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What we do, who we are, and why we do it.
"Can't you see? I'm the narrator and this is just the prologue."
- Panic! At the Disco, "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage"
Welcome to Fractured Thrones, a Live-Action Role-Playing Game of personal horror. The website has a large amount of information about the game - both how it's played and who plays in it. However, this should allow anyone, both seasoned role-players and new players alike, to come to Fractured Thrones and know what to expect, ready to join the game.
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"Role-play" is defined by the Random House Dictionary as "to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), especially in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction." Basically, one role-plays by taking on a character, much like in a play, but without a script. Instead, one reacts to a situation based on their knowledge of that character. It can be as simple as a childhood game of Cops 'n' Robbers or elaborate as a professional improvisational theater group with costumes and sets. Fractured Thrones falls somewhere in between. Each player - the real person - takes on a character and pretends to be that character during the game. Because Fractured Thrones is a Vampire: the Masquerade game, most players choose to play vampires, immortal creatures who drink blood to live and constantly fight an inner battle between their predatory nature and their remaining connection to humanity. |
| You get to create your character from the beginning. It's a chance to do things you can't or don't do in real life, to take a bit of your personality and expand it, or try something you've never done before. You choose everything about your character, from how strong or smart they are to what they did as a mortal and who their friends are. You, with the help of other players and staff of the game, make a character who seems alive, with strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and flaws. |
| Once you have your character, you enter the World of Darkness, a world similar to ours, but not quite the same. In the World of Darkness, everything is manipulated by vampires working in the shadows. Crime is more frequent and more violent. The division between rich and poor is wider. Buildings don't just tower; they loom. Clubs aren't just loud; they throb. Gangs don't just run the streets; they terrorize them. Descriptions of your surroundings, and the events which occur within them, come from the Storyteller, who runs the game, and the Narrators, who aid the Storyteller. |
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| In this world, your character will interact with other player's characters, known as PC's, as well as characters played by staff members, known as "non-player characters" or NPC's. Events will occur in the world around you which cause your character to react, or you may decide your character will cause the events, forcing everyone else to react. Depending on what your character does, the world responds through other player's reactions and staff descriptions. Together, all the PC's and staff tell a story. You become the main character in a play of your own creation. |
Throughout all of this, you are completely safe. We have a very simple system to deal with physical combat and strict rules against touching of any kind during the game - that includes everything from putting a hand on a shoulder to punching in the face. We also don't allow alcohol or drugs at game site, during or before. Also, we're there with the full consent of the police department and the City Council. Police officers frequently check up on us just to make sure we're okay, and we've never had a problem with any of our rules since the game started in October, 2004.
Also, everyone involved knows it's a game. There are no winners or losers, of course, but when the game ends at night and we go home, it truly ends. We don't believe we are actually vampires, nor are we crazy or in a cult. When we're not playing, we go to work or school, we spend time with our friends and our hobbies, and we live our actual lives. |
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But we love it. We love taking on the thoughts, behaviors, and capabilities of someone else. We get to experience supernatural vampiric powers and the weakness of hunger. We throw cars, mesmerize humans, and talk to ghosts. For two nights every two weeks, we get to be someone else - an immortal predator stalking the night streets of a crumbling world |
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