Colonial Gothic Third Edition

by Richard Iorio II

The Drums of War Sound The great nations of Europe struggle for control of the New World. Native Americans struggle for their land and their lives. Planters and traders struggle for wealth and position. A new nation struggles to be born. But look beneath the surface. Monsters stalk the woods. Angry ghosts and spiteful witches plague the villagers. Explorers search for lost cities and fabled treasures. Ancient evils are awakened. There is a secret history, and this history deals with events that took place in the shadows. These events played a role in the history of the American colonies and the Revolution that few know about. ​ The truth is hidden, and plots are afoot. Events are moving behind the scenes, and lurking in the shadows are agents with their own agenda. All have read about the founding of America. This history shows what led to the American Revolution and the cry for independence. The history is clear, and there is no real dispute over these events. You know the history. Or do you? There is a secret history that deals with events taking place in the shadows. These events played a role in the history of the American colonies and the Revolution few know about. From the crowded streets of New York City, to the deep country trails of Georgia, the shadows teem with enemies of conflicting agendas. War is coming. The Siege of Boston is lifted, and General Washington is leading the Continental Army to New York. The enemies are many, but as to who they are, you do not know. Colonial Gothic is a supernatural historical horror roleplaying game set during the dawn of the American Revolution. Revised, rewritten and redesigned Colonial Gothic Rulebook 3rd Edition provides players and Gamemasters what they need to run adventures during the American Revolution. Everything you need to run a historical supernatural horror game is found in this rules covering the use of magic and alchemy, in-depth information on the life and times of the colonies, a bestiary of monsters pulled straight from the period; the possibilities are endless. Using a fast and simple mechanic, setting up and running a game of Colonial Gothic has never been easier. Plus, this Third Edition Rulebook is fully compatible with all previous Colonial Gothic adventures and sourcebooks. Now the time has come. War is here. Choose your side.

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2017

Reviews

[Benjamin]

Another adventure in my never-ending quest to at least look at all the RPGs I have bought.

Premise: starting as a setting for Call of Cthulhu (called Cthulhu 1776), this became a broader horror/occult setting, with special emphasis on secret societies.

Was it inspiring? Uh, well, not really. I like the idea of mixing horror and history, though I feel like there needs to be something to crystallize the horror around in history. I mean, maybe if I had a group I was playing with, I would have some focus. But right now this setting is just: "there are weird things and secret societies in Colonial times."

So there's a question that every RPG needs to answer: What do the PCs do? Even in a sandbox game where the PCs may be fighting the empire or fighting the rebels or just running a merchant company trying to survive, there should be a focus--at least some theme if not some meta-campaign.

There's glimpses of some big campaign possibilities here, but it's almost too open for me. I get the impulse to give players all the options they might want -- want to play a frontiersman? want to play a native shaman? want to play a freed slave or a city tradesman? -- but that openness means there's not a strong answer to the question of what the PCs do. They fight evil, sure, but what form does that evil take?

Also, the art is not really inspiring to me.

Books included in the bundle:
Rulebook - the rules
Player Companion - advantages, new spells, new skills, feh
Gamemaster - ship combat, GM advice, new magic options, secret societies (+)
Adventure - vampire, mi-go
GM Screen
Flames of Freedom - some adventures, city guides to Boston and Philly
Landlords Daughter - conspiracy and witchcraft revenge and a golem - probably could benefit from Gumshoe rules as it's a mystery, but the first one that excited me
Legend of Sleepy Hollow - a few pages of setting plus the story
Atlas - colonies, Caribbean, French colonies, with mysteries/secrets
Lovecraft - monsters and stuff
Journey to Norumbega - a Lovecraftian adv in the earliest days of European discovery
Defeated Dead - adventure with war rules
Templars - notes on templars
Settings - 6 towns, with secrets (+)
Grimoire
Bestiary
French and Indian War - guidebook to that, more mass combat rules, Ben Franklin with an electrostatic gun

Also included, Iorio's other game Fairyland