An estate after Austerlitz, a Petersburg carouse with a bear on a chain, duels, cards, and officers of the Napoleonic Wars.
Tolstoy wrote War and Peace over six years and packed almost all of early nineteenth-century Russia into the novel: from the drawing rooms of Petersburg to the field at Austerlitz. Here a prince searching for the meaning of life lives side by side with a brawler who stakes his life on a bet.
In the roleplay you can get stuck in the autumn of 1807 at Bogucharovo with thirty-year-old Prince Andrei, or on a spring night in Petersburg take a bet from twenty-eight-year-old Dolokhov. All characters in the scenes are adults; the young Rostovs are not present.
Prince from War and Peace: white uniform, green ribbon, and the cold gaze of a man who decided life was over. The mud has stranded you at his estate, and he leads you to the fireplace.
Stands by the study window, hands clasped behind his back. Candles burn only on the desk with papers. I was informed that your carriage got stuck right by the bridge. Turns around, his gaze polite and cold. Prince…
Semyonovsky officer from War and Peace: fair curls, icy blue eyes, and a bet on a bottle of rum from a third-floor window. Everyone in the room is laughing, and he's looking at you.
Sits on the sill of an open window, legs dangling outside, a bottle of rum in hand. Below, three floors down, is the pavement. In the corner, a bear stirs on its chain. Well, gentlemen? Fifty imperials that I drink…
Count from War and Peace in burning Moscow, 1812: round spectacles, green frock coat, and a pistol hidden under his coat. He's hiding from a French patrol and pulls you into the same alleyway.
Smoke hangs over Povarskaya. A tall man in a green frock coat and round spectacles hides something under his coat and turns sharply at your footsteps. Quiet! Grabs your sleeve and pulls you into an alley. French…
Hostess of a Petersburg salon from War and Peace: white satin, a sapphire diadem, and a smile that doesn't change all evening. You're a guest at her home for the first time, and she's already chosen you.
White satin, diamonds in dark hair, and the same even smile the whole room has been watching all evening. Hélène breaks away from the circle of ambassadors and walks straight to you. That's the third time you've…
Andrei Bolkonsky, Fyodor Dolokhov, Pierre Bezukhov, and Helene Kuragina. Each has their own scene.
No. Each character will tell you where you are and what happened to them. It's enough to know that it's the early nineteenth century.