Impossible Jargon

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Wikipedia defines jargon as:

Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, or group. In other words, the term covers the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. Much like slang, it develops as a kind of short-hand, to express ideas that are frequently discussed between members of a group. A standard term may be given a more precise or unique usage among practitioners of a field. In many cases this causes a barrier to communication with those not familiar with the language of the field. As an example, the words RAM, Hard Disk Drive, CPU, and Graphics Card are jargon terms related to computing.

Gamers end up having their own jargon to refer to situations. Not just as a shorthand but sometimes it is necessary to get shades of meaning that one never needs in real life.
This week we're talking about the word impossible.
impossible can have many meanings because when measured against the possible it is a much larger territory. In games and in fantasy the performance of impossible deeds becomes commonplace. Still within the architecture of a well made world some things remain impossible, even when impossible things are being done. As you can see within this paragraph the term is beginning to be ambiguous.

In our gaming group we have three categories of impossible, called category 1 category 2 and category 3. unfortunately although many of our players arr quie inventive in terms of plot, setting, problem solving etc. overall the group is a bit Leonard of Quirm when it comes to naming things.

Category 1 impossible things are things you cannot do but are not actually outlawed by the laws of reality, like jumping to the moon. You can't do that but jumping does cause you to move upward and one can attain escape velocity and aim correctly you may be able to land on the moon, surviving would be a trick but there's nothing in physics that states that if enough power were put behind a jump it wouldn't work.

Category 2 impossible things are things that could not have happened but their current state is ok. Momotoro a boy that grew out of a peach, or the Death Star. A boy is a perfectly reasonable object, a sphere of metal is reasonable. the laws of the universe have no problem with these. A peach is reasonable as are lumps of metal ore. But there are no set of circumstances that could cause a peach to produce a boy, or lumps of ore to become a moon sized space station, several times during the construction it should have collapsed or something. Category 2 impossible things may be here now but there is no possible way to get to where they now are.

Category 3 impossible things are not happening. Pi being made to equal 3, or the moon being made of cheese. Even if someone were to instantaneously turn the moon into cheese it wouldn't be made of cheese in about 5 minutes as it collapses in on itself and is made of compressed carbon and other things.

In short category one impossible things, you can't do, category 2 impossible things did not happen and category 3 things are not happening.

a problem comes with the many logical fallacy that happens in many gamers heads when they see someone perform a category 1 impossible thing and therefore assume they can do category 2 and sometimes 3 impossible things.

I thought this might be helpful

A larp conversation with a group of prospective players. I think this may be helpful to others, new and old. if you know any newbs, point them this way

Hi *** and Gang,



A fellow office member expressed some interest about D&D, Gaming Groups, and LARPs.



As to D&D, I can loan her the player’s handbook to give her a general idea. As to describing the current game we are playing, I am at a bit more at a loss… Any comments, observations, etc will be passed on as will your email addresses (if, of course permission is given to share them).



As to the LARP; she expressed interest in attending one also, but here (in addition to your general description and responses on LARPs in general) I would appreciate several specific questions answered:



1) If she were to attend for the first time, could a player-character be created so that she could participate?

YES

a. If yes, about how long does this take?

Depending on pre-reading 30 min to an hour

i. Any reference material she should/could pre-read?

Why, Yes. All of the rules and detals of our larp are available at http://vampire.echoesofempires.org
If she has questions or needs feedback we have a Larp Advice Blog at
http://malkuthmadness.blogspot.com
you're both welcome to use these resources.



2) How long does the gaming session last?

4-5 hours

a. Average start – finish time?

People are encouraged to arrive at 7 for check in and back actions, official game clock starts at 8 but play can begin sooner and if you have backstory or between game scenes to run 7-8 is really the right time. some players arrive earlier but the staff does not guarantee that they can be super hepful during the 6-7 setup hour.

Game ends officially at midnight, usually we'll do cooldown and closing announcements at 11:45 ot 11:30 but sometimes we'll go as late as 12:30-1. Aftergame events happen at the newark diner until 2, some scenes are handled as well as setup for the next game. participation in after hours diner chat is super optional buit often helpful for new players



3) What is the real (physical) setting for the game (a bar, night club, gaming room, college location, etc)?

The larp has 3 locations to serve you better. Saturday night larp, the main larp that I have been discussing is on the college campus of Udel in a building called Purnell hall. its a big building with senate chamber-style seating and several courtyards and fountains.
The Chester game a different sub-larp happens once a month on mondays it is held in a nice suburban home, a little more cozy than the wilmington larp, but a good place for the feel of immediacy and paranoia a sabbat game deserves.

Incidentally we're currently doing an experimental 3 rd changeling larp. the rules for it are not on the echoesofempire site but are present as expansion posts on the malkuth madness blog. this larp takes place once a month and goes from 4 pm to the mid to late evning, it is at a beach house in Lewes Delaware a colonial manse with english gardens and a few acres of property to realy get that Arcadian changeling feel.. rides can often be arranged

The dates, times and locations of all three larps are in vampire.echoesofempires.org in the ooc section for out of character.

a. Admission fees?

None, all of the larps in the EoE family are free, People sharing rides to he beach game may be asked to contribute gas money if they are being driven however. Donations are accepted to help keep us in ink, paper, and such, with every $10 donation you get a free copy of our Larp rulebook

b. Does the action all take place at one location or throughout DE

EoE is a shared universe larp system. the action takes place throught delaware and areas called the 'philladelphia Compact' each city has zones it regularly uses, for example, the monday, chester, sabbat larp takes place mostly in chester, west chester and media, even though the larp is held in neark de, the wilmingotn game, th emain game takes place thoughout all of delaware but mostly north of thre c&d canal, although the acton can take people as far as baltimore or new york. The changeling larp takes place in the tourist areas in and around rehobeth and tends not to move around much beyond that.

?

c. Is a “costume” required/suggested?

this is a complex question. a costume is not required...unless.. if you are playing a character with horns it is required that you at least twirl some pencils into your hair or stykle it to look like horns. if you are playing a character that is scarred or hideously ugly you should wear a mask or make sure the character has a power that lets them change into a less ugly shape. if you are playing a character with a sword, you should at least have a broom handle or cardboard tube to act as a prop for the sword for blocking purposes. more details on this are on the site but by and large we try to follow the 10 steps rule. If I can't tell what your character is supposed to be from 10 steps away, you need to change the costume or the character. With some people you wouldn't be able to tell that their costume was a costume. A character, ****, dresses in shorts, a t shirt and flip flops because that is what his character wears. his player, out of character usually doesn't wear shorts and definitely prefers boots, a very industrial goth look, Costumes don't have to be difficult or complicated but be aware your character will be perceived however it is you present them.



4) How friendly (helpful) is this group to newcomers?



I like to think we're quite helpful but this requires many caveats. Most vampire games are closed, cliquish and mean to newcomers. This group has been far less cliquish than any vampire larp I've ever seen but the people involved are still gamers, so some of them are rude and some of them are jerks. That having been said, We try to make sure there's someone in and out of character to help guide and assist any new players up until the end of their first year or so of play. Also most of the larp environment is a vampire environment. the people out of character may be nice and friendly and never hurt a fly, but in character they are playing soulless, undead, monstrous bastards. This has led to some misunderstandings. **** is a staffer and a schoolteacher and one of the few genuinely kind people i know. Her character is a enchantress, seductress, poisoning, backstabbing witch. so some people have trouble differentiating. In one case she pretends to be nice and then can be cruel. In another case she is about the best help for new players I know. As long as you make it clear that you need help or assistance out of character, say by making the various out of character handsigns, I have found this group to be helpful, friendly and willing to give new players the benefit of the doubt at the expense of their own character's well being. But if you ask them for aid in character, this is a game of politics and paranoia and some of these people have been playing a long time and playing for blood.

(**, *****, and ***) A collective answer to my questions would be nice, but three individual impressions might be more useful.



I hope this is helpful. feel free to email me with any more questions and post comments to the blog if you have any.
Hoping to See you all at Game
Ben

Thanks alot,



Unknown Newbs

never is enough

the Never Never


0 reality Regain 0 glamour per night

1 Dreamtime Regain 1 Glamour per night

2 Hedge/Looking Glass Regain 3 Glamour Per night

3 The Realm Fantastique/Neverland/The Ever After/Mirrorlands Refill Glamour Completely each night.

4 The Outer Edge/The Far Side

5 Primal Chaos

The first edge of the never is the dreamtime. it is the echoes and reflections of the dreams of the world . this is similar to the penumbra effectively except for the small pearls formed when someone is asleep or actively dreaming. These pearls can be entered through oneiromancy but otherwise are bubbles of dream that surround and protect sleeping mortals. Throughout the Dreamtime and the entire never never are songlines. travel is easier along songlines (takes only 75% of time) and if the traveler knows the right key to a given songline they may find themselves moving up to 100 times their speed along their journeys. All changelings even in the physical world if they travel along the place where a songline runs in the border dreaming move more quickly. Permanent songlines are worn into the landscape between places of great power or great emotional importance. large crowds, festivals or great events can generate temporary songlines pulling the creatures of the never never into their orbit. Any changeling that sets upon these border songlines may be pulled aside into these happenings. The Dreamtime covers the whole world in width but is only one realm deep, in some rare places 2 realms deep anyone pushing deeper into the Never Never heads into the Wyld proper.

Songlines also lead deeper into the Never never, out of the Dreamtime and into the edge of the Wyld.


The first stage of the Wylds, second stage of the never never for those keeping score, often called the hedge or the Looking Glass Realm. The Looking Glass realm is much like our own except twisted and warped in some ways. Fires may burn Green, the Trees may be made of bone, a garden could grow fragrant crystal flowers. it is in these places mutations begin. more on that in mutations section. Here there are waypoints places devoted to an emotion or aesthetic. a lover's garden of opal and ruby, an ancient battlefield where the hearts of the fallen grow on strange trees. The land between waypoints still exists and there are approximately one waypoint every 30 miles or so, travel along a songline though will cause one to get to the next waypoint in anywhere between an hour and a round key dependent. Leaving the songline's however is not only possible but a way of construction new waypoints. the land is mostly stable and changes only occur over the span of months. a hill will not become a mountain overnight, not a desert to a lake. Over the course of a month A hill might become a heap of garbage in a dump, or grow to be a fairly sized cliff.
Songlines can lead one deeper into the Never Never, 20 waypoints deep. On the whole it is about 20 waypoints wide as well. The Millions of places of power in the dreamtime winnow down to the mere hundreds in the Hedge after you do 20 waypoints in, the 21st is in:


the Realm Fantastique, Neverland, the Ever After. this is the closest to reality the True Fae can come without taking crushing damage. This is the area from which most of the characters escaped. Places between waypoints are no longer relevant. The journey from one to another is "a maze of twisty corridors all alike", or "a multi hued pebbled highway. Here one should not step off the path. Never step off the path. Travel that is not along a songline leads to instant mutation and calls dark and terrible things to devour the unwary traveler. even should they survive the things the Wyld itself eats the character's Clarity at a rate of a point per round. Travel along a songline is comparatively safe one only meets the various denizens of the waypoints and freeholds of the fae. In this realm, the one glamour cost to activate any contract is waived. Here the realm changes constantly except when nailed in place by the will of a Lord. The hills skip like rams, the mountains like lambs. over the course of a day a volcano may become a geyser then a fountain and finally an asphalt parking lot. The hundreds of Looking Glass waypoints choke down to a mere 6 or so waypoints wide. Almost every waypoint here is occupied or was once occupied by a fae lord. Those places not under the thumb of a being of such power tend to drift apart and lose importance. The fey that choose to live such a base and physical existence are few.
The songlines do not end here. Neverland is 60 waypoints deep (although this number varies it is never less than 50 or more than 66).

The Outer Edge, The Far side, A thin band around the edge of the Mirrorlands maybe 2 to three waypoints deep hold the last skin on reality before the very end. Here are no distinctly different places or waypoints., A tree might flower in a moment, drop its leaves which become birds that are devoured by a chorus of aerial singing pigs. the area defies description save that large swaths seem to have a theme of some sort. The Fae here are truly at home, answering to no logic form or continuity, they change with the protean landscape. Things here are entirely defined by their virtues, their physical form has no true meaning. Beings here know nothing of the humdrum realm of Earth and care even less. Clarity immediately drops to one for all present. Contracts have no cost. The ragged edges of songlines still run. All the way into:


Primal chaos, even the Fae do not send their consciousness to this place. it is a realm of unreason, to gaze upon it is to be dissolved. All virtues are lost at a rate of one per round. Clarity becomes 0.


Song Lines

All song lines can be used for the activation cost of one glamour. All song lines have a catch that can defray this cost. The catch can be anything from a song to a feeling to a rose. every song line has a power rating the rating is the average of the power ratings of the two points it connects. Travel time along a song line is divided 2 at rating 1, divided by 3 at rating 2, 4 at 3 and so on. Large crowds or important events can deform a song line like gravity distorting space or a whirlpool pulling water. These major events essentially form temporary waypoints of varying power, feeding a song line.

Changeling Morality

Morality


Morality - In place of one's nature and demeanor, a changeling regains willpower from their motivation. A motivation must be a goal or task. When achieving a portion of one's goal, or action in the furtherance of their goal a character may at the staff's discretion regain a willpower. Changelings have four virtues.

Compassion - the character's empathy and forgiveness

Conviction - a character's resistance to physical or mental pain and hardship

Temperance - a character's self control and clearheadedness

Valor - a character's bravery and courage

A person's starting Clarity is their Conviction plus Temperance

Starting Wyrd is 1

Glamor - Valor+Compassion+Wyrd

everyone starts with 9 dots of virtues, with one free in each.

A character can spend as much of their glamor pool as they like per turn.

Willpower starts at 3 + lowest virtue and has a maximum of 7 + lowest virtue.

Characters have a number of intimacies equal to their compassion. an intimacy is a noun, person place thing or ideal, a character is up one trait on challenges dealing with their intimacies. intimacies cannot be changed except by losing a point of compassion and when a new point is purchased a new intimacy is chosen.

Trait max = 12 +2 for primary +1 for secondary.



------------------------------------------

Notes on changeling condition.


changelings take an additional level of damage from cold Iron and also continue to bleed from lethal damage.

They also heal as per changeling healing chart.
Changelings have no soul and no True name. effects targeting either fail utterly for no discernible reason. A changeling who has no fetch still has gained something in place of a soul so diagnostic and various sensory powers that sense the soul can function however the soul is a little "off" to the reader. Powers that affect the soul however (obeah, soul steal, etc) still have no effect for good or ill. A changeling that has reduced their Wyrd to 0 Has both a true name and a true soul. A changeling cannot reduce their Wyrd to 0 while they still have a fetch.

A Sense of Scale.

It is vitally important that your pcs posses a sense of scale. Sometimes they will have phenomenal cosmic powers and great wherewithal but feel like an underdog or downtrodden or put upon because they are up against far greater threats. From time to time put in a few under challenging encounters. Have them beat up a few random thugs. My personal favorite is a homecoming scene in which they have to go back to their starting area and deal with the problems that seemed so insermountable a mere few hundred experients points ago. It helps keep everything in context. When you're building a mood or trying to maintain suspension of disbelief, context is king.

Very Interesting...But Stupid

A prime difference between larp and tabletop is plot. In tabletop players want plot and want the plot to be about them. In larp plot is a deadly, venomous, crotch seeking viperbadger with a heart full of hate and rage. The formula is simple. Anything that is interesting in tabletop or interesting to the storyteller is bad for the player.

Interesting means there is some kind of plot or action

Plot Requires Drama.

Drama Requires Conflict.

For something to be a Conflict and not merely scene description Conflict must be of an approximately equivalent challenge or have a chance (or seem to have a chance) of causing the Player Character to genuinely fail.

Chances of failure when there weren't any before is aggravating as buggery.
Getting rid of said chances of failure inevitably costs you one of the three things our character doesn't have enough of. Time, Wherewithal, or Hit Points/Health Levels.




Tl:Dr
If it is interesting to you it is probably causing painful forced entry for someone else. If this appeals to you, you are probably destined to be a storyteller. If you do not, however, understand this point and plan accordingly, you are probably a bad storyteller.

Things To Do at The Table When You're Dead

If you are going to be a gamer there is going to be a lot of downtime. There is only one Storyteller and as a rule there are at least three players. As your characters are not likely to be joined at the hip at all times the storyteller is going to be running a scene for one or two of you and not the other. Sometimes your storyteller will commit the cardinal sin of having the person they are running for not be you. All is not lost. I have seen several players use downtime productively and several others not. Here are the seven habits of highly effective downtime. You can do one or all of these during a lull in play.

1. double check the math on your sheet, when you last leveled or gained exp did you change all of your derived values? When you got that last magic item did you factor its bonuses into your various abilities? if not the time to do so is now, not in the midst of combat when it will frustrate and annoy everyone as you do math in the midst of what is supposed to be a tense fight for life.

2. Actually read the rulebook, if not for the game you're playing now, for some other game that you are currently in. Believe me, knowing what your powers do or don't do can save your character's life.

3. Stat out something you have left fuzzy and vague. DO you know your familiar's will save? how about your cohort's feat selection. Do you have followers? Making actual sheets for these people can be a very very effective way of getting more in character and getting more of a sense of scale for the world in which you play and the people your character meets each day.

4. Do homework. Many if not most gamers are in school of some sort, take this time to do a few problems or read a textbook. Gameing can overwhelm the study schedule of even the strongest minds.

5. Talk with the other players who are out of the scene, if possible and if it makes any sense talk in character. This helps the mood of the game and more importantly this will help you get a better feel for the other pcs. Also helpful, the noise of talking will keep you from hearing what's going on in the other payer's scene and if you're polite and o it right you won't drown out their scene.

6. Learn a simple craft, no really. I have seen the following things learned while at the gaming table, figure drawing, painting, sculpting, crochet, needlepoint, origami and on two memorable occasions juggling. Useful skills that will serve you elsewhere, but keep in mind if you juggle, learn to juggle away from the battleboard.

7. Plot. If there are any other players out of the scene, or even if you're all alone, use this time to plot and plan what you will do against the next big bad guy, spend this time trying to puzzle through any mysteries that remain. if you can use this time to prep your battle plans or so the math for the various situational modifiers and buff spells your character will need for their next challenge. Or if its not that kind of game just plot against someone, maybe the person in the scene, preferably an npc because in many games party unity is important.

Whatever you do, try not to fall asleep. everyone does it, game narcolepsy happens a lot, storytellers stay storytellers because they have nice or soothing voices, the chairs are comfy and the game room is warm. Still nothing tells a storyteller to stop storytelling and makes them feel bad like a player falling asleep.

Spring!

I heard the first ice cream truck of spring today, it was beautiful. It sounded like a toy piano, not all beepy. It is a sad thing about adulthood in general or perhaps mine in specific that I can no longer hear an ice cream truck without volumes of experience rushing back. I remember seeing the tragicomic, drug fronts/ice cream men of Madison bringing smiles to young and old. I am both proud and ashamed of the many times the distant dulcet tones of the truck has resuced me from uncomfortable conversational moments. Many is the character in roleplaying games that owes his life to the five minute reprieve and regroup for thoughts afforded me by a distracted storyteller made all the more tractable by cold dairy treats. A truism I leave you with this evening. It is impossible for anyone regardless of station to look dignified while eating an ice cream cone. One of the first memories I have of politics is of GHW Bush when he was vice president, and former head of the CIA eating an ice cream cone during a white house easter. It was precisely then that I knew in my heart that adults were not inherently dignified, no matter their station. As a matter of fact, if you have an enemy or even a friend or associate who intimidates you, meet them over ice cream cones. If nothing else you at least get ice cream out of the deal.

How to Succeed as a Storyteller

Nobody tuns games for a living, even those who write game fiction or game books don't run for a living. Therefore anything you do in your game is not for profit as a rule. So as long as your players don't catch on, steal mercilessly and often. The key is to steal from obscure sources or to put on a palette swap or two. Few people will recognize the story from Breakfast Club if its set in a prison for noblemen like say the tower of London in a fantasy Middle age setting. Personally I like recycling stories from Veggie Tales and other children's cartoons. The stories are simple and easy to follow and tend to have recognizable quirky characters. Because the characters don't have bodies they need to have exaggerated vocal quirks or mannerisms to help differentiate them, this translates to spoken word or rpg play easily. When in doubt mix 2 things that are similar, like Breakfast club and High School Host Club. Or two things that are very Dissimilar, like Care Bears and Kult.

Sugar We're Going Down

Downtime is a tricky issue in larps and tabletops. Some points of view favor more downtime, some favor less. I personally like having as much of it as I can reasonably get away with. Some of the best games I've seen basically could have been just talking heads exploring character and nuance of a game world. Now this doesn't mean I'm some kind of pantywaist, artiste, role-playing-not-roll-playing wussbag. I love D&D I like MechWarrior. Battles are awesome and frequent and ignominious character death makes for a tense and exciting larp. It boils down to an amount of simulation and verisimilitude in games. Most people most days don't do much, they don't fight or change careers or fall in love. and from time to time exploring what a character does on a typical day in their life really helps flesh out the world. Exercise for the day for new players or staffers: write down or try to take note of any time in your day when you do something hard, something where you have a real chance of failure and where that failure has consequence. At the end of the week see how many times that has happened. Think about what your character does when the game is not in session or what they did before the game was in session. What did they do easily, what are they like at home?

Wiki Fatigue

I have just finished several hours of editing a wiki. I am beginning to suffer 21st century fatigue. On the plus side the best damn rules for Vampire The Masquerade LARP in the whole damn world are now just a little bit better.
I am willing to make the boast of Lu Buwei anyone who can add or subtract a single rule and have it pass the standards of heaven (the head storyteller) shall be richly rewarded.

Graceful Wicked Mass Combat

So far I have read most of the Graceful Wicked Masques book and I like it. The shaping combat is going to take a few dozen tries to get right but I think if I get a forgiving troupe we could do some dry runs. Combat amongst the fae is weird and narrative but the combat as it is intended in exalted is weird and narrative. For the first time in... ever I am actually playing in an exalted game where the stunt system is being rigorously used. Its interesting but I think it would do better as 2 games. Exalted combat takes half as long as combat in the Old World of Darkness but in the OWoD there's a reason why they called it Vampire- The Eternal Struggle. Rolling a defensive dice pool and counting fiddly numbers has been replaced with a static Defense Value, and that's good but there is still a pretty complicated initiative system stol- er borrowed from Feng Shui (an awesome game in its own right). Playing in a party of nine exalts, seven of which are new to the game system, 3 of which are new to any White Wolf product is slow going. I dread the day when everyone here gets flurry attacks.

Paying Attention

Watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAntzB7EwE

When you're done,think about it. Really think.

Try to remember the colors of the shirts of the last 5 people you met. Try to remember Who the last five people you met were. What were you doing when you met them? What were they doing? Where did you meet them? Why were either of you there? If you cannot remember these details, make them up, write a little story about them. Make up their end of the dialogue. If you can, have someone else talk to you as one of those people, stay in character. If you can do this you can run Role Playing Game with the best.

Forget What Ya Heard

No matter what the date says on this post this is still part of a twice a day update. The plan, see, is to update once at 6 when I get back from class and once at midnight when I get back from game. If I stop gaming till midnight or (god forbid) start waking up before 11 with something coherent to say I will change this pattern but all things being equal its not tomorrow until I go to bed. if it makes you feel any better you can pretend Delaware is on the west coast, its not like most people would know if it was. I'm currently running an Exalted Modern game.




Some house rules I know and love include, 1. DV reduces and keeps reducing until the characters initiative comes up. This may seem to make people weaker but it keeps fight from going on for hours. 2. Screw fatigue penalties. 3. DV's do not go down when characters attack, this balances rule 1 and makes the characters tougher again but combat still goes quickly. You can either wear someone down or your can't, no fiddling about with trying fifty different combos only to find out none work. 4. People can channel virtues as many times as they like so long as they have willpower, this goes for villains and heroes it heightens the difference between the lesser Exalted and the mere mortals. 5. Everyone gets the same number of experience points, no matter what they do no matter if they even attend the session. This amount will be set by me and there will be no deviations. This I have found is the best rule ever for rpgs and should be adopted regardless of system. More on this in another post.