30th March 2013, Versailles in SL

The community of Versailles in SL has come a long way in the last 4 years since its foundation back in 2009. It has set a new standard of roleplay and invented its own style of interaction. However, we have always come to a point where reforms and passionating ideas were required. A project that does not evolve will slowly fade away. Following the roleplay reform set into motion in 2012 with a big stress on our educational objective we shall now focus on our roleplay.

Active roleplayers have often lamented a lack of action, activity and spontaneity among the roleplayers of our community. It has taken us a long time to understand how things could be improved: Through education and training. However, even the best roleplay training is worthless without the necessary inspiration and incentive. The key word of this reform shall be INCENTIVE - our shall be to inspire, encourage, motivate roleplayers to participate in the STORY of Versailles by giving them orientation.

1: A text-based roleplay - THE PLOT

(1) Over the last 4 years roleplayers at Versailles have developed a special style of roleplay: Its fast pace and lack of textual complexity have allowed fast interaction required at a court that is based on intrigues as well as witty and animated dialogs rather than long text passages focusing on the individual roleplayer.

(2) The idea is to introduce a BASIC PLOT written and developed by a board of writers that shall be released / updated every month. This plot shall summarize the events that have taken place at court in the last month. At the same time it the board of writers shall continue the story by introducing one or more story lines for the coming month. It is then up to the roleplayers in the community to react to these new story lines that are a logical result of actions having taken place in the past. Depending on what the roleplayers make of it (through interaction, gossip [see below]) the plot shall be adapted in the ensuing month.

Ex.: The announcement of coming events, marriages, promotions, the arrival of bad news from abroad, new courtiers, the revelation of intrigues, change in national politics

(3) The plot and sub-plots shall be written from the perspective from a 3rd person limited narrator (without omniscience) that reflects on the events at court, personal relations between courtiers and important developments in society.

(4) The plot can also refer to fictional characters that do not necessarily need to exist in reality in order to introduce new story lines and enrich / extend the existing storylines.

5) The basic structure could be the following:
Intro (written by the creative board) - plot enacted by the community in reaction to the intro - conclusion (written by the creative board at the end of the month) + intro for month 2 [...]

2: Court gossip - a tool controlled by the court factions

(1) The gossip guide is currently being monitored and managed by the council of Versailles. In order to give court factions and families a way to deceive / influence the public opinion as well as in order to revive this roleplay tool house leaders and core roleplayers should be allowed to send notices to the group.

(2) The gossip should adhere to our guidelines and rules and shall be monitored by the roleplay manager (MarieLouise Harcourt)

(3) Members using the gossip guide in an abusive manner shall be removed by the roleplay manager.

(4) The gossip must refer to actions having taken place in roleplay, there needs to be some sort of evidence or at least some hint that the gossip might indeed correspond to the truth. Anything else would not be constructive

Ex.: There cannot be any gossip about an amorous affair without any indication or form of evidence in roleplay whatsoever.

3 Royal favour: A more realistic approach

(1) The royal favour chart shall be abolished as it has proven to be an unrealistic approach.

(2) In reality whether a courtier was held in esteem by the royals was expressed by other means - such as gifts, offices and titles.

(3) Whether a courtier has won the king's favour could also be reflected in the PLOT. That would also minimize the need of an active king in the roleplay who would instead interact as some kind of "inapproachable" god like player in the plot.

(4) This new system would require the cooperation of the royals. They would have to strictly observe the plot and make their choices based on who they want to "protger" in other words whose career they want to promote. Court factions do play a very important role in this context [see below]

4: Court factions

During the latter part of the reign of Louis XV, the court had divided into two opposing factions, with very different political views.

(1) Parti Devot
This was a group of conservative courtiers, headed by Madame Royale. They believed in the divine right of absolute monarchy and were opposed to the Parliament and ideals of the enlightenment. Their main goal was the preservation of the Catholic Church's important place within French culture and society. They were also against the Franco-Austrian alliance and viewed Austria as the enemy who they fought in the War of Austrian Succession, and who later dragged them into the disastrous Seven Years' War against Great Britain and Prussia.

(2) Choiseullistes
This was the group of more liberal courtiers who were enamoured by the ideals of the enlightenment. They believed in a more constitutional idealistic form of government and were pro-parliamentary. They were also pro-Austrian, a prominent member being the Dauphine Marie Antoinette, who stood as the main supporter of the exiled Duc de Choiseul, who had formed the Austrian alliance instrumental in fabricating her marriage agreement.

(3) Du Barryistes
After the arrival of Madame du Barry at court, a third faction began to grow up around her, supported by the Devot Duc d'Aguillon who hoped she would assist him in acquiring the favour of the King. He formed part of the triumvirate of ministers who formed a government during the last years of Louis XV's reign, along with the Abbe Terray and Chancelier Maupeou. They were very unpopular with the majority of court but held considerable influence with the help of Madame du Barry.

(4) Courtiers sided with various factions depending on their own ambitions and their personal beliefs. Many turned to Du Barry to secure favour from the current king, but found that they alienated themselves from the Dauphine and Madame Royale in doing so, who both had a joint influence on the new King Louis XVI.

(5) After the death of the King, the Parti Devot and the Choiseullistes struggled for political dominance, headed by the King's aunt Madame Royale on one side, and the Queen on the other. Rivalries became bitter, and those who wished to be in the favour of the Queen, would be bitterly resented by Madame Royale, and vice versa. Thus courtiers had to carefully choose based on their own beliefs which faction they wished to belong in.

updated by @anne-comtesse-de-noailles: 23 Oct 2016 12:12:24AM

I quite like the idea of a plot system! And I feel that the court Factions will be a very entertaining aspect of roleplay!

I love this! I am sure the RP will get much more exciting and entertaining with those applied.

Also, the RP classes will go on? Versailles is getting some new members,and I think those classes are always welcome

What kind of RP classes specifically do you think would be needed? I am always willing to organize some, but never quite know exactly what you would like to know!

You can find most roles currently at the Versailles website, although there have also been quite some changes and updates during the last update on those family trees. I should update that this week, good to remind me! Nonetheless, you should be able to find a general overview there. In case you are really wondering, just IM me for a family tree as the in world one's are constantly updated by me, or ask me to whom you are related in which way, and I am more than willing to look it up for you if you can't find it

My concern is that at times, RP has leaned heavily towards some unrealistic or heavy-handed 'bitch fests'. In the 18thc courts they may have back stabbed each other in the privacy of their family homes, but good breeding always maintained a smile on one's face when seeing the enemy, even if it was forced.

There have been times when I have engaged with RP with the experienced (read Versailles management) members and noted their interest in accuracy and portrayal of the past. This has made RP refreshing - for instance the negotiations for a marriage contract in my family was an enjoyable challenge, made all the better with a Duchess who also knew about 18thc etiquette. This should be encouraged more, rather than falling back on the 'he said she said' type dinners which are far too common.

If there's anything that needs adding, throwing conversations about RL politics that happened at that point in time with the sim's timeline would add tremendously to the court gossip and chat. After all, it was on the sunset of France's court golden age, and much politics on the street was terriblyrisqu,rude and even downright flammable for the Royals and court favourites. Constant murders and non-RL plots are not educational, but lean more towards fictional RP.

My only other suggestion is a monthly roundup of book titles for recommended reading for the period. If Versailles wish to promote the past, educate and encourage an interest in the 18thc French court life as a whole, this is vital for members so they can understand Versailles and its quirks and foibles as its Royal Family carries out its day to day life.

Nearly 30 years of experience in RL has shown me that for many people,spontaneousRP does not come naturally and sometimes people need or appreciate a gentle nudge in the right direction. I would imagine the court Royals and members of the management team can achieve this by adding to and nudging within conversations. Some of the Royals are very good at this too. Those who host dinners or gatherings can, once again, nudge the conversation on. Men should talk more about hunting, woes of their estate/servants and business transactions, women more about fashion and odd trends spotted in Parisian opera houses. Or talk in distaste about the fashion habits of other nations. This is all recorded as being the constant topics at court by period observers. The Duchess of Devonshire wrote about her observances at Versailles which is an interesting read.

To start off the curious, here is a link to the original 1779 Essay, 'The Art of Pleasing in Conversation':
http://http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ggE3AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA587...

For theGentlemenof the Court and their non-titled guests this site has some guides on clothing, manners, hunting and so forth:
Society of 18thc Gentlemen

I agree on the murders part, I think there should be more focus on small intrigues, which is more realistic and, at least on my opinion, way more fun.

Thanks for this post, which is extremely helpful.

A have a question. What about thebourgeoisie? How should we try to fit into these court factions.

I am trying to fit into court as a "natural scientist/astronomer/chemist" (assisting my husband, of course) in the emerging age of enlightenment.

I have created a back story for the both of us that is loosely based on the life of the Laviosier's (chemists, extremely wealthy, bourgeoisie, and friends of the court).

I am building a lab in my SL home that everyone will be able to visit. I want to hold evening lectures of the science of the time. In RL I am a physicist and work at a museum - so I feel comfortable in this arena.

From what you say, I would be aligned with either Madame du Barry orMarie Antoinette. Yes?Thoughts?

Oh. The lab is not in Versailles, but in the Duche Aquitaine 18c sim.

Oh my goodness, what excellent suggestions! Thank you! (downloads "Art of Pleasing")

Signora Contessa,

It is clear that you have thought very carefully about this and we all wish you well with the project. I am sure it will be worthwhile, and I thoroughly agree that it is important to keep things evolving -- a historical roleplay community must be seen as a living thing that grows and changes, or it will get tired.

and toSignora Honfleur,

I may be incorrect about this, but I think it would be a good assumption that neither du Barry or Marie Antoinette would be terribly interested in your endeavors. A much more likely candidate would be the future King, Louis XVI. Even those biographers who don't think very highly of him grudgingly admit he was interested in science and technology, as is evidenced by various facts such as his interest in timepieces (which were very high tech devices for the era) and later actions as king, such as sendingLaprouse to the west coast of North America, with instructions to respect the customs of the peoples he encountered.

I also noted the following from the official Chateau de Versailles website:

"Louis XVI developed his taste for the applied sciences and the technical and mechanical curiosities he collected in the cabinets and laboratories he had built for him close to his apartments. He had workshops for experimenting in physics, mechanics, chemistry, joinery, timepieces and locks, as well as a forge and an electricity gallery. Louis XVI showed keen interest in naval technology and the preparation of exploratory expeditions to new countries. In the 1780s, he chose the navigator Jean-Franois de Laprouse to sail around the world. In 1783, the king attended the first aeronautical experiments carried out at Versailles: on 14 September, Etienne de Montgolfier launched a balloon filled with hydrogen and carrying animals in the gondola over the rooftops of Versailles. On 21 November, Piltre de Rozier set off from Versailles and completed his first trip by air which lasted 25 minutes."

So it would seem that the most fruitful route would be for your husband to try to establish some connection with Louis XVI himself.

By the way, I should like to have the opportunity to visit your laboratory sometime -- perhaps we could bring a group and you could show them around?

Mssr Stern

Thank you for your response. I know about the King's interest, but wonder how a someone not of royal blood might go about getting an introduction to the King. But I suspect that is part of the challenge of Versailles, is it not? LOL.

I was going to reply to this earlier; Don Aldo has a good response here. The best way for a bourgeois to get an entree into the royal family is to cultivate any possible connections, for example, Jean-Tartuffe Honfleur is a close friend of the Duchesse de la Fontenelle; Fontenelle is a lady to the Comtesse d'Artois and also I believe knows the Dauphin, soon to be His Majesty. So Marie Anne and her husband might not be terribly close to Jean-Tartuffe, she might not be keen on la Fontenelle when she meets her, but she should assuredly work this connection and get in with the Duchesse, who can carry her higher and make introductions. Meeting the Comte de Provence (who also had academic interests, though not quite to the extent of his regnant brother in the sciences - and unfortunately is not a role that is played at the moment) would also be a good move, as making a good name with Provence as a scholar would be a *possible* route to entree with the king. - Someone who had no connection to the person they wished to meet would seek to befriend a person with some kind of connection, say a noble in the household of the royal they wished to know. Each year the Almanach de Versailles was published and all the information of households, barracks arrangements (Versailles was nothing if not a barracks town), and the great families was listed, for anyone with the louis for the book.

It's important to note that bourgeoisie could not be presented to the king and queen, or attend the levers and couchers, and have a formal role at court. However, they could (and did) meet their majesties privately, attend other court functions which did not require birth, and at this time became more and more important as money flowed to their hands. A famous bourgeois from the previous century is Colbert; his father was elevated so he kind of slid in, but he (along with his brother, in the clergy) brought himself higher, and saw the family greatly elevated. A contemporary example, though in the next decade, would be Necker, who never had a title, and his daughter, Germaine Necker de Stael.

Read the posts here with great interest! I do agree, it might not be very easy to get in touch with the Royals, but it is possible and I think thats the fun in this rp, isnt it? It would be boring without any diffuculties Just a small thing to add to your comment Constance - Germaine Necker was official presented to their majesties in the 1780s, before she married. So even that was possible =]

Thank you very much for your very interesting post!

I have to agree with you - the murderes were bit too much in the last time (even thought they were much fun and exciting). When one must get rid of a character, there would be many other ways - convent, marriage in another country, court banishment (Lettre de cachet)...

I also like the idea of the lecture for the period. One can learn much from those books ('Liaisons Dangereuses' for example) even thought from good made movies ('Ridicule' for example). And thank you very much for the Essay! Its is not always that easy to make good period conversation, I hope this will help =)

I think Donna Costanza has proposed a very plausible and delightfully byzantine pathway for the Honfleurs to accomplish their goal. And yes, while it certainly is going to be a challenge, doesn't that make the process all that much more interesting? As grandfather used to say, "if it was easy, everyone would be doing it."

Oh, I didn't know that about Mme de Stael, before her marriage! Louis and Antoinette did relax court etiquette rather a bit over the years, I wonder if "daughters of ministers" was added to the categories, regardless of birth? Interesting, merci!

It may be a good idea to introduce classes which not only improve aspects of role-play, but also improve the player's knowledge of the era. This in particular may help to strengthen our overall role-play, as many role-players have a limited knowledge when it comes to the current events and actual historic intrigues and political conflicts of the era. If classes were offered which specifically taught role-players about the context of court life in 1774, including actual common gossip and some political background (as almost everything at Versailles was a matter of politics), I believe role-players could find them both motivating and educational.

A brief example of this would be a class on the alliance between France and Austria, which was perhaps the greatest area of conflict between court factions at this time. Such a class could include everything from a description of the somewhat recent Seven Years War, to controversial figures related to the alliance such as Madame Pompadour, Marie Antoinette, and the Duc de Choiseul.