Please find attached the survey results from the Global Survey which ended on the 15th of January.

MST Reset Survey 1

Contact info:

• amst.archivist (at) mst-office.net (preferred)
• brian.k.gates (at) gmail.com (backup) – useful for NDA material that shouldn’t be archived

Official addresses:

• amst.archivist (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist (at) mst-office.net
• amst.archivist.digest (at) mst-office.net
• amst.archivist.digest (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.2 (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.2.digest (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.3 (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.3.digest (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.4 (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.4.digest (at) gmail.com

Official yahoogroups subscriptions:

• amst.archivist (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.digest (at) gmail.com

Official googlegroups subscriptions:

• amst.archivist (at) gmail.com
• amst.archivist.3.digest (at) gmail.com

Official office information for moderators, et al:

• http://preview.tinyurl.com/2e95db – Archivist web page (short form as Joomla is infinitely long)
• copied at http://camarilla.white-wolf.com/usnc/faq.php?id=214 *** needs updating ***
• copied at: http://www.mst-office.net/2011/07/amstarchivist/
• original at: http://camarilla.white-wolf.com//index.php?option=com_contact&task=view&contact_id=37&Itemid=51

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I’m starting off the new year with a late report; but then I usually work well with ill omens! This has been a month of both more and less communication (just different kinds). I’ve been watching the Quantum project and have made available an office email account there (and learned more how to screw up a GoogleApps setup – which I’m in the process of fixing – luckily, it’s not screwed up in a way that has so far inconvenienced anyone but me.) I have joomla archived now offline, which will help. I’m seeing more and more on mst-office.net which is great!

I would like to encourage a skype based meeting and see how many we can get together. A voice meeting for vision is a wonderful thing and I’ve realized over the past year just how much we’ve missed because of that.

I still need to get to archiving all googlegroups in some manner.

Archive searches for prestige were much slower this month. I am still archiving and providing commentary from the viewpoint of institutional knowledge. The future of the pre-release material will depend on CCPWW’s intent and relationship with the club and their publishing schedule.

STAFF

Photo Archiving

Staff: direct hiring of project assistants

I am planning on encouraging a few people to volunteer and see what takes off.

Tool search – a lot of what I do is done by automated tools, when I can either create one or find one and make it work. I’m hiring someone (i.e. paying them prestige) to find a tool to fit a need with googlegroups and have them test the tool.

So far, have no one doing this – need to hire.

Moderator

camarilla-st Tom Willis US2002021813
No update.

PROJECTS

Photo site:

The official UNofficial site is now:

http://members.fotki.com/generalbusybody/about/

I need to move a set of photographs to Picasa and do some tests.

Email archives:

Ireland and Italy – I need to figure out a new solution along with better solutions for any forum based environment. An assistant would be perfect here.

Account leeching

Pretty much wrapped up, but is always ongoing.

Pre-release distribution

On hold pending a book to pre-release

NDA tracking

We’ve stopped requiring NDAs from CCP, that doesn’t change the confidentiality of the lists, and this may change suddenly as well.

Archives searches

Still getting random requests.

Wiki examining

(making progress) I had a new solution and so far it’s working great. Getting externally hosted PDFs now. Just slow. Basically slow, really slow progress.

*League Lists

I did a passive audit on the *League lists which weren’t in as bad of shape as I feared. I need to do a second-stage passive audit and soon.

PRESTIGE

(none to recommend this month)

–
Jessica Orsini, US2006037576
AMST NWoD Rules
http://wiki.white-wolf.com/camwiki/index.php?title=Jessica_Orsini

__._,_.___

To: mst@mst-office.net, aamst.cos@wtf.mst-office.net, forsakenleague@yahoogroups.com, settings-office@yahoogroups.com

Sent: 16 Jan 2012

1) Executive Summary

2) Projects

3) Other Activity

4) Questions and Concerns

========== Executive Summary ==========

This month has been a bit more productive in some ways, but thanks to the holidays, less so in others. There was a great deal of list traffic right after Christmas, so it’s good to see folks showing interest and concern in the venue.

Projects continued on at a relatively steady pace, and a few others got started. More details under the Project heading below.

And finally, a new hire! Frank Dometrovich has come on board as AAMST Changing Breeds and has jumped in with both feet, already reviewing some rules and writing up some settings information.

========== Projects ==========

*Bale Hound Document*

This is a settings document to handle the Bale Hounds for the remainder of the Chronicle. The aim is to provide a more distinct setting for Storytellers to use, while retaining options. There might even be some particular mechanics just for the Bale Hounds….but we’ll see.

*Blood Talon Plot*

I’ve got to get to working on this, but I’m hoping to have something for the Blood Talons out by the end of the month. Ideally. And if the Bale Hound document doesn’t kill me first (odds start at 3:1 for you betting folks, and I get a 60% cut off the top)

*One World*

I’m working with John Scott, our illustrious (or maybe infamous?) AMST Geist on this one. Three guesses as to which tribe this is for, and the first two don’t count.

*Lucky Seven*

Working on a few final decisions on how we’re handling these guys in chronicle, and we should have a final decision soon.

*Resolving Loose Ends*

This includes the Mark of Frost folks (I have your information, don’t worry), any remaining Star Children (all both of them, if that), or anything else that’s a major thing and is dangling loose out there. If folks have something that they think is big and absolutely *needs* resolved by the end of Chronicle, *gather all pertinent information* first, then send it my way. It’ll just save time, because we don’t have a great deal of it left. A year and a half *seems* like a long time, but when you factor in plot lead-in times, spacing of games, etc, that time goes by fairly quickly.

*The End*

Obviously, the end of this Chronicle is coming up. As such, it’s a bit of a hot topic, and as we’re really only going to get one shot at it, I’d like to do it properly. I’ve called for feedback both on League, and on Forsaken OOC, and have gotten a good chunk of feedback. I’m going to go through that feedback, sift for things that are workable together (and with the current overall “metaplot” that’s going on) and work up a “Chronicle End Bible” for review on League. I hope to have this accomplished by the end of February. (Unedited from original report.)

========== Other Activity==========

There has been some discussion about one or more “Forsaken Campout Weekend” events as Forsaken is woefully underrepresented at least at US conventions for 2012. I’m hopeful that at least we will have Forsaken at Grand Masquerade, and will push to make that happen. I’m in on the campout discussion, and am attempting to be helpful without being all “AMST-y” if that’s a word.

Unrelated, in real “other activity,” I’ve recently tried Pathfinder as an alternate to D&D 3.5. I have to say I quite like it so far. It’s similar to my preferred edition of D&D, but has a few changes to make it interesting, and a few things I think it takes from 4E that are useful additions without all the other things that make me dislike 4E overall.

Oh, and I finally had an “Oh, *duh*” moment and realized that Google Docs could be used to store and disseminate any plot kits or settings documents that I prefer to restrict to Storyteller access only. That was a welcome breakthrough, even if I felt a bit stupid for not thinking of it earlier.

========== Questions and Concerns==========

Just curious if there has been any traction/movement on including Forsaken at any conventions that don’t already have it offered this year? I know there’s an email thread about it, but thought to put it here to be all “official.”

-End Report-

For all those who requested, here is the 5 Point Passion system** again:

**The original game system that I borrowed the passion system from is called Mortal Coil. It’s written by Brennan Taylor and the website is at:
www.galileogames.com/mortal-coil/

——————————

Passions define a character’s relationship to people, places and ideas in The setting. They are the specific motivations to action and reaction that Dictate her Behaviour. They are informed by the Virtue and Vice of the Character, adding detail to the broad strokes . Passions should take every Opportunity to relate to the other player characters of to the setting as Laid out. At least one Passion the character has should relate to one of the Other player characters.

You have 5 points to freely assign to any of the 4 types of Passions. Depending upon how many points you’ve rated, a particular Passion could be Strong or Obsessive. You can categorize the particulars of a Passion in whatever manner you see fit.

There are 4 types of Passion:

Duty- Something the character feels obligated to do despite their emotional Commitment. Matters of honour, oaths and group loyalty all fall into this Category. The character can have a sense of duty to another person, an Organization, family or even an abstract ideal (medical ethics)

Fear- The character is compelled to avoid the object of this passion, Whether a person, place or idea. While seemingly negative this can be a Powerful motivator for self improvement as well. Failure to avoid the object Of fear usually leads to bargaining and grovelling.

Hatred- Another negative passion like fear, the character is instead Compelled to destroy the object of this passion rather than avoid it. Targets for hatred have usually wronged the character in some meaningful way And getting even takes up considerable time in the character’s life. Hate Can even be turned on oneself creating the classic case of a self Destructive personality.

Love – This passion creates the same tendency to sacrifice of the self as Duty, but is motivated purely by emotion. The object of Love is something Your character wants to protect and is willing to make sacrifices for. Love Is not always a positive passion and it can turn ugly when it isn’t Reciprocated leading to jealousy.

The rating in the individual Passion determines how much of her life it Takes up and goes from Strong to Obsessive:

1-Strong. This passion is a calling. It motivates the character on many Levels and she will go out of her way to make time for it.

2-Powerful.Your characters feeling has evolved and he makes sure that at Least some of his time every day revolves around this passion.

3-Profound. At this point the passion has become the main focus of her life, And most of her time is directed towards it. There is still time for other Things but they take second priority.

4-Feverish. This passion is constantly in your character’s thoughts. He Engages in very few activities that don’t have something to do with this Passion.

5-Obsessive. Everything the character does is viewed through this passion. They leave no time for anything else and either try to fit any stimulus into Their passion or else ignore it entirely. This level of passion can be Extremely unhealthy.

To use an example

Neuromancer, a junior researcher at a tech corporation on the outskirts of The city, is a Mastigos mage who Awakened about a year and a half ago. Though an accomplished programmer, Neuromancer isn’t a genius but his Awakening was a nightmarish experience that evoked images of hellish demons Controlling the world through fiber optics and satellites. He’s been through A string of real world on-again, off-again relationships that are the polar Opposite of his rich online social life with avatars all around the World. Neuromancer Has used his magic to improve his standing at his company but is almost Frightened at how easy it’s been to manipulate his co-workers. He’s only recently joined the Free Council and taken an interest in the so-called Consilium of the city.

He might have the following Passion system:

2 Points Passion – Love (A.I. Research): Neuromancer has dedicated himself to developing a sentient computer program that exists autonomously online. The name for this A.I. is Wintermute and, though Neuromancer claims he’s developing it to advance the goals of the Free Council, he’s actually acting out of desperate isolation and a desire to leave behind a legacy in an uncaring and dark world.

1 Point Passion – Duty (Free Council): A year ago, Neuromancer was in trouble with a local cabal of Guardians who saw his online tampering as a breach of the Veils. The Free Council called in a favor with the Guardians in exchange for Neuromancer being left alone so they could recruit him. Neuromancer owes them a debt and, besides which, he thinks their philosophies are a lot better than any of the other Orders. In particular, the leader of the Council – a charismatic politico named David – is seen as the guy that truly saved Neuromancer’s ass.

2 Points Passion – Hatred (Guardians of the Veil): Neuromancer was leaned on really heavily by the Guardians after one of his A.I. experiments went awry. They claimed Sleepers in an Internet cafe suffered mental trauma from something he released onto the server and used powerful magic to both shut down his access to every Internet cafe in town and confiscate his research. Neuromancer knows, however, that the Guardians see his research as a means of usurping their influence network. In particular, a son of bitch named Cocteau is constantly giving him dirty looks in Consilium. When he’s not working on his research, Neuromancer is plotting how to make Cocteau’s life that much more difficult.

The real key to the Passion system is orienting it around other cast members. So, if you pick duty to your particular Order (a popular choice) try and tie it in to a particular cast member or cabal just to give it a personal touch.

The other thing to keep in mind is using the Passion system to make your character flawed . So often we’re used to seeing our characters as heroes in the World of Darkness that we forget that all characters have deep flaws that, like it or not, undo them in the end. Though flaws come out mechanically in actual Flaws, Derangments, and Vices this Passion system is a way to more broadly paint your character’s weaknesses so that STs can tell a better story for you.

——————————

Stephen Near

CA200308002
Toronto, Canada
AVST: Awakening (Toronto)
CCFC ANST: Awakening (Canada)

AMST Forsaken Report November 2011 (Public Version)

From: Jim Fisher, AMST Forsaken

To: forsaken-ooc@listmx.mindseyesociety.org

Sent: 21 Dec 2011

1) Executive Summary

2) Projects

3) Other Activity

========== Executive Summary ==========

This has been a bit of an odd month, as I spent the majority of it as Katie’s Chief of Staff. So, I’ve had to just make a few decisions to bring those projects with me to the AMST position, and get other projects out to folks so that they can get working on those.

That said, I’m very excited to continue the work Katie had started, and I’m very pleased to keep her on as my own Chief of Staff. There are a lot of projects that we’re going to be working on, and I will absolutely be looking for help on things as necessary as we wrap up the Forsaken venue for this Chronicle.

I wasn’t sure what format the report should really take, so I somewhat blatantly stole Nycci’s format and just went with that, with some minor adjustments.

========== Projects ==========

This is just the list of current projects/plots on the docket for me to deal with personally, and I very well may be missing things. The intention is for the plots that need to be written yet (Blood Talon, One World) will hopefully be done and out by the end of January. The plot: Prizefighter will be out before the end of the year. The Bale Hound document’s first complete draft should be done by the end of January as well; figuring in review times, layout, final draft, and final review, the goal is to have the complete final product out to Storytellers by mid-March, with a companion Player’s document. If you have an idea for a project – or better yet, want to volunteer for one! – contact me at this email address.>

*Bale Hound Document*

*Blood Talon Plot*

*One World*

*Prizefighter*

*Lucky Seven*

*Mark of Frost*

========== Other Activity ==========

I spent a good bit of time reading through things trying to catch up with where we’re at on a number of items. In addition, I’m working on writing a page for the MST Office site so that the players and ST’s know what I expect of them and (more importantly) what they can expect from me. Other than that, just generally acclimating to the position again and getting things set up so that after the new year, we really hit the ground running.

–
Jim Fisher