Their Finest Hour- Magical Battle of Britain

The first half of this series looked at a lot of the historical facts of the Battle of Britain, and how they could be adapted for Their Finest Hour, a World War II setting for the Victoriana role-playing game. Last week we dipped our toes in the more fantastic side of the setting, but this week, we dive into the deep end to talk about magic. Fortunately for us, there is no end of weird magical folklore and conspiracies attached for World War II for us to play with.

In Victoriana’s 1850s setting, magic wanes from its strong, primal antediluvian origins. Miracles became spells practiced only by a learned few, as the industrial revolution spread across the world. By the Battle of Britain, radio, automobiles, telephones, electric lights, airplanes, and other conveniences take magic’s place.  Scientists, mystics, and priests strive to rediscover and recapture magic’s lost might, some by examining magical formula with modern scientific theories (such as Albert Einstein), and others by embracing tabooed occult practices (such as Alistair Crowley).

The Axis war effort seems to have overcome whatever universal law causes magic to dwindle. Refugees of the Blitzkrieg tell stories of magicians able to change the battlefield with ease, conjured creatures of legend, and sorcerous machines of war. None of the Allies know the source of this raw aetheric power and rumors spread quickly of its origins. Some of the rumors circulating through  England include:

-During the 1939 German expedition to Tibet, Nazi mystics learned ancient forgotten methods to harness Vril from an ascended Master in Shamballa known as “the King of the World”.

-Nazi musicologists discovered the potent mythic reality suggested by Wagner’s operas. Through their fanaticism and skill, trained spell singers (called Fächer) gain strength from Germanic myth cycles and Aryan folksongs.

-The Race Office of the SS bred magically adept children through the Lebensborn (fountain of life) project. SS officers kidnapped Polish and Russian children gifted with psychical abilities from occupied territories adding to their breeding stock.

Worried by the Axis’s magical superiority, Allied forces try to close the gap. Magical practices previously dismissed by the Guild, such as conjuration, become the subjects of careful study. Scientists and hermeticists exiled from their overrun countries add their expertise to the war effort. The Guild strives to harness Britain’s few magical resources and discover powerful treasures long lost. Some groups, such as the Ancient Order of Druids (of which Prime Minister Winston Churchill is a member), hope for a miracle from the past. Old legends say Avalon will appear when again England needs King Arthur, and when has their need been greater?

Magic in 1940

Victoriana gives their magic a great sense of the period through names. Because Their Finest Hour takes place 90 years later in the 1940, some of the terms seem a bit behind the times. Instead of magnetists empowered with magnetic abilities, psychics with psychical abilities sounds a bit more modern.

Likewise, Quintessence is fine for Englishmen, but magical energy is called Vril by the Nazis.

To reflect the waning power of magic plaguing the earth, all characters in Their Finest Hour have four pips on their Quintessence dice instead of six.

This series has been a blast to write. We’re heading into the end of the series with only three or four posts left to go. It’s been great diving into the setting, and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming adventure ideas post.