MAY 23, 1998

Jill and Brock have both decided to take a break from Storytelling. Please take the time to thank them for their work! The ST team is now:

Sky Sorenson (Head ST) E-mail s.sorenson@home.com Phone: 652-5291
Amy Skopik E-mail amy@skatter.usask.ca Phone: 652-0458
Randy Mosiondz (Werewolf) E-mail mosiondz@shaw.wave.ca Phone: 652-0458

Narrators
Sean Farough (Influence) E-mail: scf476@mail.usask.ca Phone: 382-7426

We are always interested in Narrators to help out with different parts of running the game. You do have to put aside your regular character for your term as Narrator, though.

OUT OF CHARACTER MEETINGS

On the second Friday of every month, we have meetings where you can talk to the Storytellers and Narrators about your character, update us on changes, etc. We usually have this meeting in the Campus Club Rooms, so there are also small rooms to arrange quick scenes. We’ll announce the definite time and location closer to the event, but please keep these meetings in mind. If enough people start coming out, we’d like to have short discussion sessions on various aspects of the game (what the World of Darkness is, how to roleplay Frenzy, etc.)

CHARACTER INFORMATION

You will probably be approached by a Storyteller or Narrator to make sure that the information that we have about your character is accurate and up to date. Please take five minutes of your time and help us with this. We need your character sheet, haven information and Influence information.

INFLUENCE

We have a shiny happy new (well, slightly used) Influence Narrator, Sean Farough, whose only concern with the game will be catering to your Influence whims. However, he really needs to know the details of everyone’s Influences before he can get started. Please fill out a form, or e-mail him with your name, your character name, and what Influence you have. Anyone who doesn’t get this information to Sean by June 26 will LOSE their Influence! So please spread the word to anyone who might have missed this newsletter or the announcements!

STATUS RULES

Please read the following, which is the Shared Universe ruling on granting Status.

"A character may grant a point of Permanent status to a member of their own clan if said member has less then half the Permanent status of the bestower (in other words, if the bestower has more than double the Permanent status of the recipient). The cost to do so is one Temporary status.(LotN p.123). Exceptions to this rule are the following: the Prince, the Seneschal when the prince is absent, the Primogen as noted above, Archons, and Justicars. The holders of these positions are able to grant status so long as the granted point does not put the receiver at a higher level of status than the grantor. Usually this means up to one point below their own level."

In other words, ask a person OOC how much Status he or she has BEFORE you say that you are giving them any! As a rule of thumb, if they have the same or more Status, then you CANNOT give them any more. If they have more than half your Status, you probably can’t give them any more (unless you’re Prince or Primogen).

WEB PAGE

Once again, for those who can see it, we have a game Web page at http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/arts/night/sbn_main.htm. You are responsible for giving us a description of your character for the page; if you don’t do it, no-one will! Also, each clan has an area for rumours. These are read by people all over the Shared Universe (and lots of people outside it, too!) so if you have any tidbits that your clan-mates around the world would be interested in, please give them!

INFLUENCE (Again)

It has been brought to our attention that the Influence rules are rather unclear. We have changed them slightly to what we hope is an easier system. When you gain Influence, you accumulate the levels. Having a Level 3 in Legal does mean that you have Jimmy the Janitor for Level 1, Sarah the Summer Student at Level 2 and Joan the Junior Partner at Level 3. You can do one effect at each level per month, and you now occupy three slots on the Legal Influence Pyramid. This is a change from how we used to do it, but we hope it’s easier to understand and will get people using their Influence more often. Note that this means that people at high levels probably own a bunch of slots on the pyramid, since they probably worked their way up. If all the slots above you are filled, you can only advance by removing someone else’s Influence to make room for yours. Also, keep in mind that player characters are not the only people to maintain Influence in the World of Darkness...

Because you now use each level of Influence, we’d like you to record each level on your character sheet. So instead of writing "Legal 3" you’d now write "Legal 1,2,3". If someone gets Sarah the Summer Student (your Level 2 Legal Influence) put in jail for jaywalking, you’d now write "Legal 1,3" on your character sheet. You’d have to talk to the Influence Narrator about how to get your Level 2 back. If you come to the next OOC meeting on June 12 we hope to answer any other questions about how Influence works.

SHARED UNIVERSE EVENTS

It’s a jam packed summer! If you are interested in finding out more about any of these events, please see a Storyteller or someone who subscribes to the rumor-control listserver. Remember that you should get your character sheet approved in advance, and often the registration is cheaper too if you pay in advance.

August 1-3 (long weekend) Ottawa ON A large event featuring the celebrities Alyson Hannigan ("Willow" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Bruce Campbell (yes, the Bruce Campbell) as NPCs! Cost is $15, does not include accommodation or food. Crash space available.

Sept 4-7 (Labour Day) Erie (Toronto) Large event, information still forthcoming.

Sept 4-7 (Labour Day) Duluth, Minnesota Werewolf Grand Moot. One-shot characters welcome, NPCs also needed. Cost US$70 payable by August 1. Includes Friday, Saturday accommodation, meals Saturday (extra room and board available)

Oct 31 (Halloween) Peterborough, ON Large event, dead characters welcome as NPC ghosts!

ABILITIES

After playtesting the idea of making different levels of abilities cost more and do different things, we’ve decided to scrap the idea as too complicated. It’s hard to remember what the different levels do, and the extra XP cost makes comparing your character to other cities’ very hard. Instead, what we’re going to try is let you add your current appropriate Ability score to your current appropriate Trait total, to help you in ties. Abilities still cost one per level. You can only add the Ability in a case where you would be able to use it for a retest (i.e. you would not add your "Brawl" in an attempt to stab someone with a knife, you’d add your "Melee").

EXAMPLE: Sofy is trying to pierce Anthony Ishida’s ear with a hole punch. She Quickly lunges for his ear, while he Nimbly skips out of the way. They go to a contest, and both throw rock. They compare Traits. Sofy has five Physical, Anthony has seven. But wait! Sofy also has five Melee, while Anthony has only one Dodge! Effectively, Sofy now has ten Traits, while Anthony has eight. She wins, and Anthony loses his "Quick". He retests with his Dodge, and again they both throw rock. Now Sofy still has ten Traits, but Anthony (having lost his Quick and spent his Dodge for a retest) is down to six. Anthony is introduced to the world of body modification.

Again, you use your current Ability total. If you’ve spent levels for retests, your total goes down.