Its your game

[Thornstar]

So, as you will be expecting to know my position on various things now that I've thrown in my hat for the HST position, I'd like to make a request of you.

Tell me what bothers you. Tell me what you like.

I have heard a lot of things in passing from a lot of players; from random grumbles to impromptu social circles ranting about problems they have.

I have some opinions on what I feel should change, just like everyone. Overall, I very much like the way this game runs, but for something of this scale to work, I'd need to know what is going on at the player level.

Id like to know other information too, like who you are so comfortable RPing with that I could safely add them to my staff and use them to torture guide you on your path to further developing your character and your experience here at ECC.

I have spent most of my working career between Customer Service and Security. I have had a fair amount of dealing with people, and I am usually able to come to understandings with them.

I understand that if I am elected, though I'd be responsible for the way the game is run, I'd still be ultimately beholden to you as players to ensure that this little consensual reality stays both fun, and viable for everyone.

I've been with this gaming group, in it's various incarnations, since 1996. I love this game.

I have ST'd KoE, I have AST'd Werewolf. I know most of you very well at this point, and I'd like to open up on the board so that I can hear out any problems you have: With the way the game is running; with me; or really, with anything. This could be: Venue, start time, color of my car, Whatever you have issues with. If you want to make it public, feel free to respond to this thread. If you have more private concerns, either PM my EC account or send me an Email at [e-mail] .

Thanks.
See you on Saturday.

[The-Most-Compact-of-the-Kyles]

Dude, your car sucks... You should totally leave it unlocked in the alley with the keys in the seat at 12:15.

BTW, if anyone needs a ride to game next week, I should now be able to pick you up.

-Kyle

[Thornstar]

While I appreciate your concern for attendance, I am afraid that is not something I am able to accomadate.

[The-Most-Compact-of-the-Kyles]

Easy killer, just jokin'. I don't even think I've met your car.

-Kyle

[Shakir Movre']

I have this fungus thing going on with my right big toe...


Well, you did say anything...

[Thornstar]

As amusing as this is, I'd appreciate it if both of you could now come back and give me something you actually want to know about.

As far as the toe goes, we could take care of that pretty quick... *brandishes blowtorch and nail clipper*

[Isabella Antimony Crane]

Media.

I would like to see more of ST-driven news articles, reports, more of STs telling us who is in the World Of Darkness Media that may have us tapping the sides of our noses and going "heh... ohyeah, that's Kindred-influenced rightthere."

Tantalizing hints like news stories of people going missing or freakish murders. Animal attacks and crazed bums.

I think the big thing lacking in LARP (and this goes for all LARP... you get it in online play, you get it a little better in tabletop, it's just really hard to keep up with in LARP) is a feeling of cohesion with the outside WOD. As much as some Kindred would like to cut themselves off from the mortal realm, it's 1) Bad for the Masquerade and 2) Bloody impossible.

That's going to be my final answer. We can read the papers and know what's going on in the real world is, essentially, what is going on in the WOD, but some things have to be different, or have to be making an impact in the IC world big enough to make ripples. As the man said "Just because you don't read the newspaper doesn't mean that the world events aren't going on. It just means you're ignorant of them" and in a world where information can and will save or kill you, ignorance is not bliss.

Aside from that... my birds are getting ready to go through another hatching phase... anyone want a finch?

[satyavati]

are they going to be hand raised s as to be social for people to pick up?

And what kind of finch are they?


I am pretty happy with only my two society finches as it stands and Aaron might kill me if I get anything more, but more infor is always apreciated.

[Thornstar]

Its ok honey. Just pick which one becomes snake food.

[Isabella Antimony Crane]

They're Zebra Finches... which pair very well with any sort of finch.
As it is, mine are skittish to being held, but should I get a new clutch, as soon as they're ok to move around the nest, I will be socializing.
I have two mated pairs, a fawn male and a regular color female and a cream female and a piebald male. Clutches that follow should be interesting (the fawn and regular will produce the occasional piebald, and I'm eager to see what comes out of the new piebald/cream pairing).
Zebras are probably the easiest to raise... people who raise other breeds that are a little more finnicky love having a zebra or two in the flock because they're mellow, excellent parents, and will adopt anything with wings and a hungry beak.
Anywho, pm me if you want more info, I'll give you my phone number.

[Jonathan Winters-Garden]

Lets get this party started:

Influences/contacts: What could be better and what is great about the system we have now
Character creation: Strickly by the book or more what we have now?

From the sounds of some of your original post, it sounds like you may be more interested in micro-management. Would you say this is true or not true and why.

Who are your AST's?

I also have a question about attendance. There have been several nights when the ST team has said, "once again here are your nominees" wherein only one person was there. Would you be willing to always be there until after annoucements are finished before leaving?

What about clan specific things? I know the Malkavian clan needs some attention for Madness network.


My vote will be on the game direction, AST's the head st picks and attendance; it will not be based on my personal feelings for people.

Thank you

[Kaine Chandler]

Starspider, media posts are great and we love them, but unfortunately they are also horrifyingly time consuming. That said, there are two things that I'm hoping to do to improve the situation. 1) Ross has consented to join my team should i be elected, and he can then direct his considerable writing capabillities to such actions. 2) We are going to re-arrange our ST meeting times to include our influences man. Previously (like when Heather was influences) we were able to make announcements at game such as "all those with police influence 3 or higher see this ST after announcements" and the like, where in influences tidbits were handed out at game, thus bringing more "real world" happenings to the direct attention of PCs.
The last point also addresses Dustin's influences question to some extent, but to add to that, the current team is working on a way to make the whole influences system more user friendly. Unfortunately I do not wish to discuss the details until it is finished, but, we are working on it. As for contacts, we are trying to build a better mousetrap, i mean database for the accumulation of contact/ally info so both the player who has them and the Sts will have a clearer picture.
I try to make sure I am at game from before announcements till after PM, and often end up staying even later to answer more questions, and with the possible exception of finals week, i intend this to remain the same.
yes the malkavian network needs more attention, thanks for the reminder, we had a system that fell out of disuse when the ST running it retired. I'll see what I can do about getting it back.
I know aaron stated this one, but there's my 2 cents...

[Daddy]

I have to agree on the Madness Network. It needs some work.

I think it's something we can't do by the table top book. It's too tedious to have every malk make a check any time anyone sends something out, and based on the results inform them later. Most other LARPs have taken up more of a telepathic communications network approach. I think this works well, keeps the Malks creepily informed, and can be run without the help of STs if there are some good stand alone rules set up.

I'd also like to see a seperate influence ST. Influence is a big system, if we want it to be usable, we'll need someone working on it who isn't dealing with the also massive XP system.

I'd love to see a set of Lore level descriptions that aren't lifted from another system. I feel like I have to pull teeth just to get information on our NPCs. I invested a lot of knowledge points into lore, and I try not to use it because it detracts from my role play.

It's nice to have a system where domain has some effect on feeding, but I have no clue how it's supposed to work. As I'm currently playing a primogen, I'm really happy clan and personal domain means something. I just wish I knew what that was, and why I'd want to steal domain from other clans.

[Barnaby Cuthbert]

I'd love to see a set of Lore level descriptions that aren't lifted from another system.

FYI the lore levels were lifted directly from the old White Wolf website before it closed down. (don't tell nobody)

[Daddy]

Yeah? I found them on the Cam websites, so I assumed they were theirs. None the less, there are some things on that list that I don't think anyone really understands.

I'd love to see a list of lore levels that that our STs have gone over and approved. We could keep the same lists, but it'd be nice if the STs had some idea what the unintuitive stuff means.

[Barnaby Cuthbert]

Okay, the lores were listed on the White-wolf hosted Cam page, and then later moved to the Cam site, however, as the lores were compiled after Revised edition, the lores are cross system. They don't depend on traits specific to MET or anything and can be used in either.

There's a cubic ass ton of lore stuff. God just look at the ventrue lore alone. I wouldn't hold your breath that someone will be able to memorise the esoterica, but you can probably at least count on getting an answer back to a specific clarification.

I'm curious to know what caught your eye tho that was unintuitive.

[Daddy]

Here's the one that really sticks in my craw:

Malkavian Lore 3: What only a Madman would find

You've accomplished the rather daunting task of tracking the larger Malkavian lineages.

Malkavian Lore 4: Patterns that a Lunatic believes

Even obscure and ancient lineages are known to you.

Does this mean I can walk up to an ST and say "What generation is Jerris, and what malkavians is he related to?"

I have. Nobody seems to have a straight answer on whether I know that stuff, regardless of what the info actually is.

Also, you know about the gargoyle wars at kindred lore 3, and gangrel lore 4. What's the deal with that?

Cam lore 4:

You know how to contact and approach an Archon…properly.

Is that any archon, or do you have contact info for a specific one? Is it just the manners not to get your ass killed if you happen to find their contact info?

I won't even look at the ones I don't have. Those may be the only examples, but there they are.

[Barnaby Cuthbert]

This ain't official, just what I've observed as the 'general rule' the STs have gone by.

On the lineages stuff, I've never personally seen this get used a ton. That I remember, nothing in any of the lore levels, (even the ventrue lore which has a ton about lineage) indicates knowledge of Generation however. But you should be able to find out who someone's Sire and maybe other 'relations' such as who their Childer are. The way I always looked at these besides the 'who's your daddy factor' was what I like to call your 'Jack Griffin' sense. How likely are you to be able to use lores to tell if there is an impostor in your clan? These lore levels help.

I noticed the Gargoyle wars discrepancy before you mentioned this, but I can see it from the perspective of say someone that has only ever known other Gangrel or hung around with them vs. someone that has watched the way that Tremere, Gangrel and Nosferatu elders act around each other in the Camarilla. I get the idea of putting the picture together with a broader view since a clan lore is very specific. For a real life example, you might not know that the French were run out of Viet Nam before the US joined the war, and that fact, even though we were run out eventually too, was responsible for decades of latent hostility between the US and France. Most US soldiers of the era just thought it was funny, but many of the French harbored deep resentment about it. Learn a little broader perspective about those events and suddenly the pieces fit. What the STs official call on this is I dunno tho.

On the Archon thing, it's being used as 'knowing how not to piss them off' everytime in this game I've come accross it. Almost like having a dot in Cam big-wig ettiquite. Generally from everything I've seen you'd already need to know of one to contact via info that is available in-game from PCs and NPCs. Sometimes if you have a background that supports it, etc... they might make an exception to this I've seen, but I think they prefer to have you trade for it in game.

As a side note, the ST might make you spend the XP on the contacts background depending on what the reason/plan was all about. Generally you don't, for example, need to buy a contact for someone that you only owe a boon to elsewhere or vice versa unless you want to be calling them up for little chats every other week tho. If it's pure business, harpies generally will relay that kind of info just for the privilige of having an in on what's going on in other cities and with Camarilla big-wigs. But then the STs might make them buy a contact or charge them a boon from an NPC to pass the info on etc... But that's the IC/OOC economy of playing a harpy for ya.

But in my experience, even with the lore to 'know how not to screw up' a lot depends on whether you tell Mr. Archon you want some dude beaten up because he hurt your feelings vs. say offering them info about a rival Justicar's movements when you call. It's not a sure thing.