InsaneJournal

What does Hexennacht mean?
Hexennacht, also known as Walpurgisnacht, Walpurgis Night, or the Night of the Witches, is the night of April 30 to May 1. Named for the Saint Walpurga, it is a traditional Pagan holiday, Christianized to become a Roman Catholic's Saint day. In Germany, it is the night when witches allegedly gather to celebrate on the Brocken mountain, or the Blocksberg, and celebrate the arrival of spring. It's a night when magical powers are said to be heightened, and the boundary between the living and dead is weakened, and the dead can walk among the living. It also celebrates a time of new beginnings, and with a former Auror outing the entire Magical community to the Muggle community, it is certainly the beginning of a new era in the Magical world.


You mention Sien Finn once or twice. What does the IRA have to do with RPing?
Not to be confused with Sinn Féin, Sien Finn is the predecessor to Hexennacht. See, back in December of 2005, a game called Intempesta Nox, a canon MWPP era game, started up. A few months later, the mods decided to move the game ahead three years and created Sien Finn, an alternate universe MWWP era game, where the prophecy never occurred and Tom Riddle was the Minister of Magic. Everyone gladly moved to Sien Finn, and it flourished. After two years of playing at Sien Finn, we all decided it was about time for another change, and, so, Hexennacht was created.
You can certainly play in Hexennacht without ever having been a member of Sien Finn, but there is some backstory that is being brought over from there. Which is why we have this handy dandy FAQ.

Alastor Moody the Black brothers running the Order? Where the heck is Dumbledore and why are an old kook and a Death Eater in charge?
Two years ago, Albus Dumbledore was locked up in Azkaban by Tom Riddle without a trial, where he eventually died. Ever since, Alastor Moody has been in charge of the Order of the Phoenix. As for Regulus, in the backstory of Sien Finn, after the destruction of the Horcrux, he joined the Order of the Phoenix, and has since begun to help Moody with some of the responsibilities of the Order.

Ashwinder Coalition? Who in the what now?
The Ashwinder Coalition began as a vigilante group, determined to expose corruption in the government and arrest Death Eaters walking openly in the public. They were small and their identities were hidden, but they were more open and extreme about their actions, hacking journals and bombing pureblood businesses. Since Grindelwald's reign began, the remaining members of the Ashwinder Coalition have begun working with the Order of the Phoenix.

Just what the hell is a 'Black Cap'?
Since Grindelwald took over the Ministry, he created his own army to look after the rest of the community. The Black Caps are basically Grindelwald's private army, getting their name from the black hats that are part of their uniform. They have a real name, discussed only in passing as Black Cap has become their common name. Think of them as the Death Eaters this time around. Though they do have power over most everyone else, they are expected not to abuse it. This doesn't mean that any character that is a Black Cap can simply walk up and kill another character, but they will be given quite a bit more abilities. Higher placed Ministry officials will almost always be members of the Black Caps but, just like being a Death Eater, they do not run around proclaiming what they are. Concealed in black masks and heavy robes, it is hard to figure out just who they are but needless to say, they are a force you don't want to meet in a dark alley.

Wait, wait, wait, I play a Muggleborn, you mean I can't use magic?
Not quite. Muggleborn wizards still are able to cast spells, walk around in wizarding areas, and basically be normal citizens. But you won't see them flashing their magic around in public. They are restricted to spells that one would learn up until Fifth year in school. That means nothing complex, nothing amazing and certainly no Unforgivables. This, of course, is only a law and only punishable if caught. Got a rule breaking character? That's great because we don't expect everyone to fall into line, but keep in mind, there are consequences to every action just like in real life.

Hang on, why's the Ministry in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea? Does the phonebooth lead there?
In December of 1982, the British Ministry of Magic hosted a summit for all the European Ministers of Magic. The summit was attacked, killing nearly everyone in the summit, and destroying the original Ministry of Magic. The Ministry was then rebuilt, with a place in the RBKC.

What's the PEM? Grindelwald isn't running a candy company, is he?
After all the European Ministers of Magic were killed, someone had to take over all of these countries, and the only surviving Minister took that chance to seize control of all of Europe. Tom Riddle took control of all but two European countries (Finland and Belgium, who refused to join and elected new Ministers), calling it the Pan-European Ministry, or the PEM. The PEM still exists, and is now under Grindelwald's strict control.

I know who the Weird Sisters are but who the hell are these other bands?
Everyone knows who the Weird Sisters are, but everyone has a different way of playing them. Here at Hexennacht, our Weird Sisters can be described very easily as a punk band. Though they have adapted to the changing style of the 80s, they're still true to their garage punk band roots. Some influences for the Weird Sisters are: Sex Pistols, Clash, Ramones, and Cockney Rejects. Think of them as your hard core punk band in the game.
There are also two other played bands within Hexennacht, one is largely a band created out of NPCs and one is a real played band with characters in the game. The first one is Parasiiti. This band is led by Regulus Black and Burton Jones. The two trade off being lead vocalists and trade styles when they do so. The main influences for Parasiiti can be traced back to the Misfits, Black Sabbath, Clash as well as Deep Purple and Iron Maiden. They are the heavy metal/alternative rock band within the game.
The last band is Umlauti, and was started by Burton Jones's wife, Liz. She is the lead vocalist and has quite a bit of influences from Burton as well. Umlauti can be considered the horror punk band. They often draw from many of the same bands as Parasiiti but most of their songs involve serial killers, vampires, death, and general horror movie topics where as Parasiiti pulls from bizarre love ballads.
The only band with open, playable, characters is the Weird Sisters, but all three bands are loosely connected within the game.

Something seems off here. Aren't the Weird Sisters a little young for this game? And Celestina Warbeck a little old?
You might notice a couple characters around here that seem to be a bit older or younger than the Lexicon claims. You see, around here, while Jo's word is God, her numbers are closer to human. As in, they err. She's said numerous times that math is not her strong point, so don't be afraid to play around with ages a bit here and there. Nothing too much, please, as this isn't a Time Travel game. The basic rule of thumb is that if the character's age doesn't play a factor in the books (such as the Weird Sisters, as long as they still could have performed at the Yule Ball), then it's okay to flip it around and skew it a bit to fit your ends, as long as it stays believable!