Character Classes
Debutants
There is a reason you aren't engaged yet. There are only three things that matter to the ton. Your blood, your finances and your unblemished reputation. Sadly, you only have one of these.
You must select from these archetypes for your character. If there is a style of character you would like to play that doesn't fit into any of these, send in an email - we will try to find a way to accommodate you.
Bluebloods
Titled, but barely enough income to keep the estate afloat. Without a wealthy spouse, your estate will slowly sink into disrepair and the whole family is looking to you to attract such a spouse. Your family won’t be ruined if you do not marry, but their standard of living will drop. You have sold all your jewels and swapped them for paste, all your family portraits have been auctioned off, the silver plate given to the butcher to cover last year’s bill… and now the roof is leaking!
​
[E.g Sir Walter Elliot, General Tillney]
Nobel Rogue
A minor title, a minor estate but a true scandal. You or a member of your close family have done something truly disgraceful that has been imperfectly covered up - eg. Killed the true heir in a duel perhaps, or have an illegitimate child. If this were ever discovered by society at large, you would be ruined. Alternatively, you have been embroiled in a series of well known minor scandals, for example, a history of compromising debutants and refusing to marry them or a background in trade.
[E.g. Sir William Lucas; Henry Norris]
​
Bad blood
You are a scion of the noblest families in the land… so how did it go so wrong? You debts or shocking behaviour would lead to the cut direct if it weren't for the respect owed your noble family. You must have done something truly disgraceful, like having a child out of wedlock or losing the family estate at the gaming table. Your disgrace must be well known.
[E.g Sir Thomas Bertram, Frederick Tillney]
The Outsider
You have moderate financial expectations, and some relative in the peerage - your second cousin’s husband perhaps. However, you have a faintly dubious reputation. No-one knows anything specific you’ve done, but odd rumours keep surfacing. Perhaps a sibling eloped into a spectacular marriage, perhaps you’ve been a bit too outspoken in polite company. No matter, you are tolerated in society, but not embraced by it.
This would be a suitable class for anyone with a fake identity.
[E.g. John Willoughby, William Elliot]
The Respectable Middle Class
You or your parent have a respectable gentleperson’s career - law, the church or the military, but no expectations beyond a captaincy or a small living. You have no close relations with a title. Perhaps your family owns a small estate, enough to support you at present, but you won't inherit it.
[e.g. Mr Collins, Elinor Dashwood]
New Money
You, or your parent, has made an enormous fortune, coming up from a working-class background to a world-class business enterprise. You own vast factories, or trade empire and can have anything your heart desires… except for true acceptance at court. If this is not your personal fortune, you must have a reasonable expectation of inheriting the bulk. Everyone still treats you as if a fishmonger had come to the party without washing their hands first. You might have hired a lawyer to restrict your money in imitation of the upper classes - they are not fooled.
You may have a mild scandal in your background - perhaps you once worked as a boot boy in the Duchess’s household? It cannot be too dreadful or well-known however as your position in society is already so tenuous - to simply be working class is scandal enough!
If only you could buy your way into a title - then the ton would have to accept you.
[e.g. Augusta Elton, Mr Weston]
“I have no doubt that he will thrive and be a very rich man in time
–and his being illiterate and coarse need not disturb us.”
Emma
The poor relation:
You are a distant relation of the main branch of the family (who should be either wealthy or Titled enough to justify their invitations to the party). You have no expectations of either money or fortune. Perhaps you are the childhood friend of another debutant, the favourite niece of a newly wealthy uncle or your parents have blackmailed family into claiming you as kin and inviting you into their household for the season. Whatever the reason, you have been offered the chance of a lifetime and you are expected to be incredibly grateful. And perhaps to run a few errands, or help with the younger children. You aren't employed, but you do are made constantly aware that your hosts pay for every aspect of your life.
You may want to help your host family make good matches for their real debutants, or you may desire to make a match better than any of them.
[e.g. Fanny Price , Jane Fairfax]
Chaperones and Family Heads
If married or widowed, you may take any of the debutant classes above or the following.
Married chaperones can certainly be scandalous individuals, but the reputation of the chaperone (indeed the reputation of all in the family) impacts the reputation of each debutant.
If you are single and a chaperone, you must take the following class:
The perfect chaperone
Too old or poor to be a debutant, you are here purely to be a decent chaperone for the debutante. You are expected to walk the delicate line between protective enough that their reputations are never in peril but permissive enough that they can attract a partner. You are essentially an employee of the family of the debutant - paid companion, governess, personal valet etc. You may be related to the family distantly, but this is not acknowledged in public.
You would never be considered for marriage by any member of society, but if you were prepared to loosen your morals, you might be attractive enough to secure a position as a kept lover of a wealthy individual. However, the slightest suggestion of such a move would imperil your current position.
[e.g. Miss Bates, Mrs Clay]
