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Major Arcana and Minor Indiscretions |
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Newsletter November 10th, 2007</TBODY> |
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<TBODY>Wade Lahoda |
Head Storyteller storyteller@saskatoonbynight.com or 477-0145 |
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Narrators: Allan Schnell & James Nobel |
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The official Saskatoon by Night webpage can be found at www.saskatoonbynight.com
Next Game Date Saturday, December 8th. Downtime due in Saturday, November 24th.
Mind’s Eye Theatre: Awakening
White Wolf has finally released a set of LARP rules for Mage. Having had a chance to read through them, they are for the most part identical to the tabletop rules, with only a couple of major changes but with many much-needed clarifications. Overall the book is better-organized, more intuitive, and with fewer holes. Consequently, I am very strongly considering switching over to Mind’s Eye Theatre: Awakening for our primary rule set – the only thing delaying me is that I’d like to put together a comprehensive list of changes first, so that people who have the tabletop book don’t feel lost. Overall, the two books are fairly interchangeable, and I have already found myself reaching for the MET book when making house rules or clarifications on things the tabletop book have left vague.
The PDF of Awakening is available for purchase at http://flamesrising.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=50112, and a print-on-demand hardcopy is available at http://www.lulu.com/content/1103439. Even including shipping, the printed version is still cheaper than the tabletop book, which is also a bonus.
Sympathetic Conduits
When you cast a Sympathetic Spell on a target, it creates a Sympathetic Conduit through which the target may cast back at you even if they do not know the Space Arcanum and without spending the extra Mana for Sympathetic casting. There is some confusion to what Sympathetic casting penalties should be used – what if you are targeted by a Mage you’ve never met, does this mean you have an Unknown connection and thus can’t use the conduit to retaliate? For sake of simplicity and balance, you always have at least an Encountered (-8) connection to someone who is targeting you with a Sympathetic spell. If your connection to them is better, you may use that instead(even if you aren’t ICly aware who is targeting you yet).
Change to quick and easy rituals at gatherings
Instead of having every roll take half an hour, I’m going to try it with only the first roll taking half an hour, and the rest only taking fifteen minutes – but you can only normally make a number of rolls equal to your Gnosis. You can spend a Willpower to go past that limit(so long as you’re willing to roleplay them all out), subject to the usual cap that you can never make more rolls on an extended action than your pool(so if you’re casting a spell you have a +5 bonus to cast, you can never do a ritual casting longer than five rolls). Hopefully it’ll make such ritual castings a little bit easier to play out.
In the Community: Winter and Construction- A Changeling the Lost Chronicle
Andrew is starting a Changeling the Lost game which will run from January till June, running either the 3rd or 4th Saturday of every month. Talk to Andrew (lordgrymm@gmail.com / 374-7311) and check out the SLARPA forums for more information. The forum is constantly gaining new information, so check back often. There will be a pregame information meeting on Saturday, Nov. 17.
New Increasing Order Status
A fair number of folks have been asking to spend experience to increase their Order Status lately, so I figured I’d spell out the general requirements you’ll need to have met ICly to earn certain levels of Order Status:
0 -Be generally acknowledged as a member in good standing
-Have one or two notable accomplishments that people talk about
00 -Be a very visible member of your Order locally, and be well respected by your fellows
-Boast several accomplishments in line with the Order’s goals
-Aid and assist other, especially younger and less established, members of your Order
000 -Be seen as a prominent leader and figure of respect by your Order locally
-Have accomplished major feats to strengthen your Order locally
-Actively be taking on apprentices in the Order
-Acted as a valuable resources by teaching Rotes and Arcanum to members of your Order
-Undergo some hardship and sacrifice for the sake of your Order
0000 -Demonstrate your Order is your highest priority – it must come before Consilium or Cabal
-Have trained apprentices who have gone on to be respected members of the Order in their own right
-Be a major resource for your Order locally – spending much of your time teaching Rotes, assisting younger members learn the Arcana, and using your other resources to assist. Access to you is a prime benefit of being an Order member.
-Have taken great strides to strengthen the Order locally – growing the ranks, neutralizing the Order’s rivals, gaining the Order a position of undue prominence in the Consilium, etc.
-Establish extensive contacts with members of your Order outside your Consilium
-Have performed several deeds whose stories are being repeated and retold
00000 -Be widely acknowledged as a paragon of your Order, a living example of their ideals
-Have sacrificed greatly and frequently for the goals of your Order
-Have a legacy of apprentices and other students who were inducted into the Order by you and have gone on to significant accomplishments of their own
-Be your Order’s most valuable resource locally – a large number of the Rotes known by local members they know because you taught them, and you’ve greatly assisted growing members in growing their magical and mundane resources
-Have relationships with prominent members of your Order across the world
-Be directly responsible for your Order becoming strong and of highest prominence locally
-Boast true stories about your accomplishments which are repeated as legends
Many of these requirements are flexible to one degree or another – but if you lack one requirement, you had best be able to make up for it with even greater accomplishments elsewhere. Different Orders will value different accomplishments. Every Order will appreciate having a member build a good library for the Order’s use, but the Mysterium will be especially appreciative. Although every Order has enemies who need to be subdued, the Adamantine Arrows are going to give extra respect to someone with martial triumphs over their foes. And no one respects a master of the Duel Arcane like the Silver Ladder. Order Status in this game isn’t just about fame and accomplishments, it is about how well you fit into and support the society that is your Order. At the upper levels, it isn’t about being (just) a war hero or a famed researcher – it is about being a pillar of the community and a mentor to the rest of the Order.
One of the main things I’ll do when folks are wanting to increase their Order status is canvas the other PCs in the Order for their opinion of your character – often what you’ve done will be less important than how you’re perceived. I encourage Order members to ask each other for favours, especially the teaching of Rotes, because it’ll give you something to report when you’re trying to increase your Order Status(and because what is the point of having an Order if you don’t support and teach each other?). Lastly, you’ll find it fairly hard to become well-regarded in your Order if your Order isn’t doing well locally – if your Order has barely any members and no respect locally, you obviously can’t be that good of a member of your Order or you would have fixed that already. At the upper levels especially, Order Status will effectively be capped by the numbers and prestige of your Order here in Saskatoon.
In Character Venue – Empty Restaurant Space on 8th Street
Tonight’s venue is the empty space left behind after a restaurant went out of business on 8th street. Please don’t go wandering off into other portions of the building or I shall have to assume you are doing scenes in the middle of the street.