More on the Veil
As time has gone by, and Ravenhurst has continued to thrive as a World of Darkness compatible sim, it occured to me that one of our Core roleplay premises "The Veil" could probably use a bit more fleshing out, not only for new players, but also for those that regularly RP here.
Holding the veil, or maintaining the masquerade in the town represents a large impact on all our RP. It fundamentally changes things in comparison to just about every other RP sim in Second life. It is more than just a limitation on Roleplay however. It is also an opportunity that provokes and insures that roleplay has depth and layers. The veil is a ready made story line for those new to the town, and an element that will always be there for the core players. Its like a huge piece of your backstory handed to you to do with what you will.
In this time period in real life, there was a religious veil first and foremost. If you were not catholic, you were persecuted, and potentially burned at the stake. You had to be careful about your personal faith if it was other than catholic, not only for yourself, but for your family, your friends, your business. If you were found to be protestant, there were investigations into who else close to you might also have been protestant.
If you were not catholic, it was a burden that you needed to shoulder, living in fear of a slip from any that might know your secret. If you were found out, your friends and family would then have a major problem, because they could be considered guilty by association. They would have to take massive action including regular church attendence, donations. Its likely that many were blackmailed by the church as well.
Additionally during this time period, the church was very active in seeking out supernatural phenomena, and investigation of those who were said to practice the dark arts, or have covenant with Satan. Thousands of people across europe were regularly indicated and imprisoned, tortured and killed on suspicions alone. From this time period we can see a very real fear by the general populace of the supernatural. It would be common to hear about another burning, or public case on a regular basis from Europe mainland.
The church had spies and supporters everywhere, because if you were on the good side of the church you stood to benefit - plain and simple. Conversely the church would grant you absolution for some of your darker deeds if you helped them.
This wasnt all holy fervor. People understood corruption and the way of the world, and just as the church used them - they usd the church to achieve their goals. If you needed a rival business taken out - what better way than to accuse them of covenant with Satan.. It wasnt hard to set people up in those days. For some it was as simple as needing the church to sanction a divorce, a whisper here, a hint there, an unfounded accusation made in private... and the church would help you out.
We all know what was happening across the pond in Salem, Massachussetts during this time, but I don't think that we really understand the magnitude of this. Salem was just one town. The merest drop in the bucket.
Ok so what does this mean for our Roleplay?
One word. "Fear"
Yes, the supernaturals of the land need to break out their character bios and add this word to it. Fear is a part of your roleplay in Ravenhurst. There is something bigger than you, and you arent invulnerable. You might be the baddest creature to roam the lands, but if Rome puts their attention on you - you cant run far enough away to escape them. And who is to say that that they are "just human".
If you are discovered, its not just you. Its your friends, your family, your loved ones, your allies, your business that can potentially suffer. If the masquerade breaks, great steps must be taken to repair it. If you break the veil - you may be punished by your own faction or family. Breaking the veil puts everyone at risk, friends and enemies alike. Some factions will hold death as punishment, because they cannot afford the publicity or the attention.This has happened in Ravenhurst a few times.
If you are lucky, your own faction will kill you quick and easy. But a breach is bad for everyone, and it may be others that get to you first... Of course there are alternatives to this including killing the person who found out, mind wipes etc... but the grosser the break of the veil - generally speaking - the worse the punishment unless you manage to fix it quickly...
I like to think that this is a more intelligent roleplay device. Without a masquerade, and something bigger than us all - its just "lycans, nekos, vampires and demons - oh my!" Here, you never really know what your going to run into, and there are challenges creatively to deal with situations without disclosing your race in a public manner.
The church is largely an NPC or assumed menace, tho this is starting to change. In our roleplay we do assume that there are NPC humans walking around us, and that the church is ever present, but its not just about the humans. Your enemies (supernatural) stand to be able to take advantage of you as well by knowing your race and your vulnerabilities. They could sell you out to the church as this faction grows and becomes more involved.
Can the veil be broken? Is this an IC or OOC rule?
I want to stress that while the veil is the foundation of our ability to have compatible roleplay in Ravenhurst, it is like most of our rules - a guideline.
If you would like to explore a storyline where there is a slip up in town with the veil, please discuss this with a member of our storytellers group for approval and assistance. This is a rp that will SEVERELY impact other peoples roleplay, and as such, needs careful consideration. Beyond the impact on supernaturals who do their best to hide, protect and uphold the veil, I think this becomes especially clear when the impact to human players is fully understood by others. You will want to really think about, and probably pre-plan or advise a human player before foisting this on them:
If you are a human in Ravenhurst, and a supernatural blatantly reveals themself to you, you basically have a few different directions to go in.
1. You can go insane as your worlds collide and you see proof of your biggest nightmare. (This can be slightly modified by the time period and our location where many are superstitious, and actually do believe in monsters.)
2. Your mind refuses to process the information in front of you, and you "reject this reality and replace it with your own". Example: If you see a werewolf in war form - you decide you have seen a bear. You may feel slightly disturbed when you recall the incident even tho you have put a normal interpretation on it, or you may forget that it even happened. With some races such as werewolves, this is a real mystical phenomena called "delerium".
Hint: #2 is probably the one that causes the least impact to your character.
3. The heavens above open to you, and there is a sound of a trumpet, and a loud voice.. ok kidding on that - but its something like that. The messengers reach out to you, and open your eyes to the supernatural world during a breach of the veil, and you become aware of it, and can process the information. Unfortunately, now you feel as tho you have to hunt supernaturals and kill them by any means possible. Everything changes in that instant. There is no neutral ground. You are now a Hunter, and you have a mission. Depending on which way you want to go with this - you may range from extremely motivated, to a suicidal mission of destruction. One thing is for sure. Your character will never be the same.
There are many ways to avoid breaking the veil in public, and even in private to a human, and we are only limited by our creativity. Ravenhurst has lots of nooks and crannies now, and there are these things called hoods and capes..
I want to also stress that even between supernatural races, there is cause for concern if anyone should find out what your true race is. This is also a kind of veil or masquerade held for personal protection.
In conclusion, I hope that this has presented a more well rounded concept of the veil, with better understanding of the reason, the impact, the premise, the potential for storylines, and the limits that push us to creative ways of getting around them.
Please feel free to post questions or thoughts here in the forum, or to reach myself or any one of the Ravenhurst Storytellers for more information or help with plotlines etc.
Subject: More on the Veil / Masquerade 
Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:04 am
