Why are Victorian and Western Games incompatible?

[jaerdaph]

In the 1890s, many famous cowboys and native americans joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show (Wild Bill Hicock, Annie Okley, and Chief Red Cloud for example) and toured North America and Europe, so a Victorian era campaign could definitely have Wild West characters even if set in London. And Henry already mentioned Quincy Morris from Dracula.

Another recent steam punky TV show, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, is another example, but it takes place during the American Civil War just prior to the Wild West era of the 1870s. It took a lot of liberties with real world history though.

 

[Ranger REG]

My bad. I guess they took a lot of creative license for LXG. I guess the need for a young American member prompted them to use Tom Sawyer all grown up, but not past the ripe age of 60.

 

[jaerdaph]

My bad. I guess they took a lot of creative license for LXG. I guess the need for a young American member prompted them to use Tom Sawyer all grown up, but not past the ripe age of 60.

Another interesting note - the cast photos in all the ads for LXG list the name of the character except for Mina Harker - she is listed as "Dracula's Bride". I guess Hollywood thinks we Americans are too illiterate to know who Mina Harker is. Then again, they renamed the movie The Madness of King George III to The Madness of King George for American audiences because they were afraid we'd think it was a sequel and we'd ask where I and II were...

As for Tom Sawyer, the events in that book took place during slavery and before the Civil War, so being generous, making Tom 11 years old in 1861 a year before the war started would make him 49 in 1899.

Edit: Forgot to mention Edward Hyde is 100 times cooler than the Incredible Hulk this summer!

 

[Trepelano]

Another interesting note - the cast photos in all the ads for LXG list the name of the character except for Mina Harker - she is listed as "Dracula's Bride". I guess Hollywood thinks we Americans are too illiterate to know who Mina Harker is. Then again, they renamed the movie The Madness of King George III to The Madness of King George for American audiences because they were afraid we'd think it was a sequel and we'd ask where I and II were...

As for Tom Sawyer, the events in that book took place during slavery and before the Civil War, so being generous, making Tom 11 years old in 1861 a year before the war started would make him 49 in 1899.

Edit: Forgot to mention Edward Hyde is 100 times cooler than the Incredible Hulk this summer!

A bit of a shame really, because a 49 (or mid-50's) Tom Sawyer would have been a good addition to the group.

If the patterned the character after a 50-ish Samuel Clemens - he would have made an awesome govnernment agent character

 

[tm80401]

Actually, regarding Sawyer, they never mention his first name. Now this is probably due to copyright issues, but it does mean that this could be Tom Sawyer's son.

And they really should have hired the guys who did Hyde to do the Hulk movie.

 

[JEL]

It's been more than 70 years since Clemmon's death, so there's no copyright issues with Tom Sawyer. Or any of the other characters, as, IIRC, part of the point of the comic is that all the characters in it are public domain.

 

[Mark Chance]

It's been more than 70 years since Clemmon's death, so there's no copyright issues with Tom Sawyer. Or any of the other characters, as, IIRC, part of the point of the comic is that all the characters in it are public domain.

That depends on whether or not Clemens's estate, if he has one, is involved. Copyright can pass into control of heirs, who can keep the copyright active, IIRC. Of course, I'm not really a lawyer. I just play one in smoky pubs.

 

[Impeesa]

Except for the invisible man, who they were a little unsure of... that's why the guy in the movie isn't The Invisible Man, just an invisible man.

--Impeesa--

 

[tm80401]

With the invisible man, it was mentioned on annother thread that while the story had gone into the public domain, Universal Studios or someone still had the movie rights because of a movie adaptation of the book made before the copyright expired.

With Tom Sawyer, it wouldn't neccesarily be if the story went public domain as much as if the Clemens estate kept a trademark on the name 'Tom Sawyer'. Tom Sawyer wasn't in the comic anyway, he was added for the movie, just like Dorian Grey.

There is annother thread going on about a 'Barsoom d20' game and it's mentioned that while several of the stories are public domain, the Burroughs estate still has trademarks on 'Barsoom' and several other specific terms.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.

 

[Voneth]

Jack London was a writer of the American North West.

Perhaps the biggest reason I mentioned Jack London is that he based his stories on his own real life experiences in Alaska, which was not only wilder than the Wild West, but also damn cold. I am surprised that London is not taught in school, but his subject matter is ususaly very grim.