# 19th century RPGs? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 1, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248 "2010-02-01T15:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/1 "2010-02-01T15:41:45Z")
Most role playing games tend to focus on medieval-era type settings, a few take place in the future, and I seem to remember one that was kind of a James Bond type setting. What games, past or present, computer or pencil and paper, take place in the 19th century? I seem to remember one from the 80s that tookplace in the American west. And after seeing Sherlock Holmes last night, it would seem like 19th century London would be a great setting. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/2 "2010-02-01T15:44:08Z")
There was Cthulhu By Gaslight, which was Call of Cthulhu in a Victorian setting. There was also Space:1889. Both are pen and paper. On the CRPG front, there was Arcanum, which was “magical Victorian”. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/3 "2010-02-01T15:44:44Z")
[Space: 1889](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_1889), and all of its associated offshoots and tangents. Edit: simulpost with **jayjay** …if only I hadn’t taken the time to look up the wiki link. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/4 "2010-02-01T17:52:23Z")
Space 1889 looks freakin’ AWESOME. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/5 "2010-02-01T17:54:09Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Space 1889 looks freakin’ AWESOME. I had the computer game…and unfortunately I could never get it to work properly. It would crash within a few minutes of starting for one reason or another. Shame, as it did indeed look awesome while it worked. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/6 "2010-02-01T18:28:27Z")
_GURPS_ has a [Steampunk sourcebook](http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/steampunk/) ([two](http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/steam-tech/), in fact), and _GURPS_ is the best RPG ever created. You probably wouldn’t need too much effort to play something like _Vampire: The Masquerade_ in a Victorian setting. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/7 "2010-02-01T18:33:26Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > What games, past or present, computer or pencil and paper, take place in the 19th century? I seem to remember one from the 80s that tookplace in the American west. [Boot Hill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Hill_%28role-playing_game%29). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/8 "2010-02-01T18:36:43Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > [Boot Hill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Hill_%28role-playing_game%29). Ah yes, that’s the one. All I could come up with was Avalon Hill, and that’s clearly not it. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/9 "2010-02-01T18:56:14Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > You probably wouldn’t need too much effort to play something like _Vampire: The Masquerade_ in a Victorian setting. Didn’t they release a sourcebook or two for different time periods? Or was that for the old system that was discarded a few years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/10 "2010-02-01T19:13:25Z")
Masque of the Red Death: An AD&D/Ravenloft adaptation set in Victorian London. Deadlands: Set in the American Wild West. Supernatural horrors roam the Earth, the North and South are still at war (the South effectively won though), and undead gunslingers are viable player characters. Ghost of Albion: An RPG set in the 19th century based on some British show. [Ghosts of Albion - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghosts_of_Albion) Vampire/Werewolf: Both game lines have featured products set in the 19th century. Those are a few off the top of my head. It’s not a real common time period for RPGs but you can find a few. There are actually quite a few Old West games including Aces & Eights and a few others. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/11 "2010-02-01T19:18:25Z")
I thought you meant rocket propelled grenades. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/12 "2010-02-01T19:36:45Z")
Civil War reenacting probably should count. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/13 "2010-02-01T19:39:23Z")
For a minute I thought this thread was about 19th century RPGs. As in: Victorians playing Romans or Crusaders or who knows. It’s even possible such a thing existed. They were very keen on reinventing history back then and had a great romantic fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/14 "2010-02-01T20:01:56Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#): > > It’s even possible such a thing existed. They were very keen on reinventing history back then and had a great romantic fantasy. Unlikely. Modern RPGs are an outgrowth of hobbyist wargaming, which only traces its roots to _Little Wars_ published by H. G. Wells in 1913, or, more tenuously, to Jane’s rules for simulating naval engagements from a decade before. (Prior to that there was the _The Kriegsspiel_, but that was a military training tool, not a parlor amusement.) There’s no evidence that anyone came up with the idea of combining communal storytelling and formal rules for conflict resolution prior to Gygax and Arneson. Which is kind of amazing, actually, when you consider that, from a technological perspective, there was nothing standing in the way of the _ancient Greeks_ inventing D&D. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/15 "2010-02-01T20:05:52Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Masque of the Red Death: An AD&D/Ravenloft adaptation set in Victorian London. How well could a GM who’s never been to London play it? Did it come with a map of the city? While pondering this yesterday, it occurs to me that I wouldn’t know Hyde Park from Piccadilly Circus or Notting Hill. I don’t know what they’re like now, much less 150 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/16 "2010-02-01T20:09:17Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Unlikely. Modern RPGs are an outgrowth of hobbyist wargaming, which only traces its roots to _Little Wars_ published by H. G. Wells in 1913, or, more tenuously, to Jane’s rules for simulating naval engagements from a decade before. (Prior to that there was the _The Kriegsspiel_, but that was a military training tool, not a parlor amusement.) > > There’s no evidence that anyone came up with the idea of combining communal storytelling and formal rules for conflict resolution prior to Gygax and Arneson. Which is kind of amazing, actually, when you consider that, from a technological perspective, there was nothing standing in the way of the _ancient Greeks_ inventing D&D. Well, there’s less of a need when you’ve got _real_ minotaurs, dryads, and satyrs running around. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/17 "2010-02-01T20:11:01Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > I had the computer game…and unfortunately I could never get it to work properly. It would crash within a few minutes of starting for one reason or another. Shame, as it did indeed look awesome while it worked. I think the problem was that it wasn’t supported on the Difference Engine OS. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/18 "2010-02-01T20:24:13Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Masque of the Red Death: An AD&D/Ravenloft adaptation set in Victorian London. Ravenloft itself is very 19th century, given the primary inspirations are Gothic Horrors such as Frankenstein and Dracula. (Both of whom have obvious knockoffs in the forms of the Dr Mordenheim and Adam, and Strahd von Zarovich, respectively.) ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/19 "2010-02-01T20:27:01Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I think the problem was that it wasn’t supported on the Difference Engine OS. Ah yes…I believe my computer was also out of aether. Fortunately, a paddlesteamer coming back from the moon is just coming back now, so I’m going to have to scrape up £30 5/2 to buy some. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248/20 "2010-02-01T20:50:40Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Civil War reenacting probably should count. Just remembered a Civil War RPG/TBS hybrid: [Mosby’s Confederacy](http://store.steampowered.com/app/17180/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-rpgs/527248.md?page=2)