Group: Admin
Posts: 75
Member No.: 1
Joined: 25-July 08
“Why should I join?” Because our staff and members are cool, friendly, and the setting kicks ass. We strive to achieve an immersive level of historical realism without slavishly following a history textbook. Our goal is to create a dramatic human story of crime and law enforcement during a time of great historical upheaval.
“When/where is it set?” Bow Street is set in London, in the year 1754. It's December, so it's getting 'round to Yuletide.
“What’s the backstory?” Well…the backstory is real history. The events we focus on in the RPG are the early years of the Bow Street Runners, England’s first organized and effective police force. Six years into their establishment, the founder, Henry Fielding, passed away (natural causes? Or something more sinister? We don’t really know…) and his blind brother John was left to carry on his vision.
“What kind of content is there in this story?” Primarily dramatic noir. We’re dealing with organized crime in a very ugly and brutal time, after all. This is not Pirates of the Caribbean…forget the romantic Baroque ideal. Bow Street is a walk down the seamier side of life, and you can count on finding some scarily inhuman stuff out there. However, the story will be free-form, and players are welcome to create their own storylines – romance, comedy, bildungsroman…the field is open to just about anything.
“Is mature content allowed?” Graphic violence is going to be pretty much a given, so the main board is rated PG-13. Explicit (tastelessly explicit, anyway) sexual content will be unacceptable, however, and any adult-themed threads will be placed in a protected forum.
“What must I do to join?” Create a believable, appropriate character using our profile template, and wait for the staff to read and review it. You will have to demonstrate in your profile the following qualities: 1 – basic command of the written English language; 2 – a minimum knowledge of the setting (the Background Information section is meant to help with this); 3 - the ability to tell a convincing and interesting story. The staff will comment and advise you on any changes that you need to make to your profile, and hopefully at the end you will be approved and ready to start.
"What kind of characters can I create?" Any balanced character within reason. You can be an aristocrat, a tradesman, a labourer, a thief, a thief-taker, a prostitute, a child...whatever you like, as long as it fits into the setting and is not a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.
"Well, what is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu?" See this topic to find out! Essentially a Sue/Stu is an overblown, larger-than-life character that tries to hog the spotlight.
“How do I RP?” You work cooperatively with other members to tell a story, essentially. This is not like Dungeons and Dragons. There is no dice-rolling. Instead, think of it as something like a novel written from several viewpoints. You will control your own character’s thoughts, actions, and reactions in the storyline, and other players will write responses from their own characters’ viewpoints to create a flow of action or dialogue and, hopefully, a plot.
“Who are the staff?” Currently the staff consists of myself and Justitia. We are old friends, and both of us are experienced writers and roleplayers. Since I’m a moron when it comes to skinning and graphics, Justitia handles most of that side. I am also lazy, so she also helps me with everything else on the board.
“How can I join the staff?” Prove yourself to be useful, dedicated, and knowledgeable. Show us that you can kick ass. If we think you’re capable enough, and we need some extra help, we will invite you to join the staff.
“Can I introduce some supernatural elements? I love fantasy/paranormal/horror stories, and I think this site would be better with a little of that added in.” I’m afraid the answer is absolutely not. We do not want the supernatural creeping into Bow Street. There should be enough factual horrific material in real history to satisfy any craving for monstrosities.
“I am a huge fan of Interview with a Vampire/Pirates of the Caribbean/Sweeney Todd and I’d like to play Lestat/Jack Sparrow/Sweeney Todd himself on here!” Once again the answer is absolutely not. Characters are required to be either real historical people or else the original invention of the writer. We do not want any fandoms sneaking in and bringing up questions of copyright.
“What if I rename the fandom character?” That’s plagiarism, and it’s not allowed either.
"I have a suggestion about the story. What do I do with it?" Awesome! Bring it up for public discussion in the Open Table forum, and we'll see if it can be implemented!
“I have a technical question about signatures/avatars/account names/some other feature on the forum. What do I do?” PM and pester either myself or Justitia to help you. It’s our job!
“I have a complaint about the behaviour of a member or staffer. Who do I contact about this?” Please get in touch with either Justitia or myself and we will try to resolve the issue.
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