Pyramid Review
Dragon in the Smoke -- A Penny Dreadful for Victoriana
Published by Heresy Gaming LLP
Written by Kristian Bjorkelo
Cover by Ursula Vernon
Illustrated by Svetlana Chmakova & Matteo Lolli
56-page b&w softcover; $12.99
Dragon in the Smoke is the first book to be released for Victoriana -- A Roleplaying Game of Vile Villainy & Glorious Adventure, the English RPG that attempted to meld the traditional elements of fantasy RPGs -- Elves, Dwarves, magic, and so on -- with Victorian-era Steampunk. In truth, the finished product, as evidenced by the core rulebook, lacked coherency, but in the hands of a competent GM, there was nothing to prevent a fine game being run from the rules. This first supplement is not The Smoke -- 1867, the sourcebook for London as promised, but rather a scenario designed as an introduction to the setting.
Best played with a party of adventurers from across all levels of society, Dragon in the Smoke takes the heroes on an investigation and a hunt from high society into the wretched depths of London's East End. Two children have gone missing and their wealthy parents would prefer that they be returned quietly and without fuss. There are two means provided for getting the characters involved in the scenario: the first at the request of the children's parents, and the second through a chance encounter with the Gnome consulting detective that the parents have hired. The former is designed for use with upper-class characters, while the latter can be used with . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: December 19, 2003
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