The "Free Love" Movement was a short lived movement that rose up around the end of the 1800s, that stressed a number of concepts based around promoting, love based relationships. It saw men and women as equals, encouraging liaisons outside of marriage based upon mutual love and romance. It accepted bigamy, polyamory and homosexuality, despite societal norms. It never really grew from its infancy or caught on, its greatest effects were probably seen in St. Petersburg but it had some effect on European society. This RP will be set in a fictional semi-realistic Victorian setting, and follow the people involved in the is movement, centering around their playground, "The Castello"
The CastelloThe Castello is a hotel named by its patrons for its location on the corner of Castle Road, Dover. Dover is England's largest trading port, bringing in the the fineries of a hundred nations, back to the seat of power. sitting in the south, Dover escapes much of the rain and chill of the region, and with the large shipyards and docks employing most of the people there, it escapes much of the infamous gloomy smog of London. The Castello Rises up 6 stories, a giant for the period and sprawls outwards to cover a large section of the sea front at the edge of the city, giving its patrons a lovely view of the ships, along with the much needed privacy they desire.
The Castello provides all a patron could ever need, it is a restaurant, a hotel, a bar... and a brothel. The Castello is a bourgeoisie playground, where the aristocracy and the new emerging enlightened middle class mingle together in a tantric land of sexual pleasure. The Castello's owner is a member of the movement, and has built up the brothel to serve those within it. It specializes in two things exotic beauty, and extreme sexuality. Victorian England is a place where even the thought of oral sex would be enough to shame one from a community. In this backdrop, The Castello promotes a realm of domination and submission and pleasure fulfillment. Inside its walls nothing is off limits, and people are encouraged to give into their baser desires. It also brings beauties from across the empire. The owner is known for his work as an artist, and chooses his workers for their most striking characteristics, many coming from exotic lands to the east, as well as ethereally beautiful men and women of the homeland.
What Is The Game AboutIn short, an exploration of sexuality in a realm where everything is forbidden. Following the lives of the men and women as they escape away from society and build their own community within the walls of The Castello. The troubles they face and the relationships formed between them. How do the men and women survive in their world away from the commune, do they submit to the cultural norms, or fight to change them. Are they revolutionaries or jaded cynics. Some other fun themes to explore would be the addictiveness of hedonism, and how women react to the society where they are finally free from the social morays of Victorian England.
What do i mean be "semi-realistic" The setting does some strong bending of history for the story. The Free Love movement, whilst followed by quite a few famous revolutionary authors of the period, was, for the whole part, not part of victorian society. As far as we know (or atleast to my knowledge) there was no equivalent place to The Castello. This is an important consideration for the setting and characters being created. The world I wish to portray in this RP is not one of a historical Victorian period, but rather one viewed through an authors lens, to create something much more closely resembling the works of Oscar Wilde than a perfect historical narrative. The important thing with these settings is "authenticity" rather than realism. It should feel real to all those reading, even if perhaps X piece of architecture is out by ten years, or Y dress is from the 1880s rather than the 1870s. This will allow for a compelling story, without everyone needing to have majored in history to enjoy themselves. it is the feel and themes of the period that are the most important to capture.
Character Ideas: So, who would be part of this sort of movement? Historically, it covered both the young and the old, but of course had a special appeal to those in their teens and twenties, when people would be most hungry to push back against society and believe in such idealistic propositions. The fire of passionate love burning the strongest. Some obvious influences for characters could be the students in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. There's also the characters of Oscar Wildes "A Picture of Dorian Gray" Older members might be more radical aristocrats, both men, and the early feminists and romantics of the period like Mary Shelley. We want our revolutionaries, our radicals and our old guard, these new emerging philosophies shaped the people of the time.
What sort of characters do we need:The Aristocrats: both male and female, can be old or young, the old money enlightened elites of society.
The Students: Radicals, Young, usually male. Young men influenced by both their own lust, and their idealism or nihilism.
The New Rich: Those who have become rich through the rise of industrialization and trade, go-getters, men and women of families who built it for themselves. Often looked down upon by the Aristocrats.
The Staff: The Castello needs staff, and the brothel needs workers. Both men and women serve the sexual needs of the new visitors.
So, will your character be an old jaded aristocrat, with The Castello sinces is formation, a young new student brought to this place by friends looking for and adventure, or an exotic beauty from the east, coming to england in search of a new start inside The Castello's walls? When you create your characters be sure to answer three important questions. What made them come to the Castello, What made them believe such a thing, and why do they stay.
Plans for the game are to begin with a masquerade ball, allowing all the characters to meet and interact. (The owner having an obsession with enlightenment culture). From there will be a number of plot threads, and the interpersonal dramas that will hopefully play out.
I'll also be looking for one or two people to co-GM with me, as this will hopefully be a relatively large game.
So, everyone who's interested, post a character below!
The IC and the OOC are currently active but we're always looking for new people. Anyone wanting to take a read can find it below!
