Kingsgate House is a literate historical roleplay based on an Edwardian country house, the family who owns it, and the servants who keep its cogs turning. In a time of whimsy, aristocracy and propriety, life is quaint and beautiful for those born to riches and privilege, but bitter and unrelenting for those born to serve them. The great manors in the English countryside are outward displays of wealth and house the most affluent of families, yet their cogs are only kept turning by the legions of household staff who are every bit as alive as their masters. The century is young here at Kingsgate, and you are welcome to see where it takes you...
SETTING
It is Week Two of December 1906, and Kingsgate is feeling the chill. Be careful not to slip on the ice outside. The pond in the woods has frozen over and the village children have been playing on it. Lady Elizabeth's birthday is coming up next week and some of the many esteemed guests who shall be attending are already heading to Kingsgate for an extended stay.
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NEWS
Sorry everyone, I guess it's time to pack up the shop on this one - it was just too difficult to get active interest in such a niche RP site. It was a fun experiment though, and I'm glad for the RP we got to have. Much love <3
29/03/2013 - Time skip! Week Two has begun in Kingsgate and the guests for Elizabeth's party are all arriving soon. With not long to go before the big day, we still need fine young ladies and gentlemen to attend the extravagant feast.
18/03/2013 - March is here and so is the first site plot, which you can read about here! Do take a look, and submit your characters to play key roles!
27/02/2013 - Things are ticking along, and we'll soon have enough characters to get started on some site events, like Elizabeth's birthday. Get your characters created and join in the fun!
18/02/2013 - We've got a nice little group of characters now! Still looking for lots of Penroses, including the Earl himself, so check out the wanted characters page and the Plotting Board to see if there's anything you feel up to making. :]
07/02/2013 - Welcome to new members, and thanks for sticking with us to the old. I hope you're all going to make new characters and fill out our site. Apologies if things seem slow; education demands are rather unforgiving!
30/12/2012 - Hope everyone's enjoying the festive season; roleplay is starting, although we still need oodles of new characters! Get creating :]
23/12/2012 - Characters are being created as we all prepare to start the RP!
18/12/2012 - Kingsgate is still pretty much brand new, but the doors are now open so get creating :] Some info threads may be unfinished and a few new boards may pop up in the next few days, but essentially everything is ready to go! We need many characters to create a bustling house, and that includes Lord and Lady Carmarthen, three of their four children and a whole staff team, plus villagers and friends of the Penroses! Wow!
In 1906, the beautiful country manor named Kingsgate House is a social centre for the Edwardian upper class. The Penroses have run it for generations and are well-established among the aristocrats of England. Lord Carmarthen's father died twenty years ago and since then things have been peaceful in the idyll of aristocratic life, the master living comfortably with his wife and their four children, Elizabeth, Kate, Edward and Annie.
But with Elizabeth and Kate reaching adulthood and the marriage scene, life is about to fill with propitious politics and a flurry of suitors which will only be topped when Edward too comes of age. And are the Lord and Lady really as happy in their marriage as they seem? What of the staff, who keep the house tiding over, but are involved in their own fierce system of power and politics? Life is never as simple as it first seems.
Family George Downing, Lord Bolingbroke, Viscount, father Mary Downing, Lady Bolingbroke, Mother Susanna Downing, older sister Anne Downing, younger sister Sexuality heterosexual Relationship Status unattached
Appearance Bernard is, as far as anyone can usually be bothered to be concerned, extraordinarily unremarkable. He is neither fat, nor thin. As well, he is of an average height, neither too tall nor too short. His hair is dark and his eyes light blue. Both are features that, as far as any Downing might be concerned, are quite standard. The features of his face are neither too well proportioned nor too disproportionate. The averageness of his face sometimes leads people to believe they have met him before, when, in fact, they have not. In an average moment, Bernard's facial expression is probably neutral, with a closed yet relaxed mouth, resting brows, and what could almost be considered an absence of thought behind his eyes. When engaged in conversation, he might smirk and lift his brows when he thinks himself exceptionally clever, or return to his resting expression, which may lead one to question whether he is, in fact, listening. His posture marks him as one who has undergone considerable training as a young gentleman, upright with flowing gestures. Generally, he is appropriately dressed in what he is assured are the latest fashions, though not so fashionable as to stand out in any way.
Personality Few things are as pleasing to Bernard as a well-organized space. He enjoys facts that he need not ponder too much, and finds having to put forth effort into being creative very tedious. Often, he is labled as gullible, because he prefers to accept what others tell him at face value to putting much effort into analyzing their words. Though always polite, he is not the best conversational partner and enjoys talking about himself, though many find that there is little about him that is actually interesting. Bernard, like many young men of his status, enjoys opportunities to interact socially with his peers. He is fond of card games and drink, but not charades. As the heir of Lord Bolingbroke, he has been raised to be very confident in virtues that he may or may not possess, and may often be perceived as being a little self-absorbed. It often does not occur to him to attempt to see a situation from another person's point of view. Very likely, he is the only person who finds his 'jokes' funny, and is known to smirk with contentment when he says something he finds particularly clever. Though he tends toward laziness, he will work hard for a reward, and cares a lot about having the approval of his family.
History Bernard's is a history almost as unremarkable as the man himself. He was born the second child of Lord and Lady Bolingbroke, but the only son. His younger sister was born three years after. Though his two sisters are very close to one another, Bernard was never very fond of them, nor they of him. Of course, he loves them as one sibling ought to love the rest of their siblings, but his position as heir marked him as a clear favorite child, and thus gave him a different position in the household hierarchy than the two girls. Presently, he interacts with them only when the family is all gathered in one place, and, though he loves them, does not get on with them very well.
Growing up, Bernard was very well educated in all the subjects a young member of the aristocracy ought to be well educated. He was a tolerably well-behaved boy, who lacked the creativity to come up with anything too troublesome to get himself into. His main flaw as a child was stubbornness and an unwillingness to compromise, luckily there was often no need for him to do so, and he was given almost everything he could ever want (apart from a white thoroughbred horse he'd seen once and begged and begged his father for, but only ended up getting a black one instead, which, he eventually decided, did almost as well). He attended Eton and then Oxford, where he received good marks, but did not exert himself overmuch. Throughout his schooling, history and geography were his favorite subjects. Full of facts and concepts that were ntot too abstract.
With his education complete, he continues to reside in Woodridge Court, his childhood home, since he has no need of finding employment. When his father insists, he learns a little about overseeing the management of such an estate, and is otherwise free to entertain himself as he chooses.
Extra {extra info}
RP Sample There was a drawing room in Woodridge Court of which Bernard was quite fond. There was a little window that allowed for only a minimum of distraction from the outside world, while permitting a bit of natural light to pass, provided it did not look as though it fraternized with the wrong sort of people. The walls of that particular study were plain, with built-in bookshelves that were kept up to his standards of orderliness, trimmed in a dark wood, he assumed it was oak but had never really taken the time to inquire. It was the room's small fireplace that he most prized in the winter months, however, with its crackling kept to a polite murmur while he was trying to read.
Unfortunately, he was not in that particular drawing room at the moment, nor was he in Woodridge Court. His sisters had insisted the whole family go for some trek into nature, and were quite determined that he spend an enjoyable afternoon ice skating. He was quite determined that he would not enjoy one moment, and that the girls were mad for willingly venturing into the arctic landscape winter had provided them. Bernard's only comfort was the thought that the pond was sure to be suitably frozen.
And so they had all gone, in sleighs, like a Christmas Carrol, but with more reality. Hopefully there would be a pudding afterwards. "I've never much liked winter," remarked Bernard in an indolent tone. Then his smirk prepared his eldest sister to receive his attempt at cleverness. "Though I doubt many do, it has such a frosty exterior," the young man preened in the knowledge that he had most assuredly sleighn them. [/blockquote][/center]
