A Small Idea

 Hi,

Welcome back to the Shores of Night, or welcome if you're new. My name is Grim, a nonbinary, autistic human who writes about a lot of things here. 

As you know, I've been pondering work and earning money lately. Right now, I'm wondering what I can do to create a bit of passive income, a little trickle of money to help out. I think roleplaying material would be a better focus, probably in the form of small settings, interesting NPCs and the like.

Starting with generic pieces, I thought I'd create a series of short supplements detailing women NPCs, treating them as both allies and potential antagonists. The initial focus would be historical. I'd detail Medieval, Victorian, and modern women, then expand into specific genres, like Fantasy, Cyberpunk and so on. Initially, I'd want to avoid clichéd figures, like witches and princesses, to avoid more obvious concepts and plot seeds. The point is to present rounded women with real concerns and inner lives for GMs to use in their games, because I feel like women are still overlooked in the hobby. 

For example, a Victorian woman's profile might be Jenny Bancroft, a well-to-do woman who's become part of the Temperance movement in a large city. I'd detail who she is, touch on her family, and her motivations. Then I'd expand on how she interacts with characters and how she'd react to their actions. With Jenny, she might be a useful ally in gaining access to her group or providing information about Society. As an antagonist, she's likely to apply social pressure, motivate people to act against them, and spread rumours that lock them out of resources. 

That makes her a very different kind of threat than, say, Millie Danvers, an East End boxer who sometimes turns to crime for gin money, or Jane Macleod, an American shootist with a travelling Wild West Show whose guns never miss.  

If I did this, I suppose my question would be: would you want magical, psychic, or science fiction elements baked in from the start? For example, would you want Jane to have been blessed by a deity during a near-death experience, and that's why she's so good, even if it was an optional detail? 

I also thought I'd create a set of supplements about Dorset, the county I live in, detailing locations through history and in the present. They'd include images, NPCs and plot seeds to make them quick and easy to use. Starting with Hengistbury Head here in Bournemouth, I'd explore its history as an Iron Age port and hill fort, and its role today (there will be goats), then expand the series to odd places throughout the county. I may even be cheeky and pop across the border to Hampshire to talk about the New Forest, its links to Wicca and Gerald Gardner, and make the local ponies central to a plot seed. 

My thought is that the United Kingdom has lots of overlooked spots; we are an old, old country (we have evidence that Hengistbury Head was occupied, one way or another, 12,000 years ago). It seems a bit daft to ignore that deep well, waiting for someone to draw up a metaphorical bucket of water. Drawing out the past and refashioning it for the present seems like a really cool thing to do. 

One thing I'm not sure of is whether I should create a set of small societies that investigate the uncanny, or perhaps a central government agency in the style of, say, The Avengers (for clarity, I mean the John Steed and Emma Peel version, not the one with Captain America) or Kim Newman's version of the Diogenes Club to act as a way to get Player Characters involved in creepy West Country shenanigans?

I confess that I'm not expecting answers to that question, and I'll probably end up making a handful of societies that respond to the uncanny in different ways. That seems more interesting than just trying to recreate the Laundry or something.

The third strand, I think, is to present low-fantasy locations with characters and plot seeds, slowly building content that could be part of a fantasy city... but could also stand alone. These wouldn't be special places; we're not talking about haunted castles or anything like that. I'm thinking of inns, temples, markets, and so on. Achingly normal places you could find anywhere, but with stories attached. 

The other option is to create locations that change over time, with early and late Medieval versions, an Elizabethan iteration, and a Regency version. That would make them usable across several games and, like supplements focused on women, these locations could include optional supernatural elements. 

I confess part of wanting that historical range is that I find Medieval content has been overused by the hobby, and if I can encourage GMs to set something in the 18th Century, then I'm going to take the opportunity! Or are you telling me you don't want an excuse to break out a dandy highwayman at the table, and have it be historically accurate? 

(Okay, maybe not that particularly dandy highwayman... )

Please rest assured these will be small, discrete supplements that could be stitched together into something bigger. I've no intention of giving up the day job or anything else... and yes, when I move to Wales (my current plan), I will eventually write little locations for roleplaying games there as well; all these ideas are purposefully modular. 

I think what I need from you, reader, if you feel able to tell me, are the answers to these questions:

1) Do you want the historical characters to have an optional uncanny ability where it's relevant or interesting? For example, do you want Jane Macleod to have an optional blessing from a deity, with some backstory to explain her ability as part of the write-up, or should I leave that up to your discretion as a reader and GM?

2) Do you want a larger setting attached to this? I don't imagine it would be hard to cook up something (particularly for the Victorian or modern periods) to link things together. I envisage this as something quite nebulous, but it provides some "connective tissue" between the locations, at least. 

3) I was planning to create these pieces as system-agnostic; would that suit your tastes? If I were to include system information, what would you want to see? 

Lastly, do any of these ideas catch your attention more than the others? 

Let me know in the comments below.