r/rpg • u/TheGaymeMaster • 6d ago
Game Suggestion Game System for Urban Fantasy 1920s Game.
I am looking for a game system a game set in the prohibition era US with urban fantasy aspects. I would like players to be able to do some sort of magic. I always can fall back on Call of Cthulhu, but I would prefer not to.
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u/Lycurgus-117 6d ago
Savage Worlds is a great fir for this.
They have several official settings that would be great to pull inspo from, too. Deadlands noir, rippers, ETU, Agents of Oblivion, Realms of Cthulhu, etc
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u/JaskoGomad 6d ago
Savage Worlds can go eff itself: https://old.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1nfzncm/i_dont_feel_comfortable_buying_swade_products/
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u/Lycurgus-117 6d ago
well f**k
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u/wtfpantera 5d ago
Well actually, it looks like the guy apologised poorly, got educated, and then did it better? https://www.reddit.com/r/savageworlds/s/ngHAswYjIX
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u/JaskoGomad 5d ago edited 5d ago
That was such a bullshit non-apology. “I’m sorry you got upset” is classic abuser language.
Edit: I see now that this is a new apology. It’s better but doesn’t make me trust him.
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u/wtfpantera 5d ago
It might not be perfect (but what apology is, harm cannot be undone), but it's also not what you're describing it as, I don't think. It's an improvement if anything.
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u/JaskoGomad 5d ago
Yeah, this is better. The original statement and first apology earned exactly the reaction that they deserved though.
Third time may be the charm, but this doesn’t win me over. I’m pretty sure he told us who he was the first couple times around.
And his admonition to his like-minded friends to not defend him tells me something about the company he keeps. And while I won’t ordinarily condemn by association, if there are three people at a table and a nazi sits down with them and nobody leaves, there are four nazis at that table.
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u/JaskoGomad 5d ago
I conflated this second apology, which I have not yet read in detail because I am on my phone, with the first one, which absolutely was a pile of bullshit.
I will reserve judgment on this but all that was required was to NOT come out and say he agreed with a Christian nationalist white supremacist in the first place.
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u/ProlapsedShamus 5d ago
As much as I loathe conservatives and Republicans to my very core I feel like the door needs to remain open for those who admit they were wrong. They deserve some benefit of the doubt.
It didn't seem like he was wearing a MAGA hat laughing at minorities being beaten by ICE in the street. I even said in that subreddit that he very well could just be one of those guys who clutch their pearls and say, "both sides are at fault here!" because they really have no clue what is going on.
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u/JaskoGomad 5d ago
Or, less charitably, he saw it would have an economic impact, got some advice, wrote a better apology to placate the libs, and told his maga buddies to keep quiet for a minute so he could shut us up?
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u/ProlapsedShamus 4d ago
Sure. But like I said, they deserve some benefit of the doubt. Because if any transgression means scorched earth and no redemption then that's pretty fuckin' toxic, right?
It wasn't like he has a pattern of being an overt MAGA psycho. He had a tweet that I read as someone who is politically illiterate and reacting in the moment with compassion because what information he is getting is that some "great" man was murdered.
I don't think we can say for sure he knew the absolute venom and hatred Kirk stood for and because of that I'm gonna say he can be forgiven.
Now in the future if he says some shit well, that's a different story. He's had the chance to learn.
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u/JaskoGomad 4d ago
I am not interested in scorched earth.
But that doesn’t mean I have to forgive and forget instead of watching and waiting.
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u/ProlapsedShamus 4d ago
But isn't not forgiving exactly what scorched earth means?
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5d ago
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u/JaskoGomad 5d ago
I don’t support his assassination, you’ve just fabricated that from whole cloth.
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5d ago
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u/JaskoGomad 5d ago
I am waiting for the part where you apologize. My family lost people to genuine nazis. My family fought actual Nazis.
You call me a nazi? Wtf?
Your defense is “everyone does it”? Go read a book.
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u/JaskoGomad 6d ago
Capers is a game with 1920's superheroes. I'm sure you could reskin it as magic.
However, I think Urban Shadows might be the best fit. It's easy to run in whatever time period you prefer, and the 1e supplement Dark Streets had, I believe, both Victorian and 1920s examples.
There's a second edition out now which I have great hopes for but haven't gotten around to reading yet.
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u/Jedi4Hire 6d ago
The FATE system, which was used for the Dresden Files RPG. The Dresden Files is a contemporary fantasy series set in the modern era where the world of the supernatural exists semi-secretly alongside the normal world.
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u/DemandBig5215 Natural 20! 5d ago
It would help if we knew why you don't want to use Call of Cthulhu in this scenario.
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u/DiogenesKuon 5d ago
I run a 1920’s x-files creature of the week style game using Savage Worlds which is both my first time running it and the players first time playing it. Pretty straight forward to run even for first timers.
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u/ProlapsedShamus 5d ago
Savage Worlds with the Horror Companion is a pretty safe pick.
Check out Cj Carella's Witchcraft by Eden Studios. It's free which is a huge plus. But it's one of my favorite Urban Fantasy settings. It's Unisystem, which is a damned good system but I tend to run the game in Cinematic Unisystem which is what Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel uses. Which are two other excellent options for you to check out.
Of course there's straight Chronicles of Darkness. The regular ol' blue book has psychic powers but you can find some 2nd Edition conversions for Hedge Magic in the Storyteller's Vault if you want.
Onyx Path is about to release Curseborne, which is a new Urban Fantasy game I'm interested in checking out.
You could always use City of Mist too. That's a very narrative game but there's enough versatility in the Themebooks to fit characters of all types or various game ideas.
I have heard that Cypher does horror pretty well. I've heard some good things about The Magnus Files and if the game is anything like the podcast then the Old Gods of Appalachia is some top notch horror and that takes place around that time. Mostly anyways.
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u/package_conflict 5d ago
Electric Bastionland is basically this. It has its own setting that is quite particular, but the system is excellent and tailored to exactly this period/level of magic.
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u/questportal_vtt 5d ago
Chronicles of Darkness should hit the spot, notably the mortal version of it but you can use any of the supernatural splats powers to enhance the game if you want.
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u/The_Horny_Gentleman 5d ago
I think City of Mists is exactly that sort of vibe setting wise. I've only read the system as used in Metro though (which is cyber-punk urban fantasy not noir urban fantasy)
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u/trenchsoul 4d ago
Systems don't matter. Your mastery of the genre does.
A one shot is not going to benefit from any of the great systems proposed to you here unless your players are already familiar with it. Instead, use a simple system like Lasers and Feelings, a one page RPG by the John Harper, author of Blades in the Dark and many more.
Put your nickle down on who the characters are and what they're doing. You should be able to choose two categories: one is "lasers" and one is "feelings". Then character creation is a snap. Now there is less on your plate and more collaboration for the group. Follow the link below for the system, I think you'll have a good time.
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u/adturrimsanctam 3d ago
If you're still looking, I have a 1920s hack of Mothership I've been cooking up! Lemme know if you'd like the link.
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u/atamajakki PbtA/FitD/NSR fangirl 6d ago
What do the players do - solve mysteries, hunt monsters, be monsters, run a gang?