SECRET SANTICORE 2019: OSR GOTHIC

For Evil Scientist, a Haunting Holiday and Gothic New Year!

My Secret Santicore buddy made a request for some gameable tools for injecting games with some of 1970s Gothic Romance novel attitude. This was perfect for me! Growing up, I stumbled onto reruns of Dark Shadows, the 70s soap opera with vampires, witches. ghosts and time travel in a gothic wrapping. In high school, one of my favorite reading assignments was Emily Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights, which went on to inspire many of those later Gothic Romances. Love, loss, and creepy houseservants watching you through eyeholes in an oil-painting--what's not to love?

One note about adding touches of Gothic Romance to a typical RPG: keep the conflict small and PERSONAL. The overarcing campaign may still have an Evil Overlord or big bad looming darkness, but that cannot be the focus of a Gothic-themed adventure. Gothic threats will *know* the PCs and be out to target *them* and their comrades specifically. Think of someone the PCs may have wronged in the past, willingly or even unknowingly. Better yet, who have the PCs *parents* wronged in the past? The party's wizard may be the spitting image of his father. Too bad the local constable blames the wizard's father for their failed engagement, and still holds onto her dreams of vengeance to this day.

Sundering: The Gothic Loss

With credit to authors and literary critics Eve Sedgwick and Anne Radcliffe for the terminology, here I propose that two fundamental concepts drive Gothic fiction: the "Sundering" and the "Transgression" (think of these as "Loss" and "Cost"). The Sundering is a character's forceful separation from something thay they would naturally have access to--their family, for example, or their beloved. How do we translate this Loss into gameable material? RANDOM TABLES OF COURSE!

1d4/1d4 SUNDERINGS - Use this loss as PC or NPC background with some Gothic flavor

1. PAST

1.      Amnesia - You cannot remember your past due to a traumatic medical condition. While you might recall fleeting images or names, most of your past is a hazy mystery.

2.      Incognito - You cannot acknowledge your past, for fear of dreadful consequences. You are essentially hiding in disguise, and perhaps old enemies seek you out still.

3.      Secret - Your past has been kept a secret from you by an older relative or caretaker. Perhaps they knew your birth parents, or the horrible truth about your hometown.

4.      Change - Your idyllic past has changed irrevocably. Time's arrow moves ever forward, with past comforts (wealthy status, popular reputation, etc) now distant memories.

2. FAMILY

1.      Disinherited - You were cast out from your family. It was likely not a unanimous decision, but you are cut-off from funds and property, left to fend for yourself.

2.      Orphaned - Your immediate family members have died. Was it a terrible accident or the ultimate revenge of a family foe? Perhaps only your late parents knew for sure.

3.      Estranged - Your family was fractured due to infighting. Whether or not you picked a side in the feud or tried to play peacekeeper, you are met with hostility at every turn.

4.      Cursed - You are the last sane member of the family left, for now. By turns they all fell to madness, illness, or corruption, until only you remained, not totally unscathed.

3. LOVE

1.      Betrayed - Your lover secretly loved someone else. Wether they loved you once or merely played along, soon they could no longer bear the ruse, outing their affairs.

2.      Love Lost - Your lover perished. Your brief time with them was bliss, but nothing gold can stay. You see them still, in your dreams, or at the window on moonlit nights.

3.      Unworthy - You were found unworthy by your lover's family--or was it the other way around? They looked down upon you and forbid the two of you from ever marrying.

4.      Unrequited - Your would-be lover did not return your feelings. Though you were sincere and promised them everything, they did not love you back--so they claimed.

4. LIFE

1.      Social Misfit - You find it hard to fit into society. Your demeanor, appearance, or reputation makes it hard to walk in public without catching sneers and stares.

2.      Faked Death - You are believed deceased. Its true you had a near brush with death, but it will definitely complicate matters should you decide to make your survival known.

3.      Unliving - You are an undead creature. You linger in the living world, haunting and stalking those you once knew while they pursue worlds now forbidden to you.

4.      Transformed - You have been cursed with a dread transformation. Your state may be permanent or arrive with the full moon, but it interrupts your ability to live life fully.

Transgression: The Gothic Cost

What must a tortured Gothic hero or heroine do with their great Loss? Well first they must let it eat them up inside, causing entertaining and dramatic torment. But also? They try to recover their Loss at any Cost. This is what the Transgression is: the dire Cost that the character is willing to pay to be made whole again.

The Costs will vary depending on the Loss, but classically Gothic heroes will transgress against the established "natural order" of the universe. They will cross lines of religion, nature, family, and society to get what they want. If they can't get what they want, good old fashioned revenge will do nicely!

1d6 TRANSGRESSIONS - lines a Gothic Romance character will cross to get what they want

1.      Transgression vs Religion: Commit blasphemy! Does a church or its cleric stand between you and what you want? Maybe it was the Church that deemed you unworthy of your lover for being from a different religion. Perhaps the seemingly kind priest who raised you as a foundling kept your (still living!) parents' true identities from you. Who cares if this is a holy place? Tear this church to the ground!

2.      Transgression vs Nature: Dabble in dark science! Forbidden breakthroughs in science will solve everything. Do you wish to live forever? Purge yourself of unwanted base urges? Perhaps you even hope to bring the dead back to life? Somewhere on the darkest fringes, mad science has you covered.

3.      Transgression vs Family: Break up that happy home! Family is a core construct of the natural order, so it's prominent target of Gothic revenge. "Rescue" your lover from their new marriage, and if you can't seduce them away simply make sure their new family's happiness is short-lived.

4.      Transgression vs Society: Try blackmail, intimidation, hostile manipulation! There's nothing better than the feeling of having someone under your thumb. The very concepts of forgiveness and charity go out the window when you have been wronged and have the opportunity to do a little wrong back.

5.      Transgression vs Religion: Deal with the devil! Some look up to the heavens for guidance, but some look a little bit *lower*. Aligning yourself with unholy beings for greater power over your enemies is a classic Gothic powermove. This is not limited to the classic Faustian pact, though summoning an actual heckspawn is certainly on the table. Vampires are also a viable alternative.

6.      Transgression vs Society: Want it? Take it! Blatant theft solves so many problems.

Want some examples? Here are sixdesperate creatures and their craven coteries, ready to unleash havoc upon your games. Also below is a table for creating quick Gothic NPCs - Enjoy!

1d6 Gothic Villains (the Heroes of their own Tale) + 1d6 Henchmen

1. Young Effie Dauphine is a fair and bright eyed woman, the belle of every ball. In her brief stay here she's made many new friends. Little does the town know she is in truth Sarah Draven, daughter of the wrongly executed Edgar Draven, returned to exact her vengeance upon the townsfolk who wronged her family?
- Adventure setpiece: PCs are invited to the elaborate Masquerade Ball at the Governor's Manse, where Effie begins eliminating her targets one by one. Her targets include respected town elders, but also several known criminals.

               Possible Accomplices:

1.      Nana, Sarah's childhood nursemaid, planted in the home of a town elder

2.      Edwin Melfort, a devoted but expendable young aristocrat under "Effie's" sway

3.      Edgar Draven, Sarah's ghostly father urging her to get justice where he couldn't

4.      Sanguide, a coachman in "Effie's" employ, ignorant to her origins but loyal

5.      Jeannette Douglas, a socialite aiding "Effie's" plots, unaware she's also on her list

6.      Adrian Vantres, a retired killer and Sarah's tutor in the arts of assassination

2. Lord Heathton Blake keeps to himself, and well out of the sunlight. This softspoken artistic vampire has kidnapped Judge Walpole's daughter Vivian, who has an astonishing resemblance to his late wife from over a century ago. The town's guards have attempted to rescue her, to no success. Blake promises the Judge he'll give Vivian a happy (and eternal) life when they are wed.
- Adventure setpiece: Within Lord Blake's manor, his private vault is full of priceless artifacts. Beyond that, it is a shrine to his beloved Anastasia, memorializing his late wife in giant murals, oil-paintings and sculptures.

               Possible Accomplices:

1.      Hans Remarche, Blake's lawyer and human agent to the outside living world

2.      Sir Carter Rothschilde, a knight Blake rescued long ago and made a vampire 

3.      Perdida, a housemaid whose family line has served Blake for generations

4.      Lady Millicent Dupre, a socialite spying on Vivian in exchange for immortality

5.      August Kaine, Vivian's hapless suitor who mistakenly thought Blake was his ally

6.      Old Gideon, a wild-eyed vagrant who easily succumbed to Blake's mind-control

3. Mrs. Amanda Archibald-Fitzsimmons-McKinnon-Drake is an eccentric widow. She collects failing business, heirlooms, husbands and enemies. She pays off the debts of desperate people, who are indebted to her in return. Her reasons and the criteria for selecting debtors are unknown, but she keeps a long list of grievances dating back to her turbulent childhood.
- Adventure setpiece: Amanda's well-guarded museum-like estate is in fact a map of her master plan. Her collection is a chronicle of who her victims are, how their families have wronged hers, and her ultimate plans for their fates.

               Possible Accomplices:

1.      Fecundo Drake, Amanda's devious stepson and her personal extortionist

2.      Miss Albright, beautiful and hateful curator of Amanda's Collection of Vengeance

3.      Asher Hale, Amanda's oldest friend, similarly vengeful but acts as a voice of reason

4.      Gemma Tallmadge, a foe/creditor who aids Amanda's plans for fear of reprisal

5.      Brother Phineas, a scribe and disgraced monk who keeps records of Amanda's foes

6.      Abel Archibald, Amanda's elderly father, clinging to life and dreams of revenge

4. The man known only as Blackwaltz cuts a striking figure, handsome and serious with a dangerous air. His origins are unknown, making him all the more attractive to young romantics around town. Rumors of his cannibalism are laughed off as jealous slander.
- Adventure setpiece: The Blackwaltz Family Crypt is a deathtrap of crumbling stonework, not to mention infested with werewolves. Though Blackwaltz, the last of his family line, resists the transformation, he still shares his kins' bloody hunger.
               Possible Accomplices:

1.      Malloy, groundskeeper to the Blackwaltz estate and procurer of fresh victims

2.      Harvey Spivot, shady butcher who sells Blackwaltz "specialized cuts" of meat

3.      Reina Mauvais, a fortune-teller and seeming expert on curses and the dark arts

4.      Lena Heathrow, Blackwaltz's recent lover and unknowingly his upcoming meal

5.      Samuel, a young orphan under Blackwaltz's protection, almost an adopted son

6.      Shuck, a suspiciously intelligent black dog bound to the family for generations

5. Lady Elzabeta D'Argento is a wealthy heiress, great philanthropist and doting mother. Her daughter Carmina is her pride and joy. Local asylum patient Guilieta Triste won't stop ranting--this madwoman calls D'Argento a devil, and claims that Carmina is in fact *her* daughter, stolen back when Giulieta was D'argento's scullery maid!
- Adventure setpiece: Lady D'Argento's airship, *The Sovereign*, is plush and well-armed; a place where the Lady can safely look upon humanity's pitiful peons from above, sneering with well-hidden disgust. It's also her escape plan should someone attempt to take Carmina from her.

               Possible Accomplices:

1.      Franz, the Lady's ruthless manservant who helped steal Giulieta's baby 14 years ago

2.      Dr. Malfant, asylum operator paid by the Lady to keep Giulieta quiet and confined

3.      Baron Johan Keller, paid to boast the Lady's good character, loudly and publicly

4.      Lord Renard D'Esprit, whose late nephew Adam was loved by Giulieta and the Lady

5.      Captain Tommasi, captain of The Sovereign, once loved Giulieta but was rejected

6.      Madame Rhys, young Carmina's snarky tutor and secretly her dangerous bodyguard

6. Casper Dunwalder is a devout family man, most of the time. Sometimes he feels the tug of base urges he cannot ignore. The full-time teacher/part-time alchemist felt constrained in his day-to-day life, and to relieve his anxieties he has turned to a potion of his own making. The deadly beings created as a result are an unfortunate side-effect.
- Adventure setpiece: Dunwalder's basement laboratory has all the ingredients for his signature concoction, as well as other miracle elixirs. It is also the lair of Dunwalder's Doppelgangers--physical copies of Casper embodying his darkest impulses of hatred, violence, and greed.

               Possible Accomplices:

1.      Bad Cas, the firstborn, smartest, and most dangerous of the doppelgangers

2.      Father Amadeo, misguided priest who sees Casper's method as a holy work

3.      Philippe Arne, Casper's top student, blindly bound to him out of admiration

4.      Lady Bianca Wright, a colleague in alchemy and provider of the rarest ingredients

5.      Freddy Danforth, a local cad madly in love with Casper's Wrath doppelganger

6.      Casper Pinchpenny, the manifestation of Casper's Greed, a shrewd manipulator

7.      Harmony Dunwalder, Casper's knowing wife who secretly covers up his activities

MALE	FEMALE	SURNAME	OCCUPATION	SECRET
1.      Peter	Adeline	Franks	Barber	True name is (roll again)
2.      Gustav	Mary	Temple	Mortician	Foresaw a grim prophecy
3.      Victor	Annette	Byron	Whaler	Remorseful killer
4.      Barnaby	Catherine	LaMotte	Carriage driver	Blackmailer
5.      Joseph	Jane	Ingram	Artist	Has died at least one
6.      Richard	Laura	Cross	Pickpocket	Witnessed a crime
7.      Louis	Matilda	Enfield	Gardener	Owes a debt to a vampire
8.      Diego	Sarah	Blackthorn	Socialite	Planning a murder
9.      James	Esmerelda	Summers	Doctor	Stole something personal
10.   Edgar	Helen	Moorland	Lawyer	Being blackmailed
11.   Theodore	Rebecca	Lockwood	Graverobber	Helped bury a corpse
12.   Henry	Julie	Beckford	Detective	Knows a PC from the past
13.   Gregory	Nelly	Wheatley	Serial killer	Keeping a prisoner
14.   Frederic	Evelyn	Rosemont	Teacher	Has a secret child
15.   William	Daphne	Henley	Judge	Serial killer
16.   John	Isabella	Little	Fairfax	Uses forbidden sciences
17.   Conrad	Victoria	Sweet	Farmer	Speaks with ghosts
18.   Matthew	Charlotte	Charlotte	Servant	In severe debt
19.   Samuel	Alice	Truly	Vagrant	Secretly married
20.   Albert	Margaret	Doom	Diplomat	Substance addict
21.   Eaton	Eleanor	Irving	Circus acrobat	Is a beast under a full moon
22.   Carl	Georgette	Rymer	Hunter	In an affair with (roll again)
23.   Lorenzo	Madeline	Montague	Barkeep	Knows old family spell
24.   Percy	Agnes	Malcolm	Baker	Skilled impersonator
25.   Manfred	Regina	Collins	Veteran	Has an unknown twin
26.   Nicholas	Eliza	Brams	Prostitute	Obsessed with (roll again)
27.   Robert	Eudora	Freeman	Psychiatrist	Involved in a failed ritual
28.   Ambrose	Louisa	Radcliffe	Butcher	Stole something valuable
29.   Nathaniel	Olivia	Hoffmann	Haberdasher	Greedy for treasure
30.   Charles	May	Wilde	Governess	Accidental murderer