User:Yanied/Hybrid BoB System

The system of Borders on Borders focuses more on the World. DnD is character driven. BoB doesn't emphasize combat; it wants you to explore conflict. DnD just wants you to punch and kill without thinking sometimes (goblin brain, big numbers, and all that). BoB worlds are fun to build, but characters can be tedious to play. DnD characters are tedious to build, but roleplaying them is the best part.

The following are differences this hybrid is meant to reconcile when trying to play BoB and DnD in tandem:

• Moving away from combat as a pillar of design. Exploring the world as a more normal person means not trying to punch and kill everything that comes your way.

Proposed Solutions:

1. Eliminating combat specials and creating a seamless narrative of skill checks. Want to attack? That's a skill check.
2. Initiative is also gone as a result of melding combat and non-combat. It is much more roleplay based and less crunch.
3. Elimination of armor. BoB takes place in a fairly mundane world of Victorian London. Most people wear commoner's or traveler's clothes at best. At most, there is padded armor. Thus, the range of AC is extremely restricted to only one or two points of extra armor.
4. Removal of many combat-only features. A lot of 5e features or traits from classes and races are solely for the sake of bumping up the damage dice. But in a world where this isn't the focus, these abilities need to be replaced with things to facilitate exploration and communication (like real people do). So, classes will be pared down to only some distinct abilities (rogues still sneak and bards still sing, eg). BoB uses "moves" and "tokens" which can sub in for features.
5. Lower level builds. Because BoB play basically encourages staying at a certain power level and developing character without experience points, it would make sense that everyone gets an essential "kit" of skills. Rather than level up and gain new abilities, this kit is the toolbox for players to use creatively, without getting an excess of spells and features. You might gain some new things, like as a cultist who pleases their patron, or a fighter who gains greater fortitude. However, the power level should not go very high or even near 9th level spells and such, as that breaks the feel of BoB and its more struggling type of narrative.

• Collaborative World Building. DnD usually centers with one DM (and multiples for West March styles). However, the cool goal of BoB is to create a story that all involved can agree with. It is not a strict DM-creation. In fact, the DM should frequently rotate among the players so that different portions of stories can unfold differently. This should enforce a collaborative environment, so people pay attention to what others say so their portion of the story doesn't go entirely off the rails.

• Overruling Dice Reign. The first and foremost importance is to build a story. The use of randomness tools like dice make DnD more dynamic but also more random. This can change the tone of stories drastically and maybe irreparably cause things to spiral into chaos or unreasonable suspension of belief (one-shotting a boss, seducing the queen, eg.). It is highly recommended that dice be kept under control and fudged if necessary for the sake of keeping story.

• Overall Restrictions of Magic. Magic would solve too many problems too conveniently and too easily for a story to develop. As mentioned above, high level spells are highly inappropriate for this setting of game.

1. It is recommended that magic itself be nearly nonexistent save for the upper class, and that spells not be too destructive on large scales.
2. Magical events can occur for the sake of story (magic factory ink leak, eg.), but players should not be able to single handedly trigger this (wish, eg.).
3. Magic items should be expected to remain out of reach of players for the most part, save necessary mcguffins.

The World

BoB takes place within two base settings: Victorian London and an eastern European shtetl. A DM can manufacture their own but I'll just put down this one that I collaborated on:
In this Victorian London, an incident caused by the haughty elite arcanists inevitably infected a large amount of the city slum via the water supply. The event was hushed up. When the infection became known, the cause was obscured in favor of enforcing quarantine on the slum and its inhabitants, essentially splitting London in two. You have the Under London, that being the slums, ghettoes, and various neighborhoods known to be poor and derelict. Upper London, in contrast, is an indulgent gated community of aristocrats and other middle to higher class civilians that have ample access to magic. The effects of the infected water can still be felt, as various civilians in Under London develop health effects, unstable magics, and an overall deteriorating lifestyle as more policing merely increases the stigma against them in a vicious cycle.

Even stranger is that the magical event that triggered the Rift between Upper and Under London was so powerful that it tore a hole into the legendary realm of magic, dubbed the Tir after the name Tir na nOg, a name for the Irish Otherworld. Others call it Faerie, or the Fey Realm, an homage to the old wives' tales about the fairyland that exists invisible to our own, with its own time and rules of nonsensical whimsy. This event of the Fey Realm revealing itself has since been documented even overseas...

The Incident

Exactly what caused the Rift in London to Under and Upper? People will say it was due to the hat factory that sat right in the middle of where the current Rift is. The factory was a source of employment for many poor laborers, and it was known to use many toxic chemicals as well as even magical agents in construction. "Mad hatters" were known for seeing things that were not there, speaking of visions of rainbow lands and strange creatures. These people were often dismissed as hallucinating lunatics and thrown in prison. Protests for workers rights and regulations resulted similarly in strike breakers that jailed many of the poor to quell dissent. When the factory spill was finally exposed, the damage had been done over the years and Under London bore the brunt of the magical contamination.

Magic and Propriety

A Brief History on Magic: Where it comes from is speculated but an accepted theory has been that of human origin in biblical terms to explain its presence through all of human history. Essentially, from whence humans spread throughout the world following the construction of Babel, with the spread of language was also the breaking of the original "Tongue" that was also spoken by God. Thus, humans lost the ability to communicate directly with the divine speech. However, while no longer in their minds, the original "Tongue" is believed to have fractured into the bloodlines of the builders of Babel. The fragments of divine language, which God used to create the world itself, is thus retained in the blood of noble families who claim their heritage descends directly from that of the builders of Babel. Within their blood is a fragment of the "Tongue" that allows them to use a smidge of divine power to alter their surroundings. Such is the current popular theory. Royalty subscribes to this as well and bolstered it with the enduring "divine mandate" to rule.

Magic is a resource founded upon nobility, loosely defined as a power to shape reality and alter nature. It is a wondrous force that seemingly defies the usual laws of physics, being able to create matter from nothing, and so forth. All magic in this setting has a somatic component, as magic requires calling the divine word of the subject to invoke it.

As a result, the poor masses with mundane blood and no magic are regarded as insignificant. They do not have the special gift from their ancestors to use the wonder that is magic. From this, the current social system was created and rigidly maintained. You have the royals, the aristocrats, and the magic elite, and everyone else at the bottom.

Over the years, however, it has been observed that magic seems to have a poisoning or distorting effect on society in large amounts... This became especially alarming when the Fey Realm was first opened. It released a wave of magic that mutated many of the surrounding living things and warped the nonliving. These pockets of intense magical activity are not consistent, as portals can open and close at random. However, their influence is unmistakable, as it creates an essential miasma of chaos around it, changing whatever wanders nearby. Many of the races that are non-human can be reasonably attributed to this.

Society

Within London, most of the facilities are allocated for the wealthy to utilize. They control the police, the banks, and most of the best education institutions. Keep in mind that many of these institutions are not magical in and of themselves, nor are many of their employees. Magic remains a scarce resource even with its prevalence in influence. Below are various groups that could exist in the world, or serve as inspiration to make your own.

Government: At this time, the British Empire is very much in its golden years and is still a monarchy by all means. By default, Queen Victoria the current monarch of the empire where the sun never sets, and she sets all the trends, both politically and socially. Parliament is another important part of governance. You are free to change this as you please for your own games.

Saint Ovlucius Academy, Institute of Magical Arts

Scotland Yard

The police, also known as "bobbies" are more often keeping an eye out for the interests of the rich than keeping the peace.

Illubrium Society

Regarded as the highest authority on magic in the British Empire, this Society owns a special selection of seats in Parliament, earning them great power. This society is composed of spellcasters from the upper echelons and have unprecedented say in how politics over magic goes, second only to the crown. This society has two faces, one that is a public force and the other is a shadowy organization not too unlike the Freemasons. The Illubrium society avidly researches magic and hates to share its findings, preferring to have sole propriety.

Council of Twelve

This secretive underground organization is considered a primary force against the aristocracy and overall magiocracy. They derive their name from the original council that temporarily ruled Scotland after the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, in 1290, and established the Auld Alliance with France against England. The Council of Twelve organize efforts both violent and nonviolent in opposition to the aristocracy's cruelty and unfair laws that target the poor

Blue Fairies

Another secret society sort, the Blue Fairies are a local group of minor magic users within Under London. The Blue Fairies are known primarily for helping the few magic users that live in the poorer places use their magic in secret. Their aims are nowhere so grand as social revolution. Rather, they seek to just help people get through their day. Their magics are often used to play tricks on bobbies and make some poor people's lives a bit brighter. They are known to congregate innocuously within parks, primarily in St. James's Park of Westminister.

Technology

This time period is seeing the first gas-driven buggy alternative to a horse-carriage, as well as black-and-white television boxes with infamously tiny windows. Architects and engineers design fascinating schema for fanciful things. With the addition of magic, so much more is possible.

Entertainment

Seahorse Sports

Following the discovery of strange and magical creatures was the logical invention of using these creatures for human's own entertainment. Giant seahorses are a subject of popular sports. They are used to play water polo and even for aquatic racing. Due to the size of these seahorses and the space of water needed to conduct the games, they are usually found only in the English Channel. A lot of the games are between Western European countries, with a fierce rivalry between England and France.

Media

Gutenberg's press has come a long way. The first magazine has already been established. The paper these days that everyone seems to read is that of the Daily Quibbler, which is a bit depressing since that is a borderline tabloid publication. But they have fast bites of information of what's going on in the world distributed in convenient leaflets without needing to buy a whole bundle of news.

The Glow-Up Circus

Circuses provide a glimpse of whimsy in a world that otherwise is too serious and dreary. This circus claims its humble origins from St. James's Park of Westminister. There is some suspicion that the ringleader is a member of the Blue Fairies and this circus is often under watch by Scotland Yard. They boast many reality-defying feats, such as a beast tamer that can summon a tiger from his coat.

Medicine

The Victorian Era is not known for its expertise in scientific thinking. You had a lot of people doing superstitious things and whatnot still. At the same time, massive strides were made in this era, like the invention of syringes, anesthesia, as well as the discovery of causes of various diseases like tuberculosis and cholera. The medical field was also rapidly emerging as a field of experts and professionals, with dedicated nurses and doctors in facilities. No longer did you rely on some traveling local apothecary or your local humorist. Overall, there was a shift from traditional folk treatments towards a slightly more scientific approach, however primitive still.

Reflavors and New Concepts

An important part of BoB is that it takes place within the real world in an altered history. However, despite the presence of magic, life is hard for most people, and the poor in particular, who are usually barred from any magic whatsoever. Too much magic, like that of DnD, would render all this meaningless. So, a lot of races and classes are culled for the sake of keeping power levels adjusted to the vibe of BoB, while allowing as much of DnD to seep in as possible.

Races

Within BoB, the Victorian London setting is flecked with magic, which explains more exotic races being mutants touched by the mysterious Fey Realm. Humans, as expected, are the prevalent race by a large margin. Many of the new races below in our magical alternate history used to be humans, but have been touched by the magic that pervades the world. Some text in bold contains important roleplay or even mechanical changes to better flavor the race. Each race's traits and changes to their traits will be listed below their respective block, as well as some other statistics.

Elves

Elves are considered human for the most part but touched by that of the Fey Realm or allegedly descended from it. They have their long knife-ears that people make fun of them for. Their blood is often considered to be magical, and their numbers are primarily located within the richer areas of London, where they have situated themselves comfortably within the finer castes of society. Their numbers are not many. The varieties of elves present are only high elves. Half elves are also an option and share the same connotations of magical blood.

• High Elf Traits: Darkvision, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Trance, Cantrip, Extra Language
  • High Elf Changes: Removed Elven weapon training
• Half Elf Traits: Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, Skill Versatility

Dwarves

Dwarves are humans stunted by magic from birth, resulting in a shorter stature. Their bones also have a tendency to grow stunted, causing many of them to develop stature-related diseases at later ages. The magic that caused this dwarfism is considered to be a scourge, leading dwarves to be distrustful of magic. Some dwarves also experience extreme facial hair growth as a result of their altered bodies, whether male or female. They tend to be crafters in the lower ends of society. There are two kinds of dwarves: hill, and duergar. Hill dwarves are the common sort who have lived among the poorer humans as crafters, usually of mundane tools. Duergar are considered outcasts who have stronger deformities and have thus retreated to living in the shadows of London. They are usually scrappy, crafty people who dwell under London Bridge, in the sewers, and other unsavory places. They are known to make use of scrap and will often fight the gnome population for it.

• Hill Dwarves Traits:
• Duergar Traits:

Dragonborn

Dragonborn are actually the descendants of victims of a magical chemical spill that forever infected their genetics with squamous disease and a tumor along their necks. This tumor is magical and capable of producing different puffs of elements, known as dragon breath. The result of this mutation also made all dragonborn have scratchy voices at best and smoker's lung voices at worse. Dragonborn have to be careful, since their bodies are considered valuable sources of ingredients for inhuman magic experiments. They are not numerous by any means, and most dragonborn tend to be the red sort. Dragonborn are largely known to originate from the British Isles. Due to their unique biology, they are unfavorable for many factory owners to hire, leaving them employed often as hard laborers in shipyards and such.

Gnomes

Only rock gnomes exist in this setting. They are considered magically blessed from birth, as gnomes are essentially humans that were born small, but with slight macrocephaly and ingenious thoughts from the ether. While they do have thoughts, many gnomes are impulsive inventors who take any idea, good or bad, and try to make it reality, often making inconveniences and disasters. They are well-regarded within high society due to their craftiness, which is not limited to nonmagical tinkering, unlike dwarves. In lower society, many may find them insufferably curious and up to no good with their tinkering.

Hexblood

The Fey Realm introduced many fantastic creatures into London, hags being an infamous example of this. With hags came about a strong culture surrounding witchcraft and mysticism, as many were eager to learn from these ugly fey. Those who hags found adequate to actually teach and allow into their coven were converted into hexbloods via a lengthy ritual of sorts consisting of bathing in various herbs and eating with hags. This initiation spurs changes within the human practitioner, making them sprout an eldercross that marked them as a future-hag-to-be. When willing participants could not be found, hags were not beneath stealing from the crib, and some hexblood are the result of this thievery as well. Hexbloods are often reviled due to their association with hags. While powerful people are certainly not beneath sometimes selling their children to hags and turning them into hexblood, they will most certainly disavow this afterward.

Minotaurs

Hailing from the southern European isles of Greece, minotaurs are rare sights in London. However, as the world is currently undergoing an intense change with the advances of seafaring, many cultures have come to migrate and intermingle, albeit not always with friendly terms. Minotaurs are specific in origin to the island of Minos in Greece, where there is a fabled opening to the Fey Realm that distorts the isle and surrounding waters. They are few and very noticeable. Most people regard them as outright monsters from birth or suitable only to hard drudgery. As such, any minotaurs will usually be relegated to hard labor and are under close watch by police. Minotaurs, like dragonborn, are creatures of a human origin that were transformed into bovine-headed creatures. The exposure to fey energy increased their metabolism and appetite, meaning they need inordinate amounts of food to upkeep their bodies. Growing horns and a snout also unfortunately altered their cranium size, and minotaurs are known for getting bad headaches that make them irritable and quick to anger. The degree of transformation sometimes also gave some minotaurs the hind legs of a bovine, as well as a tail. Their costly appetite coupled with their often inability to obtain higher paying wages means many minotaurs will unfortunately starve to death or die of wasting diseases early on.

Yuan-ti

These scaly snake people inhabit the exoticized Oriental areas of London, like opium dens and Little India (Wembley). They arrived on ships from the east. Yuan-ti are former humans touched by the power of the Fey Realm in Asia, which changed them into snake-like people. Like dragonborn, they have the squamous skin disease, though certain members among them have it to a lesser degree and can pass fairly well as human. The exact reason is unclear, but it is said they practiced a faith that involved snakes as the symbol of eternal life. While they obviously remained mortal, the change in their bodies allowed them to take on serpentine properties, like scaled skin, slit eyes, fangs, and venom, to boot. Their bodies have developed a strong immunity to venoms due to the magical influences on their liver. In addition, they developed venom sacs behind their canines that allow them to spray poison much like a spitting cobra might. This poison is sometimes harvested from young yuan-ti babies for other purposes. Yuan-ti are not reputable as upright people; they are known to have dealings with the criminal underworld of London, and so are somewhat feared. They are also shrouded in myth regarding grotesque rituals of sacrifice to divine the future and even baths of blood and strange herbs to upkeep longevity. These are said to further exacerbate their ophidian features.

Changelings

Sometimes, not only hags steal human children. Plenty of other mischievous fey leaking from the Fey Realm's entries and exits are known to take children. Some of these children become unfortunately warped by simple exposure to the Fey Realm. As a result, their very forms becoming chaotic and a bit unstable, making it so their original appearance is utterly lost. Their minds also tend to be affected and taking a splintered effect, similar to, but not exactly, DID. Thus, while their appearances can shift, they might do so erratically and sport many quirks like talking furiously to themselves or seeing things. These characteristics make them a bit of a pariah in society, as they are seen as mentally ill. In fact, if changelings are caught, they have a high chance of being placed in sanitoriums against their will.

Lizardfolk

Often mistaken to be yuan-ti, lizardfolk are actually alien creatures from the jungles of South America and Oceania. They are not magically-touched humans, but something else. Arcane scholars theorize they are reptilians touched by magic that were able to evolve due to its influence. Others say they came from the Fey Realm (locally referred to as Axé in South America, and Sulad in Oceania). They have a renowned mind for efficiency and utility, making them appear cold and aloof. Lizardfolk are not known for their sense of humor and speak very frankly. They see little wrong with survival off the corpse of one of their own. In London, they are relegated to living off the slum areas like Frying Pan Alley.

Loxodon

The loxodon are elephantine creatures from central Africa. Like the lizardfolk, they are not former humans. They are believed to come from the Fey Realm (locally referred to as Aimu). They are renowned for having incredible memory and intelligence, as well as being patient and gentle when undisturbed. Their massive size renders them often unwelcome in most buildings, bridges, and ships, As a result, they are rarely seen outside Africa or South Asia, save if they have been smuggled illegally. Within South Asia, they are seen as an auspicious race and given a high standing in society, about the equivalent of Brahmin priests in the caste system. Unfortunately, there is also a known black market for their tusks, which are used for jewelry like a regular elephant's.

Tabaxi

Tabaxi are a strange, multiple-origin feline creature. They originate from northern Africa, North America, and even South America. It is claimed that many tabaxi are former humans, changed by the magic of their local Fey Realm leaking. The influence of magic had them grow fur on their bodies at an accelerated rate, as well as claws. Because of their various homelands, there are also many variations of tabaxi. Those from South America, for example, appear like jaguars or ocelots, while those from north Africa look sphinx-like. Tabaxi are highly curious and fiercely inquisitive people, being eager to learn and discover secrets. Thanks to their natural agility, they are able to each and sneak into places others have more issues with. This way, many a tabaxi travels the world as a stowaway. They make up a large population of the vagrants in neighborhoods like Whitechapel.

Triton

Perhaps one of the most widespread legends in the world is that of the aquatic person hybrid creature. You have the mermaid in Europe, the ningyo in Japan, and the yara in Brazil, for a few examples. Triton were first noted being seen in the Mediterranean Sea, though they have also appeared in waters all along the west African coast. Exposure to magic leaks in coastal communities inadvertently changed many people living there into triton, giving them fishy skin and gills to breathe underwater. However, this also meant they came to have a dependency on water. Their ability in the water is unsurpassed and they are known to be excellent fishermen and even able to help greatly in times of a shipwreck. Some were kidnapped and sold off as freak show exhibits in Europe. When the initial fad died down, they were discarded to fend for themselves in the streets and many seek to return to the seas and oceans. Within the Amazon and also in parts of Central America, some river triton were discovered and mistaken for the drowned who returned from the dead.

Harengon

These strange rabbit people were discovered on a recent expedition to the Easter Islands. They were hunted and all survivors were rounded up to be bought as exhibits back to Europe for study. These records have since either been destroyed or classified, but it is suspected that their descendants run about in disguise as street rats. A secondary group of harengon were found in Japan, where they lived in some of the rural villages slowly being eaten up by the industrialization of the Meiji Era. Harengon are said to be original to the Fey Realm and not formerly human. This resulted in extreme prejudice against them such that they were only allowed to live within the land of a single daimyo that would tolerate them. Following the destruction of the traditional shogunate society, harengon were on the verge of being only casualties as Japan shifted from isolationism towards industrialization. As such, many harengon seek to migrate elsewhere in search of a better life.

Orc

Orcs are a multiple-origin magic-changed human. The exposure to magic has caused their musculature to grow in ways similar to the minotaur, and their appetite as well. Orcs and half-orcs both exist, with half-orcs merely having their body changed to a slightly lesser degree. However, orcs are able to be distinguished easily by their tell-tale lower jaw, which always produces long, tusk-like teeth. Orcs have appeared in multiple places in the world, from central Africa, to Japan (called "oni" there), eastern and Scandinavian Europe, and even the frigid Northern Territories of Canada. Slight differences exist depending on where they came from. Orcs from colder climates tend to be much hairier, making them look a bit like yeti or sasquatch. Half-orcs, while smaller and less powerful than full orcs, are known to be lucky since full orcs have an unfortunate ailment due to the influence of their magical transformation: their skulls are often born with microcephaly. As a result, pure orcs are prone to developing neurological problems due to an insufficient skull size for their normal-sized brains.

Goblinoids

Goblinoids are a varied host of magic-changed humans. They encompass three primary groups: goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. Goblins are deformed similarly to dwarves, with stunted stature. However, they do not have the same tendency towards bone disease, and are very nimble. They do, however, unfortunately tend to develop a lot of skin conditions. Where goblins are largely from all of Europe, hobgoblins tend to be from the Middle East and all over Asia, where they have accrued many names (also called "oni" in Japan, while called "preta" in India, etc.). Unlike the usual conception of hobgoblins being bigger, goblins are actually larger than hobgoblins usually in real life. Hobgoblins also lack the skin conditions of goblins and were typically more stockily-built. Bugbears are the most widespread goblinoid, being found in the Americas and even Australia in addition to Europe and parts of central Asia (Pakistan, Turkey, etc.). They are often mistaken as orcs if not for their clawed hands and feet and more feral features. Because of the differences between a bugbear and the other two groups, not everyone will accept goblinoid as an encompassing label. Some academics see all three as distinct or even goblins and hobgoblins as the same.

Kobolds

A very disputed race, kobolds in the British Isles are largely carried over by unknown German workmen from the mainland of Europe. Their appearance is not that of the usually small dragon in DnD. They appear much more like small impish creatures with various accounts of furry or scaly properties. They always have pointed ears and are known for being mischievous. Some say they are actually goblins by another name. However, unlike goblins, kobolds are not of human origin and are from the Fey Realm. When caught, they can be quite cowardly. However, they can be vicious in numbers. Additionally, kobolds are not very fond of being seen and tend to like to hide in places like caves or the basements of houses. Being largely tricksters from another world, kobolds are perhaps the least integrated of races into human society. They do not see the value in the daily grind and rat race, instead preferring to squat where they please and avoid working to play.

Classes

It is heavily encouraged for roleplay features and constraints to be emphasized for all classes. No more skimping for the warlock on their patron nor the cleric for their deity. Additionally, spell progression should be limited to only 5th-level at highest, though you can keep spells at any level lower. This will effectively nerf spellcasters, who would otherwise make a lot of struggle out of the game and make it trivial. Theoretically, all classes are accessible in this setting, but they have much stricter requirements in the world tied to certain mechanics and the abilities. To best emulate the gritty feeling of this setting, it is highly recommended that classes be level-capped entirely to play at low levels.

Artificer

Using Artificer: This is perhaps simultaneously both the best and worst class for this setting. Artificer by RAW is an arcane caster that can create magic weapons even at lower levels. In-world, this would very easily mess up how the magic economy is structured and could give players a greatly unintended edge over opponents. At the same time, the act of imbuing magic into items is a great roleplay and method to eventually disseminate magic to even mundane people. It does, however, also mean a big possible issue with magic item economy.

Artificers are the people who find the formulas behind things, breaking everything down into its science so that they can replicate it in other ways. That is the usual intention. Artificers throughout history have had presences as magical doctors in addition to being engineers and tinkerers. As of recent, with the advancements of technology, they are being recognized as more a threat than ever to the status quo of magic and propriety. Much of artifice is very rudimentary, and intense studies into it are banned for most people. For artificers, it is a great obstacle to honing their craft, especially if they aren't born rich and wealthy.

Playing Artificer

Making an Artificer

Barbarian

Barbarians are an excellent example of the hidden rage bubbling beneath the surface of a gilded society. They manifest this rage in destructive ways. Barbarian can therefore represent the usual disgruntled blur-collar worker from the iron works, or even the factory worker that one day snapped and gained incredible rage. When considering subclasses for barbarians, try and pick the ones that make the most sense within the context of the setting. How did your barbarian get his rage? Many are overworked and mentally strained, making them vulnerable to outbreaks of fits and tantrums of great strength. However, there is also always the influence of magic in the air that can also be a factor...

Playing Barbarian

Making a Barbarian

Bard

Bards in ancient traditions were essentially charmers with their voices, like Väinämöinen from the Kalevala. In less fantastical cases, they were performers of epics that carried oral history with them as they traveled to make their living (sort of like Japanese nagashi). In the case of BoB, bards are more like revelers or inciters than powerful users of magic. They have great people skills and can cause great distractions. Because of their craft, they are often at the mercy of the pedestrians whom they depend on for coin. Similar to jesters of a court, the bard is an excellent teller of the state of society for what it is, abstracted into something artistic.

Playing Bard

Making a Bard

Cleric

Using Cleric: The concept of cleric is fundamentally tied to that of a divine power. Luckily, as explained in The World, divine power is very much present. However, in this case, magic is often seen to be a near-divine force as it is. What differentiates a cleric from a wizard then, is faith. Clerics do not necessarily have knowledge of the divine languages to invoke magical effects. Rather, they call upon miracles with their channel divinity. However, because this is a potentially very strong set of powers, clerics really need to roleplay their relationship with the deity well in order to show they have proper faith. Miracles like what Moses did to the Red Sea in the bible will likely not be possible in modern times, so these will be minor tricks in comparison. Additionally, within this alternative history, there are not a ton of options of deities to choose from like in DnD. Most clerics will more or less worship Judeo-Christian beliefs, with some transplants having other faiths.

In a time of great turmoil, religion is one of the weapons used by both weak and strong. For the strong, faith is a way to keep the weak complacent. As Marx put it, it is a potent opioid for the masses. For the weak and poor, faith is one of the only ways they can stay sane and maintain hope in the world. The belief in God has sustained people's souls when nothing else in reality can. Clerics take this to the next level through a connection to divinity. They are known for being direct servants of God and live zealously for that purpose. Clerics are often also highly connected to clergies and other institutions, affording them goods and services even in the slums. Of course, as casters, they are severely nerfed to fit this world setting. You can rationalize it that even a level 1 cleric is already extremely impressive in our world. To be able to call upon a deity for channel divinity is nothing short of a miracle. Thus, most clerics never really reach even level 1.

Playing Cleric

Making a Cleric

Druid

Druids have roots dating back to the ancient Celtic traditions. They have origins dating back to 400 BC but were heavily suppressed and persecuted after the invasion of Gaul by the Romans since the 1st century BC. The forces of nature since then have been often thoroughly disregarded as secondary to human hunger. In the current day and age, industrial progress poisons the waters and infects the world with pollution. Druids have been in hiding for a while, always the underdog keeping record of nature and its seemingly losing battle against the artifice of humans. In this time of intense class disparity and high tensions, druids have often aligned themselves with the working class to overthrow vile companies that abuse livestock and pollute wantonly. However, the practice of druidry is rare and difficult to attain because of the lost traditions and a lack of good teachers. Many of them are only neophytes that cannot properly harness the powers of Mother Nature.

Playing Druid

Making a Druid

Fighter

Martials are probably the most widespread classes... not really. Martial classes exhibit strength and abilities above that of your normal Joe Schmoe, after all. Fighters are perfect for the typical brawler, blue-collar laborer that has some know-how with using weapons. Keep in mind that a low-class laborer would not have access to typical arms like good swords or shields, nor are these typical weapons anymore in the Victorian era. You usually might need to make do with improvised weapons like a chimney sweeper's broom or a pipe. For the most part, fighter subclasses are fairly open game, save for something like eldritch or echo knight. These more magical iterations of fighter might be options in later game if the opportunity arises. Access to magic is privileged, after all.

Playing a Fighter

Making a Fighter

Monk

From ancient times, monks are figures commonly associated with asceticism and tranquility. Western monks were eager to become abbots in search of enlightenment through faith and abstinence. Eastern monks turned to spiritual prayer and isolated living, and the occasional martial arts. Obviously, monk in this case focuses on the latter. Because this class is so ingrained with deadly unarmed weapons (especially in this world where even spellcasters are heavily limited), monks are very dangerous. They do not need weapons like martials to kill commoners and are able to conduct superhuman feats of athletics and acrobatics. That all being said, though, achieving that level of monkhood is a long story in and of itself. One isn't born with hands that can kill like some genius. They are honed through years of dedicated discipline and rigorous training. As such, monks of even level 1 will be at least 50 years of age. Anyone wanting to become a monk would be subject to extreme conversion of lifestyle to fit with that of the order they can find to even teach them, which are supremely few in London.

There are stories of some legendary martial artists from India, bought over following the labor exchange laws.

Playing a Monk

Making a Monk

Paladin

Based on their faith, paladins find strength. Their classification as a divine-power class, like that of a cleric, makes them a bit of an in-between from cleric to barbarian. Paladins in real life are like the crusaders from the Middle Ages. Their primary gimmick is using their faith as a shield against things like pain in battle. As such, paladins are not real spellcasters. What differentiates them from barbarians aside from their furor and faith is that their faith can actually reward them. Basically, paladins in this setting must have a code and tenets to which their lives adhere to. These can be as strict as a cleric's. Breaking these tenets would deem a paladin nothing more than a fighter.

Languages

Since Magic and Propriety (one of the game settings offered in the BoB system) is based in our world, just an alternate version, it stands to reason that languages would largely also be real ones, perhaps flecked with some Fey influence. The Feywild is the largest source of extraterrestrial culture, and most of it is minimal or restricted. Some of the races that were influenced by magic also ended up being outcasts, eventually developing their own microculture as well. Language changed to accommodate for those perhaps living in the shadows or those disenfranchised who create their own communication. However, because of the prevalence of Common (English), most fantasy languages are not needed. The few real world=fantasy bridges that are notable are:

• German: Commonly spoken by dwarves and gnomes. It is the prevailing language of the science community in Europe.
• French: In London, this is not that prevalent among the poor classes. Rich people absolutely know French. It is also still the lingua franca of the world at this time period. Because of the associations with higher echelons, elves will usually speak French.

Equipment

Armor

Most people these days wear just workman's clothes while the high class wear the fancy stuff. But almost no one really wears armor, and that stuff has been relegated largely to museums. Armor is also not advanced for concealment at this time. The most people would feasibly wear is some extra padding underneath. Only cavalry and such, like the Queen's guard or military would really wear armor, and this usually consisted of thick cloths rather than the generic metal sort. These materials, along with infused metal threads, would be used to develop prototype bulletproof vests, since this era's warfare was shifting towards ballistics. However, this all is still very much safeguarded only by military resource. There is almost little to no reason a player would have access to this material unless it is granted as part of their background equipment. Even then, it should not grant much more than a +1 over padded armor.

Weapons

On Firearms: The DMG offers some okay options for the incorporation of firearms into the fantasy world. Keep in mind that, because this is a time during 19th to 20th-century London, it is not indefensible to say that firearms are still very hard to attain for most people. While things like flintlock pistols were being replaced by newer, more automatic firearms, you wouldn't really see civilians carrying these. Even local soldiers may only still have a typical musket. These arms do not need to be balanced in damage against older fashioned weapons like crossbows, because these should be deadlier. However, obtaining them and upkeeping them should be EXTREMELY costly. Thus, it is also extremely important that certain class abilities concerning material creation (artificers and forge cleric cheeses, for example), be very stringently restricted. Otherwise, the possibility of breaking the time period immersion (and the whole country's economy) is very real.

A lot of folk still resort to ye old good knife, since that's easy to conceal and can still scare a person decently well. Swords and large firearms are almost only available for military personnel or even those with underworld connections. Even small firearms are not easy to come by without a favor to your good old crime boss. There are some movements among the masses to create more cheap firearms so that they can be used in rebellion against the magic users. As such gunsmiths or artificers are invaluable to the forces of resistance against propriety. The wealthy are not blind to this and so the development of such weapons is usually banned and can only be done in secret. So, basically if you want to play like Black Butler, you'd have to be Ciel Phantomhive levels of rich to even have all those guns and a magic demon helping you out. Sucks to be poor :P

On a national level, the world is slowly approaching near World War 1 levels of weaponization. As such the invention of more chemical weapons is underway, but definitely not widespread in any way whatsoever. The infusion of magic into weapons like guns or poison gas is not unfeasible, but it is a very tricky field. Enchanting machinery is known to have disastrous effects because magic doesn't get along well with so many moving parts without screwing up a cog or two along the way and then blowing the proto-airship into smithereens. Magical sleeping gas is more on the way than a magic gun. People may find that enchanting older fashioned weapons like a bow (10% failure) will work better than enchanting a pistol (90% failure), because of less mechanical complications.