London Chronicles – Gaslight, Rift-Tech, and Supeheroes

Welcome to the dawn of my new campaign environment - London in 1880.

For a while now, I’ve been tinkering with a setting that has refused to leave my head. It’s a world where the soot of the Industrial Revolution mixes with cosmic radiation, where ancient Egyptian mysticism is treated as a corporate asset, and where the line between machine and mankind is violently blurred. A world whet the normal barrier of existence is crumbling. 

Welcome to the world of the;

London, 1880.

The British Empire stands at the height of its power — and increasingly, astride the heavens themselves. But beneath the gaslight and grandeur lies a city transformed, where Victorian ingenuity, Egyptian mysteries, and otherworldly energies interweave in ways that challenge reality itself.

Bronze automatons patrol the streets, powered by Rift energy first tapped by Charles Babbage. The Resurrected Labour — reanimated dead bound by rediscovered Egyptian rites — toil silently in the factories and docks. Airships drift above the Thames. And unbeknownst to most Londoners, their city sits at the crossing point of three ancient currents: the Abyssal force of creation, the Charnel energies that guard the border between life and death, and the elusive Enlightenment current said to grant glimpses of something transcendent.

Two revolutions have reshaped the city in a single generation — Meckmancy and Necromancy — and they are beginning, worryingly, to converge. Hybrid constructs blur the line between machine and corpse. Shamblers speak in tongues no one taught them. And ten years ago, Babbage’s own Nexus Engine tore open the sky above the Crystal Palace, killing hundreds and unleashing three days when the dead rose on their own and the spaces between buildings did not quite hold their shape.
The government called it a catastrophe. The Meckmancers called it a lesson. But in the shadows of the Cult of the Crawling Eye and the Daughters of Sekhmet, a different word is used: a warning.
This is London Chronicles — a world of steam, sorcery, and superheroes, where Victorian optimism has just discovered its limits. But who moves through this city, and what they’re willing to do about what’s coming, is a story still being written.

This is the world of the Hidden Society,  a group of special individuals who have pledged to protect the Queen, the Empire and mankind. 

Introducing: The Hidden Society

Protectors of the Empire. Guardians of London. Left to right:

Mr. Tonks
Charlotte Holmes — the Symbiotic Detective
The Augmented Man
The Voltaire
The city doesn’t know it needs them yet.

Next  -  some background on these characters - some invented, some adapted, and others stolen. Also ann introduction to the factions vying for London’s soul — and the first names you’ll need to know before Episode 1 begins.

Cynoscephalae 197BC Set - Up

The battle of Cynoscephalae was fought in Thessaly in 197 BC between a Roman-Aetolian army led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus and an Antigonid Macedonian army led by King Philip V. The battle was the decisive engagement of the Second Macedonian War. The Roman victory forced Macedon to relinquish its possessions south of Mount Olympus, including the so-called "Fetters of Greece" — the fortresses at Demetrias, Chalcis and Acrocorinth, which had given Macedon its grip on southern Greece.
This refight is the second instalment in my Legion versus Phalanx series. The first was Pydna, fought by Philip's son Perseus nearly three decades later — so I appear to be working backwards through time. For Pydna, I used Strength and Honour, my usual rules for the period, but for Cynoscephalae, I've turned to To the Strongest, which I've played many times before, mostly for the Crusader era. As with Pydna, I've adapted the historical scenario for solo play by leaning into the considerable uncertainty surrounding these ancient battles.

Legion versus Phalanx from Myth and Memory

The Battle

Cynoscephalae was an encounter battle. Both commanders were looking for a decisive engagement, but the fight itself began by accident. As so often in ancient battles, a clash between skirmishers and cavalry gradually drew in, first, the advance guards, then the main bodies of both armies.

Philip was quicker to reinforce his light troops and pushed his phalanx up onto the ridge crest, so the fighting initially took place on the Roman side of the high ground. Visibility had already been hampered by mist left over from the previous night's storm. When Philip's phalanx finally crested the ridge, he found the Roman army arrayed on the slopes below. Flamininus, watching the Macedonians push back his skirmish line, led his left wing forward in a counterattack, while his right wing — screened by elephants and light infantry — was ordered to hold its position.
This is the point at which my simulation begins: the two main battle lines facing off, with the skirmishing forces already pushed back into a supporting role. 

The Armies

As with most ancient battles, considerable uncertainty surrounds the narrative above. There is, however, broad modern agreement on the numbers involved, and most reconstructions still follow Hammond's classic account. Yet there remains sufficient uncertainty to vary the order of battle. Below is a basic order of battle used in my reconstruction. 

Macedonia

16,000 Phalangites - five units on the left and four on the right flank. 
There's a question over the phalanx's quality. Philip is reported to have conducted a wide-ranging recruitment drive ahead of the war, so it's plausible that some phalanx battalions on the Macedonian left were raw. One option is to field additional phalanx units while downgrading some to raw status. 
2,000 Agema — elite phalangites, often (misleadingly) described as peltasts; deployed on the right wing
2,000 Thracians — on the left wing, perhaps closer to the centre. They may have fought as light infantry, a warband, or thureophoroi, a loose infantry type named for the large oval shield (*thureos*) they carried, which allowed them to skirmish. I have classified the Thracians as thureophoroi.
2,000 Illyrians (Tralles) — javelin-armed light infantry
1,500 mercenaries — either light infantry or thureophoroi; I've used them as thureophoro in this refight and placed them next to the Thracians.
2,000 cavalry — good-quality Macedonian and Thessalian heavy horse. One unit is likely to have been a veteran guard unit.

Rome

4 legions — the sources are slightly confused on terminology, but the best reading is two Roman and two allied legions, divided evenly between the two wings. There's no certainty over the quality of the legions. Rome's overseas campaigns meant its citizens were spending longer under arms and growing steadily more professional, and Flamininus brought with him veterans who had served under Scipio in Africa. Much of the Roman infantry can therefore reasonably be treated as veteran, though this remains debatable.
6,000 Aetolian infantry — probably thureophoroi of uneven quality
1,200 Athamanian infantry — probably javelin-armed light troops of uneven quality.
800 Cretan archers — good quality
2,000 Roman and Italian heavy cavalry, on the left wing
400 Aetolian cavalry — they fought well in the battle, which suggests veteran heavy cavalry, though Aetolia is more usually associated with light horse. 
Elephants — an unknown number, but sufficient to cover all or part of the Roman right flank.

Command

The sources say very little about the command structure of either army. Both Philip and Flamininus were senior generals in the classic mould, detached from any single unit and free to move across the battlefield. There's no mention of a second Roman commander beyond the unnamed tribune who led the flanking charge that decided the battle. However, there must have been a senior officer on the Roman right, but that wing showed remarkably little initiative until Flamininus rode over in person and set it in motion. So the Roman army can be played with either one c general and a hero, the tribune, or a second command with an attached general can be added.
On the Macedonian side, Philip was supported by Nicanor, who was tasked with bringing the Macedonian left up from camp to the ridge. At least one more Macedonian officer likely went unmentioned in the sources, so I've added an extra commander of my own, attached to the mercenary unit.

What If?

Between the uncertain troop types and the patchy command structure, there's plenty of room for "what if" thinking. A few other points are worth considering, too.
The mist left by the previous night's storm had hindered visibility during the morning skirmishing and arguably helped trigger the battle in the first place, but it had cleared by the time the two main armies came face to face. What if it hadn't?
The sources are silent on how the overnight rain affected the ground. Where the slopes were slippery, one option is to increase activation costs for the first couple of turns. It's also unclear just how broken the terrain was: Hammond stressed the steepness of the ridge, while a more recent study (Morton) argues the ground was uneven and full of blind spots rather than genuinely rough or broken. A reasonable compromise is to scatter some rough going on both sides of the ridge, across the ground Nicanor has to cross to bring up the Macedonian left.
To reflect these uncertainties, a roll can be made on a 'What If' table before the battle commences.

The possibility of a variation can be determined with a simple d6 roll; a 1-2 means a variable is operative.
Then roll 1d10 for the variable in play. 0 = roll twice. Then throw 1d6 to see if the variable is active. If dice exceed the range, no change is made to the basic setup.

	Variable	D6	Result
1	Morning mist	1–2	Mist lingers for two full turns; all shooting halved, command activation costs +1
2	Ground conditions	1–2	Slopes are slick from the storm; +1 activation cost for both sides, turns 1–2 only
3	Macedonian left-wing phalanx quality	1–2	Two battalions raw; add one extra small phalanx unit to represent the wider levy, also raw
4	Thracian infantry (Macedonian left)	1–2	Deploy as a warband
5	Roman/Allied legion quality	1–2	Left-wing veteran (Scipio's African veterans), right-wing trained
6	Aetolian cavalry	1–2	Light cavalry, but treat as elite for this battle only
7	Roman right-wing command	1–3	Uninspired subordinate; -1 to activation rolls until Flamininus personally joins the wing
8	Extra Macedonian officer	1–4	Present, attached to the mercenary unit as described
9	Elephant numbers	1–3	Full screen — cover the whole Roman right flank

Next

Part Two will cover my refight of the battle using To the Strongest.

Diomedes and the Cyclops. Extracts from the Lost Book of Hesiod.

The Quest So Far

After leaving the valley of fantastically beautiful flowers (Episode 1), our heroes found the landscape becoming steadily harsher. The sweet fragrance of blossoms gradually gave way to the smell of damp decay, although traces of rich honey still lingered in the air. They entered an overgrown dell where the sand had become wet and muddy beneath their feet. Moss-covered rocks littered the ground, with patches of scrub providing the only cover.

The Home of Honey, Bees and Cyclops

Ahead stood three crude huts. In front of two of them towered enormous Cyclopes, shouting and waving their clubs at something only they could see in the distance. Even with their single eye, they appeared remarkably alert. 

Diomedes and his Company

Diomedes quickly formed a plan. The archers would remain at a safe distance, peppering the Cyclopes with arrows to distract them, while the swordsmen circled around the right flank. Once in position, they would overwhelm each giant through the weight of numbers.

The plan worked surprisingly well—at first.

The archers shot with remarkable accuracy, and before long, one Cyclops resembled an oversized pincushion. Yet, despite the number of arrows protruding from his body, the giant seemed barely affected. He continued hurling huge rocks towards the advancing heroes. Soon, his brother joined in, although both giants proved to be rather inaccurate.

The Harpy

Just as the warriors began to close the distance, the beating of wings echoed overhead. A harpy swooped down, attempting to snatch Xanthe's sword. Fortunately, the creature's strength was no match for the determined warrior, who threw it aside. Nevertheless, the attack served as a warning: the Cyclopes were not the only danger lurking in this strange valley.

With fresh urgency, Diomedes led his companions forward. The crashing of rocks and thunderous footsteps disturbed the enormous bees near the huts, and they swarmed angrily. One of the Cyclopes hurled a massive boulder that crashed into Diomedes' shield. For a normal man, this would have ended in death, but for a son of a god, he remained standing with a sore shoulder, his arm hanging uselessly by his side. 

Diomedes, Xanthe and Menelaus fight Ceraos. Iolaus stands back with his eye on the huts.

The Sea God Rumbles

Then another sound rolled across the valley—a deep rumble, like a team of horses galloping through crashing surf. The Cyclopes smiled, seemingly invigorated by the mysterious noise.

Had Poseidon himself come to his offspring's aid? 

The situation suddenly looked far more dangerous.

Meanwhile, the old man of the troop, Aegisthus, found himself locked in combat with the harpy as it swooped repeatedly from behind the rocks, claws slashing wildly. Aegisthus, taken by surprise, was clawed down his back, falling to the ground covered in blood. 

Then an even more terrifying sight emerged. 

Molebos - The Elder Brother Arrives.

A third Cyclops, the oldest of the brothers, appeared. 

Larger than the other two and far better armed, he carried a sword that would have required two hands for any ordinary man. As he lumbered towards the battle, the harpy wisely abandoned the fight and flew towards Atalanta and the other archers.

It proved to be a fatal mistake.

Atalanta calmly drew her bow, loosed a single arrow, and the harpy tumbled lifeless from the sky. How long could she keep her heritage secret from her friends and companions, she wondered?

Near the huts, the struggle with the remaining Cyclopes intensified. Diomedes and his companions finally brought down one of the giants, but the other fought stubbornly on, sweeping his enormous stone axe over the heads of the surrounding warriors. 

Iolaus, Honey and a Beautiful Maiden

While the fighting raged, Iolaus, always careful to be useful without being injured, quietly slipped away to investigate the huts. His first discovery was a large pot of honey. Unable to resist, he sampled it—and then another taste, and another. Surely this was the Honey of the Gods! Sensibly deciding that meddling with divine delicacies was unwise, he reluctantly put the pot down and continued searching the remaining huts. The second hut proved unrevealing, but in the last of the cyclops abodes, he found a beautiful young girl tied up, one must assume as a future delicacy.

Athena's Touch

Back at the battle, the heroes eventually surrounded and slew the second Cyclops. Unfortunately, the noise had stirred the giant bees into a furious swarm, while the last and greatest of the three brothers charged into the fray. 

The first exchanges were inconclusive. Even supported by his companions, Diomedes struggled to penetrate the giant's defences. The great Cyclops fought with terrifying skill, his immense sword forcing the heroes backwards.

Then came a moment of divine intervention.

Athena touched Diomedes with her blessing, restoring his strength completely. Filled with renewed courage, he leapt forward in a single fluid movement. His sword flashed through the air in a mighty arc.

A perfect strike (a critical hit!). 

The blade bit deep, severing the Cyclops' head from his shoulders in a single, devastating blow.

The valley fell silent.

With the giants defeated, there remained only one sensible course of action.

Run.

The giant bees were now thoroughly agitated, and there was little treasure worth dying for.

Episode Summary

This was a good game for team Diomedes, and thirty-six experience points were won. Although the downside was the knockout of Aegisthus. Thankfully, he fully recovered, just another scar to add to his story written across his body.

The characters' stories have also started to make them three-dimensional.
Aegisthus - the quite old warrior with hidden strength and willing to sacrifice himself for Diomedes.
Xanthe - the female warrior with a temper
Iolaus - is he to be trusted? Will avoid danger to seek out hidden treasure.
Atalanta - what is her mystical past, and why is she so lethal with the bow?

Game Notes

This was my second game, and I am still learning the rules. Although I enjoyed the experience, I found it frustrating that important keywords are spread across both rulebooks. A quick-reference guide or set of monster cards would make the game flow much more smoothly.

I would also strongly recommend writing as much information as possible directly onto each character sheet—not just the abilities themselves, but brief reminders of what those abilities actually do. It would save a great deal of rulebook searching during play and keep the action moving. 

Whats Next

After this adventure, the heroes will have to take a break while I find some 'Sons of Posiedon'. I have seen a couple of standalone episodes, so they may be my next stop.