hee. Thanks, Kalshane. I love PA, even though I hardly ever understand it.

Yeah. The Multiverse thing is going to be character driven (rather than spaceships, I think). Therefore, there's a real thing with everybody wanting to be Browncoats (rather than Alliance), and then everybody wanting to be females with River's powers.

From a game design point of view there's a nightmare here - you want something that could feel authentic to the Firefly universe, but at the same time you also want something to be actually enjoyable as a game.

My personal opinion, right now, is it should be kept simple: start the game. Choose a man, or a woman. Make the character develop depending on the way the player chooses to play the game. For example: make it an easier, but more limited path, to be based on Alliance worlds. Make being an outsider tougher.

Yep, we play the fleshy RPG. Have had a great time with it until last month when our game master moved away. She ruuuuled. The new guy is sweet but, um, can I take my living room and go home now?

Never having played an rpg, I had not idea how good I had it.

tendency among online RPG players to latch onto the most-powerful character-type instead of making cool and interesting characters.

This apparently happens in the wetware version too. One player, who we ultimately invited to join another ship, insisted on writing herself as a psychic companion...pretty much capable of outdoing every other character in the room without even trying.

Instead, we ended up with a very cool group with fun foibles and limited skill sets. My favorite parts were when the GM would say, "Whoa. That was unexpected...um...go with that!" And the way we almost always thought our way out of fights. Very, very clever people.

This apparently happens in the wetware version too. One player, who we ultimately invited to join another ship, insisted on writing herself as a psychic companion...pretty much capable of outdoing every other character in the room without even trying.

Yeah, powergamers are everywhere. I've run into them in table top games, in MMOs, LARPs and even chatroom-based games (where it's particularly silly because there's no real dice rolls and everything depends on player consent). The PA-guys were just refering to the MMO-contingent.

Some folks just always want to "win" no matter what, or be the "main character" or whatever, or somehow think the kewlness of their character will impress people. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy hewing through orcs by the dozen or whatever from time to time too, but if that's all there is it gets old really quick and it's been over a decade since numbers on a character sheet (or a list of special abilities) actually impressed me.

Some folks just always want to "win" no matter what, or be the "main character" or whatever, or somehow think the kewlness of their character will impress people.

So much this. Now, there ARE some really interesting characters in this group, but none so far have been cut throat. In fact, the 'other' ship loosely associated with us has moles, killers and the GM routinely knocks characters off for effect. Sooo not my game.

Some news was posted in the Minearverse that might be of some small interest to Firefly fans: Kristen "The Minearverse 5: Closer to the Earth, Further from the Ax" Dec 15, 2006 12:41:04 am PST

So much this. Now, there ARE some really interesting characters in this group, but none so far have been cut throat. In fact, the 'other' ship loosely associated with us has moles, killers and the GM routinely knocks characters off for effect. Sooo not my game.

I'm not even necessarily talking about cut-throat characters, though those are a problem too, but more of people who want their character to be the RPG-equivalent of a Mary Sue. They can never fail, they're always right, their character is the unique and powerful protagonist and everyone else is merely playing their side-kicks. If the campaign were a novel, the story would be about them. Those are the sort of players I'm talking about, though cut-throaters are an extension of that, in a way, as their fun involves screwing over the other players.

This comment at the Booster Forums, made by an AdmiralJedi, wins [link]

This just in. Steps on how to receive your refund:

1) Send E-mail to Denise at orbistra@yahoo.com with your:
- name
- forum handle
- ticket type
- date of birth
- astrological sign
- favorite color
- favorite BDH
- favorite BDH's favorite color
- the meal you ordered
- your badge number
- the meals ordered by people represented by badges within a +/- 5 badge range of yours (please see the seating chart for guidance (please use a magnifying glass for guidance with the seating chart) )
- a haiku picturing the woe that was caused to you by the last minute cancellation of Flan [remember to use nature-oriented imagery or it's not a true haiku]

2) Denise will then respond to you with a post office box that you must then send a S.A.S.E. (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) to containing a handwritten (and notarized) letter requesting your refund. Please include the following:
- photocopy of your driver's license
- photocopy of your birth certificate
- photocopy of your last 3 electric bills as proof of residency
- photocopy of your right hand (for fingerprinting purposes)

3) Your SASE will be returned to you with form: BE220768-c "Request For Return Of Funds Held For Sold-out Conference Which Was Then Cancelled [Despite Being Sold-out] Due To Lack of Funds"

Please fill out this form in triplicate, get it signed, notarized, signed by the notary, witnessed, notarized by the witnessed, signed by the witness, witness by the signee, notarized by the signee, and triplicated by the notary's signer.

4) Re-email Denise with all of the information in step #1 (please be accurate or it will slow down your refund) to request the Post Office box for mailing the BE220678-c to. A small convenience fee of $15 will be added for the handling of your refund request.

Your refund should be issed within 180 to 240 days of receiving the form. Thank you very much, and please see the online store for Booster Bash II tickets!

[this has been a highly sarcastic post and in no way represents the opinions or statements of BE]

Personal Statement from Denise Adams. Be sure to read the comments too, as she's replying in there.

Vicki has posted a personal statement/reply to Denise's statment, back at the BE board. I'm going to copy it here, because that board is not reliable.

vicki

Captain

Posts: 3875
Location:

12/15/2006 5:26 PM

Blah. blah. blah. and this is MY personal statement.

I'm not afraid to say I AM sorry.

I've *been* saying I'm sorry. I've been saying it. Because I am.

Rick and I have invested over $80,000 in two years of our PERSONAL money in Booster Entertainment. Fact. Documented. Denise keeps saying she is "sick of hearing about my contributions ad nausem" and sick of hearing how "I want some of it back" Duh. I don't- but Rick does. He took money out of his 401K for this business. Okay. He lost it. We resigned ourselves to that some time ago. We've offered the business to Denise several times now at her request.

She has offered no plan to take it and make it right, just a bunch of crap as outlined above.

I keep asking- "what do you want to do about refunds?"

"what do you want to tell people"

"we need to make an explanation"

"are we filing bankruptcy? Are you keeping the business?" nothing but more and more and more CRAP like you see posted above.

Of course I need to go to BACK to work, I am crazy in debt for this business. Denise isn't. Dave isn't.

I almost entirely funded Angel Booster Bash and have the cancelled checks to prove it. Want me to post em?

I wrote an $8,000 personal check to the Hilton for Flan I, want me to post it?

Rick paid Bruce Campbell personally- want me to post that check?

Yes- we had disasters this year. Yes we should have cancelled BEB and BES. We didn't. Hindsight is 20/20.

We should have done a lot of things differently, but we didn't. I should have had a different partner, but I didn't.

I didn't take any company money. I also don't have the business address, nor do I do the banking. Apparently, I just do the work and supply the financing.

I was led to believe we were going to get an SBA loan to finance ALL of 2006-realizing that two of the three conventions were selling poorly. Not until less than one week before Flan did I find out just how truly horrible my partner's credit is. It had nothing to do with "inventory". If I had been told this information 6 months prior when I first brought up the fact that we needed a big loan to get through 2006, I would have found some other way. I would have done it alone. No big. It was ignored and put off and lied about until it was too late. No excuse. I'm not making excuses. I should have just done it myself.

I have been waiting all this time since Flan because I was under the impression Denise actually *wanted* the company and wanted to re-pay everyone. I was prepared to hand over our shares and do whatever to make that happen.

I don't see that as being the case here. I have to figure out what to do at this point.