US ANST Awakening

A new project

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:19:21 GMT

Hello everyone,

I'd like your help with something. I'm beginning a new project as US ANST-Awakening to map out many of the ley lines in the United States, setting them down for all of the STs in the US (and the Cam in general) to see. Although I'm heading this up as ANST-Awakening, I want to make clear from the beginning that I accept the importance of this as it affects all venues, and will work with STs in every venue to get the information I need, and to develop the maps that will be the end-product of this project. Now, the details of the project are as follows:

Objectives:
* Map out all of the ley lines of National-level importance in the United States, as defined by these characteristics:
- They flow through and link separate Domains in at least two Regions or they greatly influence the mystic landscape of a significant portion of the landmass of the United States, in at least two Regions
- They stay relatively constant over the span of our chronicle (excepting PC or ST action that changes them)

* Map out as many of the ley-lines of Regional-level importance as time allows, as defined by these characteristics:
- They flow through and link separate Domains within the same Region or they greatly influence the mystic landscape of a significant portion of the landmass of a given Region within the United States
- They stay relatively constant over the span of our chronicle (excepting PC or ST action that changes them)

* Map out as many of the ley-lines of Local-level importance as time allows, as defined by these characteristics:
- They flow through only one Domain, or greatly influence the mystic landscape within a single Domain
- They stay relatively constant over the span of our chronicle (excepting PC or ST action that changes them)

* Create a map (in Photoshop or some other program) that contains all of the aforementioned data overlaid on top of a physical and political map of the United States, in a readable fashion, for all to see.

Methodology:
* Communication with DSTs on Local-level ley lines and RSTs on Regional-level ley lines. The methods that the various US DSTs and US RSTs use to gather information and map ley lines will be entirely up to them and their discretion - whatever they think is best for their Domain or Region is their call, not mine, and I wont be stepping in the way of their power to determine the mystic landscape within their Domain or Region.

* Communication with all US STs on National-level ley lines (via LJ, IRC, mailing lists, and direct e-mail), working with all of you to determine the best places to put these ley lines, and the best way to use this project to facilitate role-play and plot development now, and into the future. Now, on that, a few things need to be said:
- I have intentionally narrowed my focus to National-level ley lines (with others as time allows) for a specific reason: I don't want to tell you or your ST staff (at either the local or Regional level) what is in your area of jurisdiction, unless that something also affects other regions of the country. Insofar as some ley lines affect other Regions, however, they (like the FBI or the ATF) must have National-level oversight. That is the basis of this project, essentially.
- Communication with you, the players and STs of the US, will be key to this process. I want to enlist your aid and use your ideas at every step of the process, to make this element of the chronicle as player-driven as possible.
- Although I will lean heavily on your opinions and your input, this isn't entirely a democratic process. I reserve the right, unless and until told otherwise by my boss (the US NST) or anyone else in a similar position of power, to veto an idea on National-level ley lines that I feel is not constructive regarding the quality or timely completion of this project. I will use this right sparingly and with great care, but I want to reserve it up front so that all cards are on the table and everyone is on the same page.

* Graphic Design of the eventual map (and any drafts of the map) will start out in Adobe Photoshop, creating hi-res JPEGs that will show all of the necessary information. National-level, Regional-level, and local-level ley lines will be clearly differentiated from one another and shown on a map of the US (with other detail maps as deemed necessary), so that the mystic landscape of the United States will begin to come into tighter focus and sharper unity.

Now that I've given you the details on the objectives and the methodology behind this project, I'd like to get the ball rolling. As a part of that, I would like your input on the following areas (e-mail to my Yahoo account at auronculari63 is appreciated, as is a reply to this post):

General questions (applicable to all areas):

1) What do you think the metric(s) should be by which we judge where and how ley lines in the United States flow? Should ley lines simply link sites of mystic significance (or nearby domains), should they follow major highways, major rivers, mountain ranges, a combination of several or should it be something else entirely?

2) How dense should the National-level ley lines of the United States be clustered? One or two per region, one or two across the whole country, more than that, less than that?

3) How should a National-level ley line look, on closer examination? Is it one wide, pulsing river of energy, or is it a multitude of smaller ley lines all flowing in largely the same direction, the parts of which change with the season but the whole of which always tends to flow in the same direction (in short, is it a braided or a meandering stream)?
- Picture of a braided stream: http://www.uky.edu/AS/Geology/howell/220/imageA6G.JPG
- Picture of a meandering stream: http://ltierney.demon.co.uk/webimages/galleries/12/fullsize/IMG_4466.JPG

Specific Requests (applicable to YOUR domain):

1) Talk with your DST about this if s/he isn't on this list/LJ and hasn't seen it. Get them to work with your local ST staff and the members of your domain to write up a short description of ley lines in your area. It doesn't have to be gigantic or hugely detailed - all it has to do is answer the following questions:
- Are there any local-level ley lines flowing into or out of your city?
- What do these ley lines follow, or from which direction(s) do the flow to/from?
- Do you *want* National-level ley lines flowing through your Domain?

2) Talk with your RST about this. Get them to work with the players and STs of your region to write up a description of the Regional-level ley lines in your area. It doesn't have to be gigantic or hugely detailed - all it has to do is answer the following questions:
- Are there any Regional-level ley lines flowing within your Region?
- What do these ley lines follow, or from which direction(s) do the flow to/from?
- Do you *want* National-level ley lines flowing through your Region?

3) Talk with me about National-level ley lines. You don't need to write a dissertation on the topic (although if you did that would be awesome), but I would like to know the following:
- What sorts of features positively influence (attract) National-level ley lines? Do they follow rivers, highways, etc?
- What sorts of features negatively influence (repel) National-level ley lines? Do they avoid industrial waste dumps, parking lots, mountain ranges, etc?
- Where would you like National-level ley lines, as a player? Do you want them in your domain, in your region? Would you prefer they were put elsewhere?

Now, all that being said, I'd like to make a few notes to finish things up:
* Approvals. Once all of this is set and I've finalized it at National, then this will represent the paradigm of the United States. What does this mean?
- Altering (in a permanent or semi-permanent fashion) the location or flow of the ley lines marked as "National-level" will require Top approval
- Altering the location or flow of ley lines marked as "Regional-level" will require High approval
- Altering the location or flow of local-level ley lines, since it alters the paradigm of things in several venues in your domain, must meet with your DST's approval.

* Fluidity. National, Regional, or local-level plotlines may change this information from time to time. If a change is to a National-level ley line, I will do my best to update the map in a timely fashion (since I'll be reviewing the app to change it at National, anyway). If a change is to a Regional-level ley line, then I will have to depend on the RST in question to inform me of the change - if I don't know its happened, I can't change it. I'll be marking the local maps (as I get to them) with "as of [date]" so that any changes that happen after that date are not up to me to make. If you want to make the changes and send me an updated map, awesome. The sheer volume of such local-level changes is beyond the scope of my position, however, so I'm going to leave it up to local STs to keep that information up to date.

Now, since I'm a firm believer in being the first to do what you ask everyone else to do, I'm going to prepare my responses to the questions I wrote, above. Expect to see them shortly.

Sincerely,
Luke Hill
US2004031302
US ANST-Awakening

Hello world!

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:24:33 GMT

Hey guys,

First, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Luke Hill, your new US ANST-Awakening. I'm certain that some of you know me, and I'm equally certain that some of you don't. That being said, I'd like to pontificate for a moment on my past as a storyteller, my take on the present state of affairs in the Awakening venue, and my vision for the future of the Awakening venue in the United States.

The past (or, 'who I am and why'): I've been playing Mage in various forms since the mid-late 90s, though I only heard of the Camarilla in 2002 when I entered college in Ruston, Louisiana. I joined the Camarilla in 2004, primarily to play Ascension. I played for about 9 months before I ran - and was elected - Ascension VST of Ruston. In March of 2005, just after SCaRE, I was hired as ARST-Mage for the SC Region of the US. In May of that year (a bit prior to NEGLECt 2005) I was hired as GSA: Entropy, an assistant to the AAMST-Mage at the time, Jessi Hixon. When the big venue reset button got pushed I was retained as SC ARST-Mage and as a GSA under Jessi, though my job title changed to GSA: Antagonists & Realms. When Kevin Drugan took the job of AAMST-Awakening I was retained, though my job title was changed to GSA: Antagonists & ST Support. I stayed there for a couple months before the global reorg released me along with all of the other GSAs. Recently I've been re-elected as VST-Awakening in Ruston (after stepping down in March of 2006), and as I'm sure you're well aware by now, selected by Jon Hermann as his US ANST-Awakening. So, that catches us up to now...

The present (or, 'what I see and think'): I see the Awakening chronicle right now as being in a state of transition, from the beginning of the chronicle into the middle. This means that we're now seeing the development of what will be the face of the Awakening chronicle, and I believe that the face we're seeing is something that people will enjoy (and are enjoying). Interpersonal (vP) and environmental (vE) conflicts are taking place on several levels, and that's keeping things entertaining and people engaged. The power level in the chronicle is high (higher than some would like, I venture), but I don't believe that to be a destructive force in and of itself; rather, I think it is an identifying element of our chronicle, of our take on the open-ended world that White Wolf has given us. So, from here, I want to look at what we're given and shape from it a chronicle that will be entertaining and engaging, that will draw people in and help them to have fun while staying true to the themes, setting, and flavor of Mage: the Awakening.

The future (or, 'what I plan to, and not to, do'): First things first, I want to look at the rules we've added to those in the published literature of Mage: the Awakening (i.e. the Camarilla General and US National Addenda), and determine with your help whether they add to or detract from what we are seeking in the Camarilla Awakening chronicle. As they add to it, I will keep them; as they detract from it, I will revise or remove them. After that, I will introduce plot that stays true to the themes of Awakening while providing new and interesting avenues for conflict of both an environmental and interpersonal nature. After that I will work to educate storytellers up and down the chain about the eccentricities of the rules of Awakening, of the unique challenges the venue presents, and of how to develop plots that are suited to the unique face of the Camarilla Awakening chronicle.

So, all that said, here's what I'm looking at right now:

note: feel free to comment on any of the following issues either publicly on this LJ or in private to my e-mail at auronculari63 <at> yahoo <dot> com - I'm happy to hear commentary of all stripes, and I very much want your input on issues relating to my office in order to help me make sure that I'm working with, rather than against, the desires of the US Awakening venue

(1) The US National Addendum:
I'm considering the following changes: (a) Drop the general legacy approval level to that set by the Cam Addendum, (b) Raise the approval level of new (not pre-existing) self-initiated and NPC-inducted Legacy PCs one step above the general level (High in most cases, Global in a few), (c) Raise the approval level of certain Legacies (my pet example being the Perfected Adepts) by a step or two in order to compensate for their over-abundance.

Justification for the changes:
(a) I have little fondness for restricting the access of US Awakening players to a given item over and above that of players in other nations without a compelling reason rooted in the demographics of the US player base. Since I don't see one, I see no reason for this provision.
(b) The player base in the US is large enough to support this, and I feel that it would encourage PC tutorship and thereby encourage tutor-student RP. That seems to me to be an important enough factor to raise the approval level one step - making it more difficult to acquire, but far from impossible. In other nations this would be problematic, as the player base in all other affiliates is much smaller than in the US and therefore the pool of legacy tutors is much smaller, making the acquisition of a PC tutor much more problematic.
(c) Simple over-abundance in the case of the Perfected Adepts; there are enough already, and so I want to stem the tide on subsequent approvals.

Questions to you:
(a) What justification(s) would you see as sufficient for raising the approval of a given Legacy or class of Legacies in the United States?
(b) Do you believe that making Legacies more common will be constructive or destructive to the Awakening chronicle in the US, and why do you think so?
(c) Are there any other items that you would like to see changed in approval, what are they, and why?

(2) SCaRE and USCC Plot:
I mentioned above that I was selected as SC ARST-Mage some time ago, and so it merits mention here that I am still acting as SC ARST-Mage until SCaRE, this upcoming March 14-18. Because of this, I will be Venue Lead for Awakening at both SCaRE 2007 and USCC 2007. As such, I'm looking to develop plot that will carry over from one con to the other in a fluid fashion (mostly to lessen the work load, though I also think that some plot continuity between cons would be nice). In addition to designing fluid plot that transfers between the conventions, I'm looking to solve a few, basic problems with convention plots that I've perceived in the past year or so.

These problems include:
(a) Plot monopolization by a select cohort of PCs, at the expense of the fun of other players
(b) Seeming predictability of plot (i.e. the '10 o'clock monster') and unoriginality of design
(c) Narrative disconectedness of plots that happen at the same convention
(d) Inaccessibility of plot by either less or more powerful PCs, depending upon design

Proposed solutions:
(a) Provide plot access greatly in advance of the con in an even, level fashion so that initial access to it is guaranteed for those who want it. What happens after they get their foot in the door, though, is up to them.
(b) Attempting to structure plot in a non-linear fashion, so that it tosses normal rules of plot development out the window, while structuring the conflicts in ways that haven't been seen before.
(c) Strongly tie in all of the plots to a given context that goes beyond the location of the con, but plays to a narrative unity which holds all the pieces together and drives the non-linear resolution in new directions.
(d) Structure plots so that they contain resolution paths for low, moderate, and high power PCs - this is also part of the non-linear resolution mentioned earlier.

Questions to you:
(a) What methods for introducing plot have you seen that have worked well, and which have not worked so well? Has plot seeding far in advance of a convention worked well in the past, and what specific tools have you seen used effectively?
(b) What sort of plot do you enjoy? Do you enjoy plot that evolves with player action, or plot that evolves due to some external stimulus, or a mixture of both? What place does Deus ex Machina have in Cam storytelling?
(c) Do you think a 'plot stew' where all of the elements of a given plot are commingled and are being resolved simultaneously and side-by-side can work? Do you think that it will make things more interesting for players, who can throw plot A at plot B if they want?
(d) What do you see as the key to making plot accessible and solvable for PCs of varying power levels? What have you seen done in the past that has worked well, and what has not worked so well?

(3) ST Education:
I've been reading the OOC e-mail lists for Awakening lately, and have noticed a great deal of focus on the misconceptions of many STs regarding the rules we are using in the Camarilla Awakening venue. Given that, I've been tasked with educating US Awakening STs about the particulars and the general principles of the rules in Awakening.

I'm looking at a few, specific things to educate people on at first, like:
(a) How to use ST discretion when faced with potentially unbalanced uses of improvised casting, and even some cases of rote casting
(b) How to encourage a diverse cast of characters when opinion holds that some arcana are more powerful than others
(c) How to track and enforce mana costs in order to maintain fair and balanced play for high and low Gnosis PCs
(d) How to handle pre-cast effects at game start in order to give reasonable power but not an open door to power-mongering
(e) How to evaluate Legacy applications, including checking for pre-requisites (and what the pre-requisites are) and staying inside of paradigm
(f) How to handle cross-venue without endorsing unbalanced uses of magic or unduly restricting the actions of PCs

Questions to you:
(a) How have you dealt with potentially unbalanced interpretations of rules in the past? What strategies have worked with your players, and which haven't?
(b) Have you found that people make mostly the same kinds of PCs, or that a diverse cast of character is the inevitable result of a player base as large as the US Awakening venue?
(c) What methods for tracking mana have you seen/used which worked best? Which have worked worst, or not at all?
(d) What pre-casting methods have you used which have worked well for your PCs in the past? Which of the methods in common use presently are you most fond of, and least fond of?
(e) What standards have you used/seen being used in the past? Which did you feel best played to the needs of the Camarilla Awakening chronicle, and which didn't?
(f) What guidelines do you think should be used for managing cross-venue to/from Awakening?

Now, all that being said, I'd love to hear your responses. I'm going to be doing a whole heck of a lot in the coming days and weeks, and I want to make sure that I act with your mandate to help shape the chronicle that you want to play in, rather than act solely on my vision of the chronicle and my ideas of how it should be run.

But now, I must be off to read applications. Take care!

Sincerely,
Luke Hill
US2004031302
US ANST-Mage

Saying Goodbye

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 03:02:32 GMT

Earlier today, my term as US ANST Mage ended. I just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone that I enjoyed my time as ANST, and I wanted to express my appreciation to all of those players and storytellers who I came across in my time as ANST. I got the be involved in a lot of fun and exicting things as ANST, and I treasure those moments. Thank you to everyone who joined me along the way.

Justin Diaz
US2002021709
US ANST Mage (outgoing)

Legacy State of the Union

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 06:20:25 GMT

Well, the mage venue just finished its first year of chronicle about an hour ago. I am quite pleased to announce that within the first year of the chronicle 150 applications for legacies (both published and custom) had been approved. Much as I had hoped, the distribution for custom and published legacies was exactly where I hoped it would be as published legacies came in at 80 percent, and custom legacies accounted for 20 percent of all legacies in play.

While I know many people have wished for lower approval levels on legacies in order to make access to legacies easier, I hope this announcement helps to show that legacies are finding their way into play. If you are a mage player interested in pursuing a legacy, I strongly encourage you to either pursue finding a PC mentor for your legacy either IC or OOC, or pursuing the legacy on your own either in your character background for new characters just now entering play or through NPC mentors for those legacies which are still exceptionally small in number of PC members.

Dragon Con 2006 Premise for Awakening

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 04:40:42 GMT

In case you hadn't heard, I will be running the Awakening game at Dragon Con 2006 which is taking place over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, GA. Originally the premise for Dragon Con involved the return of a lost Atlantean era library by an entity known as Precipice. However, when I was asked to be the ICC 2006 Awakening lead ST, I took the library and Precipice premise for use at ICC (that premise just worked too well for ICC to not use it there).

So, since I needed a new premise for Dragon Con, I came up with the following passage which has been circulating on flyers through the SE and among awakened society:

"Insomniacs,

Are you tired of feeling like you have a lot of *wisdom*, but that it is all going wasted and unnoticed? Are you tired of the ever-present big brother *guardians* and the plans of power-mad *ladder*-climber politicians causing all your opportunities to slip by? Frustrated because it feels like the unexplained *mysteriums* of life make you want to stab other people in the eye with an *arrow*? If so, give me a call on September 2nd, 2006 and I'll be happy to tell you where you can find a better option. And don't worry, I'm happy to provide *free councilling*.

-Bormeant"

If you plan on attending the Mage game at Dragon Con, you can assume your character has found one of these flyers in some fashion or another (posted on a wall, on a piece of paper blowing down the street, etc). Oor, even if you aren't going to be at Dragon Con and you want to ask people about what happened at Dragon Con, you can assume your character found one of these flyers and made a mental note to ask what the flyer was all about.

Which reminds me, I know the Dragon Con web site still lists the premise of the Mage game as revolving around Precipice and the library. I have asked the Dragon Con people to change the premise several times, but my requests have gone unanswered. Then again, I'm running two days of Mage (Saturday and Sunday) and they also list the Mage game as only happening on Sunday. *sigh*

Either way, I deeply apologize to anyone who is confused on the premise for Dragon Con. I hope this clarifies the situation.

Justin Diaz
US2002021709
US ANST Mage
ICC 2006 Awakening Lead

US ANST Mage Needs Your Help

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 14:30:26 GMT

As many people know, I am running a plot that involves a small gray box that many people believe contains the spirit/soul/mind of someone named Lucius. In fact, many people have probably seen this box in person at some of the various games I have run (or helped run) this year.

However, despite my best efforts, I seem to have misplaced the prop I use for the gray box. I last saw the box at NEGLECT, and I would swear I brought it home with me. But after much searching, I am confident the prop is not lying around my home somewhere.

So, if someone happens to know where that particular prop is, or has any information that might lead me to finding the prop, could someone please drop me an email (chyldprodg@aol.com) to let me know?

Thanks!

New Plot Kits Available

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 01:46:25 GMT

Earlier today I published two new plot kist for the US Awakening chronicle. The plot kits were distributed to the Awakening ST list as well as to all of the RSTs and Awakening ARSTs. If you did not receive a copy of the plot kit, contact your RST or ARST and request a copy. Both plot kits are slated to start in early August. If you have trouble obtaining a copy from your RST or ARST, contact me directly (chyldprodg@aol.com) and I will help facilitate the plot kit's distribution. Or if you are an ST who has the two plot kits and you know another US Mage ST who does not have the plot kits, feel free to share the plot kits with other STs.

And if you are not an ST but are reading this anyway, let your VST know that these plot kits are out there. Both of these plot kits tie into the US meta-plot, and so if you would like to see what is developing on a national scale in the US, then tell your VST to check out those two plot kits and consider them for use in your local game.

Solicting Input

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 16:16:26 GMT

Believe it or not, we are well past the 6 month mark of Mage, and looking back at the way things have progressed I am happy to say that I am very pleased with the ways things have turned out thus far. The Mage has been a success when viewed on the whole. However, I hardly think my opinion is indicative of everyone, and I doubt anyone would arrive at the same conclusion I have for all of the same reasons.

So, I would like to offer everyone a chance to share their insight. What have you liked about Mage thus far? What have you disliked about Mage thus far? What would you like to see more or less of in the next few months of the chronicle? Most importantly, why?

While I would greatly appreciate everyone being as detailed as possible in explaining their opinions, I ask that everyone please keep in mind that this is supposed to be a constructive and civil exercise. Please refrain from verbally attacking any particular player, ST, domain, or convention. I know this makes it a bit harder to frame your comments, but I expect this will be a lot more productive if we can keep this discussion as impersonal and generalized as possible so that we can focus on ways to improve the venue, as opposed to ways to invoke a need for dispute resolution.

A Friendly Reminder

Wed, 31 May 2006 16:46:59 GMT

For those who are not aware or who have forgotten, please remember the following provision from the NEGLECT 2006 Mage VSS:

"Custom Mechanics & Top Approvals: Any item that either requires Top approval or that creates custom mechanics (such as custom rotes, which are High approval) must be reported to the Lead Storyteller via email at before the end of Sunday June 4, 2006. Failure to notify the Lead ST of any item may result in the player being denied use of the item during the game."

June 4th is this Sunday. So, if you have something that qualifies as any of the above, I would strongly encourage you to contact me privately via email at chyldprodg@aol.com to alert me of your approval.

P.S. - You might want to look over each VSS for the other venues at NEGLECT to make sure there aren't any similar deadline for notification to the lead ST. You can find each VSS here: http://www.nationalneglect.com/venues.shtml

NEGLECT 2006 Mage Teaser

Tue, 02 May 2006 16:55:38 GMT

I am quite happy to announce that the teaser for the NEGLECT 2006 Mage game has posted at the NEGLECT webiste. For those who are interested in getting an OOC behind the scenes sneak peek, check out:

http://www.nationalneglect.com/venues/mage-tease.shtml

Changes to the US Addendum - Re: Awakening

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:19:38 GMT

The changes discussed below will posted at http://camarilla.white-wolf.com/usnst/docs/US_Addendum.html shortly. I am told that at this moment the above site is inaccessible for revision, but that should be remedied soon. In the meantime, the following are the additions/revisions to the US Addendum, specifically as it relates to the Awakening Venue. These changes go into effect immediately. Please help to disseminate this information to any and all Awakening players and storytellers who might otherwise have missed this post. Thanks!

*****

Non-Player Characters (1.1)

Seers of the Throne made in furtherance of the US plot kit entitled "A Strange Glue" are Low approval instead of Mid.

Legacies (4.0)

Legacies with full write-ups in sanctioned material, including a description, prerequisites, membership details, and benefits, are High Approval in the US. All custom Legacies are Top approval in the US. The provision in the global addendum that reduces custom Legacies to High approval is not available in the US. All other approval levels related to Legacies (including left-handed Legacies, diverging from a Legacy, and Legacies that do not have full write-ups) remain as stated in the global Approvals Addendum published by the office of the MST.

Furthermore, all custom Legacies require a player character founder.

*****

Justin Diaz
US2002021709
US ANST Mage

US News Story - 144 Missing from Amtrak #377

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 21:13:38 GMT

ST NOTE: On Sunday March 5, 2006 the following press conference will be broadcast all across the country starting at 12:05 AM EST. For those on the east coast, the local news will cut away to a live feed of the press conference. And for those not on the east coast, television channels all across the US will interrupt their regular programming to show the press conference. Once the live feed is broadcast, replays will air during the nightly news throughout the remainder of the country, and a video copy of this press conference will be available from all of the major media outlets on the web.

IC:

A makeshift staging area with a podium littered with microphones for the press conference has been set up on the steps of a small town sheriff’s office. The banner across the bottom of the screen indicates the broadcast is coming from Deerfield, Virginia and the older man in the law enforcement uniform with graying hair and a slightly weathered look to his aging skin is Henry Kimball, Sheriff of Augusta County, Virginia. The headline on the banner reads “144 Passengers and Crew Missing From Train”. Kimball waits for a cue from someone off camera and then begins addressing the assembled crowd, occasionally reading from a prepared statement to confirm his facts.

“At this moment information is still pouring in, and so I apologize up front for the somewhat limited amount of information I can provide. Until such time as my office and other assisting agencies have time to confirm a few more details, I won’t be fielding any questions.

However, as of this point we know that Amtrak passenger train #377 bound for Washington, DC failed to arrive as scheduled on the evening of Saturday March 4, 2006. When Amtrak officials were unable to reach the conductor by radio or cell communication, a helicopter was dispatched to look for the train. Initial search efforts turned up black smoke in the area of a train tunnel. Crews were dispatched to the area to check for signs of the train, and discovered that both the entrance and the exit to the tunnel had collapsed. We spent the better part of last evening digging out the rubble trying to gain access to the tunnel’s interior. Very early this morning we finally made headway into the tunnel and I’m sad to report that the train’s remnants were found inside the tunnel. The train itself appears to have caught fire and the resulting fire destroyed the train entirely. We are still not sure what caused the collapse of the entrance and exit to the tunnel, but it does not appear that the train crashed into the collapsed rubble. So, we’re also not sure exactly what caused the fire. The data recorder, which some people commonly refer to as the “black box”, has been recovered and is currently being examined for more information on what happened.

According to official Amtrak records, there were 144 passengers and crew on board the train. We initially suspected that the passengers and crew might have perished in the fire, however our forensic specialists have since concluded that evidence found at the scene doesn’t support the theory. We believe that the passengers and crew exited the train before the train made it into the tunnel and was burned. In trying to backtrack what might have happened to the train prior to entering the tunnel, we found stress marks on the tracks consistent with the train having stopped abruptly several miles before the tunnel. We also found multiple sets of fresh footprints leading into the woods, which supports theories that the missing passengers and crew might have exited the train prior to the crash. Rescue teams have been dispatched to find follow the footprints, and thus we have yet to find any signs of the passengers and crew from the train. The footprints led search teams to a sinkhole deep in the woods. Initial attempts to locate the passengers and crew in the area of the sinkhole haven’t turned up anything, and at this time we don’t believe the 144 passengers and crew are inside the sinkhole. It is entirely possible that the passengers and crew continued moving through the woods in an attempt to reach town, but we haven’t found footprints leaving the scene to support that possibility either.

I encourage all families of the 144 passengers and crew on board #377 to keep up hope. We have all available men and resources currently devoted to this rescue effort. We’re still attempting to pick up the trail of the passengers and crew. We have crews still out in the woods and equipment is continually being ferried out to assist them in the investigation. It is still very early in the investigation, but we remain confident that we will have something positive to report in the near future. We expect to have more news soon, and will be releasing more information as it becomes available.

That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”

*****

Justin Diaz
US2002021709
US ANST Mage

New US Awakening Plot Kits

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 03:52:50 GMT

Tonight I just published two new plot kits for use by US Mage VSTs. As I know many VSTs still aren't on some of the lists used to distribute plot kits, ask your Mage VST if they received a copy of the two plot kits. Both plot kits are tied to the plot for the upcoming US National (aka NEGLECT 2006), and so these plot kits are a chance for your character to get informed and involved with what will be coming up at the US National and the future of the US Awakening chronicle. If your VST has not received the plot kit, they can either contact the applicable ARST Awakening, RST, or me directly (chyldprodg@aol.com) to acquire copies of both plot kits.

P.S. - Go to NEGLECT 2006! =)

Justin Diaz
US2002021709
US ANST Mage

On Legacies

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 20:09:41 GMT

In the scant few hours since the US Addendum was published, the response has been pretty significant. And certainly, the largest point of debate has been the new approval level on Legacies in the US. I have been monitoring the various LJ accounts where people have posted opinions and questions. I think it only fair that I make some kind of response to the various posts I’ve seen. So, here we go...

The decision to change the approval level on Legacies was first brought up by me and discussed at length with the various Mage ARSTs. I didn’t think it right to throw responsibility for those approvals on a group of people without at least giving them a chance to be heard, and to hear why I wanted to change the approval level. Everyone had differing opinions and reasons for their opinions. Everyone had a chance to voice their opinion and to explain the logic that led them to their conclusion. I read every email that came out, and gave it serious consideration. When it was all said and done though, the decision was made to raise the approval level on Legacies. While I can say that there was enough support from the ARSTs to merit my decision, ultimately the decision to change the approval level was mine and mine alone.

And maybe some people don’t know this, but at the end of the day even when I make a decision, it is not really a decision at all. As much as I might like to, I can’t just change approval levels on my own. Nothing goes into the US addendum without the NST’s approval, and the US addendum wasn’t published without review from Global. My “decisions” (at least in the case of approval levels) are all subject to review. Furthermore, at one point I brought the matter up to the various RSTs and the ANSTs, and they had their chance to disuade me from my opinion. At the end of the day though, the majority supported my decision – or at the very least didn’t have a solid opinion either way.

Now, I don’t remotely mean to suggest that I am putting the blame on the US NST, the various RSTs, or the MST staff for what appears in the US Addendum. I am firm believer in the fact that had I not made the request to the US NST to raise the approval level on Legacies, it likely would have stayed at Mid approval. *I* am the person who brought this topic up and the person who asked for this change. I won’t deny my role in the matter. All I am simply trying to illustrate is this was not a decision I made on a whim one day. I sought input from the people below me in the ST chain, the people above me in the ST chain, and even from people I don’t directly answer to. I’d like to believe this indicates, at least somewhat, that the decision was made after an extensive bit of deliberation and discussion on the topic.

And I’m sure you think to yourself “Okay, great. So you gave this some thought. You even sought a few outside opinions. But you still gave us a really illogical reason for why there are fewer Legacies in the US.” Well, while you might think that, I’d argue that there is no right or wrong answer here.

To be honest, when I submitted my first proposal for the language of the US addendum, I provided only mechanics and no “flavor text” or IC justification for the change in the approval level. All I put was something to the effect of “Non-Left Hand Legacies published in Awakening are all High Approval.” At a later time, a wise and learned ST counseled me to give players some a reason they could use in-character as to why the US potentially had fewer Legacies in play then others (and “fewer” will ultimately only mean *maybe* having fewer Legacies by percentage since I expect the massive player base in the US will mean the US has more characters in Legacies by numbers). After thinking about the advice given to me, I thought it was only right of me to provide that in-character justification. I had a variety of ideas on how I might justify in-character the change in approval levels, but ultimately I decided to go with the language you see contained in the US addendum as it currently stands. It was short, it was simple, and was something that could easily be undone in-game.

Maybe you like that reasoning. Maybe you don’t. Based on the majority of the responses I have seen, a few people think it is complete crap. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, what is important to remember here that these are matters of opinion. Opinions vary from person. And in a similar vein, occasionally so do the decisions storytellers make on issues of setting, theme, and mood. What the mood, theme, or setting of a Mage game is like in Los Angeles might be nothing like the setting, theme, or mood of a game in New York City. Mage is a game painted with broad brush strokes, and there is no one answer as to what any given Mage game’s setting, theme or mood should be. White Wolf has provided a guideline or a framework for storytellers to work in, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t judgement calls to be made along the way.

And again, maybe you ask yourself “Okay Justin, and?” Well, here it is: I made a judgement call as to what kind of setting I wanted to have in the US chronicle. My setting is premised on the idea of a smaller numbers (at least in terms of percentages) of the number of Legacies in play. And I know many people reading this don’t know me except for a signature at the bottom of a few emails and some LJ posts. Consequently, I suppose some people would be perfectly justified in thinking I am actually a monkey locked in a dark closet that has never seen the outside world and thus I have no concept of US or world history. And if that were true, I suppose that might call into question my ability to make a judgement call on this issue. However, this is not the case. I would like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent and educated person – at least enough to say that I well aware of the fact that the Americas were populated before the arrival of the pilgrims, that the Native Americans have an extensive mystic tradition in the US, that at various points in US history millions of immigrants poured into the US from all over the globe bringing with them obscure knowledge and ancient cultural traditions, and a host of other facts that people like to quote to me as of late.

Still, despite my two decades of education, I am hard pressed to find any serious text books or reference materials used in the schools, colleges, or universities across the US that talk about the number of Legacies as defined by White Wolf. I might find a lot of books that deal with similar topics, but no text book out there is going to provide any one of us with concrete numbers on how many Legacies there should or should not be in the US. Attempting to recite US or world history (or any other area of knowledge premised on facts) to me as some method of proving that imaginary wizards who get three unique powers should be Mid as opposed to High approval is lost cause from the start.

There is no definitive answer that the US should have characters in a Legacy accounting for 25 percent or 50 percent or 75 percent of the total in-character population of the US chronicle. The percentage is thus a judgement call. And since that judgement call need not necessarily match the judgement call made in the UK, or in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter, it was judgement call that I, as ANST Mage, had the option to make. Again, you are free to disagree or agree with my opinion as you choose. I don’t expect or demand that everyone cling to my opinions as gospel. Just please don’t tell me I am wrong on a judgement call or an opinion.

And I don’t mean to come across as uncaring or un-sympathetic to your opinion or your feelings on this matter. First, I care what players think. But that doesn’t mean I always do what players want. Second, I will not sit here and pretend that I never had a knee-jerk reaction when a new rule addendum was published. I’ve had them quite often in fact. So, if you read what the US addendum and had a knee-jerk reaction of outrage, confusion, or just general displeasure to what is in there, I understand your opinions and feelings and I consider them perfectly valid. But please try to remember there is no rule that cannot be undone or amended. The venue is 15 hours old at this point. How about we all actually play a few games, let the venue develop a bit, get a few regional and maybe a national event under our belts, and then we reassess the matter? I swear to you that I am keeping a very close eye on the issue of Legacies in the US (so close in fact that I am actually tracking the number of approvals submitted for Legacies), and I have every intention of revisitting the issue if down the road I discover that the increased approval level is hurting the venue, not benefitting it. My goal here has always been to make the Mage venue something exciting and enjoyable. I want to make the game more attractive so that it draws more players. But if along the way to making my goal a reality, I sometimes have to make a decision that I believe is right even though I know it will be unpopular, please try to be understanding in return.

If anyone wants to write to me, please feel free to do so. I can be reached at chyldprodg@aol.com

*****

EDIT: At the request of a few people I will go ahead and open up comments on this post. However, I'd like to clarify a few misperceptions.

First, I chose to post here as opposed to the Camarilla livejournal account because I was hoping it would help a few people realize that 1) this account exists and 2) if they want to see whatever I may publish in the future, they should make sure that they are subscribed to it (*HINT HINT* go subscribe to this LJ if you aren't already. I do anticipate posting stuff you might want to know on here someday).

Second, I don't always seem to get notice when posts are made to this account (or to comments on my personal account for some reason) and since don't check this account regularly, I thought email was the better way to make sure I saw what people had to say to me. I will endeavor to check this account more regularly. But if you post something and I don't reply to you in a reasonable time, it is entirely possible that I didn't get notice you made a comment.

Justin Diaz
US2002021709
US ANST Mage

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:04:12 GMT

In an effort to make sure as many people as possible see the change made in the US addendum (quoted below), I am posting it here. Please help to make other people aware by passing along this information via word of mouth when possible. Thanks!

Legacies (4.0)

Unlike countries such as England that can trace deep-rooted and well-developed mystic lineages to the bygone days of mythical figures like Merlin, most well-established Legacies are still attempting to make in-roads into the United States. To represent this, Legacies with full write-ups in sanctioned material, including a description, prerequisites, membership details, and benefits, are High Approval in the US. All other approval levels related to Legacies (including left-handed Legacies, custom Legacies, diverging from a Legacy, and Legacies that do not have full write-ups) remain as stated in the Global Approvals Addendum published by the office of the MST.

Mage Approval Addendum Published

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 20:32:24 GMT

The office of the MST has published the latest version of the approvals addendum, which now brings the rules for Mage the Awakening into play. You can read the new addendum by visitting:

http://camarilla.white-wolf.com/MST/requiem/Camarilla%20Addendum.html

Please not that each NST has the option to amend the addendum as it applies to their country, particularly on the issue of the starting experience points afforded to each player based on Membership Class. So, before anyone screams about there not being enough starting XP to make a competent Mage character, I would suggest you wait for the US addendum to be published. I have already spoken to the US NST and I know he is racing to get the US addendum published ASAP.

When the US addendum is published, I will post the link for it on this LJ.

ICC Charity Auction Info

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 22:22:03 GMT

After requests for more information on the items I will be submitting for the ICC Charity Auction, I decided to give a few sneak peeks. There are three items up on the auction block and they are:

1. A customized storyline to be run by the US ANST Mage that is chock full of secret information tied to the US meta-plot and quite probably a few other perks along the way.

2. The ability to play one of the "bad guys" of the venue.

3. A 60+ point, level 7 Artifact that the winner does not have to pay any XP to have.

Hopefully something on this list tickles your fancy. So please go check out the auction, and bring lots of money with you! Remember, the money is all for charity. =)

Competition & Conflict on the National Level: A Clarification

Wed, 14 Sep 2005 14:33:04 GMT

So, as many of you likely know, a debate has stirred recently. I’m not sure if came about because people didn’t consider what I actually wrote, or if I failed to properly communicate my intentions. Yesterday I made a post to the Cam LJ where I outlined my vision for the national level of the Awakening chronicle. The response from players has been large enough that I thought I should make a general statement to clarify my position. For those who missed it, the crux of how I plan to implement my vision was as follows:

“However, I also feel that there are other aspects of LARP that were less emphasized (if not outright non-existent) in the old Mage game. Specifically, I would like to see greater competition between characters in the venue on a social and political level. While I concede that the "Superfriends" mindset can be a necessity on a local level where competition/conflict can be game destructive, I think the larger game (if any such thing is going to exist) should focus on competition/conflict between characters (preferrably non-violent in most cases). Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of great classic stories of friends banding together to defeat some overwhelming obstacle. Just the same, if the game is going to move away from the era of venue-smothering NPCs who fulfilled some of the darker aspects of the game (competition/conflict being one of them), then it will fall to players and storytellers to restructure the game so that feelings of competition and conflict flourish.”

Even if you read it previously, please go back and read it again. And look at the words I used because I chose them carefully.

In the above passage, you’ll notice several things I did not mention. The most obvious and important thing not mentioned is any statement which remotely asserts “The national game will be about people killing each other.” In fact, the only reference to any sort of violence in the above passage is my hope that all player conflict would in general confine itself to an area not involving killing or bloodshed (aka non-violence). I do not believe the national game should be about violence, nor do I want to structure a game where violence is the focal point. I want competition and conflict, not gunfights and fireball-chucking duels to the death. If you read my words and thought that the player versus player focus I described is akin to the PvP world of video gaming in any way, then please know that you have the wrong idea. I am focused on the realm of conflict and competition as it relates to SOCIAL and POLITICAL arenas, not physical ones.

Now, with that being said, do I think that some players *might* resort to violence as a way to resolve social and political spats with other characters? Sure, that is entirely possible. But the dead honest truth is that the decision to kill or not kill another character is almost always the sole choice of the player, not the ST. How many times has an ST come to anyone and said “You MUST kill that character.” As opposed to a player choosing on his own to say “I declare killing blow”? Nothing I do can promise any one of you that no other character will seek to come do serious bodily harm to your character, or even possibly kill it. It is my general belief that players who want to play characters that kill are going to play those types of character regardless of what the theme, mood, or setting of the game focuses on. If characters that kill other characters are deemed bad for the venue, then VSTs need to make certain that approved character take killing very seriously.

Also, please take note that in the above quoted passage I am talking about what I want the focus NATIONAL game to be (i.e. - that portion of the game created and run by the office of the ANST Awakening), not the focus of the entire venue. I am not looking to transform the entire Mage chornicle into a PvP arena on the local, regional, or global level. In fact, I am hard pressed to believe that national, absent taking a hardline stance that robs Low, Mid, and High storytellers of free will, can determine what the focus of the game is in its entirety given that most players interact with national level plot/story only in small doses outside of any national con they might attend. The vast majority of gaming occurs on the local level, which I pray has its own focus that may or may not coincide with what I create as an ANST. Each of those levels will have their own storyteller who should look at the needs of the game he must administrate as well as his/her player’s particular interests and then form a theme, mood, and setting that works for both the ST and the players. If a game in Texas wants to focus on action-adventure, and a game wants in New York wants to focus on mystery, and a game in Alaska wants to focus on darkness and drama, then so be it. My goal here is to create a realm of social and political conflict that players can choose to particpate in, not to make participation mandatory.

Finally, nowhere in the above quoted text did I say “You cannot play a character meant to work in/with a group.” If you want to play a character who gets along with other people, fine. If you want to form your own tight-knit cabal who does things as a team, then go for it. I am not attempting to downplay the fact that teamwork either as a cabal, order, or path is a viable aspect of the setting. But, I will encourage cabals, orders, and paths to have differing agendas that can’t always mesh with the opposition's agenda. I think this is entirely consistent with the game as presented in the core book, and generally in keeping with the flavor of the World of Darkness. I cannot stop anyone of you from playing someone who has trust in others or who does his best when working in a team effort. But if some characters feel that the temptation to get ahead in the word by scrambling to the top on the backs of others is too much to resist, then permit them to explore that avenue of the game as well. Characters that work with their peers and work against their peers are both important to the success of the game.

In short, I know that what I am doing is a departure from what many people enjoyed in the last Mage chronicle. However, that is exactly the reason I am doing what I am doing: I want to branch off into something new. The game, depending on how you look at it, is 6 to 10 weeks away. I would ask that everyone take a step back for right now and wait before you make your final judgement on if my vision is a good or a bad thing. Wait to see what develops in game. Look at what the new world is shaping up to be in-game, and interact with it without any preconceived notions. Then, if you don’t like it or still think it is bad for the venue, send me an email and tell me what you think is wrong and what can be done to fix it. I’m always happy to hear from a player.