Glossary

Over the course of The Social Season, you may come across unfamiliar words or phrases. This page mainly contains out-of-character terms (primarily vocabulary used within the society to talk about our games and roleplaying), but there are a few in-character terms (terms which refer to things within the world of the game) as well. Meanings of words defined on this page should supersede the real meanings from history.

A relative or servant who is present for interactions between two unmarried young people. The chaperone is there to ensure that no improper behaviour occurs, preventing the rumours and damage to reputation that would result if this was believed to have happened.

A small card, traditionally worn around the wrist, that keeps note of who a person has promised to dance with at the ball. The GM hopes to be able to provide dance card props for players who would like one (as well as its IC purpose, you may find it useful OC to keep track of who your character has agreed to dance with and when).

A young person making their debut in society. This occurs after the character has turned 18 and is their first official appearance in adult society. Although the historical use of the term refers to women, in this game it is ungendered.

A clothesmaker who runs a shop where the wealthy elite (or their servants) purchase expensive, tailored clothes. Although the historical use of the term refers to someone who makes clothes for women, in this game they tailor for any gender.

A game where competitors use mallets to strike balls and guide them through hoops, similar to croquet.

The 6-month period ranging from mid-January to mid-July when the wealthy elite move from their country estates to London and attend social events. This game takes place over the course of one social season.

The wealthy, elite families who are the subject of this game. The Ton consists primarily of members of the royal family, the aristocracy and wealthy landowners. Many families in the Ton are titled, own a large estate and occupy a seat in Parliament.

A term for roleplaying romantic or similarly emotionally intense relationships between characters. If you're interested in ballgowning with someone, be sure to get their OC consent first, and pay attention to their communication and comfort as ballgowning can be particularly intense.

The CAMPaign Organiser is the person responsible for coming up with the idea of a game and consequently leading it. The CAMPO is the only GM (game moderator) in The Social Season. The GM also writes Turnsheet responses, briefs crew and keeps the wiki up to date. The CAMPO/GM of The Social Season is Isla.

Assistant gamerunners who play NPCs, take direction from the GM and suggest ideas to improve the game.

The debrief is an OC session taking place online after the game is over. In the debrief, the GM, crew and players discuss the game. Players will have the opportunity to share what they got up to during the game, and the GM and crew can share “behind the scenes” details about the game. See When and Where for more details.

Downtime refers to the period of time between sessions, which will last two months in character. Downtimes of The Social Season contain both emailing and Turnsheets, more details about which can be found here.

A phrase which stands for ‘don’t worry about it’.

After the final session of The Social Season, players will be asked to submit an Eternity instead of a conventional Turnsheet, giving an impression of what happens to your character after the game ends.

A term for the non-mechanical and non-plot aspects of a game which add flavour and nuance. Think along the lines of character backstories, casual interactions between characters, and building up your personal narrative around the basic mechanics of the game.

A phrase used by GMs which stands for ‘find out in play’. This usually means that the GM cannot answer a question now because it would give away secrets about the game.

Information, events, places, and characters which exist in the world of the game.

The very important concept that you are not your character, the world of the game is fictional, and that in-character conflicts and emotions should not be brought into the real world (and vice versa!). For more information, please see the Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy.

Characters played by the GM or crew members rather than players. You can look through the NPC list here.

Information, events, places and people which exist outside of the game.

Hand held up with two fingers in the air: represents that somebody is not currently playing their character. They are speaking OC and this may represent that nobody is there IC e.g. the GM answering a question. Anybody may use this at any time.

Stands for ‘physical representation’ and means the costume, accessories and other props which a player, crew or GM uses to portray their character. Whilst many people enjoy physrep, it is by no means necessary.

Characters played by the players, rather than the GM or crew. You can look through the PC list (once they're submitted) here.

PvP refers to conflict between individual Player Characters. More discussion of how this conflict will be handled in The Social Season can be found towards the end of this page.

PvE refers to conflict between a Player Character and the world around them, including NPCs.

The Discord server which hosts character creation, debrief and general questions for The Social Season. It has OC channels for general chat, game rules and private channels for players and crew. You can navigate between Discord servers using the leftmost Discord sidebar, where all the servers you are part of will be shown as icons.

A short piece of writing completed by players after each session, used to let the GM know what each player character is doing during Downtime. This will receive a short response from GMs. You can find an example of a Turnsheet here.

Uptime refers to the sessions of the game. See the Uptime page for more information on the format, and When and Where for information on venue and times.