In preparation for the upcoming Masquerade venue, I am very happy to
announce that our friends at CCP and DriveThru RPG have set up a
fantastic offer for Camarilla members.

There are three packages that we can take advantage of:

Link: Players Bundle

Link: Clanbook Bundle

Link: ST Bundle

Now, I am sure you will agree that the discount on these are, frankly,
absurdly low.

What is even more awesome is that by using the coupon code
CAMARILLAMASQUERADE you will get an additional 10% off the above
prices.

The bundles will persist, but the coupon code will only last until
March 1st, 2010.

Please join me in thanking our partners at CCP and Drive Thru RPG for
offering this deal.

–
David Bounds
WW2002021593
AMST Masquerade

2010 is the Year of the ST. Join us

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=ST_Manifest

His words have outraged many members that don’t feel communication is a primary goal.

He wants you to check the wiki and ask the local folks first. First off unlike my readers who’s to say you have internet access? I don’t recall the hand book requiring it. But then if you don’t have internet access you can’t really email him any way right? Funny that.

If a question is posted to an open list or sent directly to any member of the AMST Masquerade office that could be very easily answered by any of these resources then it will not be answered by any
member of the office.

Alright if it takes you a couple minutes to answer it why not answer it?

This is not because we have any less desire to
help, but our time is much better used providing quality tools and
resources for all members.

But it sounds like you don’t want to help..

If I have heard one thing loud and clear, it is that members are
excited for Masquerade, not Gehenna, nor the Year of Fire. For this
reason, we will not be setting the venues in a post-Gehenna setting.
There is so much revision that would need to be done to the rules and
settings that would warp the genre away from what the members want.

This I find excellent news! Pre Gehenna is a good thing that and honestly I hated the year of fire, the plots where horrible and the ending lacked climax.

There will be cities utterly decimated and controlled
by the Sword of Caine, and vast bastions of the Camarilla.

So keeping the venues of cam-anarch and sabat separate are out the window? for years we heard that they aren’t fit to be together in the world venue and must be separated.. but now that’s changed? what about those who want to play both? do they need to VSS? or one VSS but different games or we just going to through them all together and expect them to play nice?

Lastly I also have issues with

If you have a suggestion, proposal, or similar email to the AMST
Masquerade, please understand that your wishes are one of a great many
that are going to be submitted. By submitting your proposal, you agree
to the following submission guidelines: http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=Submission_Guidelines

If we accept your proposal, we will work with you into incorporating your idea into the setting. If your proposal is not accepted, do not be discouraged. We appreciate your suggestions, but there’s only so much time and energy available for developing the genre. Keep sending us your ideas; hopefully you’ll send us one that sticks. Good luck!

This just screams to me, go ahead and send it to us. We might just ignore you thou, where not going to respond with received or anything to let you know we even looked at it. I know there very busy and have there own lives but they should at least make the submission down to one paragraph and look at every one of them. Bad submissions they could post to the wiki or a simple email saying thank you but it doesn’t fit at this time.

Alright my rant’s done, feel free to comment!

I would like to say hello to everyone and introduce myself. My name is
David, and I have been an ST in one form or another for a few years
now in the Camarilla. As you might have seen, I have taken the
responsibility of conducting a grand resurrection – the recreation of
the Masquerade venue in the Camarilla.

I wanted to take a moment not only to introduce myself, but to share a
small glimpse of what I have planned to share with you all, and to
establish a few policies that will make sure I can fulfill my vision -
to provide the very best experience for the Camarilla Masquerade
players.

In order to fulfill that vision, I need to set a few guidelines that
will help me met my goals and help you be part of the process of
making the greatest game possible. The time of myself and my staff is
best used creating setting, providing guidance, and assisting your ST
staff. What we cannot do is get mired in the minutia, various proxies,
and arguments about individual rules.

To that end, I have the following policies:

1. I can not and will not endlessly explain/defend every decision I
make. This is not to say that the members do not deserve the “why’s”
behind a decision, nor will they be denied that information, but I
cannot spend all day debating the minutia of my office with all the
members.

2. If you have a suggestion, proposal, or similar email to the AMST
Masquerade, please understand that your wishes are one of a great many
that are going to be submitted. By submitting your proposal, you agree
to the following submission guidelines:

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=Submission_Guidelines

3. It is expected that members check the Camarilla wiki and ask their
local resources (ST, Coordinator, other members) before asking a
question. If a question is posted to an open list or sent directly to
any member of the AMST Masquerade office that could be very easily
answered by any of these resources then it will not be answered by any
member of the office. This is not because we have any less desire to
help, but our time is much better used providing quality tools and
resources for all members.

I have seen quite a lot of excitement about the Masquerade venues
returning, and I want to share a little bit about what you can expect
to keep that excitement high.

If I have heard one thing loud and clear, it is that members are
excited for Masquerade, not Gehenna, nor the Year of Fire. For this
reason, we will not be setting the venues in a post-Gehenna setting.
There is so much revision that would need to be done to the rules and
settings that would warp the genre away from what the members want.

That informs the question – what about Gehenna? Well, the looming
sense of Gehenna is one of the important aspects about the setting
that eliminating or even fully realizing changes things drastically
about the venues. There will definitely be elements of Gehenna, such
as Goratrix’s ritual, the Madness network backlash, and the Maelstrom
present, but, as noted before, there will be no massively meta setting
such as the Year of Fire.

The next big question – who is winning? Well, many of these details
will be decided by you through Project: Manifold, but the main idea is
that no one is. There will be cities utterly decimated and controlled
by the Sword of Caine, and vast bastions of the Camarilla. This
back-and-forth is another setting element that is necessary to
establish (at least initially!) the theme and mood of the setting. You
simply cannot match the brutal fury of a Sabbat pack, but it is just
as impossible to stand up to the crushing might of the Ivory Tower.

Project Manifold is a whole new initiative I am going to be using – a
true opportunity for your character to shape the very foundation of
the setting. The basic idea is that players take the time to briefly
(think no more than a single spaced page) detail the setting they
would like to see and what the story they would like to tell with
their character. The VST then takes these, finds commonalities, and
sends the grouping along with their notations to the DST. The DST then
does the same for all venues within the domain and sends it to the
RST. This continues onward all the way to the Global level, where the
groupings will have become less individual and more broad strokes of
setting and common elements. My office then incorporates these
elements into the setting and works to provide the story hooks needed
to fulfill these broad story aspects. This is done again on the
national level, focusing more on the setting and theme for that
nation. Then again all the way back down to the local level where the
local game is built within the framework given by the Global,
National, Region, and Domain storytellers. More details and deadlines
are coming soon – but I was very excited to share this new initiative
with you.

This represents just a fraction of the pure, concentrated
marvelous-ness we have in store with you Work has already started on
many of the elements that, once combined, will provide the very best
in experience for the membership.

Thank you for your time.

–
David Bounds
WW2002021593
AMST Masquerade
amst.vampire.owod@gmail.com

2010 is the Year of the ST. Join us

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=ST_Manifesto

– Michelle Webb
MST
WW2002021096

It is time for decisions to be made, who will be supported in their quest to claim the role of heirarch and what will it bring. We will begin in the cafe but who knows where we may end up

Duality

—-

OOC Note: There will be an st reward for anyone to e-mail a solution before the game

IMPORTANT NOTE: The email address & subject line where sheets should be sent to has changed! See Below!

The Athens, Greece Awakening Game is operating under our approved Venue Style Sheet!
Please be sure you’ve read this before starting play here: http://girc.camarilla-resource.net/index.php?title=Shadows_of_Atlantis_VSS

—-

Venue: Athens Greece GIRC Online Awakening!

Check in at: December 27 Sun 13:00 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
Translation to US Time: December 27 Sun 8:00 AM Eastern, 7:00 AM Central, 5:00 AM Pacific

Game on at: December 27 Sun 13:30 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
Translation to US Time: December 27 Sun 8:30 AM Eastern, 7:30 AM Central, 5:30 AM Pacific

Darkmyst Server Starting Channel: #girc-ooc
Further instructions and in character game rooms will be posted there.

Check-In Requirements from the GIRC Mage Storyteller Chain! Read on.

GIRC Domain Checkin Policy: The 48 hour rule has been lifted. Given that GIRC is an online game, and the ease of attending is therefore much higher than a game you would have to physically travel to OOC, we understand the desire of the Camarilla membership to have the freedom to attend games on short notice. GIRC welcomes all visitors, but ask that when you travel to the GIRC game you copy your storyteller on the e-mail with your sheet and travel arrangements. The ST staff retains the right to refuse check-in once game has started, or to delay the check in of any player who arrives after game start until such a time as
checking in the player will not cause a disruption to the flow of the game. If the GIRC staff finds at any point that your character would have been unable to attend the game (due to time freeze, proxy issues, or any other reason) your XP for the game will be withdrawn and appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken.

In order to play in the venue, players are required to send a character sheet to girc-proxy@googlegroups.com
Letting your own storyteller know is also helpful.
Character sheets are required to have the following:

Players name, Camarilla membership number, Storyteller name and email address.

Subject line should include: GIRC AWAKENING December 27 | Player Name | Your Cam # | Your ST’s Name | Your ST’s Email | PC Name

A complete Experience log that includes a creation log and Experience awards.

Confirmation of all approval items on the character sheet, in the form of approval numbers from the database where available. If your affiliate does not use the approvals database, then alternative confirmation should be provided using whatever mechanism is in place for the affiliate.

A listing of any mechanics applicable to the character that are found in sources other than MET, and MET: Awakening. This includes all Rotes and Legacy attainments not found in, MET: Awakening. For these, a confirmation of page numbers and source is sufficient (if the supervising ST does not have access to these mechanics you may be asked to provide them.) For any custom items, full mechanics should be provided.

The VST is happy to accept character sheets sent up to 7 days in advance of the game. Doing so, however, is not a requirement.

Note: Players with characters attached to the GIRC Awakening VSS are exempt from the above check in requirement, on the basis that the supervising ST for the event has an up to date copy of their character sheet on file (n.b. in email, not on the approvals database.) The character sheet on file with the supervising ST will be considered correct in all instances of conflict.

Spells at Chapter Start (a.k.a. “Pre-Casts”):

If your character wishes to enter play with active magic, these spells should be detailed in the body of your email checking the character in for play. This should be separate of any notation of these spells you may make on the character sheet, and will only be accepted if in the body of an email. There is no exception for VSS local PCs from this rule, any spells they wish to have active at game start must be detailed in this email.

Spells at the start of game will be dealt with as per the rules for “Spells at Chapter Start” (p. 166 MET: Awakening.) To summarise; each character may activate a number of spells before the start of game equal to their unmodified Stamina at most. These spells may have a number of successes allocated equal to the characters Gnosis multiplied by unmodified Stamina, provided that normal ritual cast success limits are not violated. Mana costs must be paid for these spells as normal (for ritual cast spells outside of favoured Arcana and without a rote, 1 mana will be spent per 2 successes assigned to the spell) and paradox for Vulgar and improbable spells will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

PLEASE NOTE: If any of your pre-cast spells are Vulgar, regardless of where of how they were cast (Demesne, etc.), please bring this to the attention of the VST at check-in time. The effects of this on participation in the game will be assessed before the character is cleared for play. This requirement will be handled using the honour policy, however random spot checks will be made after each game to confirm if this was done.

If you wish your character to be under the effect of any spells that fall outside these rules, for example spells cast using downtime actions with your own VST, these must be sent in advance of the game. This must include confirmation of the spells being cast, either in the form of an email from the confirming ST (not simply a copy of your email sent to them) or an approval database code. If received prior to game, these will be dealt with on a case by case basis. If received late these will not be allowed without exceptional justification.

Mana and Tass:

At the beginning of game, each character is assumed to have the following mana. Base willpower + number of dots in Hallow (or total dots in a shared Hallow) – any Mana Bleed (p 64, MET: Awakening)

The cost for any pre-cast spells must be applied from this mana pool before the character enters play. Tass may be used to off-set this cost, contributing to the limits on readily available tass below. If this would result in a negative mana pool, the spells may not be used in game.

Characters may bring tass into the game as a way to provide Mana. This should be listed on character sheets, separate from mana pools. Characters are limited to no more than half their maximum mana pool (rounded down) in tass at the beginning of play. This is further subject to a hard maximum of 10 points of tass. (example; a Gnosis 4 PC would be limited to 7 points of tass, a Gnosis 7 PC to 10, and a Gnosis 10 PC also to 10.)

If you use a specific method of tracking mana for your PC on a day to day basis, this must be cleared with the VST in advance of the game, and will be dealt with on a case by case basis. The VST reserves the right to apply these rules to characters, even if the player is using other methods to specifically track mana.

As well include the following information:
a) Why you are coming to Athens, what you wish to achieve, who if anyone you are coming to visit.
b) how you are traveling and arriving in Athens. If not yourself, who is funding the journey. How you are dealing with customs and immigration.
c) a list of any weapons or other contraband you are bringing into Athens, and how you are getting it through customs.
d) where you are staying while here.

*No* games are considered soft RP Only. There is always a risk involved, in this case possibly having a good time. If you send check in information to any other account besides the one listed above it WILL NOT be accepted.

GIRC Storytellers reserve the right to refuse any proxy or PC into the game and reserve the right to ask you not to use powers that may be unbalancing to game play. The Venue Storytellers and GIRC Coordinator personnel reserve the right to deal with player disruptions properly and accordingly. Players who cause overly large problems or disruptions may find their experience point rewards reduced or eliminated, their PCs kicked from the game, and the issue referred to the appropriate coordinator chain for resolution.

ST rules calls are final. All arguments will be handled After game has been concluded. Failure to comply will result in reduction or loss of XP award normally allowed for this game.

Greek is the default language of the GIRC Athens game. If your character is speaking a language besides Greek, please indicate that in your nickname on IRC as either John_Smith[Eng] or *Eng* “Hello, my name is John Smith.” If you’re not doing this, then it is assumed that your PC is speaking Greek while the player continues typing what is said in English.

To save multiple postings in channels, Please enter your PC’s description here within the right category!

http://girc.camarilla-resource.net/index.php?title=Awakening_PC_Descriptions

To get connected:
either download mIRC at: http://www.mirc.com
get online using the download-free java version of IRC at http://camarilla.white-wolf.com/irc/
Connect to the ‘irc.darkmyst.org’ server and join #girc-ooc listed above.

GIRC Domain Wiki can be found at: http://girc.camarilla-resource.net

The wiki for the Awakening game may be found here: http://girc.camarilla-resource.net/index.php?title=GIRCAwakening
The Awakening VSS we are now using is NOT the one posted in the Approvals database. Please make sure you’ve read the one on the wiki!

GIRC announces its games using Greenwich Mean Time.
For more time zone conversion: http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/tzc.tzc

If you have any questions or outstanding issues, please don’t hesitate to contact the ST staff at GIRC.Awakening@gmail.com and we will work on responding.
—–
Rory McIntosh
UK0202-1249
GIRC ADST Awakening
ANST Awakening GIR

Kimberly Lowe
US2002021700
GIRC ADST Special Projects
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I’ve put together a survey on the general interest in playing games
from the Old World of Darkness, along with some questions that address
specific concerns surrounding those sanctioning decisions. Everyone
should take this survey, in order for us to get a better picture of
who is interested in playing Old World of Darkness games, along with
how much and what the consequences might be. The survey is at the
following URL:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=h6LgBHw3qpbjXLiUwW06OA_3d_3d

Please be sure to fill out all questions, even if you aren’t 100% sure
of the answer. Make sure to answer questions on both pages of the
survey, and send any questions or technical problems to
amst.awakening@gmail.com . Thank you very much!

Sincerely,
Luke Hill

I suspect that Kelley will be sending out some more details on the
announcements made at ICC Closing Ceremonies. For those that were not
in attendance, these are the highlights (closing ceremonies will also
be available on youtube.com but I do not yet have an ETA):

1. Kelley Barnes is moving from Marketing to an HR position. This is
a very nice thing for her and a growth opportunity. She is still and
will continue to be the CD in the immediate future. The time line for
her transition is in the year+ time-frame. Kelley is still our CD and
will be so for the foreseeable future. Panic = zero

2. White Wolf/CCP recognizes the shrinking print business. The number
of dedicated brick and mortar gaming stores that sell a variety of
game products is rapidly shrinking. They are actively pursuing the
electronic publishing model and are looking at technologies like the
Kindle DX, the Nook, and the Apple Tablet. The main focus there is
that they refuse to tie into a product that requires a single vendor
point for their clients (like being forced to use itunes to vend
books). In short, WW is not getting out of publishing, they are
being
realistic about the future of paper publishing. They also want to
enable their members to have a library at their fingertips. They are
doing this for their ENTIRE library, not just the NWoD.

3a. WW/CCP is taking off the apron strings. This is two separate
items really. The important note is that WW is being honest with us -
in the past the Cam has been told what to do to sell books. That time
is over. Now WW is doing what they are doing to build a community of
raving fans. We can play what we want, how we want, and the way we
want. We can play any and all games in the manner and systems we
want. This is not just for the Cam – this is for *any* fan org, not
just the cam.

3b. More than just game, we are free to govern, regulate, and
configure our club however we please. We will always be the official
fan club of WW and therefore always be their ambassadors. Other than
that and a sense that we should represent ourselves to the public with
maturity and poise, we can make the club what we want. Prestige,
handbooks, governance structures, all of it is in our hands. Down to
how we envision and embody this new structure is even in our hands.
This is where the coordinators will go into more detail, but wanted to
get that information out there for members.

4. Technology tools are being created for the entire fan community,
not just the Cam. The tools are ‘world-builders’, campaign managers
with clear, easy to use,
approachable interfaces. There will be a hierarchical visibility
interface where officers can set levels of visibility on items and
reveal them based off time and access. The framework is already done
and beta will begin spring 2010 with the product ready to launch
tentatively at the end of 2010. The short answer here is we will be
getting something that will act as our approvals DB and much more.

So, what does that mean for us?

First, we now have the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation
(NSTs and MST staff) about what games make sense for the Camarilla. I
do not have any plans to remove any venues in the NWoD, so that’s not
a concern. However, now that we have the flexibility to consider
adding something from the OWoD to our suite of games we play, I want
to have that discussion. I have a proposal that I will be getting to
the NSTs within roughly a weeks time that I think will give us a place
to start. The primary things that are on my list of discussion points
revolve not only around what venue (if any) we should consider first,
but how adding any new venues will impact our ability to offer solid,
well-supported games. Just because we are technically able to run
every game that WW has ever put out, doesn’t mean we should.
Volunteers run our games and any decision about what choices we make
with our new found flexibility should be considered with all aspects
of its impact in mind. I intend to be conservative and cautious about
what and when we add any new venues to our organization. I wish every
venue we support to have not only a robust group of enthusiastic
players, but a strong storytelling chain to ensure its success.

When will anything happen?

I do not anticipate any major changes to come into play for us in the
storytelling side of the house before Spring/Summer 2010, however, I
will provide updates to our members on our progress and decisions as
we move forward. Not only do we need to ensure that there is support
and enthusiasm for any venues we add, we need to ensure that those
additions are not rushed. I would rather take my time and get it
right the first time than rush any decision and have to change it
later. In this case, it is generally easier and more satisfying to
add stuff than it is to give you too much and then take it away later
and I would like to keep that mindset as we go forward.

In addition, the technology elements coming in 2010 will allow us to
offer more robust support and tools for not only the current games
that we run, but those we may run in future. I would like to have
more of these tools in place (or at least in beta) before we add more
to our already taxed programming infrastructure.

So, in summary, nothing will change now. Dialogs have to happen,
ideas need to be argued, torture tested, etc, before we make any
additions to the venues we currently support.

Michelle Webb
WW2002021096
MST

A FAQ has been set up on the Cam-Wiki with confirmation of information and
answers to some of the questions posed thus far by the members in relation
to the presentations made by White Wolf at ICC this year.

The link to that page is:

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=ICC_2009_White_Wolf_Presentations_FAQ

As it states on that page, more information will be coming in the future
weeks and months ahead!

Kelley B
WW2002021226
Club Director

Quite a bit of discussion has been going on on the ST lists over the
past months about topics such as ethics, integrity, and the hard
situations many STs find themselves in. In order to improve not only
ourselves, but the organization as a whole, we have made a series of
commitments to you and each other. You can find these at the link in
my signature.

Here is where we need your help. We need feedback and to know, in the
moment, when we falter. This manifesto, like any other handbook, is
not a sword and it is not a shield. It is not all-encompassing. It
is a guide, and may not know when we have strayed. Take us aside, ask
us about it, see what our thought process was. Give some constructive
feedback (This can look like, “Hey, I noticed that you backed down
when faced with those aggressive MC 14 members. Can you help me
understand your thought process there? Can you use an ear to talk it
out or plan how you want to respond?”) and be prepared to receive some
as well.

This manifesto is not bound by title, role, or responsibility. We
expect a general member to give feedback to the MST just as often as
they would an AAAVST.

The same goes for when we do well. In that moment, when it is fresh,
give us a little feedback that you liked what you saw and why.

We are completely committed to this course and making the club a
better place, from one side to the other. We cannot do it without
your help. Will you join us?

Michelle Webb
WW2002021096
MST
The 2010 ST Initiative – Join us!

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=ST_Manifesto