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In Short

The Good: The core concepts are very imaginative and just plain fun to read. All of the character archetypes have interesting abilities that help to generate character concept ideas.

The Bad: This book can be difficult to navigate. Some rules feel under developed, such as character creation without using an archetype. Armor and damage by hit location combined with tracking longer term injuries and other details may slow the game down for some groups. The writing can be frustratingly long winded at times and concepts are frequently repeated.

The Physical Thing

I have two major criticisms. First, there is no index and Unhallowed Metropolis definitely needs one. Whether you’re hunting for a specific rule, an alchemical mixture, or even some character creation options you may have to wrestle with the text. This is further compounded by my second criticism, which is that a lot of information is presented in an odd fashion. Some character creation options are hidden in other sections of the book. The book asks you to read the entire combat system before even talking about character creation. Add to this the fact that the book likes to repeat both setting information and rules (two full entries on the Damphiri, for example) and the layout problems become frustrating.

That said, these aren’t insurmountable problems. However, I would not feel comfortable trying to run Unhallowed Metropolis unless I created my own rules summaries and built an index of things I intended to make use of.

Under the Cover

In 1905 the world came to an end. A zombie plague broke out across the world and in a very short time the vast majority of the world’s population was dead. Areas of disease and darkness began developing across the world, making even life in the wilderness very difficult. Most of the world’s major powers died in moments, having little ability to deal with the rampaging hordes of undead. England managed to hold on, thanks in part to aggressive shelling of overrun cities in order to keep the undead hordes partially in check.

Time passed. Slowly people became organized again and the Reclamation began. Military teams began clearing out some cities, industry was kicked back into high gear, and parts of England were slowly rebuilt. Advancements in the study of electricity allowed for Tesla grids and energy weapons. Advancements in alchemy and medical science led to life extension drugs, artificial life, and other astounding breakthroughs. On the whole, however, it was saving England from the undead that took up most of the resources. Because of this in 2105, the starting date for Unhallowed Metropolis, technology really hasn’t changed that much. Tesla (electricity) technology and alchemy are both real in this setting and better developed, but otherwise the setting operates on a 1900 – 1920 tech level.

Today the few remaining cities in England are fortresses, heavily armed and armored against the undead that continue to thrive in the countryside. All bodies are burned promptly after death in order to prevent a new zombie plague. Government measures dealing with zombies, vampires, thropes (werewolves), prometheans (frankensteins), and still other creatures appear right next to other criminal and civil laws. Monsters are just a fact of life, and the citizenry have learned to live with them. England continues to try and reclaim the destroyed countryside, though it continues to receive diminishing returns as the land becomes more and more corrupted. A scant few real powers still exist in the world, all of which are located in Europe, but otherwise the rest of the world is a dead and haunted waste.

The setting is fun and imaginative, a real treat to take in. The only downside, and this is a downside throughout the entire book, is that the writing suffers from long windedness and repetition. I mean no disrespect to the authors, who are clearly very creative people. However, a lot of the writing is lengthy but communicates little real information. I think that if the authors had exercised more brevity the final text would be a more enjoyable read. As it stands I found myself becoming a little bored at times, which is very surprising given how interesting the core ideas are. If a new edition were ever released I would love to see more focused writing that narrows in on the most interesting subjects while leaving some of the historical minutiae aside.

Chapter 2 The Formula - 38 pages.

The mechanics for Hollow Earth Expedition are very simple for everything except combat, and moderately involved for combat. For non-combat tasks a problem is resolved through rolling 2d10 and adding the appropriate Attribute or Skill (ranging from 1 to 5) to the roll. Where the total exceeds the difficulty (typically 11 – 16) the character succeeds. And that’s it. Attributes are used for a lot of rolls while Skills fill specialized areas of knowledge. For example, there are no social skills in the game. Any roll involving social activity uses the Charm Attribute.

The Attributes here are Vitality, Coordination, Wit, Intellect, Will, and Charm. One derived Attribute, Prowess, is also included. Prowess is used both as an Initiative value in combat and as a measure of how many combat actions each character gets. I’m a little uncomfortable with Prowess from having played games that use multiple actions with firearms and such, and it seems like any character who expects to see combat has a strong incentive to increase Prowess. My concern is that in combat situations already combat focused characters will resolve the threat before some players have even acted, since in this system all actions are taken immediately on a character’s turn (thus players 1 and 2 might have 4 actions before player 3 acts).

Many RPGs fail to tailor their mechanics to the setting or mood they strive to deliver, but fortunately Unhallowed Metropolis does include an interesting subsystem to showcase moral decay. Every character has three Corruption paths – Physical, Desire, and Drive. All characters begin with one point of Corruption in one area, and as they become corrupt they suffer from negative physical and mental changes (ultimately becoming monsters). During play they gain more in two significant ways. First, horrific acts may result in the character gaining more Corruption as they fall ever farther. Second, characters can reroll dice rolls or summon a deus ex machina resolution to a bad situation in return for gaining more corruption. Unfortunately, this mechanic doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. While I could understand a character becoming more corrupt as they were exposed to lots of undeath and bloodshed, I don’t see a connection between luck and corruption. I would prefer to see a Corruption mechanic that is separate from the luck / player influence system presented here.

Combat begins with a simple 2d10 + Prowess initiative roll. Characters then take turns in order, either making attacks, performing supplementary actions, or saving actions for defense. All attacks are resolved through a 2d10 + weapon skill roll against a difficulty of 11 plus the target’s Coordination. After being hit the struck character may then sacrifice an action from next round, or a held defensive action, to roll 2d10 + relevant defense skill. If this beats the attack roll then it didn’t actually hit after all.

Assuming the attack hit the attacker rolls 2d10 and adds any relevant damage modifiers (weapon, vitality). Hit location is then determined. Armor from the given hit location is then subtracted from the current value. Then this value is compared to the Wound Table to determine whether it is a Flesh, Serious, Incapacitation, or Fatal Wound. The type of wound is located in that area for later. When it is inspected a Complication may arise, such as the loss of a hand or eye. This is determined randomly, which is a little strange. It would make more sense to me to determine the sort of injury at the time rather than after combat.

And that’s the core of combat. It has the potential to be very deadly and characters are likely to quickly build up a variety of permanent wounds. Zombies and other creatures are often difficult to destroy, with only called shots to the head being a reliable method of taking them down. Lots of special rules apply and many character abilities can provide exceptions, making it a somewhat involved combat system. It does do a fine job of striving for realism in how dangerous any violent encounter can be.

I have several concerns about the combat system, but since I have not played Unhallowed Metropolis take this with a grain of salt. First, the game is very combat focused. The system leans very heavily towards combat and a lot of the artwork shows action packed combat sequences of the sort I’d expect to see in a summer movie. This may be bad because the lethality of combat encourages players to play smart rather than running in and kicking butt. Sniping, laying traps, and other techniques are definitely the way to go when a single bite can turn you into a mindless undead monster. I feel like this is somewhat at odds with the focus of the game. Additionally, the Corruption system seems to give players the choice of either having characters being maimed or having them become evil. So it may be that in order to save the innocents you’re defending from ravenous undead your addiction to necrophilia has to increase. This seems odd to me, and rather than some sort of a madness spiral seems like it would result in characters spiraling towards decadence and generally disgusting behavior.

Chapter 3 Playing God - 80 pages.

Character creation begins by choosing a Calling, which is a sort of character archetype that comes with pre-purchased Skills and various special powers. While the game does allow for players to build their own Callings, this is a very poorly supported option. The Callings include Aristocrat, Criminal, Dampir (half vampire half humans), Doctor, Mourner (highly trained bodyguards who watch corpses during funerals to kill them if they rise), and Undertaker (bounty hunters). To me these Callings are a little limited. Each one is certainly interesting, but I don’t feel like there are enough character options available with just these Callings.

Let’s build a character!

Example: I’m building Ezekiel Burner, a wiry intellectual who makes his money as an Undertaker. He’s surprisingly adept with a blade and a gun, but Ezekiel’s real weapon is his keen mind which he uses to carefully research his foe before seeking it out. Just for being an Undertaker Ezekiel gains a variety of abilities. He is immune to fear from zombies. He gains access to special Stunts instead of the existing ones attached to the Occult Skill. Undertakers don’t suffer wound penalties and have an easier time remaining conscious after being badly injured. All Undertakers begin with Occult Lore 2, Tracking 2, any three Combat skills at 2, and any two Criminal skills at 2. Ezekiel takes Melee Weapon 2, Pistol 2, Rifle 2, Shadow 2, and Streetwise 2.

Attributes are purchased with 25 points and must be raised from a value of 1, with each raise costing a number of points equal to its new value. So an Attribute of 3 costs 2 + 3 or 5 points.

Example: Ezekiel has Vitality 3, Coordination 3, Wit 2, Intellect 3, Will 3, and Charm 2. This leaves 1 point unspent which, according to the rules, is doubled and added to Custom Points for later.

Skills are purchased in the same way, with 25 points to spend.

Example: Concentration 2, Demolitions 1, Torture 1, Ride 1, Disguise 1, Psychology 1, Thanatology 1, Medicine 1, Galvanics 1. I also increase Occult Lore to 4 and Rifles to 4.

Some Skills, but not the majority of Skills, allow players to select a Stunt (special power) for every rank of that Skill they purchase. All Combat Skills allow this, and a very small number of non-combat Skills allow this. While it’s a neat idea, the inconsistency in application results in some Skills becoming substantially more desirable than others.

Example: For Rifle I take Long Shot (increased range), Sniper (no range penalty), Trick Shot (no cover penalty), and Night Fighter (no visibility penalty). For Pistols I take Headhunter (increased chance of head shot) and Fast Draw. I take Fast Draw and Free Parry for Melee. Concentration 2 enables me to purchase Thought Mask (reroll failed mental influence rolls) and Suppression (ignore food/sleep for a while). Finally, Occult 4 gives me 4 picks. Deadeye (pick out undead easily), Mortifier (impersonate zombie), Wastelander (survives well in tainted areas), and Lore Master (reroll some Occult rolls) will all help him.

Characters may also purchase Qualities and Impediments, miscellaneous bonuses and penalties that help add more flavor to the character. Additional wealth, noble title, and physical defects are just a few examples. Characters receive 5 Custom Points to spend on these Qualities and may gain more by taking Impediments. Characters may also spend Custom Points on other aspects of the character, such as Skills.

Example: I have 7 points to spend (5 + 1 Att point left x2) and purchase Light Sleeper for 3 and Immunity to natural Toxins for 3.

I do find some of the Qualities and Impediments to be a little ridiculous, but no more so than those found in other systems. Blindness, Leprosy, and Bad/Good Tasting (so monsters want to eat you more or less) are just a few of the ones that are a little far out there for me.

Chapter 4 Tools of the Trade - 38 pages.

I do enjoy the equipment discussed here because it has a very neat setting feel to it. Everyone in London wears a gas mask (which is quite fashionable now) due to the toxic smog caused by body incinerators and factories. Corsets are still in style, and female soldier types have taken to wearing combat corsets (black leather, of course) for both defense and protection. None of this is efficient, but it sure is conceptually cool.

A variety of weapons are provided, most of a tech level appropriate to the Victorian era. The exception is galvanic weapons, which are effectively plasma rifles. These weapons are rare, expensive, and often difficult to use so they do appear infrequently. Nevertheless, I’d be surprised to hear of a well armed adventuring party that did not find a way to tote a few of these around.

Prosthetics, incubation chambers, and other interesting devices that assume Victorian era technology + alchemy or galvanic are included as well, further adding to the already unique setting.

Chapter 5 The Anatomy of Horror - 48 pages.

Chapters five and six are largely monster chapters, and they’re a mix of quality. I very much like that there are anatomical pictures of all the undead showcasing changes in the body. However, a lot of this chapter is presented from the perspective of in-character journals that tend to run on. The major adversary is the zombie, which appears in three different forms, and conforms to the standard zombie archetype that probably comes to mind (destroy brain to kill, bite transmits disease, etc.).

Vampires are the classic lurkers in the night, some of which are sentient and some of which are animalistic. Dhampiri, presented for the second time, are half-vampires resulting from humans born to a vampire parent. They retain substantial benefits and suffer none of the drawbacks of vampires. On the downside, they berserk when they encounter vampires making it difficult to include them in more subtle interactions with these particular undead.

Ghouls are humans who continued to live in the tainted undead lands and now have degenerated to strange cannibalistic creatures. Living in tribes both inside and outside of cities, ghouls can only survive by eating human or ghoul flesh making them a constant danger to nearby humans.

I do wish there was more discussion of the goals of various undead, and monsters generally, since it’s a little difficult for me to initially think about them as anything more than the monster of the week. Undead of all types are so universally despised and hunted that it’s sometimes difficult to imagine them having a place in the world other than mindless monsters – but then maybe that’s the point.

Chapter 6 Miracles of Science - 82 pages.

Alchemical concoctions are featured first, including normal substances like morphine. The upside is that some of these add very useful effects to the game, such as healing concoctions. There’s enough here for alchemist characters to have a variety of worthwhile things to create, which is what is most important to me.

Medical care, hospitals, madhouses, elixirs of life, disease, and other topics are all presented and provide a good overview of medicine in the Neo-Victorian world. While hospitals and medical care seem to have improved over time, no doubt out of necessity, other forms of medical care (such as psychiatric) have not changed since the outbreak of the plague.

The real guts of this chapter is created life, and it’s pretty cool stuff. Alchemists use their craft to build new creatures and alter existing ones, ultimately creating both miraculous and terrifying creatures. For the military alchemists created Thropes (werewolves) which have sense escaped and operate independently in the wilderness. The run of the mill creations are called Anathema and all of them tend to suffer from mental instability from their crafted alterations. The creation system is composed of a few simple modifiers based on what the alchemist desires from the creature, and then random rolls on a table to determine what happens.

Alchemicals are beings created through alchemical science while Galvanics, or Prometheans, are composed of stitched together parts of flesh and technology with a viable brain installed. Brought to life through the application of science, these strange beings rarely obtain life without displaying some dangerous side effects. They’re here to fulfill the Frankenstein’s Monster creature type for all your monster hunting pleasure.

Between these two chapters you have zombies, vampires, werewolves, and created life to work with. I do wish there were clearer guidelines for playing some of these creatures, as the entries seem to hint at this possibility. They also don’t work so well as bad guys in that GMs must always build their own – there are no pregenerated zombies or vampires to work with here.

Chapter 7 Smoke & Mirrors - 21 pages.

In addition to standard GMing advice this chapter seeks to convey an idea of how many of each of the adversary types is an appropriate challenge for a party of combat focused PCs. In addition to the already combat heavy rules, this chapter drives home the fact that the game is focused primarily on battling hordes of undead at every turn. Plot hooks, rules for creating scandal in Neo-Victorian society, and a little bit more support material is also provided.

My Take

All that said, if you’re a fan of Victorian horror or interesting alternate histories then you’re sure to find some ideas here you’ll enjoy.

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