Anyone know anything about how the rules will be? There are certainly a lot of choices out for warband games now- Strange Aeons, EoTD, Malifaux, etc. Frank Chadwick is supposed to release his new SP1889 game this year. Wondering what will seperate this game from the pack?
M
A damned good question M.
When we were first approached to create this game, we did a lot of research into both the period, contemporary literature, games and figures currently on the market, and the genre as a whole. There are some good games out there already but most of them are wedded to a specific narrative and many have really gone off on a fantastical tangent.
We felt that the Victorian Scientific Romances that entranced us both as children deserved something different. Authors like Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells gave us a vision of an age where anything was still considered possible.
Thus we decided to create game founded in the actual technology of the late Victorian era, but enhanced by logical extrapolations of that technology such as that dreamt of by Edison and Tesla and a thousand less famous scientific geniuses. The patent records of the time would have made da Vinci jump for joy. Want a Bowler hat with a pistol in it - there was a real patent for it. Want to distribute electricity wirelessly - Tesla patented it. How much further advanced would the technology of 1895 have been if Babbage had been successful with his mechanical computers in the 1840's, fifty years before the period we cover?
We also looked closely at the beliefs and superstitions of the period. Even great men of the time believed in things that we would now consider fantastical, so what if some of these were actually true? It was a time of Spiritualism and Mesmerism, of illusionists, diabolical cults and new religions. Men still regarded their souls as worth saving, and a few as worth stealing.
The politics of the late Victorian era are particularly interesting. The great imperial powers were beginning to be challenged by upstart newcomers like the United States and Japan. Explorers, followed by missionaries and colonists were pushing into the last great wildernesses, and every great power wanted a slice of that. At the heart of this is the British Empire upon which the sun never set. In 1895 a fifth of the world's population lived under the Pax Britannica. Though we were finding it increasingly hard to control and defend.
Across Europe revolutionary movements were becoming very common. Every Great Power was worried about these and active suppression was common. Anarchists murdered politicians, diplomats and members of royal families. Nationalist movements threatened the very stability of several European imperial states, most profoundly in Austro-Hungary.
The foundation of most of the modern secret intelligence services also happened in this period and their ranks were filled with mavericks, heroes and villains. Secret police, spies, saboteurs and assassins were all commonplace.
So, one of the most exciting periods in world history, give it a slight twist and we have the foundation for In Her Majesty's Name.
So next came the rules. Our founding principles were that they had to be rules that we would enjoy playing ourselves and they had be fairly simple in their core construction, yet with sufficient depth to continue to engage people over a long period. One of the reasons for this is that I have a very poor short term memory and find long, complex rules sets both baffling and immensely irritating.
Now in the years leading up to this I had created a range of wargames rule sets which I published for free on my blog. These had attracted a small following and soon I had a number of people collaborating with me in the production of them under the banner of The Forge of War Development Group. Sets such as FUBAR (8,500 downloads to date) and In the Emperor's Name (4,750) became quite popular and spawned a huge number of fan-made supplements.
The 'warbands' or companies as we call them reflect the period very closely, either being based upon historical forces, or forces from Victorian Contemporary literature. Our first brainstorm produced over a a hundred potential companies from around the globe. We had to reduce this to just ten for the publication. However, be assured we shall be publishing many more on the supporting blog/site we are now working on.
Since the cat is well and truly out of the bag here are the companies in the main rules:
1. The British Army. This contains variations to allow you to represent many of the more famous regiments from Coldstream Guards to the Ghurkhas. It also includes the Prince of Wales Extraordinaty Compaby led by the dashing Captain Napier and indefatigable Sgt. Borrage.
2. The Explorer's Club. This includes Lord Curr's Company - chosen by Northstar to become one of their starter sets. It is an organisation that supported Allan Quartermain and Fineous Fogg.
3. Scotland Yard. At the time the leading police organisation in the world. It has the toughest city in the world to deal with, and it is supported by the Consulting Detective and his friend, the Good Doctor. Available as a Northstar bonus set.
4. The Society of Thule. A monstrous and dastardly group of Prussians determined to make Germany the pre-eminent power in Europe, through their maniacal mix of science and unnatural philosophy. Available as a Northstar starter set.
5. The Black Dragon Tong. The ancinet powers of the east strike back at the heart of Imperial Britain. Another Northstar Starter Set.
6. The Servants of Ra. Who doesn't like suave and sophisiticated reincanrated pharaohs, supported by fanatical cultists? The last of the Northstar Starter Sets.
7. Wild Bill Hickok's Wild West Show - the European tour version (this did happen and was very popular). A front for the Secret Service featuring those 'reformed' outlaws, the Dooley Brothers.
8. The Légion Étrangère – 4ème battalion, Les Zouaves de Kreiss. Considered to be both the elite and the scum of the French military, supported by Prof. Moebius and his amazing serums. C'est magnifique, non?
9. The Brick Lane Commune. Arising out of the stews and alleys of the East End, preaching revolution or death and hurling their signature Brick Lane Bottle Grenades while singing the International! As featured in the most recent episode of the BBC's excellent 'Ripper Street'.
10. The US Marine Corps. Rocketing in from the States and using their superior skills and technology to even the day.
The rules also have a fully-featured points system that allow you, nay encourage, players to create their own companies. Despite taking Osprey's shilling (thanks Phil
) I am still a fervent supporter of giving players the power to make and control their own games.
As we get closer to publication (May 20th) we shall be able to say more and rest assured we shall be keeping the Lead Adventure and TMP forums up-to-date.
Nick and his crew shall by demonstrating the game at Salute this year. Both Charles and I shall be there to talk to any of you who swing by.
Cheers,
Craig.
17 March 2013, 09:30:09 PM