A GM-less London Gothic TTRPG about monstrosity, queerness, & community.
Late-Victorian London is a labyrinth of twisting alleys, stifling expectations, and cruel institutions. The poor starve in the gutters, while the powerful pass judgment from on high. And on the margins, in defiance of the law, those monstrous queers whose lives and loves defy society share fraught intimacy, seek acceptance, and build fragile solidarity as best they can.
In Grand Guignol, each player chooses a Gothic archetype to play, such as the haunted Gate, the scandalous Patron, or the maverick Scholar. Together you'll discover your own vision of London—revealing its hidden queer enclaves, uncovering the dark forces that loom over it, exploring the troubled lives of its citizens, and chronicling the occasions that may bring your characters together or drive them apart.
What secret histories will you write on dark streets where the gaslights don't reach, in those corners of your tender hearts that neither God nor science has caged?
Luke Jordan is a TTRPG designer, writer, and editor making games about folklore, tragedy, and community. They spent a decade writing bespoke history RPGs for young people, and worked on games like Girl by Moonlight, Koriko, Wanderhome, and Monsterhearts 2. In their spare time, they contemplate the anthropology of food, '80s British fantasy novels, and the educational possibilities of RPGs.