[CHAR] Wolf Manor

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Canon Info

This is the repository for oodles of canon info. Please don't post here.

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NPCs

This is basic information that will be immediately available to your character upon arrival, and they may even have managed to Wiki them if they're being 'cautious'. While these characters should be considered NPC's, I will be playing them as required.

The Wolfs

The Wolfs are indeed a German semi-autocratic family rumoured to distantly be connected to the British monarchy. They are, however, a small family. Officially, Gertrud is the head of the family and inherited the estate from her late husband, Johannes. However, Sol is the real head of the family due to both his mother's ailing sanity and the family's preference for patriarchal power. Lena and Maria are twins, and Sol's sisters.

The Main Staff

While many staff will be seen running events (whom you players should control freely), these main ones are also my NPC agents. Klara Beck is head of staff, and theoretically the senior to both Felix and Michael. However, as Michael is Sol's right-hand man in terms of the legal maintenance of the family's fortune and estate, they are of equal seniority. Felix, the sole Frenchman among the Wolfs' entourage, is officially the 'host'. That is, it is his job to know each member of the family and their guests like the back of his hand, and make sure they want for nothing. If you need anything, particularly the best cocktail you've ever drunk, Felix is your man (as you will be informed on arrival).

Other Staff

There may well be other staff to be used as devices as required. You may yourselves control staff and I dare say that I will at some point as well.

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The Guests

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The Manor

As discussed in the OoC tab, I'm not uploading room information beyond location up-front. PM me if you're going to go somewhere new, and I'll PM you information individually, so you can experience the room through your characters' eyes. After that, I'll load my own notes here for easy reference. What I will upload is a really crappy plan of the Manor, so you know where rooms are. I'll even upload plans of the grounds and other inaccessible areas if/when they become relevant. On the plan, if an area is blocked out in yellow, it means it's 'empty space' that looks down on the room below. Hopefully that makes sense.

Plan

Rooms

Lounge #1:

Comfy, spacious, lots of sofas arranged around a wood burner. A grand piano is in the corner by some lovely big windows with views of the grounds (Call assures me the piano is a good one, but iunno). The walls are covered with a (mostly) chronological portrait history of the Wolf family, though something is slightly off about those portraits that would chronologically correspond to the early part of the twentieth century. The second half of the twentieth century is much more homely, with proper portraits of Sol, Lena and Maria (though his portrait, as the heir, is more prominent) but also family photographs of the siblings, Gertrud and the man you can probably work out is her husband, their father, including all the kitschy baby photos, awkward teenager phases, and a really great photo of an only-slightly younger Sol wearing, yes, lederhosen, because, no, I couldn't resist.

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Plot Details #1:
Flight of Fantasy

You head to the airport for the appointed time. It’s actually a private jet at a small, private airfield, so, unless you’ve flown privately before, it’s probably an astonishingly easy experience. Everybody dreads queues, disgruntled tourists and lippy staff weighing your luggage, but you don’t need to worry about that. There are very few people coming and going, so the experience is relaxed and the staff are genuinely helpful. They take your luggage from you to stow on the plane without batting an eyelid, and inform you that you will be shown to your seat when the plane is ready to fly. They do check your passport, but they don’t seem to really be checking. Oddly, there doesn’t seem to be a brand or company associated with the airline in any way.

They show you to the plane. There’s only the one runway, and the plane itself is tiny. It’s going to be really cramped – or, it would be, if there were any other passengers. It’s literally just you in a roomy little lounge, a steward/ess, and the pilots. You are left entirely to your own devices, but provided with whatever in-flight entertainments you like, a small menu of hot and cold meals (that are genuinely nice if you take them up on the offer) and an infinite flow of alcohol, should you so choose. Though the staff are friendly, polite, and professional, if you try to pump them for information about the journey, they say they don’t know any more than you do (in the friendliest, politest and most professional manner, of course).

Since most of you are flying from across the Atlantic, it’ll be worth checking out time differences and such: either way, all of you arrive at around 4:00PM local time. Those of you flying long-distance will probably want to sleep on the flight: there may even be fuel stops, though, since it’s a private airline, these are quick and efficient. Essentially, it’s the dream flight.

When you arrive at your destination, you find yourself at another small, private airfield. Your steward/ess thanks you for flying with them (without actually specifying who ‘they’ are), informs you that your luggage will be taken care of, and shows you to one of three charming waiting rooms where you are invited to help yourself to refreshments, and asked to wait for your hosts. All of you will be directed to the same waiting room, and so this is the first place you will all meet. You probably have other things on your mind rather than checking Facebook on your phone, but if you try... well, the reception's pretty poor in this back-and-beyond, so your phone is basically a shiny brick with apps on it.

Feel free to take your time over these introductory posts: we’re starting earlier than I would have expected, and, at time of writing, still waiting on Call for a character submission. If you like, preface your post with details of your character’s pre-flight experience with regard to mysterious briefcases and absurd wedges of cash, but don’t feel obliged. If there is anything evidently apparent about your character (accent, habits, noteworthy physical characteristics, visible emotions, whatever), you may wish to inform other players about this in the OoC section.

Changelog

• "informs you that your luggage will be taken care of"
• No phones signal, ladies and gentlemen. Whatafuckingshock.

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The Canon Cut-off

From the moment you write your first IC post, everything you have sent me/we have discussed about your character should be considered permanent and irreversible. Any other information you wish to become canon (even about your own character’s backstory) should be sent to me before you write your IC post, or be established in the IC section. Any of the information I’m gathering at this stage could be plot-relevant so the cut-off is there to prevent any plot holes being punched in this wondrous, bloody tapestry we’re working on.

Enjoy!

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Plot Details #2
Rooms (each) with a view

You follow Klara on her tour, and accept your key to your room. Your room is as stunning as you expect, but perhaps most astonishing is its decoration, which is exactly to your tastes. If you had infinite resources in a similar space, it’s exactly as you would have designed it, right down to small details unique to you.

Even if it weren’t already perfect, the space is huge, with a lounge area, full en-suite, as well as a sleeping area: if you hate everything and everyone in the Manor, you could hole up in here quite comfortably. Jonas and Thomas share a balcony, as do Marci and Lynne (with doors locking on the inside) – Graven and Kimberley don’t get balconies (sucks to be them). Kimberley and Jonas’ luggage has already been dropped off, whereas each of the others will shortly get a visit from Félix with theirs, who will knock first. I trust you all to write his dialogue for this, but if you’d like me to supply it for you (or to engage him in an actual conversation), I’m more than happy to write his bits.

On your bed you will find a small card with a hand-written note:

“Welcome ______!
We really hope you have a great stay. Don’t forget the ball is at 9:00PM and drinks at 8:00PM in the entrance hall – we would hate for you to be late! If you need anything, just give the rope a tug, and Félix will come to help.

Sol :)

PS: I hope you’ve brought something nice to wear for tonight. Just in case, we’ve left you something in your wardrobe."

Yes. He actually has drawn a smiley face by his own name. True to his note, there is an anonymous-looking tux/cocktail dress with all the proper accompaniments in your wardrobe which will fit if your character opts for it (not that you have to try it on or even look for the thing).

The time is currently 5:30, so you have a little time to explore before you have to get ready. Klara mentioned that the man of the house will be in the bar from 7:00, and has shown you the rooms currently available to you. Of course, your character may be inclined to not attend the ball or to have a look around even the private areas. They may even just want to sleep or chat to their new neighbours one-on-one. Do what you will. The only room entirely unavailable is the Conservatory because I couldn’t fit it on the map, so I’ll probably just delete it altogether if I can’t find a place for it.

If one (or more) of you could notice that your phone has no signal of any kind (of the comprehensive ‘not contacting the outside world variety’), it would be good to establish.

Explore!

Changelog

No cockups as of yet. *fingers crossed*

Sigh.

• Added en-suites to your rooms. Enjoy being able to pee.

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Plot Details #4
Waited Upon by Waiters While Waiting

8:00PM – it’s time for the ball. Hopefully, you all look sufficiently fabulous at this point, but you can arrive in the entrance hall whenever you like, and however you like. You can go stag, some of you might team up to enter together, or you might be in a downstairs room, having lost track of the time. If you are in one of the downstairs rooms, Klara is locking them up, but she’s not stupid enough to lock you in: she’ll check, and politely get you out into the entrance hall.

The other guests are quite interested in you, but more or less leave you alone. If you pluck up the courage to initiate conversation with them, you find them far more interested in you than in talking about themselves. Even if you hold a full conversation with them, you leave it realising that you don’t know anything about them apart from maybe their name – or, if they have been talkative, they’ve totally been lying to you. This will be true later, as well. There will be plenty of chance to chat to them later, so unless your character would be super-inclined to integrate immediately, it might be worth leaving this option for now.

When the doors open, you probably instinctively follow the crowd to the ballroom, but you’re stopped by either Klara or Félix (who has now changed into a tux, so as to blend into the crowd), who hold you back subtly (use dialogue if you like – I’ll supply if you want me to). They’re not so subtle as to go completely unnoticed, but, beyond maybe stealing glances, the other guests obediently head through into the ballroom. For the sake of introducing the ballroom in my next post, you can’t see past the crowd of tuxes heading in. Why would you want to spoil the surprise?

You don’t have to post here if you don’t want to: predictably, the more interesting bits are going to take place after my next plot-progressing post: during the ball itself.

Changelog

Nothing (yet)

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Plot Details #5
Oh, Balls

Oh god. You poor fuckers: once you’ve entered the ballroom, you go along with it and hope that a black hole opens up and swallows you whole, because, apart from doing a Cinderella and running away from the ball (past Klara and Félix, who would inevitably stop you), there’s absolutely nothing to be done. Then again, the drunk, playful, or egotistical among the group might positively love it. There’s no accounting for taste.

When you hit the dance floor, you suddenly find yourselves quite popular. The other guests were leaving you alone before, but they’re all over you now. They want to chat with you, they want to drink with you, and they want to dance with you.

Apart from each other, you’re basically stranded, too: for the time being, there’s absolutely no hope trying to talk to Sol or whichever twin it is because they’re totally cutting a rug. Speaking of the twins, not only are they dressed identically, but they’re actually taking it in turns to dance with their brother, so you can’t even keep track of which one is which geographically. Gertrud is no use, obviously, and Klara is rushed off her feet (without ever losing her composure, because Klara is a total boss). Félix is always at hand, though, of course: you’ve probably worked out by now that, beyond taking champagne from the waiters’ silver platters, it’s probably easier just to ask Félix. That said, if you do particularly want to interact with the Wolfs or their entourage, let me know and I’ll arrange accordingly.

All hope is not lost. At Woll Manor, the previous RP, Bliss locked us in (, the bitch). I wouldn’t do that to you (because I have your best interests at heart <3). While the downstairs rooms are locked, the ballroom, the ballroom’s balcony, the entrance hall, the grounds, and all your own rooms are totally open to you. You could even go up to the third storey, while the Wolfs are occupied, to snoop around, but, predictably, their rooms are all locked.

Changelog

*fingers crossed*

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Plot Details #6A
The Curious Case of the Overly Fanciful Title; bits and bobs as they occur to me (and not before)

Wakey-wakey:

You wake up to find a note posted under your bedroom door. Apparently, this is the Wolfs’ Patented Guest Communication Technique^TM, but whatever.

“Good Morning!
After last night, we thought we’d treat you to a lazy morning/afternoon and leave you to explore and relax as you please throughout the day. If you need anything, just let one of us know. Call Félix if you’d like breakfast in your rooms.

Sol"

It doesn’t seem an awful lot like the same note from yesterday, from its cooler tone to its suddenly very clear and precise handwriting, or even the vacuous smiley face that is absent from his signature. The cynical among you may even suspect that Sol didn’t write it himself (a suspicion that will be later supported by his nursing a hangover which I will detail upon request).

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Food:

A couple of you have asked me about the dining room and food situations. I honestly don't want to get too hung up on food, so basically however you want to do it is fine by me. For the purposes of log posts (and as a general rule unless otherwise stated), not that it has to manifest in your posts if you give as few shits about food as I do, let's assume that any Wolf that you happen to bump into asks you what you want, and if you don't bump into any, Félix or even Klara seeks you out to ask. Then, assuming you don't want Unicorn Rump on a salad of leaves from the lava tree and an apple from the Garden of Eden, that it happens.

If this gets derailed by food, I will not be held responsible for my actions. I was in one RP that died because of an owl and a mobile phone, and I don't think I'll ever live it down.

Expect more gubbins as you ask me questions that will be beneficial for the group as a whole to know. I won’t detail where the Wolfs are, because it only really matters if you want to interact with them, so we’ll be talking anyway.

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Plot Details #6B: Surprises in the Lake, Surprises in the Character Tab

You know when I say that I will never ever tell you what to do in this? Well, it's painfully obvious that something's up with the lake and you've all reacted nicely by having your characters, as a group, go "Hmm I sure do fancy a swim/going fishing/chilling by the totally-not-ominous lake", so I'm gonna suggest we, as a group, work toward that, on this one special event where I actually guide this proactively.

So long as we get to the lake, I almost don't mind whatever else happens. Going to the lake is not a mandatory event for everybody, but I'm gonna suggest that at least half of the cast has a legit motive for proposing and pioneering some kind of lake-based activity - even if, in the end, only one or two decide to go.

What I'm going to suggest at this point is that, while we finally mop up the log post section, we (you) collectively discuss how you want to approach the lake thing. Stuff to consider:

• Which characters actually want to go to the lake
• Whether they go as a group or as grouplets (ie: coincidentally happen to be there)
• Whether they plan it in advance (ie: we'll say they did it in this section) or if it's a spur of the moment thing
• The nature of the activity at the lake, if there is any activity
• Whether the Wolfs are informed/asked about whatever the activity is (and therefore who asks them) - note that things like access to the boathouse/access to a picnic basket are things that the Wolfs will probably need to be asked about, while swimming/painting/nice strolls/etc are things that could be done without telling them

Please don't be coy about discussing this stuff in the OoC. While I'm pressing us in the direction of the lake, I'm not dictating how any of us gets there. Nevertheless, the more you talk about what you want to do, the more I can make the IC reflect that. It might be effective if you fill out this 'questionnaire' on your character's behalves so everybody can easily see where everybody else is standing on this.

Do You Want to Go to the Lake: Yes/No (or describe if ambiguous/undecided)
For What Activity?
Would You Ask the Wolfs if Necessary?
Would You Initiate the Visit? Yes/No (ie: would you be all, 'Hey Other Character, Fancy Going to the Lake?!♫' or have to be asked?)

The Questionnaire with Coding to Copy and Paste

Do You Want to Go to the Lake: Yes/No (or describe if ambiguous/undecided)
For What Activity?
Would You Ask the Wolfs if Necessary?
Would You Initiate the Visit? Yes/No (ie: would you be all, 'Hey Other Character, Fancy Going to the Lake?!♫' or have to be asked?)