Thanks Doug for putting this up. It would be interesting to get everyone's take on this.

As for my take...

As mentioned we went to Oh So Good this past Tuesday. The purpose was so that I could help players on how to make the best use of their backgrounds (contacts/allies/influence). These are drastically changed from the Laws of the Night and I have witnessed first hand that they are also the most confusing, under used or mis-used aspect on down time actions. Thanks you to the 4 players who attended, this was scheduled on short notice so if any other players want help I am happy to make time for them.

Doug you were the first to arrive and we had a great discussion on why we attended the game, what we got out of it and what our views were on note actions. I do have to say however that at no point did I say, imply or even think "Quit complaining if you can't think of a better way to do things". I do not agree that is a good rebuttal, as a matter of fact I think that is a terrible rebuttal.

When we spoke you indicated that you attend the larp as more of a social thing. You used the term "The larp is the larp" and suggested anything that happens during notes should be happening at the larp. You also left me with the impression you did not make full use of your note actions telling me how to put in the same repeated action knowing the attempt failed in the previous notes. Perhaps you were speaking metaphorically? You indicated you attend the game to socialize and you sit and wait for plot hooks to grab you.

There is nothing wrong with having that mind set however during our conversation I advised you I had a different mentality.

For me, a social event is beer, wings and pool. Yes the larp is a social event but at beer, wings and pool I am Dwaine Howse, at the larp I am Mark Brockington. I enter the larp going into a fictional world with the intent on acting as my character so while yes a larp is a social event, I am socializing as Mark Brockington, not as myself. How Mark interacts with characters can be very different than how Dwaine would interact with players. The larp is a 2 dimensional social event where the beer, wings and pizza is more of a three dimensional interaction.

As Mark I am trying to tell a unique story which will only be privy, to the fullest, to myself and the storytellers. I do this in how I interact at game but I also do this creatively through my note actions. My notes are detailed, explicit and usually fruitful. If my note is less than 4 pages long it was a quiet note. I spend a few days pondering on what Mark would want to accomplish then spend about an hour writing the note. I put a lot of creativity and thought into my notes and there is so much stuff that if I waited to do this all at game I would monopolize the STs time taking them away from everyone else. That would not be fair. When note replies are released I feel very much like a kid at Christmas looking forward to learning about what plans worked out, what secrets I gained and what plot lines I helped move along or start with my down time shenanigans.

Notes are a vital role in the Larp. To have everyone's downtime action take place at the game would be very taxing to the STs. At game they have to run the administration of the game, mitigate rules, run NPCs and when a game can have upwards of 20 players 3 or 4 STs can find it difficult. If we were to eliminate the purpose of downtime actions and throw those in game... well it could become a cluster fuck very fast. I have story told many larps and I know this to be true.

Note and Background actions allow players to actively look for, get involved with and complete plot lines. As I mentioned there is nothing wrong with going to a game and sitting and waiting for a plot line to hook you but generally people who do that are behind the 8 ball as those who can effectively make the best use of their downtime actions are already involved in those plot lines and as this is a vampire game, not all vampires share.

In each of my actions I learn at least 6-7 plot related tid bits of information be they ST driven or player driven. Then I take the information I learned and depending on our character's relationship, I either give or sell this information pulling other players into the plots. I am also able to move along existing plots and effect the world in which we play in various ways. Sometime subtle, sometimes very drastic.

You mentioned Adam and the game he ran...

Adam, I am sure, knows exactly what I am talking about. I guarantee his notes are just as long as mine, if not longer. He always makes great use of his notes and background actions.

The game he ran (Midnight Cabaret) was always intended to be 4 games long. In this case note actions are not as important and what we do at game is more important because we know after Game 4, that is it. A Capital Midnight does not have a 4 game restriction so as time is not our enemy in this game I feel it is very important to make the most of our down time actions and spend time at the larp actually larping rather than resolving things we were to have done in our off time.

That is about all I have to say on this but I am very much looking forward to hearing other players thoughts on the importance of notes and their effects on the game and even learning why different players play in a game like this.

Again if anyone else wants help with background actions please send me a facebook message or a board message.