The fog claws at the plunging hooves of the horses as the carriage wades past you in the twilight. You urge yourself forwards, fearful of drowning in this sea of vapour, your eyes drawn to others like you trying to keep afloat.

The sounds of the city are dulled by this shroud, the voices too are quieter. They are waiting, you feel their anticipation, they are holding their breath, your breath. Your chest begins to heave as their grasp tightens. Then you see it, forming a shape in the mist ahead of you, the presence pulling at wisps of dirty air to clothe it and make it real in this street. You feel the chill of panic raising the hairs at the back of your neck – why don't the others stop and look in horror at what you behold? How can that young couple smile as they pass by this ghostly form?

It moves towards you, gliding silently and you fancy that it begins to smile – it wants something. Something inside you, something that you need and the voices scream at you to flee! Almost falling over your own haste, you pull yourself out of your frozen fascination and dive into the white sea behind you.

The campaign is open-ended, there are no deadlines, it's a single-character game and turns are processed individually, although we do recommend that those who want a lot of interaction with other players should aim to send in their turns at least every few weeks. Like all our games, you can play by post or email or a combination of the two, although the physical design and structure of the turns are such that people receiving them by post will get more out of them.

If you've played Ixion's Wheel, UNEXPLAINED or Inferno, then you'll be familiar with the depth and invention of our role-playing games – The Centre Cannot Hold, developed by UKG from the original design by Nic Haynes of Cakey Pig, is darker, more intense and more involving than anything we've released before. Nightmares guaranteed!

Contents:

• Introduction
• Creating a Character
• Character Development
• Overview of Victorian London
• Prominent Persons of the Age
• Technology and Transport
• The Culture of the Age
• Treatment and Care of the Insane
• Practicalities of Playing the Game
• Acknowledgements and Bibliography