Dearest Debutante,
Ready your dance card and polish your deportment, for the hour is at hand to revel in the grandeur and splendour of your first London season. Let the sharpening of wits and the snapping of fans commence, for the drawing rooms of Mayfair soon open, and the snaring of hearts shall be nothing short of bloodsport.
Set to grace the marriage market this April are two Beckfords, an earl, and the whispered inheritor of the Winchester marquisate — oh my! Already, the city air grows thick with the scent of orange blossoms and desperation, a heady draught for any spectator of the Ton.
How fortuitous for all the sparkling young ladies and gallant gentlemen entering society this spring that their debuts will be overseen by none other than the recently elevated Duke and Duchess of Orkney, Prince Charles and Princess Georgina. Never has Kensington Palace received a more perfect pair… and yet, still no announcement of an heir. Are the newlyweds truly lost in wedded felicity, or does a frigid wind blow through the royal bedchambers?
Regardless, Their Royal Highnesses are certain to usher in a most scintillating season. We foresee exclusive fêtes, masked assemblies, and perhaps a decadent soiree or two hosted by the Boisterous Berrys or the Scandalous Singhs. These authors will be rather astonished if several young ladies are not eventually discovered in the gardens with some rakish suitor or sirenous dame.
Naturally, such a lapse in propriety would surely hasten one to the altar — though whether one’s dowry remains intact is quite another matter! Lest we forget, social ruin can result in a peril far greater than a mere loss of fortune: the forfeit of that most elusive prize, the much-sought Love Match.
Indeed, you read correctly, dear patron. While gossip may line our pockets, it is true, lasting affection that captivates the attention of the Esteemed Chatterleigh and Notorious Tattlesby. To that end, we have been charmed to observe a few of the widowed mamas and papas of the Ton seeking attachments for themselves as fervently as for their marriageable offspring.
Whatever revelations and scandals await us, you may rest assured that these elusive writers shall be watching from the shadows to report on every lurid detail. After all, a secret shared in a ballroom is merely a headline in the making — and, as you know, we possess a keen ear for a whisper.
The ink is wet, the carriage is waiting, and the game, dearest distinguished reader, is most deliciously afoot.
Your Humble Servants in Secret,
the Notorious Tattlesby
Cultural Inclusivity
In the world of Dearest Debutante, many families from the Ton hail from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We would like this larp to reflect the diversity of the inspiration material as well as the diversity of the real world.
We would like to stress that players are not required to share the cultural backgrounds of characters in order to play them. We encourage players to request the characters they would most want to play. Additionally, for players of colour, we will happily alter your character’s background, if desired and possible, to reflect your real-life ethnicity.
For more details, please see the Cultural Inclusivity page.
Historical Racism
We are not rewriting history or historical ramifications. Colonialism, oppression, and historical atrocities all occurred in this universe.
However, in our world, these events did not prevent wealthy, noble families from different continents and cultures from being granted titles and land by the crown upon settling in Great Britain. None of the non-British families should be treated as “new money.” All the families in the game are well-established in England and the Ton. There is no alternate timeline or in-universe explanation for why this is; we’re simply hand-waving it and asking you to not think too hard about it.
If you care a great deal about historical accuracy, or need a comprehensive timeline to suspend disbelief about a fictional universe, this is probably not the larp for you.
If you are a larper of colour, you are welcome to play on as much historical and real-world oppression as you want—which can also be none. If you wish to experience a version of Regency England where you can play a character of your own background and not think about racism at all, you can absolutely do that. But if you want the catharsis of reminding the white folks where their tea and textiles come from and what was done to acquire them, you should feel empowered to do so.
We recommend our white larpers do not reference historical racism in-game unless the scene is either pre-calibrated or steered in that direction by the larper who identifies with the historically oppressed group.
Queer Characters and Regency Law
Queerness and gay marriage are accepted in this society.
Characters may be openly queer in society without fear of social ruin or discrimination. The main deterrent from openness is that it will significantly reduce a character’s chances of finding an opposite-sex marital prospect, and heterosexual marriage is the only way to secure one’s inheritance. Hence why married queer characters may feel more comfortable and secure being open about their extramarital affairs.
Marrying a member of the same gender (or not marrying at all) results in the loss of one’s inheritance, forcing queer couples and unmarried characters to rely on the kindness and charity of their families to survive.
This loss of inheritance is due to the legal requirement that inheritances pass from parent to legitimate offspring, and the inability of queer couples to produce legitimate heirs. (For this reason, married but childless couples must also entail their fortunes and properties to the legitimate offspring of their siblings or cousins.)
Yes, we realise that a same-gender couple could produce biological children if exactly one of them were trans, and that an opposite-gender couple couldn’t produce biological children if exactly one of them were trans. In-universe, Parliament did not think about this when they passed the law and it may be a source of in-character inheritance drama. Legislators not fully understanding the ramifications of the laws they pass? Shocking, we know!
Queer marriages will not receive discriminatory or exclusionary treatment of any kind in society, besides the loss of their inheritance. However, out of a desire to hold onto their financial privileges and marital options, queerness is frequently still treated like a secret by many in society.
Gender Roles and Gender Identity
Due to the strict gender binary of the Regency genre and heavily gendered social stakes, we have decided to maintain a somewhat traditional/sexist approach to gender in this game. However, like all other aspects of the game, we have adapted the historical perspective and approach to gender to suit our queer-friendly design.
Binary trans characters exist within our world and are completely accepted in our society, legally and socially.
Meaning that a trans man or trans woman is treated exactly like a cis man or cis woman in our world. Trans characters must abide by all the limitations and expectations of the gender they identify as. Most importantly, inheritances are reassigned to accommodate the transition of a character who was previously assigned male or female at birth, possibly stirring up drama among family members who are overly concerned with inheritance and title distribution.
Inheritance drama—creating tension amongst siblings or internal conflicts for a trans character who has or must radically impact their own inheritance by publicly transitioning—is subject matter that the player of a trans character may opt into or opt out of on the sign-up form.
Genderqueer and nonbinary characters, however, do not have the same freedoms to exist authentically in this society. Genderqueer and nonbinary characters are expected to conform to the gender binary and choose one gender to identify as publicly. Any character is allowed to transition before or during the game, but they may only do so once. Once you have, the limitations and privileges of the gender your character has chosen to identify as will be cemented, socially and legally.
This does not mean that genderqueer and nonbinary characters cannot exist in this game. We encourage players to opt in for genderqueer and nonbinary characters if that is the experience they wish to have. But we caution that such themes and subject matter will be played largely internally and behind closed doors, since this society does not have the terminology or nuanced understanding of gender outside of the cis-normative binary.
Casting
Any character with an assigned and unchangeable gender (such as Lady Maria de la Rosa or Mr. Wright) can be a trans or nonbinary character. Trans characters are not limited to the In Confidence or In Question casting groups. See Characters & Pairings for more information on casting groups and the gender flexibility of characters within them.