Last week on G+, there was a discussion of Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter that led into discussion of a game in that vein (heh). I got drafted to GM for a small group. After doing some thinking on it this weekend, this is what I've come up with so far:
As the 19th-Century looms, an evil rises in Europe. Monsters that were thought to have been relegated to legend centuries before are reappearing. A brave few take up arms to fight this menace.
Beyond Captain Kronos, you might think of it as Brotherhood of the Wolf meets Vampire Circus.
The Look and Feel: Somewhere around 1800 in the dark heart of Europe, mist-cloaked and shadow-shroud, fixed between medievalism and modernity; where the stark shades of expressionistic Universal Horror landscapes are pierced by the lurid costumes and ample, heaving bosoms of Hammer--and of course, thick, deep red blood; where blades flash with an anachronistic frequency that Zorro would approve of.
Inspirations: (in addition to the above) the Solomon Kane stories, Marvel's historical tales in Dracula Lives and Tomb of Dracula Magazine, I Sell the Dead, Baltimore: Or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, The Vampire Lovers, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Dracula vs. Zorro, just about any Hammer Frankenstein film.
Brotherhood of the Wolf was an amazing movie!
ReplyDeleteAnno Dracula series by kim newman good source
ReplyDeleteBy "Baltimore", do you mean the Dark Horse comics series about the character Lord Baltimore?
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying his traipse across eastern Europe chasing the vampire lord that killed his family; instead of placing the return of the vampires due to the blood stained fields of the Great War, it could be the 30 years war in the 17th century, or perhaps during the plague years of the 14th century, and run a bleak D&D game there.
@Beedo - Yeah. The title I gave is the novel by Golden and Mignola that the comic book series comes from
ReplyDelete@Angry L- It is indeed.
@Konsumterra - It is, though it's about a century after the era I'm talking about.
This sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteOn the Barbarians of Lemuria forum we hard the same type of discussion. Myself and two other forum members are working on a "Hammer Horror" type supplement for Dicey Tales. A book I've found a bit of inspiration in is "The list of 7" by Mark Frost. Not Dracula per se. but it delves a bit into Spiritualism which was all the rage back then.
ReplyDeleteJeff
Put me down for another "Baltimore is awesome" vote. This sounds like a lot o' fun!
ReplyDeleteI would play in that game. Can I play a hunchbacked expert on the occult?
ReplyDeleteOoh, this looks fun!
ReplyDelete@Seaofstarsrpg - That would be exactly the way to go.
ReplyDeleteHammer horror is right at the heart of Wermspittle...so this sounds just awesome to me! The Captain Chronos movie is great stuff, as is Brotherhood of the Wolf. Guess I should pay more attention to G+...
ReplyDeleteHow the holy heck did I miss a G+ discussion about Kronos?!
ReplyDelete@Garrisonjames - Yeah, Wermspittle definitely has some of that's feel--along with its unique brand of weird.
ReplyDelete@OlmanFeelyus - You gotta sleep sometime! ;)
This is another one of my gaming sweet spots. I ran a 1790's game set in eastern europe a while back it was so much fun. The look of Brotherhood of the Wolf really resonates with me and that combined with Sleepy Hollow and classic Hammer films ... curse you for distracting me from my current Supers focus. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd it's such a great time period for fantasy/horror. It's the cusp of the modern age, yet the world is still dark and scary and travel is dangerous and time consuming and communications are slow. You have a hint of mad science (see Frankenstein) but you haven't really arrived at full steam punk yet. Warhammer always evoked this kind of mood, even though it was more late medieval/early Ren.
And of course, it's really easy to step into the sea for some pirate adventures.
Very good points, Tim! It's a period that does allow the combination of a lot of different elements.
ReplyDeleteI figured it's only fair I share my distraction. ;)