[COC] Resurrection City (recruiting)

It is 1891, the height of the British Empire, and also a time of great change. In India, British officials are being killed off by a group calling themselves the Thuggee, worshippers of the goddess Kali. The first stirrings of the Fenians (later known as the IRA) are being felt in Ireland. An occult group calling itself the Golden Dawn, claiming several famous (and infamous) members has sprung up in the fashionable West End, while the squalid East End is still recovering from the horror of one bloody autumn three years ago. And a grotesquely malformed man sits in a lonely basement room in the London Hospital, watching it all and writing poetry.

I'm starting up a game of Call of Cthulhu in the Gaslight (Victorian Era) time period. A bit about the game: it's influenced mostly (at least at first) by From Hell (the graphic novel much moreso than the movie), the stories of Arthur Machen, and the Golden Dawn. During the course of the game, you'll meet some famous individuals of the Victorian period. Of course, I don't want to say too much about the game itself, but I can tell you that the opening hook is a real event (though I moved it forward ten years, poetic license, you understand ).

Character generation will be 28-point buy, and, like all of my games, the characters will start at 3rd level. Being Victorian England, of course, social class is quite important, however I'll go into that more in the next post. All I ask in the way of concepts is that at least one upper-class character have in their backstory a connection with the Jack the Ripper case and most importantly a reason that others of the police force would trust him or her (likely a consulting doctor or investigator if male, a patroness or even investigator if female). No former suspects.

Any other questions, let me know, like always I'm sure I forgot some things.

Social Classes/Backgrounds
Low Class: Agent (undercover), Criminal, fallen members of any background
Working Class: Blue-Collar Worker, Criminal, Doctor (Nurse), Soldier, Writer
Upper Class: Antiquarian, Archaeologist, Artist/Musician, Criminal, Detective, Dilettante, Doctor, Parapsychologist, Priest/Clergyman, Professor, Psychologist/Alienist, Soldier, White-Collar Worker/Businessman, Writer
Nobility: Antiquarian, Archaeologist, Artist/Musician, Criminal, Detective, Dilettante, Doctor, Parapsychologist, Priest/Clergyman, Professor, Psychologist/Alienist, Soldier

Weapons and Equipment
The following weapons are available that are not available in standard Call of Cthulhu:

Elephant Gun (2d12, $100)
Moran’s Air Rifle (2d6, $200)

In addition, all generic pistols and rifles listed on p109 are available, with the following exceptions. Use 1920s prices. Substitute "revolver" for "semiautomatic", though: all 1890s pistols are single-shot. Semiautomatic rifles are likewise unavailable. Assault rifles and submachine guns are also unavailable, and shotguns are limited to the double-barrel civilian model (as per the chart on p107, the shotguns available are 20-gauge and 12-gauge models). The standard sidearm for Scotland Yard detectives is the Webley revolver, a single-action .45. The only explosive readily available, aside from homemade pipe bombs, is dynamite.

Likewise, for equipment, use the 1920s prices, except for clothing, which has a cost as follows:

Low Class (free)
Working Class ($13)
Upper Class ($40)
Nobility ($100)

All characters have one free set of clothing (except police officers, guardsmen, and uniformed workers, who regardless of class have a uniform as well). Nobody in Victorian London would be caught wearing clothing that befits a member of lower society; and in case you’re tempted by the free price of "Lowest Class" clothing, remember these are meant solely for street thieves, prostitutes, and other denizens of London’s ghettoes.

The typical conveyance of the time was a horse and carriage, I'll put the rules and everything up for them whenever I make them. I know the use of 1920s pricing and American currency isn't accurate, but it's easier.

I'm interested and will post a character shortly

Thanks,
Ian

Maerdwyn's post reminds me of something I forgot to put in the initial post - I'm looking for probably 3-4 players.

Any thoughts on the various d20 CoC options? (Offensive/Defensive, AoO, etc.)

I don't like AoOs. Didn't in DnD, and still don't in CoC (especially in CoC, where things are deadly enough). As for the AC bonus thing, that I'll be using. Offense/defense is open either way.