Jane Austen roleplaying game will get you mingling with (and laughing at) Good Society

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a decent story in possession of good characters, must be in want of an RPG.

Good Society hopes to bring a (further) touch of class to roleplaying with its interactive take on the work of witty 18th century novelist Jane Austen.

A collaborative RPG, the game’s systems have been designed from scratch to echo the themes and tone of Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Austen’s other work, combining the need to climb the social ladder (or cling on to your current rung) with the pursuit of romance.

Players create typical Austen characters, with the nine ‘classes’ consisting of options such as socialites and heirs, fleshed out with family backgrounds, relationships and a secret desire pulled from a deck of cards.

Australian designers Vee Hendro and Hayley Gordon have imbued Good Society with the playful humour of Austen, transforming NPCs into NPGs – non-player gentry. The side characters are created using another deck of cards that present extra ways to add drama to the story as players juggle their family obligations, social reputation and love interests.

There’s the promise of plenty of rumour and scandal, with the chance for genre-appropriate monologues, narrative twists and turns – and ballroom scenes, naturally. The game plays out over five phases, moving from a general overview of the type of story and initial backstory setup through to the roleplaying and writing of letters to add in all the fine details.

A game master – known as a facilitator – is optional, with the RPG eschewing dice in favour of resolve tokens that can be played to influence the path of the story.

Good Society has already made more than £30,000 on its modest £2,250 goal over on Kickstarter, drumming up interest for both a digital and physical release towards the end of the year.