Setting
London Shadows is set in Victorian-rule Britain shortly before the turn of the 20th Century. Historically this was a fairly affluent and revolutionary period for Britain, as it had established its foothold in the Orient by claiming India in the name of the Empire, and the Industrial Revolution was still a major deal. The game will follow fairly closely to this timeline for simplicity's sake, with a few notable exceptions as detailed below:
Women's Rights
In 1893 the British colony of New Zealand became the first country in the world to afford women the right to vote on equal standing with their menfolk. South Australia was the next to follow suit in 1894. According to London Shadows' timeline, British women joined their colonial counterparts in this momentous freedom in 1897, which means that the British society is still undergoing some fairly major upheaval as everyone tries to adjust their thinking into understanding that women are equally as important as men. This is a time of trial and triumph for the Empire. Women currently have both more freedom and less respect than before they were granted suffrage, and female characters will have been shaped by this. It will still affect their daily lives. Still, they are now able to own land and businesses in their own right, with no need of a man to 'handle' it for them. Good luck, ladies.
Stuff What Is Possible Here What Is Maybe Not Possible In Our World
Magic. There is a certain amount of it usable in this setting: by 'certain amount' we basically mean things traditionally connected with hedgewitches and gypsies. Fortune-telling, magic potions, tarot-reading, curses, a little bit of healing...all of those are fine. However, we're ruling out anything like tossing fireballs or teleportation or shooting laser bullets at the moon with your magical eyes.
Himmelsport
Fourteen years ago several of London's noble class commissioned the renowned Icelandic inventor and architect Efraim Jenssen to build them a little getaway retreat, a place for them to escape the grime and uncouth bustle of the huge city. That spawned a massive revolution in aerospace and anti-gravitational technology as Jenssen recreated mechanical engineering and physical theory to make this idea work. After a gruelling twelve and a half years later saw the incredible launch of Himmelsport, Heaven's Gate for the rich and famous. The floating island is 1.3 miles in diameter and nearly half that thick; the underside is an artful disarray of aerated concrete (invented for just this purpose), iron supports and trusses, and the complex mechanical components which keep the whole thing aloft. It completes a circuit of the outer city limits every three weeks, avoiding the likes of Old Nichol and other such uncouth habitations so as not to distress or disgust the upper-class citizenry who can afford to live in its expensive residences. The only access is via one of the two gyrocopters on permanent contract to Himmelsport, although occasionally the more desperate will scale London's tallest buildings when the sky town is due by in an attempt to stow away. This usually ends badly, messily, and fatally.
India
From March through to July eager tourists can book a government-organised Indian vacation on one of the top-of-the-line zeppelin aircraft owned by the British Empire. Passage to the Orient is expensive but luxurious, and includes an 'Exotique Safaree' through a variety of locations throughout India. Each tour lasts a month - 29 days, to be exact. For those who can't afford the passenger ticket, there are frequently jobs available aboard the cruising class of zeppelin. It's all about who you know.
Somewhere Else Really Badass
I'm working on it.
Women's Rights
In 1893 the British colony of New Zealand became the first country in the world to afford women the right to vote on equal standing with their menfolk. South Australia was the next to follow suit in 1894. According to London Shadows' timeline, British women joined their colonial counterparts in this momentous freedom in 1897, which means that the British society is still undergoing some fairly major upheaval as everyone tries to adjust their thinking into understanding that women are equally as important as men. This is a time of trial and triumph for the Empire. Women currently have both more freedom and less respect than before they were granted suffrage, and female characters will have been shaped by this. It will still affect their daily lives. Still, they are now able to own land and businesses in their own right, with no need of a man to 'handle' it for them. Good luck, ladies.
Stuff What Is Possible Here What Is Maybe Not Possible In Our World
Magic. There is a certain amount of it usable in this setting: by 'certain amount' we basically mean things traditionally connected with hedgewitches and gypsies. Fortune-telling, magic potions, tarot-reading, curses, a little bit of healing...all of those are fine. However, we're ruling out anything like tossing fireballs or teleportation or shooting laser bullets at the moon with your magical eyes.
Himmelsport
Fourteen years ago several of London's noble class commissioned the renowned Icelandic inventor and architect Efraim Jenssen to build them a little getaway retreat, a place for them to escape the grime and uncouth bustle of the huge city. That spawned a massive revolution in aerospace and anti-gravitational technology as Jenssen recreated mechanical engineering and physical theory to make this idea work. After a gruelling twelve and a half years later saw the incredible launch of Himmelsport, Heaven's Gate for the rich and famous. The floating island is 1.3 miles in diameter and nearly half that thick; the underside is an artful disarray of aerated concrete (invented for just this purpose), iron supports and trusses, and the complex mechanical components which keep the whole thing aloft. It completes a circuit of the outer city limits every three weeks, avoiding the likes of Old Nichol and other such uncouth habitations so as not to distress or disgust the upper-class citizenry who can afford to live in its expensive residences. The only access is via one of the two gyrocopters on permanent contract to Himmelsport, although occasionally the more desperate will scale London's tallest buildings when the sky town is due by in an attempt to stow away. This usually ends badly, messily, and fatally.
India
From March through to July eager tourists can book a government-organised Indian vacation on one of the top-of-the-line zeppelin aircraft owned by the British Empire. Passage to the Orient is expensive but luxurious, and includes an 'Exotique Safaree' through a variety of locations throughout India. Each tour lasts a month - 29 days, to be exact. For those who can't afford the passenger ticket, there are frequently jobs available aboard the cruising class of zeppelin. It's all about who you know.
Somewhere Else Really Badass
I'm working on it.