Don Rosa and Gothic Earth

[Malus Black]

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely places. And if you're ever in need of inspiration for a Masque game, you could certainly do a lot worse than browse through Don Rosa's comics. For those who haven't the faintest idea who this is, he draws Uncle Scrooge comics along the lines of Carl Barks, and several of these comics can be introduced more or less seamlessly into a Masque campaign.

Yes, some might require the addition of a villain, and others might benefit from supernatural themes, but other than that, they're more or less perfect (and the historical basis for each story is generally very interesting). Some stories can be nice one-shots (The Ten Avatars (which incidentally has the most awesome dungeon I've ever seen), The Keepers of Wisdom, The Son of the Sun, etc.), while others are mini-campaigns in their own right, such as the Crusader stories.

And if you can get your hands on it, I can't recommend Scrooge McDuck - His Life and Times enough - not only is it a fantastic comic, about half the chapters are also set in the time period of Gothic Earth.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Scrooge McDuck, now there is a gothic character if there ever was one. Though hugely wealthy, he can't bear to part with anything he ever puts in his money vault - which is bad because it attracts so many theives.