Please help

[Howtowncowisbro]

I have a plan for a low magic, late 1910s to early 1920s campaign where the bbg has acquired some powerful magic items by some means, and is using them to set a city against itself so he can take power. I was hoping to make it a murder mystery/ over complicated Sherlock Homes type of game, with dark, gritty tones. The problem I have is I'm not sure what system to put it in and if I should allow the more advanced firearms of the period? First time posting. Need help please.

[JNAProductions]

How crunchy do you want the game?

FATE or FAE could work. GURPS for crunchier gameplay. Genesys can work.

[Howtowncowisbro]

Fate was up there. The only problem with was really that it didnt have races like traditional d&d and the group I play with doesn't particularly like it.

[JNAProductions]

Fate was up there. The only problem with was really that it didnt have races like traditional d&d and the group I play with doesn't particularly like it.

Genesys, maybe?

[Howtowncowisbro]

I was originally just going to go 5e and hope for the best but I dont know

[Howtowncowisbro]

Genesys, maybe?

I've never heard of it but I will have a look

[Howtowncowisbro]

I've played the Star Wars RPGs and Genesys looks like it runs a similar way thank you

[JNAProductions]

Double Posting
Posting twice in a row is generally frowned upon. If you are responding to multiple points, please use quotes and other post formatting to clarify this. Please use the Edit option to modify information in a post instead of immediately making a new one. If you do accidentally double post, you can delete the extra post under the Edit option.

So, just an FYI, you might want to check the Forum Rules since you're a new poster. I copy-pasted a part I believe you missed.

[Particle_Man]

Call of Cthulhu?

[Pauly]

Call of Cthulhu?

Call of Cthulhu would be my first choice as well.

[CharonsHelper]

Call of Cthulhu?

Call of Cthulhu would be my first choice as well.

I'll third that!

[Anymage]

If FATE is out because your group doesn't like it, it'd help to know what your group does like. CoC, as mentioned, comes pretty close to the overall theme you want, but also doesn't have fantasy races and I don't know if you want your villain to turn out to be a deranged cultist.

One angle I have seen for modern play under a D&D rules engine is to assume that most of the world is low level (1d8 HP really hurts if you only have one or two hit dice), and that the players are action hero types with magic of their own. If the PCs are magic types with magic of their own trying to keep the worlds of magic and humans separate, they can perform feats of derring do while the world around them is still gritty. Don't try to sell your players on a campaign where they're always low level unless you have specific buy-in from them.

On that note, don't expect the players to be able to match Sherlock Holmes unless you give them mechanical abilities that will point out and help analyze the minute clues he'd notice, or else that allow them to actively state any fact so long as it doesn't contradict any already established facts and the player explains how their character could deduce it. First because this is about multiple protagonists instead of the sole superhero, and second because players are bound to have brainfarts eventually.

[Feddlefew]

D&D is really, really not the system you want to use for a gumshoe-y game.

I guess my question is what kind of tone are you going for? Gritty? Hard-boiled? Cosmic Horror? Comedy of errors?

How involved do you want the rules to be? Because you could probably run this in Monster of the Week if you wanted something rules-light and were willing to make a special move or two for each race.

Edit: Monster of the Week might not be the system for your group, however.

[Mordar]

Call of Cthulhu?

Call of Cthulhu would be my first choice as well.

I'll third that!

That makes me the fouther, I guess. Not only is baseline Call of C'thulhu set in the proper time period (and thus has a host of proper trappings - price lists, weapons, technology, everything a casual gamer needs to know to properly play in the 1910s-20s), it is a game made first and foremost for investigation. Furthermore it is a grittier game that is not nearly as forgiving as D&D-styled games (but it IS NOT a "everyone dies or goes insane by the end of the session" game, so don't even start with that...) so it should go along with your intent.

Finally, it is SUPER easy to learn and play. Almost completely unified resolution mechanics, my favorite advancement methodology, and pretty intuitive.

- M

[Segev]

That makes me the fouther, I guess. Not only is baseline Call of C'thulhu set in the proper time period (and thus has a host of proper trappings - price lists, weapons, technology, everything a casual gamer needs to know to properly play in the 1910s-20s), it is a game made first and foremost for investigation. Furthermore it is a grittier game that is not nearly as forgiving as D&D-styled games (but it IS NOT a "everyone dies or goes insane by the end of the session" game, so don't even start with that...) so it should go along with your intent.

Finally, it is SUPER easy to learn and play. Almost completely unified resolution mechanics, my favorite advancement methodology, and pretty intuitive.

- M

On top of that, from a PC standpoint, it's low magic by default. And having the BBEG have a powerful artifact he's found and is manipulating is just the kind of power disparity that the game setting is trying to encourage.

[Honest Tiefling]

Haven't played much, but Powered by the Apocalypse is usually pretty easy to pick up for most players. Guns are already a factor, so that's not an issue. Monster of the Week is NOT a version I've played yet, but it seems like a bit of tweaking could get it to do the trick quite easily.

I assume by Sherlock Holmes you intend for this game to take place in Great Britian, but I'm not really sure. Regardless, gun ownership should probably match the region the game takes place, because that'll affect things quite a lot. In some places, a gun would be downright expected. If you don't want advanced firearms, have the game take place where it simply won't be available, or at least, not available to the PCs from the start.

[Pauly]

I assume by Sherlock Holmes you intend for this game to take place in Great Britian, but I'm not really sure. Regardless, gun ownership should probably match the region the game takes place, because that'll affect things quite a lot. In some places, a gun would be downright expected. If you don't want advanced firearms, have the game take place where it simply won't be available, or at least, not available to the PCs from the start.

People forget that Britain used to have very free gun laws. Back in the era of Sherlock Holmes it was quite routine for civilians to carry guns. For example in the siege of Sydney Street in 1911 the British police, then as now were routinely unarmed, asked passer boys if they could borrow their guns.

[Spore]

People forget that Britain used to have very free gun laws. Back in the era of Sherlock Holmes it was quite routine for civilians to carry guns. For example in the siege of Sydney Street in 1911 the British police, then as now were routinely unarmed, asked passer boys if they could borrow their guns.

That just for me as an uninformed player would bring up the question of cost. I assume a gun is something expensive that the average citizen would not have lying around. then again an early gun license costed 100 shilling via Wikipedia which is 60 pounds in today's money.

But think about it, even if a gun costs just 10 pounds of 1900s money, this would be 1.100 pound in today's money. Not everyone would carry one. So the question - if historical accuracy is a goal which it might just be not - could be if the PCs could even afford a gun.

[Alhallor]

I also thought Call of Cuthulu could work but how about the old World of Darkness with normal humans or perhaps static mages for your Group?

The bbg could be a "real" power-hungry mage.

[SirGraystone]

I would look at Savage Worlds, it's a generic game working well in diifferent settings

[caden_varn]

Another advantage of CoC is that it is a variant of Basic Roleplaying, so you have some more resources to add things like fantasy races from e.g. Runequest if this was desired.
Although ducks.

Genesys is the generic version of the SW system, so if you are familiar with that, Genesys should be fine. Call of Cthulhu does have the advantage of being set in the correct period though.

[Mordar]

Another advantage of CoC is that it is a variant of Basic Roleplaying, so you have some more resources to add things like fantasy races from e.g. Runequest if this was desired.
Although ducks.

Genesys is the generic version of the SW system, so if you are familiar with that, Genesys should be fine. Call of Cthulhu does have the advantage of being set in the correct period though.

And being a natural fit for the style of game described.

And being a better system. Clearly just my opinion. But I think it is a really good opinion to have.

And not being tofu.

- M

[Grod_The_Giant]

Or better yet, Trail of Cthulu. It runs off an engine specifically designed for running investigations and mysteries.

I'll also throw STaRS in the ring; it's light and very good at both social and skill challenge type encounters, which seem like they'd be pretty central to a mystery. At the same time, it also doesn't really have any narrative-focused mechanics, so it plays more like a traditional RPG than a lot of light indie games out there.