FAQ

Details

Published on Monday, 20 August 2012 07:55

General Questions

What is Midnight Carnival?

Midnight Carnival is a mixed supernatural New World of Darkness LARP, where the characters are various mortals and supernatural types who are part of a travelling carnival that makes its way around North America.

When will the game run?

Midnight Carnival will run 2nd Saturdays of every month, starting 14 July 2012.

How long will the game run for?

I'm going to divide the game up into six month long seasons (as in, a season of your favourite television program). Near the end of each season, I'll be polling the player base and using my own judgement to determine if the game would benefit from another season. The idea is to have a lot of plot arcs and goals that can come to a satisfactory resolution in six month blocks, but still have a longer arc that can run for longer and permit long-term development of characters if interest remains strong and we still have stories to tell. At the same time, I want to avoid a game that outlives its welcome just because it can.

TL;DR: At least six months, longer if the players desire (and I hope they will).

Where will the game run?

The game will run in Saskatoon, SK. Venues have not yet been determined, but my goal is to switch them up as much as possible.

Can new/inexperienced players play?

Definitely! I imagine much of my player base will be unfamiliar with the New World of Darkness and that is just fine - starts off everyone a little bit even. I think this would be a great game for new players, because everyone only needs to know a smaller chunk of the setting.

Can underage players play?

I'm sorry, but this probably isn't an appropriate game for players under 18 years of age.

Will there be a communal character building night?

For sure, just haven't figured out when yet.

Do you need NPCs or assistants?

I definitely could put such to use!

For NPCs, I'd be happy to find an occasional role for anyone who wants to come out and join in the fun but can't play very often. Because the Midnight Carnival moves from location to location, very few (if any) NPC roles would be reoccurring - you'd be playing a new character every time you chose to NPC for me. But I'd love to have an NPC pool to draw upon.

I might also be in the market for an assistant Storyteller. Such a person would need to be a) someone who can work closely with me, b) doesn't mind the fact that I'm in charge and has final authority, though obviously I want someone to bounce ideas off of, c) is willing to put some effort into learning rules and setting, and d) lives in Saskatoon. I'm perfectly fine running without an assistant if need be though.

Setting

What is the Midnight Carnival?

In setting, the Midnight Carnival is a band of misfits that formed sometime in the 1920s (though there are very few, if any, remaining original members - it has been almost a hundred years since the carnival formed) and takes the form of a travelling carnival. A considerable portion of their membership are supernatural creatures of various types. They use the carnival to navigate about North America and for mutual protection and gain. In each city they visit they put on performances for the mortals to make cash (and get blood, and gather essence, and feed whatever bizarre needs they may have) and otherwise make ends meet, but also have some limited contact with the supernatural communities in the various places they visit. The life of a nomad in the World of Darkness is a harsh and unforgiving one, so the denizens of the Midnight Carnival have to stick together just to survive.

When is the game set?

The game is set in the present day, with the Midnight Carnival having been on tour for almost a hundred years. Modern characters and themes are perfectly appropriate. On the flip side, the carnival is somewhat of a relic of the past, too, with much of their look and feel continuing on - so if you originally heard of the concept and thought "1930s!" (like Carnivale), you can still certainly be inspired by that aesthetic. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the costumes of the carnies were distinctly vintage. The carnival itself should feel like a time and place all its own, in my mind.

Why aren't all these different supernatural types trying to murder each other?

Firstly, there's no necessary reason for a lot of supernatural types to be antagonistic towards each other - or even know each other exist. Your average Vampire probably has never met a Werewolf or a Mage, might not even believe they exist, and if she did run into one of them would have no inherent reason for conflict aside from "I don't understand it and maybe it can hurt me!" Granted, fear of the unknown can be a pretty big motivator for hostilities, but generally the different supernatural types don't have a lot of reason to come into conflict - they don't generally compete for the same resources, for instance. When they do come into conflict - which certainly happens - the conflicts are likely localized and specific to the atmosphere and history of particular cities.

Secondly, most of the denizens of the Midnight Carnival probably aren't well-entrenched party line types in their original supernatural societies anyway - if they were, they'd be settled down building a power base and laughing maniacally instead of tramping around the country with a rag tag bunch of freaks. If a Vampire is on the run from a whole bunch of Vampires who want him dead, that gives him all the more reason to make friends with some faeries and Frankenstein's monsters. These characters are individuals, and they don't necessarily have to have opinions in lock step with "what all werewolves think" or whatever.

Last - many characters might not really know anything but the Midnight Carnival. The World of Darkness is a big place, and for all the supernatural creatures out there the cities have millions more mortals to get lost amidst, and the highways have many miles of empty road. Many supernatural creatures probably spend their entire existences thinking they are one of a kind, and if the first time they encounter other freaks like themselves is when they stumble across the Midnight Carnival they're probably going to consider the carnival normal. A Vampire who was Embraced by some transient who moved on without filling him in on the details, and who has since eeked out a meagre existence in Bumfuck, Nowehere for a decade before joining the Carnival is probably going to consider the idea of learning a bunch of ancient Traditions and bowing down before some strange Vampire "Prince" to be pretty bizarre.

Under what circumstances are the characters meeting for the actual LARP? i.e. is it a random night that all the characters are just hanging out? Is it the preparation for a show? Is it during a show? etc.

The general premise for each event is that it will be set after the end of the last show in a given location. This is the night that the Carnival makes decisions about where they will go next, alterations to the show, and deals with any issues that popped up during the run. It is also the traditional time when any supernatural or "special" guests of the Carnival are invited backstage to see things that might not be revealed to mortal audiences.

Characters

What supernatural types are available?

Pretty much all of the core types in the New World of Darkness - Vampire, Werewolves, Mages, Changelings, Prometheans and Sin-Eaters. I might allow other minor supernatural types as well, as long as they a) can pass for human at least some of the time, and b) have some type of human-relatable Morality system. There is a potentially huge number of character types available, so expect me to look at each one and make a ruling individually, and make house rules or alterations as I see fit to make it work with the rest of the group.

Can I play a normal human?

Absolutely! You're welcome to play a human. Having something valuable to offer your brothers and sisters in the Carnival is probably advisable, either that or alliances/partnerships with other PCs. You probably won't be as powerful as the supernatural types, but there's nothing inherent in the culture of the Midnight Carnival that prevents you from being an equal and valued member instead of a lackey or servant. 

What if I want to play a lackey or servant?

Yup, if you want to play a human who is a ghoul, sleepwalker, dreamer, or any of the other "I serve/work with a supernatural creature" types, that's just fine too. For most types though, you'll probably want to be paired up with another appropriate character though.

Can I play a not-normal human?

Probably. This falls under the category of "other minor supernatural types" and will be taken on a case by case basis depending on what you want to play.

Can I play a Hunter?

I won't be using any of the material from the Hunter: The Vigil line - it just doesn't feel compatible with the game concept. A character who is a normal mortal who hunts the supernatural is slightly more plausible, but also a big stretch considering the setting (I don't like PCs killing PCs too often) - a retired monster hunter type or the like would probably be fine though.

Will you just let me make up some random new supernatural type?

Probably not, though stranger things have happened. I'll help lead you towards something that sounds close to what you want to do, though. I think creativity blossoms when working under constraints, anyway.

Will there be caps on the populations of various types?

Yes. I don't want a game that consists of 80% Mages or a game where everyone is a Werewolf but one (probably very frightened looking) Vampire. But the caps will be pretty generous for most of the major types. More unique/minor things I'll cut off more quickly. I'll let as many mundane human characters in as people want to play though.

Are people free to decide what their jobs are in the carnival, or are certain factions responsible for certain general areas? (I.E. the Vampires sell the peanuts).

I'll leave decisions like that largely up to the player base, like much of the culture of the carnival, but I wouldn't assume such as a default.

I assume this will come out in the general game write-up, but what kind of social structure are we looking at? Is each faction kinda responsible for figuring out their own thing? Some kinda council with a rep from each faction? Are the clowns secretly running everything?!

The Midnight Carnival is a sort of weak democracy/rule by consensus society, combined with some old customs they cherish and influential individuals and factions who tend to make things a bit less equitable than they might originally appear. I'll release information on how I want factions structured soon, but they'll be largely player devised and not necessarily organised along lines of "creature type" (though I expect some of them will be).

Rules

I've split rules questions off into a seperate Rules FAQ.