Thursday, December 17, 2009

Dirty Nellie for Victoriana

Ghosts of Albion takes place in 1839.  Rippers, Cthulhu by Gaslight, Masque of the Red Death and most other Victorian Age games typically take place in or around 1880s-1890s.  That leaves a huge swath of time that is Victorian but often covered by any game.   Except of course for Victoriana.

Victoriana is a game I want to hate but can't.  First, it is full of really cool Victorian goodness.  It is made (presently) by the cool guys over at Cubicle 7, the same guys that give Star Blazer and Doctor Who.  The second edition has been gone over by Andrew Peregrine (who also worked on Angel).  I like the "black die" mechanic they add to what could have been just another dice pool game.    There are some things in it I'd never try with Ghosts of Albion, but it all seems to work great in Victoriana.  The C7 guys describe it as "Victorian-age Shadow Run" and that is pretty dead on.  Most everyone knows about magic.  There are dwarves, gnomes, halflings, "eldren" (elves, but don't call them that), ogres, and beastmen.  So if my work on Ghosts of Albion is more "Hammer Horror" than Victoriana is more "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", something it shares with "Rippers", though I put Rippers closer to the movie "Van Helsing" or at least what we all wanted the movie to be, not what it really was.

I have played it a few times now, and try to get in a game at Gen Con with either Andrew or one of the other guys at C7 (I think I sat in a game with Marc once), and it is always a great time.  In fact outside of running my own games, or the nightly Catan games in the hotel room, it is my only Gen Con "tradition".
But of course they are the "competition" with Ghosts of Albion, so I have to hate them. ;) (ok not really).

Dirty Nellie, Street Faerie
So one of my favorite NPCs/Guest Stars is Little Dirty Nel, the Street Faerie prostitute.  I have detailed her early years with Ghosts of Albion, and her later years with Rippers.  I should also detail what she is doing during the middle Victorian period with Victoriana.  Like before, this is not a strict conversion, it is more of

Dirty Nel in Victoriana, 1867
Nel in this reality is still a Street Faerie dollymop, but she is doing a little bit better for herself.  In the Victoriana world the existence of magic is widely known, so Nel is often able to offer her trade as herself, complete with her peppered moth wings visible.  For stats, I put Street Faerie between Eldren and Halflings.  She looks like a small Eldren woman, with of course wings.  Like Eldren, Street Faeries are prone to a mental illness or two.  I kept her addictions and faerie arrogance in place since they would work fine in this world.
Like her Rippers and Ghosts of Albion universe counter-parts, Nel is a wealth of information about the occult and criminal worlds.  She is doing a bit better for herself money wise and her reputation is growing.

Dirty Nellie
Dirty Nellie
Social Class: Lower
Race: Street Faerie
Nationality: British
Age/Gender: ??/Female
Build: Slim
Hair/Eyes: Black/Piercing Blue
Vocation: Prostitute
Personality: Loner, almost cynical
Social ethics: lower-class anarchist

Characteristics
Strength: 0 Presence: 3
Dexterity: 3 Wits: 3
Fortitude: 3 Resolve: 4

Imitative: 9 Movement: 8
Health: 5 Mana: 2+4 = 6

Racial Abilities
Innate Magic (Petty Magic)*

Skills
Art 6
Athletics 5
Bull 8
Charm 10
Conceal 6
Concentration 2
Dance 2
Dodge 4
Etiquette 4
Fisticuffs 4
General Knowledge 6
Hide & Sneak 6
Improvised Weapon (melee) 4
Perception 10
Streetwise 12

Conversation 4
Pick Pockets 6
Slight of Hand 4

Enchanting 5

Talents, Privileges & Assets
Beautiful, Glib, Ear of the Street, Street Informant, Bolt-Hole, Income (Lower class, prostitution)

Complications
Bad Reputation, Bon Viant, Criminal, Lecherous, Faerie Arrogance

Spells
Befuddle, Cloak of Shadows, Glamour (like “Liken Shape” but can change to human shapes), Instant Beauty

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful blog. I love it.