Tags
Ghastly Affair, gothic game, Gothic Gaming, Gothic Horror, Gothic Literature, Gothic Romance, Gothick, GROOVY Ghastly Affair, role-playing game, Romantic Horror
After talking with Wendy Rosalsky (GA’s contributing editor, and the reason the game’s math works), I’ve decided to explore a Second Edition of Ghastly Affair.
Supporting Multiple Historical Periods
Rather than focus exclusively on the late Georgian and Napoleonic period like Ghastly Affair does now, I think I might present six suggested starting years across different eras. Originally, I was just going to work on an expansion covering 1965 to 1976, to be called GROOVY Ghastly Affair. That’s still happening in a way, but now the late Sixties/early Seventies will be just one of the additional eras supported. Also, giving multiple historical eras makes “Dark Shadows”-style time travel a supported possibility. And what are ghosts, but reminders of the inescapable past, and inevitable future?
The starting years I am leaning towards are:
1209 – The Gothic Age. Beginning of the Albigensian Crusade, and the year of the Massacre of the Cathars at Beziers. The Troubadours are at their height. The first Gothic novel “The Castle of Otranto”, is set in this era.
1795 – The Ghastly Age. Directory-era France, and the first true Youth Culture coalesces in Paris. Girls wearing short hair, nearly see-through dresses, and guillotine earrings can be seen running around the Palais-Royal. Much of the remaining royalty of Europe is insane. This is the beginning of the British Regency period, broadly defined.
1913 – Ghastly Mysteries. This year was the debut of Stravinsky’s “The Rites of Spring”, and the New York City Armory Show that brought Modern Art to America. This era would particularly support murder mysteries and occult detective stories. Think the “Carnacki” stories, Agatha Christie with werewolves, or “Downtown Abbey” with ghosts. Also, any number of Edward Gorey books.
1969 – Groovy Ghastly Affair. This is the year of the Manson murders, Woodstock, and Apollo 11. The Vietnam War rages. Lots of great music for soundtracks here. Think “Dark Shadows” and “Rosemary’s Baby”.
1983 – Neon Ghastly Affair. This is arguably the best single year for music in the 80s. Punk, Goth, New Wave, and Heavy Metal are all vital styles. The club scene is deliciously decadent and indulgent. The Glam Metal scene in L.A is fully formed, but hasn’t yet broken out. Think “The Hunger” and “Cat People”.
2213 – Ghastly Stars. This will be a Gothic future of dark techno-magic. The dead inhabit Outer Space, and spaceships are haunted by ancient ghosts. Human souls reincarnate into android bodies, remembering their past lives in the flesh. Star Knights battle tyrannical robot sorcerers. Time is no longer a barrier to True Love.
I’m deliberately leaving out the Victorian era and 1920s. There are many, many Victorian era games, and Call of Cthulhu has 1920s Horror well-covered.
Reducing the Wordiness
I want the description of almost every Class to occupy exactly a two page spread of the final book. I will probably add some classes, such as “Psychic” and “Parapsychologist”, appropriate to different time periods. And since I will need to address a broader range of possible actions, across multiple eras, greater concision overall will be a necessity.
Reconsidering The “Gypsy” Class
My original intention for the “Gypsy” Class in Ghastly Affair was to explore the literary concept of Abjection. One important aspect of Abjection is the horror of “the other”, which is largely embodied in Gothic literature by the constant presence of “Gypsies”. Thus, I felt needed to have a “Gypsy” class, to reflect that strong motif, and as a way of exploring “otherness” in society. I was comfortable with the word “Gypsy”, because in American English it is not inherently pejorative. Most Americans simply don’t use it as a term of abuse. However, I realize that the word (and its equivalents) is almost always meant as a derogatory epithet in Europe. Since Ghastly Affair is available internationally, I am reconsidering the name of the Class. Probably, it will be renamed as “Itinerant” (or something similar), with a note in the “Social Prejudice” Weakness stating that the character may be erroneously called by demeaning epithets such as “Gypsy”.
Putting Even More Emphasis on Historical Diversity
One of the things I’ve tried to demonstrate especially in the Ghastly Affair supplements is the historical presence of non-white and Queer people in Georgian and Napoleonic Europe – when same-sex affairs were commonplace among upper class women, the most famous duelist in Europe was transgender, Napoleon’s Archchancellor was openly gay, and Black commanders served in the French army. Nonetheless, there’s some possibly regressive language in the rules (such as the above mentioned “Gypsy” class) which was meant to reflect broader 18th century attitudes, but could easily be misconstrued. I’d like to correct that.
Using Metric and Natural Measurements
Ghastly Affair already employs the natural concept of “Nearby” as a range for Preternatural Effects. The game is otherwise currently written using “feet” and “inches” as units of measure – which are coincidentally eighteenth century, but also possibly confusing for many outside the United Sates. Thus, I’m leaning towards including support for metric measurements in the base rules. I’m also considering making increased use of other natural measurements such as “paces”, which would sidestep the whole “feet or meters” issue.
Keeping it Romantic
Ghastly Affair’s genre is Gothic, rather than ordinary Horror – the Romance is as important as the Terror. There are already plenty of games that attempt straight Horror. I want Ghastly Affair, in whatever historical epoch it is set, to always be about the dark places of the human heart. In any period, it is never just about facing monsters – but also our own attraction to the monstrous. So, I won’t be turning it into a Cthulhu Mythos games, or making it about non-romantic Horror.
So, if you managed to bear with me through all that, what do you think? Is anyone interested in a Second Edition? What would you like to see?
The Engine of Oracles 
Honestly I’d just like to see the groovy 1960s Dark Shadows-esque info released, as a short supplement to the original book. The rest of what you’ve described isn’t working for me.
Thanks for your feedback. Question – is it the expanded list of time periods that seem like the wrong direction to you, or do you think the other possible changes are also bad ideas?
I’ll preface my comments with this is your game, it is obviously a labor of love, and you should do what is going to make you happy. I’ll pick up a second edition either way:-)
One of the things I really enjoyed about Ghastly Affair is that it is such a tight little game. Everything just clicks… There is a wealth of background information (seriously, I learned so many interesting facts by reading the books) and the character classes really fit with the time period. It will be hard to keep this focus in a rule book that covers multiple periods. Nobody needs rules for exposure to vacuum for a campaign set in the 13th century:-)
My preference: go deep instead of broad. You’ve got a great setting for 18th century horror. Tighten up the rules and writing but keep the focus. Do a standalone game using the same rules for the Groovy Era that has the same depth as your current game and you’ll have another winner.
Renaming the Gypsy class (maybe Wanderer?) and improving inclusivity are excellent goals.
Measurements? I’d lump them into the focus of the game. For sci-fi, metric. Anything historical should use the common measure of the period, be it feet, cubits or paces. There are enough resources online to convert to modern equivalents if it comes up in play.
I’m happy that you are keeping it Romantic. I like the idea of player character corruption. Unhallowed Metropolis explored this concept, and it might be worth mining for ideas. I didn’t like how characters gained corruption, but the actual effects of becoming corrupted were very intriguing.
Sorry for the ramble and keep up the good work! I’m looking forward to what you will come up with.
Thanks for the in-depth feedback! You know, its actually my love for “Dark Shadows” (with all its time-travel shenanigans) that has made me interested in fully integrating multiple time periods. But, if the deep treatment of the Georgian/Regency period is the actual draw of the game, I definitely don’t want to ruin it. It’s something for me to really think about.
The deep treatment of the Georgian/Regency period was the actual draw for me… but treatments of the Edwardian/pre-WW1 period and the late sixties/early seventies would also be draws for me….
Thank you for your feedback. Oddly little is done with the Edwardian period RPG-wise. For me, its a no-brainer – especially considering its the era of M.R. James, and the more-or-less assumed setting of most Edward Gorey books!
The Dark Shadows time traveling is an interesting comment and might bear further exploration. Do the additional periods need to be “full-fledged worlds”, or should they be “adventure locations” for the Groovy era? If the latter, they can be left out of the main rules and incorporated into adventure supplements where the bar for detail is not as high.
Right now I’m thinking of giving each epoch beyond the “Ghastly Age” and “Groovy Age” four pages each. Maybe it would be a good idea to keep the main rule-book setting focused on the late 18th/early 19th century, and use a second book for the expanded settings. It all depends on how much I can distill the rules without losing what makes GA distinctive.
One of the key attractions, to me, of the original is the focus on the regency period and the depth of style and atmosphere that the whole rule set supports. A refresh and possible amalgamation of the original 2 books into a single volume would be a great idea, but I think there is a potential to spread the atmosphere and ideas too thinly if expanded to cover such a wide range of settings.
What might be an idea would be to have a 2nd edition of Ghastly Affair (as a single book) retaining the sharp period focus and a supplementary Ghastly Aeons book that expands the game into the other eras. This would allow those of us who may not be as interested in other settings to still have a focused game, but also provides the opportunity to expand into other eras for those who want it.
Thank you for the feedback. There’s definitely something to the idea of keeping the main rules focused on Georgian/Napoleonic times, but following it up quickly with a separate book expanding GA into other time periods.
Love this idea. I do support the idea of changing the name of the Gypsy and including more inclusive language. Ghastly Affair has always reminded me of Crimson Peak and I look forward to seeing more!
Thanks for the feedback. Considering that “Crimson Peak”‘ is a regular Valentine’s Day watch for me and my wife, I’ll take the comparison as high praise!
I’m definitely primarily interested in the 18th century milieu. In my opinion, the two core books are great already, and I’d rather the rule polishings and different time periods be released in a new book a la Potpourri, so I wouldn’t have to repurchase a slightly different version of the same rules I already have. A second edition should be something that’s really rules-distinct in my opinion; compare Pathfinder 1e to 2e.
Thank you for you feedback! At very least the character creation section will be different. The Classes are going to be more easily customizable (while retaining their distinctive flavor), and the new “Sui Generis” Class is able to mix almost any Special Abilities and Weaknesses (to create truly unique characters like Lady Hester Stanhope and Alexander von Humboldt).