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A wee bit of historical background:

In October 1813, Napoleon, reeling from his failed invasion of Russia, was defeated by an allied army at the Battle of Leipzig. By the spring of the following year, Napoleon had been forced to abdicate, and sent into exite on the barren Mediterranean island of Elba. So, in August of 1814, the following announcement appeared in all major European newspapers:

"On October 1 of this year a European Congress shall open in Vienna, for the purpose of deciding those issues which remain open following the recent Treaty of Chaumont [in which Napoleon formally abdicated]."

That's it. No qualifications, no limitations. To quote Gregor Dallas, a historian of the period, "As a result, anyone with an interest -- or even a curiosity -- in Europe's future felt entitled to be present. German princelings and lords, who had lost their privileges and properties after the French invasions, came in the hope of re-establishing the old order; Napoleonic sovereigns and heirs arrived to insist on the new order; nationalists sought one vision; Roman cardinals sought another; mistreses came to enjoy themselves; gamblers came to impoverish themselves [or their marks]; bankers came to enrich themselves; the lawyers arrived to support and oppose them all. An Augsburg newspaper estimated that sixteen thousand royals, nobles, commoners, travellers, vagrants, and their friends turned up in Vienna that September."

That is not to mention the artists seeking patronage (Beethoven wrote a symphony celebrating Wellington, the great English general, which he hoped would allow him to make his fortune, as the aesthetic jury was still very much out on his music at the time), odd ducks like Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, the Court Mechanician to the Hapsburg Empress, famous for crafting lifelike automatons, and rumored to be a magician, and spies like the person who to this day is only known by the sign with which he or she signed his reports to the Austrian secret service: ** (agent "double asterisk").

So, play a diplomat or even a crowned head of Europe, play an artist, play a socialite, indeed play a combination of all these -- most people at the Congress happily mixed social and political activities! More information on historical personages we'd like to see in the game, and templates for fictional characters will be found on the web site.

The Flavor of the Game

Those of you who played in the Castle Falkenstein game that Ian Fagan and I ran a few years back will be very familiar with the atmosphere we hope to achieve: Waltzing, Whist, and Whispers in Dark Corners.

There are, however, two main differences. Firstly, unlike the Falkenstein world, this game will be grounded in historical reality. No magic, no supernatural beings (although the rumors of such are perfectly fine!). However, historical reality does not mean historical determinism. Everything UP TO the beginning of the game has transpired as it did in real life. But, very importantly, the actions of the characters will determine how things transpire thereafter. Nothing is certain. Second, society in 1814 was far racier than society sixty years later. These are the scandalous folks who the Victorians were reacting against! For example, the British ambassador to the Congress, Charles Stewart, was routinely drunk and brawling on the streets of Vienna, while his brother, British Foreign Minister Castlereagh baffled both the Austrian spies and society at large because he did *not* have a mistress (much energy was expended by the Austrian secret police in finding out who Castlereagh's mistress was -- after all, he *had* to have one, didn't he? Didn't everyone?) Well, everyone but Castlereagh, which points up the importance of women in the Congress of Vienna. Virtually all important negotiations during the Congress took place at parties, and the great society hostesses of Vienna could exercise great political, as well as social, influence. Diplomats and political leaders were also notorious for confiding all their secrets to their mistresses, which means that the women probably know more about what's really going on than the men around the conference table do!

Do not fear, however, that this will be solely a political game. As mentioned above, social intrigue on its own, aside from any important political implications, occupied the attentions of many in Vienna. Artistic matters were also of great importance -- the debate on the virtues of Beethoven's music was only one of many questions that occupied the artists and patrons of Europe at the time. Finally, let us not neglect those who followed the monied classes around Europe -- gamblers, confidence tricksters, jewel thieves, spies, mistresses, and professional guests whose escapades, while often less than savory, never fail to fascinate.

So, when will all this take place?

The game will occupy three episodes spaced about a month apart through the summer of 2002. It is our hope that players will be able to interact via e-mail with NPCs and other players in the interim so that each game will present the players with a new and challenging set of circumstances.

We look forward to welcoming you to "Vienna" this summer!

Ray and Cynthia

***Please send any game-related correspondence to both addresses***

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