Bath Camarilla is a live-action roleplaying game that begins in the 1880s, back when Bath was known as the city of Aquae Sulis. Don't worry if you can't remember that; a new and convenient phrase is forming after the recent discovery of the Roman Baths, and both ends of the social strata are beginning to refer to the city by a new colloquialism: Bath.
It's recommended that you begin by reading the (OOC) followed by the (IC).
We are using the Mind's Eye Theatre version of Vampire the Masquerade for game rules; if you'd like to contribute to By Night Studios and their incredible world you and support their development team. It also means that you've got a handy copy during the game, but is in no way mandatory.
To make online challenges we recommend you bookmark whichever online game for Rock, Paper Scissors you find to your taste (for example ); RPS is also known as the game of Roshambo for Googling purposes. Please be courteous with challenges and if at all possible, decide between yourselves in the RP for cinematic effect, what you'd like to gain out of the action.
The Storytellers do not have time to be making all the checks on this forum and we would prefer you settle these between yourselves. However, partly because we understand that this is not always possible and partly because one of the STs is a self-proclaimed roleplay voyeur and will be reading all of these anyway, you can contact us if you have no certain way of resolving a dispute. There may be times you do not wish to publicise to another player certain stat advantages that would affect your challenge outcome (Merits, Disciplines not expected of your clan, snowflake material etc.) and for this you may ask of us the role of third party mediator. Contact Delia in this case - by Facebook or email.
The Storytellers may not always be up to date on the activities of this forum. One of us moderates it regularly but players are notoriously keen and speedy with that keen, so we might miss (or forget!) roleplays. If you achieve anything that you think affects the world and our NPCs, please notify us; do not expect us to be aware "of that post in the Asylum that Bob started when Fred stole my character's sweetroll" when referencing things in messages to us (or in your Downtimes) because we may not know what on earth you're talking about. If you refer to a situation on this forum, describe it in summary. It will jog our memories if nothing else
Vampire: the Masquerade is a mature, horror-based game, and as such players and the game organisers may wish to introduce themes such as violence, sex, gore etc.
For roleplays which involves the following, however, please put at the top of the post to which it appears in:
Child Abuse or Underage Sex
Graphical sexual descriptions
Electrotherapy/Electrolysis/Electric Torture
Non-consensual sex, Presence-inspired included
Graphically detailed torture
Swearing is permitted without warnings.
Keep in mind that exploring the mental thought-chain of a character thinking about any of the above is bringing that topic up in that roleplay. So you'll need to tag the post with a warning.
If at any point someone says that they are OC uncomfortable about something you must stop immediately. You can ((chat OC to one another in double brackets)) or send a Private Message to the player(s) involved. It's a nice idea to message the players you are interacting with in on a forum thread if it looks to be developing in a mature direction just to confirm everyone is happy with the potential topics to come.
Please note that 'slut-shaming' be it male or female (i.e. making any person feel guilty or inferior for certain sexual behaviours or desires that deviate from orthodox gender expectations) and gender prejudice are prevalent in the Victorian Era. Going outside of the cultural norm is less accepted; it is an intolerant age and you may face IC consequences and different behaviour for doing so. Bath is heavily divided with its elite and its darker, hedonistic and hidden underbelly; bringing the latter into the former is socially horrific. This is naturally less relevant between Elders, who themselves are ancient and static creatures that care little for gender disambiguation or sexual contact; it is prominent among humans and neonates. Toreador are likelier to fall prey to the norms of this century given their close contact with humanity.
Roleplayers are not their characters. IC and OOC conflict should never influence each other, and even when roleplay is emotionally stirring, or something disappointing like a character death happens, take the time to remind yourself that this is just a story, that the horrible vampire character is not the same as the thinking, caring human being playing them, and that roleplay is here to be fun, not stressful.
Keep your IC knowledge and OOC knowledge strictly separate. Metagaming is when your characters knows something they have no reason to know IC, just because you (the roleplayer) know it and want to use it. Metagaming is forbidden - it's unfair to other roleplayers. If you do misspeak, apologise and retcon as appropriate. The Storytellers reserve the right to delete any post they feel was significantly Meta'ed.
You'll often hear the term 'Rule 7' used in roleplaying communities. Rule 7 is simple: don't take the piss. What this means is that you should stick to the spirit of rules and descriptions, rather than getting worked up over specific details.
You should always remember that roleplay is meant to be fun, and that you are here to have fun with other people who also want to enjoy themselves. Don't take advantage of loopholes, play fair, and give others the benefit of the doubt.
You may notice a forum or two that you have access to with a 'Hidden' tag to its title. For example: 'The Chantry ((Tremere Hidden Forum))'. These are visible to certain clans or characters who have Backgrounds that separate them from others in some way. Not every clan currently has hidden forums, though that can be changed with your uptime activity of creating a place in the world for the purpose of clan meetings. These forums will change to reflect the game's uptime; if dear Miroslav's club is bombed in the World War then Miroslav will no longer have a club and it will be removed from the forums. Similarly, if Lady Malota for some reason decided to open a nocturnal Tea Room in the south, we would create a forum for it.
If you have a location that you feel would benefit from a forum being made (establishments open only in the day are unsuitable and will not generate enough roleplay) message a Storyteller.
Personal Havens are typically unsuitable. If you wish to roleplay in your own Haven (either as a one-shot post you've created for game flavour and for other players to enjoy OOC - or because you've invite other characters inside) then use the "Other" forum. There is one located in the "South of the River" forum category and another "North of the River." Determine which best fits your Haven's location. If you take Haven inside the river, feel free to use the "Along the River" forum.
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