"H" is for...

HANDWAVIUM

Handwavium Crystals on Mars, from the author's collection.

   Handwavium is one of a myriad of miraculous substances, both naturally occurring and man-made, which inhabit the many realms of Victorian Science Fiction. And those scientific wonders are what make the weird science of the anachronistic setting possible. A partial listing of them, with sources:

• Liftwood (Space: 1889)
• Hydrium (Kenneth Opel's Airborn)
• Ghost rock (Deadlands / Great Rail Wars)
• Unobtainite / Unobtainium (misc. - I have my own version)
• Cavorite (H.G. Wells' First Men on the Moon)
• Bongolesian Oxyweed (mine)

   In my VSF universe, handwavium is a green translucent crystal, and quite rare. It can be found in very small quantities on Earth, mainly in remote areas of Africa and South America, though a supply is rumored to be somewhere in Siberia as well. It is much more common - though still very rare - on Mars and Venus. When bathed in an acidic solution, it generates a great deal of heat without combustion, and therefore, no oxygen is used up in the reaction. It is used primarily to generate steam, in much the same manner as a modern nuclear reactor, without the nasty radioactive side effects. I call it 'handwavium' because that's what it does to the laws of physics as we understand them: "Physics? Pfffft!"

"G" is for...

G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.

or, Glorious Adventures in Science Loosely Involving Generally Historical Times

G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium (Cover)

   G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. is a set of rules first published way back in 2001. The authors, John "Buck" Surdu and Chris Palmer, created a very generic set of 'framework' type miniatures rules for skirmish style games, where each player controls only a few individual figures, classified as either "Main Characters" or "Extras". These rules also allow for the creation of fantastic devices and vehicles. A point value system was created for Battles by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T., which helps in creating scenarios. Unit activation is random, determined by a card draw. Combat resolution is generally very simple - and the Extras die in droves! (Redshirts not included with rules - you have to paint them on yourself!)

   The popularity of the original rules led to several sequels, including Battles by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. (for larger scale battles), To Be Continued by GASLIGHT (for more pulp adventure), and Adventures and Expeditions by GASLIGHT. Last year, a new compendium, including new rules for large scale fleet actions was released as well.

   One of the things I like most about the game is the ease with which you can modify it to fit exactly what you want to do. For example, they had no rules for automatons. So I made some up, no muss, no fuss. (You can find those rules in The Aethergraph, Vol. 1, Issue 1). Want big tough creatures like dinosaurs? No problem. Give them a Save, or Wound Points. Done. The rules are really very flexible, which is a huge plus for me. They also work equally well for 25 or 15mm figures.

   This is my go-to rules set for VSF, unless I am doing really big battles, for which I use When the Navy Walked and 6mm figures. I have played several other sets, including The Sword and the Flame, Martian Empires, and Valor, Steel and Flesh. And I always go back to GASLIGHT.

"F" is for...

FENIAN BROTHERHOOD

   For the past several hundred years, England has dominated their smaller island neighbor, Ireland. Not all of the Irish are too happy about it - there have been many revolts against the Protestant rulers of Catholic Ireland. Sadly, for the Irish, these have all failed due to a variety of factors.

   More recently, since the worst of the Famine has passed, men and women of the True Gaelic Blood are working together, with the help of friends across the seas, to throw off the yoke of English tyranny. They call themselves the Fenian Brotherhood (yes, even the women). To the people of Ireland, they are heroic figures, risking all to free their Emerald Isle. To the English, they are bloody-minded terrorists and anarchists, murdering hooligans and rabble-rousers.

   Fenian agents can be found in all parts of the solar system, doing their best to make trouble for the British, raise funds for their own activities, or hiding from the law. Their Brotherhood is dedicated to weakening the Empire to the point that the next general uprising will finally be successful.

   Some VSF universes allow for a Republic of Ireland already in existence. Even so, Fenian agents work against the threat of invasion from England and re-occupation. So you can still have loads of fun with these fellows, usually as villains in the typical Anglo-centric VSF gaming campaign.

"E" is for...

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

   Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 - 1950) was an American novelist, most famous for his Tarzan and John Carter of Mars series, although he wrote more than seventy books in his lifetime. While Tarzan is a great character and a fun read, he properly belongs to pulp adventure. John Carter, however...

I own this edition.

I own this one, too.

   For many VSF enthusiasts, John Carter's Barsoom is Mars. Flying ships, vast deserts, warring city-states, swordsmen, beautiful women, huge four-armed Green Martians, and on and on. The first novel in the series, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1912. It introduced us to the world of Barsoom and many of its important features: the red and green Martians, the city of Helium, the hordes of the Tharks and Warhoons, the flying ships held aloft by the ninth ray, and the incomparable Dejah Thoris. In all, Mr. Burroughs would write 11 Barsoom novels. 

   Burroughs also wrote about Lost Worlds (The Land That Time Forgot) and a hollow Earth, Pellucidar (At the Earth's Core and its sequels). Pellucidar is another favorite setting among the VSF gaming crowd, with the weird pterodactyl Mahar ruling the barbaric humans. Finally, from a VSF perspective, Burroughs also wrote about Venus, or Amtor, as it is called there. His hero, Carson Napier, who is somewhat more cautious (and scientifically minded!) than John Carter, the fighting Virginian cavalryman.

   I doubt that anyone would ever call the works of E. R. Burroughs great literature. But that's okay. As long as they can call the novels fun to read - and I can't imagine a young man who wouldn't like to read these stories if they read at all - then the books have done their real job. A hundred years after the first printing of the John Carter books, Disney films released a live-action film of, essentially, A Princess of Mars, titled John Carter of Mars (2012). While it seems it was destined to be a financial failure due to massive cost overruns and poor marketing, just the fact that it was made shows the enduring escapist fun to be had from Barsoom.

Who's a good calot? Woola is! Woola's a good calot!

"D" is for...

DINOSAUR

   Whether on the Jungle Planet of Venus, or high up on the Lost World plateau of the Deep Amazon, on the Mysterious Island, or in the Hollow Earth, dinosaurs are very popular in Victorian Science Fiction. I think this may in part be a result of the discovery of many species in the Victorian era, and the so-called "Bone Wars," an intense and bitter rivalry between two prominent paleontologists. Prince Albert even established a museum for the big beasties (or at least, for their fossilized remains). And I can't imagine that there are none in the Regent's Park Royal Zoological Gardens.

Stegosaurus, drawn in 1896

   The 'terrible lizard' is always a welcome sight in VSF. I use them for random dangers in games, beasts of burden, even aerial mounts for lizardmen. One of these days, I'll get around to painting up the Germans on pterodactyls even - the dread Stukasaurus! With the abundance of good looking dinosaur toys in all sizes, there is no good reason not to have them somewhere in your VSF universe. In my VSF universe, I have dinosaurs on Venus. In the universe of When the Navy Walked, which I helped write and edit, the lead author (Rob Adams - a great guy) put them in Earthin, the inside of our hollow Earth.

Stukasaurus, by Eureka Miniatures.

I plan to exchange an Imperial German cross for the one used here.

 

Triceratops "Fergus", with cargo platform
[From author's collection]

Brontosaurus "Bertie", in harness for the British on Venus

[From author's colection]

   Towering over the jungle, "Bertie" allows Her Majesty's valiant men a vantage point the Hun can only envy. Close enough to the ground to see the smallest detail, yet high enough to see clearly for a great distance. The inclusion of dinosaurs brings out the kid in all of us.