Stoke By Night FAQ.

What is Stoke By Night?
Stoke By Night is a collection of Independent Live Roleplay Games based in Stoke and using White Wolf's World of Darkness as a setting. The society has run games since 1995 and currently consists of two large scale games and two smaller “sister” games, one of which is run separately but includes many Stoke By Night players amongst its members. These cover a wide variety of playing styles; with each game played separately from the others to avoid confusion.

What White Wolf games does Stoke By Night currently run?
Stoke By Night runs the “old” White Wolf systems - Masquerade and the like. The two principal games focus on the activities of the Camarilla and the Sabbat respectively, whilst the two smaller “sister” games focus on those of the Werewolves and a local Historical Society of mortals with unusual abilities. Each game has its own unique flavour that is covered in more detail in their respective sections of the website, although all share a common focus on promoting the social aspects of the society as much as the roleplaying.

Do all of the games occur in a single player universe?
The simple answer is no. It was decided that although each game would use the city of Stoke as it background location, that each would be allowed to develop its own history and plot lines independent of the other games in order to avoid the possibility of confusion of plots between games. This also allows for players to act freely in each game without having to worry that it is having a negative effect on their character in another game. The only exception to this is the interaction between the Mortals and Sabbat games which are run by the same Storyteller and which by his choice exist in the same reality; that we like to call AltLight.

How many people are involved in Stoke By Night?
We currently have about thirty five players across the four games, with many players taking part in more than one game during the month. The two larger games draw about twenty-five to thirty players to an average game, with the two sister games drawing a smaller number.

Is there any room for anymore players?
Of course! Past experience has shown that we can accommodate up to ninety players without changing the flavour of the games too much; indeed we have found that the more players there are the better the games get as the scope for player interactions increases.

You state that you are independent, why?
It is important to realise that Stoke By Night is not affiliated to White Wolf or any other large scale roleplaying organisation, but rather an independent, locally based society. For some people this is an important consideration when considering joining a LARP society. If you want to play the new White Wolf games (Requiem etc.) then we might be able to point you in the right direction for another group but are not planning to run these new systems ourselves.

So how do I get involved with Stoke By Night?
The easiest way is to Email Us at Stoke By Night and we'll try to answer any questions you may have and invite you along to the next game. It is sometimes easier to meet people beforehand (especially large groups of new players) in order to go through the character generation process and start you playing as soon as possible when you actually get to play the game. Although it is possible to create characters on the night, be aware this can be a long process and will mean that you won't be able to start playing as quickly.

Okay, I'm interested in playing, is there anything I can do beforehand?
Probably the best thing to do is to have a think about what type of character you want to play based on the game in question. The Hints & Tips section of each game will give you an idea of how to start thinking about your character. Probably the best advice is to have a strong idea of your intentions before you start and not to worry about the mechanics side of things.

Where can I find out more about the different games?
Each of the two main games has a separate section on this website that will give you more of an idea about them. Hopefully in the future there will be smaller sections for the two sister games as well.

I'm not interested in playing, but I wouldn't mind running a game...
Because Stoke By Night is as much a social group as a game we don't actually recommend this to start with, besides its much more fun to get to know everyone else as a player and get involved in the games that way.

Are there any restrictions on who can play?
All of the Stoke By Night games explore a variety of adult themes which mean they are not suitable for under 18's. Other than that there are no restrictions as to who can play.

Okay, the most important question, how much does this cost?
Stoke By Night is a not for profit organisation, but there are some running costs involved. The Camarilla and Sabbat games both cost £ 2.50 each, but this also covers the cost of a buffet as well as administration and saving up for props, etc. We don't charge for anyone's First Game however in order that you can see whether things are for you.

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