Gaslight World: A Role-Playing Game Setting
Introduction
Welcome to Gaslight World, a city of shadows and illusions, where the air is thick with the glow of gas lamps and the ever-present fog of deception. In this world, truth is a fragile thing, twisted and manipulated by those who wield power—whether through wealth, status, or sheer force of personality.
This is a society built upon narcissism and narcissistic abuse, an endless cycle of domination and victimhood where no one escapes unscathed. The abuser cries victimhood, the victim becomes an abuser, and the process repeats in endless variations. The city itself functions as a distillation process, refining individuals into more extreme manifestations of narcissism and, simultaneously, more broken forms of trauma.
The rigid caste system—divided into lower, middle, and upper classes—dictates how narcissistic traits and their resulting psychological scars manifest. Each class experiences unique forms of manipulation, control, and self-deception, ensuring that no one, regardless of their status, is ever truly free. Over time, as this cycle continues, the city undergoes a process of evolution, or rather, corruption, in three distinct phases:
1. Basic Gaslight World: The city as it currently exists—a structured, hierarchical society of narcissists and their victims, functioning within a gas-lit Victorian-era metropolis.
2. First Distillation: The natural outcome of a society saturated in narcissistic abuse—the weak are eliminated, the strong become more ruthless, and new social structures form based on the intensification of control and trauma.
3. Second Distillation: The final refinement—the point at which Gaslight World becomes an unrecognizable reflection of its former self, where the narcissistic-victim cycle has reached its ultimate form, and humanity itself is twisted beyond repair.
This game allows players to explore how a society rooted in psychological warfare, manipulation, and trauma evolves, how individuals survive (or don’t), and whether it is possible to break free from the cycle—or if escape is just another illusion.
The Core Structure of Gaslight World
I. The Narcissism-Trauma Cycle in Society
Each caste develops different types of narcissism and different manifestations of trauma in response to the social structures that shape them. Below is a breakdown of how narcissism and Narcissistic Abuse Syndrome (NAS) interact within each class.
1. Lower Class: The Desperate Swarm
• Narcissistic Traits:
• Covert Narcissism: Victim-playing, martyr complex, passive-aggressive control.
• Communal Narcissism: Manipulative altruism, extreme moral superiority, self-righteousness.
• Malignant Codependency: Enabling abuse to secure a sense of belonging.
• Trauma Manifestation:
• CPTSD Symptoms: Learned helplessness, hypervigilance, paranoia.
• Behavioral Effects: Extreme loyalty to abusers, moral policing, forming “swarms” to take down perceived threats.
• Resulting Social Effect:
• Mob mentality, violent communal justice, collective gaslighting.
2. Middle Class: The Masked Strivers
• Narcissistic Traits:
• Overt Narcissism: Grandiosity, superiority, relentless ambition.
• Vulnerable Narcissism: Anxiety-driven need for validation, deep insecurity masked by arrogance.
• Social-Climbing Narcissism: Ruthless social engineering, weaponized charm.
• Trauma Manifestation:
• CPTSD Symptoms: Chronic self-doubt, emotional dysregulation, perfectionism.
• Behavioral Effects: Addiction to status, moral relativism, obsession with appearing “good.”
• Resulting Social Effect:
• Cutthroat careerism, performative virtue, social sabotage.
3. Upper Class: The God-Kings
• Narcissistic Traits:
• Malignant Narcissism: Extreme entitlement, sadism, viewing others as pawns.
• Grandiose Delusion: Belief in their own divine right to rule, reality warping through sheer will.
• Predatory Narcissism: Calculated cruelty, addiction to power and control.
• Trauma Manifestation:
• CPTSD Symptoms: Emotional numbness, paranoia, inability to form real connections.
• Behavioral Effects: Ritualized cruelty, addiction to dominance, self-destruction through excess.
• Resulting Social Effect:
• A ruling elite so detached from reality that they exist in a self-created fantasy world, forcing their delusions onto society through sheer power.
II. The Three Distillation Phases: The Evolution of a Narcissistic Society
As the city’s collective narcissism and trauma escalate, the distillation process takes place, pushing Gaslight World into ever more extreme forms of social decay.
Stage 1: Basic Gaslight World (The Status Quo)
• A functioning but deeply toxic society where narcissists and victims are locked in cycles of manipulation.
• Gaslighting is so normalized that most inhabitants don’t even realize it is happening to them.
• Class-based narcissistic strategies ensure that everyone is complicit in the system.
Stage 2: First Distillation (Collapse & Consolidation)
• The weak are either consumed or transformed into stronger, more ruthless entities.
• The lower class forms militant mob factions, enforcing their own warped sense of justice.
• The middle class becomes obsessively performative, seeking purity through extreme ideology.
• The upper class creates totalitarian “realities”, where their narcissistic fantasies dictate law.
• Reality itself becomes fractured—people exist in entirely different versions of truth.
Stage 3: Second Distillation (The Ultimate Refinement)
• Society is no longer recognizable—it has become a war of realities.
• Entire factions exist within alternate worldviews, where conflicting delusions are violently defended.
• The lower class has formed a collective hivemind, eliminating individual thought.
• The middle class now functions purely through artificial performance, no one knows what is real.
• The upper class transcends humanity, creating God-Emperors who shape reality itself through sheer willpower.
III. Narcissistic Strategies & Their Corresponding Trauma Effects
Narcissistic Strategy Tactic Used Resulting Trauma in Victims
Gaslighting Reality manipulation CPTSD, paranoia, inability to trust senses
Triangulation Playing people against each other Chronic self-doubt, fear of abandonment
Love Bombing & Devaluation Extreme validation followed by withdrawal Emotional addiction, self-worth collapse
Future Faking Promising a better future to maintain control Existential despair, loss of personal agency
Projection Accusing others of what they themselves do Identity confusion, guilt, internalized shame
Ritualized Humiliation Public shaming to destroy autonomy Learned helplessness, suicidal ideation
Manufactured Crisis Constant chaos to maintain control Hypervigilance, inability to rest or plan
How This RPG Works
Players take on the roles of inhabitants of Gaslight World, navigating its treacherous social landscape. They must decide:
• Will they adapt and survive, becoming narcissists themselves?
• Will they resist and suffer, trying to break free from the cycle?
• Will they shape reality itself, becoming architects of the city’s final form?
Every interaction is a battle of perception, every relationship a web of manipulation, and every decision risks pulling the player deeper into the cycle—or, perhaps, allowing them to escape.
But is escape even real? Or just another illusion?
Welcome to Gaslight World. Trust no one. Not even yourself.
Locations & Events of Gaslight World
Gaslight World is a city where every location serves as a stage for manipulation, power struggles, and psychological warfare. The culture of the town is reflected in these locations, which cater to the needs and desires of its inhabitants based on their caste. Each space serves as a microcosm of the larger narcissistic-trauma cycle, reinforcing the themes of control, deception, and social survival.
Upper Class Locations (The Architects of Reality)
1. The Gilded Ballroom (Masked Ball & High Society Gatherings)
• Events: Lavish masquerades, power-brokering banquets, arranged marriages, political intrigues, blackmail exchanges disguised as flirtations.
• Characters:
• The Hostess – A master of social engineering, manipulating guests into revealing secrets.
• The Scandal-Monger – Trades in whispered rumors to destroy reputations.
• The Mask Maker – Provides masks that represent hidden truths.
• The Debutante – A young socialite offered as a prize to the highest bidder.
2. The Crimson Salon (Sex Parties & Ritualized Debauchery)
• Events: Orgies, secret affairs, dominance games, public humiliations, the selection of “pets” from lower classes.
• Characters:
• The Courtesan-Mistress – Controls access to the most desired individuals.
• The Voyeur Baron – Watches but never participates, weaving people into his plots.
• The Submissive Noble – A powerful figure who relinquishes control to cope with their own trauma.
• The Disgraced Aristocrat – Stripped of wealth but still kept around as entertainment.
3. The Velvet Theatre (Symbolic Reality Control through Performance)
• Events: Elaborate plays where actors are forced to reenact real scandals, scripted trials where the outcome is pre-decided, “Truth Plays” where the script changes based on the whims of the audience.
• Characters:
• The Playwright Tyrant – Uses theatre to rewrite history.
• The Fallen Actor – Once a star, now a pawn in social games.
• The Director of Lies – Controls what is seen and what is censored.
4. The Eclipsed Garden (High Society Duels & Vendettas)
• Events: Duels over status, secret assassination rituals, poisoned feasts, “friendship betrayals” where the loser is cast out of society.
• Characters:
• The Silent Duelist – Fights not for honor, but as a tool of social strategy.
• The Whispering Poisoner – Sells undetectable means of silencing rivals.
• The Eternal Loser – Exists only as a sacrificial figure to be humiliated by others.
Middle Class Locations (The Strivers & Pretenders)
5. The Aspiration Club (Where Social Mobility is Bought and Sold)
• Events: Business deals cloaked as intellectual debates, rigged investment opportunities, career sacrifices where one person must fall for another to rise.
• Characters:
• The Social Broker – Determines who gets to move up the ranks.
• The Climbing Clerk – Will betray anything to gain favor.
• The Fake Philanthropist – A narcissist posing as a benefactor.
6. The Harmonium (Religious Zealotry & Public Shaming Rituals)
• Events: Public confessions, “morality auctions” where reputations are traded, spiritual purity contests.
• Characters:
• The Purity Minister – Controls guilt as a social currency.
• The Fallen Preacher – Secretly addicted to the very sins he condemns.
• The Self-Flagellant – A symbol of suffering, used to manipulate the masses.
7. The Silver Mirror Café (Gossip, Performance, and Self-Delusion)
• Events: Poetry recitals that double as political propaganda, affairs begun and ended over tea, slander disguised as witty conversation.
• Characters:
• The Patron Saint of Gossip – Decides which rumors are elevated to truth.
• The Starving Artist – Worshipped today, forgotten tomorrow.
• The Aging Beauty – Clings to youth through manipulation and intrigue.
8. The Judges’ Hall (Ritualized Justice & Legal Manipulation)
• Events: Trials where guilt is pre-decided, courtroom battles that determine social rank, theatrical sentencing rituals.
• Characters:
• The Unjust Judge – Takes bribes in secrets, not money.
• The Courtroom Performer – A lawyer who wins cases through sheer spectacle.
• The Sacrificial Criminal – Framed to uphold the illusion of justice.
Lower Class Locations (The Desperate Swarm & the Devoured)
9. The Broken Bridge (Where the Forgotten Gather & Plot Rebellion)
• Events: Underground resistance meetings, false revolutionary movements controlled by the elite, executions of those who dared to hope.
• Characters:
• The Fake Revolutionary – Secretly works for the nobility to give people false hope.
• The Disillusioned Idealist – Once believed in change, now drowning in cynicism.
• The Spy Among the Poor – Sent to report back to the upper classes.
10. The Rattling Pub (Where Misery and Violence are Currency)
• Events: Drunken confessions turned into blackmail, bar fights that determine hierarchy, arranged betrayals over cheap drinks.
• Characters:
• The Bartender of Secrets – Knows everyone’s weaknesses.
• The Debt-Ridden Fighter – Forced to duel for survival.
• The Desperate Gambler – Betting their soul for one last chance.
11. The Morgue Beneath the Streets (Where the Dead Tell Lies)
• Events: Fake burials for those escaping the system, body sales to medical collectors, hauntings real or imagined.
• Characters:
• The Whispering Coroner – Knows who is truly dead and who is not.
• The Body Thief – Steals corpses to sell secrets.
• The Grieving Phantom – A victim who never truly died.
12. The Forgotten Ward (Sanitarium of the Gaslit Mind)
• Events: Fake diagnoses to silence political dissidents, unethical experiments to create the “perfect victim,” therapy sessions that break minds instead of healing them.
• Characters:
• The Mad Doctor – Believes suffering purifies the soul.
• The Gaslit Patient – Doesn’t know if they were ever sane.
• The Escaped Lunatic – Knows the truth but cannot convince anyone.
Conclusion
Gaslight World thrives on illusion, deception, and psychological warfare. Each location plays a critical role in reinforcing the social order while ensuring no one truly knows what is real. The city is a stage where every interaction is a power struggle, every word a weapon, and every desire a carefully constructed trap.
Players must navigate these spaces, deciding whether they will conform, manipulate, or attempt to escape—if escape is even possible.
See Also: Gaslight World
See Also: Gaslight Society
See Also: Refining Gaslight World
See Also: Trauma Conditioning
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