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thetonmods) wrote2023-05-04 05:45 am
thetonmods) wrote2023-05-04 05:45 am
Culture & Society
Culture and Society
We ask that you read through the setting of our game to learn more about how things work within the world of The Ton.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
This is a game built on intimacy, tea, and hypocrisy. The deity Lady Pheme wishes to see Favored Ones struggle by placing them in impossible positions. While she says she wants to see decorum and propriety from her inhabitants, she places aphrodisiacs in the spa water. She covers her gardens in sex pollen. She fills her world with intimacy magic and tells her subjects not to kiss. The world is ironic, and conflicting, and hypocritical by Pheme's design.
Characters are in Pheme's world where she calls the shots and chuckles at your failure.
And she's terribly happy to have you, Dear Reader...
CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS
All player characters within the Ton are considered Lords and Ladies and are expected to act as such. Pheme's chosen are upper-class, elite, high-end members of society, and there are many rules that come along with that. Members of the ton must be proper. They must be elegant. They must not run where walking will suffice. They must not chew loudly, or snort, or burp aloud. They must not concern themselves with pedestrian things, like labor.
Instead, members of the ton are to focus on the important things, like courting, 💍 marriage 💍, and ensuring they're never caught wearing the same outfit two days in a row.
Everyone in Andovale should be proficient at riding. If one is wearing a gown, it is proper to curtsey, as the same motion when not wearing a gown looks unrefined and as though the party has uncommonly ugly legs. Nevermind that, were one to curtsey in pants, the tightness of the fabric would ensure there would be many split, bare bottoms out in the world. Do use common sense when performing these actions.
This may sound like a lot of rules, but you'll catch on eventually.
THUMOS
Thumos is our in-game currency powered by intimacy magic.
More thoroughly: Thumos is the primary magical energy that Andovale, Lady Pheme, and the game as a whole thrives upon. It takes intimacy and understanding for thumos to be produced. One cannot latch onto a stranger and expect to grow rich from it! Furthermore, only player characters are capable of producing thumos: not NPCs, not animals. Cuddling one's cat won't be enough to survive.
Intimate acts generate thumos. Intimate acts can be anything, but they must be mutual. Taking someone's hand without warning will not generate thumos. There must be a shared understanding and intentionality behind the act for thumos to be produced, otherwise nothing will be felt. Thumos is also a lifeforce, meaning that thumos is necessary for health and wellness. Without generating thumos, a character will eventually grow frail and sick. Fortunately, this won't happen for months. Unless your character is intentionally abstaining from intimacy, this isn't something they need to worry about.
For the sake of simplicity, we tend to avoid quantifying thumos with numerical values. Holding hands with someone will generate a little thumos. Having sex with someone will generate a lot of thumos. 'A lot' is never really defined as '1,000' or '10,000' because that tends to muddy things. In short, if your character is regularly engaging in acts of intimacy, large or small, there's no chance that they'll be running out of money or growing weak.
Some things require more thumos. On our housing page, we have options for larger, more expensive living options. In those cases, characters will need to be sure to generate enough thumos to afford these homes. Other in-game things like jewelry and fine clothes may also require greater thumos, so characters should make sure they're getting busy if they're looking to save up for a purchase like that.
Unlike Reputation, there's no real way to keep track of how much thumos a character has at any given point. We just ask that players use good judgement. A new arrival likely won't have enough thumos for a mansion right off the bat, and someone who gets around should have a pretty stable supply of thumos to spend.
ACTIVITIES + ENTERTAINMENT
The following are considered suitable leisure activities for all members of The Ton:
Needlework: Citizens born and raised in The Ton are usually trained in some sort of craft or needlework by their mother or governess. Indeed, they often possessed fancy workboxes or bags into which went the needles, threads, and the other implements for “Genteel Society” to use.
Music: An evening in Andovale might consist of a comfortable group of friends and acquaintances gathered in the drawing room. Some may be preoccupied with a handicraft such as sewing or knitting over the latest gossip, reading - be it a novel or the newspaper - or playing parlour games. A musically-inclined member might be entertaining them with an instrument, playing and singing the latest songs.
There is a sense of fellowship and companionship with these genteel evenings, helping to deepen bonds that will further influence Thumos-making in the future.
Water-colour painting: Most all members of The Ton are expected to be reasonably proficient with their paintbrushes and blocks of paint (watercolour paints during brought in by Lady Pheme come in solid blocks). Painters can remain indoors to partake in this or go outdoors in order to find worthy subjects for their art. Students of this discipline should have teachers for this activity.
Fencing: Learning to fence is an essential part of a everyone's education. Due to the importance of this skill, students may employ instructors in order to learn. Even if a person never fights a duel, they should still know how to fence.
Angling: Another popular pastime among ton members is the art of fishing/angling, which was seen as sporty and challenging. Oil your rods in the summer with linseed oil and set up along the stream.
Prizefighting / Bare-Knuckle Boxing: Also known as the art of pugilism, if one wishes to get quite fancy about it. These athletic exercises were known for purifying the mind and the body, but they also allowed for betting rounds. Skilled boxers can gather a small fortune from their work. Not to mention that boxing is rather intimate...
Dancing: Dances within The Ton are extremely lively! Naturally, these dances do not include rear-shaking or pelvic thrusting. They do NOT allow for sliding, gliding sedately, as some recent film adaptations seem to suggest. No, dancers within the Ton are expected to perform agile dance steps and exerted themselves in vigorous movements which included hopping, jumping, skipping, and clapping hands. Depending on the dance formation and steps, a bit of light handholding is allowed, meaning that dance floors are some of the most salacious places in the realm and a clear exception to the rules of distance and modesty.
Riding: The horse is a vital part of everyday Regency life, so much so that 'riding habits' are considered an essential part of wardrobe - what one wears specifically when riding. Please, dear reader, do not make a fool of yourself by falling from your horse...
Drawing: Most children of the gentry learned from drawing or painting masters either at home or in school. Some were better than others, but the overall effect of their instruction was tepid. To see someone with a sketchpad in public is quite common and even admirable, so long as their being respectful about their muse. As for outings and meeting with others, some popular options may include: picnics, theatre showings, sailing and rowing, card games, tea parties, fox hunting, promenading within the park, attending fairs and galas, taking seawater, archery.
For more on leisurely pursuits that might creep up within The Ton: Regency Crafts and Pastimes, Regency Reader, A Dance Repository
REPUTATION
Reputation is our current in-game system for rewards and punishment. As all player characters are members of the elite, their Reputation should matter a great deal to them. How they are perceived by others is everything, and it shapes the very nature of the ton. To ensure that her new playthings are doing the best for themselves, Lady Pheme will frequently offer rewards for those who live their best high society life [courting, balls, galas, etc.] and she will occasionally curse those who reflect poorly on her [those who spit in public, and walk about with their cravats untucked].
On on an OOC level, rather that giving rewards for activity, rewards are given for threads that play into the theme of the game. Threads where characters are making house calls, or promenading in the park, or attending balls and dancing the night away can be cashed in for Reputation Points. These points boost your character's standing in society and may unlock extra rewards and opportunities for them. The points can also be spent of things like item regains, pets, potions, and other fun things for your character to enjoy!
Punishments, on the other hand, come when characters rack up enough notoriety for Lady Pheme to take notice. OOC, punishments are purchased by players to give their characters a kick in the ass. In-game, this looks more like Lady Pheme noticing how often your character has been getting into drunken brawls and deciding to do something about it.
Mods keep a loose tab of how many points everyone has, but we also ask that players keep track as well so they're able to know how much they have when it comes time to make a purchase. We provide a small code here that allows for players to make note of their Reputation at any given point.
Read our Reputation page for more.
WORLD, HOUSE, AND HOME
Smoking is frowned upon at this time as the smell is considered unseemly. Dip/chew/snuff is fashionable way to take nicotine, though the habit of spitting is still considered quite unpleasant. Smoking should be done away from the public, like in private alleys and personal homes. Alcohol is welcome in moderation, but becoming overly intoxicated is not a welcome sight. Drugs are also plentiful at this time.
Homes in this realm do not have proper plumbing as we know it today. Showers are not quite in yet, and baths are the most common way to freshen up. Baths are frequent and fashionable. Everyone is expected to bathe at least once per day. Toilets as we know them are also not a thing, and everyone in Andovale uses chamberpots and bourdaloues to handle business most casually, as exemplified by this quote: "During a dinner party, once the men and women had separated, a man might pull out a chamberpot and use it without even breaking the flow of conversation."
There are no churches within The Ton and are characters are not expected to go to services. They may keep a personal statue of their own deities from their homeworlds if they wish, but Lady Pheme will roll her eyes into oblivion. There are also no graveyards as no one within Andovale ever dies. Pheme just magicks people back to life.
For more on Regency life: How to Pee in Regency England, Regency Terms
SETTING QUESTIONS
Money and economy
no subject
We're so glad that you're interested in our game! We're actually in process of making some changes here, all of which should be updated and rolled out by our next TDM [the 27th]. In general, our in-game economy runs on Thumos, which is intimacy based magic money. Thumos is tied to health and wealth. It can be generated by small things, like holding hands with another player character, or larger acts of intimacy, like... a kiss! We have a brief description of this in our FAQ and we make some mention of it on our TDM, but we plan on expanding and adding a full section here as well.
https://thetonmods.dreamwidth.org/3684.html