THE SHADOW OVER LONDON – An Eldritch Victorian GSRPG

Pronouns
He/Him

THE SHADOW OVER LONDON – An Eldritch Victorian GSRPG

The year is 1899, and the sun never sets on the British Empire. Queen Victoria rules from London, the greatest city in the world. From his doorstep in Belgravia, a fellow might order with ease conveniences and comforts from across the world in greater number that could be dreamt by ancient emperors. The Reform Acts have granted more liberty to men than ever done – every man a vote! Literature and culture are in full flower; a thousand newspapers are published daily, a hundred plays, countless novels. Science pierces the darkness of ignorance – electromagnetism! refrigeration! evolution! And greater works than imagined by Ozymandias are built; telegraph wires and railroads circle the world; the light of civilization brought to ever corner!

But you want more.

You, dear Madam or Sir, have reached the heights of Victorian society. You, in fact, are Society – and fill your days with pleasure; hunting, carousing, gossip. But there has always been something within you that yearns. To go beyond this – past the greatest of all of man's work, to something past human potential – infinity.

And through grimoire and rumor, through visiting asylums and foreign tombs, you've found a way there, to the endless beyond.

In this happy age, you are a cultist of the Elder Gods.

There have been omens. Things skittering in mirrors, sightings of sea serpents, the birth of mutated livestock. Something beyond is moving. There is an alignment of the spheres. The hinge squeals.

By the end of this century, there will be an apocalypse – a falling away of veils.

But only for one.

You know there are other sects – other followers. They, too, will want to take advantage of this once in an eon opportunity.

So, your goal – this game – is to destroy them.

Organize a soiree. Perform a ritual sacrifice. Cause a scandal. Summon monstrosities. Win the Season. Win the World.

Be THE SHADOW OVER LONDON.



Structure:

This game will operate over twelve turns, representing the length of the London social Season, alternating between Free Time and Functions. During Free Time, characters will be able to do as they like – plan, plot, invest.. They will, however, not be able to take offensive action against other characters; this will be limited to Functions, which are major Season events. At these gatherings, where anyone who is anyone must be at, characters may go to war, both social and otherwise, to try and be the last cultist standing. During free time, characters will submit a single order of up to five hundred words. During Functions, characters will submit an order of up to two-hundred and fifty words reflecting their intentions at the event, and then may be issued further opportunities to make decisions during the event as the situation progresses. The turn schedule is as follows, subject to change for character actions (like a major wedding or funeral):

1. March (Free Time)

2. March (Function) – The opening of "Love Labour's Won", a rediscovered play by Shakespeare

3. April (Free Time)

4. April (Function) – the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race

5. May (Free Time)

6. May (Function) –the Trouping of the Color and Queen Charolette's Ball (presentation of debutantes)

7. June (Free Time)

8. June (Function) – Royal Meeting at the Royal Ascot (horse race)

9. July (Free Time)

10. July (Function) – Wimbledon Championships for Tennis and Croquet

11. August (Free Time)

12. August (Function) – the Glorious Twelfth, the First Day of the Hunting Season

Stats:

Each character has three stats, that can range from 1-10: Wealth, Reputation, and Sanity.

These may be invested in during character creation (below) and further improved during the game, mostly during the course of Free Time. They also function as each character's "health", insofar as if any stat falls bellow zero, your character goes bankrupt, is socially ostracized, or goes insane – all fates worse that death in Victorian London. During Functions, characters should aim to reduce the stats of others.

The three statistics also provide the currency for Workings. These are the eldritch rituals performed by you as a cultist. Multiple players may "spend" units of their stats to perform a working during either Free Time or a Function. Naturally, the more spent, the greater the result (examples provided under each Patron below). As a critical final point, owing to the current astrological conditions of London, a working can never be used with the intent of directly (physically) harming another player. Through accident: very much possible. To cause severe social embarrassment: encouraged. But as true Victorian gentlepeople, you cannot break the letter of the Fifth Commandment; even if your purpose is to do it in spirit.

Character Creation:

You start with 15 points to invest in your stats. You may increase or decrease this value by choosing the below-listed "Virtues" and "Vices". You must pick at least one virtue or vice, up to a maximum of eight total. Virtues and vices will have important narrative effects during the course of the game. +Please also select your eldritch patron. All are beings from the Elder Mythos that have particular personalities and gifts they bestow on followers. All players that select the same patron will be assumed to be part one secret society (which you are welcome to name). Cooperation is encouraged (both within your secret society, and with others), but remember that there can only be one in the End. I am hoping to have, whatever the numbers, approximately equal cultists for each patron.

The ideal application format would be as follows:

Name: Earnest John Worthing, JP

Wealth: 3

Reputation: 5

Sanity: 5

Virtues: Satanic Mills [-8]

Vices: Bent [+2], Misbegotten [+4]

Patron: Hastur

Backstory: Having successfully married his dear Gwendolyn, Earnest has found the married life unbecoming. Having been nearly bankrupted through a series of bad financial decisions, Earnest turned to more questionable lenders, and now owes part of his soul to a terrible yellow king. This is all just to pay the interest.

Here's the link to the Discord, which is required (Join the The Shadow over London Discord Server!). Here's hoping for a great game!

Appendix:

[] Aesthetic Avant-Garde [-3]

The Muses speak to you! As a Romantic, or an Impressionist, or a Decadent or a Primitivist or even an Arts and Crafter, your art or plays or novels are the talk of London. Half from scandal, of course, but that's what's required for modern culture.

[] Brawny [-2]

You are the very model of Victorian masculinity, broad chested and tall. A proper athlete, you can run ten miles and lift most London pageboys over your head.

[] City Man [-6]

You've a man of the City – the true London, the square mile of stockbrokers and bankers. Though your personal fortunate might not be doing so great, you know what palms to grease to stroll down to exchange and bet again on a plantation or some small Central American country to make it all back again.

[] Deerstalker [-6]

It's elementary. Because of one of your previous adventures – solving a murder in a locked room or finding the Crown Jewels (which seem stolen more often than they're worn these days) you are a known friend to Scotland Yard. You have inexplicable authority to enter a crime scene, and despite all better judgement, actually investigate.

[] Ecclesiastic [-3]

The Church of England blesses you. Perhaps you're an actual member of the priesthood, or maybe you've just made a considerable donation. Either way, you have front pew on Sundays and can get a christening within the day.

[] False Façade [-7]

You are a terrible Bunburyist. That is to say, you have a wholly false identity – perhaps in the country, perhaps in the town – that nobody knows is you. You might not be able to be in two places at once, but you certainly can be two people.

[] Gorgeous [-2]

Hair as yellow as gold, lips as red as blood, skin as white as snow – you draw the eye wherever you go, hated and desired in equal measure.

[] Homebody [-8]

A domestic miracle – you have a happy family. There is no scandal that separates you from your kinfolk; all of them are tolerable to speak to. Whether it be a wife or husband, father or son, cousin or great-uncle, you all actually care for another and hope each other well.

[] Innovator [-7]

You've created some great invention for this new age. You've got the patent, but it's not quite ready for market – too bulky, to expensive, too novel – but soon, they'll see – they'll all see!

[] Justicar [-7]

The long arm of the law is you. You're a judge, or some well known attorney. This comes with certain social expectations, of course – not to mention the professional scrutiny of the Inns of Court. But with justice behind you – well, what matter?

[] Vast Kin [-6]

You have a truly infinite number of relatives. In every imaginable profession and position in London, some second cousin or sister's husband's brother is doing it, which means you have a foot in the door most everywhere.

[] Linguist [-2]

You pick up tongues easily, both common and forbidden.

[] Musical [-2]

You're a wonderful player or dancer or both. You're often called to entertain and can make yourself the centre of attention at any cultured gathering.

[] Nob [-1]

You are a feudal remnant, a social parasite – an aristocrat. And what a happy fate that is. You may not have title, but you still know the ways of those of betterer, narrower stock, and will never be without status by mere fact of your birth.

[] An Officer and a Gentleman [-3]

Over the hills and far away you've served on sea or land. The very model solider you've been, a beacon to your fellow man. In Malaya or Happy Valley, in Jamaica or Kathmandu – corporal, major, captain, commodore, lieutenant - what happy days for you!

[] Parliamentary Privilege [-8]

Through hook or by crook, you are, by Jove, that most tenacious and tendentious of social organisms – the elected politician. You have a seat in the Commons, the rights therefrom, and, theoretically, a constituency (however rotten).

[] Qualified Physician [-6]

You find friends on Harley Street, as you have a degree of medical training. You are capable of diagnosing common ailments and can treat a wound too.

[] Royal Favour [-10]

You have done some great deed for a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha that they are honor-bound to repay.

[] Satanic Mills [-9]

You are a titan of industry. An avatar of capital. A guild-master in the workshop of the world. You have a collection of factories (that don't employ too many children) producing some great and necessary product: steel, ships, stockings.

[] Titled [-10]

Not only did you make the wise choice to be born noble, but better – born first. You are a Duke or Marquess or a Baronet – an actual member of the peerage. If you're a man, you're entitled to a seat in the Lords; as a woman – well – that's just bad planning!

[] Unselfish [-5]

You have at your command one of the great London charities, like the School for Friendless Boys or the Fund for the Victims of the Indian Mutiny. It is a draw on your purse, but it makes good press so terribly easy. And you have your charity cases, too – and they're awful loyal.

[] Veteran Fighter [-5]

Perhaps in defiance of your military training if you had any at all, you are actually experienced with a gun and a blade. This is of course, entirely useless in a city like London.

[] Scholar of the Weird [-12]

You know what you're dealing with, those things beyond the Stars. You know what the Necronomicon is – you might have even glanced, once, in passing, at a page. You're not just some cultist; you're probably one of the most knowledge people in the world about Them – and the wreck of your life shows the cost.

[] Xenial [-5]

Champagne! Confetti! Cucumber sandwiches! Only the best for your guests, and a great house besides. You are one the most feted hosts in London. Anyone who's anyone wants an invitation, and to refuse one publicly would be a scandal its very own.

[] Yellow Papers [-7]

You understand the joys of the printing press. You have a newspaper on your command, ready to publish anything you wish – be it scurrilous or true. Beware of libel.

[] Zoomania [-2]

You have a terrible fondness for animals, and conveniently, their feelings are reciprocal. You can ride any horse, play with any dog, pet any cat. Huzzah!

[] Addiction [+2]

You have a very special friend – the bottle or the pipe or the needle – that you cannot do without.

[] Bent [+2]

You are a Uranian. A tribadist. The antipathic sexual instinct. A confirmed bachelor. A spinster. Bold. All this to say – you're gay as a goose.

[] Criminal Past [+4]

A dark cloud hangs over you from some youthful indiscretion. You might have killed someone in a duel or were a known kleptomaniac. It was covered up, of course – and you might even feel a little guilt. But it's there, forever, a shadow on your days.

[] Dysphoric [+5]

You fail to find your given gender pleasing and would best hope for another. Perhaps you find expression in the theatre, perhaps in private – but beyond fiction, this is a difficult life to lead.

[] Estranged [+4]

Your family hates you. It could be your wife, or your son, or your father. But you've been prodigal, and they will not forgive. Prepare for sabotage at any opportunity.

[] the Fairer Sex [+3]

You are a daughter of Eve, who took the apple from the Serpent. This has widely been regarded as a bad move. You will be much more carefully watched than the sons of Adam, and your social world is correspondingly constrained – domesticity and charity are the traditional domains. But Eve dared – and so might you.

[] Ghastly [+2]

You are simply unpleasant. A sinister visage, an annoying voice, a terrible stench – for whatever reason, you are quite difficult to bear in a room.

[] Heathen [+5]

You truck with a foreign faith – Papist, Mosaic or even Mohammedan. For making it so high, you're the toast of your community and in Society an exotic animal – to be gawked at, and even treasured – but hardly for good houses, unless killed and stuffed.

[] Indolent [+5]

You're just lazy. Word limit for orders halved.

[] Jarndyce v. Jarndyce [+2]

Let justice be done, though the world perish! Unfortunately, you are the one perishing. You have been engaged in an extremely complex legal case for a number of years, which often poses novel obstacles to your finances and sanity. A final determination is not in sight.

[] Kept [+4]

You are secretly married. You may keep in contact, or you may have no idea where they are, but long ago, a misunderstanding with a young person resulted in you being bound.

[] Leaden Tongue [+3]

You lack much personal charisma – others tune you out.

[] Misbegotten [+4]

You were born badly – a bastard, or an orphan or worst of all, poor. In many eyes, you can never rise beyond that station.

[] Non-Conformist [+2]

You're a Baptist or a Congregationalist or a Quaker or a Presbyterian or a Unitarian or any number of other splinter sects. For reasons of conscience, politics or tradition you spurn the Church of England, and thusly are welcomed in liberal circles, and distrusted in tory ones.

[] Oppidan [+2]

You're a Londoner, through and through. So much so, you refuse to leave. Under no circumstances will you go beyond the limits of London County Council.

[] Poor Credit [+4]

Because of some ill-advised speculations, you are persona non grata in the banks of London. You will have great difficulty raising capital beyond personal friends.

[] Quackery [+2]

Through miseducation or simple stupidity, you've been convinced of some particular bizarre, anti-scientific belief. Perhaps you thought Omphalos has some good points about the age of the Earth? Or you're a fan of animal magnetism? Or you're an Anglo-Israelite?

[] Radical [+2]

Are you a Fabian? Or a nihilist? Or an Irish nationalist? You're something politically unacceptable, and a true believer too.

[] Sickly [+3]

Whether through inbreeding or mere coincide, you have some major debility of body (haemophilia, porphyria) or mind (delirium tremens, seizures, neurasthenia).

[] Transfigured [+3]

Your dabbling in the occult has left with a scar. You grow feathers under your arms, or you have an eye on the back of your head. There's something noticeably unnatural about you, and you have to take pains to hide it.

[] Unwholesome [+3]

You have a renowned sexual appetite. If you're married, that makes you an adulterer. If you're not, that makes you a rake – or something worse. Some might applaud you; some might be attracted – most will turn their noses up in these prudish times.

[] Veracious [+5]

You stand by your word. You cannot lie, and if you make a promise, you must make your best efforts to fulfil it.

[] Wizened [+1]

You're Napoleonic, or worse – over seventy years of age.

[] Xenophile [+3]

You have some deep connection to some foreign land, likely a colony under British dominion. Maybe you're from there, or maybe you've gone a bit native, but either way, though it gives you friends abroad, you're forever held a little apart at home.

[] Youthful [+1]

You're really an Edwardian – under twenty-five.

[] Zealot [+3]

You truly believe in your Patron as the true divinity of this world. You cannot stand the profusions of other, false faiths, and wince to enter a Church. This antipathy is obvious and noted.

Patrons:

Cthulhu: They are associated with endings, dreams, and stonework.



Example Workings:

Cost 3: Appear in another's nightmare.

Cost 9: Accelerate the passage of time for another.

Cost 18: Open a door to R'lyeh.

Hastur: They are associated with tyranny, artistry, and shepherds.



Cost 3: Receive inspiration for an instantly popular work.

Cost 9: Make a painting that will take wounds for you.

Cost 18: Issue a command which will be obeyed by all who hear it, instant and irresistible.

Dagon: They are associated with evolution, family, and the sea.



Cost 3: Gain a beneficial mutation.

Cost 9: Force an inheritable condition on a particular bloodline.

Cost 18: Summon a sea-beast down the Thames.

Nyarlathotep: They are associated with disorder, ambition, and Egypt.



Cost 3: Secure a favorable appointment with someone in high office.

Cost 9: Provoke a riot.

Cost 18: Retroactively add a statute to English law.

Shub-Niggurath: They are associated with consumption, fertility, and forests.



Cost 3: Summon rot or scavengers.

Cost 9: Cause a spontaneous pregnancy.

Cost 18: Create a new lifeform, to your specifications.

Yog-Sothoth: They are associated with secrets, truth, and gates.



Cost 3: A yes or no answer to any question from the perspective of the universe.

Cost 9: A doorway to anywhere in London.

Cost 18: The stealing of the memories and experiences of another person for yourself, up to and including all of them.
 
Last edited:
The Rt Honourable Enoch Blythe of Dunwich
The Eldritch Liaison of Parliament


Wealth: 4 - There is more wealth in the family warchest for sure, yet that money is not privileged to a lowly scion.

Reputation: 6 - All things considered Enoch Blythe has a rather sterling reputation in worlds both hidden and polite.

Sanity: 3 - They say that all the Blythes are at least a little mad.

Virtues:

Parliamentary Privilege [-8] - All can agree that Enoch Blythe is an honourable man of the Conservative Unionist Party... Well at least the 32 voters of his borough do.

Linguist [-2] - Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Deep Mandaic, Vak. All part of a standard education really.

Nob [-1] - Family legacy blah blah blah esteemed breeding blah blah blah.
Vices:

Criminal Past [+4] - Ah yes that unpleasant bit of business. There are certain... Coming of age rituals that every Blythe must perform. He was an awfully good sport about it but accusation of cannibalism tend to be rather sticky

Transfigured [+3] - It is said that you should never look at a Blythe through a mirror. It would be best to follow that advice.

Quackery [+2] - "Laylines? Uhm yes I think I read something about that in the papers once... Giants? Faeries?! The Irish?!? Oh my."

Patron: Nyarlathotep

Backstory: Across this Earth and throughout the long passages of man's recorded history there has never been an institution that so held the world in it's grip quite in the same manner as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island.

It is a body that takes to its ownership of Empire with a singular lethargy; there are no great conquests nor great conquerors (we'll be having none of that Napoleon nonsense thank you very much), there is no ideal of integration, nor for the longest time was their any true passion for Empire (the great Benjamin Disraeli himself decried it as a 'whetstone about our necks). The United Kingdom expanded its stranglehold upon the world at its own leisure, allowing for independent men of means and ambition to snatch up vast tracts of the world and then swoop in to offer them protection should the going get rough. Just as in the golden days of the Roman Principate does the British Empire rule with an aloof and unconcerned attitudes preferring to allow their agents on the ground to do as they please. For Parliament's foremost expert on unnatural affairs these are truly splendid times.

The Blythes are an old occult family. They claim their origins to be in Cornwall, that the giant Gogmagog had bastard offspring with Brutus of Troy's daughter so that the British Isles might be leased to Mankind for a few millennia longer, they claim to have been at the left hand of Cogidubnus as the Romans landed at Fishbourne and burnt what they found there, they say that it was they who Richard III first came to when he saw what his nephews had become. The Blythes have ensured themselves as a constant fixture within the occult landscape of Britain through both their substantial donations to various societies and their loaning of the numerous eldritch tomes and chronicles within their library.

Enoch would be born as the second son of this proud dynasty. He would be educated at Eton and introduced to the high society of England so that he might serve as the family's representative in London. Once in London Enoch would work towards managing the family's investments, in both legitimate and occult businesses, he would also ensure that the family's political interests were secure with substantial donations being directed towards the Conservative Unionist Party.

Over time Enoch would begin to work as something of a consultant for parliament on unnatural affairs. When certain illicit societies began to infringe beyond the askance of high society; Enoch would ensure they go silent. When certain agitators needed to be quietly removed without it being traceable back to the government; Enoch could lean on certain beings that could ensure the job would be done. A scion, an agent and a tool, this was all there was to Enoch Blythe.

An incident in Khartoum in 1894 would result in the current government feeling the need to bring on Enoch in a more permanent fashion. Parliament needed a representative of the occult world within government and thus was Enoch Blythe able to lean on a few of the friends he had amongst the Tories and ensure that he would be voted in as the MP for Dunwich (A perfectly respectable and legitimate borough). Since then Enoch has had the ear of the Home Secretary himself when it comes to all matters regarding the hidden world, and has managed to secure for himself all kinds of honours and friends within the highest echelons of Empire.

Yet something stirs within the bloodless veins of this agent of Family and Empire. His life has been one bound by loyalty and subservience to the whims of so-called friends and family. His brother has now ascended as patriarch of the Blythe family and a knot made of loathing and jealousy begins to affix itself around Enoch's heart.

A pact is struck, a deal is made.

Enoch Blythe shall have his dues and to his patron shall go all the rest.
 
Last edited:


Name: Major Arthur Gabel

Wealth: 3

Reputation: 6

Sanity: 6

Virtues: Nob [-1], An Officer and a Gentleman [-3]

Vices: Crippled [+2] Addiction [+2]

Patron: Hastur

Backstory: Arthur was a young, innocent man, once. But no more. The younger son, he was promised no grand inheritance and little hopes of glory in England, and as such sought his fortunes as an officer of the great British Army. He had a successful enough career, but after a close shave with death at the hands of those damned Boers down in Transvaal, leaving him with one less good leg and an exhaustion of foreign battlegrounds. Though… some say Death had already taken the young man for his own, and that only the pardon of a King had saved him.

That's just an unfounded rumor, of course. Acceptance of such an act would force him to swear fealty to someone… less than savory, and likely damn thine immortal soul. And Arthur would immediately put himself into the debt of the dream stick to ease the pain of his leg shortly afterwards- no, only a fool would take such a deal, to live in such a state rather than die with dignity.

Returning home to England to his small estate, he was quick to reinstate himself back into high society and leave his soldier days behind him (except when it is useful to him, of course.) Now well into his sixth decade, he's become well-known for his collection of mildly avant-garde art. Though, every piece in his collection seems a little bit off. Do the eyes of this statue betray some form of fear where it should not be? Do the stars in this painting reveal a sickly grin, or are you only seeing things? No one dares to point this out, in fear of seeming uncultured, but it leaves an eerie feeling hanging over the collection nonetheless….
 
Last edited:

"Love is a madness all it's own."​

Name: Doctor Julian Ross Young, RMS. Known better to some as the "King of Mummies"

Wealth: 6 - Your coffers are doing quite well, thank you.

Reputation: 6 - Whether it's the weight of your grandfather's myriad discoveries, your own contributions to medicine and egyptology, or your own reputation as THE premiere egyptomaniac of past seasons, London knows the name Young quite well.

Sanity: 5 - While some might balk at your more... Wild beliefs, you at least have the sense of mind to keep them hidden. For now....

Virtues:
Linguist [-2]: When you're nothing less but the grandson of THE Thomas Young, one would HOPE you've a decent head for other languages.

Qualified Physician [-6]: Not only are you a trained and liscened doctor, you've made your own discoveries and advances in the medical field. You're one of the few surgeons in the world who can claim to have successfully operated on the pericardium. And quite frankly, you're certain that outright heart surgery isn't far behind!

Vices:

Kept [+4]: Well of course you're married! Your sweet desert lily deserves nothing else but your total devotion.

Xenophile [+3]: Cairo is so lovely this time of year. And every other time of year, really.

Zealot [+3]: If you never have to attend another mass it'd be too soon. Honestly, Jesus was hardly but a babe to truer, more ancient faiths.

Patron: Nyarlathotep

Backstory: In another life, Thomas Young, famous decipherer of the Rosetta Stone (Champoli-who?) would have gone on to have no children. In another life, London would not have been cursed with a man who'd make a bride out of a mummy. But in this life, Thomas Young went on to grant his legacy and credibility to Jameson Young, who in turn did his best to try and ultimately fail to eclipse his father. In bitterness, he'd pass on the burden to his son, Julian Young, who ultimately found himself uninterested in exceeding the accomplishments of his grandfather, instead simply furthering them.

A prodigy forged from the expectations of living up to his family line, Julian would wind up making many contributions to the paths of medicine, but found as much escapism in the study of history as he did genuine interest. Charting many expeditions to that savage continent allowed Julian a chance to fully breathe in what he considered a far more ancient and respectable culture. Even as he would be forced to reign in the true depths of his passion to help keep up appearances. Though he could at least return home with plenty of new artifacts to wow far less capable Egyptologists. Among which, were of course, mummies.

Though at first, Julian found mummy unwrapping parties to be the perfect choice to spice up a dull function, the acquisition of one particular specimen and the tomb she had been sealed in would change everything.

Queen Haptsutra.

A female pharoah abandoned by the gods and her people for trucking in faiths and magics esoteric, deciphering her life led Julian to become absolutely besotted with her. Someone glorious and brilliant, but persecuted for their trucking in things deemed foul? A kindred spirit, at last. And soon Julian would become obssessed with the final line that was writ upon her scrolls. That though her regin would be cut short by jealous and petty men, one day, Queen Haptsutra would return to this world by the grace of her patron, albeit far in its future. And upon returning, she will take a husband to begin a new immortal dynasty, feasting on the modern empires to fuel it's rise.

This prophecy would serve as the basis of Julian's dramatic change once he returned to England. Now Julian seeks to ready London for the dawn of a new dynasty, and join his love in immortal union. Even if he has to bury all of London in the sands of a New Cairo to do it.
 
Back
Top