[CamRI] Mage VSS - A Contructive/Reconstructive look

[DST RI-002]

Good Evening,

It's a game. Let's just play and have fun.

     I am replying as both an ST and a player. I fully expect most people to
skim this at best, but I think it's a worthwhile discussion we should all be
having.

Pace: 4

     Short plots suck in general. I strongly support several short plots in
the cradle of a larger plot, similar to how a t.v. serial is done. Monster
of the week is not what I watch on t.v. and not what I want to play. Then
again, pacing isn't about long or short plots or easy or hard to reach NPCs.
Pace, in my mind, is a reflection on how fast a story moves, not how long
the whole story is.
     When it comes to pace, I feel all plots should have goal points that
the STs should want to reach and the planned time frame between these points
should be reflective of the pace of the game. At a rating of four, I mean to
imply that there should be a noticeable crescendo every 4 games or so. The
games in between should forward the plot accordingly.

Intrigue: 2

     I would love intrigue to be low in this game. In mage, intrigue should
be very low since any Consilium Mage struggle is settled by a duel arcane,
end of story. No drama, no "kiss my ass or I'll screw you hard". If you
can't possibly solve it another way, you get in a ring and settle it like
gentle folk.
     Note that I think intrigue is vital to any plot, since Mages of any
caliber will generally walk over a direct confrontation, however our venue
does not seem to handle politicking well. I would also point out that even
if you THINK you are a good guy, this is WoD, you're not. The whole point of
Darkness is to acknowledge that you will slide to evil. This entire game is
about chronicling the fight against or descent to darkness, not victory over
it. In both venues I feel we have too many good guys or people trying to be.
If you want to be a super trhowing down aginst the mundane world, run a TT,
the WoD of RI, as long as this ST staff is in place, will be dark and will
be focused on tempting, prodding, or shoving PCs into the abyss. It's what
we each said we would do if we were elected and by gumbo we shall.

Action: 4

     Mage is where I go to hit stuff. However, since it is an unfortunate
fact that any given group of our PCs will walk over any combat they get
into, we should focus on style and story, not rules, quibbling, and details.
PCs should not get free rides, but I don't write stories expecting the NPCs
to win. Let's just all focus on keeping things going and making a good
story.

Corruption/Character Death: 5

     Honestly. I hate that we still have characters after this long that
have not even made a Morality pull. Nearly EVERY mage in our PC group is a
hubric nutjob. All of you. Even English went hubric for a time.  If you use
magic to solve a problem that could be reasonably solved another way, that's
hubris! Corruption doesn't mean you go evil, just that your standards of
right and wrong skew to meet the reality you percieve. The entire WoD and
Mage especially is built on the fall of something.

Mystery: 3/4

     The STs can't beat us in combat. We don't want intrigue. I sure as heck
didn't pay 20$ to sit around and have a mystic tea party, so I dang sure
want something to do with my PC. The only thing mages fear is what they
don't know. That's the point of mystery. I do agree that no good mystery
functions w/out a steady stream of clues and ideas.

Manners: 5

     Simply put, I'm sick to death of STs being beat on. I'm going to be
blunt and say that all of our STs stepped up when the pickings were slim or
none and are doing the best they can with limited downtime response, players
who flip IC/OC too frequently, and rules changes every few months it seems.
I would really appreciate it if people stopped attacking first and honored
the mediation, 24 hour, and "it's a game" tenets of our club. We all want
the same thing: A good game that we all enjoy.
     Yes, the STs will do things you don't like and will make mistakes. Yes,
other PCs will piss in your Cheerios and act like jerks OCly. The question
is, do you continue the cycle or do you step up and be the better person? Do
you treat others as you expect to be treated? Do you walk away thinking "I
got him, he'll think twice before doing that again." or thinking "Wow, I'm
really glad we were able to handle that well and move on with the game."

Drama: 2/3

     Tough one. I think good drama should be a part of every good story. I
think angst and whining hurt our game.

Character Development: 2/3

     I used to be all about character advancement, but I'm starting to
realize that that's my focus as a player, not the goal of the game I'm in.
Role-playing is, literally, playing a role, like in a stage play. When I sit
down to any game, I want to be given a plot and role-play my character in
that plot. If the PC changes, cool. If all I do is play a part in the larger
story...that's why I'm there. If it happens, great. Players getting too
attached to their PCs is why nothing gets done. I'm here to blow magic stuff
up in the three hours this session runs for. I'll get introspective in
downtime.
     Also, how much do your fave characters change on t.v. or in movies?
They may overcome one or two major moral crises over the course of a story.
Something dramatic may change their world during an adventure. I have many
examples I could offer, but I realized that would just cause more harm than
good. The point is, I have never seen a show where the characters develop by
doing nothing or by having grand discussions around the coffee table. If I
want to build some great dramatic character, I'll write fan fiction and RP
online. In my Live Action Role-Playing, I want Live Action.



For the skimmers, I'll end on the same note I began: It's a game. Let's just
play and have fun.


-- 
Have A Great Day,
Jonathan McDowell
US2002045163
DST: RI-002-D
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