It’s a fascinating combination! The short answer is yes, they can certainly be played together, but they require a bit of "mechanical bridge-building" because they approach the Victorian era from very different angles.
Here is how you can blend Troll Lord Games’ Victorious (a superhero/steampunk RPG based on the Castles & Crusades system) with The Red Room’s Bella Époque (a darker, more grounded, and often horror-leaning take on the era).
1. The Mechanical Fit
Both games are rooted in the OSR (Old School Renaissance) tradition, but they use different engines:
Victorious: Uses the Siege Engine (D20-based). It’s designed for "Victorian Adventure," meaning characters are generally more powerful, heroic, and durable.
Bella Époque: Is based on Old-School Essentials (OSE). It is much more lethal, grounded, and focused on the gritty reality of the 19th century.
The Fix: Use Victorious as your primary engine for the players if you want them to be heroes, and use Bella Époque as your "World Guide" for NPCs, equipment, and the more dangerous, grounded threats.
2. Setting the Tone
The biggest challenge isn't the rules; it’s the vibe:
Victorious is often "Capes and Canes"—optimistic, bold, and adventurous.
Bella Époque leans into the "Sordid and Macabre"—the soot, the crime, and the existential dread of the turn of the century.
The Integration: Use Bella Époque to ground the world. It provides the "low-life" details—the back alleys of Paris or the docks of London—while Victorious provides the "high-life" superheroics. Think of it like a Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper or Penny Dreadful style campaign.
3. How to Merge Them
| Feature | Use This System | Why? |
| Character Powers | Victorious | Better handles extraordinary abilities and "supers." |
| Lethality & Health | Bella Époque | If you want a "horror" feel; stay with Victorious for "pulp" action. |
| Social Rules | Victorious | The Siege Engine handles social attributes well for the "Dandy" or "Socialite" classes. |
| Setting Detail | Bella Époque | Excellent for historical flavor, maps, and the darker side of the Belle Époque era. |
Potential Campaign Idea: "The Soot-Stained Cape"
Imagine a game where the players are Victorian "Supers" (from Victorious), but the world they inhabit is the unforgiving, dark reality of Bella Époque. Their powers make them targets for the shadowy organizations and gritty criminals detailed in the Red Room's supplements.
Pro-Tip: If you are the GM, I recommend using the Siege Engine (Victorious) as the base, but importing the Encumbrance and Survival rules from Bella Époque to make the players feel the weight of the world.
Using the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) as the catalyst for Steampunk elements creates a much grittier, militarily-focused Victorian setting—perfect for blending the high-flying heroics of Victorious with the grim reality of Bella Époque.
By moving the "tech boom" up to 1870, you change the entire trajectory of the late 19th century. Here is how that setting integration works:
1. The "Prussian Spark" (Lore Integration)
In this alternate history, the Prussian "Needle Gun" wasn't just a rifle; it was the precursor to Clockwork Automatons and Steam-powered Walkers.
The Siege of Paris: Instead of just starvation and shells, imagine the Prussians using experimental steam-tanks. Paris survives by deploying its first "Super-Soldiers" (the Victorious classes) or weird-science gadgets.
The Result: The "Beautiful Era" (Bella Époque) isn't just about art and peace; it’s an Arms Race. The refinement of Bella Époque society is a thin veneer over a world terrified of the next "Steam-Blitz."
2. Merging the Systems by "Role"
Since you're starting with a war, you can use the two systems to represent the Front Lines vs. The Shadows:
Victorious (The Front): Use this for the "Wonder Weapons" and the "Super-Soldiers." If a player wants to play a Galvanic Aeronaut or a Power-Armored Cuirassier, Victorious has the stats for that high-impact gameplay.
Bella Époque (The Shadows): Use this for the spies, the resistance fighters in occupied territories, and the psychological toll of the war. The OSE-based mechanics of Bella Époque perfectly capture the feeling of being an ordinary person caught in a war of giants.
3. Tech & Magic Tiers
To keep the balance between the two games, you can categorize the Steampunk elements:
| Level | Tech Type | System Influence |
| Low Tech | Gatling guns, ironclads, basic telegraphs. | Bella Époque (Grounded/Lethal) |
| Mid Tech | Steam-powered prosthetics, chemical enhancers. | Hybrid (Risk vs. Reward) |
| High Tech | Aether-ships, clockwork soldiers, death rays. | Victorious (Heroic/Supernatural) |
4. Hooking the Players
If your campaign starts in the aftermath of the Prussian War, your party could be a "Special Operations Group" tasked with recovering lost Prussian schematics from the catacombs of Paris.
The Threat: They face the gritty, diseased underworld of Bella Époque (human thugs, starvation, infection).
The Boss: They encounter a "Victorious-level" threat—a steam-powered cyborg or a scientist using Vril energy.
Note on Magic: Victorious treats magic as a superhero power, while Bella Époque treats it as something dark and occult. Starting with the Prussian War allows you to frame "Magic" as "Advanced Science" that people simply don't understand yet.
To set the stage, we’ll lean into the atmospheric tension of The Red Room's grit, while introducing the "supers" and "steam" elements from Victorious.
Here is a mission briefing and a starting encounter designed to bridge the two systems perfectly.
Mission Briefing: "The Iron Armistice"
Date: March 1871
Location: The ruins of the Fort d’Issy, outskirts of Paris
The Situation: The Siege of Paris has officially ended, but a rogue Prussian Colonel, Friedrich von Stahl, has refused the ceasefire. He has barricaded himself in a shattered fort with a "Goliath" (a prototype Steam-Walker) and a cache of stolen Aether-salts.
The Objective: * Infiltration (Bella Époque style): Sneak through the "Zone"—the wasteland of trenches and famine-stricken scavengers surrounding the fort.
Neutralization (Victorious style): Disable the Goliath and apprehend von Stahl before he fires his long-range "Vril-Cannon" at the heart of the city.
The Starting Encounter: "The Ghost in the Fog"
Part 1: The Descent (The Bella Époque Vibe)
The session opens with the players huddled in a damp trench. The air smells of coal smoke and rotting rations. Use the Bella Époque rules for Health and Morale here.
"The fog rolling off the Seine is thick enough to chew on. You aren't just fighting Prussians; you’re fighting the cold. Your contact, a rail-thin woman with eyes like flint, hands you a heavy brass key. 'The service tunnels lead under the fort,' she whispers. 'But watch the rats. Since the Steam-Works leaked, they’ve grown... wrong.'"
The Challenge: A group of "Aether-Stalkers" (starving soldiers mutated by chemical leaks). This is a high-lethality, low-resource fight. One wrong move and a player could lose a limb—classic OSR stakes.
Part 2: The Breach (The Victorious Pivot)
Once the players reach the inner sanctum of the fort, the scale shifts. The flickering gaslight reveals a massive, brass-bound machine hissing with blue electricity.
"The floorboards groan as a twelve-foot suit of iron armor turns toward you. It doesn't have a pilot; it has a brain floating in a jar of glowing saline. Colonel von Stahl’s voice echoes through a copper loudspeaker: 'You are too late for the old world, gentlemen. The New Era is forged in steam!'"
The Mechanics Shift:
Players now use their Victorious powers (Super-strength, Gadgetry, or Sorcery) to handle the Goliath.
The environment is still lethal (Bella Époque damage dice), but the players' Victorious "Super" attributes give them the edge to survive what would kill a normal man.
3. How to Bridge the "First Prussian War" Tech
To make the Steampunk elements feel integrated rather than "tacked on," use these three items as loot or plot points:
The Krupp Autolock: A Prussian rifle that uses clockwork to fire 5 rounds before reloading. (Gives a Bella Époque character a "Victorious" level of firepower).
Vril-Infused Absinthe: A potion that heals 2d6 HP but requires a Victorious "Constitution Save" to avoid permanent madness.
The Iron Cross (Cybernetic): A clockwork heart-pacer found on the Colonel. It grants +2 to physical saves but makes the user vulnerable to magnets and electricity.
To keep the flavor consistent with your Victorious / Bella Époque mashup, this table blends military grit with high-concept weird science.
The NPCs on the lower half of the table (01-50) lean toward the grounded, gritty reality of Bella Époque, while the upper half (51-100) lean into the fantastic, super-powered elements of Victorious.
D100 Steampunk War NPCs
D100 Name Archetype The "Steampunk" Twist 01-05 Sgt. Bastien Roche The Burned Veteran His lungs were scorched by chlorine; he breathes through a brass bellows pack. 06-10 Elfriede von Zeller Prussian Telegram Op Has a Morse-code tapper surgically grafted to her fingertips for speed. 11-15 "Rat-King" Rene Tunnel Scavenger Sells "recovered" Prussian clockwork gears scavenged from the Paris Sewers. 16-20 Sister Maeva Field Medic Uses a "Galvanic Defibrillator" that occasionally shocks her patients to death. 21-25 Lt. Otto Meyer Disgraced Officer Carries a Mauser that fires "Screamer Rounds" (whistling acoustic psych-warfare). 26-30 Madame Valeska Occult Spy Uses an Aether-lens to see heat signatures through walls (and ghosts). 31-35 Corporal "No-Legs" Luc Artillery Man His legs are replaced by a heavy, spider-like tripod steam-rig. 36-40 Inspector Giraud Sûreté Detective Hunting "Vril-addicts" who steal streetlamp fuel to get high. 41-45 The Orphan Kid Street Urchin Controls a "Mechanical Terrier" made of scrap metal and a clockwork heart. 46-50 Baroness Iron-Jaw Prussian Noble Lost her jaw to a saber; now has a steam-venting brass lower face. 51-55 Major Tesla Renegade Scientist Attempting to create a "Lightning Shield" to protect Paris from shells. 56-60 The Golem of Berlin War Machine A 7-foot tall suit of clockwork armor with a dying soldier’s soul inside. 61-65 Lady Aurelia British "Observer" A Victorious style superhero with a jetpack disguised as a bustle. 66-70 Dr. Moreau-Vann Bio-Engineer Grafting pigeon wings onto soldiers to create "Human Recon Hawks." 71-75 Silas the Galvanist Field Chaplain Claims he can "resurrect" the dead for 10 minutes using a car-battery rig. 76-80 Agent 00 Shadow Saboteur Can turn invisible, but the "Aether-leak" makes a loud, high-pitched hum. 81-85 General Steel-Hand High Command Has a hydraulic arm that can crush a cannonball (or a traitor’s skull). 86-90 The Clockwork Dandy Assassin An automaton so lifelike it can pass for human in a crowded ballroom. 91-95 Vril-Queen Sophie Mutant Leader Exposed to raw Aether; she can throw blue fire but her skin is turning to glass. 96-00 The Iron Kaiser The Big Bad Rumored to be a brain in a massive steam-tank, directing the Prussian front. How to use these in your game:
For a Bella Époque feel: If the players roll low (01-50), the NPC should be desperate, dirty, and struggling with the "cost" of the tech. Focus on the soot and the scars.
For a Victorious feel: If they roll high (51-100), the NPC is a "Power Player." They should feel like a boss fight or a high-level contact who changes the flow of the battle.
Let’s take one of the most evocative entries from the table: Baroness Iron-Jaw (Entry 46-50). She perfectly bridges the gap between the grounded horror of the Red Room and the "Super-Science" of Victorious.
NPC: Baroness Hedwig von Zeller ("Iron-Jaw")
Role: Prussian Enforcer / Occult Aristocrat
The Twist: After a French shell shattered her face during the Siege of Paris, she was rebuilt using experimental "Vril-Compression" tech. Her brass lower jaw vents scalding steam when she’s angry, and her voice sounds like grinding tectonic plates.
1. Victorious Stats (The Super-Powered Threat)
In Victorious, she is a Mid-Level Villain or a very dangerous rival.
Rank: 4 (Veteran)
Prime Attributes: Constitution and Strength.
Powers:
Super-Strength (Rank 2): Her hydraulic jaw and neck servos allow her to bite through steel cables or crush a man's throat.
Steam Vent (Energy Blast - Fire/Heat): Once every 3 rounds, she can vent a 10ft cloud of scalding steam. Damage: $2d6$ plus a Stun effect on a failed Save.
Armor (Rank 3): Her reinforced brass jaw and leather-and-iron corset provide significant protection against small arms.
Weakness: Internal Pressure. If her venting valves are jammed (Called Shot), she takes $1d10$ damage per turn from internal overheating.
2. Bella Époque Stats (The OSE/Gritty Horror)
In Bella Époque, she is a Terrifying Elite NPC. Combat with her should be avoided unless the players have a plan.
Armor Class: 4 [15] (Reinforced Plate & Brass)
Hit Dice: $5+2$ (Average 25 HP)
Attacks: 1 × Luger Pistol ($1d6$) or 1 × Hydraulic Bite ($1d10$)
Special: * Scalding Hiss: Anyone in melee range when she "vents" must save vs. Breath Weapon or take $1d8$ damage and be blinded for 1 round.
Morale: 11 (She is fanatically devoted to the Prussian cause).
Loot: 50gp in Prussian Marks, a vial of "Vril-Oil" (lubricant/stimulant), and the key to a Steam-Cutter boat.
3. Playing the Baroness
The Look: She wears high-fashion Prussian mourning silks, but from the nose down, she is a nightmare of ticking gears and copper tubes. She often wears a silk veil that flutters violently when she breathes.
The Conflict: She is currently hunting "Deserters of the Steam-Corps"—soldiers who have fled the front lines because the experimental tech is driving them mad.
The Hook: She approaches the players in a foggy Parisian café (hiding her jaw with a fan) and offers them a "Bounty" to find a missing Prussian engineer. If they refuse, the fan drops, the steam hisses, and the Victorious combat begins.
To capture the transition from the Franco-Prussian War to the Bella Époque, this table is split into three tiers of "Vril-Tech": Grounded Gear (low cost/high risk), War-Machine Tech (military grade), and Aetheric Marvels (high-powered items that feel like Victorious superpowers).
D100 Vril-Tech & Steampunk Gear
| D100 | Item Name | Category | Mechanical Benefit |
| 01-05 | Galvanic Suture Kit | Medical | Heals $1d8$ HP instantly; 15% chance of "Aether-Scarring" (-1 CHA). |
| 06-10 | Coal-Dust Respirator | Survival | +4 bonus to Saves against gas/smoke; requires filter change daily. |
| 11-15 | Piston-Assist Gauntlet | Tool | Grants +2 to STR checks; uses 1 unit of steam per hour. |
| 16-20 | Phlogiston Lantern | Utility | Burns blue; reveals invisible "Aetheric" spirits within 20ft. |
| 21-25 | Brass Ear-Trumpet + | Utility | Listen checks at +3 bonus; can "hear" radio waves as static. |
| 26-30 | Spring-Heeled Boots | Movement | Double jumping distance; $1$ in $6$ chance of a misfire (sprained ankle). |
| 31-35 | Vril-Laced Absinthe | Consumable | Grants "The Sight" (Infravision) for 1 hour; causes $1d4$ Wisdom damage. |
| 36-40 | Clockwork Lockpick | Tool | Auto-succeeds on mundane locks; loud clicking gives -5 to Stealth. |
| 41-45 | Needle-Gun (Vril-Mod) | Weapon | Fires armor-piercing darts ($1d8$); ignores 2 points of AC. |
| 46-50 | Steam-Pressure Vest | Armor | AC +2; can "Vaporize" once per day to soak a critical hit. |
| 51-55 | Voltaic Saber | Weapon | $1d8$ damage; on a "Natural 20," it stuns the target for 1 round. |
| 56-60 | Portable Babbage Box | Info | A suitcase-sized calculator; grants +4 to Lore/Math checks. |
| 61-65 | Aetheric Monocle | Detection | Allows the user to read any language for $1d10$ minutes. |
| 66-70 | Pneumatic Grapple | Movement | 60ft range; can pull the user up or pull an enemy closer. |
| 71-75 | "Iron-Lung" Rebreather | Survival | Allows underwater breathing for 30 mins; loud hissing sound. |
| 76-80 | Vril-Battery Pack | Power | Recharges any tech item; 5% chance of exploding for $3d6$ damage. |
| 81-85 | Clockwork Messenger Bird | Utility | Delivers a 30-second voice recording to a known location. |
| 86-90 | Hydraulic Exoskeleton | Power | STR becomes 20 for 10 mins; user is Fatigued afterward. |
| 91-95 | Tesla Discharge Glove | Weapon | Short-range bolt ($2d10$); consumes 1 full Vril-Battery. |
| 96-00 | The Kaiser’s Eye | Marvel | Small drone that transmits a visual feed back to a hand-held glass. |
How to Blend the Systems with this Gear:
For Bella Époque: These items are rare, expensive, and often dangerous to use. A "misfire" should feel like a horror movie moment—gears snapping, steam burning the user, or Aether-poisoning setting in.
For Victorious: These are the standard "Gadgets" or "Equipment" for non-powered characters. They are more reliable and function like the "Utility Belt" of a Victorian hero.
Item Breakdown: The "Needle-Gun" (Vril-Mod)
Starting with the Prussian War, this is the iconic weapon of your setting.
The Look: A standard Dreyse needle-gun, but with a glowing blue canister near the hammer.
Victorious Stats: Treat as a Gadget (Rank 1 Energy Blast - Piercing).
Bella Époque Stats: Damage $1d8$. On a damage roll of 8, the projectile explodes, dealing an additional $1d4$ splash damage to adjacent enemies.
In the Bella Époque, reputation is everything. It is a world of sharp contrasts: high-society galas vs. soot-stained slums. Using "Vril-Tech"—the very technology that pulverized the French lines in 1870—comes with a heavy social cost.
This system tracks how the public and the authorities perceive the party.
The Fame & Infamy Tracker
Characters start at 0 (Neutral). Their actions shift them toward Hero of the Republic (+) or Prussian Collaborator/Mad Scientist (-).
The Scale
| Score | Rank | Social Effect |
| +15 | Grand Liberator | Free lodging in Paris; invited to the Élysée Palace; +4 to Social Checks. |
| +5 | Local Favorite | Shopkeepers offer 10% discounts; police look the other way for minor crimes. |
| 0 | The Unknown | No modifiers. You are just more faces in the fog. |
| -5 | The Uncanny | People cross the street to avoid you; 10% markup on goods; -2 to Social Checks. |
| -15 | Public Enemy | Gendarmes arrest on sight; mobs form if you are spotted using Vril-Tech. |
How to Gain/Lose Points
| Action | Shift | System Focus |
| Publicly defeating a Prussian Remnant | +2 | Victorious (Heroism) |
| Using Vril-Tech to save a civilian | +1 | Victorious (Utility) |
| "Aether-Leaking" in a public place (property damage) | -1 | Bella Époque (Chaos) |
| Visible cybernetic/Vril mutations (per limb) | -2 | Bella Époque (Horror) |
| Accused of spying for the German Empire | -5 | Social/RP |
The "Vril Stigma" Mechanic
Because your campaign starts with the 1st Prussian War, Vril-Tech is seen as the "Devil’s Engine."
The Rule of the Veil: When in a "Grounded" area (The Red Room's gritty districts), any player using a Victorious power or high-tier Vril-Tech must make a Charisma (Siege Engine) or Save vs. Paralysis (OSE).
Success: You kept it subtle. No Infamy.
Failure: Someone saw the blue sparks or the hydraulic hiss. -1 Infamy.
The "Gazette" Events
Every few sessions, roll on this table to see how the Parisian newspapers (Le Figaro or Le Petit Journal) are covering the party:
"The Brass Saviors": A positive article. +1 Fame.
"Science Run Amok": A scathing critique of your gear. -1 Fame.
"Spies Among Us": A sketch of a player appears in the "Wanted" section. -3 Fame.
"The Belle of the Ball": A player is praised for their "Modern Style." +2 Fame.
Interaction between Systems
Victorious: Higher Fame allows characters to access "Government Grants" (Bonus Gadget points or Wealth).
Bella Époque: Higher Infamy increases the "Encounter Die" frequency. The world becomes more dangerous because the law (and the underworld) is hunting you.
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