Welcome to the Red Court of London
What is the Red Court?
Well, a quick Google search will bring up all kinds of things, Hotels, Rapier Schools, Holiday Results, and most importantly, Us.
For us, the Red Court is the name of the game we play in.
Originally it was called Kings College Nights, as the game was due to be set in and around the Kings College Campus.
It's a Political Supernatural game of Intrigue that is similar to Rome, with a healthy dose of Buffy, Angel, Charmed, Dresden Files (And the Jim Butcher novels), Anne Rice, the Hunger and backstabbery worthy of Battlestar Galactica.
Oh, and we sometimes smack each other around with latex weapons as well..
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In our game you play Vampires, or their servants.
Immortal, Ageless, and hungry for blood and personal power within vampiric circles and within the mortal world.
Our game is set in a darker version of the real world, we use rules as presented in the World of Darkness game Vampire the Masquerade (3rd ed, AKA OWoD), with one or two exceptions.
The main one is that being "Goth" and wearing a Frilly Shirt is not mandatory.
The Vampire games often get some bad press in other LRP circles due to the Frilly Shirt Brigade, or people who in normal time (not in game time) think they really Are vampires and all that might entail.
Our game is socially heavy, we meet once a month for the official "Court", where you (the vampires) gather to trade information, insults and garner allies.
As well as the Court once a month, we also use a system called "Downtime" which is the periods inbetween the Courts where a vampire accheives their other goals not (usually) involving others from the Court.
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There are many kinds of vampires in the world but they mostly belong to Clans & Bloodlines, many of which are available to the players.
Seven of the Clans and bloodlines belong to a sect called the Camarilla, who are the "Good Guy" vampires.
Well, as much as a blood drinking immortal creature of the night could ever be a good guy...
Each Clan or Bloodline has a sort of stereotype for the vampires that belong within its ranks, however players are not required to "Play to Type".
Brujah
In modern nights the brujah are a rough and ready clan, the anger of the Beast rise to the surface, and they can often be found in the Roughest bars.
Typically Bikers, Thugs or Bouncers, the Brujah have a long forgotton history of Intellect however...
Gangrel
The loner Gangrel, companions to the animals of the earth and sky.
Survivalists and Eco-Aware individuals fill the clan in the modern nights.
As they grow older, the Beast begins to show its mark in their face and body.
Malkavian
Touch by some inner madness, the malkavians embrace anybody.
There are no typical Malkavians, each one, just like his insanity, is unique.
Nosferatu
The subteranian Nosferatu wear their Curse visible to the world, hideous to behold, they often posess a softer and more humane nature.
Nosferatu by their accursed nature tend to become infomation gatherers or subtle spies.
Toreador
Art for Arts sake, Beauty is only skin deep, but so is blood...
The toreador are often the Social Elite, artists of one form or another, ever ready to upstage those of lesser skills.
Typically they're artists and musicians, poets and writers, and many become entranced by things which are Beautiful in the world.
Tremere
Secretive and often secluded, the Tremere are Occultists without peer, or so they assure everyone.
Often to the mortal world they appear to be relegious, cultists, mediums or even debunkers of the "Mystical Realm".
The tremere are tightly bound to their ruling council however.
Ventrue
The Political Elite, High Rollers and Movers & Shakers of both vampire and mortal society.
All ventrue feed selectively.
There is also an 8th group of vampires who do not know their heritage or their blood is to weak to show their true heritage, the Caitiff, they are often considered by the other clans to be little more than cannon fodder and perfectly expendable.
These Caitiff often form the bulk of the "Disafected Youth" of the system, and are often Anarchs, trying to change the system from within, often with disastrous results!
So, as you can see, you can be just about anything you can imagine as a vampire, from grungy Hippies through to Royalty, so why not give us a try.
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So, whats it all about?
Power. Passion. Betrayal.
In the Red Court there is no real Win or Lose.
There is only "i could have done better from that" or "i got so much from that!".
You play the part of a Vampire, or one of its servants, and its down to you to interact with the world (Also known as the Plot or Story Arc).
Your character might have something others need to succeed in a situation, or you might want to thwart other players from accheiving things because they may start encroaching on what you own or control.
Normally the year will start off with some big event that the Court (the players) will have to react to.
How your character would react is entirely up to you.
You're free to do just about anything you want in game, however there could be repercussions from other characters or the world of mortals and its authorities.
Want to go killing werewolves? Sure, go for it, however you might be breaching some kind of treaty which could jeopardise the lives of all the vampires in the city.
So, still set on killing all the werewolves? Great, just find a way to blame some one else if it all goes wrong or get ready to appear out of no where to show you were behind the culling of all those terrible beasts and claim your reward for it!
Virtually Everything you do in the game will have some kind of follow on effect, even if its just word of mouth, or armies knocking at your door at noon to kill you.
Just like the Real World.
What do You Do?
Me, i run every thing.
I'm the God(s) of the setting.
It's down to me to ensure that every one has a good time, and that over a course of time a story, or indeed several interwoven stories are all told.
I'm the guy that has to sit down a week and a half before the game and make up Rumours for the players to talk about or follow up, they're kind of like Plot Hooks in movies or books, and i don't mind if they dont get followed, because they may just be good old Red Herrings, there to lead people astray and confuse them as to what is Really Happening.
Its down to me to reply to players Down Times, where they describe what actions they will be taking inbetween Courts to ensure other plaers dont try to shaft them, or indeed to try to shaft other players.
It's all a bit Political. But Fun.
Each day of the game i often make sure our venue is all arranged, collect the money, hand out character sheets and information, catch up and chit chat with players, put new people at ease, and most importantly, have a beer and make sure i enjoy myself as well.
After all, i'm part of the game too.
Do you Really Drink Blood?
Nope. We're based in a pub, so we drink beer, wine, coke, lemonade, water and juice.
Some players do like to have Red Drinks, like wine, but its not something you have to do. We just Imagine the glasses are not there :)
What if i Want to wear a Frilly Shirt and have a daft Tansilvanian Accent?
Sure go for it, you won't really get any stick from us...
Much. ;)
Aren't you all a bit big to be playing Pretend?
Probably Yes. But thats not going to stop us now is it?!
What about Werewolves or Wizards?
Shapeshifters do indeed exist, and they are the nemesis of the Vampires, just like in the movie Underworld :)
Wizards also exist, but they are so odd that vampires cannot often distinguish them between normal humans.
They weild powers the likes of which no Vampire could ever dream of, they shape reality on its most basic level..
Frankensteins Creation or Ghosts like that Patrick Swayze guy?
Frankenstein Creations don't Technically Exist in our setting, but thats not to say that something Like them might turn up and be a bit of a threat or even a potential Ally to the Court or to just some Characters..
Ghosts however do Exist.
In this setting they're called Wraiths, however they are not something that you're allowed to play as their system is dramatically different to the Vampire powers and abilities.
But again, there are type of vampires who can control Wraiths, or atleast try to...
Fairies?
Sorry, no Fae in the Red Court setting, Ever.
Hey, i've heard of Vampire Requiem, is it the same thing?
Yes and No.
It is a game made by the same company who made the rules we use, however it is a totally revised world setting, with a great many things changed.
But if you know about Requiem, then you'll fit right in with our game, it's only the major history and setting thats different.
But if you're playing a Recently Embraced vampire, then you Won't have any need to know much about the Clans, the Camarilla or the Sabbat, so it's really easy to just step in to.
The Red Court is every bit of a Personal Horror Story as Requiem is.
You're in control of your characters actions within the world remember!
Vampire? Isnt that just a game for Emos and "Goffiks"
You're only limited by your imagination and the system rules!
Are there any Hawt Goth Chicks/Dudes at your game?
Come along and find out!
What about Costume?
BAH!
What vampire in his right mind would go round looking like something from harry potter or some bad fantasy epic that never quite made the big screen?
They dress like every one else (though generally look better whilst doing it) and Lowcut bodices or Uber-Goth isnt the key requirement.
"But ive never played anything like that before.... i'll look like an idiot...."
It is really a very simple game, its all People driven, YOU make the plots (or atleast 80% of them), and you dont have to worry about silly accents, sticky blood or fake fangs either!
Come as you are (or as you think your character might come) and let me worry about the rules, its really rules light!
We've an experianced team of Refs and Asst-Refs who've been LRPing in a number of forms for a long lot of years
Sounds good but whats the Age Limit?
As we play in a pub (more often than not) all our players have to be able to prove they are over 18 years of age.
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We meet once a month in Croydon (South London), and we're always looking for new people to come and join, even if you've never done anything like it before.
When we first started our game 9 out of the 15 players had never done anything like it at all before.
Somehow we manage to remain pretty Rules Lite, so if you don't know the rules, it's really not a problem in the slightest, but it's always good to bone up on some of the rules regarding what clan you'd like to play and the powers or abilities they get.
For more information, please mail us at vampref@gmail.com or alternatively check out our Facebook Group.
Email: vampref@gmail.com
