Setting

[aungier_mods]

SETTING


The World

aungier is set in the fictional Yorkshire village of St. Erasmus, on the Aungier Estate in the year 1888- but with a few very important differences. Other than these, though, the world is more or less the same: the structure of society, gender roles, sensibilities, manners and customs are all what one would expect of late 19th century culture, as are the international politics.


Science and Technology

The setting runs on an alternate timeline in which science and technology have been significantly advanced: the world has entered a third industrial revolution and is abuzz with discovery and invention. Electricity is widespread; vehicles like cars and small aeroplanes are in use; Babbage's computer has been refined and put into production; automatons exist as prototypes. Most of these more complex inventions, however, are restricted to the upper echelons of society and to the intimate circles of scientists and technicians that have sprung up around centres of learning- the vast majority of society either treats these breakthroughs with deep suspicion, seeing them as standing against tradition or, given the deep gulfs between the wealthy and the poor, don't have anything approaching the means to make use of them, let alone understand them.

Though St. Erasmus is a small, cut off village that is often seen as backwards even by the standards of this baseline, Aungier House itself is a veritable paradise for the creative mind: Lady and Lord Valdemar themselves were once major movers and shakers in this brave new world and their home is still a site of intense study and experimentation, and their son-in-law (whoever that might be at any given time) is also a scholar in the same field- the latter in particular has been known to take on students.

The most notable addition to the house is the existence of three automaton servants: gleaming copper humanoids that perform household chores and answer only to the directives written into them by Lady Valdemar. With the number of scientific minds at work in the house, though, there is almost always something in development- we encourage players to suggest new objects and inventions.


The Supernatural

At the same time, though, while the world moves towards a new technological era, counter movements have also started to spring up across Great Britain: occult and spiritualist movements are also extraordinarily widespread, with deep roots that seem to stretch across all of Europe. England in particular has a reputation as a hotbed of secret cults and supernatural scholars, and though they are rarely discussed in polite society local gossip is often alight with rumours of famous figures' supposed connections to apocalyptic pagan conspiracies.

Society as a whole is far more superstitious, though scientific minds have made a great effort to explain and debunk as much as possible. Almost everyone knows someone who has supposedly seen a ghost or a creature of the night, and many delve far more readily into ritual and ceremony to defend themselves from the myriad of mysterious terrors that seem to lurk in every shadow; just how this manifests varies from place to place. The people of St. Erasmus in particular swear by their local apothecary for more than cures for what ails you and often fall back on ancient customs, long since Christianised.

The moors surrounding St. Erasmus are considered to be alive with paranormal activity; every child can tell you stories about the pale women seen wailing in the mists or, most famously of all, the will-o-the-wisps that are said to lead wanderers into ditches or rivers or mires. These small, glowing orbs are usually referred to by the locals as "St. Elmo's fire", after the lights often seen at sea, and are taken as portents of ill fortune. Any local telling you about the "barghasts" will likely cross themselves immediately afterwards, though they're only too happy to sit and gossip with you about them for the most part. Again, if players wish to invent some sort of rumour or creature lurking in the moors for a player-run plot, they're very welcome to check in with us and give it a go!

Aungier House itself is also considered to be a particularly haunted place, as far as the village is concerned. There are any number of rumours about headless lords and murdered maids and grey ladies to be heard, just the same as with any other estate- but residents of Aungier House might nonetheless note that locals don't seem to take quite so much pleasure in talking about the estate's ghosts and ghouls.