January 2000
In searching for Victorian era games, I managed to get ahold of a boxed set of The Masque of the Red Death, ordered online from Cyberdungeon. It is a gothic horror game, part of the Ravenloft series, set in the 1890's.
Like most gamers who have been around awhile, Dungeons and Dragons was my first introduction to role-playing games. For me it was about 1980, I think. I was in high school, in government class, when I noticed Marty Acuna doing some character sketches in his notebook. I was a chronic sketcher as well, but the things he was drawing were different. I asked him about it and he told about D&D. I went out and bought the old blue D&D booklet, then Marty introduced my to Gary Hernandez and his group of gamers. I was hooked. I have a distinct memory of being in a game store and finding a boxed set of the original three half-sized D&D books. I looked at them, but decided I needed to save my money for the newer stuff, rather than waste it on an old version. Oh how I wish I had that set.
Masque has four character classes, Soldiers, Adepts, Mystics and Tradesmen which correspond to Fighters, Magic-users, Clerics and Thieves, sort of. Soldiers are the most unchanged of the classes. Adepts and Mystics are much like their AD&D counterparts, except with tremendous limitations on spells. Many spells simply do not exist, casting times are longer and effects are more subtle. Tradesmen is not a real class but a generic category for everyone else. Trademen characters are built up by selecting individual proficiencies (skills). The classes still maintain most of the characteristics of their originals - that is, soldiers have higher hit points and better weapons abilities. On the other hand, adepts and mystics are allowed to use weapons. Additionally, there is a set of character kits (like archetypes or templates) that define a variety of character types that can be customized. There are kits for each of the four classes, providing soldiers and sailors, detectives, physicians, spiritualists, qabalists and a variety of other occupations. The Tradesmen class and the use of proficiencies makes Masque so much like other skill-based games, it is a wonder why they bothered to retain classes. I guess it would not be AD&D then.
The Masque of the Red Death adventure game is not drawn from Edgar Allen Poe's story of the same name, although the included adventure module, The Red Death is based on it. In the world, the Red Death is a malevolent, supernatural entity that slipped into our world during the construction of the first pyramid. When I first read the introduction, I immediately thought of the premise of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, but as I read on, it turned out to be a quite different scenario. This force slowly warped history, changing events here and there. Connors briefly runs through history discussing some of the events that were changed, or had a different, hidden meaning from that we know of history. The history could have been done better. There are plenty of events that could have been reinterpreted or only slightly modified that would at once be recognizable to most readers and create a more colorful build up to the resulting Gothic Earth, but there are only so many pages to use (it being a standard 128 page game book) and, of course, most of the space needs to be devoted to the more immediate background and rules. Gothic Earth of the 1890's is much like our own, more recognizable than Castle Falkenstein's world. Magic is available, but it is weak. Magic-users run the risk of drawing the attention of the Red Death and his evil minions. Humans are the only player race, although there are a variety of evil creatures available. In fact, many figures described in the Who's Who of the Gazetteer are recognizable people redefined in AD&D monster terms. As an example, Professor Moriarty is said to be a rakshasa. The information provided on Victorian history is limited and there is no discussion of Victorian culture, a weakness of most Victorian era games I have seen. Still with the main book and the Gazetteer (and of course, my web site) there is plenty of useful information to develop a good campaign.
A Guide to Gothic Earth, the book that comes with the set, describes a variety of locations, giving a brief history of each, then adds Forbidden Lore, game information about each location as it has been influenced by the Red Death. This book also describes a variety of villains that can be used.
The Gothic Earth Gazetteer contains a nice timeline of the 1890's, then describes some events in more detail, adding a Forbidden Lore section to fit it into the Masque world. It includes a list of interesting persons of the Victorian era, both real and fictional, with a brief bio and Forbidden Lore for some of them.
The adventures that are included with the set are actually quite good. Even if you don't care much for the rule system, if you are looking for ideas for Victorian horror, these three modules are worth having. Like other Ravenloft adventures I have played, there is a strong emphasis on clue collecting and problem-solving rather than action, but they can be tailored to meet the style of any group. There are three adventures included in the box set. Each is described briefly below without spoiling the elements of the adventure. Red Death is an adventure based on Edgar Allen Poe's Masque of the Red Death. Players familiar with the story may have an advantage, but not enough to spoil the game. The adventure includes an excellent map of a Victorian manor house that can be used over and over, since only a small portion of the house is used for this adventure. This is an adventure that is well-suited for Live Action Role Playing, something I am going to attempt. The module is set in Bucharest, but can actually be placed anywhere.
Red Jack is a very interesting translation of the Jack the Ripper mystery, relocated to Boston. Done right, the players stay one step behind an elusive killer, piecing together the clues that let them solve the mystery and put Jack to rest once and for all.
Red Tide is set is San Francisco, and pits the players against one of the most infamous horrors of the Victorian world. The players assist an insurance firm investigating a mysterious fire. As they investigate, they uncover a major plot that threatens humanity.
Overall, I would say that if you are interested in Victorian Horror or want to spice up a non-horror Victorian campaign, Masque of the Red Death is an excellent resource. If you like AD&D and like Ravenloft, then this is a must.