tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44215674594381433232024-03-13T12:19:25.846-07:00Hunt for the Battenberg!Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-36760035977709323812020-04-02T13:49:00.001-07:002020-04-02T13:49:16.781-07:00Me & Larp. <br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Ok,
I'm going to get personal here.
</b></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>This is your only
warning that what you read here might cause some discomfort. <br />I'm
known for that sort of thing. Putting some words out there and making
people uncomfortable about it. </b><br /><br /><i>Consider yourself warned. </i><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I.
Hate. Larp.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Thats what it feels
like when I look across my social media. <br />I see all these great
and shit people going out and having fun at larps that I can or would
never attend for a whole lot of reasons. <br />Some of those reasons
i've posted about before, like the systems that keep allowing abusers
or rapists to play whilst victims are forced out. And right now if
you're a larper you've probably heard of a few and can think “oh is
he talking about XYZ system..”.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I probably am.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Heck even the larp I
run has been accused, quite laughably, of harbouring abusers and i've
been named as one of them as well by bitter ex players who tried to
abuse “but we're friends” privileges.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've removed people who
were friends from a game a run. Why wouldn't I? <br /><br />But this
isn't about that.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's more than
covered else where.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I look out across
social media at all the games and see how connected they are and it
makes me think that it's all a bit.. inbred.. that's really the only
word I have for it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Everyone seems to know
everyone.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've signed up to games
in the last couple of years and been passed over because “it's a
blind selection and totes innocent that all our regular mates were
chosen and total strangers weren't”.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Can I believe them?
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Part of me really wants
to but another part of me looks back across social media and the “OMG
you're running THAT GAME i'm totes signing up!/Great see you at E1!!”
jizzfest that seems to permeate the hobby and I don't feel like I can
believe the “randomly selected..” line any more.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm bitter.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I shouldn't be.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But I am.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I. Can't. Larp.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's what it feels
like.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't feel like I'm
good enough for the other games.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't think i'm a
good roleplayer.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't think im a good
larper.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I know i'm not a great
larp fighter.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't have the time
to do it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't get how people
manage to have all this kit and all the time to travel half way
across the country when they're on benefits or student loans.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But thats also
something else I blogged about a long time ago.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I look at their kit and
i'm jealous.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And then I get angry
when I see “you must have kit like XYZ to play” on system rule
sets or websites when I know full well that those people built that
kit up over years of play and to pull off anything at all like that
I'd need to have years of play and kit.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I. Hate. Larp.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's really what it
feels like to me inside.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I look out across
social media.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I know facebork is a
cesspit of circlejerking ego stroking.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I run a vaguely alright
WoD based larp.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
People keep coming
back.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Not everyone follows
the rules as well as they could.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's a decent amount
of rules.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's not “lite” at
all because of the sheer amount of powers associated with the system,
and it's got a lot of inbuilt rules abuse stoppers in it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But then again WoD
games arent seen as proper larp by a lot of people.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(which hey, I blogged
about that too, go figure...)
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I want to like larp.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I want to hang around
with larpers.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Like actually spend
time with them which isn't at the game I run because sometimes it
feels like they're obliged to spend time with me because I run it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But I can't.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's to many abusers
hiding there.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's to much back
stabbing.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm a grown arse adult
I don't have time for that sort of shit, this isn't the school yard
for gods (pick one, any one, or not) sake!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And I feel as I look
across all these other games that I personally am not good enough.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I look at all the
people I know and feel that I'm not good enough.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And I really fucking
hate that.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Almost as much as I
hate systems that continue to allow abusers of any form to remain in
them.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Because until those
systems get rid of those people I will never go to any of them.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Please dont “but XYZ
is so cool..” me. I know its premise is cool. But you've heard
about “blowies for lammies” right? Or maybe you've heard of “yeah
it's the Refs mate so they get all the plot all the time” or “it's
the refs GF of course she's god like and can't be killed an central
to everything and doesn't even put the effort in..” <br /><br />If
you're touting a system to me I will look at its page.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If I see a certain name
on its page I will black list that larp. I wont attend it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's that simple.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's a bunch of new
and shiny larps out there that look like they'd be perfect for me.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Unfortunately all I see
are the same names over and over and over..
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's so fucking in
bred.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The hobby is huge and
yet there they always are.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I. Hate. Larp.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But I shouldn't. <br />I feel like you hate me.<br />Bit i don't know if i should or shouldnt.<br />I
feel like an imposter in the scene.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I feel like I don't
belong.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I feel like my game
only has people coming to it because their friends go and it's seen
as an easy place to chill out with their mates.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So that's where i am right now with regards to larp.<br />I hate it because theres something just appeared that i absolutely love as a setting.<br />And i can't go to it for all the above reasons. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<br />Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-71132374849174562212018-03-22T14:21:00.001-07:002018-03-22T14:21:56.403-07:00Abuse in larp pt four: I'm an abuser.. <p dir="ltr"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Well now, that's a pretty loaded title isn't it?<br>
Did it grab your attention?<br>
Are you hungering to know the gossip as I apparently out myself as some form of predator in the larp community?</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm going to recount something for you, an anecdote about me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">You see as a Ref I get to engage in all kinds of awesome things. <br>
I run a World of Darkness game. As the name suggests, it's dark, it has some grim stuff in it. <br>
Normally we play Camarilla sect vampires in it, if that jeans anything to you yay! </p>
<p dir="ltr">The other side of the coin are the Sabbat. In their earliest incarnations of the rules they were the monsters of the setting, they were the 30 days of Night vampires or the Dusk til Dawn vampires. <br>
Crude, murderous beasts. <br>
As the rules updated they became a more dangerous sort of thing, they had a hellish hierarchy and a vast panoply of monstrous clans within the sect. It became the very mirror of the refined and decadent Camarilla. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We decided to run a Sabbat game to cover some of the recent background lore for our game. <br>
It was a massive gamble, players were going to be asked to blind pick new characters to play for three months.<br>
The players stepped up, boundaries were pushed, and they were pushed hard. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But we also had an interest from other people, people who were already part of the larp hobby and had played vampire in the past apparently. <br>
So, our regular players picked their characters and a number were left over for the new players.<br>
They had all the same rules as the existing players to go by when it came to spending some points on the characters. </p>
<p dir="ltr">All the characters were written genderless, with the exception of a small group who were specifically female because of plot reasons, meaning that they'd fit who ever chose them. <br>
All the specifically female characters were chosen, that was cool, and that just left the non gender specific characters.<br>
We'd provided male and female names for them to use, and costume descriptions. </p>
<p dir="ltr">One of the characters was a former Olympic drop out athlete who bombed after an accident. <br>
Seems like a good idea right? The Sabbat get to ride the coat tails of this athlete who's well known in schools and media, they're famous and the Sabbat can use that to destroy the Camarilla in Kent some how or other, totally up to the player to decide how they're going to do it. <br>
<br>
So, new person selects that character, from a blind pick. <br>
Totally random. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Shortly after the excuses start coming in from that person, then they drop out all together.<br>
No biggie, a shame because it would have been nice to have some one else in game from another system, especially one that was pretty much our neighbours at the time and that we'd done shout outs for posting their game info once in a while, because that's what civil people do, they support each other in the shared hobby environment. </p>
<p dir="ltr">That character is resealed and another person selects it instead. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Then a few months after the very successful mini story we start hearing some things, a couple of our players started attending that other system and they'd heard some odd rumours about our game, or rather more specifically about me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So, those rumours.. <br>
Wow they was a doozy I can tell you! </p>
<p dir="ltr">“Don't go to that game it's run by a pervert”<br>
“The guy that runs it just wants to see all the girls running round in knickers and bras”<br>
“That guy is a right weirdo and not the good sort”</p>
<p dir="ltr">That sort of thing. <br>
So, I want to see all the girls running round in bras and knickers at my game?<br>
Um.. pretty well documented that at our game there's no girls running round in just their undies, I'm the guy that takes the pictures and I often have to move to one side to make sure there isn't an upskirt or inappropriate picture. <br>
And when they do happen, they get deleted, I make sure my A-Ref is with me at the time when I'm going through the pictures and they point out what may need editing or deleting if I don't pick it up right away. <br>
These days I take between four and five hundred pictures at an event..</p>
<p dir="ltr">There Have even been times when a player has said “don't delete that picture, send it over to me so I have a copy of it” and afterwards I'll delete it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Then the rumours started to be “that guys a creeper, he keeps posting on the same sites I do, I think he's stalking me”. <br>
Back then there wasn't really a lot of larp and associated pages unlike now where there's hundreds of the things.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'd had enough, I left a whole lot of roleplay social groups online, stuck to just the games I was active in or was going to be active in.<br>
I was going to join that other game as well, but after hearing stuff like about me.. yeah no. I dropped that like a hot potato and removed links to in on my games facebook page and wiki. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Want to know what the character description was that made them think I wanted all the girls to run around in undies?<br>
“The character is an ex athlete (track and swimming), they still dress the part when they go out to schools to check a location out for a mass embrace. You're the Face of the local invasion, it's through you that things kick off locally. Your character would wear athletic things, tracksuit and trainers sort of thing. Think Athlete.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">How in nine hells did they get “athlete” to mean knickers and bra?</p>
<p dir="ltr">If I'd have said “you're a swimmer and a track person, loose tracksuits and bikinis are what you wear, you don't like being restrained by clothing so you'll try and find reason to ditch the tracksuit when ever you can” I'd understand how that would be twisted in to “that guys a pervert who wanted to see me in my bra and knickers stay away from him and his creepy game”. <br></p>
<p dir="ltr">Those rumours went unchecked for a while, thankfully some of my players were part of that game and started to correct people once they realised what had happened. <br>
I never got an apology for the shit they caused me personally.</p>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-4241533007488136662018-03-22T06:34:00.001-07:002018-03-22T07:09:50.385-07:00Abuse in larp pt three: innocent until proven guilty? <p dir="ltr">So, I'm a ref of a "small" larp.<br>
I've running the game for the last twenty five years.<br>
No small achievement.<br>
I'm a pretty hard line ref, rules are rules for the live aspect of the game and the rules are a bit more flexible for the non live part of the game where its more like a Cowritten story between the player and the ref.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There are some rules I won't be flexible on however.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The "social contract" is to me unbending.<br>
It is a hard, solid thing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When I am running a game I am a Ref. I'm not your friend. <br>
Soon as it hits time out I'm not a ref I'm your friend. <br>
And then there's when it's not Time In and I have to be the Ref. </p>
<p dir="ltr">As a ref I've had complaints brought to me, and I have to look into them with all seriousness.<br>
I will ask the person bringing the complaint to me a lot of questions. <br>
I will also ask if they have proof or witnesses to the origin of the complaint. <br>
I, and my A-Ref, will then go over what has been presented to us. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Will won't assume guilt just because a complaint has been levelled. <br>
We take our time to research the matter. <br>
We speak to witnesses. <br>
We will ask the complainant other questions based on what witnesses say. </p>
<p dir="ltr">One thing we never do at that point is say any names of those who are involved. <br>
It's all just "it's been brought up by some one" and "May I discuss a delicate matter with you about something". </p>
<p dir="ltr">Once we've done that we will then talk to the person the complaint was made about. <br>
We'd watch them beforehand whilst we spoke to other people, make sure they wasn't trying to cover anything up. </p>
<p dir="ltr">After myself and my A-Ref have done all of that then we go over everything. <br>
We ask the complainant what they would like to be done about the matter. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Sometimes it's as simple as have a chat with the other person, tell them to not make such comments in future. <br>
Other times we have to eject people from our game. <br>
Once in a while the other person will leave the system because they know they've been caught red handed and want to leave on their terms before we can officially eject them from the game. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Afterwards, we speak to the person who made the complaint. <br>
We reassure them that they have done the right thing and we thank them for coming to us. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><i>HOWEVER</i> <br>
Unfortunately sometimes people leave, they then slate the system, the other players and most especially myself and my A-Ref. <br>
We've had a lot of abuse hurled at us, including threats of physical violence. <br>
Sometimes those people have gone on social media and actively complained about how myself and my A-Ref have handled things, going out of the way to cause grief for the game. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Generally I'm pretty calm person, I'm easy to talk to, I'm reasonable. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But then when complete strangers on social media, who happen to be mates with the aggrieved abusers, and start to troll you, actively seeking out posts you make to to slag off system.. <br>
It's annoying. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Bullies love attention. <br>
They thrive on it. <br>
They get to show how macho or superior they are to their little hangers on. <br>
And if you rise to it apparently that's bad, it apparently shows how right and correct they are. <br>
And if you remain silent, well now that makes them puff up their chests and extoll how they've outed you as a bad person. </p>
<p dir="ltr">They forget the amount of time they attended the game, how many people they introduced to it, how much they raved about it online before they were caught out being an abusive person. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Bullies hate being wrong, they hate not having the last word, that last dig. <br>
They'll dog you on groups and pages, even if you actively block them they'll get their mates to screen shot what you said just so they can reply to it. <br>
But they'll do it in sly ways that mean if you call them out it must be because you were stalking them.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We've had this happen to us,myself and my A-Ref. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's caused us both to doubt the decision we made in kicking them from our games. <br>
But when looking back at the old documents and complaints it acts like a breath of fresh air, it clears the head. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I'd love to "Just let it go" forget all about the worries. <br>
But they're always there just in the background waiting, watching. <br>
Ready to leap with an "I told you so, look HE'S the bad man, I'm the victim here.." </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's tiring. And I often wonder if it's worth all the agro to run the game I run. <br>
If you are a Ref you'll know what it's like maybe. <br>
If you don't know what it's like, then maybe it's because people aren't comfortable coming to you with a complaint. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But treat everyone equally, do not assume guilt. <br>
But it's proven act on it swiftly. Your game will be better off for it in the end. <br>
</p>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-91434827532058489992018-03-22T04:39:00.001-07:002018-03-22T05:36:00.097-07:00Abuse in larp pt two: Predator/Friend <p dir="ltr">In the wake of my previous blog, which I admit was more than a little peripatetic, there's actually been some measure of discussion about the state of abuse in larp and how rampant it is.</p>
<p dir="ltr">People new to reffing are poking their heads above the parapets and being told the horror stories of victims who want to join a new system and want to ensure that certain people are not playing, then having to explain why they are having to check, resulting in said horror stories.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm going to go to a darker place than normal here today.<br>
I'm going to look at larp from an abusers point of view.<br>
I'm a roleplayer, I've played all kinds of monsters in the past.<br>
This will be an extension of that, and is not necessarily what my actual views are on the subject.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm going to treat this as a roleplay.<br>
That's all this.<br>
And I'm slightly uncomfortable with having to make sure that you understand my point of view here.<br>
MY personal thoughts are well documented.<br>
What follows is not my personal thoughts.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And I'm treading dangerously close to Nord Larp territory by doing this..</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>------------------------</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">My name is irrelevant. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But call me <i>friend</i>.<br>
Everyone else does. I'm just a likeable person.<br>
I help new people out, offer them advice, loan them kit and if they need a safe space they usually come to me.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And I make them feel safe, I make them feel secure, I make them feel like someone cares about them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That's how I operate. It's easy to do. Flash a smile, say encouraging things in front of everyone to you.<br>
It bonds us all together.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our friendship grows, you come back to the game, spend more time with me.<br>
We chat, we banter, we flirt.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Maybe it's in character, maybe it's out of character. Who's to say?<br>
You take my clearly in character flirting badly, maybe someone hurt you in the past.<br>
We apologise, there's hugs, it's all a mistake, a simple misunderstanding is all.<br>
My hand lingers a little bit to long on your back, just in the small of the back, so innocent nothing wrong with that, you don't stop me.<br>
Clearly you won't say no if we hug just a little longer, if my arm stays round your shoulder or maybe your waist. After all, we're friends, you know that right? <br>
Friends don't hurt each other. <br>
I'll always be there for you, no matter what. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, did hear the gossip about That Guy, the older one who got married last year? <br>
I heard he likes you. <br>
Better stay away from him, could be trouble.. <br>
No, don't worry I won't say anything to anyone else about it. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So, That Guy tried to talk to you earlier today huh? Guess he can't help himself.. His wife isn't at the larp this weekend. <br>
Maybe they had an argument or something.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I see you at the group camp fire, I wait away from it, just watching, keeping you safe from afar.. <br>
You've had a bit to drink tonight.. Maybe I should take you back to your tent. <br>
Come on.. No we'll stop at my tent, That Guy won't trouble you here.. <br>
Let me help you out of your kit, don't want to damage any of it do you.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Do you remember when you first started here a year ago? All those times I helped you out, loaned you kit, gave you advice about the groups, the factions and the rules? <br>
Yes, that was so sweet of me.. You've come so far now here. <br>
No, I only have the one large sleeping bag, it's fine, we're friends, just friends sharing a tent is all.. No one will talk about us. <br>
I'll make sure of it. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh.. Sorry, I'm so used to sleep alone, I guess I just rolled over in the night and cuddled you because I'm lonely.. You won't tell anyone will you.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I see you on the forums, your tents bust, I reassure you that it's totally cool to stay in mine, plenty of room. <br>
Just like last time.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So, here we are, you've had a few drinks at the fire again but I stayed sober. <br>
But I've got a bottle of the good stuff, the stuff you like, here have a drink.. OK I'll have one as well, let me top yours up, no bit of a low mood.. I'll be alright, you're such a good friend, I don't know what I'd do with out you in our group.. <br>
Come on, you look beat, let's go to bed, maybe snuggle a little. No one will know.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Sorry.. I guess when you agreed to share the tent with me it was just your way of telling me that you were interested.. Everyone else thinks so. <br>
It's the talk of the camp, so.. We may as well.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Good morning.. So about last night.. Don't tell anyone. You don't want them saying stuff about you being a slut do you.. I mean you practically threw yourself at me, begging me to share my tent, for that booze you like I had, I was saving it for after the game.. No it's OK. Don't worry about buying a replacement. It's fine. </p>
<p dir="ltr">What, you don't want to share the tent tonight? That Guy will make a move on you.. Do you want to be responsible for the divorce with his wife? You'll get the blame. Come on. </p>
<p dir="ltr">What's that Event Coordinator Person? No, we share a tent is all, I'll show you. Look, her sleeping bag, mine. Yeah she was a bit drunk.. She gets drunk most events.. Can't handle her booze. I got her back here so she could sleep it off, we've been tent sharing for a few events now. <br>
No, she's a nice girl and everything, but you know that she's been seen with That Guy.. Yeah. I know, I'm not going to judge her and him.. Not my place to do that, I've been coming here for years now, yeah Event Creator gives me a lift each time, I help set up and take down. <br>
I like the system to much to see it come into disrepute.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, what's that? That Guy isn't here this event? Didn't you know.. He'd been approaching people whilst his wife was away. Yeah one of the Event Organisers dropped by, nice bloke, did you know he's Event Creators, yes the guy who gives me a lift, it's his cousin. We had a bit of a chat.. Sorry.. I stuck up for you and everything, but there's word going round that you're a bit of a slag.. I know.. Its shocking that someone would lie about you.. Why don't I have a chat with Event Creation Person about it.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So long as you keep your head down nothing will happen I don't think you're a trouble maker or a drama queen, not my words, but I do get around Camp and hear things, I've done some damage control. Yeah I'm such a good friend.. Come on, I've got some of The good stuff back at Our tent.. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>------------------------</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">So easy, so innocent seeming at first right? <br>
Then the guy starts to manipulate the situation, putting pressure on the victim, making other people doubt what she says. <br>
The slope is gentle, ever dropping off until she can't say anything because of how she'd be seen by others in the event/camp. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Some abuse you never notice until after the fact, after the gaslighting and playing on your fears and anxieties. </p>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-64659894689570453272018-03-16T04:36:00.001-07:002018-03-16T06:57:08.059-07:00Abuse in larp <p dir="ltr">I've been pondering if I should wrote this for a while.<br>
It's been covered by others elsewhere so I worry about the redundancy of me saying it all over again.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But no, I reckon I should talk about it because it should be talked about.</p>
<p dir="ltr">You've probably seen the other articles about "missing steps" and Creeper Players. </p>
<p dir="ltr">See, I've had to deal with them in the past. <br>
As both a Ref and as a Player. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I didn't realise at first what I was seeing. <br>
Everyone just ignored what was happening, it was par for the course, just banter and potential flirting. <br>
Apparently that sort of thing was Normal in the gaming scene. </p>
<p dir="ltr">A couple years down the line, after I'd left that system and got into other systems I found out that sort of thing wasn't normal. <br>
But everyone treats it like it is. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Guy flirts with girl, girl says jog on, guy laughs and walks away, next day there's word going round the site that the girl got drunk and ended up in a tent with the guy who was flirting with her. <br>
Lucky guy right? </p>
<p dir="ltr">No. <br>
Not right. <br>
Not at all. </p>
<p dir="ltr">That girl was raped. And when she tried to say something about it to other players guess what the responses were? <br>
"oh player X, yeah he aims for the drunk ones." <br>
"well, you were drunk, you probably said yes" <br>
"I have a hard time believing that you were raped. You went willingly with that guy back to his tent" <br>
"don't worry about it, it was his last event he won't be back again" </p>
<p dir="ltr">When she spoke to the game team guess what they said? <br>
"we'll look into it" <br>
They did, then nothing happened. <br>
It was brushed under the carpet. <br>
Then at the next event the girl freaks out, makes a scene about someone trying it on with her. <br>
She got labelled a trouble maker and a drama queen. </p>
<p dir="ltr">That's not on. <br>
But I guess that the hobby was just trying to protect itself. <br>
I mean, who wants to admit that they knowingly associate with sexual predators on a social level and do nothing about it because it must all be lies or just someone trying to cause trouble for their mates. </p>
<p dir="ltr">In the last year alone on "the big system" pages I've seen a half dozen similar "my friend was abused and nothing happend"/"we're looking into it" posts.<br>
I've sat with mates as they've discussed such things.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But nothing seems to get done about it.<br>
You then start seeing or hearing "nothing will get done about it, they're a mate of the event team" popping up and posts getting locked or deleted, invariably followed by a "We here at System Name operate a strict policy when it comes to any complaints raised. Please respect the system and do not talk about it on the page. Let the Event Team look into the Complaints and take it from there.".</p>
<p dir="ltr">A lot of new players will see the Strict Policy on Abuse and feel comforted knowing that any abusers will surely be kicked out.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And yet...<br>
There are those who know better, they've seen that post a few times before and seen both victim and abusers still attending events though the victims are often forced out by peer pressure and silenced by some of the more rabid fans of the system with constant snipes and "well the abuser is still here, guess he didn't actually do anything.." goads.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I've witnessed this myself.<br>
It happens.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Is the hobby so worried about actually doing something about the level of abuse, physical, emotional and mental, that happens under their watch?<br>
Are they so afraid that they will suddenly be cast in a bad light and will lose attendance at events?</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Hobby isn't afraid.<br>
Individual systems are.<br>
And they should be.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Hobby isn't a unified thing. There isn't some big Larp Council that puts rules into place.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That only happens on a system by system level.<br>
And if you've been larping for a few months to a year you've probably heard the stories of someone who was abused, even if you don't know what happened afterwards to either the victim or the abuser.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Police are almost never involved.<br>
Infact I personally can't think of any systems or victims who have gone to the police.<br>
No, that's a lie.<br>
I can think of one system that asked a player if they want the police to be called.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I remember when I asked the person that question.<br>
I asked because I was genuinely concerned about them.<br>
They were petrified of the police getting involved.<br>
"No, I don't want them to be called, I'm at another system next weekend and it'll spread that I called the police on the other person"</p>
<p dir="ltr">What could I do as a ref in that circumstance?<br>
I spoke to the victim of abuse.<br>
I spoke to people who witnessed the abuse, when they figured out what I was asking about they went very quiet.<br>
"We don't want any trouble.." was their response.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Why do the victims and witnesses feel like they will be in trouble? Just what the hell!?</p>
<p dir="ltr">I spoke with my a-ref and with another ref.<br>
Action was taken.<br>
The abuser was spoken to after the event, after witnesses had been spoken to.<br>
That person was asked not to return to the game.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I actively removed someone from my game. Because they were a sexually abusive person who had used my game as a venue to prey on others.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And I got a lot of flack for it from their mates. "So and so wouldn't do that.." "Other person is lying, I wasn't there but I know they're lying" "you're only defending the other person because you fancy your chances with them and got rid of the competition" was some of the stuff that came back to me.</p>
<p dir="ltr">My system took a hit in the social circles.<br>
But after a while the flack died down and other players felt comfortable enough to come to me and my a-ref with concerns about other peoples behaviour.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Every single complaint that's bought to my attention is looked into.<br>
I keep people updated on the progress and the final <u>outcome</u>. <br>
I don't tell anyone who has raised concerns about their behaviour because that would lead to more abuse. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I don't think enough systems are transparent in how they do things. <br>
But then that means they have to acknowledge that people with malintent attend their systems and they may lose members because of that. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But I think that if they own the problem then it will put them in a better light with people want to larp for fun in a predator free environment. <br>
The predators will learn to either correct their behaviour or suffer the consequences. </p>
<p dir="ltr">And as for consequences.. Yes I also worry about the fact that some people might turn vigilante after finding out who's been booted from a system. </p>
<p dir="ltr">If the event team are careful then the only people who find out who's been booted are the victim, the abuser and ref team. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Unless of course the abuser goes elsewhere and starts slagging off the system he was booted from. <br>
That's where the event organisers need to watch out a bit though. <br>
The "new" system Ref's should extend a query to the old system to get the details first hand. <br>
It's then down to the new system to decide if they want a known predator attending their events. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm pretty strict in my own system when it comes to people being dicks. <br>
There are a couple of routes that I have followed. <br>
1: Speak to the person and tell them that their behaviour is not acceptable and that if they do it again they'll be given a temporary ban. <br>
2: Inform the person that due to the number of complaints raised recently they are no longer welcome back to the system again. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I've done both and I regret nothing. <br>
Because abuse should not be tolerated. </p>
<p dir="ltr">At the end of the day I'm there to make sure people have fun in a safe environment. <br>
Shouldn't every event organiser be like that? </p>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-79398843498129716092018-03-04T04:49:00.003-08:002018-03-04T04:49:55.603-08:00Pre Generated Hatred<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, I've been in and
around Gaming since I was a child, I'm just short of hitting 41, and
you know what?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My age has nothing to
do with what I say about gaming in the slightest.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I still feel in my mid
20's (except on those really rough mornings when I feel maybe in my
30's...).</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Would it be fair to say
that being older makes me a better player or ref? <br />No, not really.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
BUT...</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It does give me a lot
more experience, both good and bad, to draw anecdotes and comparison
from.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's why I write
these random blogs.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That and I'm bored and
want to be able to speak about what's on my mind.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Which I don't do nearly
enough, instead I let it fester and build up and I become stage by
stage that bit more bitter and disillusioned with gaming as a whole.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, here I am, about to
talk about my experience with Characters in a game.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
More specifically,
Pre-Generated Characters.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
See, as I type this I
can already imagine people rolling their eyes.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Oh, geesh Pre-Gens
wtf dude, no one uses them, it's so goat to force that on people..”
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, imagine, you've
found out about a game, one that you want to get involved with, but
it's just a few days away and you don't have time to source some
amazing kit because all you're stuff is scattered between a dozen
mates houses, in the loft, or the shed BUT you really want to go.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
BUT you know you wont
be ablew to play the awesome character you want to play due to lack
of kit.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What do you do?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Either source kit
really quickly or give up and say “screw it, i'll go next time”.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I mean, sure going next
time means you'll be able to get your kit together and have a better
read of the rule book or wiki.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Heck, you could even go
in half cobbled together kit, not looking your best but at least
you're there right?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Well, what about option
3?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Talk to the people that
run the event. Explain to them what the situation is. Many event
coordinators go out of their way to help new players, espescially
ones who don't already have mates in the system because they know
that “bums on seats is good, and this person might bring more,
which is better”.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Ok, that's a bit of a
cynical approach, it's not always about the Bums On Seats, some event
organisers are genuinely nice folks and are happy to welcome new
people to their game for totally non altruistic reasons.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm an event organiser,
you should know this by now if you're ready some of my older blog
posts.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't run a big game,
20-30 players is all.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But if some one joins
us with just a few days to go before the event both myself and my
A-Ref will bend over backwards to come up with what we call a Beanie
character.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Beanies in our system
are named after Sean Bean, or at least that's the running joke,
they're generally a loose concept made within the basic rules of the
game. The concept is basic, as is the background for the character,
and yes there is a difference between Concept and Background not that
many people get that these days..</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A Beanie is designed to
last, one or two games. Just long enough to get you into the system.
They're designed to help you learn the rules at a slow pace because
they're not stacked up with tons of special abilities, sure you have
some powers but not the high end stuff, because you need to learn the
system before you can get to grips with the evolution of your
abilities.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No one starts a DnD
game at level 30 knowing none of the rules is a pretty nifty example
that works well here
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We've had people turn
up to the game in the past, no character made, select a Beanie from
our wiki (we have a selection of Beanies per faction type for instant
playability), and dive right in.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And you know what?
People enjoyed the beanies a lot, because the hard work was already
done for them, they had all the info at hand, they knew why the
character was coming to the social gathering that our games generally
are. And the Beanies? They don't stop getting played after one or two
games, the continued being played, and we've still got Beanies in
system that are a few years old now.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But, isn't this article
about what's better, Pre Gens or Not Pre Genned?<br /><br />Well, not
really no. <br /><br />It's more about people getting their heads out of
their arses and supporting people, be they new to larp, finding out
about an event last minute but still wanting to take part, those
totally nervous and not knowing how much is enough with concept and
background and stressing over it all.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's about event
organisers helping people out, providing a guiding (not rail roading)
hand, providing a good reason for a character to be present,
providing a character with reason to stick around and return, letting
players know that as an event organiser you're there first and
foremost to help.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'd rather make a
thousand Beanies than have players pass up coming to the game because
they can't think of a good character concept that fits the style and
setting of the game.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You think having a Pre
Generated character is bad? Why?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Because they fit within
the rules of the system, it helps a new player find their feet in the
setting, it introduces new people to the game?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Or is it because you're
worried that they'll be more powerful than you for some obscure
reason (your badly spent XP for example, when you didn't know the
system so well yourself once and made some bad choices and its
totally unfair that a new player has the sort of advantage over you
due to the event organisers learning from old mistakes and
approaching things with an eye to help people enjoy the game from the
beginning) or that they'll have access to lore and game secrets that
you dont (because you actually joined the game before that sort of
stuff existed and didn't really bother learning it in character and
instead meta game whilst hating on those that spend xp on the lore
and background info so they can actually legitimately act on what
they personally know about the system), or maybe it's because they'll
come in to the game with an agenda, a clear cut series of goals they
want to achieve quickly (Whilst you just dally around in the
background coasting from one thing to another whilst not actually
achieving anything that pushes plot so you secretly resent the new
players because they're actively trying to do Plot that you've spent
so long ignoring now or sneering at because it's not Your plot so
screw it..).</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Reasons why A Pre Made
character is a great thing!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It means you've got
something that is already made within the rules of the game!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You have a concept
that's permitted!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You have a background
that's full enough to make you realistic (within the setting) yet
empty enough for you to fill out some blanks a few games later down
the line and totally make it all your own character!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You've been given a
character that's easy to learn with no really complicated abilities!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A Pre Made character is
a kind of archetypal character, so they're really easy to play or
relate to!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You're able to jump
right in because everything you need is at hand right away!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Pre-Made characters
tend to be very kit light, meaning you won't have to scrounge round
from mates or fellow players!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Reasons why A Pre Made
character is a bad thing!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some people feel like
they might be “rail roaded” and forced to act in ways they
wouldn't with the same sort of character.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You might feel like the
character is out of your Comfort Zone.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Yeah, those are the
only legitimate bad reasons I can think of and even then I can turn
that around on its head!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Feel like you might be
rail roaded? In larp it's all about what you want to do, how you go
about doing it is up to you! SO, you've come to a game, been given a
Thug character concept.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, will you play them
as a brutally violent thug, the sort of thug that just uses scare
tactics, the sort of thug who gets others to do their dirty work for
them, are you just a patsy to some one else higher on the food chain,
are you the person thats higher up on the food chain?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
See, that one concept
has a whole lot of different ways it can be played, and I bet you a
slice of Battenburg that how you play the character and how it
evolves over time won't be what the event organisers had planned for
it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The only real bad thing
about Pre Generated characters is the attitude from within the
community itself from those who dislike such a concept.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And that needs to stop.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I mean, aren't we all
gaming for fun after all?</div>
<br />Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-31212578409707256092017-09-11T14:46:00.002-07:002017-09-11T14:46:37.591-07:00A personal thought<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7a30u" data-offset-key="cjnf8-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cjnf8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="cjnf8-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I remember when...</span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="dai3i-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">For prior parts of the game, when we didn't have drop box and indeed well before KBN/CI, players would get all their printing on the day and not get stuff in advance. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="636n-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">This usually meant that people turned up early to read things, soak up the importance of the words and then go in to game with it all fresh in their mind. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="k9fk-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">They were rather different days for the game, and part of me sort of misses that aspect. But nowadays CI isn't seen as any ones "Must Attend" system, its simply that little social game of vampire and if other things come up the other things take precedence. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="dpfe9-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Not IRL things but just other games. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fr472-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">There's a general lack of urgency in CI and i will in part take blame for that myself because i am the Ref of the game and it would be wrong of me to not do so. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fg4rd-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">However.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1j8e9-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The saga has been running for 25 years (very nearly) and there are few games that can boast that level of achievement. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="a0ere-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed even other vampire games can't really boast that. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6ej93-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The game started when i was 16. Sat on a friends floor or where i was living. Sometimes round a table. Sometimes in a pub. Once in a playing ground opposite from where i lived at the time. The game progressed on to rooms booked in pubs.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="chvc5-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">But now we use caves and university rooms. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="agdlm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bmo1h-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">And that makes me proud. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="5jp2o-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">CI is a second job for me, and sarah, an unpaid one at that. We get no perks or payment from it, often we're personally out of pocket but it's the choice i made when the game carried on running. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8f9ct-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Its been through thick and it's been through thin. We've had clashes with all the "big" systems, but when i look at it the big systems are just ones where people camp out. They cost so much more so i guess people feel they Have to go to them and they Have to take priority.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ca3ro-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Want to know a secret, thats fine. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="9sap1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Really it is, but i'd at least like a little respect for the work we do. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="a132e-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Saying "great game, thanks" is all well and good but they're just words. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="40io4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">You keep coming back over and over and thats cool, but when did you really add anything to the game? </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="54nc1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Not just new players, but when did you go out of your way to say "the Refs have done this thing, i'm gonna add to it and do some amazing plot" because it doesnt happen often enough and the game will stagnate unless something happens. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="dngt6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">We do our part every month. Month in, month out, even when we really cant we still do. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="51qki-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Some of you've seen me when i was ill, but i still run the game. Some of you have seen me and sarah really stressed or over worked but we still delivered. And even when i have my son i always do my best to deliver for the game, only once or twice in the last year can i say it wasnt enough and thats only because i just run out of time. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="3q3rn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I'm tired of CI being the "after thought" game. Folks do everyone a favour and step up to the plate. </span></div>
</div>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-31340850018984472992017-07-10T06:41:00.001-07:002017-07-10T06:41:27.908-07:00Commitment Issues <p dir="ltr">Now, I've been larping for "some time" and I've worked more often than not in my life, earned an alright wage and rented. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I can afford may be one game a month if I'm lucky. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Every other person, with the exception of my partner, that I know seems to fill every Friday through Sunday at a larp. Some even go from Thursday instead of Friday. <br>
Every weekend. </p>
<p dir="ltr">A couple of things confuse me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Firstly, the Cost. <br>
These other folks I know are in national minimum wage jobs just like me, or on a selection of govt benefits. <br>
I've got a loan repayment also going out of my wages every month, and I have a kid. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Even when I didn't have those things I couldn't afford to larp every weekend, travelling from one end of the country to the other, usually by public transport and not cadging a lift, even then I wouldn't be able to afford it. <br>
Seriously people where does this money come from? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Am I missing some trick here or something? <br>
Just what the hell.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The other thing. <br>
The commitment required. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Maybe it's the style of games that they attend that make the difference, the "big event" games with triple digit numbers of players. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Now, I run a small game, thirty or so active players. <br>
The behind the scenes stuff is a second job for me. <br>
One I don't get paid for either. <br>
I make no money from the game at all. <br>
It's not run as a business. <br>
But as a ref I'm on all of my players social media profiles. <br>
I know all of them pretty well, same as I know their characters pretty well.<br>
Indeed it's been shown a number of times in the past that I knew their characters better than they did. Go figure. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I wandered off track there for a moment. For good reason. </p>
<p dir="ltr">See in my game when players start to drift from the characters goals, methods and such I notice it pretty quickly. <br>
Often I'm able to steer them back to where they wanted to be.</p>
<p dir="ltr">They got lost due to what I see as Commitment Issues. <br>
They've got a half dozen or more other larp systems on the go at the same time that they're losing track of what each system is and who each character is.</p>
<p dir="ltr">All the plots start to get jumbled up. <br>
I've had it happen at my game. <br>
A player convinced that I ok'd an action. <br>
I didn't. <br>
They got confused with the other system. </p>
<p dir="ltr">How many systems do you play, perhaps even run.<br>
Ever had that problem? </p>
<p dir="ltr">As a ref in a small system I also notice the lethargy and, well let's call it what it is, the laziness. <br>
Big systems take up a lot of people's time, understandably so.<br>
But when you start turning up to other systems not bothering with the physical requirements, the right kit and costume and even the right mind set. <br>
That right there is not on. </p>
<p dir="ltr">You're not only doing the players who turn up as they should a disservice but you're also telling the gm's that you don't really care about the thing you're at.<br>
And that right there is well out of order. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I've seen a lot of games fold over the years because of the mental rot that sets in when players start to over commit to many systems. </p>
<p dir="ltr">When you start to commit to a few systems at first it might be fine, different settings and rules to learn, maybe even a few players from those other games you attend so that's all cool too.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But have you noticed that you tend to hang out with mostly the same people regardless of the system, that over time a lot of all your different characters start getting the same mannerisms because it's what you're comfortable with.<br>
And besides you're surrounded by mates and they all do it to right? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Your characters in all the systems start to blur together. <br>
You start to lose track of plot. <br>
Plot that other people are involved in.<br>
Plot that others are working hard for and on. <br>
Plot that you can't really be bothered with, because you're thinking about that thing from the other game that was pure bants and well cool cos all the gang was there.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Ever noticed that? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Maybe there are times you can't be bothered because you're shattered from that thing you was doing last week, and hey its not like any one will notice if you're not there. <br>
I mean it's not as if you're part of plot or anything right? Others can coast along with you not there right? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Seriously people. <br>
Stop being such dicks to the rest of the player base. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Ever single thing that you play requires 100%.<br>
If you can't do that then maybe step back from it. <br>
There's a huge chance that your greedy playing style is holding others back from having a better game. <br></p>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-31124397482355752532017-05-18T03:12:00.001-07:002017-05-18T03:22:36.047-07:00Health <p dir="ltr">I know a lot of people who larp. <br>
I myself have larped, it's why I write this blog. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But I've recently been thinking about something that is in most systems where active combat is a thing. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The health pool.<br>
Hit points. <br>
Health. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Call it what you will. The thing that shows when we are alive or dead. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Seeing as most larp is essentially based off of Dungeons and Dragons what many People see is that you are either healthy or you are dead/dying. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Anything above one hp means alive. <br>
Zero usually means unconscious and below zero means dying. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's not really very realistic when you think about it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But do we really want it to be realistic? <br>
We're meant to be hero's aren't we? Everyone knows that Grog the Barbarian can suffer injuries that would fell a normal man...</p>
<p dir="ltr">Is that why then a great many systems are instead going fir the low hit approach? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Who needs to be doing maths whilst fighting a group of villains intent on killing you? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Isn't it easier to say "get hit twice in the location and it's damaged, take more than five damage at all and you're ko'd and have two minutes for the medic to stop you from dying."</p>
<p dir="ltr">But then why bother being heroes. <br>
Or is it more heroic for anyone to die a senseless death from a bad ricochet. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Is realism in health the new heroism? </p>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-53706964825492342092017-04-23T10:49:00.002-07:002017-04-23T10:49:38.391-07:00Magpie LARP<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So today I went off and
done a different system.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is quite big for
me, not because I hate other systems but because I dislike the drama
that goes with other systems.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I love other systems, I
just happen to dislike some of the people that go to them there for I
choose not to go, it solves many problems really.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After all you wouldn't
go to something you know you're going to have a shitty time at,
because when you get home you'd be in a shitty mood and that would
further impact on your ability to play in that system or indeed
various other systems again.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've been interested in
this other system for a little while, low hits, sci-fi, no magic.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Humanity is clawing its
way back up after some bad stuff happened and now various Corps run
things, technology is used but barely understood, a mere gunshot
wound will kill you pretty quickly, and armour isn't as effective as
you'd hope...</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So there you are, a
person doing his bit to survive, using tech he barely understands, as
part of a Merc Group employed by the various corps to do various
jobs.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sometimes it's
infiltrate, steal, exfiltrate, other times it's go in cause a ruckus
to be the diversion for some thing else. The missions in it can be
really varied.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The combat isn't just
rush in sword & board, something that's crept in to so many other
games as to be a joke now, it's pretty tactical. If you don't think
smart you're dead and so are your team mates. If you don't have your
squads backs you're all dead.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No magical battlefield
resurrections. If the medic doesn't get to you in time you're dead.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It forces you to be a
bit more wary, to weigh up the pro's and cons of what the chances of
survival are in the situation.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I really enjoyed that
element to it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's also a “hard
skill” game in many respects, if you can do it then go do it, if
you can't then sorry mate but your character cant.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some people might baulk
at such a thing. Apparently larping has to be all inclusive.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Personally I'm glad
it's a hard skill game because frankly who wants to keep calling a
ref over and saying “uh.. what does my character know...”, its
really immersion breaking.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As a Ref myself I feel
some what sad when players have to keep asking me stuff.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When I played in games
I'd go and research and I'd check with the Refs before the game
started to make sure I wasn't being meta with the system lore.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the game I played
today it was great because I was Crewing whilst my fiancée was
playing so we both saw really different sides of the coin.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
She went in blind
having read the rulebook once and forgot most of it beyond “bad
stuff happened humanity is struggling to get its place back amongst
the stars properly again” stuff.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And that really worked,
her character had no real interaction with aliens prior to the event,
thankfully there wasn't any on the event either so she didn't have to
know about the various aliens (hopefully next time she'll meet up
with some and gets to look at them oddly, because, well they ARE
alien to her..).</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I enjoyed it, she
enjoyed it.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We both recommend it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Magpie</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/222941294826689/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/222941294826689/</a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
How would I describe in
as few words as possible?</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
High Science, no
Fantasy, Merc Tactical Roleplay Encounters.</div>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-40255793321612976292014-06-28T14:04:00.004-07:002014-06-28T14:04:42.214-07:00~What do I do as a Ref?~
<b>~What do I do as a Ref?~</b><br />
<br />
<br />
It's fair to say that we all come to this lovely little hobby of
ours to have fun, we all want to be rewarded for investing our time
and money, not to mention our emotions.<br />
And more often than not we're well rewarded for our efforts, we
clap fellow players on the back, laugh and joke and chat on facebook
and forums, develop real friendships out of our fun little hobby.<br />
<br />
<br />
But what about those folks who run it?
<br />
How often does a player say “cheers for that, I had a blast,
fancy coming for a pint after the game?”.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sadly not as often as it could or should happen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~It's a Hard Life~</b><br />
Being a Ref, Story Teller, Games Master, Dungeon Master or what
ever you happen to call them can sometimes be a bit lonely.
<br />
Ours are not the praises sung online, we're really nothing more
than something in place to help the Players have all the fun.<br />
<br />
<br />
Which can be very annoying to say the least.<br />
How many hours do you think a Ref (for sake of simplicity we'll
use just this word) spends crafting the epic adventure you've just
been on?<br />
<br />
<br />
There are those who can off the top of their heads run a Linear
game, a simple one shot thing which doesn't connect to the major
world plot in any way other than it exists in the game world as a
whole.<br />
And bravo to them, I truly envy that sort of Ref for how easy they
have it.<br />
<br />
<br />
For the sort of games where there is a constantly evolving story
however a Ref needs to plot and plan for a long lot of hours.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~And Example~</b><br />
As an example i'll describe what I do for Camarilla Invictus.<br />
It has a healthy player base of around 30 people, sometimes lower
and sometimes higher.<br />
I run just 11 games a year, once a month with December being the
exception because I understand that people need time to shop, drink,
eat and be merry at work parties..<br />
<br />
<br />
So, 11 games doesnt sound like a lot does it, how hard can it be
to have 20-30 people in a room playing vampires...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 1: Player Submitted Actions~</b><br />
After each individual game I receive a 2-3 page document from each
player detailing what they will be doing in between games, this is
known in our system as a Downtime. During a Downtime a player
advances personal plots, goes hunting for blood (harder than you'd
think in this day and age..) and also advances the over all Game Plot
which affects the whole setting.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, each month I have to read 40-90 pages of info from players. I
normally allow them 7-10 days to send them in to me so I have time to
read them all and process them.<br />
<br />
<br />
Once i've received a Downtime I have to read it over, usually a
couple of times, and I often have to IM a few players back with
queries about some of their actions (they're currently allowed up to
10 distinct actions) and what skills or abilities they are using.
<br />
We have a specific format for Downtime Submission which some
players keep forgetting to use, which makes reading them even longer
and throws up more questions than it really should.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 2: Player Downtime Replies~</b><br />
Once i've read all the Downtime submissions I then have to do a
reply for each and every one of them, so I have to reply to 20-30 2-3
page documents, which then become a 3-6 page reply per person,
depending on how well they wrote their downtime actions and whether
some of their actions need little more than a stamp of approval on
them as they are just confirming some things they done during the
Live Action part of the game.
<br />
<br />
<br />
After i've replied to each and every document I then have to
re-write some of them because Player 1's actions may effect Player
7's actions, which in turn means that Player 3 may have some actions
which now Don't work how they should because of other players..<br />
<br />
<br />
After i've cross referenced each of the Downtime replies I then
double check them for any inconsistencies (and yet they still creep
in some how..).<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, all that sounds pretty straight forward yes? I just reply to
every ones Downtimes and thats it job done!<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh if only...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 3: Paperwork & Spreadsheets~</b><br />
Once i've replied to all of the Downtimes, figured out how
successful the actions were and whether there has been any reward,
gains and losses I then have to go through each of the replies once
more, and update a half dozen spread sheets which record what
Influences people have, how much XP they have and they have spent,
whether a local Influence Resource is now maxed or burned out which
caused further plots and problems for the players and several other
things besides.
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is perhaps the easiest part of the process, after all i'm
just combing through data already presented to me and picking out
what changes need to be made to the spreadsheets which define the
world and whether there are things I need to add to the players
character sheets..
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 4: Rumours~</b><br />
After the Downtimes & Spreadsheets I then have to comb through
each of them and pull out tidbits of information which other
characters may hear about, this tidbits of information in CI are
known as Rumours, and each player gains a set amount based on what
Influences they hold over the mortal world.
<br />
With our player base being what it is and the diverse levels of
Influences each character holds I sometimes have to generate a
further 50-60 pages of rumours.<br />
<br />I try to make all the Rumours different for every player,
which is quite hard when you think about it, but thankfully i'm able
to reword some of the Rumours a little differently, give one
character a rumour about a drug dealer they know and another player a
rumour about a drug dealer seen in their area and a third player a
rumour about some one who was beaten up a local druggie for debts..
Rumours in our game are used like a form of currency, players can
trade them with each other so that they can eventually piece together
some part of the World Plot and work with it, against it or totally
ignore it if they wish to do so..<br />
<br />
<br />
However because CI is set in a darker version of our own world and
times I also comb the local press for interesting news stories and
from time to time work them in to the game as well, that way it helps
to ground the characters in to the same reality as the players
themselves live in.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 5: Damage Control (aka Spreadsheets pt2)~</b><br />
This is little more than a quick double check that I have all the
right info in the right place, and that sheets are updated which
serves as a nice segue in to the penultimate part of the process.<br />
That said, every month some things do still slip through the net,
a player may not of had their new skill recorded or if they've lost
an Influence they may not have had it recorded on the relevant
spreadsheet..<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 6: Keeping the World Turning...~</b><br />
Once all the Downtimes are done, the Rumours created I then have
to open up some other documents on the computer and update the world
as a whole.
<br />
I keep tabs of things done, NPC's interacted with, plots generated
by players which effect the world and world things which effect the
players.<br />
<br />
<br />
Camarilla Invictus is an evolving world, every action has a
reaction in effect.<br />
No matter how small an action might be there will always be some
form of reward or consequence.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Stage 7: Informing the Players~</b><br />
Once all the downtimes are read & replied to, the rumours
generated and the world edited so it doesn't blow up I then spend an
evening informing the players the results of their actions.<br />
<br />
<br />
Through out every stage of the process i'm also always available
for the players to contact me, which can sometimes slow up the whole
process if one or two players insist on asking the same question a
dozen different ways trying to get plot leaks from me or try and
metagame with out being seen to metagame.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Mistakes..~</b><br />
Sadly now and then mistakes or errors crop up, usually from where
i've been chatting to players, lost my place in the process or
forgotten to go back and update a highlighted bit of info..<br />
<br />
<br />
Thankfully such mistakes are few and far between, usually one or
two players contact me to say “Heya XYZ isn’t on my sheet... any
reason why...” and i'm always upfront and honest with them, and
they almost always have the updated information within the next hour
(though usually within the next 10 minutes.. because I take pride in
what I do)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Why Do It?~</b><br />
It is a lot of work, and CI is a very cheap game, we only ask for
a small amount of money, either to cover the location costs or to
build up a little bit of a kitty so we can use a bigger & better
location with less over all cost to the players as a whole.<br />
It can be a full time job with all the hours I put in to it at the
end of the day, but I don't earn a wage for what I do, if I were to
charge players for the time I spend keeping the world running i'd
charge then CI would cost each player £10-£15 per game they attend.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thankfully I'm blessed with a very patient partner who acts as my
A-Ref and takes some of the work load off of me, she often tends to
the Spreadsheets helps with the Rumours whilst I deal with the rest
of the workload for the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
It is a lot of hard work but I find it very rewarding to do.
<br />
I love being able to shock and surprise players, give them what
they think they want and turn it in to something monstrous which they
talk about for months after, even now in 2014 players talk about
things that happened in 2012, some even talk about what happened in
2008 in whispers of fear and awe.<br />
<br />
<br />
It makes me swell with pride after every game, seeing the look on
their faces when they realise what's happening in the game around
them and knowing that I personally am having that effect on them with
what I throw in to the game.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<b>
</b><b>~Dark Times...~</b><br />
However, there are times when I want to walk away from it all.<br />
A player takes an action done against them by another player in
game and turns round and blames it all on me, after all i'm the guy
that writes the replies to the Downtimes..<br />
<br />
<br />
We've had players leave the game in the past and try to discredit
us, every system has that in all honesty, but as we're a Small game
and group many of us become good mates and it hurts to hear mates say
such things.<br />
<br />
<br />
There are times when several players may complain about another
players Out of Character Actions, and as a Ref I have to be the
person that tells them off, and once in a rare whilst I have to ask
players to leave the game because of the massively disruptive
influence they are having on the game as a whole.<br />
<br />
<br />
Being the Ref of a game isn't all fun and sunshine, you can lose
players who were mates because of how things turn out in game for
them, you can gain players who make characters but then never turn up
despite all the promises under the sun of “i'll be there next
game...”.<br />
<br />
<br />
It can be a thankless thing to run a game, but when one player in
the game says “thanks” that's all I really ask for.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Other Systems~</b><br />
So, i've outlined what it is I do for Camarilla Invictus, which
has only myself and an A-Ref.<br />
Other systems use a lot more Refs for all kinds of things.
<br />
Some small systems, with a similar player base size as CI have a
larger number of Refs, each overseeing some aspect of the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
Harlow by Night for example has a Rules Ref, an A-Ref, a Boons Ref
and a Rumours Ref, all of which perform a small selection of duties.<br />
Labyrinthe has a Ref and an A-Ref for each 'Dungeon' they run, a
Games System Manager who over sees the Rules adjudications, a Ref for
their Online/PBM setting (Heroes of the Empire, aka HotE) and one who
oversees something known as “Yellow Papers” where players can
request new abilities for a small fee. They also have Refs that over
see a selection of different Campaigns.
<br />
Empire, Odyssey and the like all use a Team of Refs who keep the
world turning, some focus on character creation, others only on Crew.<br />
Wasteland also operates a small team of Refs who handle everything
in a similar manner as I do for CI, however they also have people who
source props or make them from scratch, something i've recently
ventured in to myself..<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Refs are the behind the scene people, often over looked and
forgotten.<br />
They're they guys and girls who strive to make sure that everyone
has as much fun as possible regardless of the length of the events
being run.<br />
<br />
<br />
The work they do is 90% unseen by players, the paperwork, the data
sifting, the props sourcing and building, the event writing itself
(Linears don't write themselves..), the rewriting of plots when
specific players are unable to attend or the sudden mad dash to get
crew for an event..<br />
<br />
<br />
It's tough to be a Ref it really is, but it's rewarding if you can
pull it off.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So, after the next event you go to, make sure you offer a little
thank you to the fine folks that run the game, your thanks will go a
long way!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Written by Nick Sands, who's given up trying to find the Perfect
Battenburg and has decided to hunt for the Legendary Tiramisu of
Doom...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-29206362792746866212014-06-28T14:01:00.006-07:002014-06-28T14:01:58.867-07:00~Does size matter?~
<b>~Does size matter?~</b><br />
<br />
<br />
There are many genres of games for us all to try out and enjoy,
everything from glorious mass battles to zombie hunting in old army
camps and more besides.
<br />
<br />
<br />
One thing you should always take in to consideration however is
the size of the game.<br />
How big is its player base?<br />
<br />
<br />
Why so I hear you ask, well really at the end of the day not
everyone is suited for the very big games where you have hundreds or
thousands of people all playing at the same time, just as not
everyone is suited to the smaller games, where the player base is
little more than say twenty or thirty at a push.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Bigger is Better~</b><br />
There are some who claim that it's only the big games that are
worth going to, after all they're bigger, which means more will be
going on, more plot, more drinking, more fighting, more chance to
back stab another character and make off with all their loot.<br />
<br />
<br />
For some the “national” sized games, such as Empire or Odyssey
are the only thing they enjoy.<br />
They get to be lost in all that rich lore, another face in the sea
of faces all partaking of their hobby.<br />
<br />
<br />
After all, if so many people go to the game of that size it must
be the best thing since sliced bread yes?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Good things come in small packages~</b><br />
On the flip side of that however are those who feel lost at the
big games, and they find that they're more in their element at the
smaller games, they feel they can connect to the plot a lot more, or
have more of a chance to shine if there are less players present.<br />
<br />
<br />
A small game often has less personal rivalries in it, they can be
very welcoming and always happy to meet & greet new players to
their small group.
<br />
<br />
<br />
A small game may be small simply because of its geographic
location, after all players may only be willing to travel so far to
play a game of a specific genre.<br />
It may be small purely because it was designed that way, and that
if it grows to much it would become something the people running it
no longer recognise or wish to have connection to.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In today’s society however it cannot be said that a game is
small due to its advertising, given the way social media works and
word of mouth trickles info out there is always a way to get the word
out about the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~It's not the size that matters~</b><br />
One thing games of any size has in common are its players.<br />
Those staunch supporters of the system, who love the lore and the
rules regardless of how simple or how complex they are.<br />
There's something that draws those players to that game and keeps
them hooked.<br />
<br />
<br />
They go out of their way to never miss a game, and even trudge
along in the worst of weather and even when ill.. (Man Flu is nothing
compared to Larpers Flu!).
<br />
<br />
<br />
Something else every genre & system has is its haters.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~H8rs gonna h8!~</b><br />
Sadly, as the internet is fond of reminding us is that haters are
gonna hate.
<br />
It doesn't matter how good your game is they will find something
to complain about.<br />
The worst of them are the ones who have never played the game in
question and pour on scorn like there’s no tomorrow, and when
questioned about it they will always have an anecdote to hand on
stuff they'd Heard, but never seen for themselves, which they latch
on to and try to ridicule it as much as possible, and before long
they'll turn round and say “we'll I’m only giving you my opinion
on it if you don't like it don't listen..”.<br />
<br />
<br />
Orcs in one system may be green, monosyllabic, big and dumb,
whilst in another system they may be based on feudal Japan, deeply
honourable and well versed in poetry and arts.<br />
A hater will find something to complain about either one of those
types of orcs..<br />
“Oh, yeah typical orcs, just hit stuff and go 'ug smash'” and
“Really? Orcs with katanas... their hands are to big to make the
armour, they can't lace it up, next you'll be telling me they have a
slave race they treat well....” are two such comments I’ve seen
online over the years about differing styles of orcs..<br />
<br />
<br />
No matter what we do in life there will always be room for
improvement and feedback becomes criticism and not the healthy kind.
It starts to fester and before long some one could be ridiculing some
aspect of a game they love playing just because they've been dealt
some kind of loss in game recently.
<br />
<br />
<br />
No matter the game size or genre there will always be those who
just want to bitch and whine about the system.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you look at the various facebook groups and forums for the Big
Games you'll find plenty of people on there complaining about them
for one reason or another.
<br />
However, when you look at the small groups you almost never find
that sort of behaviour.
<br />
<br />
<br />
Smaller groups tend to be a lot more close-knit, its a different
feeling of camaraderie, and no less valid than that at the big games
mind you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Choosing the right size~</b><br />
It can often be hard to know what sort of group size you work best
in, and its often not until you try both sorts that you learn what
lets you have the most fun.
<br />
There are those who strictly enjoy the smaller groups when it
comes to fantasy games as there is more of a sense of accomplishment
when they win the day.<br />
Like wise there are those who feel that being in a small group is
to restrictive and they can't play to all their strengths as a person
let alone a character.<br />
<br />
<br />
Neither is one is right and neither one is wrong.<br />
It really is a case of different strokes for different folks and
it's not until you've had ago that you can really say what’s more
fun.<br />
<br />
<br />
After all, isn't it all about having a fun day (or weekend if
that's your thing) and having some wonderful memories of the game you
played.<br />
And if the Haters are getting to you, put them on block online or
kill them IC. If you're lucky they might just leave and make everyone
happier that way!<br />
<br />
<br />
Written by Nick Sands, Ref of the nicely sized Camarilla Invictus
game, who may have found a good portion of Battenburg and a mug which
holds just the right amount of Tea...<br />
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-39373399009626210542014-06-28T14:00:00.005-07:002014-06-28T14:00:53.282-07:00~Fun, Risk, Failure & Reward~
<b>~Fun, Risk, Failure & Reward~</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Not to long ago (volume/edition) I spoke about character death and
retiring characters who've had a lengthy play time.
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is some what of a follow up to that article in a side step
fandango kind of way..<br />
<br />
<br />
There comes a time when the character we're playing takes on a
life of their own, and you become heavily invested in them,
emotionally and very possibly financially as well if you've bought a
lot of kit for them which wouldn't suit another character.
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is great, it means you managed to reach that rare roleplay
spiritual plateau where you have become one with what you have
created.<br />
And then some big monster comes along and snuffles them up with
out even bothering to season or add some gravy. How inconsiderate of
that monster right?<br />
Don't they know you scoured the internet for The Perfect Weapon,
don't they know that you spent weeks sorting through charity shops,
jumble sales and bootfairs for that perfect bit of clothing every one
associates with your character?
<br />
<br />
<br />
It's enough to make you cry! You died! Oh no! So unfair!<br />
<br />
<br />
~Wind your neck in buddy.~<br />
You want to play a game where there's no risk of failure or death?
<br />
Go play some computer game in god mode then, go on, shoo, get out
of here..<br />
I hear that quite a few MMO have lots of grey critters you can
spend all day spam killing for fun!<br />
<br />
<br />
Roleplaying & Larp are all about risk!<br />
<br />
<br />
What good is it if you're never challenged?<br />
What do you learn about yourself if you don't have to examine
those grey areas you always ignore?<br />
That comfort zone you spend all your time in is all well and good
but as a person and a character you don't grow in any way at all
other than notching up some XP and adding some more skills to your
character sheet!
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Rule 1: It's all about having fun!~</b><br />
Yes but who's fun?<br />
Yours most certainly, but what about everyone else in the game,
aren't they allowed to have fun as well?<br />
What about the fine folks that run the games for you? Are they
doing it just to provide a service for you and not allowed to have
any fun of their own?<br />
<br />
<br />
Never forget you're not the only one playing the game.
<br />
Don't try and bully other players in allowing you to “win” all
the time, you're there to play with and against them.
<br />
No one likes bullies, and you can soon find yourself being
ostracised or even being asked to leave the system by the folks that
run it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Failure can be more fun than Success~</b><br />
What better opportunity to prove your (and your characters) sense
of worth than by winning against all odds. That moment when you can
fist pump the air after some how managing to survive a session
despite being low on health, mana & arrows (or other system
specific measurements) is truly a wonderful thing.<br />
It lends you an air of bragging rights, you get to have a bit of
an in game Rep, a legend in your own lifetime!<br />
Until of course some one else comes along and does a similar sort
of thing and you're forgotten just like last fridays newspaper which
doesn't even make it in to the chippy to wrap up a nice bit of cod &
chips..<br />
<br />
<br />
Playing a character who doesn't go out of their way to risk
themselves and the things they hold dear is a bit of a lame duck.
After all, why are you playing the game if there's no chance of
losing something, be it your life, your fathers sword or the
multinational corporation you built up from scratch?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~I Win!?~</b><br />
What makes a Win situation in a game though?
<br />
Is it surviving week to week, month to month year to year?
<br />
Does your game have specific quests which are there to be done to
gain bonus XP or other nifty rewards?
<br />
Do you set yourself some goals which are not related to the games
main plot but follow a personal story arc instead?
<br />
Is your game all about co-operation or is there plenty of PvP risk
involved with the things you might want to do?<br />
<br />
<br />
Sometimes it's obvious what equates to a win in a game: the
princess is saved, the evil warlord and his army are defeated, the
wicked witch's curse has been broken.<br />
<br />
<br />
What about the things which in the short term look like a win but
turn out a few months later to actually be a lose?
<br />
The princess you saved is actually a doppelgänger who's now
ruining the kingdom.. Yay! You helped destroy a kingdom!<br />
The evil warlord was actually fighting to prove the King is a
dragon in disguise who ate all of the royal family.. Well done, you
just became a tasty dragon snack!<br />
That wicked witch you dropped a house on had a sister who's a lot
more powerful and you've just made it personal for her.. Better
escape to some other plane of reality because there's nothing you can
do to stop the witch, she's just to powerful and has no known
weaknesses!
<br />
<br />
<br />
Do you feel a bit cheated, after all you worked so hard to “Win”
before and that's been snatched away from under your nose!<br />
<br />
<br />
In some games there are no clear Win situations, all you can do is
hold back the Lose situations.
<br />
But what if the point of the game isn't to win, but to struggle,
to lose friends and allies along the way, to come under suspicion
from others?<br />
Wouldn't that be fun!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>~Turn that frown upside down~</b><br />
So, you're battered, broken and you've lost all your friends and
allies, you're a wanted person and the world is now against you.<br />
Great!<br />
Now its time to really start playing the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
You have to beg, steal and borrow, do things that the previous
shining knight you once were would have found despicable and killed
people for. You're having to learn as a player and a character where
the oh so very blurred lines are in society, what makes a man become
a criminal or the underdog?
<br />
You're stepping outside your comfort zone, and you know what
that's the best thing ever.<br />
That's where you can learn the most, that's where you get to find
out who your character really is and just what they'd do to win no
matter the costs...<br />
<br />
<br />
Sometimes it's easy to get attached to a character because
everything they do is golden and smells of roses, they never fail a
skill check, everyone loves them and they know all the best
restaurants in town and all the best clubs where all the girls are
pretty.<br />
In all honesty that's not a game where you learn anything, it's
just fantasy and wish fulfilment and that can be really boring for
other people to interact with.<br />
<br />
<br />
Make sure your games are fun for you and those you interact with.<br />
<br />
<br />
Fun doesn't mean God Mode Easy...<br />
<br />
<br />
Written by Nick Sands, ST of Camarilla Invictus, who's on a holy
quest to find the sacred Battenburg of Perfection and the Ever Full
Mug O Tea!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-11947569639961554182014-04-04T11:56:00.000-07:002014-04-04T11:56:12.936-07:00So, looks like the Printed Magazine will go the way of the Dodo...In this day and age a large amount of people within the Larp and gaming community arrange most things online, and i for one am very surprised that Seaxe did not embrace the digital format.<br /><br />That said, it means i can publish my other articles now, which i'll do one a week starting from Monday Morning.<br />Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-12145740902137744742014-04-01T15:13:00.001-07:002014-04-02T13:42:24.059-07:00Well well well...Had less published than i thought but i've got loads more pending publishing (if they get approved after a rather snotty email to the magazine..).<br /><br />If none of my others are to be published then i'll simply post them on here :) <br /><br />It's all Larp or Roleplay related stuff so it may not be everyones cup of tea..Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-17461371819265808502014-04-01T15:06:00.000-07:002014-04-02T13:35:31.040-07:00Volume 2, Issue 3: Types of Larp, Son of Sam (one trick pony players)Types of Larp: Pages 64-65<br />
<br />
<u><b>Types of larp: more than meets the eye</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
There was a time when Larp pretty much just meant “a bunch of
folks in a field with boffers”.<br />
Fantasy larp at its most basic, it didn't take to long for spells
to be made, the good old fireball, lightning bolt and healing sort of
spells.<br />
<br />
<br />
Since those days however the realm of Larp has dramatically
changed.<br />
No longer mere fantasy, but as groups started making their own
systems worlds and genres became as diverse as the players
themselves.<br />
<br />
<br />
Historic<br />
There are some who feel that the Re-enactment scene is just a bit
to structured and rail roaded, so instead they devised rules to allow
themselves to play inside the world we know, during a key historic
period and play out scenarios to see what would of happened if a
slightly different tactic was used. After all, what would of happened
in Hitler didn't try to invade poland but instead sent a small crack
team of experts to remove the infrastructure of the country, who
knows how differently the world would of ended up!
<br />
<br />
<br />
Fantasy<br />
Perhaps the single largest concentration of the larp community
fills the Fantasy section. There are quite frankly a staggering
number of systems and games being run in the UK alone that are
predominantly and quite clearly within the fantasy bracket.
<br />
Whilst they may not all have elves, dwarves and orcs they all
follow a general theme.<br />
<br />
<br />
That said, even within the Fantasy sector of the hobby there is a
large degree of different genres...<br />
<br />
<br />
;High<br />
High Fantasy is what perhaps the large majority of games may count
as. There are lots of different races, a really good selection of
classes and it has a large number of magic user types, from the wise
cleric, the sagacious mage, the charming bard or the pious paladin or
vile necromancer, demonologist and unholy champions.<br />
High fantasy is what the greatest number of larpers known if only
because they come in to the hobby via tabletop gaming, and high
fantasy can easily be identified with such games as Dungeons &
Dragons, Pathfinder or even Warhammer.<br />
<br />
<br />
What sets a High Fantasy game apart from other games is the sheer
abundance of magic, weird and wonderful creatures stalking the land,
potions to replenish ones health or even the ability to hop from one
plane of existence to another with it almost being un-noteworthy.
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Low<br />
Low Fantasy games however tend to have far less magic available to
the players. Magic may require lengthy rituals to enact, strange
creatures may only stalk the land in myth, and even those myths have
a basis in the more mundane world.
<br />
Low Fantasy games game have a smaller selection of unusual races
available to play, with more focus on different tribes of humans
filling many of the niches other High Fantasy races may usually
occupy.
<br />
After all, why have wood elves when you can have a tribe of humans
who settled in the forests that fill the lands, and have over time
become expert trackers, hunters and who happen to be just ever so
slightly better with a bow than the humans who live in cities..<br />
<br />
<br />
Low Fantasy games also fit the Fest style of games as many Low
Fantasy games tend to be quite deadly, less about mass combat and
more about politics and small skirmishes where you never know if you
really will be going home on your shield or horrendously maimed but
with a glorious tale to tell round the fireplace that evening!<br />
<br />
<br />
;Alternative Historic<br />
Falling between the Fantasy and Historic border are the
Alternative History games.
<br />
The world is pretty much as we know it, but magic does exist,
strange things do stalk the land, and a few key differences are in
the time line of history.<br /><br />Whilst not always confined to the
Fantasy era the style does lend itself wonderfully to the genre as a
whole.
<br />
<br />
<br />
After all, what if the Viking Jarls had a Stormcaller or Weather
witch at their command? Perhaps the reason Winston Churchill was so
successful was because he launched a series of occult forces against
the Axis forces (which if you know anything about history you'll know
to be actually true, but what if they could throw lightning bolts,
summon back the soldiers slain on the battlefield to keep fighting
and so on..)<br />
<br />
<br />
Modern<br />
Many modern games tend to be considered more along the lines of a
Social Larp, more about personal agendas and less about running round
the woods with a nerfgun and foam sword.<br />
That said, like the Fantasy genre there are a large number of
different types of Modern games.<br />
<br />
<br />
By the term “Modern” we dont strictly mean the 21<sup>st</sup>
century, anything really from Victorian era onwards could count as a
modern larp. Modern era based larps are significantly easier to find
props, costumes and character concepts for, after all a quick trip to
a charity shop or maybe a flea market and you can net a lot of good
stuff for all sorts of games!
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Horror<br />
Horror based larps are great, they encompass a little bit of
Investigation and sometimes a little bit of politics or even combat.
<br />
Combat in Horror based games tends to be quite onesided,
especially if you're just a regular human being going up against
elder gods and ageless things that live in cities made from
impossible geometries..<br />
<br />
<br />
Horror based games tend to have a nifty little mechanic where it's
possible for your character to lose their sanity from coming up
against things that should not be, or from reading mystical tomes
which impart a terrible knowledge and shatter the mental barriers
against all the things we're told don't exist.<br />
<br />
<br />
Within the Horror Genre are also the World of Darkness games,
where you can play a Vampire, Shapeshifter, Mage, Mummy, Ghost or
Fae. All of which have their own agendas to change or control the
world around them. And whilst these games are also very political
they are always based in the core theme of Personal Horror.
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Armed forces<br />
There are those who like to play soldier, and whilst the genre can
fit in anywhere it tends to be a Modern or Futuristic game where this
character concept really comes in to its own.
<br />
You could get missions any where from invade the tank factory and
steal the blue prints through to assassinate a major figurehead
person (often based heavily on a known historical figure to be better
able to give reason as to why your C.O want them dead).<br />
<br />
<br />
Armed Forces games also encompass the very niche Spy setting,
where espionage is the order of the day, indeed you may be flung in
to a military group as the spy with your own objectives, or you could
be the next 007..<br />
<br />
<br />
Armed Forces based games also tend to use real paramillitary
uniforms, a strict rank system and Airsoft weapons in place of the
standard foam latex weapons.
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Noir<br />
A Noir game is a rather unusual style of modern game. It's more of
a specific setting that it is a game type. Set around the 1930's,
with some defining substance that has been embargoed by the
Government or the Crown, with gangsters, molls, hitmen and dodgy
dealers of rumours being the chief style of character that is played.
<br />
Noir games tend to fit in to the Horror genre very well, there
isn't lots of technology that allows you to instantly solve a clue,
science and the scientific process is some what long winded and
mankind is just that bit more reluctant to believe in certain facts
than they do in our modern day and age.
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Steampunk, Dieselpunk & Victorian Futurist<br />
Steampunk (and associated genres) tend to be quite fast paced,
high on action, romance and more importantly Tea!<br />
Strange things exists like walking tanks, dirigibles, machines
that can tunnel to the center of the earth and even crude (by
Cyberpunk standards) body replacements, gatling guns for an arm, or a
steam driven vibrating sword inplace of a hand.<br />
<br />
<br />
For many people who enjoy this style of game it's more about the
look than anything else.<br />The iconic tophat with some goggles on
them, ladies in leather jodhpurs and a corset with a parasol.
<br />
Indeed, it's easy to source outfits for, a well cut old suit, a
tophat, a keyfob watch and cogs on everything!
<br />
You even need cogs on the cogs trust me!
<br />
<br />
<br />
Steampunk is as much a lifestyle as the Gothic, Burlesque or Punk
movement.<br />
<br />
<br />
Investigative<br />
Games based heavily in Investigation fit well in to many
catagories, and indeed a large number of systems may host an
Investigation based game as a prelude to other events that year,
after all if you don't plan something well then who knows just how it
may mess up..<br />
<br />
<br />
Zombie<br />
Zombie games these days are big business. Hollywood has done a
lot in the last 10 years to help out. From the Resident Evil series
through to shows like Walking Dead.
<br />
Zombie games, like many other genres, fit in to many different
settings as a whole.
<br />
<br />
<br />
They can run as short as just a couple of hours (get through the
woods and escape the zombies) through to a few days (you wake up and
the world as you know it has gone to hell).<br />
For many the Zombie game is about over coming that personal horror
of “what if I got infected, what if my best friend or partner was
infected, could I do what it takes to survive, do I have what it
takes to survive in that sort of world.” and during the game you
have a lot of hard choices to make. Ammo can become scarce, and you
really don't want to get all up close and personal with a zombie..<br />
<br />
<br />
For many the thrill of the game comes from being totally
outnumbered, under prepared and with just not enough resources as
might really want to have.<br />
<br />
<br />
Post Apocalyptic<br />
Another very good style of game, the Post Apocalyptic games tend
to take their cue from the popular Fallout and Borderlands computer
games.
<br />
<br />
<br />
Its however many years after humanity managed to press the big red
button and nuke itself.
<br />
You play the survivors and descendants of that terrible time. You
are constantly struggling to survive. Finding food, medicines and
clean drinking water is a large part of the game. The land is filled
with radioactive hotspots, where bizarre mutants roam, and other
groups of people,like yourself who just want to survive.<br />
<br />
<br />
Usually a Post Apocalyptic game is based around the more
unmentionable (and least desirable some might say) sorts of people.
Those who don't have a problem with killing, maybe some one who had a
large family and now is a very good butcher and never seems to be
with out some meat in the skillet. Traders also tend to thrive in
these games, you never know what they'll have on them, perhaps they
have exactly what you need or maybe it's all just junk. And they can
often be about ensuring your encampment has enough to survive for
just that bit longer and screw everyone else!<br />
<br />
<br />
Sci-Fi<br />
Unlike Fantasy there are not as many sci-fi settings in existance.
A few notable ones are based heavily on tv shows or films, such as
Stargate or the wonderful anime Ghost in the Shell.
<br />
They can be pretty easy to source props for and tend to fall in to
the Armed Forces style of game play.
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Cyberpunk<br />
Cyberpunk games are set just a short distance in the future.
You're essentially a group of hired hitmen and problem solvers. Your
bodies are not entirely flesh however, you may have bigger and better
limbs, be able to go online with but a thought, or have a dozen
deadly weapons hidden about your body. At the most extreme you may
even just be a brain encased in a fully robotic body..
<br />
They lend themselves heavily to the Goth & Punk milieu, taking
a lot of their look and feel of a dystopian world where large
companies control every thing and you're all that stands between the
common man and the march of so called progress..
<br />
<br />
<br />
These games are often about the struggle between the cold logic of
machines and the emotions both warring inside the same body.
<br />
<br />
<br />
;Hard Science<br />
Hard Science games are similar to Modern games, however the
creators go to exacting lengths to ensure the game is as deadly as
real life is.
<br />
Theres no holding your breath as you jump from an airlock in a
spaceship and land in another one a hundred meters away. If
decompression doesn't kill you the cold will, as might micro meteors
or any number of other things.
<br />
Hard Science games tend to be about Exploration, discovering a new
planet and going there to find out what its like.
<br />
<br />
<br />
There are very few settings that are Hard Science within the UK,
especially when compared to the other game types.<br />
<br />
<br />
;Far Future<br />
Far Future games can often end up looking like a Fantasy game,
strange alien races, unusual weapons, people who can kill with just a
look or spit arcs of lightning from their fingers.
<br />
<br />
<br />
What distinguishes a Fantasy game from a Far Future game is quite
hard to pinpoint.<br />
Fantasy games tend to be set on one planet, where the majority of
the races all dwell where as Far Future games tend to be galaxy
spanning and use a lot more ranged weapons.<br />
<br />
<br />
Other than that, at first glance they can look pretty much the
same and its really just the background that distinguishes them as
separate things.
<br />
<br />
<br />
Jeep/Nord<br />
Still very new in the UK is what could best be described as an
emotional theatre game.<br />
You are given a role, lots of hints and tips on how to act, but
there are no real “Rules”.<br />
They do not play like traditional games and to be honest a large
number of people liken them to little more than group therapy
sessions.
<br />
<br />
<br />
In a Jeep/Nordic Larp you come pretty much face to face with your
fears. Theres no letting up, no getting away from it. <br />For example
one Jeep i've seen spoken about online quite a bit was as follows:<br />
It's the 80's, you're a hard partier, you do drugs and you're in
the gay scene. <br />One of your friends becomes HIV positive,
unknowingly they spread it around, and they soon develop full blown
aids.<br />
You basically play a person at a party getting drunk and having
unprotected sex.<br />
Theres a brief time jump of 5-10 years, many of your friends now
have HIV or Aids, and so do you.<br />
For this part of the game you have to act like you're slowly dying
and you know theres nothing you can do about it.<br />
By the end of the game you may die, or you may not.
<br />
You may have already died in the first act of the game and thats
it, game over for you..<br />
<br />
<br />
Nord larps of this sort are still regarded with much scepticism
within the UK and within the online larp community.
<br />
Whilst there are those who would love to try this sort of
interactive theater there are a greater number who see it as little
more than emotional torture and could cause some potential damage to
those who're not stable enough to handle being emotionally broken
down.<br />
There are those who have done them and claim them to be incredibly
cathartic, allowing them to see the world through truly different
eyes.
<br />
<br />
<br />
~~<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And whilst this list is not extensive it should give you an idea
of the sort of game styles out there that you may have never
considered before, and who knows you might like to go and try some..<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Son of Sam (one trick pony players): Pages72-73<br />
Ok, this one was a massive balls up of royal proportions!<br />
They'd put in some one else's article which had been published the month before but with MY title..<br />
<br />
Here's what it Should have looked like...<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Son of Sam: 1 trick pony players</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
As some one
who's been gaming for a good 25+ years i've come across a dearth of
players, good ones, bad ones, ones who make you face palm so hard
you're certain you hit the neighbour as well and so forth.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
One sort of
player i've always felt rather sorry for are those who play just one
thing over and over again with little to no variation in the theme at
all.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
I've seen them
in all sorts of places, tabletop games, wargames and especially at
larp events.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<u>The dreaded Son of Sam player!</u></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
What is a Son
of Sam player I hear you ask? Well, at the core they're some one who
plays one character no matter what system they are playing.<br />They
try to keep it as close to the same background, the same class and
same race.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
So a pretty
typical SoS player might always play the half orc fighter who doesn’t
like metal armour and always fights with two stone axes.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Or they may
always be the son of a wealthy noble who was dispossessed of their
title and deeds and is now fighting to get what’s theirs back
regardless of what system they play in (i've personally seen that one
done by one player in a AD&D game, a DnD game, a Shadowrun game,
a Battletech game, a Starwars game and even in 3 different MMO's. All
had the same name, the same rough background and the same likes &
dislikes.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
I decided to
ask the player about this little foible of theirs and they said they
had never noticed it before, they just liked the concept and just
wanted to play that.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Now theres
absolutely nothing wrong with that in the slightest really, after all
if the players having fun who's to stop him and pull him up on it?</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
After a few
more games however the player began to not enjoy it anymore and asked
me what to do about it.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
I asked him why
he was no longer enjoying it, his reply was pretty much “it's all
i've ever played and it's all a bit routine now, I just didn't know
it until you said about it”.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
I gave what I
thought to be fair advice: play what you know but with a dramatic
twist on it.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Still play a
dispossessed noble but instead of the chatty and charismatic
character, play one who's sullen, angry at what happened and out for
revenge, so much so they took up the sword and shield so they might
be better able to turn the tide on the people who caused their
downfall.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
The player took
that advice to heart, and with the next character they made they
recalled what I said, and since then they've gone on to have a whole
lot more fun again and have left the same old concept long behind
them, no longer are they a dispossessed noble, but now they're a
cunning bard, sowing seeds of rebellion, a jedi with a secret love, a
troll shaman who sees mankind as the biggest threat to his beloved
swamp and an ace WWII fighter pilot who came from very humble
beginnings!
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<u>How Convenient!</u></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
One thing
that's always really irked me as a GM and a Player is when some one
dies in a game, goes off to make a new character, and some how all
the magic items and armour the last character had is just so very
conveniently perfect for the new one.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
“Whats that,
the plus 5 holy avenger our last paladin had and we're keeping to
take back his church is exactly what you've been questing for.. here
have it, the dead guy wont want it will they...” *Shudder</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Players and
GM's who allow that sort of behaviour from fellow players need a
sharp slap round the back of the head. It really is lazy and adds
nothing to the group at all, it doesn't change the dynamics of the
party, it doesn't allow for old unsolvable challenges to suddenly be
solvable, it doesn't allow for growth or real learning, and
ultimately starts to kill the fun of the game.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<u><b>How to handle it</b></u><br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
GM's have the
single greatest power to prevent this sort of play. The power to say
“No, that character doesn't pass muster..”.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Plenty of GM's
use that power, especially if they recognize that a player is
becoming a Son of Sam..</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
However some
GM's don't like to say no, ever. They think they're stopping the
player from having the kind of fun they want to have.<br />Sadly at
some point those sorts of GM's need to learn that the needs of the
many outweigh the needs of the few and stand up for the good of the
group.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Some players
may not like that, accuse the GM of bullying or of playing favorites
with others in the group, and theres not much that can be done about
that. We all play to have fun, but anyone who thinks only of
themselves is being rather selfish when it comes to the game. <br /><br />Maybe
that group isn't right for that player, or maybe, just maybe everyone
else is right and that player is wrong and the player needs to learn
that.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
No matter how a
group approach the matter it should always be done in confidence,
with no heated arguments, but with reasoned discourse and friendly
banter.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<u><b>No Means No</b></u><br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Some players
however will not heed all the most well meant and well given advice
the world has ever seen, not even Ghandi could reason with them, and
they will keep pushing and pushing until something breaks.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Usually it's
the GM and other players that and just allow the behaviour to
continue, after all they may feel like they owe it to the person to
keep them in the group, they don't want to be accused of bullying or
being bad players by some one with sour grapes.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
At times like
that though they need to recognise what they're doing and stand their
ground. <br />No one likes it when a group loses a player, it can be
campaign breaking (and some players will use that sort of threat to
get what they want) and ruin the game entirely.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Some times
however you have to accept that, the GM needs to stay firm to the
rules and guidelines they have in place.
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
Article written
by Nick Sands, who's been gaming for the last 28 years and still
forgets some rules. He's also in desperate need of a decent
Battenburg and mug of Tea...</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-22571913930566906612014-04-01T14:53:00.001-07:002014-04-02T13:33:53.624-07:00Volume 2, Issue 2: So Long Old Friend: Retirement and DeathFound on pages 64-65<br />
<br />
<u><b>So long old friend: Retirement & Death</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i>Jerreck the mighty, despoiler of
the Black Temple of Sog, raider of the lost Dragons Graveyard and
Baron of Millia stood there, blood seeping from a dozen wounds,
arrows piercing his chest and back, his armour all but rent apart
after a savage blow from the Black Ogre Chieftain.</i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
So, I took six
doubles to the torso, a quin to the torso, three singles to the
legs.. that makes a total of twenty damage, minus for armour from
the locations... twelve damage over all..</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i>Jerreck slid to the ground,
struggling for breath but finding none there, his lungs to pierced
through and his ribcage shattered.. the Black Ogre Chieftain was
perhaps one foe to many for him to take on.</i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
I only had eight
left, and because of that Shattering Blow I couldn't soak all of the
chiefs hit.. i'm dead, thats put me in to minus numbers. Can't say it
wasn't an epic fight though.. god i'm sore all over from that one..</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i>The warrior slumped forward, dead
and unmoving.</i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Jerry don't be a
jerk, let me raise you...</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i>Asra the druid, who was his
companion and wife, knelt beside the body, watching as her magic
failed over and over to bind the spirit back to the body..</i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Sorry guys, I
think it's time started something new, I really like some of the
other options in the new books.. and beside i've been this guy solid
for four years now...</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i>Asra wailed long in to the night
over the passing of her husband and friend. But deep down she knew
that some where in the world a new hero was starting their first
steps and perhaps their paths would cross one day..</i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i>~~</i></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
We all larp for
pretty much the same reasons.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Fun, excitement
and challenge.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Anything else
after that is just a nice bonus, a personal goal though perhaps one
that many others share.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
But what about
when it starts to not be quite so fun? After all, theres really only
so many times that you can go slay the evil demon, save the princess
and save the world.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
No, seriously
there is..</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
So, what next? Say
good bye to it all, hang up the sword, fold away the robes and put
the books, character cards and daggers for good?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Well, for some
that might be the answer, but for others who want to keep playing in
the game there is always the option of Retiring the character, if
you're lucky they may make it in to the lore and background of the
game. If you've got a great Ref who thinks it'd be a great idea that
your character settles some where, and their lands become a hub for
new adventurers and tales of daring, then fantastic!<br />Not every Ref
is able to do that though, they may not be the people who own the
system they just see to the rules on a game by game basis, there may
be a team of Refs working together, keeping the world going through
lots of small campaigns or linked adventures and through group
discussion they decide that perhaps the best thing over all is that
you just remain dead and the game moves on.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
It can often be
hard for players who've played for any amount of time as the same
character when it comes to them shuffling off the mortal coil, but as
a player its your duty to remember just why your character became an
adventurer after all, they were risk takers and they were ultimately
caught up in one risk to many.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
But a games no fun
if there's no real chance of defeat when you think about it, that’s
worse than perhaps a high mortality game.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
In a game where
there's no real risk it often becomes stagnant and fast.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Your character
might have all of the best weapons, the best enchantments, the best
allies, the best armour and the strongest fortress.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Day in and day out
you go kill a few thousand goblins.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Yay.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Fun.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
It's a Ref's
(Games Master or Story Teller if you prefer) duty to challenge you,
keep you on your toes enough to know that you might not survive, to
throw in a good selection of challenges, social, mental and physical
and make sure that something slithers in the darkness just round the
corner from where you are.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<u>Death: The
Final Frontier</u></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
One thing i'll
always remember was reading a Chick Tract and in it was the immortal
line of “Go home marcy you're dead..”.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Most roleplayers
become deeply invested in their characters lives, they're heroes (or
villains) in their other lives, that thing they do at the weekends
that they dont always like to share with every day folks.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
After all, how can
you really explain to people “oh I dress up as an elf and go
killing snake men from the city of Kah on weekends..”.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
That other life is
a little bit secret, and it's personal. We invest time & money in
to it, we do it to challenge our selves.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
And sometimes we
lose that challenge and pay the ultimate price.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
We snuff it.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Kapute.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Done for.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Dead.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
The question is,
did we have fun? Did we get to kill the mighty Black Ogre Chieftain
and save the land with our sacrifice?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
An ignoble death
is something most players are worried about, we go in to battle side
by side with our brothers and sisters in arms, only to be the first
man savagely cut down by a dozen sneaky archers.. a senseless death,
no rhyme or reason to it, just death for the same of being in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Here's the thing,
Death doesnt care. One way or another we'll have to face them in the
end.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
What matters is
how we deal with it.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Some players will
sink in to a bit of a depression for a little while, that other side
of their life has just come to a rather brutal end and they need time
to let it sink in.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Those other lives
of ours are just as every bit cherished as our Real Lives, so it's
only natural that we'll feel saddened by the loss.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Other players will
shrug their shoulders, and the next day will have a new and different
character all ready to play and be in that mind set, not trying to be
a Son of Sam style character, because there's nothing worse than a
group losing say a powerful warrior or sneaky rogue only to find that
the next day some one just as powerful or sneaky was hidden in a cell
and they just happened to discover them.. look all that equipment the
old guy doesn't need will be perfect for the new guy... how
convenient... And very lazy.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
There will be
those players who plan ahead, they know that sooner or later they'll
snuff it, so they have a contingency character all ready created and
ready to go at the drop of a hat.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Indeed just like
regular roleplaying games a player might look at a newly released
book and say “Hey I didn't know I could play that, I might give
that a go next” and start getting ideas for a new character.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<u>Cheating Death</u></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
A great many
systems these days allow for characters to return from death.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
In fantasy systems
this might be a Resurrection spell cast by a cleric, or perhaps a not
to evil necromancer will summon the spirit back and bind it in to a
new body, that body might have unusual memories or skills all of its
own..</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
In Sci-Fi systems
some piece of alien technology might be able to genetically
reconfigure the corpse and instil in it some semblance of life
through sheer dint of technological supremacy and power beyond human
understanding.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
In many Modern or
Post Apocalyptic settings however Death is final. Once you're dead,
that's it, there's no coming back.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Unless of course
you happen to be playing in a modern setting where there is a high
amount of magic or strange ritualism, then it could be possible to
come back from the dead as well.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
However, you go
about doing it, if you do cheat death you should play that fact up.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
You might, for a
while, be filled with a sense of indestructibility after all its not
every day you get to give the Grim Reaper the finger.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Maybe when you
come back you're haunted by nightmares, after all you've seen whats
on the other side.. have fun with that when roleplaying!
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
The question is,
is it right for you to come back. Just because your system lets you,
should you?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
There are some
systems where you have essentially unlimited lives, you just come
back again and again. But after a while you might be forced in to a
new body after the system says you've taken one on the chin to many
times.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Other systems let
you have one, maybe two chances (and its not always guaranteed
either) at coming back, but your companions will have to be quick,
they might have only minutes to stabilise your body, to capture the
spirit and then prepare a ritual to bind it back, and if anything
goes wrong in even the smallest of ways then you're gone for ever...</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Some groups may
have a whole story arc comprised of travelling to some other plane of
existence to retrieve the spirit of their friend they thought dead,
putting themselves in great peril at the same time, after if they all
die who'll rescue them?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<u>Retirement</u></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
However, you may
after a while just become bored of the character. Some of your OOC
mates might have dropped out from the group and the synergy and spark
has just died out, or perhaps there's a few people in the same group
who're all the same sort of class or function and you just feel like
a spare peg.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Perhaps you've
levelled up so high that you're god like in power and there's no real
challenge any more except once a year, and even then you know that
you probably wont die because if you do then loads of the games plot
will be dead as well (Yes there are players and systems like that!).</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
What ever the
reason, sometimes its better to bow out gracefully than be remembered
for some half-arsed death scene which was little more than committing
suicide by monster..</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
If your character
is important to the over all plot make sure you speak to the Ref
before hand, let them know you're thinking of changing character for
what ever reason. The ref might actually agree with you that it's the
better thing to do and give you a great send of game so that every
one talks about you for years to come and and become some part of
system myth..</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
That game doesn't
have to end in death, the result could be you being taken by the gods
for some special purpose, or maybe you become a monarch or made part
of the nobility so that adventuring is something that you can't
really do any more because you're to valuable alive..</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Even if you don't
get made in to some myth or legend in your own life time the Ref will
appreciate you going to them with your concerns, it's part of what
they're there for after all, and they'll do what they can to either
allay your fears or maybe offer some kind of solution, maybe they'll
even give you a hand with making a new character.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
But if you don't
give the Ref any notice you won't be doing them or yourself any
favours, you may seriously damage a game by not telling the Ref about
your intentions.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
And no one wants
to be known as “That Guy” trust me.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<u>When to start
up a new character</u></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
There really is no
real Golden Time to start a new character.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
There are some
good times, such as when the group have entered a new city or area of
the game world and you fancy playing something local based.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Try and think what
your new character will bring to the game, will they be some one
who's from the city the party have just entered, who knows the back
alleyways and all the secret places where deals can be made, or
perhaps they're a traveller from even further afield and find
themselves surrounded by the curious and wondrous but their eyes are
caught by the group of strangers who also stand out in the crowd.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Perhaps your last
character died at the hands of Psionicist and you think that playing
one of them might be fun given how you died in an unexpected way, or
maybe you saw some one in a different group playing a race and class
combination that you'd never seen before and you can think of other
things to do with a similar odd mixture.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
There are those
players who start up a new character every time a new supplement is
released, they have a dozen characters all going at the same time in
the same system and they're all different, but they don't spend a lot
of time playing any one of them so they just hop from one thing to
another..</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
But what ever you
do, just remember the golden rule.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Have fun!</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
Article written by
Nick Sands, who's the Ref of Camarilla Invictus, formerly known as
Kent by Night for the last 20 years and is desperately searching for
a decent slice of Battenburg and mug of tea...</div>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-21349227767170360592014-04-01T14:48:00.000-07:002014-04-02T13:33:17.708-07:00Volume 2, Issue 1: The Moral Compass & when it goes WrongThe Moral Compass and when it goes Wrong: found on pages 80-81<br />
<br />
<u><b>The Moral Compass and when it goes wrong...</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons, in any of its
incarnations, iterations and editions, you'll of course know what i'm
talking about.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Alignment!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
The old tabletop game had nine distinct alignments, based on Law,
Chaos, Goodness, Evil and Neutrality.<br />
Law and Chaos opposed each other, so you had to be one or the
other, much the same as Goodness and Evil.<br />
Neutrality sat as a buffer between them all.<br />
Law/Chaos would define how you reacted in general to the Laws of
the land, whether you upheld them or would go out of your way to
oppose and seek to over throw them.<br />
Goodness/Evil determined how kind hearted you were or how vile a
person you might be when pushed.<br />
Neutrality between either Law and Chaos meant that you didn't go
out of your way to topple governments or to stop brigands and
criminals from committing their deeds..
<br />
Whilst Neutrality between Good and Evil meant that you wasn't
going to overly go out of your way to help little old grannies to
cross the road or go around robbing from the rich (or anyone else for
that matter!) and giving it to yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
Over the years i've seen some very loose interpretations of what
alignments allow, and i've been horrified by some players actions who
turned round and said “But my alignment says it's ok to do it..”.<br />
Interestingly i've seen more bad stuff done by people claiming to
be Goodly or Lawful than I ever have witness by those playing Evil or
Chaotic alignments..<br />
<br />
<br />
And there somes a time when you have to wonder about whether the
Alignment system really works, or if there should be some new
alignments thrown in to the mix..<br />
<br />
<br />
Chaotic Stupid?<br />
There are those players who insist that by being Chaotic Neutral
gives them reason to do suicidal and utterly stupid things. A Chaotic
Stupid person might for example kill all of the NPC's in the game
just because the frog told him to, and no one crosses Mr Froggy
Wibble!<br />
<br />
<br />
CN players seem to assume that they can play almost comedy
characters, which in a great many games can be destructive for the
players to the point of grinding the game to a halt and potentially
ruining the game.<br />
<br />
<br />
They dont try to understand that the character could be driven to
acts of kindness just as much as they can to destruction, that they
seek to be unconfined by the society as a wholes perhaps rather
strict and confining methodology or caste system..<br />
<br />
<br />
Lawful Nazi!<br />
To play certain characters, such as a Paladin or Holy Avenger, you
need to be a person who understands the system, who knows it may not
be the fairest thing in the world but over all it does society right
in the end.<br />
<br />
<br />
But invariably you get those LG players who become baby killers
just because, and their reasoning is “the king/god told me to do it
so I have to...”.
<br />
They forget all about the GOOD side of their alignment, they don't
seem to get that you can do something like in the film Schindlers
List, ferry people out of the corrupt and clearly evil state and off
to a better life.<br />
Just because their god has decreed that everyone with a certain
hair colour is evil theres nothing to stop them from falling in love
with some one who's apparently evil, and helps them find precious
roots to dye their hair because they know the god is wrong..<br />
<br />
<br />
Neutral Meh..<br />
For some people choosing Neutrality isnt about their character not
having motivations or goals but because they think if they do a good
act at some point they're allowed to commit some evil attrocity later
down the line, or vice-versa.<br />
I've witnessed this in a game of DnD a few years back, the player
gave an old woman an apple as a random act of kindness and then
whilst the rest of the party were sleeping butchered one of the other
characters.<br />
Apparently giving the old lady an apple meant he was compelled to
do some great and evil thing..<br />
<br />
<br />
Neutral is a much confused alignment, it's entirely possible to be
whats known as True Neutral, where a character is Neutral in regards
to Law and Chaos and Neutral when it comes to Good and evil.<br />
You'll get those players who select True Neutral (NN) as a reason
for their character to not get involved with any fights, ignore
characters who need aid, walk by people drowning in streams and have
no regard for local laws such as city entrance fees or a minutes
silence on a holy day..<br />
<br />
<br />
These players tend to turn round and say “Yeah but i'm True
Neutral so I don't really care..”.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Dealing with these people</b><br />
I'm sure if you look hard enough at any tabletop or even perhaps a
larp group you'll find these sort of people.<br />
The best way to deal with them isn't to just ignore them, however
tempting that might be!<br />
<br />
<br />
Instead get to know them a little better, see if you can find out
why they're playing that way.<br />
It might be that they seem to think that's how the alignment is
meant to be played, in which case regale them with a tale or two from
your gaming past of how you've played people with those alignments.
<br />
If need be dig out the rule book, high light a few key phrases for
them, help them to understand that what they're doing is not only bad
gaming but that it is really easy to correct.<br />
Teach them to be a better player, after all we all were new to the
hobby once!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Other Alignment Systems</b><br />
DnD isn't the only game with this sort of alignment system in it,
there are a few LARPs which also use them, as well as other roleplay
games which use it or something very much like it.<br />
<br />
<br />
Alignments are not a bad thing, they give a player a rough outline
for how they can act and play when in character, but they're not the
be all and end all of the character.<br />
<br />
<br />
Some systems like World of Darkness (oWoD)has something a little
similar, Virtues & Humanity.<br />
However in the WoD system they represent not only the lowest
depths that you will sink to when pushed but also a dicepool to
resist sinking that low and become just that bit more evil, cold or
emotionless!<br />
<br />
<br />
The newer version of World of Darkness (nWoD) also has Vices &
Virtues, things that you struggle to resist or find it easy to do for
yourself and others.
<br />
<br />
<br />
Regardless of the system however they should be used as a guide as
to how your character can act, in their best moments and in their
worst.<br />
<br />
<br />
After all, if we all played the same alignments regardless of race
or class (which throws in other complications) then it'd get very
boring very quickly...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Article written by Nick Sands, who's the Ref of Camarilla
Invictus, formerly known as Kent by Night and is desperately
searching for a decent slice of Battenburg and mug of tea...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-77448726139954090232014-04-01T14:44:00.002-07:002014-04-02T13:32:42.184-07:00Volume 1, Issue 6: The Day the Larp Died, Goodbye KBNThe Day the Larp Died: Found on pages 54-55<br />
<br />
<u><b>The day the LARP died...</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
I can still remember the very first combat based larp I went to,
Labyrinthe!<br />
The very name conjours up images of twisting caves, forgotten
oubliettes and sexy goblin kings lurking round every corner.<br />
It didn't disappoint in the slightest I can tell you.<br />
<br />
<br />
That day spent in the total pitch black except where one or two
people had glow sticks to light the way. Creatures faster than the
eye could see, frenetic combat, and the loss of a good friend who
died at the hands of a dark elf assassin!<br />
<br />
<br />
In no short time at all I grew to love the game, it had everything
I wanted that I could never get in the table top games.<br />
I was in a group of friends, my table top group, who all had been
going to Laby for some time even though I was new to the area they
welcomed me with open arms.<br />
During the breaks the sense of camaraderie was evident in many of
the people down there, all of them on some alternate quest or vital
mission of mercy and daring do!<br />
<br />
<br />
Whilst I was there I came to make a good many mates and even lucky
enough to make some friends, and eventually meet my girlfriend whilst
there!<br />
<br />
<br />
However, after a while, as I began to level up my character and
play with other groups, not to mention Monstering (playing purely as
crew for the day), there began a curious sort of rot which had
started to set in.<br />
<br />
<br />
I was suddenly aware of numerous small groups of people, cliques
and elitists I thought at the time, which were often referred to as
“The Old Guard”.<br />
Each of these little groups had very little time or like for the
other groups. At first I just thought they were in game guilds or
factions and that the subsurface hostility I had noticed was simply
some excellent roleplaying.<br />
Before long however I found that the hostility was indeed a very
real thing.
<br />
<br />
<br />
The odd tale of a drunken assault or bitter row on social media
had begun to filter through to me.<br />
Now i've always been a live and let live kind of guy, never
anything bad to say about anyone unless the really had wound me up
(which was a hard thing to do, i'm to fat and jolly to be getting
annoyed!).<br />
<br />
<br />
After a couple of years I had been down to the game enough to know
who liked who and who avoided who and so I was suddenly aware of a
massive social minefield.<br />
But me being me, I just cracked on and kept chatting to anyone and
everyone.<br />
That was when it all really started to go wrong for me.<br />
<br />
<br />
Some how, because I seemed to prefer to Monster and not play, a
member of two of the Old Guard had decided I wasn't worthy enough to
be part of what they saw as their game.
<br />
This hostility of course made me want to play less, and monster
not quite as often as I might have liked, I would be asked a couple
times a month to monster on a dungeon a friend was playing in or even
running but I started to find excuses, so in the end I was only going
once every couple or three months, then once every four to six
months.
<br />
<br />
<br />
There came a time all of a sudden when I realised I hadn't been
down to either play or monster for almost an entire year, though I
was still active on the forums, checking them daily for interesting
happenings and the like.<br />
I resolved to start going again, after all I was in full time
employment and had some spare cash.<br />
So I found a low level game to get involved with, made an entirely
new character, used up some of my monster points (a great little
thing Laby does to encourage people to crew, which can be spent on
making other games a bit cheaper or to purchase the latest game
update books, of which there are a great many..) to advance my
character a few levels and be able to use heavy armour which a friend
had loaned me for the day, and then I managed to convince another
mate to come along, some one who had been larping for a very long
time and even now spends most weekends in a field or nuclear bunker
some where in the country.<br />
<br />
<br />
My mate was more than happy to crew for the day, it gave him a
nice rest from being a player.<br />
So off we trekked, I got painted and armoured up, much to the
interest of some visiting italian grandmothers who were fascinated by
a grey skinned demon warrior with boar tusks jutting from his face!<br />
So, after a few obliging photos with the ladies, and what i'm sure
was a rather cheeky pat on the bum from one of them during a picture,
off I set, Jalagos the Grrtuck warrior who didnt bother with shields
but relied on two mighty hammers and a rather dodgy germanic accent
to get through most things.<br />
<br />
<br />
And you know what, I had a blast that day, it was great to be back
on the swing of things, smiting left right and center, protecting the
squishies in the middle of the party, causing racial tensions with
some of the local townsfolk who didn't like my folk..<br />
<br />
<br />
All those worries of what the Old Guard thought had totally gone
away.<br />
Until that is I got home and read on the forums that certain
people didn't think that people should be allowed to monster unless
they had played in the system for a considerable time.<br />
The post was directly aimed at my mate, the person had even
referred to the dungeon he was kind enough to crew for the day!<br />
<br />
<br />
This of course started up a rather heated debate as others threw
their rather limited opinions in to the mix.<br />
I spoke to the currant management team about certain player
attitudes that bordered on bullying, and was told “oh thats just
how they are, they're always like it, nothing we can do”.<br />
It was the straw that broke the camels back for me. A good number
of people had all complained about the same attitudes from the old
guard and each been told the same thing.<br />
At that point I vowed never to return as either a player or a
member of crew to the system.<br />
<br />
<br />
Since then I've used the caves for another system (Kent By
Night/Camarilla Invictus), which all the players loved, and you know
what, I started to miss the place, the ambiance of the location, the
claustrophobic feel, knowing that if it were not for the torches and
glow sticks you'd be in utter darkness..<br />
<br />
I'd heard that some of the Old Guard are no longer playing, and I
started wondering if its time to dust off the hammers and practice my
rather bad germanic accent once more..<br />
<br />
<br />
After all, Laby was my first love when it comes to smiting and I
did have some good times down there..<br />
<br />
<br />
Whether i'll return however I don't know. There are just a few to
many negative memories as well for me. Despite having been playing
for 11 years (with the exception of the last one and a half when i've
not played or crewed for) I still consider myself an utter noob with
their system, its hellishly large, and easy to get confused with how
things are done.
<br />
<br />
<br />
If I could find a combat larp that used a similar location, didn't
have 4 different kinds of armour class (Armour/Physical, Dextrous,
Magical and Spiritual), where abilities didn't have a dozen names and
all the same effect and was just a bit more affordable i'd like to
think i'd be a regular combat larper once again.<br />
<br />
<br />
As it is, i'm rather happy running my own system these days, which
has no cliques, no old guard, people bring cakes for one another, is
full of combat, both physical and political, and has a modern theme
to it, not to mention it's 1 tenth the price for the same length of
time of game play!<br />
<br />
<br />
Article written by Nick Sands, who's the Ref of Camarilla
Invictus, formerly known as Kent by Night and is desperately
searching for a decent slice of Battenburg and mug of tea...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Goodbye KBN: Found on Pages 66-67<br />
<br />
<u><b>Goodbye Kent by Night...</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
Very recently as a Ref I had a hard decision to make about the
system I’ve been running for the last twenty years.<br />
It'd come to light that we were losing potential players because
of our name.<br />
Kent By Night.<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, if you've played in other Vampire based LARPs you might be
aware that “By Night” is a bit of a brand name much like Cam-UK
and UK-Masquerade.<br />
A great many people had have rather mixed experiences, as
mentioned in the recent article a couple of months ago, with vampire
LARPs as a whole and many vampire games, regardless of the system
they're part of will use “By Night” as part of their name, to
indicate that it's a vampire based game regardless of the Sect or
Clans available.
<br />
<br />
<br />
With the “By Night” appendage there is usually the town or
city in which the game is based and played in.<br />
For example, you might find a London By Night game, as well as a
Tottenham By Night or Chelsea By Night game, all of which run in
close areas but are utterly unrelated (though you my see a few
similar faces in them, after all the LARP community is quite small
and its very easy to bump in to others you may well know..).
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>-A Game Unlike Any Other-</b><br />
When advertising our game, either on various facebook pages, or by
word of mouth, we'd constantly run in to the stigma that seems to
follow all vampire games.<br />
“Oh, you're a 'By Night' game... yeah, no thanks. Tried that
before, didn't like it.. bunch of weirdos..”<br />
<br />
<br />
Which when you look at it is a rather blanket attitude, it's like
saying “Gemmel? Yeah don't like him because I read some Tolkein and
got bored..” or disliking Angel just because it was a spin off from
Buffy.<br />
They're totally different beasts. Ok, theres a few similarities
but not enough to pan one with out giving it a chance just because
you don't like something it's linked to in some manner..<br />
<br />
<br />
Kent By Night really was, and still is, unlike many other vampire
games due to not only the rules, it's not a Minds Eye Theatre system,
but it is a Vampire the Masquerade based game, using all the same
powers, clans and sects. Unlike other vampire LARPs Kent By Night
uses full contact combat rules and everything is Real Time, so once
you're in the IC area nothings OOC, everything you say is considered
IC, same as every action you take is also considered to be fully IC,
as one player found out when he blew his brains out all over the
surrounding players in a game of Russian Roulette..<br />
<br />
<br />
Other people just didn't get that about Kent By Night.
<br />
Other By Night games were all strictly non combat, no death except
when it drove the story.<br />
There was little real PVP action at all except when it drove the
story along.<br />
<br />
<br />
Kent By Night was nothing like that, and no matter how both myself
and the players explained that other people just didn't get the fact
that we were called “By Night” but in name only because it was a
clear indicator we were a vampire based game.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>-The Dilemma-</b><br />
So, the dilemma of Kent by Night was something along the lines of:
Should we change our name to remove us from the other local games
with similar names, or should we stick with the stigma of being
confused with other games which we don't really resemble.<br />
<br />
<br />
Myself and the A-Ref spent the better part of two months
discussing the matter on and off, judging player reactions to the
name, listening to their stories of other games which they have
attended in the last or still do attend and how those games go with
the “By Night” name.
<br />
<br />
<br />
We put together a list of some other names that were not to much
of a mouthful, chatted with a couple of our long term players who've
been with us since day one in the Chatham area based game.
<br />
One of them asked, initially, why we wasn't called Chatham by
Night, and the very simple answer was “there's not enough people in
Chatham to support all the vampires that will attend the game” we
also made mention that given the history of the game that Kent was a
very troubled Domain as a whole and as such the game will be set in
Kent as well as East & West Sussex, again due to game lore.
<br />
<br />
<br />
After whittling the twenty potential names down to a list of 10 we
then opened up a poll to the players to vote on, after all it was
their game just as much as it the Ref Teams game..<br />
<br />
The players as a whole took to the poll with great enthusiasm, and
even offered up additional ideas some of which were also very well
received.<br />
So, being the fair Ref that I am, I reset the poll, using most
popular options previously voted and some of the most preferred
player ideas.<br />
Within a couple of days of the new poll being up we quickly saw
that the players were interested in a new name and began discussing
just what it meant as a name for the game.<br />
Camarilla Invictus.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>-Hello Camarilla Invictus-</b><br />
It sounded snazzy, it made it clear that we're a Camarilla based
game and even made use of the Kent coat of arms motto (Invicta or
Invictas depending on the age of the local council stationary..).<br />
It also was a great way to lure in people who'd played the more
recent New World of Darkness games where there was a sect called
Invictus or something remarkably similar..<br />
<br />
<br />
It was explained that the root word, Invicta, meant Victory or
Strength, and players were agog at how such a seemingly random idea
for a name had gained momentum and become the firm favourite of two
thirds of the player base (the other third being spread between the
old name, and a smattering of other ideas).<br />
However the final third have now come to accept the new name,
which is great news because it means that 100% of our player base is
embracing (if you'll pardon the pun) the new name.<br />
<br />
<br />
Myself and my Asst-Ref have updated all our Wiki as much as
possible, keeping a few mentions of the old name and even having a
page as to why it was changed.<br />
We've had some one design some great new artwork for our facebook
group and wiki, and we've got a few surprises for players next year..<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The other great thing about changing our name is that suddenly
players are really interested in just what the game will change in
to, and the last few months since we started the name change process
the game has evolved in to a rather different beast.<br />
Before it was a casual gathering of vampires, the option of
politics against one another was there but few really took to it (and
as such they became victims of those who did take to it, but isn't
that what the games all about?). There was the ever present chance of
random violence, after all vampires are creatures ruled by their
passions and some are rather quick to anger..<br />
<br />
<br />
Now however the stakes have been raised, almost everyone has
suddenly taken an interest in the player versus player aspect of the
political struggle in the game.<br />
The game seems to have suddenly gelled in to what the Ref Team
envisioned a couple of years ago when we started the game in the
area.
<br />
<br />
<br />
For the players the game is now much more personal, their
characters live in the domain and now they know that there are very
possible threats in the domain, some from other players and some from
things invading the place where they live and feed..<br />
<br />
<br />
So, from January the 1<sup>st</sup> Kent by Night is no more.
<br />
And Camarilla Invictus has taken its place as a vampire game with
a little more bite!<br />
<br />
<br />
Of course, if the Camarilla should lose Kent to the Sabbat...<br />
<br />
Article written by Nick Sands, who's been running Camarilla
Invictus and the preceding saga for the last 20 years. He's in
desperate need of a decent Battenburg and mug of Tea...<br />
<br />
<br />
Wiki link: http://kbn.wikidot.com/start<br />
Facebook group link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/151976118247403/<br />
<br />Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-53594527245471391312014-04-01T14:34:00.002-07:002014-04-01T14:34:32.099-07:00Volume 1, Issue 5: The Mass CharadeThe Mass Charade: a Review of the 2013 End of year "Special", found on pages 64-65Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-79528304323118705222014-04-01T14:32:00.000-07:002014-04-01T14:32:04.675-07:00Volume 1, Issue 4Nothing in this one.Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-84150042333531605692014-04-01T14:29:00.001-07:002014-04-01T14:29:53.905-07:00Volume 1, Issue 3: Stigma of Vampire LarpsAs found on pages 56-57<br />
<br />
<b>The Stigma of Vampire LARPs</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>In the Beginning (V:tM) & the System(MET)</i><br />
Just over twenty years ago a game called Vampire: the Masquerade
was released, people loved it. It wasn't the whole swords and sorcery
thing, it was a daily grind to survive, night by night struggling for
power, trying to find people to feed from, politics and even some
great fights if you were lucky.<br />
<br />
<br />
Then a LARP was made for it, known as Minds Eye Theatre (MET for
short).<br />
Back then LARP was still mostly guys in a field hitting each other
with gaffer tape weapons, and whilst there were a few really special
locations like castles or disused mines that could be used that sort
of thing wasn't the right setting for MET.<br />
MET was a highly social game, there was almost no combat and that
suited its players perfectly.<br />
However, unlike other LARP systems it had a very different set of
rules, the ubiquitous “Rock/Paper/Scissors” way of resolving
things.<br />
<br />
<br />
If you wanted to fight some one you stood in front of them and
told what you was doing, and they'd say how they would counter it,
each of you would “draw” your rock, paper or scissors and that's
how you determined if you hurt the person, or if you missed.<br />
<br />
<br />
Some people really loved how the game worked, because it didn't
mean you had to start buying weapons and armour, you could wear
modern clothing. Others loved it because of the politics involved,
and that's really where the game was at its strongest.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Interview with that dead guy</i><br />
In VtM: MET you could be a hoary old man from the middle ages, who
has survived by taking extended periods of “sleep”, waking every
few years to check on how their mortal schemes were going, or you
could play some one who was made a vampire just last week and they've
suddenly been thrust in to a world of intrigue and horror. You had to
pick a clan, which determined some of your special powers, and you
then had to pick things called influences, which showed where you had
some control over the mortal world. <br /><br />In between games you'd
use your influences to help or hinder other players or to advance the
plot for the bigger game.<br />
Yes, a bigger game, because by then there were so many players a
global plot was set up, and players who were members of certain
groups were subject to the global plot line. All the local plot lines
had to be checked by a large team of refs who'd all mail each other,
or as it was back then, use bulletin boards, and determine amongst
themselves what the affect was for all the different groups. For
example, players in London could do some kind of sanction on the
transport influence, causing problems for the players in France,
America and China. France, America and China would then have to
retaliate in some manner.<br />
<br />
<br />
The game was truly global.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Emo-Factor & The Red Headed Stepchild of Larps</i><br />
Only, it wasn't. Some local GM's decided not to be part of one
organisation, and split off to form their own, using exactly the same
rules but changing a little bit of the world history.<br />
The rot had started to set in.<br />
<br />
<br />
It didn't take long for the MET scene start to get a bit of a bad
reputation amongst other systems for one reason or another.
<br />
<br />
<br />
People who had been to the traditional systems that had sprung up
were evolving their hobby, their world was changing, equipment was
getting better, you could buy proper armour and weapons that looked
amazing.<br />
But MET was stuck with its much ridiculed resolution system, and
it had started to become a bit of a joke system to many people.<br />
<br />
<br />
I was recently speaking to a number of friends trying to drum up
some new members for a local vampire game, Kent By Night, and the
general response was “Vampires, yeah MET, no I don't like that LARP
but I loved the tabletop game” though not always as nicely put as
that..<br />
<br />
<br />
“<i>A Vampire LARP? Oh, MET, yeah no I don't do vampire games”</i><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
After asking around a lot of people I
was surprised to find that so many people within the hobby see a
vampire game as something less than any other game, it really is seen
as the lowest of the low in so many circles.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
When I looked further in to it, I found
that so many people had had bad experiences at a vampire game that it
put them of from trying any other system.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
And there was the problem, there wasn't
actually any other system that was being used, every one was stuck
with the MET resolution system, and it didn't feel like a LARP, it
was just interactive theatre with some rules for “bang you're
dead”.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
If you ask anyone who's been and no
longer goes to a vampire game you'll probably hear some horror
stories about players taking real weapons, or the really bad accents,
the capes, the frilly shirts, the fangs and the fake blood.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Sadly all that is true, I've seen it
all first hand in a number of different games.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
And that's where Vampire LARPs got
their bad reputation from.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Those one or two people who think all
vampires are 12<sup>th</sup> century noble men from some strangely
names part of Europe, with dodgy accents and a predisposition for
saying, “Ah the children of the night what sweet music they make..”</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<i>Oh The Horror...</i><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Sadly a lot of people forget the
premise of the World of Darkness, the main setting which it all came
from.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Horror. Personal horror specifically.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Think about it for a moment. Last week
you was Bob the doorman, you knew a few people in and around the
clubbing scene had a few tarts you were friendly with, then one night
some chump comes in to your bar, starts a fight, you throw him out,
he glowers menacingly at you and stalks off.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Two nights later the guy comes back,
pins you up against the wall, and savagely rips at your throat with
these great big freaking fangs. He's inhumanly strong, there's
nothing you can do. You die.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
The next evening you wake up again,
hungry. Hungrier than you've ever been, you try to eat some food,
you're violently sick, spewing up blood and the food you tried to
eat. You pet dog Snuffles cowers in the corner and suddenly you know
what you have to do, what you need.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
And that’s where the torment begins
for a new vampire.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
How soon do you succumb to the endless
emotions of anger & hunger?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Can you control yourself long enough to
get to work that evening? To look like normal? To then mentally
control your boss in to giving you a raise, until a few weeks down
the line you run a large group of night clubs, with the assorted
trades you'd find in them (tarts, drugs and protection rackets).</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
How long before you start looking round
for more of your kind, only to find that the one who made you owns a
large selection of pubs and clubs, do you try and take revenge, to
ruin his business and to see him dead at your feet or do you run away
in to the night and set yourself up else where?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Think about the future. Your family,
they're all going to die. You're going to have to watch them all grow
old and die. Every single one of them.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
How do you think that'll affect you?
Will you crack under the pressure of it and go mad? Or will you
distance yourself from them, make it look as if you've been killed in
an accident.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
The world you've woken up into is a bad
place, and it's going to be a hell of a struggle to get anything
achieved, sometimes you wish you were still mortal and that you
didn't know about all of this. You was happy in your ignorance, but
now you know what's out there.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
And what about all those other things?
If vampires exist what about ghosts, werewolves, witches, warlocks
and tentacle monsters?</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<i>The current state of affairs</i><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
In the last few years vampires have
become big business, there are toys, books, movies and TV series
where vampires are the “good guys” and that's been a massive
boost in some ways for the Vampire LARP community.
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
If you were told, “Yeah you can play
stuff like Lestat,Tim, Selene, Sookie, Damon or Mitchell” and you
loved those shows you might give it a shot because you have something
to draw from.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
You know what the shows and films are
like so you get an idea of what you can do, what your powers might be
and so on.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
But what if you were then told, “It's
quite political, a bit like Game of Thrones”.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Everyone knows GoT. If they don't then
they've probably been living under a rock for the last three years
with out internet access.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
So, mix up the politics of GoT, throw
in a dash of sexiness from True Blood or Vampire Diaries. Let that
simmer for a little while, stir in a pinch of I Am Tim, and a
generous helping of Being Human.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Like revenge, a vampire LARP is a dish
best served cold...</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
There are now several different systems
floating around, MET is still the biggest of them, so many groups use
the rules because they're easy to use and it's what people know (it
probably doesn't hurt that in the wake of VtM: V20 there’s now
going to be a revised edition of MET).</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Another radically different system
that’s been slowly gaining popularity in the last couple of years
is Kent By Night. The Ref Team behind it looked at all the different
vampire rules produced by Whitewolf Studios and then looked at other
LARP systems. Eventually they created a LARP which is the best of
both worlds, combat like a “traditional” LARP with weapons, a
large selection of abilities and no need to stand around saying “Rock
beats scissors..” but all the horror of the world slowly falling
apart around the characters who're struggling to maintain some form
of control over it all.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal;">
Written by Nick Sands, who's been
running Kent By night in one guise or another for the last 20 years.</div>
Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-501244016855472782014-04-01T14:20:00.000-07:002014-04-01T14:20:35.413-07:00Volume 1, Issue 2Nothing to report from this edition!Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-39412862838318697672014-04-01T14:18:00.001-07:002014-04-01T14:32:29.580-07:00Volume 1, Issue 1: KBN ReviewWhilst nothing written by myself featured in this magazine there was a nice review of Kent By Night featured in it.<br />
<br />
The article is on page 60 and is simply titled "Kent By Night".Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421567459438143323.post-22891889043945589792014-04-01T14:16:00.000-07:002014-04-01T14:16:01.050-07:00Why this blog?Well, I finally noticed that some of what I'd written had been edited to hell and not in a good way.<br /><br />So I'm going to post the "Original" articles here and mention what edition of Seaxe Magazine they can be found in.<br /><br />Rex Fidelishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09216074688574649119noreply@blogger.com0