Clubs
or, Centers of Conviviality and Other Vices
Joining a club is a good way to gain Status Points, and an even better way to lose money. Six clubs are listed in the Clubs Table, along with additional information for each. There are certain requirements that must be met in order to join a club, and these vary from club to club. The main requirement is a minimum Social Level, although there may be others. To the right of the club requirements are listed the dues which must be paid each month in order to remain a member and the number of Status Points a character receives each month for being a member of that club. The last two numbers deal with gambling and will be dealt with in the Gambling rules.
Clubs Table
| Rank & Name | Requirements |
Dues |
SP/mo |
House limit |
Divisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Bothwell's | SL of 12+ |
30 |
8 |
None; min of 100 |
500 |
| 2 Hunter's | SL of 9+ |
20 |
6 |
200 |
300 |
| 3 The Horse Guards | Officer of Horse Guards Brigade |
20 |
4 |
250 |
300 |
| 4 The Blue Gables | SL of 7+ |
15 |
4 |
150 |
200 |
| 5 The Frog & Peach | SL of 5+ |
10 |
3 |
100 |
150 |
| 6 Red Phillips | SL of 3+ |
5 |
2 |
50 |
150 |
| 7 No club |
A character may belong to only one club at a time, and may not visit a club unless he is a member of that club or a guest of a member (see Toadying).
A character may resign from a club at any time without penalty, except for the loss of the remainder of that month's dues if he resigns before the month is over. Upon resigning, a player may not rejoin that club for three months, but may immediately try to join a different one.
Characters who meet the requirements of a club are automatically made members on applying.
Characters need not visit a club during a month to gain Status Points from belonging, but must pay their dues in order to retain membership in good standing.
Visiting a club counts as an action, and no other actions may be performed during the same week except club related activities (gambling and carousing).
Carousing
If a player character purchases liquid refreshment at a club or bawdyhouse, he gains a Status Point. Liquid refreshment costs Crowns equal in number to the Social Level of the character. This purchase is referred to as carousing. A player may carouse once a week provided he visits a club or bawdyhouse that week. Carousing is not an action and, in fact, must be done in conjunction with a visit to a club or bawdyhouse.
Toadying
Characters may gain status by being seen in the company of their betters; these may likewise benefit by the cultivation of sycophants. If a character is taken as a guest to a club, he receives Status Points equal to the difference in rank between the highest club he is able to join (not necessarily the highest he has joined) and the one he is guest at (Club rankings are found on the Club Table).
If a character visits a club with a character of a higher Social Level, he receives Status Points equal to one half the difference in their Social Levels.
The higher level character receives (or loses) Status Points based upon the difference in Social Level between himself and his guest; consult the Toady Table. Points are determined for each guest separately. Players are free to work out any system of recompense they desire for this service.
Toady Table
| Difference in SL | 0-3 |
4-6 |
7-8 |
9-10 |
11+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP Awarded | +1 |
0 |
-1 |
-2 |
-3 |
A character carousing as the guest of a character of higher Social Level must pay a carousing cost equal to that of his host.
EXAMPLE: Jacques, Social Level 4, accompanies Cyrano, Social Level 14, to Bothwell's. He receives 5 Status Points for being at Bothwell's, as the highest club Jacques could join is Red Phillips (Bothwell's is club number 1; Red Phillips is number 6; 6 – 1 = 5). He receives 5 more points for being Cyrano's guest (14 – 4 = 10 / 2 = 5), and 1 more for carousing (at a cost of 14 crowns), for a grand total that week of 11 Status Points. Cyrano loses 2 Status Points for being seen in public with Jacques, but receives 1 for carousing (at a cost of 14 crowns presumably Jacques will offer him some recompense for this sacrifice.
Gambling
Characters may gamble at clubs or bawdyhouses. Gambling is conducted in the following manner. The character announces the amount he is betting.
This amount cannot exceed the house limit of the club at which he is gambling (see the Clubs Table). A bawdyhouse has no house limit.Another character, acting as croupier, rolls one die. The gambler must roll a die and obtain a result higher than the croupier to win, or withdraw without rolling and take a loss of half the amount bet (known as cutting losses or a cut). Ties and rolls lower than the croupier's are won by the house, and the money effectively disappears from play.
Each time a character wins a bet, he receives one Status Point; each time he loses a bet or cuts, he loses one Status Point. In addition, after all betting is done for the week, a player gambling at a club (but not at a bawdyhouse) adds up the total amount bet that week by his character and divides it by the gambling divisor of the club he is in, dropping fractions (see Club Table). A cut counts as half the amount originally bet. The resulting number is the number of Status Points received in addition to the one-per-win total.
A character may place only nine bets in any one week.
EXAMPLE: Aramis decides to wager four bets of 50 crowns each at the Red Phillips Club. The rolls are shown below.
Aramis wins 50 crowns on the first bet and gains a Status Point. The second bet, he loses 50 crowns and a Status Point; the third bet, Aramis cuts and loses 25 crowns and a Status Point. The fourth and final bet, Aramis loses 50 crowns and a Status Point. His total for the evening is 175 crowns bet, divided by 150 (the Red Phillips divisor), one win, two loses and a cut. This leaves him down 75 crowns and -1 Status Point for the week (+50 -50 -25 -50 = -75 crowns; win = 1 Status Point, 2 losses and 1 cut = -3 Status Points, +1 Status Point for wagering at least 150 crowns gives -1 Status Points).
The House Aramis Result Aramis wins Aramis loses Aramis loses ½ Aramis loses
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