beginner_to_society_games [Scoop!]

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====== New to Society Games? Start Here! ======

Hello, and welcome to the wiki for //Scoop!// If you've never played a Society Game before, or if you're completely new to roleplaying games, we're very glad you're here! This page aims to give you a quick introduction.

One important thing to be aware of first: **you don't need to read this entire website!** There's a lot of material here, and you certainly don't need to know all of it to start playing (although if you do want to, that's great!). Read only what interests you and what's relevant to a character you might like to play! In addition, every player should be familiar with the game's [[CAT policy|Conduct and Acceptable Themes policy]]. You will find a guide to sections of the website and what they tell you below.

Any questions, concerns, and character concepts should be emailed to [[gm@scoop.oxfordrpg.com|the GM Team]] or shared with us on Discord.

===== What's a Roleplaying Game? =====
A roleplaying game is somewhere between amateur dramatics and collaborative storytelling. You turn up, create a character to play, and play them! There are no scripts or lines, no set outcomes to what will happen --- just a setting, a bunch of other characters to interact with, and some GMs (Game Moderators) to make sure it all runs smoothly.

Most importantly: roleplaying is about having fun and creating stories with other players. Absolutely no experience is required to play a Society Game like //Scoop!//, and there will be plenty of supportive people on hand to help you out if you're confused about any aspect of the game. Turn up and enjoy yourself!

===== So... What is a Society Game? =====

You may be looking into this game expecting a bunch of tables and a chance to use your no-doubt fabulous dice collection. If so, you certainly wouldn't be the first (a lot of our veteran players expected a tabletop before their first games), but Society Games are not tabletops. Instead, they're a roleplaying system where players mill about a room talking in character to other PCs (Player Characters) and NPCs (Non-Player Characters) to share information and move plot forward. //Scoop!// will take place at Christ Church College on Tuesday evenings (please see [[When and Where]] for more information).

The Society Game changes from year to year, and usually consists of a two-term game from Michaelmas to Hilary, and a one-term game during Trinity term. //Scoop!// is one of two games running in Trinity Term 2025, the other being [[https://fated.oxfordrpg.com/|Fated]].

It's worth looking at the CAT (Contents and Themes) policy before starting a game (and reading the [[https://oxfordrpg.com/CATPolicy2025.pdf|Society CAT policy]] is mandatory for Society membership. Ours is at [[cat_policy|Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy]]. The CAT policy will let you know what potentially upsetting topics to expect in the game, and which you should not bring up while playing.

The game consists of a combination of Uptime and Downtime. In Uptime (our term for events happening at in-person sessions) your character attends a gathering in which you play them talking to, and plotting with, other characters, pursuing GM-led story, and making arrangements for Downtime.

Downtime is our term for any story that happens in between Uptimes in game.  In this case, downtimes represent one in-game week -- the same as the time that passes in real life between sessions. After every session you will have the opportunity to submit a Turnsheet through the Society Game wiki (you are here now!), detailing the actions your character takes in Downtime.

Turnsheets come in two parts: the Turnsheet submission, which you write to tell the GMs what your character does with the time between sessions, and the Turnsheet response. Before the next session, your character receives a Turnsheet response, which is a piece of writing custom written for your character by the GMs. This contains how you got on with your actions last week, and forms some starting points for plot going forward into the next section. You can read more about Turnsheets and how they work [[Downtime and Turnsheets|here]].

There are some other terms you may hear thrown around the society (ballgowning, the IC/OC divide...). You can find an explanation for many of these terms on our [[Glossary]] page. 

If you've made it this far, you should be all set to start playing a Society Game! But don't worry if you still have questions -- the GMs are very friendly (we promise) and are always happy to answer any questions you might have. You can contact the GMs on Discord of via the GM email, [[gm@scoop.oxfordrpg.com|gm@scoop.oxfordrpg.com]].