Game Mechanics

Who your character is, what they say and do, has an impact on their Reputation, and the world responds in ways both expected, and not...

How you build and play your character affects how Society writes about them, what is said about them, how other characters view and write about them, and so much more.

After all, in the Ton, reputation is everything...

Events & Digital Interaction

The optional digital component to gameplay, Chapter Two will host two game-wide events intended to create moments between characters to be written about in letters, and to further story plot points from the game.

Chapter Two also has an active-player discord channel for creating connections, chatting about game (spoiler free), connecting with other players OOC, and posting "Seen in London" moments to contribute to letter writing.

Participation in any digital component is entirely optional.

The Deck

Each character begins game with a Reputation Hand - four cards with unique actions that can be played (submitted to game) or traded and sold.

Reputation Cards are a light mechanic used to track your social standing throughout the Season.

Each card represents a moment of gossip, glory, or misstep within the world of our Regency-era London. You’ll earn cards through letters, event actions, and interactions (with other characters and NPCs) each one shaping your public image.

Positive cards elevate your standing in Society, while faux-pas cards reveal the consequences of scandal, misfortune, or rumor.

At the end of the Season, your collection of cards tells the story of how your reputation rose, fell, or transformed. Think of them as narrative touchstones rather than rigid game rules; each card is also a spark for story and correspondence.

Boons

Card Suits

The starting hand for all players is made of 2 cards that relate to their character history, and two cards that relate to their social strata.

CHARM governs how Society feels about you: your presence, your elegance, your ability to delight or disarm. A well-timed compliment or graceful letter can elevate your name overnight. But one slight misstep, one careless word, and affection curdles into disdain. Charm earns you admirers but lose it and you’ll find yourself swiftly cut. Again.

FORTUNE measures your material means and how you wield them. It encompasses wealth and extravagance, dowries and inheritances, debts and donations, patronage and pure dumb luck. A sudden win at cards might restore your standing while a poorly timed expense could destroy it. Those blessed by Fortune know that luck is a fickle companion, and Society adores nothing so much as a rise… or a fall.

INFLUENCE is the quiet authority that turns gossip and favor into opportunity. It thrives on alliances and connections. One clever word can rescue a name; one rumor can destroy it. In the salons and letters of Society, influence is the most dangerous weapon of all.

VIRTUE defines how Society judges your character, whether your actions align with grace, kindness, and decorum. A selfless act or steadfast loyalty may redeem your name while hypocrisy or cruelty will undo it in an instant. Virtue is the one currency that cannot be faked for long.

Gain

Cards

Reputation can be gained during in-game events, interacting with NPCs (non-player characters) through letters, and notable public activities.

Characters can potentially earn more reputation cards through PC (Player Character) gameplay (i.e. write to each other and interact).

Some cards can be gained through rumours that circulate in Society, whether they are true... or false gossip spread by rivals.

Players can use cards in one of two ways:

Play

Cards

1) submit cards to the game to support an action or event that your character takes.

For example: Lord Muffin has a Fortune Card that details a sudden inheritance of a tidy sum. He "plays the card" by including this in a letter to place a large gambling bet (or pay one off).

2) submit cards to game via the "Postmistress" to create or spread gossip about another character

For example: Liege Scone had a terrible time at Lady Biscuit's dinner and "plays" an influence card with a request to the London Chronicle to include a scathing review of the hostess's taste.

Cards

Hold

Some cards can not be "played" - either for yourself or on another player, they stick with you for the duration of the game.

These cards are based on public in-game actions that effect the reputation - for better or worse - of your character and are use mechanically to determine characters' ultimate rise in good standing or utter infamy.

TRADING OR GIVING CARDS TO OTHER PLAYERS

For cards that qualify, players may pass cards between themselves with an in-game/story reason associated with the content of the card (and in a letter!).

HOWEVER, cards passed to (or through) a non-titled character have an additional plus or minus attached to that card that shifts reputation of the character holding that card at the end of the game.

After all, commoners have their own kind of influence in Society that may at times be more impactful than those with a title...