Victorian London is a period of pretense, where the thick veneer of decency and morality hides a decadence and secularity which threatens the greatest empire in the world. Where the hubris of science and optimism that technology can accomplish anything is accompanied by a fear that humanity is being left at the wayside, a sacrifice to the great god, Progress. It is a period of great change for humanity, and the supernatural world is no different.

Empire of Shadows attempts to approach online gaming from a new angle, relying less on plot and goal-driven action, concentrating instead on social interaction, politics, and culture. We are striving to built a society by organizing interconnected groups rather than allowing lots of diverse individuals with nothing really in common. Thus, our mages are organized into covenants and a stress is put on inter-covenant and inner-covenant politics and the Ascension War. Instead of having a large variety of different characters, then, we have cohesive groups with reason to interact and agendas to act upon. Role-play focuses on position and status, thus keeping with the period.