(no subject)
In all honesty, this is half a rant and half an explanation. This is to address all the recent bitches that I’ve heard running around about myself. I’m kind of disappointed that no one has said these things to my face, but I also take for granted that half of what is said is usually said in anger. I try not to take it personally. But there are days, like today, that I just feel the need to justify myself.
Other people’s complaint: You have four characters in the cam-anarch venue.
Reply: Yes, I do. I say that proudly. I have two primaries (a tremere and a malkavian) and two secondaries (a ghoul and a brujah). Why do I have them? It’s very simple. I came into this organization-notice I still call it an organization and not a game-for completely social reasons. My involvement in the Cam has never been completely based around game. I started in this organization as a Coordinator. I’ve held coordinator positions from ACC all the way to ANC. My stint as a *C has given me a love of watching my friends have fun, and also a love of being part of that fun. I also realize that all of my friends do not get along with the others, or have concepts that are drastically different from one another. That makes RP difficult with the several groups while only having one character. Hence, I have several. It’s all about the fun of the game.
Other people’s complaint: You are playing a Giovanni again. That sucks for the rest of us.
Reply: Technically I’m not playing a Giovanni again. I’m playing a ghoul. It is a secondary character. I made the character to interact with several of my friends who play hard-core Giovanni characters in which I could not interact with them in any other way. This character is rarely seen at games, gains xp through downtime scenes, and is the only character of mine that would actually interact on mediums like IRC. Besides, it has been over a year and a half since Ciprianna died. Get the fuck over it, people. Anyone that looks at the way I play this ghoul knows it is nothing like Ciprianna and will never be.
Other people’s complaint: So that explains just one of the characters. What about the other three?
Reply: The malkavian character-made to play the sire of one of my friend’s character. He asked me to play it. I agreed as I had a slot open. Again, it is played for interaction with my friends. Why this character will not do IRC or some such? She’s impatient, bitchy, erratic and unstable. She does not have the mental temperament to sit in front of a computer all night. I’m sticking to my concept.
The Tremere-made for my personal enjoyment foremost, and the background meshed well with another friend, and so this character became a sire. This character is rarely on IRC, as it fits into a nice coterie-no, I will not name which or who make up said coterie-that usually keep it busy. There is always some proxy, or some bit of studying that needs to be done. Besides, this character has the SHY flaw. I actually play that out. Why did I purposely make it shy? Because I just spent the past five to six years playing Ciprianna Giovanni, a character that was always involved in almost everything. It’s nice to play a character that is beneath most people’s radar.
The Brujah-I’m a VST for my domain. I do not think it is fair to play any of my primaries while running my game. I created this Brujah to RP again with friends whom my other characters could not interact with, as well as use as a tool for new players. This character will interact with people just because they are OOCly NEW, without sacrificing character concepts.
Other people’s complaint: I’ve seen you make calls about other people’s characters as an ST, and yet you make different calls for you own. That is unfair.
Reply: God, I laughed so hard when I heard this one. Here goes: When I first took over as VST, I made a huge speech about things like Merits and Flaws. I asked everyone to tell me if they have specific triggers, ect… for their flaws. Otherwise I was going to run it verbatim out of the book. That is why I make specific calls about CHARACTERS UNDER MY CONTROL IN MY VENUE. As to my own merits/flaws/derangements… those are not my call. My characters-with the exception of the Brujah-are under the control of another VST. I sat down with said ST and detailed out the reasons and why of my character’s flaws/merits/derangements. I received permission to run the flaws and merits the way I do on my character sheet. There is not a thing I keep secret from my VST in regards to my characters, and as such I am not making different calls for my characters. I try very hard not to make ANY calls for my own characters in that regard. If such a situation arises, I ask for a general consensus of EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE SCENE before proceeding.
As to my being a VST: I’m a VST that believes in good story. I also know from classes in college that not every derangement or flaw affects each person the exact same way. Not every person can turn off their mania like a light switch. This is not to say that I disregard the rules. This is to say that I allow creative use of flaws and such within the limits of the rules. My most favorite passage from any White Wolf book states that the descriptions written are guideline EXAMPLES. Everything that occurs in game should be for the story. That is why it’s called the STORYTELLING SYSTEM. If a player has Crimson Rage on their sheet, and wants to walk around like they are always on the edge of flying off the handle, then I let them. I will not force them to wait until something specific triggers their derangement, and then they “suddenly” are a ball of frenzying anger. On the flip side, if they want to pull an “incredible hulk” and look so charming and peaceful until they are triggered, I let them. It’s called player decisions.
Other people’s complaint: You are such a drama queen. You have so much drama for your character all the time. It’s annoying.
Reply: Yes, I suppose to most people, I do appear to be a drama queen Icly for my characters. I also feel the need to point out that I play very reactionary characters. My characters REACT to the actions around them in accordance to concept, current scene, and what is on the character sheet. I enjoy the dramatic side of the game, the personal and private scenes that take place between one character and the other. I absolutely adore RP sessions that seem like they will last forever, whether it’s pouring their IC hearts out or simply Icly exchanging “no shit, there I was…” stories while drunk.
What I dislike are arguments about mechanics, having to resort to challenges, or huge scenes wherein I have to have a narrator tell me everything that goes on or has to call for combat rounds so it takes four and a half hours to run a scene that should have taken five minutes. Does this happen? Yes, it’s a side effect of the mechanics of the game and is generally there to ensure fairness. Does it cause me to have a temper tantrum and scream at people? No. I have never lost my temper before an ST, no matter how upset I’ve been with a rules call. I usually go with the STs ruling and then explain the situation to my ST or presiding coordinator to see if I was in the right or wrong to be upset with the call. Have I snapped at people before while debating rules calls AFTER A GAME? Unfortunately, yes. And that “snapping” is always followed by an apology, or by one the next day. Tempers happen, people. Even the best of us get swept up emotionally in scenes.
Now, does my love for drama annoy people? Yes, I suppose it does. BUT no one is forcing you to RP with me. No one is stopping you from telling me that you are not comfortable with the level of drama around my characters.
Other people’s complaint: You always have to everybody’s IC friend. Either that, or you have to play the nice-guy.
Reply: This one makes me laugh and sigh at the same time. It’s true that I love Rping with my friends. I commented on that above. However, not all of my characters get along with the same group of people. My malkavian, for example, cannot stand Aramis Desse, Layla al-Fatin, or Richard Crane. These are three characters played by three of my most dearest friends. We all know that either Dixie (my malkavian) is going to succeed in destroying their unlives, or they are going to eventually kill her. They are enemies of the truest sort, and the Jyhad between them all is incredible. But I also trust these players to give me a great scene with the death of Dixie, and vice versa. We put each other on the spot all the time, making lives difficult for our characters. Attempts to assassinate, either physically or politically, happen all the time. And you know what is great about that? The characters still smile behind gritted teeth and speak civilly to one another in public. No one knows they are at each other’s throat except for themselves. It’s the way a great Jyhad should be run, in my opinion.
So no, I do not have to be everyone’s IC friend.
And No, I do not always play the nice guy. I played Ciprianna, probably one of the most evil/sociopathic characters out there, for a long time. Just now (within the past year and a half) I have decided to play something not so dark and twisted. As mentioned above, just because Dixie or Villarel (my tremere) smile politely and appear to be useless, doesn’t mean there isn’t something going on elsewhere. You don’t need to see the action to know it’s taking place.
Other people’s complaint: You only play Cam/Anarch all the time. Why not give the other venues a chance?
Reply: This one is always a fun complaint. C/A is not my favorite venue-Mortal is. Do I have a mortal PC? No, unfortunately. Why? Because there are no mortal venues in my area to play in. Why do I play C/A so much, then? I play C/A because it’s the venue I identify with the most outside of Mortal. I enjoy the way it’s played. There is no other way to state that. I just like it. How do I know if I don’t play other venues? I have played other venues. I played a Stargazer for four years. I have a Troll that has been in play since late 97 or 98. I play an Orphan in Mage, and held the post of GSA Hollow Ones and Orphans for a while. Hell, I played a Hollow One up to her Arete 6 seeking. I have a Sabbat character, and started to play Sabbat at ICC 98. I just like playing C/A. *shrug*
In light of all the complaints/questions I’ve just answered, I’m opening up the floor to anyone to comment or ask questions in return. I’m not turning off the logging or whatever for you to post back to me. If you want to ask something honestly, or state something honestly, then do it. I’d rather read a scathing comment or an upset complaint from a friend then to go on in ignorance thinking everything is fine. I’m even leaving this post open to everyone, whereas I normally lock my posts to friends only.