Rules

Credits 1About the Creators 1

Introduction 2Background 2

Image of Queen Victoria 3Characters 4

Tamara Swift 5William Swift 7Nigel Townsend 9Queen Bodicea 11Lord Byron 13Lord Nelson 15

The Rules of Play 17The Basic Roll 17Resisted Actions 17Modifiers 17

Base Modifiers Table 17Success Level (SL) 17

Success Level Table 17Penny Dreadfuls 18

Fear Table 18Combat 18Close Combat 18Ranged Combat 19

Ranged Modifiers Table 19Damage 19Effects of Injury 19Getting Better 19Drama Points 19

Uses for Drama Points 20

Magic 20Spellcasting 20

Spell Backfire Table 20Repeat Casting 20Dispelling 21Spell Defense 21Defensive Magics 21

Defensive Magic Types 21Lesser Sensing 21

Blank Character Sheet 40

Director Quick Sheet II

DeRby Day aDventuRe

Introduction 22Image of Derby Day 22

Plot Synopsis 22Derby Day 22The Cast 23

Act One: Set-up 24Rundown 24Joining the Festivities 24Class Information 24

Aristocracy 24Middle Class 25Working Class 25

The People’s Charter 25The Cane Gentlemen 26Gypsy Visions 26The Chase Is On! 27

Act Two: Complications 28Rundown 28Mystic Battle 28

Cane Gentleman 29The Urchins 30A Finnegan 30

Act Three: Revelations 31

Rundown 31Coachhouse Fight 31

Brulshar Demon 32The Coin 33

Act Four: Climax 34Image of Derby Day Race 34

Rundown 34Lording Over 34

Angus MacTaggert 36A Grand Brouhaha 36

Viscount Duncannon 37William Atherton 38

Act Five: Resolution 39Rundown 39The Aftermath 39More Skulduggery? 39

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Credits Producers: M. Alexander Jurkat, George Vasilakos

Director: George A Matzen

Writers: Timothy S. Brannan (game rules) and Gar-ner Johnson (adventure and rules)

Unisystem Game Designer: CJ Carella

Editor: M. Alexander Jurkat

Editing Assistance: David Chapman, Laura J. Lexan-der

About the CreAtors Amber Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama

where she enjoyed an imaginative childhood before moving to California to pursue a career as an actor, writer, and director for film and television. Though best known for her three seasons portraying the white witch “Tara” on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she also appeared on television as Brian Dennehy’s daughter in a trio of Jack Reed tele-films. Amongst her film credits are The Crush, Bye Bye Love, Imaginary Crimes, Latter Days, and Steven Soderbergh’s King of the Hill. In addition to her act-ing roles, Ms. Benson wrote, directed and produced the romantic comedy Chance, in which she also stars, and is the co-writer and director of Ghosts of Albion: Legacy, an hour-long animated BBC serial. Ms. Ben-son lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Christopher Golden is a Bram Stoker Award-win-ning writer best known for his novels The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, the Body of Evidence series of teen thrillers, and co-author of the youth fantasy series Out Cast. He has written or co-written a great many books, comic books, and video games related to the televi-sion series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. In the comic book field, he has written tales of Batman, Spider-Man, Doctor Fate, and Hellboy.

Timothy S. Brannan has worked for universities, the Navy, dot coms, and mental institutions. Oddly enough, less than imagined separates these places. He has graduate degrees in education and psychol-ogy, but pushed aside the loving arms of academia, where he is a professor of statistics, to draft the Ghosts of Albion role playing game. Amongst other writings, he is the author of three (soon to be four!) books on roleplaying witches in various game systems. When not writing, Tim can be found somewhere in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his beautiful wife and two wonderful sons.

Garner Johnson is a life long gamer who has been associated with Task Force Games, TimeLine Ltd., and Eden Studios and is assistant manager of a local game and comic store. He earned degrees in econom-ics and history, specialized in military history and has written or edited a number of adventures or rules books for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, City of Heroes, and Ghosts of Albion. Although a Chicago native, he cur-rently resides in Nebraska, when not found running events at various gaming conventions.

Ghosts of Albion created by Amber Benson and Christopher Golden

Ghosts of Albion™ & © 2004 Amber Benson and Christopher Golden.

All rights reserved. Used under license from Amber Benson and Christopher Golden.

The Unisystem™ Game System © 2004 CJ Carella. The Unisys-tem™ is used under exclusive license. © Eden Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.

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tAmArA swift: Well, something foul is afoot. Let’s have a look!

—embeRs, act I

introduCtion Welcome to the Ghosts of Albion RPG introductory

demo pack!

These pages provide all that’s needed to begin telling tales and battles evil forces in the uni-verse of Ghosts of Albion. Gather a few friends and a 10-sided die or two and get ready to

play. If that kind of dice cannot be found (look in any good adventure game store), a deck of cards (face or suit cards removed and shuffled) will do in a pinch.

One amongst you should take on the role of Direc-tor—the one that actually runs the game, keeps the story moving, and embodies everyone who is not a Cast Member. This person should read all the rules laid out here and the specifics of the adven-ture Derby Day (see p. 22). The others play the Cast Members—the characters actually participating in the events of the game. They can read the rules portion of this pack and should be provided with copies of the Original Cast (see pp. 5-15). They should not read the adventure (that will spoil the excitement of the game).

For more information on the Ghosts of Albion RPG, kindly visit http://www.edenstudios.net. For more information on the Ghosts of Albion universe, please visit the Ghosts of Albion website at http://www.ghostsofalbion.net

bACkground

Ghosts of Albion takes place in a version of 1839 England, a year after Queen Victoria’s coronation, where magic, the supernatural, and various monsters all exist. Supernatu-

ral evil is real and very deadly. Demons, undead, cold-hearted Faeries, werewolves (called ferals), and many other creatures stalk the wilds or fringes of humanity. Fortunately, the soul of each land empow-ers a human or two with great magical abilities to fight against these forces of darkness. These people are called Protectors, and they wield powerful spells. Although it is a time when many people still believe in superstitions, the Protector’s role is still a secret one, not widely recognised, acknowledged, or ap-preciated.

The Protectors are not alone in their fight, however. They are aided by the ghosts of fallen individuals, be they famous or obscure, who have the power to come when called and affect other supernatural beings even while most of humanity can’t see them.

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Some faeries can also be counted on for aid. These supernaturals are more benign, or at least realise that our world and theirs are connected and if mankind becomes corrupted or falls into darkness they are likely to follow. Human magicians, poets with occult skills, or simply ordinary people with a sense of duty towards Jolly Old England also assist. One may even find an unusual vampire whose conscience and ethics are stron-ger than normal for their race.

The setting itself is a time of transi-tion and turmoil. The Industrial Revolution began in England around forty years ago, but has not run its course yet. Over half of the popula-tion is still living in rural areas. There are only around 200 miles of railways. Steam power has been harnessed for some textiles facto-ries and a limited number of steam ships, but has gen-erally not become common place yet. London is lit mostly by oil lamps—gas light is reserved for the main streets and theatre district, and is not widely accepted. This is not the time of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Sherlock Holmes, or Jack the Rip-per, but that of Charles Dickens. The English Empire is nowhere near as extensive as it will become later, and the urge to colonise and explore is in abeyance till the home situation can be stabilised.

Life is changing for every class in England. The upper class faces challenges to its privileged posi-tion. While deference still exists, wealth can now be acquired through business and various trades, not just land.

The middle class is just forming. “Black jacketed” work like that of clerks, bookkeepers, and other mid-dle managers, along with a demand for specialists in engineering, management, chemistry, and many other industries has pushed the need for education

and granted a higher income than most ever hoped to see. The middle class is searching for identity and has turned to the idea of propriety, doing what is expected in terms of religion, marriage, and personal actions. The middle class also desires the right to vote and to influence the nation’s future.

The working class is in a miserable position. They toil up to 14 hours a day for six days a week. Wages are low and the cost of food high due to tariffs on im-ported grain. Many are on the brink of starvation. Life is short, brutal, dirty, and overcrowding in ramshackle buildings or tenements is typical. There is a tax on windows so quarters are small, lightless, and filthy. Open air dunghills exist in many of the courtyards in poor sectors and the sewers are woefully inadequate. Whether the working classes will revolt as they did in France in 1830, ally with the middle class to take power from the aristocracy, or wal-low in their own misery is yet to be determined.

This miasma is thickened further by the various machinations of evil powers. Demon Lords like Balberith seek to enter into man’s world to spread evil and chaos. Powerful vampires pass amongst humanity with goals of their own, feeding off the mortals, yet maintaining the secrecy of their existence and actions.

Evil magicians abound, some serving the Demon Lords, others form their own orders trying to increase their wealth, power, and control over human affairs. Mix in random packs of ferals—savage werewolf creatures that kill and rampage, dark-oriented ghosts that feed off the living, evil faeries such as goblins, and all manner of legendary creature that would do mankind harm.

At this point in time, perhaps more than any other, the Protectors and their allies are hard pressed to keep evil at bay. Beset by change within society, by supernatural and mundane plots, and by conspiracies and crises, the course of humanity itself hangs in the balance.

Queen Victoria

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ChArACters

In a role playing game the players, except the Di-rector, take on the roles of various characters like the original cast in Ghosts of Albion. In the full game players will be able to make up their own

characters to play, but to test the waters the original cast will do nicely.

All characters have Attributes—basic physical and mental abilities. They are Strength, Dexterity, Con-stitution, Intelligence, Perception, and Willpower. Human Attributes range from one to six, with two being average.

Life Points (LPs) represent the amount of damage a character can absorb. When a character’s Life Points are exhausted she is at or near death.

Drama Points are the extra storytelling edge that al-lows a character to succeed when it is vital or dramat-ically appropriate. Starting Drama Points are based on the Character Type, but go up and down through-out an adventure as they are spent and earned by the character’s actions.

Additional actions are allowed to those with high Intelligence or Dexterity. They can be either mental (spellcasting mostly) or physical actions.

Qualities and Drawbacks are positive and negative traits that help round out a character and flesh out their personality. The game effects of a character’s Qualities and Drawbacks are explained under each entry, and bonuses to other Attributes are already applied.

Skills are learned abilities and are counted in levels. Where skills may overlap (such as the ability to sneak around in the case of Athletics and Crime), the Direc-tor decides which applies in any given situation.

Manoeuvres are a list of a character’s most used actions, broken down between mundane actions on top and magical ones on the bottom. Their associated scores are already calculated.

Some characters know spells that they can use with a spellcasting roll. Some of their effects are based on the Success Levels (SL) of that roll.

The following Original Cast Members are provided to get the group playing as quickly as possible. The Director should hand them around to the players or have each one select which Cast Member they wish to play. There are notes for each, describing the starting situations and personalities of each for the included adventure.

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Life Points 39Drama Points 20

Experience PointsAdditional Actions 1 Mental

Character Name Tamara SwiftCharacter Type Protector of Albion

Description See next page

AttributesStrength 2

Dexterity 3Constitution 3Intelligence 5

Perception 3Willpower 6

SkillsArmed Mayhem 4

Art 3Athletics 2

Crime 0Drive / Ride 0Engineering 0

Fisticuffs 0Influence 3

Knowledge 3Languages 3

Marksmanship 0Notice 4

Occultism 6Physician 1

Science 0Wild Card 0

Monetary Conversion4 Farthings / Pence

12 Pence / Shilling20 Shillings / Pound

Success Level TableRoll

total

success

levels DescRIptIon

9-10 1 Modest11-12 2 First Rate13-14 3 Jolly Good15-16 4 Topping17-20 5 Brilliant21-23 6 Extraordinary24-26 7 Magnificent27-29 8 Outstanding30-32 9 Smashing33-35 10 Ripping

+3 +1

QualitiesAttractiveness—2 Quick ReflexesBookish Resourses (Well Off)Hard to Kill—3 Status—3Magic—4Nerves of SteelOccult Library (Impressive)Protector—Albion

DrawbacksAdversary—3 Mental ProblemsHonourable (Serious) (Mild—Obsession)Love (Platonic—William) Mental ProblemsMinority (Woman) (Mild—Recklesness)

Useful InformationobseRvatIon: d10 + 7 Languages: English, French,

InItIatIve: d10 + 5 LatinappeaRance: +1

aRmouR:FeaR: +4

suRvIval / Ko 12 / 9

Combat Maneuversname

to HIt bonus Damage DescRIptIon

Dodge / Parry +7 — Defence ActionGrapple +5 — Resisted by Dodge

Punch +3 4 BashSword +7 8 Slash / Stab

Spellcasting +16 Varies By Spell (see next page)Counterspell +13 — Magic defence action; dispels spell

Deflect +16 — Magic defence action; deflects spell 45˚Hold +15 — Magic defence action; delays spell SL turns

Lesser Sensing +11 — Notice magical effects, nature, or possessionVolley +10 — Magic defence action; returns spell to caster

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More about Tamara...peRsonalIty

Feisty, smart and not afraid to voice her opinions, nineteen year-old Tamara Swift is way ahead of her time. She is the youngest of the two Swift children and, like her brother, inheritor of their family’s business, fortune, estate and legacy—the legacy of the Protectors of Albion. Called “Tam” by her brother William, Tamara chafes under the society perception that she should be a second class citizen.

QualItIes explanatIon

Attractiveness 2: +2 on all social tasks due to her good looksBookish: mental benefits but –1 on all social tasksHard to Kill 3: +3 on Survival TestsMagic 4: +4 to spellcasting and Lesser Sensing; can quick castNerves of Steel: +4 on Fear Tests; only necessary under very unusual circumstancesOccult Library (Impressive): Ludlow’s old library, shares with WilliamProtector: of AlbionQuick Reflexes: +2 initiativeResources (Well Off): decreased to 30 shillings weekly disposable income because she’s a womanStatus 3: upper middle class, –1 because she’s a woman

DRawbacKs explanatIon

Adversary 3: occupational hazard; Protectors have enemiesHonourable (Serious): always keeps word and does best to fulfil any promisesLove (Platonic—William): Willpower (not doubled) – 3 roll to follow head not heart when William is involvedMinority (Woman) - 2nd class citizenMental Problems (Mild Obsession—understand magic): trying to figure out some magical problem dominates her life to the exclusion of most other thingsMental Problems (Mild Recklessness) says what’s on her mind with little consideration for diplomacy or courtesy, rushes into dangerous situations, and rarely wastes time on second thoughtsNaïve: +2 to others’ Influence rolls against her, –1 to Knowledge rolls on city and crimeObligation (Total, Albion): Protector’s duties to their land

ArcanumSpell Casting Bonus +16 Casting Actions 2 Current Repeat

Casting ModMagic Threshold PL 2 Magic/Quick Cast Level 4

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Spell Name Pow

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Range Damage Effects

yes Exorcism 5 5 10’ -- If SLs greater than possessing entity’s Willpower, posses-sion is ended

yes Eldritch Ball of Flame 5 1 100’ 24 + (SL x 2) Small green fireball hits one target; will set flammable

objects on fireyes Healing Touch 3 3 touch -- SLs x 2 Life Points healed; once per target per dayno Shield 2 1 self -- SLs x 2 AV; protects caster only for SL number of strikes

no Sleep 2 1 50’ -- Target’s Willpower (doubled) vs. spellcasting roll to avoid falling asleep for half hour per SL

yes Solid Air 4 1 100’ --Target’s Strength (doubled) vs spellcasting roll to move (can be attempted once per Turn); lasts for SL Turns (or until Strength roll succeeds)

yes Poseidon’s Trident 3 1 100’ 6 + (SL x 3) Spear of water hits one target

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