London of the 1890s is a complicated place, social class-wise. The classes are, for the most part, segregated by location within London. Although not entirely accurate, the general divisions of the area are as follows. Most regions bounded by the River Thames in the south, Bishopsgate Street and Shoreditch in the east, and Hackney Road to the north (the neighborhoods of Bethnal Green, Spitalfields, Whitechapel, and Limehouse, and beyond that the Isle of Dogs) can be considered the East End. In the 1890s, the East End is mostly a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" in Star Wars terms. All manner of lunatic, criminal, and poor "unfortunate" (the more socially-acceptable word for prostitute) infest the area. This area was the haunt of the (in)famous Jack The Ripper and his predecessor, Spring-Heel Jack.
West of Bishopsgate Street and north of the Thames is the West End. This end of town is a mostly middle-class and upper-class district, and as you travel further west into the neighborhoods of Kensington and Bayswater, the residents are almost exclusively upper-class. The most notable exception to this is Soho, in the central part of the West End. This is the domain of the artists and actors - and Seven Dials, a noticable seven-point crossroads towards the edge of the district, is a notorious den of thieves and cutthroats. On the banks of the Thames is Westminster, very much the seat of government in the city (except, of course, for the Houses of Parliament).
South of the Thames is the South End, the most notable neighborhood being Lambeth. For the most part, the South End is a low-class residential district.
Academic: Academics of the 19th Century are professors, librarians, and museum curators, much as in d20 Modern. Typical places of employment for an Academic include universities such as Oxford, Eton, or Cambridge, or the British Museum. Class Skills - eliminate Computer Use.
Adventurer: Adventurers of the 19th Century are of two types. Either they are big-game hunters in such exotic locales as Africa or India, or they are what passes for archaeologists in this time. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Athlete: Athletes are often cricket players. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Clerk: Clerks are often employed by some company or another, or as low-level employees of the British government. Class Skills - as d20 Modern White Collar, except eliminate Computer Use.
Creative: The artists, musicians, poets and actors of this era live in all manner of neighborhoods throughout London, especially Soho. Most are looked down upon, however. Class Skills - eliminate Computer Use.
Criminal: Like all big cities, London of the 19th Century certainly has no lack of criminals. Most, of course, live among the teeming throngs of the East End, but all sections of London have their own sorts. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Dilettante: Dilettantes are often heirs to minor nobility, or simply extremely wealthy. Only a scarce few actually live in London, most keeping to their estates on the outskirts. Those who do, however, usually live in the West End. Class Skills - add Knowledge (nobility) to class skills.
Doctor: Doctors of the era mostly live in the fashionable West End or Westminster. Though they may work in the London Hospital, in Whitechapel, not many live there! Class Skills - replace Computer Use with Research.
Entrepreneur: Entrepreneurs are a rare occupation, usually reserved for owners of large companies such as Lloyd’s, or Messrs. Kearny & Tonge. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Investigative: Detectives may live anywhere in London or its environs. Class Skills - replace Computer Use with Bluff.
Laborer: Laborers of the 19th Century include miners, machinists, carriage drivers, hawkers (street salesmen), porters, stonemasons, and any of countless other menial professions. Class Skills - Craft (mechanical, structural), Climb, Demolitions, Drive, Handle Animal, Intimidate.
Law Enforcement: Like detectives, policemen may live in any part of London. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Military: The soldiers and militiamen of the 1890s are often extremely poor, unless of course the have military ranking. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Religious: Priests in London serve and live anywhere. Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Rural: Class Skills - as d20 Modern.
Scientist: Class Skills - as d20 Modern Technician, except remove Computer Use.
Student: Class Skills - as d20 Modern, except remove Computer Use.
We'll be determining money the COC way, not having to refigure the Wealth scores and all was less of a headache for me. If you don't have the COC book, here's how it is. Basically roll 1d6 and add or subtract the modifier below for your occupation, then take that number and multiply it by the savings and income numbers below. So if I say had a 3, I'd have 600 pounds of savings and 300 of income.
Savings: £200
Income: £100
Academic +3
Adventurer +1
Athlete 0
Clerk +1
Creative -2
Criminal -2
Dilettante +6
Doctor +4
Entrepreneur +4
Investigative +2
Laborer 0
Law Enforcement +1
Military -2/+1 or above (roll on Military Occupation table in Unearthed Arcana)
Religious +1
Rural 0
Scientist +2
Student 0
Later I'll work on an equipment list.
So I'll whip up what we need to start, and in the meantime, anybody who wants in, chime in! If you wanna go ahead and come up with a character concept, go ahead.
