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Britain in the World of Darkness

A guide to the differences between the real Britain we live in and the campaign world of the World of Darkness for both players and STs.

Britain is a mess. Imagine our own Britain, with the vast social pressures we face today; now add the World of Darkness and what you have is a vision of Britain on the verge of a crisis. The nation is held together by gossamer thin threads which strain and break apart. It is a paradox - one of the world's most powerful and economically strong nations, reduced to a state of near panic and fear; inept civil servants and corrupt politicians seem to run the place - an uncaring PM and a blind media carry on as if nothing is happening; and the effects of the Vampires, the Garou, the Changelings and the Magi take their effect upon Britain. As we enter the first years of the 21st century, Britain is a grim and dark place. What follows is a guide to Britain in the World of Darkness for players in all Venues. This is the atmosphere of the world around you. The things you see and hear in your everyday working life.

Basics.
The basic fact is that events in the real world match events in the World of Darkness. Totally. Manchester United are still the dominant football team; Tony Blair is still PM; the Budgets in the real world match the Budgets in the WoD; the same pop stars appear in both; mostly the same news stories affect both; the same shops appear in the same high streets; the prices are the same. But to this must be added additional factors. The 'differences'. The effects of the World of Darkness. Please understand - these 'differences' were not created purely by the STs for the sake of it. These are the effects of what PCs and NPCs have done. This is what the characters have done to this nation of ours. It's not nice. But then again for most of the changes you see here, the things that will impact upon your characters, we can find the characters responsible. Everything you see was caused by PCs and NPCs. Blame them. Not us.

Culture.
British culture is an odd mismatch. The basic desire of the British people in the early years of the 21st century is the desire for 'escapism'. The nation has suffered so much recently, there have been so many crises and disasters, so many attacks upon the basic infrastructure, that the majority of British people want to spend their free time forgetting all about it.
They want to forget about their worries and their fears and just escape reality for a few hours. Hence we have the paradoxical nature of the society in the 21st century. On the one hand it seems to be going through a cultural rebirth - theatre and opera and dance have become more accepted; art galleries get record crowds; historic sites are visited more often; book sales have rocketed. To all the world it appears as if Britain is being reborn in the arts. This however is only half the picture. At a deeper level people do these things to provide distractions for themselves - safe distractions. The moment the illusion of safety is lost, numbers drop. And people stay at home. Hence the explosion of 'home leisure' activities. Music sales, TV audiences, radio audiences and Internet numbers are up beyond belief. Here at least British people can relax and kick back without fear of muggings, terrorist attacks, epidemics or whatever. Here they are safe. Thus the paradox. The British people want to go out, want to visit the park, or walk the dog, or go to a nightclub, or visit the opera, the theatre or whatever, but they will not do so if the risk is too great.
Thus we have a baseless cultural revival - the arts are on the up, but no one is really interested in them; people just want something to distract them. Many artists have called this the 'Soulless Era' of British art - for good reason. With home life now being the safest place for people to be in, Britain has seen a growth in what Prime Minister Blair calls "decent family values". More and more people spend their time at home; the family unit is being reinforced as the pivotal bedrock of British society. However, this ignores the deep problems that go along with this - alcoholism is up; domestic abuse is up; child abuse is up; but people have stopped reporting it; it appears as if Britain is a tranquil land of decent family values - but behind closed doors, people are stuck with each other and family tensions are suppressed and curtailed.

TV.
Central to all this is British TV - long gone are the days of just four channels broadcasting only until 12am. Now hundreds of cable and satellite TV stations, plus the new digital services, have seen a proliferation of channels. The thing to remember however is that the five mainstream TV stations still dominate. BBC1 and 2, the ITV network and Channels 4 and 5 broadcast around Britain 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, filling homes with great distraction. Soap operas are still the most popular shows. 'Eastenders' and 'Coronation Street' are the most viewed things on TV - the events within them followed with an almost religious devotion. However Channel 4's 'Chase Avenue' with its sex filled episodes is close behind them; and its portrayal of dysfunctional families cooped together is often called the "most realistic series on TV". Quiz shows abound - including 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and 'The Weakest Link'. Shows where contestants get to be nasty to one another are most popular - 'The Jet Set' sees people compete for a chance to live the ultimate escapist life for a week. Life shows are hugely popular. 'Big Brother' clocked up record ratings, until Channel 5's 'Voyeur' cut out the middleman and gave raw unedited coverage of a similar show filled with bisexuals already pre-paid to have as much sex as possible. Indeed, Channel 5's ratings have staggered many - the shows are universally awful - but its diet of soft-porn and occasional hard-porn content has given it a core audience of young men. In terms of drama - the epic series 'Hunger Dogs', about a group of reactionary vigilantes and shown on ITV, is way and by far the most popular show going; often condemned for its racist, homophobic content, Hunger Dogs has enough ratings not to actually care. Re-enactments of famous books or historical moments are also popular. Horror shows and glossy American imports are also the flavour of the day.

Sport.
The British obsession with sport is reaching fever pitch. Excellent marketing by several large TV companies has made Britain sport mad. The largest obsession is of course football. The ins and outs of the Premier and Nationwide Leagues are followed religiously and attendances are up beyond belief. But not just this - horse racing, boxing, rugby, greyhound racing, car racing, athletics, cycling, cricket. You name it the British love it. Gambling has also risen, and is very much legal in the UK. While not often reported about gambling, either in the form of betting on sports events or the National Lottery, is a national pastime.

Club Culture.
The most profound effect upon the British nation has been the effects of the two dominant youth cultures of the last fifteen years - club culture has had a profound effect upon how the young in British society view themselves; effects that will have more and more impact as the years go on. The first thing to understand is that there are in fact two distinct groups in British club culture - 'Generation E' and 'The Ruptured'.
'Generation E' is the name given to the young people who were part of the British club scene from the late Eighties until the mid to late Nineties. These were the 'ravers', the 'party people'; reared on a diet of clubbing, massive DJs and Ecstasy (plus cocaine, speed, dope and whatever else). They pushed back the boundaries of club culture, partied hard and are now passing into their thirties. Generation E still like to go out (it is noted with no surprise that the average age of a nightclub goer in the UK has risen from 21 ten years ago to 33 today). Above all Generation E accepts drugs. They took them, they understood why people took them, and they don't believe the shit of older generations. They know cocaine doesn't kill you for example - but they also know it makes you an asshole. Many of them had their own personal 'pill pusher', usually a friend, and as such Generation E doesn't stigmatise the dealers as much as former generations did. As this large group of young people grow through their thirties to their forties there may indeed be some profound changes in British culture.
The Ruptured however are a different class. These were the young people whose first drug of choice was 'Rapture', the incredibly powerful and popular drug that was dirt cheap, never gave a bad trip and sold like hot cakes from 1997 until 2001. While Rapture use was exceptionally widespread, The Ruptured were young people who never tried anything else - not alcohol, nor tobacco, nor dope, nor cocaine. The Ruptured spent their time high on the stuff. Mellowed out and smiling. A whole generation of kids with pleasant attitudes, a keen ear for music, a positive attitude on life and a desire to enjoy themselves. Hedonists? Yes, I suppose they were, but not in any debauched way. Prolonged use of Rapture made them very centred - they would go into S&M clubs and laugh - not in judgement but because people looked silly. They would avoid work and spend a day just sat watching the clouds. While crime was on the up, Rapture helped pacify a whole generation of kids without hope and angry. And then it stopped. No one knows why Rapture stopped - same as no one knows why it arrived; but it left The Ruptured with a void in their lives. No one was ever medically addicted to Rapture - but psychological addiction took place. For an entire generation the one thing that saw them through their troubled teenage years has gone. And instead of being the most well adjusted young people on Earth - they now find themselves bereft of the one thing that made life possible. They are a lost generation looking to fill the void in their lives, and as time goes by they will become more and more desperate. Indeed as time goes by The Ruptured will eventually become a ticking time bomb at the heart of British society - desperate to find something, anything to make their days have meaning.

Social Order. The Greying of British Culture.
One factor must be understood. Britain is getting older. The Baby Boomers are pushing fifty; Generation E is in their thirties, the Ruptured are in their late teens and twenties. And the birth rate is falling. And as such so is the number of young people - while the numbers of old people are rising. British culture is 'greying' and increasing numbers of people in their fifties and sixties are appearing. This has had two effects - one Britain is becoming more conservative (with a small c) but two, and more importantly, the young are being venerated. Placed upon a pedestal the young are precious - they are the future. And the old are being left behind. It is an awful thing to realise but in Britain a new underclass is being created - poor and old. The numbers of people living below the poverty line and over the age of fifty-five are increasing drastically. A new political underclass appears - the over sixties. But as their numbers increase so does the chance that someone will organise them.

Immigration.
As Britain gets older, and her workforce shrinks, genuine concerns are felt that she won't be able to maintain a large workforce to keep her factories going. In the past whenever Britain faced this, she merely opened her doors to waves of immigrants to move to Britain. But this is increasingly problematic. Far Right groups have infiltrated British culture and indeed managed to develop an air of legitimacy. The nation's older generations (the Greys) make their shrill calls for 'Britain to remain British'; out of the blue St. George's day (St. George is the patron saint of England) is now actually celebrated (whereas in the past it was ignored) and the flag of St. George is now venerated. And mainstream MPs call for serious cuts in the numbers of immigrants. Their views, so blinkered if not altogether blind, gain acceptance in the media. The press would far rather point out a case of social security abuse by one immigrant than the four hundred normal citizens; according to them vast numbers of foreigners are here to steal our jobs, change our money, attack the very institutions that make Britain 'Britain'.
Attacks upon Asians, Africans and West Indians are at an all time high - groups such as the BNP and the KKK have grown in membership. In response Asian youths have ganged together for protection and now target whites the same way they were targeted. Britain is being divided over colour lines and religious lines (Muslim against Hindu etc.). In many cities a new form of unspoken segregation exists - black only areas and white only areas, enforced by social pressure and outright violence has seen migrations of people from one area to another; even the great liberal middle classes seem affected by it. Only the more astute can see this for what it is, 'ethnic cleansing'. The situation is approaching crisis point. The events in Bradford are seen as an indicator of what is to come - segregation and separation. The 'melting pot' is falling apart.

Gangs.
Gang culture is growing; the new generation of teenagers, who don't have Rapture to fall back upon, now seek their kicks on the streets; British gang culture has become one of the most dominant forces in Britain of late - over the last ten years thousands of people have been killed by Britain's gangs - it has become so bad that whole areas of British cities become 'no-go' areas at night (usually estates on the outskirts); police and armed forces have had to declare martial law at least a dozen times; the traditional image of British 'Bobbies' - unarmed, friendly, locally based - is gone forever. Police stations are virtual fortresses; most police are armed (estimated to be about 80%); riot police can be seen in most British cities; helicopters patrol 24-7; many cities have youth curfews, or a ban on drinking in public; private companies have been allowed to enter the law enforcement business - private police forces now cover many places - accountable to none; sometimes willing to become almost vigilantes. There are at least a dozen cases of gang members being killed out of hand by private police forces. No one cares any more.
British cities are fighting back as best they can; out of town shopping malls draw customers out of the city centres, but many respond by sprucing up their city and introducing a 'zero tolerance' attitude towards crime and petty acts of vandalism. This has led to the main gangs being based in the narrow streets of suburbia and the council estates of Britain. British gangs tend to be armed, organised and ruthless. They kill without warning. Hence Britain has become more conservative. There is no death penalty, but there is, as stated above, a tolerance of police killing 'gang members' and a feeling that vigilantism is to be accepted.

Disasters.
Britain is the home of disaster. It is the home of epic disaster. No matter how strong the fabric of society seems it has been rocked by tragedy after tragedy. If we look back over the last decade it seems like a terrible roll call of death. In Britain in the World of Darkness, the Poll Tax Riots were obviously a lot worse than in our world - over seven hundred died in what were Europe's most terrible riots at the time; a period of relative peace followed; but over the last five years disaster has followed close. The city of Stoke on Trent was rocked by eight separate riots of epic proportions, killing hundreds; Birmingham has been virtually burnt out due to riots on three separate occasions; bombs and serious social disorder have reduced Manchester; in Britain over the last decade over 15,000 people have been killed by social unrest. That is worse than many nations actually at war. The giant earthquake which damn near levelled Stoke in 1997 killed another 10,000. One square mile of Staffordshire countryside is irradiated due to a failed nuclear protest which blew up a nuclear waste container. Glasgow, Reading and Darlington have all faced Martial Law; the loss of British business due to such events is estimated to be somewhere in the region of £9 billion. The murder rate is higher now then at any point in British history (the death rate in Britain is actually bordering upon the level last seen when the plague broke out); the crime rate has soared out of all control; parts of Hampshire, the epicentre of a series of 'events' which people seem to have difficulty recalling, have been compared to Third World nations.
Hardly a week goes past without some kind of disaster. The recent outbreaks of BSE and foot and mouth disease, plus rabies, have seen mass cullings of British animals, and fear and terror increase. Add to this the fact that the rail network seems to be falling apart and one gets an idea of the severity of the situation. It is a great testimony to the British character to point out that British resilience and tenacity has grown. In the face of all this people just keep on going - but the fear is very great. British people react to disaster quickly; if gang violence suddenly arises, they stop going out; they withdraw into their homes to watch until it seems safe. Property values have plummeted. Negative equity forces people to stay where they live, and overall, the situation is beyond grim.

In The Face of Chaos.
So, how has the Labour Government responded to all of this; how has the nation of Britain coped? The British people want one thing and one thing only - stability; stability comes with security. They want a secure nation. They want peaceful lives. If it means giving up a few civil liberties to get it, they will give them up happily. 2001 sees the Labour Government propose the most drastic law and order changes to British law ever seen. This is the drastic solution. This is the last stand - this is the Public Order Bill. Labour intend to introduce the following:

Public Order Bill 2001.

• A DNA database is being created - 80% of the British public are expected to be registered within the next five years. It is compulsory. Everyone will need a form signed by a designated police officer and doctor to say they have been 'tagged'. Failure to have a form will lead to a DNA sample being taken.
• The police will be allowed to be armed. It is estimated that about 90% of British police will have weapons by the end of 2001 (compared to 7% in 1998).
• Private police forces will be allowed - and they will be allowed to be armed. They will have the right to arrest and hold people; companies can build private jails to hold them. The only thing left intact of the old system will be that criminals will still have to go through the normal justice system.
• Emergency Curfew Act - Local police with permission from the government can issue a curfew upon any town or city between the hours of 10pm to 5am. They will only need just 48 hours to bring this in and anyone found on the streets during curfew can be arrested.
• Those arrested can be held for 48 hours without charge; no suspect can be arrested and released at night. All releases will have to take place during daylight hours (no one is sure why this is in place, but they think it has something to do with shaming criminals).
• Possession of a firearm is now seen as grounds for charging the suspect with 'Attempted Murder'. Anyone found with a gun will be charged with 'Attempted Murder' even if no victim can be found.
• The British government is considering pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights. Many people agree with this. The British people do not want a society rocked by disaster and chaos. They want a stable society.

As well as this the government is planning the following -

• Massive refunding of trains - Railtrack is to be re-nationalised.
• The Emergency Rebuilding Act - government designated 'disaster areas' are to be helped - the tax rates in those places are lowered; ground rents are lowered; economic loans to rebuild the places these take place in are to be granted - as seen recently in Stoke, Birmingham and Manchester, this pumps vast amounts of cash into a local economy in the hope of rebuilding the area.
• The Pension Allowance cut - increased numbers of old people and increased expenditure by the British government has forced them to cut the money given to the old. The number of destitute old people has now risen and is continuing to rise at an increasing rate.
• Increase in oil tax - in terms of the environment, the numbers of cars on the road have stabilised (as opposed to continually increasing). There is great resentment of this.
• The Countryside Rebuilding Project - multi-billion pound benefit scheme for areas hit by the ban on hunting, BSE and foot and mouth.
• The Animal Regulation Act - in the face of BSE, rabies and foot and mouth - all domesticated animals (cats, sheep, dogs, goats, horses etc.) are to be 'chipped' (a small device implanted into the animal that allows easy record access by vets).
• The End User Clampdown - All arms dealers in the UK suspended unless they submit to very strict government regulations. Anyone who has ever dealt in arms dealing must now get a license or else be subject to summary arrest.
• Redefinition of the Prevention of Terrorism Act - this draconian piece of legislature has been expanded - terrorism is now redefined to include 'street gangs'. This is a chilling development. Under the PTA this means British citizens can be held up to one week without being charged; they can be deported with no notice; they can be interrogated without legal representation. The PTA and these rules have been working for over thirty years - all that has happened is that the definition of terrorism now includes domestic crime.
• Private School's Incentive Scheme - millions used in establishing private schools across the country that double as youth jails; child offenders can now be sent to a 'Private School' if so required.

Main Companies.
These are the main companies in Britain - the brand names everyone in the UK is intimately aware of and which mostly don't exist in the normal world.

• Hector & Deevil - The main producer of home cleaning products in the UK; eight large factories (Hull, Bristol, Clydebank, Stockport, Manchester, Ipswich, Huddersfield and Belfast) and several offices across the country (HQ - London; main administrative office - Sheffield; distribution centre - near Leicester; main R&D - near York).
  Produces several of Britain's leading brand of detergents (Helba - "Makes things really white"; Cleano - "The original and still the best"), polish (Mr. Shine - "Does stuff you never thought possible"; Cleano House Polish - "Keeping homes clean for fifty years!"), washing powders (Sunray- "For that just off the line smell"; Sol - "For brighter whites and vivid colours") and other goods. A few years ago made an effort to buy out Lever Brothers which failed.
• The Virgin Group - Virgin Trains; Virgin Cola; Virgin Planes - popular and inspirational, the Virgin Group is a British success story.
• OmniTV - Omni is one of the most respected TV production companies; it makes the award winning 'Hunger Dogs', the vastly popular children's show 'Captain Formor' and the soap opera 'Chase Avenue'. If Omni make a program, everyone wants to buy it.
• Hendersons - A massive chain of supermarkets; there is a Hendersons in every city, usually in out of town retail parks. They are currently fourth in the country when compared to other supermarket chains but are moving up quickly.
  ("For the best prices, and real family values - there is only the Henderson's way!")
• Toys '4' U - A huge chain of toy stores who are respected for their ability to turn shopping for toys into a dreamlike experience. Parents enjoy going to Toys '4' U more than kids; perhaps the most comprehensive range of toys and games available in the country, they also hold exclusive rights to Action Bill merchandise.
  ("Toys '4' U - where dreams come true!")
• Thorn/EMI - In the World of Darkness, the two companies are still merged.
• The Northcliff Group - Owners of most local newspapers and several local radio stations. They also own several comic and magazine lines.
• Reese Cosmetics - Britain's second largest cosmetic company, their products are all sold under different companies' names (Body Shop; Avon; etc.). All their products are 'Not tested on animals' - and they are one of the leading lights in environmental action groups.
• Magadon - Britain's largest construction company; massive amount of work going on across the country, from building to motorway construction to refitting council houses; wherever there is building, Magadon is usually there. Magadon has expanded and now runs several other companies, few having anything to do with building. Magadon has made much of 'rebuilding cities after disaster'.
• RecycloTon - Giant waste recycling company; worked mainly in Scotland, but has expanded south of the border. RecycloTon actually has a very good track record for disposing of waste in an environmentally sound way; it has even won awards as a groundbreaker in this field.
• Postchase - Large consortium of local bus companies which holds a stranglehold monopoly over many small towns. They expanded of late into the rail industry and hold the franchise on at least two companies.
• BodyCare - Small chain of 'environmentally friendly' Body Shop copies. Use Reese products. A very high profile defence of the environmental group that caused the irradiation of English countryside did much to dent their and Body Shop's credibility.
• FuterCentres - Holiday company who deal with holiday camps across the country; very popular.

Terrorist Groups.
Britain has been plagued by several terrorist groups over the years - the following have carried out attacks within the UK.

• The Provisional IRA - Irish Republican Group. Currently holding a ceasefire.
• The Continuity IRA - Breakaway from the PIRA; based in the South of Ireland; carried out the Omagh bombing.
• The Real IRA - Breakaway from the PIRA based in South Armagh. Carried out small attacks and bombings in Britain, including the rocket attack upon MI6 HQ.
• The VIRA - No on is sure where this group come from. A few isolated attacks over the years but nothing in about five years.
• The Armed League Against Europe - Violent British nationalist group - carried out a series of armed robberies and bomb attacks; is believed to have gone underground and is linked to many far right groups.
• The Sang Lau Group - A small but deadly terrorist force which planned a series of nerve gas attacks upon British citizens and was only stopped at the last moment. Led by a mysterious oriental gentleman called Sang Lau - the group, who referred to each other as 'Kindred', are believed to have been defeated and Sang Lau is either dead or in hiding. Even the merest hint that the SLG are suspected to be operating in the UK will bring about a massive overreaction by the police.

This document was written in 2001.
This page last updated: 20th December 2002