Saturday, June 11, 2011

the first FRPG campaign setting

Okay, not really.  But I'm thrilled that someone on the ol' internet finally posted a scan of one of the original maps from the imaginary lands of the Brontës (Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their less famous brother Branwell).


As far as I can tell no dice were rolled for the adventures set in Angria and the Glass Town Federation.  Rather the operations were more a combination of the world-building every DM would recognize and fan fiction incorporating prominent figures of the day.  More info here.

13 comments:

  1. Stupid Blogger.

    I'm quite fond of the Brontës, and I've always found this aspect of their work fascinating; I'm surprised that it's so often overlooked, but I suppose it's easier to write about and adapt their novels.

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  2. Anonymous7:08 AM

    I'm sure I see some dungeon entrances in the mountains above "wellingtonland".

    But why is "Sneaky's Island" called an island? It looks landlocked.

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  3. I think that's "Sneaky's Land."

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  4. Yeah, the really were the first fantasy world writers. Something that coninually amazes other gamers I talk to about this. Bear in mind that the three of them strated creating this world and writing stories in it (some only a few paragraphs long, others full novella's) detailing the exploits of various chatacters and even the history of nations when they were still aged in single figures!

    How's that for being ahead of the times?

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  5. So... is this in the public domain? If so, how long before some ambitious small press publisher puts out an rpg setting for the kingdom of Angria? ;-)

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  6. They didn't have rules but they already had miniatures: they created the Glass Town saga with their (wooden) toy soldiers (Duke Wellington vs Napoleon/Sneaky in Africa). Because Africa was like Outer Space for the Brontës.

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  7. Anonymous6:24 PM

    Penguin has a book out named something like The Angria and Gondal Stories; it may actually contain all the preserved stories, so that plus this map probably has any campaign book beat. It's recommendable to anyone interested in the topic, anyway.

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  8. Wow! Thanks for sharing this, Jeff. Most things human are older than we think, I imagine.

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  9. Wow. Thanks, Jeff. I completely forgot that the Brontës did this. First campaign setting, indeed.

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  10. > I think that's "Sneaky's Land."

    Yep; the question should be why's Monkeys Land not Monkeys Island. ;)

    Thanks for the Secret map link, Jeff: have been looking for that one, too. :)

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  11. Penguin has a book out named something like The Angria and Gondal Stories; it may actually contain all the preserved stories,

    I couldn't find that, but Oxford University Press has a volume called Tales of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal: Selected Early Writings, which I just ordered.

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  12. Anonymous9:46 PM

    It's funny - I was just telling my GF about this as we were leaving the latest Jane Eyre film.

    Rochester totally set that last fire himself. Dude was PSYCHO.

    --James

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  13. Anonymous7:25 AM

    I recently bought a secondhand book for my wife called "Dark Quartet, The Story of the Brontës" (by Lynne Reid Banks, Penguin Books), knowing she likes their novels. She's reading it at the moment and told me there is a chapter called "The Miniature World" which made her think of me as it sounded like the Brontës were playing a RPG. I'm going to read it when she is finished, so it will be interesting to look at the map.

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