In a couple of months I'll be starting a new campaign, and after seeing the first couple issues of "Curse of the Crimson Throne" thought it would be not too difficult to adapt to 19th-century London. Class divisions, gypsies, exploited orphans and mysterious oriental societies are all key features of Korsova that mirror the real world.
I've had a first take at the conversion, and it is actually pretty easy.
**SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT**
I chose 1837 as the best starting point. It's between the Napoleonic wars and the heydey of Victorian-era fiction. This is important because it means that aside from Jane Austin heroines, there are not too many fictional characters likely to make a distracting appearance.
More importantly, in 1837 King Edward died rather suddenly and the 18-year old Victoria became queen, making the newly constructed Buckingham Palace an official royal residence.
Maps of London are easy to come by, here's one:
http://archivemaps.com/mapco/cary1837/cary.htm
Details of life in the period are also plentiful; searches including the term "Regency England" turn up tons of detail. What's more, Victorian sourcebooks will be largely useful as well, simply reduce the amount of gaslight and the availability of firearms.
With regard to the Sable Company, I took a page from His Majesty's Dragon (set at the turn of the 19th century) and transmuted the griffins into dragons, allowing me to use the series as a source of lore. (see also http://www.temeraire.org/).
With regard to magic, I assumed that professional magicians in the vein of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell would be acceptable. (Note that this book, like the Temeraire series, is set during the Napoleonic era.) Clerics, unfortunately, are out of luck as we otherwise have to wrestle with real-world religion. On the other hand, it makes the effects of the plague far more interesting when there are no ready healers.
In the same vein, if the adventure moves into the countryside I will probably be drawing on things like Stardust (well, anything illustrated by Charles Vess, really).
I don't think I will have much worry about locations of note (London is big enough to find anything interesting), but I am struggling to define the city districts and find real-world analogues of the government notables. This is the part I need the most help with.
If anyone has suggestions or resources to recommend, I would be most grateful.
I've had a first take at the conversion, and it is actually pretty easy.
**SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT**
I chose 1837 as the best starting point. It's between the Napoleonic wars and the heydey of Victorian-era fiction. This is important because it means that aside from Jane Austin heroines, there are not too many fictional characters likely to make a distracting appearance.
More importantly, in 1837 King Edward died rather suddenly and the 18-year old Victoria became queen, making the newly constructed Buckingham Palace an official royal residence.
Maps of London are easy to come by, here's one:
http://archivemaps.com/mapco/cary1837/cary.htm
Details of life in the period are also plentiful; searches including the term "Regency England" turn up tons of detail. What's more, Victorian sourcebooks will be largely useful as well, simply reduce the amount of gaslight and the availability of firearms.
With regard to the Sable Company, I took a page from His Majesty's Dragon (set at the turn of the 19th century) and transmuted the griffins into dragons, allowing me to use the series as a source of lore. (see also http://www.temeraire.org/).
With regard to magic, I assumed that professional magicians in the vein of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell would be acceptable. (Note that this book, like the Temeraire series, is set during the Napoleonic era.) Clerics, unfortunately, are out of luck as we otherwise have to wrestle with real-world religion. On the other hand, it makes the effects of the plague far more interesting when there are no ready healers.
In the same vein, if the adventure moves into the countryside I will probably be drawing on things like Stardust (well, anything illustrated by Charles Vess, really).
I don't think I will have much worry about locations of note (London is big enough to find anything interesting), but I am struggling to define the city districts and find real-world analogues of the government notables. This is the part I need the most help with.
If anyone has suggestions or resources to recommend, I would be most grateful.
