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View Full Version : Cthulhu Game in Victorian London--Setting Research Suggestions?



Amaril
2013-11-10, 01:03 AM
So it occurred to me a little while ago that a Call of Cthulhu game set in Victorian London could be really interesting (I don't know whether this is done commonly, but it's my understanding that the game is normally set in the US, historical period aside). I'd love to run something like that, but I don't really know much about that particular setting and period, at least not at a level of detail sufficient to run a game in it. My preferred method of setting research is to read stories with a similar setting, and I'm wondering if anybody has any suggestions for fiction that's both entertaining and might enhance my knowledge of what life in Victorian London was like. I figured Dickens might be one place to look, but I can't really think of much else. Any suggestions?

JHShadon
2013-11-10, 01:14 AM
I have no suggestions for something that might help with knowledge but the main characters of Foul Play (http://foulplaygame.com/) could be used for a few good NPCs.

Remmirath
2013-11-10, 01:23 AM
Dickens should help, certainly. Sherlock Holmes seems obvious enough that you've probably already read some or all of those stories, but if not, there's that. H.G. Wells also (The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, though the second as I recall doesn't have all that much of normal life to it). Dracula and Around the World in Eighty Days also come to mind as individual books.

Nothing else comes to mind at the moment, I'm afraid, although surely there is a good deal more to be found.

Rhynn
2013-11-10, 08:35 AM
Cthulhu by Gaslight, the official CoC rulebook for exactly this, has 47 pages on "The Victorian World" and 36 pages on "Strange Britain," which seems like a very reasonable primer.

Amaril
2013-11-10, 12:01 PM
Cthulhu by Gaslight, the official CoC rulebook for exactly this, has 47 pages on "The Victorian World" and 36 pages on "Strange Britain," which seems like a very reasonable primer.

I was under the impression that Gaslight was designed for Old West games. If it has material that would help for this, though, I'll definitely check it out.

Rhynn
2013-11-10, 12:38 PM
I was under the impression that Gaslight was designed for Old West games. If it has material that would help for this, though, I'll definitely check it out.

Wow. Where did you get this impression? It's absolutely for Victorian England, fortunately. I think the Wild West might get mentioned somewhere (although by the 1890s, it was pretty much "dying out")... but the cover of the third edition says "Cthulhu by Gaslight - Horror Roleplaying in 1890s England," the introduction starts with "Victorian England. The era of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula [...]", the chapters are "Part I - Victorian Characters", "Part II - The Victorian World", "Part III - Strange Britain" ... the included adventures are set in 1890s England...

Basically, it's exactly what you want. :smallbiggrin:

Amaril
2013-11-10, 12:40 PM
Wow. Where did you get this impression? It's absolutely for Victorian England, fortunately. I think the Wild West might get mentioned somewhere (although by the 1890s, it was pretty much "dying out")... but the cover of the third edition says "Cthulhu by Gaslight - Horror Roleplaying in 1890s England," the introduction starts with "Victorian England. The era of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula [...]", the chapters are "Part I - Victorian Characters", "Part II - The Victorian World", "Part III - Strange Britain" ... the included adventures are set in 1890s England...

Basically, it's exactly what you want. :smallbiggrin:

Perfect :smallbiggrin: Thanks for pointing me to it! I have to admit, the Old West did seem like a pretty unusual setting for Cthulhu...I think I must have read that about Gaslight on a wiki somewhere, but either I'm remembering wrong or the information was incorrect (probably the former).

Vitruviansquid
2013-11-10, 04:18 PM
Definitely do some research about the way they treated "crazy" people and definitely do some research about British colonialism during that time.

Terraoblivion
2013-11-10, 04:32 PM
When during the Victorian period? It is very long, covering more than half the 19th century, and different parts of it are quite different from each other, which should really be pretty unsurprising.

Amaril
2013-11-10, 04:40 PM
When during the Victorian period? It is very long, covering more than half the 19th century, and different parts of it are quite different from each other, which should really be pretty unsurprising.

It is, indeed, unsurprising. Honestly, I'm not really sure what part exactly I was thinking of...I got the idea after playing Fallen London, if that helps at all.

CarpeGuitarrem
2013-11-10, 05:02 PM
Heh. Well...Fallen London was actually gonna be my suggestion for research. :smallbiggrin: But it looks like you're amply familiar.

Ravens_cry
2013-11-10, 05:30 PM
I second War of the Worlds. The descriptions of people running from the tentacled critters from Mars would be a good place to start with people running from tentacled critters from beyond the stars.

veti
2013-11-11, 12:22 AM
As well as Dickens (particularly Oliver Twist and Bleak House, if you've got the time) and Conan Doyle, other good contemporary sources would be:
Jules Verne, 'Around the World in 80 Days'
Oscar Wilde, 'The Portrait of Dorian Grey'
Robert Louis Stevenson, 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde'

Modern treatments of the same period include:
Philip Pullman, 'The Ruby in the Smoke', and sequels.
George McDonald Fraser, 'Flashman and the Tiger' (and other Flashman books, although London only makes an occasional appearance)
Connie Willis, 'To Say Nothing of the Dog' (not set in London, but excellent on mid-Victorian Britain).

Bear in mind that London during this period was (even more than today) an immensely cosmopolitan city, hub of the world, and if your players are middle-class or higher (which they'll probably have to be, because otherwise they wouldn't have the free time to do anything as frivolous as saving the world), they would take extensive travel - both domestically and internationally - for granted. So you'll also need some understanding of the rest of England, and ideally of Europe and the Empire as well.

I don't know if you're British, or based in or near London, but if not - bear in mind that it's a real place, and much of it is still only slightly changed since Victorian times. So one of the best methods of research - and something that some of your players might well have done - would be to take one of the dozens of tourist 'walks' around some of the older parts of the city.

Amaril
2013-11-11, 12:28 AM
I don't know if you're British, or based in or near London, but if not - bear in mind that it's a real place, and much of it is still only slightly changed since Victorian times. So one of the best methods of research - and something that some of your players might well have done - would be to take one of the dozens of tourist 'walks' around some of the older parts of the city.

I'm American (living in Canada, but it doesn't matter anyway), so unfortunately this isn't really a viable method of research for me. I'll definitely check out some of the other fiction you recommended :smallsmile: