Good sources for Victorian adventures?

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Please check out my Passages rpg, which has a ton of suggestions for creating and building adventures in the Victorian era. I'll also soon be posting a free adventure for download, though it may be too fantastical for your purposes, in that the PCs chase Professor Moriarty into Wonderland to keep him from recovering the vorpal blade.

 

[Kafkonia]

Please check out my Passages rpg, which has a ton of suggestions for creating and building adventures in the Victorian era. I'll also soon be posting a free adventure for download, though it may be too fantastical for your purposes, in that the PCs chase Professor Moriarty into Wonderland to keep him from recovering the vorpal blade.

Yes, that might be a bit more fantastic than I need -- but who says characters won't occasionally dream/hallucinate rather outlandish tales of their own? I'll check it and Forgotten Futures out, although they may not be accessible from work (where I am now.)

Thanks folks!

 

[BluSponge]

Come Il Faut for Castle Falkenstein
What Jane Austen ATE and Charles Dickens KNEW, Daniel Pool
Writers Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800's
The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana, by Jess Nivens

I'd also look into Chaosium's Cthuhlu by Gaslight (Call of Cthulhu) book, as well as Pinnacle's Rippers (Savage Worlds).

Tom

 

[bento]

Check out Terra Incognita. It was created for the FUDGE rule set and features a semi-realistic setting ranging from 1860s to 1930s.

In addition to the free download of the abbreviated rule set, the site itself is a blog for all things of interest in that era.

You can also splurge for the larger setting book, which I purchased and enjoy!

 

[der_kluge]

All the above is crap.

This is what you really need.

"The 786 - page reprint of the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue"

http://www.amazon.com/1897-Sears-Ro...2488140?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178210608&sr=8-1

Most awesomest role-playing aid ever. Although, the one I have is from 1910... I should pick this one, but I doubt it's terribly different, really.

 

[Kafkonia]

All the above is crap.

This is what you really need.

"The 786 - page reprint of the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue"

That's great. I may actually order it. I checked for a Hudson's Bay Company catalogue (being the Canadian equivalent) but the one available is from 1910-11, a couple of decades later than I'd like. Ah well.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

This thread is gold!

 

[Kafkonia]

For those interested, I found a website chronicling Canada's mail order catalogues throughout the years. It's got four from the 1880s-90s.

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/mailorder/029006-101.02-e.php#a

 

[CruelSummerLord]

If things go according to plan, I hope it to be a moody, CoC-esque horror game -- but a steady diet of the same will deaden its effect, so I'd be open to any resources or suggestions.

I've found a few good websites, although to my intense annoyance I can't find one I was just looking at the other day that talked about the attitudes of the Governors General of Canada at the time (since we're in Ottawa, I figure I might as well set the game there.) It had good bits about social life and such, and I can't find it.

Of course, after all this my players will probably decide to go for Feng Shui or something instead.

If you really want to have some fun, why not mesh plots and styles? Dr. Doyle came up with some very strange goings-on in his Holmes stories, but they turned out not to be supernatural. Maybe you could try fixing it so the supernatural really was real?

What if, instead of a hound daubed with chemical paint, the Hound of the Baskervilles was an actual phantom hound?

Check out these other weird and unusual cases. Make their causes actually supernatural:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Devil's_Foot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Lion's_Mane

Also, if you want to lighten the mood, and decide to set the game in Canada, have your players meet Sir John A. Macdonald during one of his many, many pub crawls. For maximum laughs, see if they'll challenge him to a drinking contest.

Games can be both educational and fun!

 

[Black Flame Zealot]

Sources for Victorian-era roleplaying

der_kluge hit it on the head. You must have a catalog for your players. I would also recommend (if you can find it) the 1895 Montgomery Ward catalog, which is out-of-print.

I used to have a series of travel books dated 1896, which were incredible. The photos alone were worth it. Of course, I gave them all away as gifts.

Another good resource is the Victorian Encyclopedia. I might be able to dig up ISBNs and such so you can check on their availability.