Flesh and Blood

[	Current Location	\|	my house	]
[	mood	\|	peaceful	]
[	music	\|	TV: King of the Hill	]

When I first began conceptualizing Flesh & Blood I started at the end, and worked my way backward. I saw this game culminating in a World of Darkness domain book; very similar to the ones produced for the old material. I wanted it to be a memento of the collaborative effort of the Cast – something people could point to and say “I helped make that.”

Unfortunately a number of factors have risen which now excludes this possibility, having forced me to make a decision that however sad it may be, will in the end make me a happier person. The combination of stress from work, school, and other aspects of my life has forced me to find ways to address this, and frankly, as game has become nothing but a source of aggravation and stress over the last six months – devoid of any genuine enjoyment – I’ve decided this is one source of stress in my life that I have the power to exercise. As was said to me once, and something I whole heartedly agreed with at the time, my life is kicking me in the ass enough that I don’t need my gaming doing the same.

Now, before you make any snap decisions – you should trust this is something I’ve personally given a lot of thought to, I ask you to read the entirety of this email and hear me out.

First, you might say getting an assistant to help you with things might be just the solution to this issue of having less time, and I’ve actually been trying to work toward that since March 17th but the silence I received from the narrators when I queried them for advice on the matter has made me realize the mistake I’d made here. Like the book I envisioned in the end, I had also seen growing the Cast/LARPing community as a goal I could achieve through the game.

LARPing, from all of my 15 years of gaming, has always been the style I’ve enjoyed most playing and was saddened in the year before Flesh & Blood when I realized all of the good ones had closed their doors. My mistake was not having an assistant; in fact I’d say two at the beginning of the game. Bringing someone on board now would be an undertaking in itself.

I’m sure there are a few considering right this moment if they’d be willing to sign on, but that is not the intent here, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask someone to sign on at this point with the expectations I have for the position – while not quite the 20 hours a week I spend on game (approximately three hours a night; not including downtime or game nights) a substantive enough investment on their part, and like myself be there for the sole purpose of facilitating game/story with as little use of NPCs as possible, I realized there would be very few willing to take on all this effort for the sole reward of seeing a successful LARP and its story told.

I’ve been doing this straight now for almost 20 months, and can say with utmost certainty that this is not simply a matter of being momentarily discouraged; I’ve been that before with the game. At those times I believed it possible to negotiate the issues which was causing my discouragement, and get everyone working toward collaborate play on an Out-of-Character level, while maintaining the conflict inherit to settings like vampire In-Character. I believed that I could rationally discuss the matter with the various sources of these flare ups to bring the issue to some manner of resolution, funny now that I think of it – they were happening with enough frequency that I was actually began using the term with some regularity, and now realize that no matter how much time and effort I expended addressing fears of favoritism they would continue unabated.

No matter the lengths I went to ensuring everyone had something they could claim as their own; fear that they were some how losing out and that somehow someone else had managed to wrangle unfair advantage, would continue. I’ve come to realize all those concerns were systemic of certain mindsets and neurosis that the $5.00, I charged to barely cover the costs for running the game, isn’t worth having to deal with. The fact that my time was being increasingly consumed by trying to get everyone to play together and have a good time meant other aspects of the game suffered while further stress was heaped onto my already full life. I’m certainly not being compensated for all the time I invest in the game, and having realized through a cost/benefit evaluation that the cost far outweighed what minimal benefit I enjoyed in these last months, I as a result have decided to bring Flesh & Blood to a close.

Before pounding out a response, or trying to give me a ring, please wait a day. Think about everything I’ve said, and then if you still feel moved to communicate something to me, by all means get in touch.

To the new players who have just joined the game, or were preparing in the near future to, my apologies; I would have liked to give you an opportunity to experience the game – when it was on its stride it really was great, and truly one of the best LARPs I’ve ever had the opportunity being a part of.

To everyone else, I wanted to thank you all collectively for the time and effort you’ve put into the game, I know that on my end it was appreciated and I hope you come away with some fond memories from the game; despite how its all turned out – I know I will. I know I’ve pointed to specific people in the past, singling them out for the efforts they’ve put into the game, but so many of you have contributed in some fashion I think you should all acknowledge that. It was a great game, but the exorcism of these issues that has long plagued LARPing seems to be unattainable, and are a deal breaker for me; as they all lead to varying degrees of trust being called into question, and from the beginning I’ve been clear that for a game to function well and healthily, these sorts of things can’t be present. The old days of players having antagonistic relationships have proven it damaging to the game; I had initially hoped we’d all learned that lesson.

They create an atmosphere of ill-will that can often see the conflict expected of a game like Vampire being taken on a more personal level. I thought with all the measures I took I might be able to anticipate this, and guide those energies in more positive directions that would be beneficial to the story – don’t get me wrong, I’m sure many of you can attest, I most certainly hold that conflict should be present for setting material of this nature; but do feel that this can be done in a constructive manner. Unfortunately the Flesh & Blood experiment failed to achieve that. I wish everyone good luck and prosperity in their future endeavors and will be keeping the main list open for the foreseeable future incase anyone wants to try and track down a specific member of the Cast; and alternatively you can feel free to drop an email to me if you’d like to do the same, but in a more private manner.

gary

Flesh & Blood - Schedule Reminder

[Mar. 31st, 2007|01:20 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sore	]
[	music	\|	TV - (movie) Mean Girls	]

To help keep confusion at bay, I’d just like to confirm the downtime date for April 7th, and is expected to be more lower key than usual, in deference to those unable to make it out that weekend and the fact that such a short period of time is passing. I’d in fact suggest using this ‘breather’ in the pace of the story to reassess the progress you’re making on any of your character goals, whether steps need to be taken to remedy any shortcomings, and look to the Cast since it has grown over the past six months for other players who might be invited to help you with your plot and forward your story along. I’ll probably be looking at using the Duke of Gloucester, and go from 3PM to 7PM; but I’ll confirm closer to the actual date.

Game is going to be the following weekend (April 15th) and should be running from 5:30PM to 10:30PM; but I’ll confirm once I’ve heard back from the university.

Flesh & Blood - Downtime is Open

[Mar. 29th, 2007|10:27 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sleepy	]
[	music	\|	TV - King of the Hill	]

I’ve got a couple odds and ends to clear up, but otherwise I good to open the new downtime. This one is actually going to be relatively short, with only nights passing before invitations were received by most of the Court membership inviting them to attend a party held in honor of the Keeper’s arrival in the domain 87 years ago, all characters will only receive one personal action for this period – and all merits that offer actions will provide them as usual. I should have game rumors from the last game out tomorrow night.

Flesh & Blood - Downtime & Game Schedule

[Mar. 22nd, 2007|09:39 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	working	]
[	music	\|	TV - Arrested Development	]

Hello all,

Apologies for the delay in getting this information out there, because of the shift we experienced with the last couple of games putting us on the second Sunday of the month, we’ve managed to quickly run into another snag. The second Sunday of April – which would now be the game night – is on Easter Weekend. I’ve had some interest expressed in not running on that weekend, and figure it’s probably going to be a bit of a hassle trying to negotiate that weekend with Hart house as I think they might actually close their doors for civic holidays, so I’ve decided to push it forward to the following weekend (April 15th).

This means that we’ll have the downtime the previous weekend, but it will instead be on the Saturday, and over at the Duke of Gloucester. Seeing as the more religious types might not be available I’d like this to be a little more causal and a chance to catch up with everyone – a lot like the December downtime was – not to mention giving the group of new players now at game a chance to meet more of you outside of game. Some mass scenes, but a lot of people just hanging out. All of which means I’m hoping to open the new downtime sometime over the course of this weekend; there’s a couple of things that I’d like to resolve before moving into the new one and set the time period for our next jump. And if you think your character might actually be interested in hosting an evening of the Court at a specific time in the upcoming future (we’re basically in Early February 2009), then please feel free to drop me an email, and we’ll see if something might line up with the jump.

gary

1 comment|post comment

General Mortal rumors (February 12th 2009)

[Mar. 11th, 2007|04:04 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sleepy	]
[	music	\|	Rasp of the Humidifier	]

For those who have any interest in the financial happenings of the domain, it appears that two companies – Union Pearson Group and Winchester Inc. – are in a tug of war over the lucrative Pearson Airport, the former wanting to hold onto its contract to manage the property of this major Canadian airport. CEO, Thomas Winchester on the other hand, feels that the interests there should return into the hands of people who understand the needs of a city like Toronto, having spent years working urban realty, and not carter to American interests from New York.

Heiress to the Four Seasons fortune, Sarah Sharpe has joined in the battle to raise minimum wage, and has pledged to have her company raise the wage of every employee working at their chain across Canada to this standard. The young business woman believes “to have the best, you have to offer the best, and the Four Seasons hotels only offer the best to its clientele; which includes the staff for servicing those needs.”

Flesh & Blood - General Vampire rumors (February 12th 2009)

[Mar. 11th, 2007|03:46 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	busy	]
[	music	\|	Rasp of the Humidifier	]

With the long reputed Mackenzie Night made a public event, as a general invite after the Prince’s oath swearing ceremony was issued, it seemed some prominent members of the Court decided to take them up on the offer. Interestingly the Inquisitor-General – who is said to have cast the gaze of the Inquisition upon the rank and file of the Movement, the rumored new head of the Ordo Dracul – Ms. van Keulen, and the Prince were said to be in attendance for the Carthian festivities. With Prince Hansen present, some question is raised as to how deep this animosity between the Carthians and Gabriel (once Winchester and now Dorat) actually runs, and seems debatable for the time being.

While the Keeper of Elysium’s call to gather (February 12th 2009) is made to the Court, he having found an exhibit of interest at the Royal Ontario Museum and has made a selection of its contents available for the perusal of the community, some are planning on attending to see if this rumored Sanctified on their way to the domain actually materializes, and whether this will mean a continuing cold war escalation between them and the Dragons as both sides seem to be jockeying for power over the other. Some wonder if that Unbound who came looking for the Reeds and John Hawk will return, and what it means that he came looking for a family notorious for their ties to the Movement, and the only member of the Circle of the Crone in Toronto (or at the very least the one who bothers to come out to the Court).

Flesh & Blood - March 11th Game Date/Service Annoucement

[Mar. 10th, 2007|11:39 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	working	]
[	music	\|	TV - TNA	]

Remember, tomorrow the doors are opening @ 6:00PM up on the second floor in the Debates Room. Because we’re starting half an hour later than usual game should start about 7:30PM and we’ll be calling it around 10:30PM. If you need directions please drop me an email and I’ll be sure to send directions along.

Also, remember tonight the clocks are going forward an hour, remember to set them ahead.

Flesh & Blood - Clerical Error

[Mar. 10th, 2007|10:38 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	busy	]
[	music	\|	TV - TLC (Some lifestyle show or another)	]

Sorry everyone, I just realized I had a mind gap, and have been posting the current downtime as being from December 2007 through to February 2008. That instead should be 2008 through to the beginning of 2009; my apologies for any inadvertent confusion that may have caused.

Flesh and Blood Soundtrack - Character Theme Songs

[Mar. 9th, 2007|06:17 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sore	]
[	music	\|	TV - Arrested Development	]

Good day:

As you may know, we've had background music playing for the past few games. The playlist is compiled from character theme songs submitted by players.

Since some time has passed and our characters and their stories have developed, in addition to some new players/characters having joined the game, I thought it might be an opportune time to update the character theme song playlist for the next game.

If you feel like contributing to the Flesh and Blood Soundtrack, please fill out the form below and submit it to kenny_chan@sympatico.ca by March 9, 2007 for your characters' theme song to be played at the next game. Kindly note that there is no need to attach music files to your e-mail.

Many thanks,
Kenny

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

Character Name:

Theme Song #1
Song Title:
Artist:
Album (if known):

Theme Song #2
Song Title:
Artist:
Album (if known):

Flesh & Blood - Update Regarding March 11th Game Date

[Mar. 6th, 2007|06:40 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	cold	]
[	music	\|	TV - CSI	]

Good news, I’ve heard back from the University, and we’ve managed to get a room for Sunday (March 11th).

We’ll be in the Debates Room, from 6:00PM to 11:00PM, because we’re starting half an hour later, I’ll be starting game at 7:30PM and calling around 10:30PM.

If you need directions to the sites, please give me a shout, and I’ll send along the details.

Flesh & Blood - Downtime Slots

[Mar. 4th, 2007|03:05 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	tired	]
[	music	\|	Rasp of the Humidifier & Rotation of the Fan	]

While I have only officially logged two downtime slots so far, I know I have a couple of players who have expressed interest in speaking with me tomorrow, if you aren’t one of these people I can’t guarantee that I will have time to speak with you; but will encourage you to come out anyways as its always a good chance to interact with some of the other players, and see if you can’t make some more links for your character in game.

Because of the delay in confirmation for the site, I won’t be closing character generation until Tuesday when I’m able to get the confirmation out, and only if game is still being held on March 11th; if you’re interested in coming out for this game make sure you get in contact with me as soon as possible.

Flesh & Blood - Update Regarding March 11th Game Date

[Mar. 2nd, 2007|10:00 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	irritated	]
[	music	\|	Movie - Deep Impact	]

I’m waiting on a response from the University, but it seems that we might not be able to get one of the larger rooms for the 11th (next week Sunday), and am attempting to negotiate two smaller rooms like we had during the last session as I’d prefer to keep a firm date but am concerned that might not be feasible. I’m hoping to hear back from them on Monday, but if not by then, will be going in to speak personally on Tuesday. I’ll have a further updated at that time to clarify what’s happening with the game night. My apologies in advance for any inconvenience this potentially might cause.

Flesh & Blood - Site Updates & More to Come

[Feb. 26th, 2007|11:13 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sleepy	]
[	music	\|	TV - CP24	]

Hey all, sorry about the delay with some of these updates, I’ve been meaning to get them up sooner but between one thing and another they kept getting shifted to the bottom of the stack. Now, as a point of clarification, these status updates are from the transition between the Ties that Bind and John 8 32. Which means some of the more recent events won’t actually be up as part of the Status write ups until the current story is brought to a close, but that aside, there are a number of updates that are going to be coming out over the weeks leading up to game night. The following sections of the website have been updated:

Kindred - The Cast - Prater
Kindred - The Cast - Quentin
Kindred - The Cast - Reed
Kindred - The Cast - Swallows
Kindred - The Cast - Winters

Flesh & Blood - February Downtime is Open

[Feb. 25th, 2007|12:51 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	busy	]
[	music	\|	TV - BBC World	]

While I’ve still got a couple of loose ends to tie up for the last downtime, I’m pleased to say that the February Downtime is finally open, and you can feel free to submit your character’s actions for this period of time. This is going to cover two months of game time taking us from December 2008 through into February 2009. This means each of you will have eight personal actions on top of any actions available from your merits. For those who have already submitted their intentions for this downtime, should I require any clarification, I’ll be in touch. For the rest, get them to me as soon as you can, I’d like to get a number of them done before the Downtime being held next Sunday.

We’ll, as usual, be meeting from 3PM to 7PM in the Reading Room @ Hart House. Because of the increase in number I will be running a list during downtimes, and will take advance bookings, closer to Sunday I’ll send out an email and indicate if I still have any free slots. This would be a good opportunity for any of the new players looking to introduce characters to meet with me in person, and discuss some of the finer points of your character, not to mention meet some of the other members of your covenant. If you need directions to the site, or want to set up time to speak with a specific player that you don’t have contact info for, than please drop me a line and I’ll do what I can to help.

Flesh & Blood - Post Game Rumors (December 11th 2008)

[Feb. 24th, 2007|02:17 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	accomplished	]
[	music	\|	Rasp of the Humidifier	]

A rumour circulated through the Elysium as Prince Hansen undertook her Oath concerning the Carthians and their traditionally private Mackenzie Night celebrations. Supposedly the Carthians have maintained this tradition since the events of 1835; remember Angus Reed, Eric Swallows, and the majority of their childer being banished for their attempt to plot mortal rebellion within the small city of York. For 170 years of Invictus rule, the Carthians would share a small ceremony to remember their broken covenant. A sacred affair, it was rare that they discussed the evening with outsiders, and to many of the Court its existence based solely upon conjecture and hearsay certainly meant it an urban legend, and nothing more.

But this December seems different for some reason. They discuss it openly in full view of the Court. With the Prince’s ceremony drawing to a close, it becomes evident to many gathered this evening, that a general invitation has in fact been extended to the Court. This Mackenzie Night all are welcome to join them in the East Docklands two hours later that night. Some are puzzled about a printer being involved, and then talk of returning to back to the Elysium for the real fun, with a caveat that if you don’t want your close ruined you better hurry home and put something else on.

(OOC: Anyone interested in attending the Mackenzie Night festivities please email me, and provide a general description of what your character’s attendance would look like.)

Noted among the new arrivals at the last gathering was another member of the Dragons, and with rumor of another Sanctified expected - the growth in numbers swelling both covenants’ so soon after the Inquisitor-General’s conclusion of the Ordo Dracul Inquisition, some have been left wondering if this matter might not be as wrapped up as it may appear. And while some speculate, and watch the movements of both sides, seeing if some tension might exist there, seeing if there might be cause for concern, a curious Unbound stumbled into the Elysium looking for members of the Reed lineage, or John Hawk. Welcomed into the gathering by Mr. Lawrence the stranger has sparked more interest than concern; especially asking after the only member of the Crone in the Toronto domain.

Another point of note for the evening that has caught the attention of many was Emmaline van Keulen’s assumption as the covenant head of the Ordo Dracul, there is some interest to see how the Dragons will perform under her leadership as compared to that of her sire and his eight decades of leadership. And while very new to the role, this ingratiating Dragon spoke with a great many kindred over the course of the evening, which included a lengthy conversation with the Seneschal.

Flesh & Blood - Downtime Clarification

[Feb. 18th, 2007|05:13 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	busy	]
[	music	\|	TV - the OC	]

Due to the swelling numbers at the game, and the corresponding increase of activities at Downtimes, I’ll be instituting a list to govern the people I’ll be able to speak with at a Downtime. In the weeks leading up to one you’re welcome to drop me an email and request a ½ hour block of time from that afternoon. Remember its okay to book time if you want to get some clarifications in person rather than have it negotiated via email, and you’re still welcome to drop by without booking anything specific, but understand that means I can’t promise being able to give you some time.

Flesh & Blood - Future Scheduling

[Feb. 15th, 2007|08:07 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	working	]
[	music	\|	TV - CP24	]

Hey all, first, thanks for a very entertaining evening last session. While the site wasn’t the most ideal being split like that, I think for that evening it served its purpose, and allowed for some interesting side scenes to occur that might not otherwise have happened. Second, at the moment it would take too much work to get back onto the first of the month schedule, as a result I’ve decided to let the game remain on the second Sunday of the month. This might actually help with some of the conflicts the game has had in the past with major holidays. This does mean downtime will be moved up to the week prior; that is of course unless people are interested in having the downtime happen two weeks after game nights. Per established practice I’ll continue to send out reminders about when downtimes and game nights are occurring; so no need to fret just yet if you’re a little confused with some of the schedule shifting around.

Flesh & Blood - Character Generation

[Feb. 14th, 2007|08:20 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	content	]
[	music	\|	TV - Beauty and the Geek	]

Apologies for the delay in contact since game wrapped on Sunday, I had a couple of people who were hoping to get things together for that last session, and figured I should let everyone know that Character Generation is open again. Please feel free to drop me a line and we can see what can be sorted out for the March game.

Flesh & Blood - Downtime Results

[Feb. 11th, 2007|01:52 pm]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sore	]
[	music	\|	Movie - Talladega Nights	]

Hello all, working diligently here to get everyone their results, but with time being what it is there are a couple of you I might not be able to get anything back to. I’ll do what I can, but please ask that you give me a little bit of latitude with all this. Thanks.

Flesh & Blood - OOC Announcements

[Feb. 11th, 2007|01:50 am]

[	Current Location	\|	My House	]
[	mood	\|	sore	]
[	music	\|	Terrible Lie (NIN)	]

Hey all, just a reminder, we’re up on the second floor toward the western side of the building, in the Committee and Meeting Rooms. Doors will be opening @ 5:30PM and I hope many of you can get there by 6:45PM as I’d really like to get a 7:00PM start. To help keep the confusion to a minimal I’m going to put out a note about the following players and the fact that none of them are playing characters that your characters would be familiar with.

Dan (Once played David Riley)
Dave (Once played Florian Durand).
Erin (Once played Prince Ingrid Jameson – if you were at the last game she was one of the new Ordo Dracul; named Philippa)

Additionally the following players are clearly playing characters who are retainers.

Matt (Raphael Payne – blind retainer in service to the Ordo Dracul)
Dave (Jason Price – once seneschal while the city was under Inquisitor-General Kaine’s Praxis)

And remember, if I haven’t given final approval on the character and indicated you should come out to this session, please understand that the style of game being run requires a high degree of story integration between the characters and must be signed off on before they can enter play. I can’t do that in the short time I have to get things set up and ready when the doors open at the site. Please be patient, and I’ll be sure you’re one of the first people I attend to when we open the next downtime.

On that topic, I’m doing my best to get everyone’s downtime actions back to them before game tomorrow, and will be sending things back as late as 3PM tomorrow. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that I’ll be able to get everything done, and ask for some latitude on that account. Thanks for your patience on this account.