Gaslight Era? (BRP)

[Mi-Go Agent]

Do you want me to send you a character I'm working on?

[Raiko]

No, please hold off posting/PMing characters for the moment. To be honest, I’m probably going to withdraw this game. I’ll give it another week or so (until the thread is a month old), but it doesn’t look like there’s enough interest.

Thanks for the offer to run multiple characters, unfortunately it’s the lack of players rather than characters that’s the problem. In my experience of play-by-post, one or two players always vanish from the game, so I’m reluctant to start with less than about 5-6 players.

I also like to run secret/private stuff via both split forums and PMs, where you don’t know what’s happening to the other characters – it makes for some very interesting scenes, particularly in a horror game. This would be lessened using multiple characters per player.

So I’ll give it another week to see what happens.

If I do cancel the game, then I may revisit these ideas later, but with either a classic or modern era game – and possibly as unconnected one-shots. I’ve offered to take over running Encounter in the woods in the “one shot theatre”, in order to allow the game to be completed – if I enjoy it, then I’ll probably run a similar short adventure myself, involving either the spooky gun forts or Skull Island.

Sorry to be a disappointment, you’re more than welcome to join in one of my other games though – my two big campaigns are full up for the moment, but I believe that there’s one or long-time absences amongst the “Encounter” players. I’ll be PMing them all before I restart the game, you would be most welcome to take over any unclaimed character. The whole game is less than 200 posts so far, so you should be able to catch up on the story in an hour or two (I’ve not read it all myself yet). I’m planning to start if back up in mid-October as one of the players is very busy until then.

[Mi-Go Agent]

I think we do need at least one Gaslight game going on, whether it uses the plots you described or something else. Maybe you could wait until another campaign looks like it is getting ready to kill off a lot of players, and then try again?

[yellowsigh]

I might be up for a Gaslight game. The mention of Skull Island put me off a bit, but as long as there aren't giant apes or dinosaurs it should be okay - unfortunately the last RPG adventure I played with friends was a BRP WWII one-shot where we stumbled upon a mysterious Skull-Island-like island occupied by dinosaurs.

Would particularly be interested if this did turn into a series - I've not played much Gaslight, which is criminal when you've lived in London practically your whole life and you've got so much local knowledge to reference. Not really sure what to play... a journalist perhaps?

[amarriner]

I might be interested depending on when you start. I'm a little jammed up at the moment but if it's not going to start for another couple of weeks I could probably be convinced. I turned down Syrinx's LA Skinner (sorry Syrinx!) because I was in a lot of games, but a Gaslight game is really intriguing me right now ...

[Dave Syrinx]

(No worries, I got an old player back! Will launch another thing in a few days.)
I´ll await the game whenever it turns up, Raiko.
/Over and out!

[Raiko]

I might be interested depending on when you start. I'm a little jammed up at the moment but if it's not going to start for another couple of weeks I could probably be convinced. I turned down Syrinx's LA Skinner (sorry Syrinx!) because I was in a lot of games, but a Gaslight game is really intriguing me right now ...

It's more likely to be one-two months it anything, I'm still working on the story (and had almost given up on running it due to lack of interest). Glad to have you aboard.

I might be up for a Gaslight game. The mention of Skull Island put me off a bit, but as long as there aren't giant apes or dinosaurs it should be okay - unfortunately the last RPG adventure I played with friends was a BRP WWII one-shot where we stumbled upon a mysterious Skull-Island-like island occupied by dinosaurs.

Would particularly be interested if this did turn into a series - I've not played much Gaslight, which is criminal when you've lived in London practically your whole life and you've got so much local knowledge to reference. Not really sure what to play... a journalist perhaps?

I'm not sure whether you'd like this or not, so bear with me and let me know what you think.

The Island will be Skull Island, pretty much as depicted in the recent movie remake, but without the giant ape. So yes there will be dinosaurs. I realised that that wouldn't be to everyone's taste, which is why I've been up-front with this semi-spoiler.

Having said that, when the party reaches Skull Island they won't stumble across it - there will be a reason for seeking the island, and the dinosaurs will effectively be just a part of the scenery.

It's probably worth noting that Skull Island will only be used if we make this a full blown campaign (which I'm definitely hoping to do), the one-shot will not be connected to the island. It'll also take ages to get the island part. Based on my experiences with Masks and BtMoM I'd estimate that the one-shot will take at least a couple of months, more likely six. The campaign will begin on the English South Coast, with much of the first chapter set in London, and that section is likely to take at least a year to play out.

I'm hoping to include two or three exotic locations in the campaign, including the Island, hopefully in a non-linear campaign - but given the distance between London and the South Pacific, I'd be surprised if the party moves straight to Skull Island from London. I'm also hope to not have the climax of the campaign take place on skull island.

Why not give the one-shot a go, maybe even the first part of the campaign, and then see what you think? If you still weren't interested in trying out my Skull Island section when we eventually reach it in two or three years time then I won't be offended.

I'm definitely interested in having a journalist in the party.

[yellowsigh]

Typical. Dinosaurs.

Ah, what the heck? I don't dislike dinosaurs, I've just not had very good experiences with them. They tend to eat people, you see, the carnivorous ones anyway, or alternatively you run away, stark raving mad, try to jump into the sea from a cliff top to escape, and don't quite clear the pebble beach at the bottom.

So, yeah, I'm in. Giant apes are more of a turn off than dinosaurs.

[Dave Syrinx]

AH! A U-turn, I´ll say. Yank that gear box and prepare to play! Then I´ll be ready to throw my character in. When the time comes

[yellowsigh]

What, me? Fickle?

[Dave Syrinx]

Yes, you and Amarriner turned the scales here, it seems. Which is great. -When the time comes! Now we´ll just have to wait a while till it all begins. Strange island, something to look for, expect the unexpected!
See you there, Sigh!

[amarriner]

I might be interested depending on when you start. I'm a little jammed up at the moment but if it's not going to start for another couple of weeks I could probably be convinced. I turned down Syrinx's LA Skinner (sorry Syrinx!) because I was in a lot of games, but a Gaslight game is really intriguing me right now ...

It's more likely to be one-two months it anything, I'm still working on the story (and had almost given up on running it due to lack of interest). Glad to have you aboard.

That'll work, looking forward to it!

[Mi-Go Agent]

Typical. Dinosaurs.

Ah, what the heck? I don't dislike dinosaurs, I've just not had very good experiences with them. They tend to eat people, you see, the carnivorous ones anyway, or alternatively you run away, stark raving mad, try to jump into the sea from a cliff top to escape, and don't quite clear the pebble beach at the bottom.

So, yeah, I'm in. Giant apes are more of a turn off than dinosaurs.

I wouldn't expect a Gaslight-era character to react that way-maybe a modern one, used to living in a world with nothing unexplored, but I think that a good story to read as a reference for Gaslight dinosaur encounters would be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World
" (yes, the original one).

[yellowsigh]

That's fair enough. It was a WWII scenario, so the global battlefield was already established. I think the Gaslight mindset will fit me perfectly.

[Mi-Go Agent]

So, should I send you the character I'm working on now?

[welsh]

Hey Raiko-

I'm interested. I'd like to see how your rules play out and I am thinking of running a Cthulhu wild west campaign centered around a town. I have a gaslight character that I can refine- a former calvary officer/indian fighter turned gambler. Does that work?

Also pirates- while I suspect the Brits and Dutch were pretty successful, Indonesian/Malaysian/Philippine/Chinese/Thai/Burmese pirates have been generally a consistent nuisance. Too many little ports to hide out in and too much commerce flowing through those waters.

[Raiko]

Hey Raiko-

I'm interested. I'd like to see how your rules play out and I am thinking of running a Cthulhu wild west campaign centered around a town. I have a gaslight character that I can refine- a former calvary officer/indian fighter turned gambler. Does that work?

Also pirates- while I suspect the Brits and Dutch were pretty successful, Indonesian/Malaysian/Philippine/Chinese/Thai/Burmese pirates have been generally a consistent nuisance. Too many little ports to hide out in and too much commerce flowing through those waters.

Hi Welsh, you are of course welcome in any of my games.

Thanks for the character – he looks ok – I’ve not worked out the details of the campaign yet though, so I can’t really say any more than that.

The game is likely to start off in London I think, so he would need a reason to be there.

I’ve not looked up the historical references from your character’s background yet, although I’ve previously mentioned the 1870s there is a possibility that the campaign will take place during the 1850s – would either of those decades give you much of a problem adapting his background?

BTW: I might have some helpful stuff for your Wild West town. I keep forgetting to post though.

So, should I send you the character I'm working on now?

Sorry to take a while replying Mi-Go, I was going to say “not yet,” but as Welsh has already sent a character to me, you may as well send yours too.

Typical. Dinosaurs.

Ah, what the heck? I don't dislike dinosaurs, I've just not had very good experiences with them. They tend to eat people, you see, the carnivorous ones anyway, or alternatively you run away, stark raving mad, try to jump into the sea from a cliff top to escape, and don't quite clear the pebble beach at the bottom.

So, yeah, I'm in. Giant apes are more of a turn off than dinosaurs.

I wouldn't expect a Gaslight-era character to react that way-maybe a modern one, used to living in a world with nothing unexplored, but I think that a good story to read as a reference for Gaslight dinosaur encounters would be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World
" (yes, the original one).

I choose to set the campaign in Gaslight Era (or earlier) specifically to allow the world to be a more mysterious place – I think that uncharted islands (and dinosaurs) require much less suspension of disbelief in a Victorian Era game than a Classic Era one.

I’d rather not dwell on the Skull Island stuff too much at the moment anyway; I’m fickle enough that it might not even appear in the final campaign. I just thought it was a contentious enough idea that I was better off being up-front about it.

*****************************************************

If you want to submit characters now, then please make sure that:

(a) They can be in either London or in Southhampton (English South Coast port), at the start of the adventure without much modification. The adventure will probably begin in one of these two cities, but I haven’t decided yet.

(b) Their background can be adapted, without too much effort, to a game starting in either 1877 or 1852. I haven’t decided which yet, but I’m currently favouring 1852.

(c) They can be brought into a ‘haunting’ type adventure easily enough. The campaign will start off with either a newspaper article, a letter or a chance meeting. In any case I will require at least one character to be either the recipient of the letter, or suitably intrigued by the newspaper article / chance meeting to kick off the game. Everyone else will have to have links to each other in order to be drawn into the game. Obviously this can be sorted later, once I’ve more details about the first part of the adventure, but I don’t want to have to work too hard to justify everyone’s involvement.

For example Masks of Nyarlathotep kicks off with one character receiving a telegram from their old friend Jackson Elias asking for help. The rest of the party all require connections to that character.

Beyond the Mountains of Madness kicks off with James Starkweather advertising for recruits for his new expedition to Antarctica, the player characters are all people who responded to the advert.

I’m currently favouring a Newspaper classified advert asking for help with something mysterious. The advert would appear in a London newspaper. This would allow for characters to come from either London or from the locality of the initial adventure (probably Southampton). It would also not require them to have prior connections with each other, so long as they are curious (or desperate) enough to respond to the ad.

[yellowsigh]

I'm guessing a London connection would work better to link up to any American characters (although I guess a port is just as viable given the era).

If London works best I'll be a reporter for a rival paper; if the port works best I'll be a 'small town' reporter trying to make it big, looking for that first big scoop.

I won't create a character until we've thrashed out a little bit more detail on how the characters re connected.

[welsh]

Hey Raiko - As my old character was something of a retired frontier military officer turned gentleman gambler, I don't think it would be that hard to make some changes- retired from the British Military Academy (Sandhurst), served in India, perhaps along the frontier and spent free time playing cards. So I think I can turn him into an Englishman. Shouldn't be much of a problem either in 1870s or 1850s.

[Mi-Go Agent]

Typical. Dinosaurs.

Ah, what the heck? I don't dislike dinosaurs, I've just not had very good experiences with them. They tend to eat people, you see, the carnivorous ones anyway, or alternatively you run away, stark raving mad, try to jump into the sea from a cliff top to escape, and don't quite clear the pebble beach at the bottom.

So, yeah, I'm in. Giant apes are more of a turn off than dinosaurs.

I wouldn't expect a Gaslight-era character to react that way-maybe a modern one, used to living in a world with nothing unexplored, but I think that a good story to read as a reference for Gaslight dinosaur encounters would be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World
" (yes, the original one).

I choose to set the campaign in Gaslight Era (or earlier) specifically to allow the world to be a more mysterious place – I think that uncharted islands (and dinosaurs) require much less suspension of disbelief in a Victorian Era game than a Classic Era one.

I’d rather not dwell on the Skull Island stuff too much at the moment anyway; I’m fickle enough that it might not even appear in the final campaign. I just thought it was a contentious enough idea that I was better off being up-front about it.
[/quote]

I'm going to have to do another about-face also. I just recalled that, according to AtMoM, the dinosaurs were large beasts of burden created by the Elder Race for use on land, compared to the shoggoths that they preferred to use underwater (although shoggoths were, of course, later adapted for land). So they would be Mythos beasties, and almost as maddening.

I've now sent my charater by PM (hopefully-I'm not certain, so tell me, raiko, if I've goofed up again). I'll be playing a proffesional lecturer, a Londoner with something of a past but completely new to the Mythos.