Area Knowledge: Britain
This post is really about the Victorian Horror GURPS game that I run. It's an open post, though, because it's about general information and contains no spoilers for the players. So all contributions welcome! (And if you are interested in RPGs and have a devious mind, let me know and I'll sign you up for the filter that's specific to this stuff. There we do talk about spoilers and plot the downfall of the players and the destruction of the world and life as we know it. :-)
Ok, a number of questions of general "world knowledge" nature came up in our last game session. Since a lot of this stuff is probably obvious, daily knowledge to, say, people who actually live in Britain, I thought I would be ruthlessly exploitative and toss it out here. ;-) Of course, feedback/research pointers from anybody are welcome! All nationalities welcome here. ;-)
0) For context, we're in London, 1885. (A slightly tweaked London, but that's not relevant at the moment.)
1) One of the characters is a maths professor at (IIRC) University College London. Any idea what his daily schedule would be like in this era? How many classes would he be teaching? What are the structure of those classes? I know that universities in Europe arrange their class schedules somewhat differently than US universities do, but I don't know details. How are terms arranged, what would the professors' responsibilities be, etc? How often would a professor be expected to be in the classroom, in the office, on campus, etc? (Vs., say, out kicking supernatural butt on Creepy Crawlies From Beyond Space and Time.) What privileges would he enjoy as a professor?
2) Another character is a Countess (in her own name, so she actually holds the peerage). She grew up in Germany in a branch of the family, but when her British cousin died (under mysterious circumstances), the peerage passed to her. So she has arrived to claim her heritage. So... Any idea what the process is for getting officially acknowledged by the House of Lords? I assume that there's some investiture ceremony or something, but I don't know details. Wikipedia refers to Oaths of Allegiance, but it's not clear if that applies to Lords as well as Commons (on a quick read, anyway). Also, when does Parliament convene? Again, from Wikipedia, it appears to be after an election, but I don't know whether elections happen on fixed dates or at variable times from year to year? (Most specifically, do we know whether Parliament will be in session in, say, late October through November?) If it is in session, how often will Countess von Felkenberg be expected to be present? (I.e., how often can she blow off her duties to go hunting CCFBS&Ts? Does she even have to show up to the Lords at all?) And aside from the lands and resulting wealth, what privileges does she automatically enjoy as a Peer?
[Edit]
3) What time is tea?
[/Edit]
Hm. I'm sure there are other questions, but those are the ones that pop up for the moment.
Thanks for any suggestions or pointers!
Ok, a number of questions of general "world knowledge" nature came up in our last game session. Since a lot of this stuff is probably obvious, daily knowledge to, say, people who actually live in Britain, I thought I would be ruthlessly exploitative and toss it out here. ;-) Of course, feedback/research pointers from anybody are welcome! All nationalities welcome here. ;-)
0) For context, we're in London, 1885. (A slightly tweaked London, but that's not relevant at the moment.)
1) One of the characters is a maths professor at (IIRC) University College London. Any idea what his daily schedule would be like in this era? How many classes would he be teaching? What are the structure of those classes? I know that universities in Europe arrange their class schedules somewhat differently than US universities do, but I don't know details. How are terms arranged, what would the professors' responsibilities be, etc? How often would a professor be expected to be in the classroom, in the office, on campus, etc? (Vs., say, out kicking supernatural butt on Creepy Crawlies From Beyond Space and Time.) What privileges would he enjoy as a professor?
2) Another character is a Countess (in her own name, so she actually holds the peerage). She grew up in Germany in a branch of the family, but when her British cousin died (under mysterious circumstances), the peerage passed to her. So she has arrived to claim her heritage. So... Any idea what the process is for getting officially acknowledged by the House of Lords? I assume that there's some investiture ceremony or something, but I don't know details. Wikipedia refers to Oaths of Allegiance, but it's not clear if that applies to Lords as well as Commons (on a quick read, anyway). Also, when does Parliament convene? Again, from Wikipedia, it appears to be after an election, but I don't know whether elections happen on fixed dates or at variable times from year to year? (Most specifically, do we know whether Parliament will be in session in, say, late October through November?) If it is in session, how often will Countess von Felkenberg be expected to be present? (I.e., how often can she blow off her duties to go hunting CCFBS&Ts? Does she even have to show up to the Lords at all?) And aside from the lands and resulting wealth, what privileges does she automatically enjoy as a Peer?
[Edit]
3) What time is tea?
[/Edit]
Hm. I'm sure there are other questions, but those are the ones that pop up for the moment.
Thanks for any suggestions or pointers!