OUT OF PLAY SECTION

Gypsy

NOTE: Restricted Race

Description:

Gypsies are a special distinction of humans, but somewhat nomadic and independent of the human race in general. Gypsies dress in gaudy clothing and speak with accents that can only be described as "strange."

A character wishing to become a Gypsy must begin as a human and find a way to join the gypsy band in play.

Make up: No make up is required. However an elaborate costume in the Balkan/European inspired style is necessary and mandatory.

Advantages: May buy Gypsy curse.

Disadvantage: Due to their vagabond lifestyle, Gypsies may not become Nobles.

Addendum to oop info added on Jan 11, 2001

The following are addtions to the out of play descriptions above.

CURSES___To cast the curse of a particular level you have to have purchased that level of curse. Also a gypsy can only cast a curse equal to the skill level they are at in play. If you are fourth level you can only cast up to fourth level curses even if you have purchased a fifth level curse. A gypsy will NOT deliberately sacrifice themselves to cast a curse.

MAKEUP___Costuming and accent are mandatory and will be considered makeup for the Gypsy race. In otherwords if you are not dressed in colorful clothing enough for people across a field in a battle to tell if you are a Gypsy just by looking then you are considered out of makeup. The accent must be apparent when you are talking. Anyone not following the packet descriptions ie out of makeup will have the character pulled.

Also there are NO Dark Gypsies. Gypsies CANNOT be desecrated and they do NOT condone necromancy, death, or undeath. They CANNOT be Dark Knights or Necromancers.

Gypsies will get a cost break on craftsman skills appropriate to the race as well as skills like astrology, tarot and such also appropriate to race. This does not include lore skills. Craftsman skills will cost 1 per skill to purchase.

I don't know if you are new to Solar or if you are just now deciding to play a Gypsy as a player character, either way I hope that the racial packet you hold in your hands is helpful to you and that you enjoy the character you are creating. This out of play section contains all the information that you will need hopefully, to find or create costuming, make a name and history for your character, and to take some of the headache out of the character creation process.

First off I need to say that the first thing you want to do is to buy a copy of the rule book if you don't already have one. This isn't a moneymaking ploy it is just common sense, to play the game well you have to know the rules. Once you have read the rule book take time to figure out how you want your character to look and act. That down, once you are in play stay in play and stay in character this makes the game better for you and for everyone else involved. Next decide your character history. You may want to wait a few events before you do this or you may want to go ahead and work one out and then give a copy to plot, mind you this is asking to be paid attention to, be careful what you wish for.

Another thing that is included here is a list of names appropriate to the Gypsy people and their background. There are others and any name will do but these sounded very Gypsy. Any baby name book will be helpful in finding names. Generally for Gypsies look for Slavic, Russian, and some Hindustani names. Italian, Greek, and Latin are okay also, but you want an exotic flavor to the name.

GYPSY NAMES

Female

Acacia - (greek) the guileless

Acantha - (greek) "sharp-pointed; thorned"

Adamina - (latin) of the red earth

Adara - (greek) beautiful

Aditi - (hindi) free and unbounded

Adonia - (greek) beautiful

Adora - (latin) gift

Adria - (latin) dark one

Aleina - (greek) strong minded

Aleria - (middle latin) eaglelike

Aleta - (greek) wanderer

Althea - (greek) healer

Aminta - (latin) protector

Blasia - firebrand

Calandra - (greek) lark

Calypso - (greek) concealer

Catarina - pure one

Cliantha - (greek) glory flower

Cosima - (greek) order, harmony, the world

Damara - bitter

Damaris - (greek) wife

Demetria - (greek)

Electra - (greek) brilliant one

Evangaline - (greek) bringer of good news

Flora - (latin) flora

Gloriana - (latin) glorious one

Hesper

Ileana - (greek)

Ilona - beautiful one

Leandra - (latin) like a lioness

Lysandra - (greek) liberator of men

Lyris - (greek) harpist

Malina - (greek) mild gentle one

Marlaina - magnificent

Melantha - (greek) dark flower

Metis - (greek) wisdom

Nadia - (hindustani) hope

Nata - (hindustani) dancer

Natalya - (Russian) also Natasha

Neoma - (Greek) New moon also Neomenia

Olena - (Russian) light

Ophelia - (Greek) serpent

Oriana - (Greek) the dawn

Philana - (Greek) loving

Rasia - (Greek) a rose

Risa - (Hindu) laughter

Rohana - (Hindu) sandalwood

Sapphira - (Greek) sapphire

Selena - (Greek) the moon

Serena - (Latin) fair

Sirena - (Greek) seductress

Taletha - (Armaic) maiden

Ursula - (Latin) a she bear

Vanessa - (Greek) butterflies

Vita - (Latin) life

Xylona - (Greek) from the forest

Yolanda - (Greek) violet flower

Zenina - (Greek)

Zenobia - (Greek) given life

Male

Adrian - (Italian) dark one

Alberto - brilliant

Adonis - lord

Alano - handsome

Alphanso - noble

Anthony - priceless one

Barrabas - son of prophecy

Boris - fighter

Bruno - brown-haired one

Carlos - manly

Casimir - he who commands peace

Cato - wise one

Chance - good fortune

Cosmo - order, harmony

Dagon - the earth

Damian - taming

Damon - constant one

Dante - lasting

Darius - wealthy one

Dominic - born on Sunday

Emil - flatterer

Eric - ever powerful

Flavian - golden yellow-haired one

Flint - a stream

Jared - descendant

Kaspar

Krishna - delightful

Leander - lion man

Leo - lion

Leon - lion like

Lorant - victory

Lucian - light

Magnus - great one

Marcel - little warlike one

Marcus - warlike one

Nemo - from the glade

Nicolaos - victorious army

Orlando - from the famous land

Oro - golden one

Peter - rock or stone

Philo - loving, friendly

Ramon - mighty

Rex - king

Roberto - bright

Sabin

Sereno - calm tranquil one

Sol - the sun

Stephanos - crowned one

Theron - a hunter

Val - strong

Vasilis - knightly

Vladimir - famous

Xavier - bright

Xenos - stranger

Yuri

Zale - power of the sea

Now on to costuming. Costuming is really great and can make or break the atmosphere of the role playing you are doing. It isn't always easy to get good costuming but there are a lot of people in play who can help you and I also have a few suggestions.

You'll find a list of online stores after the list of makeup suppliers in Atlanta and a list of costumers who play solar.

Thrift Stores - These places are everywhere and they have some of the best stuff from Gypsy type skirts, peasant blouses, jewelry, and scarves to big baggy pants poets shirts for the guys. Vests are a great piece for a Gypsy man to wear and can be spruced up fairly cheaply.

Garage Sales - These are great for props and jewelry and sometimes clothing.

There are many people in play who can help you get a costume made up fairly cheaply and also many places in town that sell costuming supplies as well as makeup. The following is a list of places and people who can help with costuming.

A Costume Ball 3165 Johnson Ferry Rd NE Marrietta (770) 640-7668

All That's Costume 262 Rio Circle Decatur (404) 377-0910

Atlanta Costume "Norcostco" 2089 Monroe Dr. NE & I-85 Atlanta (404)874-7511

Center Stage II 70 S. Park SQ NE Marrietta (770) 425-9055 costuming only

Costumes Etc. 318 Pharr Rd NE Atlanta (404) 239-9422

Eddies Trick & Novelty Shops 5215 Memorial Dr. Stone Mtn. (404) 295-5653

Eddies Trick & Novelty Shops 3655 Roswell Road Marrietta (404) 264-0527

Eddies Trick & Novelty Shops 70 S Park SQ NE Marrietta (770) 428-4314

Eddies Trick & Novelty Shops 3675 Satellite Blvd. Duluth (770) 814-9700

Georgia Stage Costume Shop Inc. 4660-B N Royal Atlanta Dr. Tucker (770) 491-0400

Halloween Express (770)394-5522 or (404) 364-0240 may be seasonal

Holiday Costume 1772 Tullie Circle NE (404) 321-0049

Party City Cumberland Area (770) 937-9300

Party City 6690 Roswell Rd. NW (404) 303-8100

Party City Town Center Area Barrett Pkwy. E of I-75 (770) 419-1300

Partyland of Kennessaw 425 Earnest W. Barrett Pkwy (770) 425-1927

3BI (a costuming company) This is a company started by Tracy Miller one of the Raccoons in play. If you talk to them they will usually work with you and are moderately priced.

PJ, Jan, and Caroline All three are costumers and often have items for sale in the tavern. They are easy to talk to and can be contacted in play.

Renee Palmer Renee plays Elghinn Ussearn a Drae. She works a lot on weapons doing artwork on them and will work with you to design something uniquely for you. She also does jewelry, prop design, and some costuming. Is extremely good at doing artwork on just about anything. Can be reached in play or by calling (678) 546-8008 before 10 pm.

Distant Caravans

Chandra's

We3 Belly Dance

Cost Less

Bohemian Market

Aliah's Closet

Near East Dance

Domba

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Acton, Thomas, editor. Gypsy Politics and Traveller Identity. Hartfordshire: University of Hartfordshire Press, 1997.

Bettelheim, Bruno The uses of Enchantment: The meaning and Importance of Fairytales.

Cotton, Rena. Russian Gypsy Tales

Crowe, David M. A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia. New York: St Martin's Griffin, 1996.

Fickowski, Jerzy. The Gypsies in Poland.

Fraser, Angus. The Gypsies. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1992.

Greenfield, Howard. Gypsies. New York: Crown Publishers, 1977.

Hancock, Ian. A Handbook of Vlax Romani. (Columbus: Slavica Inc., 1995)

Kenrick, Donald, and Paxon, Gratton. The Destiny of Europe's Gypsies. London: Sussex University Press, 1972.

Rule, Lareina. Name Your Baby. Bantam, 1986.

Sutherland, Anne. Gypsies: The Hidden Americans (Reprinted Prospect Heights: Waveland, 1986.)

Tong, Diane. Gypsy Folks Tales.

Yoors, Jan. The Gypsies.

Other Sources:

TSR - The Bards Book The Monster Manual, the Vitsani

White Wolf - WOD Gypsies-may be out of print

Raymond Buckland - Gypsy Love Magic, Gypsy Fortunetelling

Movies to Watch

Sometimes watching movies can help you get in to character or help you get a handle on the type of race you are wanting to play. The following is some movies to watch that contain Gypsies.

Hunchback of Notre Dame - black and white original

Hunchback of Notre Dame - Disney

Thinner - Stephen King Good depiction of what Gypsy curses can do and the Gypsy Lifestyle. Also a good example of the way Gypsies are viewed.

Any werewolf movies of the 50's and 60's.

Dracula - past and present.

Golden Earring-an old black and white movie dealing with world war2 and gypsies I believe it was later colorized, can catch it sometimes on AMC.