Sorta. Putting a year to it helps. What century should we expect to be existing in as a general rule?

Now here's my actual question I was waiting to ask. The party is what exactly? Are we a cohesive unit with a clearly defined goal, united in purpose ... or are we a rag-tag bunch thrown together with minimal idea what we're supposed to do and competing agendas? Just gauging exactly what I would be jumping into so I know what I should pull out of my character vault if/when I write a CS.