order of the Bath

Wives of Esquires of the King's Body

Wives of Esquires of the Knights of the Bath

Wives of Esquires by Creation Wives of Esquires by Office

Wives of the younger Sons of Knights of the Garter

Wives of the younger Sons of Bannerets

Wives of the younger Sons of Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath

Wives of the younger Sons of Knights Bachelors

Wives of Gentlemen entitled to bear arms

Daughters of Esquires entitled to bear Arms, who are Gentlewomen by birth

Daughters of Gentlemen entitled to bear Arms, who are Gentlewomen by birth

Wives of Clergymen, Barristers at Law, Officers in the Navy and Army

Wives of Citizens

Wives of Burgesses

 

And for the men...

 

The King

The Prince of Wales

King's Sons

King's Brothers

King's Uncles

King's Grandsons

King's Brother's or Sister's Sons

Prince of Saxe Coburg Saalfeld

Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Primate of all England

Lord High Chancellor, or Lord Keeper

Archbishop of York, Primate of England

Lord High Treasurer

Lord President of the Privy Council

Lord Privy Seal

Lord High Constable

Earl Marshal

Lord High Admiral

Lord Steward of his Majesty's Household

Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty's Household

Dukes, according to their Patents

Marquesses

Dukes' eldest Sons

Daughters of Dukes

Earls, according to their Patents

Marquesses' eldest Sons

Daughters of Marquesses

Dukes' younger Sons

Viscounts, according to their Patents

Earls' Eldest Sons

Marquesses' younger Sons

Bishops of London, Durham, Winchester, and all other Bishops, according to their Seniority of Consecration

Barons, according to their Patents

Speaker of the House of Commons

Viscounts' Eldest Sons

Earls' younger Sons

Barons' Eldest Sons

Knights of the Garter

Privy Counsellors

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster

Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench

Master of the Rolls

Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer

Judges and Barons of the Degree of the Coife of the said Court according to Seniority

Bannerets made by the King himself in person under the royal standard displayed in an army royal in open war, for the term of their lives, and no longer

Viscounts' younger Sons

Barons' younger Sons

Baronets

Bannerets not made by the King himself

Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath

Knights Commanders of the Bath

Knights Bachelors

Eldest Sons of the younger Sons of Peers

Baronets' Eldest Sons

Knights of the Garters' Eldest Sons

Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath's Eldest Sons

Knights' Eldest Sons

Baronets' younger Sons

Companions of the Order of the Bath

Esquires of the King's Body

Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber

Esquires of the Knights of the Bath

Esquires by Creation

Esquires by Office

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I got strangely inspired!

 

I did an edit on him. I added the suggested disease immunity, 2 damage classes, and tweaked his levels

 

JAMES ELLIOT (DUKE OF BADENSHIRE)

Val CHA Cost Roll Notes

13 STR 3 12- 151½kg; 3d6

18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6; DCV: 6

13 CON 6 12-

11 BODY 2 11-

13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-

11 EGO 2 11- ECV: 4

18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack 3½d6

18 COM 4 13-

5 PD 2 Total PD/rPD: 5/0

3 ED 0 Total ED/rED 3/0

3 SPD 2 Phases: 4, 8, 12

6 REC 0

26 END 0

25 STUN 0

Total Characteristics Cost: 56

Movement: Run: 7"/14"

Swim: 2"/4"

Powers & Skills

Climbing 13- (3)

Concealment 12- (3)

Conversation 13- (3)

Contortionist 13- (3)

High Society 13- (3)

Paramedic 12- (3)

Riding 13- (3)

Seduction 13- (3)

Stealth 13- (3)

Streetwise 13- (3)

Raised Abroad (Traveler) (3)

1) AK: England 11- (1)

2) AK: India 11- (1)

3) KS: London 11- (1)

4) KS: Calcutta 11- (1)

World Wise (Scholar) (3)

1) KS: Ayurvedic Healing 14- (4)

2) KS: Indian Mysticism 11- (1)

3) KS: Kalaripayit 13- (3)

4) KS: Military World 11- (1)

5) KS: Rumor Mill, The 11- (1)

6) KS: Yoga 11- (1)

Polygot (Linguist) (3)

1) LS: Bengali (Fluent Conv.) (1)

2) LS: English (Imitate Dialects) (0)

3) LS: Italian (Fluent Conv.) (1)

4) LS: Nepalese (Fluent Conv.) (1)

5) LS: Punjabi (Fluent Conv.) (1)

Jack of Trades (3)

1) PS: Courtesan 11- (1)

2) PS: Dancing 14- (4)

3) PS: Gurukkal 13- (3)

4) PS: Intelligence Officer 11- (1)

5) PS: Indian Meditation 11- (1)

Kalarpayit (0)

1) Block +1 +3 --

2) Elbow/Punch +1 +3 5d6

3) Death Blow -2 0 2d6 HKA

4) Kick +2 0 7d6

5) WE: Blades (1)

+2 DC for Martial Attacks (8)

+2 Focused Blows (STR) 0; Doesn't Affect Figured: -½; Damage Only: -½; RE: Zero, +½ (1)

Social Precedence (0)

1) Perk: Mysterious Wealth (10)

2) Perk: Duke of Badenshire (5)

3) Perk: Boodles Membership (1)

4) Perk: Army Colonel (2)

5) Perk: Top Man (Intelligence Post) (2)

6) Perk: Decorated For Valor (1)

7) Perk: Powerful Patron (Army) (3)

8) Perk: Consumate Gentleman +2/2d6 (2)

WF: Thrown Knives (1)

WF: Early Firearms (1)

WF: Blades (1)

Meditative Trance (+3 to EGO Rolls) (3)

Immunity: Central Asian Diseases (3)

+1 level w/All Combat (8)

+3 level w/Kalaripayit (9)

Running (+1", 7", NC: 14") 1 (2)

Contact: Antonia Vampa 12- (3)

Contact: Lady Grace Hampton 12- (3)

Total Powers & Skills Cost: 159

Total Character Cost: 215

Disadvantages: + 100

DF: Painfully Good Looking (5)

DF: Aura of Danger (5)

DF: Immaculately Dressed, Groomed (5)

Secret ID (Army Intelligence) (15)

Honorable (Common, Strong) (15)

Very Private Man (Common, Moderate) (10)

Noblesse Obligue (Common, Moderate) (10)

Mild Womanizer (Uncommon, Moderate) (5)

Rep: Strange Associates (8-) (5)

DNPC: Father (Normal, 8-); Skills: Useful, -5 (5)

DNPC: Punjab (Normal, 8-); Skills: Useful, -5 (5)

Hunted: Husband Seekers (11-); Capabilities: Less Powerful, 5; NCI: None, +0; Geo: Unlimited, -0; Actions: Hunting, ×1; Punishment: Mild, -5 (5)

Hunted: Enemies of the Crown (8-); Capabilities: As Powerful, 10; NCI: None, +0; Geo: Unlimited, -0; Actions: Hunting, ×1; Punishment: Harsh, 0 (10)

Total Disadvantage Points: 200

 

 

James Elliot was born in Calcutta, India on 13 July 1787, the son of Captain Peter Elliot, a British army officer of common birth, and Lady Julia Brandon, estranged daughter of the Duke of Brandon, who disowned her for marrying beneath her station. Elliot was raised in India, and when his mother died in 1790, his father hired an Indian woman to serve as his nanny. When he was old enough Elliot returned to England where he was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College in Britain. Elliot was commissioned as an Ensign in the British Army in 1808 and returned to India, where he was assigned the governor's general staff as his intelligence attaché. Elliot married Miss Constance Bennett, the daughter of Colonel George Bennett, the commander of the 33rd Light Dragoons in Bengal, in 1810, which Elliot transferred to as a Captain later that year.

 

Elliot distinguished himself as both an intelligence officer and a warrior when the 33rd was sent to Indonesia to fight in the Dutch East Indies (1810-1811), and rose to the rank of Major by the time the unit served in the Nepalese Campaign (1814-1816), during which he was decorated for valor numerous times. In late 1816 Elliot was promoted to Colonel and placed in charge of the 41st Light Dragoons, but left active duty when his wife Constance, a consummate hunter, was killed by a Bengal Tiger she’d been stalking shortly before the outbreak of the 3rd and final Mahratta War (1817-1819).

 

During the 3rd Mahratta War Elliot returned to the general staff as a “special intelligence officer†and commanded a small group of Gurkha and Punjabi raiders to devastating effect, slaying more than one of Mahrattas in their own palaces. It was in the final days of that conflict that Mr. Drummond, a London solicitor, and Sir Percy, a member of the Governor’s diplomatic staff, informed him that his Grandfather, the Duke of Badenshire, had died, and that he was the only living heir.

 

Elliot has since returned to London where he has been invested with his titles and assumed his seat in the House of Lords. He has taken up a sizable gentleman’s apartment near Whitehall, where he meets with all manner of “strange folkâ€, and lives with his seemingly mute Indian manservant, Punjab. He has avoided social engagements to date, which has made him something of an enigma throughout London, though he has been seen at his club, Boodles, occasionally. More interestingly, he has been seen in the company of Antonia Vampa, a beautiful Italian heiress of shocking reputation (and glamorous, trend-setting fashion sense), which has led some to whisper that she is his mistress.

 

Personality: Elliot is a battle hardened soldier and shrewd intelligence officer who is still shocked that he is now the Duke of Badenshire. A private man still recovering from the loss of his wife, he has found a kindred spirit in Antonia Vampa, an intrepid adventuress and, unbenounced to London society, a widow herself. The two are dear friends and occasional lovers, though neither has expressed an interest in marriage. Elliot is a man of his word and, having considered himself a commoner for most of his life, feels a strong sense of noblesse oblige. Due to his Indian nanny he possesses a deep respect and understanding for Indian culture, and is a Gurukkal, a master of the Ayurvedic healing and Kalaripayit fighting arts – which were taught to him by his Nanny’s father before and after his English schooling. He is both gracious and considerate to those he meets, but does not suffer fools easily. He has a weakness for beautiful women.

 

Appearance: Elliot is painfully handsome, standing six feet tall with dark hair, vibrant green eyes, and strong, aquiline features. His eyes hold an ache of loneliness women seem unable to resist. Broad shouldered and trim he dresses immaculately (often under the critical eye Antionia Vampa), and carries a concealed Kukri when he is expecting trouble. He appears to be roughly 30 years of age and moves with the grace of a man who has every muscle under his command. His inflection carries a touch of Scottish in it from his father’s side of the family.

 

Reputation: a decorated war hero and senior officer, Elliot is considered, due to his peerage and considerable means, to be an extremely eligible bachelor. His strange manservant, rumored affair with Antonia Vampa, and the unusual visitors at his flat ensure he remains an object of speculation and rumor in society, though the lack of details ensures conflicting stories abound. He is very popular with Lady Hamilton, a Patroness of Almacks’, whose daughter he saved from a footpad shortly after his arrival in London. A Colonel in the Army, Elliot is a favorite of the First Lord (Army) and is trusted by those in government to handle those “delicate and often dangerous affairs of state†known only to a select few.

 

Notes: The "focused blows" is there because I loathe half dice. I based Antonia Vampa loosely on the Italian woman in Brotherhood of the wolf. I assume his father lives on the Brandenshire Estate. The Hunted "Husband Seekers" is sort of humor - sort of not.

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Very cool -- a great addition to any RH game! Just seeing that Dancing skill makes me grin. :) Maybe he ought to have some disease immunity, having spent so much time in India?

 

[before I read the whole thing, as I scrolled down, I caught the words "yoga," "military," and "Boodles" all in one flash, and it led to a very interesting mental picture!]

 

Oh! I had another idea: "Immunity to Smallpox" for those who've had the vaccine. Another thing to go on the RH list.

 

-Shelley

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