Final Decision

Thank you for your patience in these uncertain times. I know it's been rough on just about everyone. So a few announcements before we can all move on with our day.

1) We understand that the recent debates have left many people with a sour taste in their mouths, and many have expressed that their hearts haven't been in the game. For others, they expressed that they were uncertain about playing on our boards due to the kerfuffle. We can completely understand this, and cannot fault our players. As a result, we awarded 8 xp to anyone that put forth effort in the last month whether it was playing on the boards, showing up at session, or playing on the boards. Consider it a first session present.

2) Moving forward:

The vote, as noted before, was dead-locked. In response, the CNYbN team got together and made some tough decisions. We looked at OWbN, MES, and the troupe option and tried to determine which would allow us to tell the best stories. So, this is the plan:

At this point in time, CNYbN is going to be a Troupe game. We are no longer a satellite game of Rochester by Night as a result. We ultimately decided that this would be the best vehicle for storytelling. We didn't want to exclude the individuals in our community that felt they could no longer continue with OWbN play. At this point in time, we are not ruling out a return to network play in our future. If the tide of playerbase opinion changes, we can explore becoming a full game in OWbN or MES down the line.

We understand that some would not want to continue playing without the network, but we implore you to try our new world for a little longer. If you are playing a character that is tied to the network, we can work with you to either adapt your toon or roll a new one.  The CNYbN staff enjoys network play but we came to the realization that we can attempt stories that are inconceivable for an org if the world is our own. We have some  exciting plans coming down the line. I hope you'll stick around for them.

At the end of the day, we wanted to allow individuals to choose the experience they preferred. For those that still want an org experience they can play at RBN's OWbN session on 4th Sundays. I believe that both RbN and Frozen Queen have plans that will allow for multiple-genres to be in play. All are still welcome to play in our game, and we still welcome long-distance players.

3) What does this mean for our players?: First thing's first, if you wish your character remain in the network, we will transfer them to a game of your choosing. Frozen Queen and Rochester by Night are two local games still in the org that are open to transfers. I'm sure that others abroad such as Under the Rock may also take them as well. We'll help find a new home for your PC.

We will continue to play on 3rd Sundays, and I will be starting to institute forum plot. I apologize for the delays in the last month. On top of the recent scandals going on, I've also started school again and it has taken a couple weeks to adjust. I still intend to focus on personal plot, so please get those backgrounds in for those that haven't already.

In addition, there are two other troupe games in the area that we will probably interact with on some level, so there is still some opportunity for cross-game plot.

If anything, we will be adding onto our world and trying to ensure that it feels alive and large.

4) Jack will be stepping down as an AST, as he has HST duties for the OWbN portion of RBN. He was awesome to have around, and I'm really grateful he helped us get the game going. We wish him the best of luck in his new role.

As a result, we may be seeking another AST. This depends on how many people we have still interested in the game.

Feel free to sound off and let us know what you think. I can answer any questions that folks have as well. I'm throwing up a poll to gauge interest with the changes instituted.

I hope to see you guys next month!

Cheers,
Kaela
HST

In response to the poll: I checked "Not Continuing", but in truth I don't know yet.

A lot depends on whether or not MES takes root in the area. If it does, then it's most likely that I'll play between whatever offering Buffalo has, and the Hamilton/Toronto/Rochester ones. That's a hell of a lot less travel than the trip to Ohio, so that's particularly appealing to me.

If networked gaming dies entirely in Buffalo, my appearance/involvement would probably shrink down to virtually nothing. I'd watch the forums(much as I'm still active on /u despite my play status), and try to stay in touch.

In any event, thanks for keeping us updated as to what's going on administratively.

I will be active on the forums, and I'm still interested in playing here, but don't expect my attendance to be stellar until the end of the year, at least. My Sundays will tend to be taken up until then.

In response, I can completely understand your decision Gerard. It appears that RBN will be remaining OWbN so you'll at least have some aspect of Org play and we'll see what happens with MES locally.

Ditto with you, Bacon. You're welcome to show up after your obligation ends but I understand that Sundays are currently busy for you.