TRoS: Gangs of New York

[ReverendCuster187]

OK, i'm going to be running a one-on-one game of TRoS for my dad within the next few weeks. Having both just watched Martin Scorceses brilliant 'Gangs of New York', we decided to set the action in the New Yorks infamous 19th century Five Points. How suitable do you all think TRoS will be for this setting? I am especially interested in the fact that a lot of the fighting is going to be done with knives, clubs, broken bottles and other improvised weaponry - will this affect either the lehtality or the fun of the system?

Also, this will be the first time i have actually played an RPG in about 5 years, even longer for my dad. Any tips on making the game fun for the both of us?

Finally, i am looking for good source material on the Five Points area and any adventure/character ideas you can come up with. I'm really excited about this, so thanks in advance for whatever you can help me with. More coming soon!

[Tash]

Neat idea.  I think it'll work out brilliantly for you.  The melee mechanics of TRoS should work just as well with the less lethal weaponry, especially since you won't have any armor.

For source material the special edition of the DVD (which you can rent in any major video store) has a nice long historic background on the area and includes facts about characters such as BIll the Butcher (Daniel Day Lewis' character, he did exist) and the Dead Rabbits gang.

[sirogit]

Cool. Funny enough, Gangs of new York was a notable as the only modern film both I and my father appreciated greatly.

Here's a website with a decent amount of history behind the film and it's setting:

http://herbertasbury.com/gangsofnewyork/

[sirogit]

Suggested updates for the skill system would be:

Ride = Drive, Carriage or car.
Heraldry = Gang telltales
Coutier = Socialite
Soldier = Gangster or Soldier(those skills are quite exchangable, I'm aware.)

The normal Social class and Literacy rules would be about up to the par for the squalorous situations around the five points.

On the improvised weapons, I'd reat them like an approximate weapon with one trait weakened by a score of 1 as seems appropiate.

Such as:
Shiv, as dagger but with 9 Cut TN
Bottle, as dagger but with 10 DTN
Sledgehammer: as Maul but with 9 ATN

[Stephen]

Thank God, somebody else who made this connection!

Finally, i am looking for good source material on the Five Points area and any adventure/character ideas you can come up with. I'm really excited about this, so thanks in advance for whatever you can help me with. More coming soon!

Check out:

Low Life, by Luc Sante (this was the biggest reference used by the filmmakers themselves, including maps, costumes and slang)

A Scattering of Jades, a novel set in 1835 New York (predates the film a little but still useful)

The Alienist, by Caleb Carr -- set in 1896, but also gives some of the vibe of the setting and culture

Herbert Asbury's book itself, The Gangs of New York -- more tabloid than history, but gives some great stories and character ideas

And if I may blow my own horn, the Gangs fanfic written by my wife, Gemma Files (some of which I contributed to): Google on her name to find it.

Heah's hopin' ya have ya'selfs a great little muss!  Because dat's how you stand up against the risin' of the tide....

----SJ "Gangs fanboy" B

[Edge]

i would also say more importantly then getting any source material would be to make sure that you have all the combat rules down pat.

Especially if this the 1st RPG you have played in 5 yrs.  I would have a few practice combats, maybe while you are doing you research on the setting.

[ReverendCuster187]

Ok, two questions; 1) Could i use the mass weapon and shield proficiency for mass weapons NOT wielded with a shield, or will this put it at a disadvantage?

2) Does anyone have any ideas for different skill packets suitable to the period?

[sirogit]

I personally think that with my previous adjustments, all the skill packets are pretty accurate.

"Prize Fighter" seems like a pretty reasonable skill packet, but I can't figure what it'd be. Maybe it'd work as a Laborer?

[Tash]

If you want to be completely open with what the character(s) can play, I wouldn't make that many adjustments to the skill packets.  I mean, there ARE soldiers in this time period, actually they figure prominantly in the movie.  There are also horses, so the "ride" skill probably shoul remain.  Also the automobile hasn't really been invented yet (the movie is set in 1864 I belive).

[Stephen]

One possibility, if you want to preserve the dramatic atmosphere of the movie, is to not convert firearms into stattable weapons.  To me, Gangs was always about the passing away of an age -- the shift from an age where your tribe and your fighting skill was what mattered, to an age where your weapon and ammunition were more important.  As such, I'd say that firearms should be extremely rare for PCs -- instead of using them with a Missile Pool and trying to calculate damage and ATNs, simply rule that anybody using a firearm rolls 1 die as follows:

1-5: miss
6:  Level 1 wound (use blunt damage tables)
7:  Level 2 wound
8:  Level 3 wound
9:  Level 4 wound
10:  Level 5 wound

To evade firearms fire, use CP dice or roll Reflex vs. TN 7; every success reduces the damage of a hit by 1.  And anybody who goes up against massed firearms fire, like McGloin against the soldiers at the end, is effectively committing suicide -- simply declare them dead and move on.

"Bricks, bats, axes, knives... Pistols?"
"No pistols."
"Good boy."

[ReverendCuster187]

Thanks for those firearms rules, they are definately going to get some use - really captures the feel appropriate for the attempted assasinations of Bill the Butcher.