D&D 5E Thoughts on Divorcing D&D From [EDIT: Medievalishness], Mechanically Speaking.

[Reynard]

That’s just a type of story. You can use the setting without railroading the players through a gothic novel pastiche. A Bulldog Drummond pastiche works just as well. The main difference is the attitude of the players in any case.

I don't have a lot of experience with Ravenloft outside of reading the Domains of Dread core book from 3E. I just assumed it was meant to be actual gothic horror.

In any case, isn't Ravenloft still just medieval-ish?

 

[Stormonu]

Ravenloft is horror. I am not interested in horror in this case, any more than D&D is filled with horror tropes anyway.

You're getting to hung up on the horror aspect. Masque IS NOT HORROR. It's D&D set in the 1890's, and you can roll the timeframe forward or backward as you desire. It's simply a modernish setting. The 3E version was put out by White Wolf under their Sword & Sorcery imprint. I tried looking for it on DRPG, but sadly it is no longer available there. If you can find a copy, I do think it covers exactly what you are attempting to accomplish.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I don't have a lot of experience with Ravenloft outside of reading the Domains of Dread core book from 3E. I just assumed it was meant to be actual gothic horror.

You can do that. But it’s not hard to use it for other stuff. VGR is more flexable. And steer clear of any of the 2nd edition modules, they are horribly railroady. It can do Brendon Fraser or Tom Cruise mummy just as well as Boris Karloff. And Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter is essential prep.

 

[GrimCo]

@Stormonu

Yep, that's the one. It fits like a glove to what OP wants. Down to magic being more hermetic with classes like Mediums and Occultists. Scholars and scientists are also classes for themselves. It also has Mechanic (popular pulp trope), Soldier (think British big game hunters in Africa).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Masque IS NOT HORROR

Given the Poe novel it is named after, you can see how someone could make that assumption though…

 

[Reynard]

Given the Poe novel it is named after, you can see how someone could make that assumption though…

Also "Adventure on Gothic Earth" as a subtitle does not scream D&D pulp action in 1901 to me. But I'll believe those who own it. I'll see if I can track down a copy.

 

[Stormonu]

Yep, it pretty much is a "What if the stories that Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Poe, Kipling, Verne, Twain and all the other wrote were true?"

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yep, it pretty much is a "What if the stories that Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Poe, Kipling, Verne, Twain and all the other wrote were true?"

So, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen then.

 

[Bedrockgames]

You're getting to hung up on the horror aspect. Masque IS NOT HORROR. It's D&D set in the 1890's, and you can roll the timeframe forward or backward as you desire. It's simply a modernish setting. The 3E version was put out by White Wolf under their Sword & Sorcery imprint. I tried looking for it on DRPG, but sadly it is no longer available there. If you can find a copy, I do think it covers exactly what you are attempting to accomplish.

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Masque of the Red Death was definitely horror

 

[GrimCo]

So, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen then.

Pretty much. You can make it more pulp like by the tone of adventures you run. It's modern enough to have fast transport, radio, telephone, etc, but still old enough that you don't have to worry about balancing automatic weapons. Post ww2 era becomes problematic cause you get submachine guns, full auto battle rifles, man portable machineguns, semi auto handguns and it becomes PIA.