The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Good things come in small packages, or so the saying goes. This great collection of issues is composed of issues of the Victorian RPG magazine Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society (TRMGS). It is probably a magazine you have never heard of. Let me tell you: you should. There is something for everyone: Space 1889, Cthulhu, Steampunk and Cthulhu 1889.

TRMGS provides a variety of articles that flesh out the Space 1889 universe and Victorian era role playing in a variety of ways. The articles on the militaries of the time, while not directly applicable to gaming, do provide good source material and more importantly a feel for the era. In the same vein are the articles about personalities of the time. Some are questionable like Rudyard Kipling. Others are obvious and wonderful choices, such as Sir Richard Burton (the explorer, not one of Elizabeth Taylor's many husbands).

Other articles read more like travelogues and cover subjects such as luxury sky yachts or how martian architecture resembles that of African. But what provides great inspiration for adventuring are the scenarios interspersed throughout the TRMGS collection. Many of the adventurer's are from the writer's of TRMGS campaign, with a bit of work they could be adapted for almost any campaign. At the least they could provide NPC's and side plots to an existing campaign.

Bridging to the other classic Victorian era game are the rules for Cthulhu 1889 as well as some hybrid scenarios. The information is serviceable and might be of use as the Cthulhu game engine far surpasses that of Space 1889. Of course there some Cthulhu only goodies, but why spoil a bad thing? The Steampunk 1920 rules are enough to give some intriguing ideas, but not quite enough to go on from scratch.

The equipment and ship information comes off as quite useful. Particularly the rules for micro hulls, ethersuits and parachutes have merit. Perhaps nothing earth shattering, but logical things to think about that were never well covered in the game.

The only hit that TRMGS takes is its cover price. At $20, sparse adverts and periodical size it might be a bit daunting of a purchase. But it makes use of its 196 pages well and if Victorian era games are your thing, then this is your book.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society, Vol. 1
Author: Mark Clark, et all. Category: Magazine Company/Publisher: Heliograph Incorperated Line: Space 1889, Cthulhu Cost: 20.00 Page count: 196 ISBN: 0-9668926-0-7 SKU: TRMGS1 Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 03/29/00. Genre tags: Science_fiction Historical Horror Old_West Generic	Good things come in small packages, or so the saying goes. This great collection of issues is composed of issues of the Victorian RPG magazine Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society (TRMGS). It is probably a magazine you have never heard of. Let me tell you: you should. There is something for everyone: Space 1889, Cthulhu, Steampunk and Cthulhu 1889. TRMGS provides a variety of articles that flesh out the Space 1889 universe and Victorian era role playing in a variety of ways. The articles on the militaries of the time, while not directly applicable to gaming, do provide good source material and more importantly a feel for the era. In the same vein are the articles about personalities of the time. Some are questionable like Rudyard Kipling. Others are obvious and wonderful choices, such as Sir Richard Burton (the explorer, not one of Elizabeth Taylor's many husbands). Other articles read more like travelogues and cover subjects such as luxury sky yachts or how martian architecture resembles that of African. But what provides great inspiration for adventuring are the scenarios interspersed throughout the TRMGS collection. Many of the adventurer's are from the writer's of TRMGS campaign, with a bit of work they could be adapted for almost any campaign. At the least they could provide NPC's and side plots to an existing campaign. Bridging to the other classic Victorian era game are the rules for Cthulhu 1889 as well as some hybrid scenarios. The information is serviceable and might be of use as the Cthulhu game engine far surpasses that of Space 1889. Of course there some Cthulhu only goodies, but why spoil a bad thing? The Steampunk 1920 rules are enough to give some intriguing ideas, but not quite enough to go on from scratch. The equipment and ship information comes off as quite useful. Particularly the rules for micro hulls, ethersuits and parachutes have merit. Perhaps nothing earth shattering, but logical things to think about that were never well covered in the game. The only hit that TRMGS takes is its cover price. At $20, sparse adverts and periodical size it might be a bit daunting of a purchase. But it makes use of its 196 pages well and if Victorian era games are your thing, then this is your book. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society, Vol. 1