YORKTON - While most certainly not a huge fan of of the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons – far too homogenized for this writer – occasionally modules are created which do catch attention.
The Administration -- Book 1: London by Night is one such module.
The campaign takes place in an alternate universe -- Victorian-era England with a touch of Lovecraftian flavour – and as a lover of Sherlock Holmes the famed Victorian-era detective – this was a definite eye-catcher.
Adding the various races of D&D to mingle freely on the foggy streets where you might pass by 221B Baker Street is simply put a cool idea.
Or, could Holmes be an elf, or a troll? Hmm now that just might work.
As the Kickstarter campaign noted it’s a “world of high fantasy and wonder mixed with the marvels of the early Industrial Age.
“It wasn’t always this way though. A century ago a great war was fought between the humans and humanoids against the monstrosities, fiends, aberrations and undead. Winning a hard-fought and painful victory, the humanoids worked with the Fae Lords to seal the evil creatures into another dimension -- thus saving the world for all time to come.
“Except ... it didn’t really work that way. From time to time, and with the help of entities unknown – (dare I wonder of Moriarty) -- those creatures find their way back to this dimension -- seeking destruction upon their old foes. If the ordinary person knew how common this was, there would be panic in the streets.
“That’s where the Fearless Agents For Order (F.A.F.O.) Administration (known mainly as just ‘The Administration’) comes in. Players will start as agents within The Administration. Their goal is to seek out and imprison, deport, or kill these extra-dimensional creatures -- and they must do it in a way that attracts the least attention possible.”
It’s just an amazing backstory in which to begin a role play adventure.
And it gets better as Book 2 – Time to Act is being funded at present.
Making all this even better – like it really needs to be better – is that this book, and its follow-up comes via Canadian Brian Coombs, who the guild had to connect with via email.
It turns out, not surprisingly, Coombs is an avid gamer, who admitted choosing a favourite game was difficult.
“It’s hard to pick a favourite though, because there are different games for different genres,” he related. “I’ve played, and I’m really dating myself on some of these, Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, Rolemaster (and MERP), Rifts, GURP, Pathfinder, Top Secret, Marvel Super Heroes, Mork Borg – and the list goes on. But I always, always return to my first RPG love; D&D. I should note that I currently DM 5E and D&D 2024, but when I’m a player, any edition is good.”
That first love became part of the inspiration for The Administration.
“I really love high fantasy, but I’m also a history buff, so a lot of my games tend to be ‘historical high-fantasy’,” said Coombs. “For The FAFO (Fearless Agents For Order) Administration, I took my fondness for the ‘secret society that saves the world’ trope and combined it with my love for Victorian England, steampunk, fantasy races and magic.
“When I phrase it that way, it sounds a little over-stuffed, but my players really liked it.”
So what was Coombs trying to achieve with game?
“I guess I wanted to create something that a DM, with the help of their players, could produce a really cool world that would look great as an action-packed, highly atmospheric movie series,” he offered.
“But as importantly, I wanted to start the players in an organization – something that was bigger than themselves. This way the games were more than just getting treasure and levelling up, or so I hope.”
Coombs said he wants players invested in the story too.
“I would like it if the players felt they were immersed in a world where fantasy rubs shoulders with history,” he said.
“They can also expect a pretty difficult adventure where not every answer is black and white.
“They can also expect an underlying Lovecraftian ambience that will become much more overt as the series progresses.
“Ultimately, as this adventure is part one of an ongoing series, I expect them to be curious as to what’s going to happen next.”
The group dynamic matters here too – in-game – not those at the table.
“I mentioned this before, but for me the best element is being part of an organization – a secret organization – with its aim being to help the people of the world,” noted Coombs. “To me, this not only gives the players a heroic reason for being, it also encourages a more nuanced style of play. After all, The Administration works because the public doesn’t know it even exists. It was designed so the players -- probably with the occasional gentle prodding by the DM -- should at least try handle situations with that in mind. But knowing that’s sometimes impossible, I’ve created a small group within The Administration that can alter people’s memories if need be. Yes, that does borrow heavily from MIB (Men In Black), but D&D just so happens to have a spell works for it too.
There is also a real historical context to this game.
“There’s even a couple of pages devoted to Victorian-era slang and a couple of professions that would naturally come about in a world where early industrial-age technology is combined with magic and magical creatures,” said Coombs. “Queen Victoria is England’s monarch. Napoleon III rules France, the East India Trading company has one of the largest private armies in the world and all of this history is offset and (I believe enhanced) with high-fantasy underpinnings.”
It’s a package that works, if you like RPGs with just a few twists to the norm.
Book 2 is currently on Kickstarter.
