| Archive for fireflycrews.myfreeforum.org |
| Xian Fei Kalavati |
My thoughtsI had a very large problem on this camp. This was my first time doing anything like this. There were do proper explanations for people like me (I am aware that some of you have been doing this for MANY years!). There was nothing for me to do, being a companion. Together this meant that I got fed up partway through Saturday, and gave up playing properly.Part of the problem was my character. I was supposed to be a greedy, moneygrabbing bitch. No doubt Tobias Rieper will agree that I am! But I couldnt play the character. You may have noticed that i barely said anything, all weekend. That is a major problem for me, cos i am very shy, and find it difficult to talk. So next time, please talk to me, give me a hand, cos I do want to talk, but i dont know how. Its hard enough in real life, when I do have some idea what I'm talking about. but i would like to thank XavianYu, who did try. Constantly! I found it difficult, and it would have been easier to have somewhere to go to be OOC, cos sometimes I just wanted a normal conversation, an the ref hut was a bit intimidating. Give me some guidance...if someone does engage my services...what happens? to we have a brew in the ref hut for an hour or so? Its possibly something obvious to the peeps who have been doing it awhile, but not to me! ive found out im never going to use my name the way it is - its too long, so ill be partially changing that, and the background to my character. she may as well be shy like me...a definate fault for a companion! By the way, I charge only 100 credits for a simple massage, so please give me money! Xian |
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| Xian Fei Kalavati |
Oh yeah, a few more things...
When people disappear around 12-1 am that means they have gone to bed. SO SHUT UP!!! I spent three extra hours listening to conversations about pony and poontang outside my tent, getting colder and colder, trying to sleep. Maybe you didnt realise just how lound you were. Also, i dont wanna go to bed early, but dim light affects me and I get really tired. so more light in the hut? 
ok, thats it. Thanks for listening xx |
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| Capt Tom Crowson |
I must admit that this is something that I brough up after the last one in that for people who are naturally OOC quite shy that it can be difficult to integrate themselves into the game
I hold my hands up and will admit that I don't think I spoke to you at all for the entire weekend, so apologies for not making the effort, but then there were quite a few people that I didn't speak to I certainly found at the first one that not having a "purpose" made things more difficult. Our crew wasnt needed to do do cortexing, or fighting, and whilst my medic certainly found himself busy it was more of a "all hands to deck". No-one really wants to hire a crew of bloke who are just looking for the next party to go to I can imagine that a Companion is quite difficult to play when you're surrounded be people who wouldnt know how even to talk to one, let alone actually pluck up the courage to ask for their services I don't really know how to remedy it unfortunately. I certainly found this game more enjoyable because there were more opportunities to talk to people just for the sake of talking, rather than needing to further plot, but to some degree that was more of a conscious effort on my part, as well as the fact that there were more Core-World PCs and NPCs to deal with . Whilst brief conversations with the GunSharks are all fun and amusing they're not the sorts of people that Captain Tom would normally associate with. I was thinking of actually trying to do a "recruitment agency" as my ships "thang". Go round and speak to everyone find out what they can do and see if theres anyone who needs someone who can do their skills, but then my characters concept is a party-boy so I figured that he wouldn't want to be working too hard IC Perhaps a different character concept is what might be required. I've certainly noticed that being a Cortexer or Medic puts you more in demand than a pilot or a mechanic (certainly in IC time) so one of those roles might make it easier should you decide to come to the next one I know that there were OOC sleeping place but I don't know where they were or whether they were any quieter. I can only suggest that next time ear-plugs might help, or that there be a seperate area for people who like to go to bed earlier. Just sorry you didn't really enjoy it |
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| Shikoba |
I'm sorry but who'se to know if there is anyone in tent or not? If you slept in the incharacter tent area then it means you were more or less 24 hours time in. This mean you could expect to be surrounded by potential incharacter rowdies until the wee small hours, though of course you could have asked folks incharacter to quieten down. The out of character camp was marked on the map that was sent out a week or so ago. If you come along on future events, which i really hope you do, it may be an idea to camp in the OOC area which will be much quieter.
As to the role play angle of it, companions are notoriously difficult to play as the average character in the game world is intimidated and uncomfortable around them and it's often considered rude to approach one with out invite. Especially as the contracting to hire a companion is so difficult, for instance only those who are already registered as clients on the guild books are allowed to place a bid for contract. (That's explained in the Serenity table role play book and the series and seems to be the approach most people are taking in the live game.) I play one on another event and they are tough cookies in many aspects but maybe a companion suppliment would not go amiss. However when it comes to people role playing with you, well I know I spoke to everyone, I made a point of it, so it then becomes the other person responsibility to continue the conversasion. If i get a blank then I will take it that they have no wish to talk to me, respect their descision and leave them alone. Especially when they are a graceful companion and I'm a form of low life scum. I think most folks tend to respond like that. playing a shy companion is kind of sweet but as you said it will be a flaw but could well be something played upon and add to the role play  I'm shy, painfully so but I've become pretty good at working through it as I recognise that the person responsible for my having any interaction is me and only me.
Feel free to shorten your name everybody else does.
You will find the next game you attend much easier and now you will have more of an idea what to expect and feel more comfortable around folks. Maybe bring a friend along or hire someone to do your talking for you, or perhaps you could join Captain Tom's ship, he's a party boy you are a Companion, sounds like a good arrangement. |
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| Mai Lee |
My first event was very quiet, as I didn't know many ppl and was a little unsure about throwing myself in, but I loved the 24 hour time in and the second one was anything but quiet for me, lol. I was more confident as I at least knew everyones faces and knew what to expect.
I would suggest giving it another go. I personally felt that it was my best LaRP experience yet and I aplaud everyone, refs, crew and players alike for making it so enjoyable. |
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| DrugCrazedPony |
I can sympathise. I suffer from pretty crippling shyness myself, and first time I did a LARP thing I spent a lot of time out of my depth and confused and not sure what was happening.
Random thoughts: I would possibly suggest crewing for the next event. You get the chance to play several different characters, and interact with lots of people, and there's plenty of OOC time for you to pick people's brains. You also get to interact a lot with the players and see how they deal with things. If you do this, do try and grab a few parts that are slightly outside of your comfort zone. Someone a little pushy where you can get in peoples faces. Would urge you not to make your character as shy as you are. Part of the fun of the game is being someone you aren't. Screw social conventions. Be loud! Be offensive! Don't be too intimidated by the crew hut. We are all there to make sure you have a good time. If you have any specific issues ask someone on the crew or a ref OOC (yeah - I know. Shyness. Makes it hard. Take a deep breath and dive in). If you stick to the same character, try to work out what she wants. Money? Respect? a bevy of men to be her slaves? Bully, persuade, cajole, seduce other characters and NPCs to help you achieve this aim. Sorry about the noise at night... Not sure what to do about that. People are going to be loud if most people are awake. |
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| Blibs |
Next time you're having problems like this then please come and talk to crew/refs/organisers as there is a lot we can do to sort things out. We hate anyone to have a bad weekend, but there is nothing we can do if we don't know there's a problem.
The crew hut may look a bit intimidating at first as there is a constant stream of people coming in and out of it, but you're always welcome to come in and sit in the warm for a bit if that's what you want to do. If you're lucky you'll even get a biscuit and a cup of tea. |
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| Sonza |
I must say although I enjoyed myself immensely, my one major suggestion for improvement would be to have a designated person to welcome newbies - players and crew alike. My friend and I turned up for the first time - him playing and me crewing - and everyone was so busy that no-one could spare the time to talk to us properly and tell us the really basic things like where we should put our stuff, what time the crew briefing was, or even which part of the site we were each supposed to be on!
I understand that this was just because everyone was so busy. If there was a specific person who was in charge of doing this, it might solve the problem. The website is not very newbie-friendly either. When I first went on it, there weren't even any contact details! I've done lots of larp before and have friends who were doing the system, so I muddled through. If I'd been new to the hobby, though, I think I'd have been very intimidated by the whole thing, perhaps to the extent of being put off. This would be a shame, because it's such a great game, and I know that's the last thing you guys would want to put across. S XXX |
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| Gonner Hendershot |
It can be a bit intimidating at your first event, the refs have been made aware of this so it should hopefully be less of a problem in the future.
The level of noise in the IC areas generally increases as night falls and tailors off only when everyone is asleep, usually around 6-7am. I slept in one of the IC bunk areas, as is my custom, and I did so in full knowledge of how loud it could get. It is unfortunate, but as Heather has pointed out there was an OOC camping area to use if you had wanted. |
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| XavierYu |
I totally agree with what Captain Tom said. Whilst my character found quite a bit to do (what with the parties and the high-level negotiations, both particular things he was interested in), the lack of overall purpose in my crew did mean some of them were a bit bored.
Anyway. Hello Xian! I spoke to you mainly because you were another cultured character, and I fully understood that you might not want to talk to the rowdy cowboys we were surrounded with most of the time... Also I sympathise a lot with the shyness issue. When I first started doing re-enactment and roleplay I was quite a bit more shy and retiring than I am now. I must say, it's a good hobby for making you less shy! I've always found playing a different character helps me break down my shyness, playing a confident character makes me more confident myself. I've used my experiences in pretending to be confident to then help remove my shyness in the real world. "Give me some guidance...if someone does engage my services...what happens?" The players handbook does specify this is a non-contact hobby except for fist fighting! I assumed you retire to a tent, tell your crews to leave you alone, and drink tea for an hour or so. (Hell, Inara never seems to do anything except drink tea in the series...) Sadly I didn't have enough money on me to afford tea with you, sorry. The most a PC can start with is 150 credits; 100 was all I had and I spent some of that. And haggling seemed awful uncultured and I thought would get me a slap! Still, if this next downtime goes well then maybe I can afford tea at the next event... |
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| DrugCrazedPony |
Well, there's no reason not to do a bit of screaming from inside the tent. Depending on how much of a whore you are:) |
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| Xian Fei Kalavati |
lol
I didn't mean to give the impression that I wholly disliked being there...I will definately be coming back! I did enjoy listening to everyone, I just felt like a spare part. And it was cold. I do also have my "doctor" qualifications, but with so many other fine doctors at the event, with real equipment that hummed and seemed to do fancy things, I felt a bit silly  Ive since decided that I might just be a "womens" doctor, who unfortunately only has a dodgy male crew to treat. Can wind my captain up by asking whether or not hes expecting yet
XavierYu - for merely a tea party, I only charge 20 creds
As I say, I havnt done this before so I wasnt aware of the levels of noise...other organisatons I have been with (non role play) tend to say quieten down around 1, or go to an area away from the tents. I was camping with two others, in the same tent. when I rang to ask my captain where we were camping he grunted "IC of course". I wouldnt have midned the noise as much if I hadnt been so cold. But it would have been difficult to put on any more clothes than I had on at that point already!! and getting up to complain would have only made me colder. Whatever the weather, next time Im sleeping indoors!
I was going to wear normalish clothes as well, to try and fit in, and not seems quite so aloof, but when I made the attempt, my captain informed me rather bluntly that I "didnt look much like a companion", so I ended up with jeans and the silly floaty jacket on 
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| XavierYu |
I mean for an OOC tea party, IC Xavier quite fancied engaging a companion for proper business... | ||||
| Tobias Rieper |
Whinge whinge whinge.
why am i not supprised? 
============================================= I'll interrupt myself here, just to warn you good folks to look away now. You are about to witness a brother/sister argument, of a kind where i demolish her argument, and make her look a fool in a public forum. Ok, enough of that - on with the show. ============================================= "This was my first time doing anything like this" And it was mine last time. You had the advantage of being told what to expect, and having me explain how some of it worked. You just have to go with the flow, speak to the refs (that is why they are there), and go with the flow until you have a vague idea of how things are supposed to work. "There was nothing for me to do, being a companion. " Which is like me saying "there was nothing for me to do, being a pilot". You go out and find something to do - be it talk to the others, listen to the tall tales, or help out the rest of your crew. You are not just a companion, remember? You are also our medic! So there was something for you to do, should you have wanted. "I was supposed to be a greedy, moneygrabbing bitch. No doubt Tobias Rieper will agree that I am! " Based on my current/past experience of your behaviour, yes i most definately will. " i am very shy, and find it difficult to talk" And i don't??! when the hell did you last see me swanning around talking to strangers? But if you won't talk, how d'you expect to have any fun? "if someone does engage my services...what happens?" To quote my own response to this one during the event: "how the bloody hell should i know? i'm not the companion! go and ask at the ref hut". As far as i know, you didn't, but you shouldnt be so intimidated by jon/andrew etc. Feel free to ask them any stupid/random questions you like - it is their job as organisers to answer it, no matter how pointless or innane it might be. (such as my question about trying to retrieve the "no limits" from police custody, by ramming it with our leviathan, and hopefully flipping it into the cargo bay without it exploding) "By the way, I charge only 100 credits for a simple massage, so please give me money!" you cheeky horror! I told you folks that she was a gold digger.... "When people disappear around 12-1 am that means they have gone to bed. SO SHUT THE HELL UP!!! " Awww diddums. If i hadn't been so ill, i would have joined them. The fact that i was drugged up to the eyeballs just to make me fit to play, kinda put a damper on this. In any case, the level of sound was less than on the scout jamboree - we spent over three WEEKS there, exposed to that and more at night, so pipe down. I warned you MONTHS in advance, that we would be 24hrs in character - it is not my fault if you failed to understand this/forgot/did your usual and ignored everything i said before the event. Remember, i did offer you the option of a separate tent (which you refused). As Heather said, you could have told them to "shut the hell up , you uncultured backbirths!" Alas, you did not, and instead resorted to whining at me, sunday morning. ============================================== ok, y'all can look again. Angela-bashing session over. ============================================== The main problem that you have, is that you didn't believe in your character - your costume is just set dressing, and whether your character is believable to others is immaterial. If YOU do not believe in what you are doing, it will appear hollow and false, and you won't be able to act the part. In order to project the image of the person you are trying to portray, Angela, you have to essentially picture that persona in your mind, and emulate their probable actions, reactions and general characteristics. All in, it's a form of escapism - a way of getting out of your skin, and into someone elses, just like most computer games are at their most basic level. Dan/Tobias |
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| Tillymint |
Re: My thoughts
As (I believe) the only person who has engaged a companion (as an NPC) in-game, I can indeed attest that that is exactly what you do! Well, we went in the companion's tent, and then had tea and a nice OOC chat for half an hour or so before going back IC for the afterglow 
So if you want time OOC, I suggest you find clients.
Don't worry about being shy - I was on my first couple of live events too. It does take a lot of courage to walk up to a random person and start talking to them. Do you have anyone that you know IC? Whose ship are you on? It always helps to be with people you know (or just pretend to know). |
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| XavierYu |
I was going to wear normalish clothes as well, to try and fit in, and not seems quite so aloof, but when I made the attempt, my captain informed me rather bluntly that I "didnt look much like a companion", so I ended up with jeans and the silly floaty jacket on
Pft, who needs to fit in? Inara never fits in (except at the shindig where everyone else is also dressed fancy), and that's why she's ace. And in the Philosophy of Poontang conversation late sunday morning, I remember the point being raised that the reason companions can charge so much is because they're so obviously special. Being aloof is a good thing, your costume was definitely appropriate. It was a good floaty jacket
Unless you're doing the stealth companion thing, like Saffron... |
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| Jon |
Although in fairness I must admit we did fail to keep our promise of providing Companions with clients this event.
It is one of the critical 'Brass-tacks' Serenity components that we'll be spending the next few months nailing down and something I'll be sure of integrating into the next event when I sit down and start writing it next week. |
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| Tobias Rieper |
Just you try it, mei mei. Or have you forgotten that you will be coming home from birmingham this friday? I'm sore tempted to serve you up a generous portion of my special "baked beans and paraffin supprise" for that! 
Utter twaddle - this was discussed months in advance. In fact, it was you who was pestering me to let you stay in the same tent as me and chris! |
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| Tobias Rieper |
Try buying her services, and you will find out! |
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| Shikoba |
I think we can be pretty sure that there are very few in the player base who can afford a companion
Trust me you will find it much easier next time. My trick is this walk up to a person, smile Hello, my name is X and you are? What brings you here, are you well etc. inane chat is always a good start. no matter how nervous you are stick on the smile and say hi. I've been known to throw up before event through people nerves so i find that tactic really work. companion are in fact much more likly to get away with thsi than anyone else as everyone is polite or tries to be polite to them so you're less likely to be told to clear of. and trust me, there will never be too many medic, if you see an injury declare "I'm a medic" and get stuck in. folks will make the room. DEefinatly camp ooc though, I'ma fraid lrp actually gets noisier around 1pm and folks ahve had plenty alcohol by hten and a chance to get intense in their character another point and a very important one. never judge anyone by the charatcer they are playing, no matter how loud or obnoxious they may seem the player is lovely and only wants you to enjoy the game as much as they do. Serenity is privaledge with the nicest bunch of people out there. |
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| Davis Chisum |
Hi there,
This was also my first Serenity event and, by and large, leaving aside the weather (which was Ri Shao guo shi bing) I thought it was terrific, it had a terrific atmosphere created by the committment of the players to their characters and the depth to which the crew played theirs. That said I do agree with you on a number of points - firstly I do think a quick Q & A with new players might be in order, it was quite difficult to contact the refs before the event and some of the things to do with the characters weren't at all clear from the online rules. In events like Maelstrom, with hundreds of participants, it's obviously not possible to do that but it would have been nice to find time to make the new players feel a bit more at home. I also felt that, certainly at the event, some skill sets were more useful than others - being able to kill and maim people is a universally useful talent and the ability to heal said maimed individuals also seemed much in demand. Beyond some of the skills seemed less useful, although I appreciate that I might discover more once the downtime appears. Anyway those are my thoughts, Pete C. aka Davis Chisum |
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| Shikoba |
I certainly agree about the skill sets. Shikoba is a pilot, a skill which has uterly no use what so ever to the game system beyond each ship must have one. It's one of the reasons I work hard to find other things to do.
a Q&A section on the website would be handy or maybe character suppliments if folks would be willing to volenteer to write them. |
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| Xian Fei Kalavati |
What do you mean by character supplements? | ||||
| Tiahne |
My 2 cred's worth...
I agree it'd be a good idea to have a player point of contact on site prior to time in - not only to welcome new players but also distribute character info & real world advice (character briefings, directions to car parks, toilets, etc). I know I didn't get my character cards until halfway through the game, and a friend who came with me didn't see them all game - it wasn't till we were talking afterwards we realised he should've been able to at least log into the cortex... If you're new, or shy, and you don't know quite what to say it can make things hard - I know from personal experience. Plus it's very hard to tell when you don't know people OOC, whether IC attitude is representative of the person or the character. To take the most obvious example - I don't know Matt OOC, and only hope that the character of Ryan Su isn't representative of the player...
Going on what Bar's said (sorry to use you as an example chap) he's deliberately playing a surly character, so it might well be you don't get the response you're hoping for - but this isn't necessarily the fault of either player, just the character situation you're in. I guess my advice is to persevere. If you've tried talking to some groups and found them insular, or been talking to people and found them polite but not really interested, find some other folks to talk to - not everyone will be like that, I guarantee you.
I'm *not* saying anyone's deliberately like this. But it is a game setting where the crew mentality is a factor. If I try to chat to a bunch of folks, and they're busy or involved in a crew relevant plot, they're not gonna want to welcome me with open arms. I've found Serenity to be a really friendly game, but it would be a lie to say that everyone's immediately approachable. Oh, and by all means change your name - or spend any amount of time with the Gunsharks and they'll change it for you ...
Kali/Tiahne/Doc Rock
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| Bar |
Well i've never been so insul....wait no, yeah guilty as charged. Yes I play a horrible mean disgusting little redneck which can seem as if I am trying to ostracise certain parts of the character base from intereacting with him but at the same time I will deliberatley avoid "high falutin" situations as well due to being made to feel uncomfortable in them. See Shikobas long suffering attempts at getting Bar to interact with the party or attempting to get him to enjoy himself every once in awile. It works both ways. You can't have everyone getting on with everyone otherwise you just get "super-happy-funtime" or a "bluepeter lrp" and that would be rubbish.
Easier than remembering
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| choccoweeble |
Sorry to hear you didn't have a good time, but I hope that the stuff other people have said will reassure you enough that you'll keep on coming. I'm relatively new to LARP myself, but each event I go to convinces me more that it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on!! (or off depending on the character... ;P). Things to remember :
1/ If you're the kind of person that needs quiet and goes to sleep relatively early then camping ooc is advisable. You will find, however, that the more you get into the hobby, the more you will find the adrenalin buzz keeps you going so much that you hardly need to sleep. 2/ Layers are paramount!! Whatever your costume, make sure you have plenty of things to put on underneath, especially at this time of year. 3/ Everyone is there to have fun. In my experience, larpers are a decent bunch and everyone is happy to help newbies out - We've all been there!! 4/ This event was my first ever experience of crewing, and quite frankly some of the stuff I was asked to do made me shake with nerves. The only thing I can say is that you have to push yourself, go outside your comfort zone, the buzz you will get from it is incredible. There is nothing better than a game where people are totally absorbed in the scenario and really into their characters. It can be a really intense experience - at Artificer last month I got so involved at one point that I started hyperventilating. And I know of at least 3 people that actually cried IC. 5/ If you have any problems, please, please tell a member of the crew or a ref straight away so we can help you out. The number 1 most important thing for everyone involved in running the event is that the players have fun. And don't be intimidated by the ref hut. Just come up, knock on the door and someone will have a chat with you. The only reason we are reluctant to let players in sometimes and go quiet when you do come in, is that we might be talking about plot, and don't want to ruin the game for you. 6/ I would recommend that you have a go at crewing. It will give you the opportunity to try out different types of characters, and also let you roleplay in small doses, then have a break for a while and generally socialise. It will also mean you get to know other people OOC a lot quicker, which should make things easier for you. You will find if you go to different LARP events that you will know people, as there are quite a lot of hardcorers on the circuit!! 7/ (Apologies for the slight pimping here) If you have considered other systems, just to let you know, we have a group at Maelstrom which is relatively small and we would really love more players. If you are interested PM me and we will go through everything. It will probably suit you quite well as we are fairly relaxed about being IC when it is just our group in the camp with no other players there, so if you need a break no worries. We also tend to do things together being small, so there will not be too much pressure on you to go out and do things on your own unless you feel comfortable with it. 8/ Please, please stick with it. A lot of larpers are geeks (sorry guys) and can therefore seem very intimidating, especially with the amount of jargon that gets bandied around. No one is going to berate you for "getting it wrong" there is no wrong way to roleplay. As I think people have already said, the whole fun of roleplaying is escapism, playing a character that is unlike yourself. This does not happen over night. It takes practice and experience to be able to let yourself go that much and really immerse yourself in the whole thing. I hope you can look back on the event positively, and let the experience help you improve the events you go to in the future. Remember, there is no such thing as an unimportant character. Every player / NPC adds something to the game and carries the fantasy. Welcome to Larp. May you have many happy years together... Katherine ("Poontang Sally") |
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| Jon |
Rightio, so in summary (amoungst other things..)
1) Full contact details to hit website 2) Explore character skills outside of those commonly used so far (Pilot is set for a major re-write) 3) Develop orientation and welcome for new players 4) Ensure those who are a little apprehensive are engaged |
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| Tobias Rieper |
[quote="Jon"] Explore character skills outside of those commonly used so far
lockpick/bypass skills don't seem to be much used either..... |
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| Shikoba |
I'm happy for new players to come speak to me if they're feelnig a little lost, heck I'm happy for any player to come speak to me if they're feeling a little lost, you're most welcome.
By suppliments I mean the little additional booklet or sheet of information explaining how that character type works. I think there may be a few that could do with it, companions being the most obvious. for instance Companions don't ever solicite, thats for whores to do
Attempts? I find the phrase "Bar you want a drink" seems to do the job just fine. He's happy in his surly skin and what matters is he knows I care
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| Capt Tom Crowson |
Yep think that pretty much sums it up. To expand..... 1) Your web-site and word of mouth are going to be the two main ways that people will find out info on the game. People will always have questions so will want to get in touch. Admittedly the more information thats on there the better. If possible see if you can get on-line payment set up. I know it takes a little slice off your profits (think its about 3%) but i know half the reason I didn't book til last minute was because I had to find my cheque book 2) Yep. I'm sure skills are up for a re-write. I don't think that theyre bad as such, just that there hasnt needed to be much opportunity to use them. None of the chests I've come across have been locked, I've never seen an electronic lock, and pilot is mostly a downtime skill 3) This is always the hard one and I can't talk cos I'm really terrible for not doing it as well. I think you need to allocate one person as your greeter at the event. They're not to get involved in anythng else apart from sitting at the car park 3 hours before time in and possibly a bit after was well. All they do is say "Hi Welcome to BDH. Crew or Player?. Okay your field is over there. Let me give you your character sheet, toilets are over there, water stand is over there. Do you understnad the rules? Happy with everything else? Time in is at 9, any questions?" Don't do it yourself cos you'll get distracted. Get someone who's got a good knowledge of whats going on but isn't needed for the last minute "headless chicken" run that we all get at T minus 2 hours. I personally dont think that you need a character booklet type as such (I'm not sure you could have a "How a medic should act", but more world background would help the people who havent seen the series. Some people have only seen the film and that only gives a flavour for it. Maybe something like "A Beginners Guide to the 'Verse". Explain who the Alliance are, what Reavers are, how Companions find their clients, why Browncoats don't like Unification day and so on. We did one for our Vampire group. It was about 4 sides of A4, so easily readable in 10 mins but really useful for "Joes mate who's never done LRP before and doesn't entirely know what he's doing" 4) Those who are a little apprehensive don't necessarily stand out to players. I say people wandering around not talking much to people, or just talking to the same few, and I must admit that it never occurred to me that they might be a bit "lost". Mostly cos I'm ignorant I think but.... As a solution, have a question on the booking form of "Do you want some help to get started in the game". If the person ticks yes, then have an NPC (someone who's a bit more outgoing) who has some business with them, an old friend or something who can say "Hi its me your old friend from the academy, let me introduce you to a few other people.....". They can stick around for a little bit just to make sure that the persons settling in. You don't need lots of people, and NPCs can probably do multiples. I don't personally know how much time the crew spent sitting around (if at all) but I'm usre its easily to allocate a couple of people to help keep an eye on the errant sheep Sorry for the long post. Will keep chucking out ideas as I think of them. Overall I thinik the games working brilliantly. If it falls down anywhere at the moment its more the logistics and planning of the event. Everything else like the plots and feel are absolutely spot on |
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| flannelcat |
"... then have an NPC (someone who's a bit more outgoing) who has some business with them, an old friend or something who can say "Hi its me your old friend from the academy, let me introduce you to a few other people.....". They can stick around for a little bit just to make sure that the person's settling in. "
Or even a PC, if it's appropriate - on the Saturday, we had our backgrounds tied neatly in to one of the other crews, and it's made our game so much more interesting for it. I really like this idea.
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| Blibs |
Some of this does rely on a member of crew being available and not trying hundreds of chinese lanterns up. 
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| Capt Tom Crowson |
I'd say not a player to be honest, as they have other things to be getting on with, though I do heartily agree that if theres some connection between crews then they will certainly help.
NPC's who are specifically given the job of keeping an eye on the quiet ones won't get distracted. And technically you can have the same NPCs looking after half a dozen people each. And yes it does rely on not having people tying up hundreds of lanterns instead (and I did notice that they were all individually tied up there). It did really help the atmosphere though having such a fantastically decorated room. Again this comes down to the best use of time. The lanterns could have been tied onto long pieces of string before the event, and then you're only tying up a 6 or 7 long strings when time is pressing. I know at the last Brighton Below I was snipping up bits of paper in the morning when I shouldve been packing and checking over other more important bits. The snipping should've been done the week before whilst I was watching TV. So I'm guillty of it too |
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| DrugCrazedPony |
True, but I think a piece of general advice for first time LARPers would be useful though. I'm in the process of writing some beginners tips on what to include in a character profile, how to act, how to get involved in plot. That sort of thing. Preferably kept down to one page of A4 in 12 pt. If anyone has any thoughts here I'll be happy to include them. Thing is, it's not easy the first time, especially if you're shy, but ultimately it's up to the player to get involved. This is tricky woithout a little more knowledge. |
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| Capt Tom Crowson |
Yep don't disagree at all. Info on how to create a balanced character which will be playable is always useful. I personally have to give kudo's to the guy who was playing Hooch. Can't imagine how difficult it is to play a character who is mute. Sure its an interesting challenge, but probably one that an inexperienced player should steer away from.
Potentially you could actually have some "initial contact" scenarios for the new people. i.e. you're coming to St Albans because theres a man there called Mr Tofu who's heard that you've got a fast ship and low morals and might have a job for you to do. Just gives them something to get their teeth into just to start them off, especially if the plot requires them to enlist the help of other people. Make them need a cortexer to help them with it, and force them to interact. I'll admit that there are certain people who will flee when they see plot on the horizon but the ones who are genuinely interested in getting involved but are just a little unsure of themselves will appreciate the leg up |
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| Tobias Rieper |
"A Beginners Guide to the 'Verse".
hmmm, i do in fact believe that i made one of those, as a "tourist guide" - something i did when i was bored, and creating my character concept. i'll have a look on my pc to see if i can find it.... |
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| XavierYu |
I was thinking of that as well, Ben! That was really well done. We were a new crew, and slightly lost but just getting our feet. And suddenly an NPC came along and gave us a major job to do. Which involved going out and getting friendly with a ship's crew we hadn't properly met before. Brilliantly done! Absolutely spot-on way to introduce a new ship to the 'verse, wonderfully handled. Made us feel useful, made us feel the background we'd established had been picked up by the bosses, gave us a perfect excuse to meet new people, made us very happy. |
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| Tobias Rieper |
Found it, read it, canned it. hmmm. Right, For the tourist guide bit, i suggest you use Josh awtry's brief tourist guide to the verse - availible as a free RPG resource on the net. It's designed for the use of new players as an intro to the setting of the table top rpg. Just re-read it, and it should be perfect for this system too, with no alterations - and best of all, it's free to use! Here's the link: http://www.awtry.com/rpg/Verse%20Maps_files/worldguide.pdf Think i'll write a "brief history of the verse" sheet as a companion to this. That should make for a decent intro pack, with alliance/unification info added as needed. ++Edit++ Done, at least the first bit anyway. still needs finishing. what do you all think? http://www.starchaser-network.btik.com/documents/1690614386.ikml |
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| Coben Dane |
I have to agree with a lot of people here in that I'm shy too, but you just have to push through it. I was eased in a bit because I was crewing, and my frist role was a bodyguard who said very little and just stood around looking vaguely tough. That said, I did have to rebuke someone sharply for use of inappropriate language towards my ward - I remember that made me quite nervous, but luckily the guy rolled with it and didn't escalate things.
You've chosen a tough way into the game, as a companion could really do with being quite outgoing and good at putting people at ease, and on top of that the scheming part requires you to be quite proactive and ready to take the (IC) anger when you're found out. A good thing to remember is that noone's ever etting angry at you personally, just a character you're playing. Some of the roughest, foulest-mouthed people at the event were really nice and friendly after time-out last time. In short, it's great fun but you have to grit your teeth and jump in there at first. |
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