Post by Mike Lohmann on Jun 12, 2014 11:22:22 GMT -8
Hello fellow ECCers and those interested in joining,
My name is Michael Stephens Lohmann. I am currently the player of the Gangrel Alpha, Simon. Some of you know me from previous characters, some only since I started playing this character, some even more recently. I first joined ECC when I was 21, nearly 10 years ago. I came to this state with barely a friend or penny to my name. I was in a bad relationship, in a bad situation, and felt like I really had nothing.
So, one day, I heard about ECC. A LARP that played every week, and was huge. I was sceptical. I had spent some time in the Cam, in Texas, and was not impressed. But I had little to lose except a single Saturday night, so I went to the UW, and attended my first garage game. I was nervous, and timid... but I wanted to at least find out about it.
I was astonished. The volume of people there. The happiness in the air. The amazing roleplay happening everywhere. I even met a guy there who happened to be someone I had been online roleplaying with for like 5 years. Everyone was friendly, and the story was fun. The system was simple and easy to understand and everything seemed... balanced and fair, for as much as that is in a White Wolf system. They had house rules to rebalance, they had a great court structure. The first game I attended was the masquerade ball where Chris Schetzles Nosferatu prince stepped down. I thought I would never have this much fun, again. It had to be one off as it was an event night.
I was wrong. Night after night of game, a new story, a continuing story, so many dynamics. I honestly felt like I was in heaven. They let me bring in my online character, that I had been playing for years, Rolf Sechs. So much great roleplay was had, between myself and so many people. For years.
I moved away, gone for 4 years. I came back, and the first thing I wanted to do... come back to game. I had kept in contact with a handful of friends, and looked forward to playing with them.
But game wasn't the same. The XP levels were through the roof from the charity drives. The power scales were so heavily unbalanced... the current staff had been having issues syncing up with each other and the players. There was a lot of unrest. So ... with a heavy heart, I stepped away until I felt it was safe to come back again.
Most of us know the rest of the story, of the past two years. Ups and downs. But one thing has remained constant. The spirit and history of the game. The blood, sweat, and tears we have all shed for this. The countless hours invested in story, characters, systems. The rich history of this game is one of the most appealing things. Its not something I scoff at. Two decades of an ongoing game... is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
But, most of us can agree that the current state of things needs to change. The game isn't very healthy, in my opinion. Not that it is directly toxic, but it is so far off of what it once was that the shadows of the past are barely noticeable at all. And with upcoming elections, it seems most if not all candidates are looking to reset it. I understand what they want, but I want to do it differently:
I dont want to destroy all the work we have all put in, as a collective. The story and history this game has, is what makes it what it is. Fame and infamy are recognized to this very day about characters a decade or more old. Losing this just doesn't sit right with me. The very thought of it eats at me.
So, what does that mean? What exactly is my platform?
I want to keep our history, but I want to simplify everything. V20 is actually a very good system, that I and many others in this game like a lot. But I dont want to cherry pick from it. I want to use it as it is written. 100%. One of the biggest problems, is not knowing which version of which power is being used, or how the use of it is changed from system to system.
I want to bring back the story of Seattle itself, not the story of how the world and every major entity of the world is trying to pick Seattle apart. I am about personal stories, and the WoD twist they all can and should take.
I want to make sure that things that are rare and hard to get, stay rare and extremely hard to get. I dont like the way that mentors and allies have been giving the player what they want, no matter what they want, with virtually no effort. WoD is a struggle. A major one that kills most, or damages them heavily. I want the players to feel that struggle, each time they try to slide out of their comfort zones to reach for shiny things. Its a dangerous world, and I don't feel I need to use super powerful NPCs to come solve all issues. I understand they exist, but I dont feel they would be as heavily involved as they are. I want players to feel like they worked hard as hell, for a little nibble of something tasty and walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment. Something.
I want to review the influence system, with those passionate about making it more streamlined and easier to learn and understand. I know of many who want it and love it but understand how difficult to understand it is, and how flawed it can be.
I want to make the slow responses of emails stop.
I want to make waiting weeks for a 5 minute scene to stop.
I want to to bring back learning times. I understand this can be a hassle for those that keep it, but for the health of the game, it needs to happen. WoD life is a struggle, and power should NOT be quickly gained.
And here we come to the controversial part of this proposal and platform... please read through before closing this window or wrinkling your nose.
I want you, the reader, to not get any sort of idea that I do not understand how hard the next part is to swallow, or how jarring this may be. I do. But I want you to understand that I propose this as what I believe the best way to save the game, is.
I want to descale every single pc, in a uniform manner. Not by a little. By a lot. Initial estimate that makes sense to me, is 90%. I want to, in theory, sit down with each player of a current character... talk about that character and what the concept and plot of the character is. What they want. I then want to add up the xp stored and on the sheet, cut it all back to 10%. There would be exception to this, of course. The minimal you can cut down to is 50 xp, and people playing characters who only have below 50 xp will start at 25 starting xp. Yes, you would lose your magics out of clan, your insanely powerful combo disciplines, and remake your character with it’s base creation template.
What this does, is reset the game how I think it needs to be reset. The biggest demon of the game, is the vast amounts of xp that have been accumulated. Not just how much there is, but how fast you can spend it. The power levels of the game are off the charts and it easily becomes a matter of who can horde the most xp to gain the largest power the fastest. That IS fun for in character style play, but not for out of character. It has led to arguments and even harsh feelings in what was once a very happy and cheerful community.
This is designed to be an alternative to a full reset that fixes the character related issues without sacrificing the entire history of the game. Whatever issues the game has, it has so many merits and great things about it that are worth saving. I hate the idea that in our haste to fix the game, we destroy the best parts of it.
This is the heart of my platform. And I know how easy it is to say “but I have these great things and this and that”. But I at no time feel that have tons of xp and lots of wonky things is what makes playing enjoyable, nor is it even really in the spirit of what it means to roleplay. I want the game to be more tactical and energetic, and with how fat we have all gotten with xp... its not fun. So I ask those that have the most to lose, as well as those that have the least, to look inwards at the situation the game is in and help decided that the best way to fix it is... and be willing to give up all the shiny things you have, for the health and longevity of the game itself. Doing this is also enticing for young blood to come in, and not be so far behind the curve that its pretty much not worth trying because even a field mouse could ROFLSTOMP you. The game perpetuates by the young blood it brings in.
I could type forever, but I think I will stop on this.
My goal is to save the continuity of the game while fixing the main issue of character power level. If you care about the game setting that we have created together over the last two decades, but you are still concerned about the power level being out of control, you should vote for me.
I do not have a staff yet. My platform is about us coming together and fixing this as a community by making sacrifices. I would prefer for those that think they want to run this change, to step up. I may approach a few individuals. But right now.. I wanted to get this out, for game to think on this matter. This option. I understand I am not the most popular of individuals, and sometimes these elections come down to popularity contests. But its not time for that type of voting anymore. Its about what the community thinks is the best direction for the future of the game. And at the very least, hopefully you see and understand me a little bit better and how much passion I have not just for this game, but for all the players within it.
I welcome questions in this thread or in a thread of your choosing, or in private.
My name is Michael Stephens Lohmann. I am currently the player of the Gangrel Alpha, Simon. Some of you know me from previous characters, some only since I started playing this character, some even more recently. I first joined ECC when I was 21, nearly 10 years ago. I came to this state with barely a friend or penny to my name. I was in a bad relationship, in a bad situation, and felt like I really had nothing.
So, one day, I heard about ECC. A LARP that played every week, and was huge. I was sceptical. I had spent some time in the Cam, in Texas, and was not impressed. But I had little to lose except a single Saturday night, so I went to the UW, and attended my first garage game. I was nervous, and timid... but I wanted to at least find out about it.
I was astonished. The volume of people there. The happiness in the air. The amazing roleplay happening everywhere. I even met a guy there who happened to be someone I had been online roleplaying with for like 5 years. Everyone was friendly, and the story was fun. The system was simple and easy to understand and everything seemed... balanced and fair, for as much as that is in a White Wolf system. They had house rules to rebalance, they had a great court structure. The first game I attended was the masquerade ball where Chris Schetzles Nosferatu prince stepped down. I thought I would never have this much fun, again. It had to be one off as it was an event night.
I was wrong. Night after night of game, a new story, a continuing story, so many dynamics. I honestly felt like I was in heaven. They let me bring in my online character, that I had been playing for years, Rolf Sechs. So much great roleplay was had, between myself and so many people. For years.
I moved away, gone for 4 years. I came back, and the first thing I wanted to do... come back to game. I had kept in contact with a handful of friends, and looked forward to playing with them.
But game wasn't the same. The XP levels were through the roof from the charity drives. The power scales were so heavily unbalanced... the current staff had been having issues syncing up with each other and the players. There was a lot of unrest. So ... with a heavy heart, I stepped away until I felt it was safe to come back again.
Most of us know the rest of the story, of the past two years. Ups and downs. But one thing has remained constant. The spirit and history of the game. The blood, sweat, and tears we have all shed for this. The countless hours invested in story, characters, systems. The rich history of this game is one of the most appealing things. Its not something I scoff at. Two decades of an ongoing game... is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
But, most of us can agree that the current state of things needs to change. The game isn't very healthy, in my opinion. Not that it is directly toxic, but it is so far off of what it once was that the shadows of the past are barely noticeable at all. And with upcoming elections, it seems most if not all candidates are looking to reset it. I understand what they want, but I want to do it differently:
I dont want to destroy all the work we have all put in, as a collective. The story and history this game has, is what makes it what it is. Fame and infamy are recognized to this very day about characters a decade or more old. Losing this just doesn't sit right with me. The very thought of it eats at me.
So, what does that mean? What exactly is my platform?
I want to keep our history, but I want to simplify everything. V20 is actually a very good system, that I and many others in this game like a lot. But I dont want to cherry pick from it. I want to use it as it is written. 100%. One of the biggest problems, is not knowing which version of which power is being used, or how the use of it is changed from system to system.
I want to bring back the story of Seattle itself, not the story of how the world and every major entity of the world is trying to pick Seattle apart. I am about personal stories, and the WoD twist they all can and should take.
I want to make sure that things that are rare and hard to get, stay rare and extremely hard to get. I dont like the way that mentors and allies have been giving the player what they want, no matter what they want, with virtually no effort. WoD is a struggle. A major one that kills most, or damages them heavily. I want the players to feel that struggle, each time they try to slide out of their comfort zones to reach for shiny things. Its a dangerous world, and I don't feel I need to use super powerful NPCs to come solve all issues. I understand they exist, but I dont feel they would be as heavily involved as they are. I want players to feel like they worked hard as hell, for a little nibble of something tasty and walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment. Something.
I want to review the influence system, with those passionate about making it more streamlined and easier to learn and understand. I know of many who want it and love it but understand how difficult to understand it is, and how flawed it can be.
I want to make the slow responses of emails stop.
I want to make waiting weeks for a 5 minute scene to stop.
I want to to bring back learning times. I understand this can be a hassle for those that keep it, but for the health of the game, it needs to happen. WoD life is a struggle, and power should NOT be quickly gained.
And here we come to the controversial part of this proposal and platform... please read through before closing this window or wrinkling your nose.
I want you, the reader, to not get any sort of idea that I do not understand how hard the next part is to swallow, or how jarring this may be. I do. But I want you to understand that I propose this as what I believe the best way to save the game, is. I want to descale every single pc, in a uniform manner. Not by a little. By a lot. Initial estimate that makes sense to me, is 90%. I want to, in theory, sit down with each player of a current character... talk about that character and what the concept and plot of the character is. What they want. I then want to add up the xp stored and on the sheet, cut it all back to 10%. There would be exception to this, of course. The minimal you can cut down to is 50 xp, and people playing characters who only have below 50 xp will start at 25 starting xp. Yes, you would lose your magics out of clan, your insanely powerful combo disciplines, and remake your character with it’s base creation template.
What this does, is reset the game how I think it needs to be reset. The biggest demon of the game, is the vast amounts of xp that have been accumulated. Not just how much there is, but how fast you can spend it. The power levels of the game are off the charts and it easily becomes a matter of who can horde the most xp to gain the largest power the fastest. That IS fun for in character style play, but not for out of character. It has led to arguments and even harsh feelings in what was once a very happy and cheerful community.
This is designed to be an alternative to a full reset that fixes the character related issues without sacrificing the entire history of the game. Whatever issues the game has, it has so many merits and great things about it that are worth saving. I hate the idea that in our haste to fix the game, we destroy the best parts of it.
This is the heart of my platform. And I know how easy it is to say “but I have these great things and this and that”. But I at no time feel that have tons of xp and lots of wonky things is what makes playing enjoyable, nor is it even really in the spirit of what it means to roleplay. I want the game to be more tactical and energetic, and with how fat we have all gotten with xp... its not fun. So I ask those that have the most to lose, as well as those that have the least, to look inwards at the situation the game is in and help decided that the best way to fix it is... and be willing to give up all the shiny things you have, for the health and longevity of the game itself. Doing this is also enticing for young blood to come in, and not be so far behind the curve that its pretty much not worth trying because even a field mouse could ROFLSTOMP you. The game perpetuates by the young blood it brings in.
I could type forever, but I think I will stop on this.
My goal is to save the continuity of the game while fixing the main issue of character power level. If you care about the game setting that we have created together over the last two decades, but you are still concerned about the power level being out of control, you should vote for me.
I do not have a staff yet. My platform is about us coming together and fixing this as a community by making sacrifices. I would prefer for those that think they want to run this change, to step up. I may approach a few individuals. But right now.. I wanted to get this out, for game to think on this matter. This option. I understand I am not the most popular of individuals, and sometimes these elections come down to popularity contests. But its not time for that type of voting anymore. Its about what the community thinks is the best direction for the future of the game. And at the very least, hopefully you see and understand me a little bit better and how much passion I have not just for this game, but for all the players within it.
I welcome questions in this thread or in a thread of your choosing, or in private.
