Good Society: A Jane Austen Roleplaying Game

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I am pleased that this exists (or will exist, anyway). Odds are I will never ever play it though.
Yeah. I like Jane Austen as a writer, but I am never going to run a Jane Austen game. It's good to see something like this doing well though. A diverse ecosystem of games is a healthy ecosystem of games.
 
I'd like to see an Edgar Allan Poe RPG or maybe a Mario Puzo RPG (especially his Mafia books).
Never read Jane Austen, so I can't make a call on this one. It looks good though.
 
Last 48 hours on this one, for anyone still on the fence
 
They've made nearly $122,000 with 45 hours to go. Not too shabby.
 
Holy shit, I was looking for that as recently as last week. Back in the 90's a friend showed me his copy that he had just picked up at I-CON, and the other day I was wondering whatever happened to it. I particularly remember the bit about saving your game by calling the operator from a payphone to let them know.

I tried the Don Delillo RPG once...my character failed his save vs. Mass Media and ended up obsessed with 9/11. But that was fine because I was playing a different character about five minutes later.
 
Holy shit, I was looking for that as recently as last week. Back in the 90's a friend showed me his copy that he had just picked up at I-CON, and the other day I was wondering whatever happened to it. I particularly remember the bit about saving your game by calling the operator from a payphone to let them know.

The one copy I saw came with Buttery Wholesomeness, the one and only HoL RPG supplement.

And yeah, that bit is classic. :grin:
 
Recently got the pdfs of this game. Will read it over soon. Would like to try and play it but my wife, ironically, is not a Jane Austen fan and it may be a hard sale.
 
So, did anyone get this? If so, any thoughts, reviews? Have you had a chance to try it out?
 
I have a copy, but haven't had time to read it. From glancing at it, it seems a bit "storygamy" for my tastes, but very well done subject-wise. One of my Sunday game players has borrowed it and thinks it is great. He's considering running a one-shot or two (as his wife's favorite novel of all time is Northanger Abbey), if he does, I plan to play.
 
I got their "Alas for the Awful Sea" which really captures the subgenre it's going for: "Island/Coastal realism" I suppose you could call it. Very popular here, Brittany, Scotland, Wales and in Scandinavia in the early 20th century. I've read many such novels from the seven countries and the game gets it perfect.
 
Dammit, Séadna, now you have me interested! Although I'd adapt it to a lighter "Vital Spark" or "Whisky Galore" theme.
 
So if anyone didn't pledge for the hardcopy last time and is reconsidering now is your chance as they've launched a reprint and expansion KS.

Good Society: A Jane Austen RPG - Reprint & New Deck, via @Kickstarter
 
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Yes. The books are quite good if you like prehistory as a setting, although stop before The Plains of Passage. Also if you have a low tolerance for Mary Sues the main character will annoy you, what with discovering fire and inventing domestication of animals, agriculture and the central banking system singlehandedly[1].

[1] I'm exaggerating about the banking.
You forgot spearthrowers, bows and bread, and I might be misremembering, but I think they managed the skis as well:thumbsup:!

Personally, I liked her, because at the tender age of about 16 I was already assuming the author/s has/have just decided to showcase all the major inventions into a single story. So of course the main characters had to invent them, it's a young adults story after all:grin:!
This was the first (and one of the last) times when I accepted the Doylist explanation:tongue:!

I had a blast with the Wuthering Heights RPG
Yeah, that one was fun, though in our case it was fun due to irreverably mocking the source material...:devil:
I think I stopped counting at the third murder.

Well my missus is into Poldark at present...it's not all that disimilar to Austen's work...perhaps I could get her into rpgs with this one...
Although I'm not sure I can sit through too many afternoons of Tea at Two o'clock with Mr Darcy while the other kids are outside hacking and slaying heh heh
Any way to get your SO to play is a good one, Mankcam! Man up and brew some nice tea, dammit only add cyanide if you really hate Mr. Darcy:evil:!

When you do that much LSD, EVERYTHING is an RPG...
Since when do we need LSD for that:shock:?!?


Nikos Kazantzakis, too. Can't read his books without getting hungry.
And let's not forget Chinese historical novels, which always get me in the mood for sweet and spicy...or at least for an evening with roast meat and wine:pizza::cake:!
 
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Oh, it's Bridgerton, before Bridgerton!

Not a fan of the "inclusive" ahistorical content, but love the art!
 
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Good Society: A Jane Austen RPG - Reprint & New Deck, via @Kickstarter
I only took a more detailed look there now. Those expansions look class, e.g. Lady Susan PI.
 
I only took a more detailed look there now. Those expansions look class, e.g. Lady Susan PI.

Yeah I like the addition of the Downstairs, At the Abbey, so now I can play that game of Gosford Park or Rules of the Game I always wanted!
 
So this KS unlocked a duet version of the game, something that seemed like a natural to me, I'm surprised when most storygames which seem well suited to duet play (like Bluebeard's Bride for instance) don't have it as an option.

Update #4: By jove! Another stretch goal unlocked! (And come join our discord)
 
I've been trying since I got my copy from the first KS to get friends to play this... No luck, so far.
I did get the new expansion deck, though, with the hope that SOMEDAY I'll eventually get to run the game.
 
I've been trying since I got my copy from the first KS to get friends to play this... No luck, so far.
I did get the new expansion deck, though, with the hope that SOMEDAY I'll eventually get to run the game.

I'm thinking of hacking it for a slightly edgier classic novelist more to my taste, like Thomas Hardy or Turgenev.
 
I'm thinking of hacking it for a slightly edgier classic novelist more to my taste, like Thomas Hardy or Turgenev.

Cut it up, throw away half the pages, mix in pages from a few other random RPGS, and put it back together out of sequence,
and you can make the Tristram Shandy role-playing game.
 
The folks at Storybrewers have a Kickstarter up for two new 'little box' rpg games. I've pledged for Decaying Orbit.

Littlebox Journeys: Story games to take you far from home!, via @Kickstarter
 
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Believe it or not I'm a bit of a fan of P&P it's a great romance story. I've not read the book I must confess. I've only seen the famous BBC adaption. I do actually like a lot of historical English drama. Jane Eyre would be another one (C. Bronte).

That said, I can't see myself playing something like this tbh. Being anyway 'romantic' in an RPG I'd personally find it very difficult (I'd be far too shy). I'd find it far easier to play an investigator or brawler. However, this is cool if you're into that type of romantic intrigue.

I must show this to my misses she got me into P&P many moons ago.
 
Believe it or not I'm a bit of a fan of P&P it's a great romance story. I've not read the book I must confess. I've only seen the famous BBC adaption. I do actually like a lot of historical English drama. Jane Eyre would be another one (C. Bronte).

That said, I can't see myself playing something like this tbh. Being anyway 'romantic' in an RPG I'd personally find it very difficult (I'd be far too shy). I'd find it far easier to play an investigator or brawler. However, this is cool if you're into that type of romantic intrigue.

I must show this to my misses she got me into P&P many moons ago.

I've always liked Austen for her excellent prose, characterization and plotting.

The downfall for me are the happy endings which are just a shade too smug although I get they're comedies. But I think I like my comedies with more edge like in Dickens, Sterne or Thackery.

I was a bigger fan of the romantic gothics of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, or the novels of Edith Wharton (and Scorsese's excellent film adaptation of The Age of Innocence).

There's a free, online game for Wuthering Height here that looks quite good:

Now that I think of it an rpg of Tristram Shandy could work if you use the really good Winterbottom film adaptation as inspiration and run it with the Ghostbusters ruleset!
 
I've always liked Austen for her excellent prose, characterization and plotting.

The downfall for me are the happy endings which are just a shade too smug although I get they're comedies. But I think I like my comedies with more edge like in Dickens, Sterne or Thackery.

I was a bigger fan of the romantic gothics of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, or the novels of Edith Wharton (and Scorsese's excellent film adaptation of The Age of Innocence).

There's a free, online game for Wuthering Height here that looks quite good:

Now that I think of it an rpg of Tristram Shandy could work if you use the really good Winterbottom film adaptation as inspiration and run it with the Ghostbusters ruleset!
Cheers for the link. :smile:

I'd be the same I'd prefer a darker tone with a more gothic aesthetic. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre definitely have very dark themes and in their own way are practically demi-supernatural. So, it wouldn't be that hard to add a bit of Penny Dreadful in there if one wanted. ;)
 
I think the world needs a Hallmark Channel RPG where the PCs all feel vaguely familiar; like you’ve seen them in a campaign before. One PC works in a Fortune 500 company as an executive who has to take a trip to some backwater locale for some family reason where they happen to run into the other PC who just inherited a small business (bakery/dog grooming/etc) from their favorite relative.
 
Actually, some of the stretch goals look interesting. With the possibility of adding werewolves and vamps to the mix as well as a bit of swordplay. That'd be more my style.

I must say the art is beautiful! Reminds me of that old Disney style for 101 Dalmations, etc.
 
From the looks of the videos I'm guessing the authors were probably born 20 years after the last time Dallas was even on the air :tongue:
If Dallas wasn't a PvP, player driven narrative story-game with fate points to undo things don't know what is. To this day not sure who shot JR :smile: not that I care but many sure did.

My fear is always that player driven story games would end up more like Lost than anything else.
 
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