Signs of the times

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/sets/72157594323393196/with/264116790/
So I've been listening to "No Children" by The Mountain Goats. I haven't any links to them as all of the links I have found give popups. but they're a worthwhile band. I think My brain is melting out of my ears. but now there's a rituals section on the vampire.echoesofempires.org I am trying to get the wraith stuff out on time but if any of you readers have anything you want to see in a wraith supplement you let me know.

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

Larp Location/Directions

View Directions to 334 mulberry street Lewes delaware in a larger map


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Alternately there's a way to get there following route 13. I'm not sure how but I've heard it bypasses beach traffic.

Changeling Tokens 1 of 5

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Tokens, Other Wyld Forged Goods
All Tokens or other magic items must be made of some physical earth substance which is then treated in the Wyld. There are 2 extended static checks for any item. the first is to make the physical object. The requires a crafts or scrounge challenge of a level of complexity equal to the level of the item. There is then a Craft Wyld challenge of a level of complexity equal to the level of the item to make sure you get the item properties you want. e.g a sword which wields itself instead of a dancing sword that tap-dances. The item must then be placed in the Wyld to gather a number of mutation points equal to the level of the item. some sort of guard or precaution should probably be taken to ensure the crafter does not also mutate and to ensure the item stays put and is not stolen by goblins or something. A character Must Attune all items before use. A character may have a number of attuned items no greater than their Valor + Wyrd. It takes 1 hour per level of the item to attune it. A point of glamour may be spent to reduce this time by one hour per point. Once an item's effect is activated that item slot is full until the effect ends. e.g. if a person has a sealing wax block attuned and a Wyrd +valor of 2. They cannot attune their level 2 sword until all of the seals have been broken or removed.

Holy Crap Its Been A week Changeling Creation

Finals Week Eh?
SO here's something everyone can anjoy I should be getting back up to snuff in a couple days.

Character Creation
All changelings start with the standard rules for character creation for vampire, with the following exceptions:
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
A changeling cannot hold in their system more than their Glamour in points of Glamour. All excess must be somehow stored, usually in oaths.
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.
Changelings start at 7, 5, 3 in their Attributes. They get 10 levels of Skills

Thaumaturgy

Image by TheoJunior via Flickr

God Willing and all his little angels, we'll have all of the thaumaturgy rituals currently allowed in game all types up for your perusal on the vampire wiki and possibly on this site.

Changeling life 2 of 4

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Changeling Citizen
Early Morning: Wake up, prod my dreamer to make breakfast, go back to bed. Soon s/he will go to work and I'll get showered and dressed. Brush teeth and give them a kiss goodbye before they go. Spend an hour doing whatever the day's chores are or calling one of my bonds(wo)men to do them for me.
Midday: Begin exercising check weapons, recite spells, a prepared changeling is a living changeling. Head over to the local court to see what crap job they have for me today. Check my fetch's facebook and twitter to see what they're up to.
Afternoon:Listen to some noble jackhole go on about honor/compassion/Science!/piety or whatever I knew them last month when they were doing my job. See if I can't put on the recruiter face and wrangle some courtless schlubs or wyld creatures to help me kill this beast/rescue this jerk/fulfill this oath/complete this quest that the higher ups can't be bothered to do themselves.
Evening:Crap, my circlemate/lover/oathbound/fellow courtmember is dead. gotta hide gotta hide gotta hide. This is why we always tell people not to go out without a fellow courtier. Better him than me. Ah the freehold, now the people with real rank can solve the real problems, I'm going to get some glamour.
Night: If I'm lucky, back home to dreamers and my happy fake life. If I'm not Sir/Lady jackhole is dead and now I've got to stay in the freehold, guarding it at night while lord/lady badass recovers from the day. Either way, I'm not going outside at night.