GM's Maps #34: Traditional Victorian Member's Club

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The first Gentlemen's clubs were established in the upmarket west end of London. These clubs were open only to the aristocracy and the Landed gentry. With names like 'Whites' and 'Boodles' they took on some of the roles of coffee houses.

and nbsp;As the 19^thcentury progressed there was something of an explosion in the number of traditional members clubs. and nbsp;

and nbsp;Clubs like 'The Reform Club' (Membership of which was restricted to those who pledged to support the 1832 reform act and thus included both peers of the realm and gentlemen of middle-class status) and the purely fictional Diogenes club of which the equally fictitious Sherlock Holmes was a member sprang up all over. By the 1880s London alone had over 400 such members clubs catering only to men and only to those of the middle and upper classes. By now clubs were appearing all over the and nbsp;world form the USA to India.

With the expansion of the numbers of clubs came an expansion in their services as well. These 'Reform clubs' offered middle-class men all the comforts of an aristocratic home. Gambling and coffee were still offered as was an extensive staff employed by the club for the comfort of the members, but many of these new clubs also offered accommodation for members who wished to stay the night (or several nights). At this time some of the older clubs also began to offer overnight accommodation, although this was by no means adopted by all of the original clubs.

By the 21st century, several of the remaining clubs had lifted the embargo on Women joining and so opened up to a wider range of members.

From Sherlock Holmes to and nbsp;Phileas Fogg and Hercule Poirot some of the greatest fictional characters have been members of such clubs, and now your PCs or their and nbsp;Antagonists can too!

Publisher's Licence

Publishers wishing to use this map in their own products may do so subject to the following restrictions;

You may use the map in your own adventures or supplements provided you add your own content.

This map may not be resold as part of a product that is intended primarily as a map or collection of maps.

If you use this map please credit the author B F Irving and Gethsemane Games and include the line and ldquo;Map created with Campaign Cartographer 3 by Profantasy Software and rdquo;