Posted March 28, 2022 by Tin Star Games
Gothic fiction, I suppose, rose out of the moral vacuum that emerged in the Enlightenment in Europe. For centuries, the Christian church's view of the human soul had dominated: man was nothing but a sinner, evil to the core, and gifted only with higher potential by an outside force. When the humanism of the Enlightenment suggested a different idea of morality, one constructed from within, the problem of evil changed its clothes. The devil turned from an outside force that damned us at birth to a dark voice within us. The duality of God and Satan was rewritten as the duality of our baser instincts and our better natures. It was not a particularly convincing costume change but for better or worse it is still pretty much our dominant philosophy. Gothic fiction formed the basis for the moral battles of the Western which in turn informed the pulps and then the superheroes. Good and Evil still duke it out in cosmic battles, and the battle within is between being a Hero or letting our darker desires for revenge or retribution win out. It is no accident Batman lives in Gotham City; but the Marvel heroes too have their dark mirrors.
What I'm saying is: gothic literature remains very much with us, so of course it is a cool idea to make a roleplaying game about it and its key tropes.
Are you Jekyll or Hyde? Man or monster? Rising angel or brutish ape? Batman or Superman? Iron Man or Captain America? Duality is everywhere and not just because it really helps sell caffeinated beverages and football scarves. Heck, maybe we use it so much for beverages because it's in our moral DNA.
I don't think people are good or evil. I don't think the world works that way. But the world thinks the world works that way, and that's why I make games about it. And I think the most gothic way to do it is to take the choice out of your hands. Because that's where the horror lies.
Are you an angel or a devil? Only the coin knows for sure. Step up and take your chances.
- Steve Dee, Caloundra, March 20222.