Torch of Freedom​​​​

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In 1848, a wave of revolutions swept across Europe.

Every single one of them failed.

 

Torch of Freedom is not the story of those revolutions. Instead it is the story of how one of those revolutions might have occurred if it had been filmed in Hollywood starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone; if masked avengers had prowled the rooftops of the capitol; and if a gentleman's preferred weapon was the rapier.

 

Torch of Freedom is set in the imaginary Kingdom of Petronia. The King has been dead for some years, and the Regent has announced that he will marry the elder Princess just as she reaches maturity and take the crown for himself. 

 

On one level, Torch of Freedom is about the world of 1848, when a wave of revolutions swept Europe. The revolutionaries were often young, progressive, idealistic, and doomed. Whilst they fight for many things we take for granted today, their opponents cannot be blamed too hardly for their beliefs; to them, "Democracy" meant the cruelty and chaos of post-revolutionary France. But Torch of Freedom also explores the entire concept of revolution. This is a game for anyone who has every thrilled to the word barricade, anyone who has devoured news of Belgrade, Red Square, Bucharest and Tianamen; anyone who has every wanted to publish an underground newspaper and bring down those in power; anyone who believes that, no matter what century you live in, there may be a few causes of there worth dying for; anyone who thinks Liberty has a price worth paying. 

 

But, on a scale ranging from gritty realism to purplish romance, Torch of Freedom is undoubtedly a cinematic game. Romance conventions abound. There are plotlines which would be at home in a Shakespeare comedy, an eighteenth-century farce, a nineteenth-century romance or a good swashbuckler movie. Be prepared for astonishing coincidences!

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Some notes about the game style and potential triggers:

 

Game style: This is a fully-plotted, secrets and powers style game with pre-generated characters. Players are expected to play to lift and cooperate to create a great experience for everybody, revealing shocking secrets at the right moment and not trying to 'win'.

 

Potential triggers: There are no particularly dark themes in the game: If you wouldn't expect it in a 1930s Hollywood swashbuckler, then it's very unlikely to be in the game. As per the source material (and, largely, the history of the time) all characters are gendered (although players of any or no gender can play any character). Characters of different classes largely keep apart from each other. Gender roles are also _somewhat_ adhered to, so an eligible lady might find herself betrothed against her will. Characters of Turkish origin are a minority with restricted rights in the game. There may be the occasional missing baby.

 

Inspirations: The Zorro books and movies, The Prisoner of Zenda, Rupert of Hentzau, Les Miserables, and more! 

 

Authors: Bruce Glassco, Brian Altmiller, Suzanne Miller, Walter Neill and Paul Wayner

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