Centralized Local Race Packets

Toddo, that new player could tell chapter X (their home chapter) that they are using chapter Y's packet and then the nice chapter X plot team can contact chapter Y's team and maybe get some direction. It is also a great way to make some cross chapter plot and promote some healthy chapter hopping.
 
In Calgary, we have a brief 2-3 line point form description of our races (locally). We have the National packets set up on site as well. Then, when we speak to a new player and they want to make up their race, we go over it in a bit more detail. If they decide that is the race for them, they receive the full packet (local) and go from there. We have never had a player say "oh, I did not know that about X race" and change their mind due to the local packet.

I view our local packets as adding a bit more depth to the race, but nothing so major that, if you want to be an elf as an example, our local packet would not change your mind.
 
Gilwing said:
Toddo, that new player could tell chapter X (their home chapter) that they are using chapter Y's packet and then the nice chapter X plot team can contact chapter Y's team and maybe get some direction. It is also a great way to make some cross chapter plot and promote some healthy chapter hopping.
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No offense, but our PLOT team is already busy enough writing adventures for a weekend that we really don't have extra time for a "special snowflake" just because they think something else is "more cool" than what we have written (and spent hours writing up).

Unless that PC is from that Chapter, their character should run by what the local PLOT has for them. If they don't like it, or want to improve it, they can chat with their local PLOT and work with them in that case.
 
Local packets are local for a reason. I agree with Toddo; if a player uses a race packet from another chapter, they're guaranteeing themselves no specific race-related plot, unless they choose to travel to the chapter where they based their story on.

For example, I recently had a player come to me with a new Biata based on, I believe, the Chicago package. I had to tell her no; I have no concept of the way that chapter runs their Biata, so I had no way of knowing how she could or would relate to the our other Biata in-game, and no desire to keep her excluded from the Biata- related plot going on in game. I then worked with her and her concept to achieve a similar result within our established story - and as far as I am aware, it worked.

Perhaps it's different for us here in Calgary, being so isolated from you American chapters; most of us only get a chance to play south of the border when Nationals rolls around. But honestly, I am the Head of Plot for Alberta, and I wouldn't feel comfortable using a packet from another chapter, unless I had actually played in that location. And I wouldn't like it if someone used ours without actually experiencing our in-game culture.

It's another story if one has the opportunity to travel, and use the same character in several locations. Sure, base the character on nearby Chapter X's packet if you're going to be playing there, using it in Chapter Y, AND your home Chapter Z as well. Difference is, that you're experiencing that character's base culture on a regular basis, and can bring that information into the other games.

As a hypothetical player, it's not my place to cherry-pick other team's creations based on some fixed idea I have for a character - it's not fair for either plot group. Though, I could just have this opinion because I know the effort that goes into writing the packets, and world-building in general.
 
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Personally I think its great to get local flavor in our game from other chapters. I might have a skewed opinion based upon the travel that I do, but when I went to Gettyburg and saw the Red Back Spider tribe, I wanted to play an elf. The local flavor of that individual packet aside I think it would be great to have one of my players reach out and bring another chapters unique vision of a race into our game.

From what I have seen it has mostly been fun RP hints to play off of, and histories to make your character more fulfilled. I.E. Instead of being an Elf who grew up Elfing and doing Elf stuff, now you are Sylindar the bottle maker from The Ebon Jungle. Your family had long been a part of the house of broken reason, but you had other aspirations and struck out on your own through the mists.

These types of things when handled with care create great and dynamic characters who might someday interact with other people from that culture at things such as our national events or one of the large regional gatherings (The Ball in Denver this weekend, or Big West for example [shameless plugs, I know]). Also over time your character might naturally move away from their home packets. My primary for example started as a Selunari in Andar (Seattle), less than one year in and there was a plot line that locked everyone out of Andar, and severed all of our connections to our homelands....now the character is primarily played in Oregon, Gettysburg, and Asheville, none of them even remotely close to the characters originating tribe or personal stories.

I think the biggest part of playing from a culture packet of another chapter is to come in with the expectation that you will not receive culture specific plot outside of the chapter that plot is written in. If the plot team wants to go out of their way to incorporate it, or maybe some big cross chapter plot happens where a culture migrates into a new land (see Stone blood tribe of Orcs in Seattle) then it is a bonus, not necessarily the expectation.

I think one of my favorite things as a world builder is to see what players do with what you have put out there, if you look at the Seattle packets and think to yourself, this is horrible why would anyone ever play this, I probably wrote it! Then when I see people play something from that packet I am like YES!!!!! that is so terrible! This is great!!!! I want that out there in your games! That is why I play alliance. I want to infest your game with my garbage elf who licks everything and solves conflicts through feats of strength (just elected a noble in a foreign land with a physical contest)

In the pacific NW we have a rediculous amount of local LARPS. Everything from playing a munchkin on the yellow brick road to jedii (I dont know what the plural is), to space marines with NERF guns. Every one of those games is self contained. In games like those I would absolutely agree about keeping things secretive and held under lock an key if you want to create information scarcity as a theme. As for Alliance though, the entire point is to play in a game world that meaningfully interacts with other game worlds. It doesn't have to be the focus, but it is the expectation. There are many other continents across fortannis and ~ every other year a number of us take a break from saving our own continents to all band together to stop something calamitous from happening to the whole world, basically we are the Dark Ages Avengers (Dibs on Ye Olde Hulk). Its at times like those that finding a group of people from a culture kit you are a part of, but havent been able to interact with, could make for a mind blowing experience, not just for you, but for all of those players as well!!! [I have a comma problem]

I would be ecstatic to find out there was a stone elf out there from our local trident, do I care that the person might have to make up some small details? No!!! Maybe they are just misleading everyone so they don't find out the truth!! (Which is funny because if you have ever been on plot with me, I am the first to say we cannot do something because one time three years ago this one thing happened and doing it this way now would not make sense!) Irrespective of that it shows that the work that I put in is worthwhile, and their use of it validates the time spent twisting and squeezing every last idea drop out of my brain. This is one of the reasons we chose to produce and host our local culture packets openly. Then if a player from somewhere else has a question, we are always available to help answer.

I remember my very first game, I showed up so confused, and was already commited to a character, then after I started playing it I received the local culture packet... It just didn't fit anything I was playing or going for, I mean parts of it did, but for the most part, it wasn't what I wanted to play, everything about it was too neat or special, and I viewed my character as a simple wandering hobo. if I had access to other lands cultures I think it would have been epic to roll into Barran 20-30 levels later and be new, but familiar, like a homecoming of a long lost cousin or uncle. To me that not only builds RP, but also builds on the idea that all of our lands actually ARE interconnected, and sometimes regular people and NPCs will trave to other lands! That is what excites me about a live conjoined world, and why I think having a repository for culture packets woulld be a positive thing ;) This doesn't just go for cultures, but really for anything. If Wellorg decided to Floow his buddy Luke home to see what the Ceriopolis was like, I would find that great!!!! Look everyone, Luke brought home a Dragon!! Or a highwayman hitched a ride to Sedovia on the back of a Juggernaut, it would be amazing, and just add to the world toolbox that the local plot teams can pull content from.

Now that I've said my two cents, don't look at me, Im a monster, argh!

-Tony
 
I feel a bit weird about the idea of posting our local packets publicly, even though I love when players create characters in one chapter using another chapter's packet. (And seriously, I mean that latter statement -- I LOVE cross-pollination and I'm always thrilled when someone from another chapter wants to use a Deadlands packet for their character!) I figured out why, and I think it's worth a mention:

The writers of the packets have a vision in mind for each race, and while each character is unique, it's helpful for us to get a sense of when and how our content is being used elsewhere. Ultimately, the character DOES reflect back on the chapter, if only in a small way. When a player has to email the Plot team and request a packet, it opens up a dialogue about the race and the character and allows the player to ask any questions they may have. It also allows the Plot team to work with the player to ensure the character history is consistent with both the packet and the chapter's own history and lore ("you picked that packet and our chapter for a reason, let's talk about it"). There's an element of Quality Assurance in asking players to request local packets, because we have no influence over the character once it's been released into the wild, so we want to make sure it makes sense before it's released.

As the person who handles all character histories and personal plot for my chapter, I never feel overburdened by people asking for our packets. I appreciate the players who take the time to ask for them, and I want to work with them to create an awesome character full of Deadlands flavour. Given the frequency of chapter-hopping in my area (the Northeast US), your character is bound to run into other Deadlands ex-pats, and the roleplay is fabulous!
 
I play an Ogre from XR in Gettysburg and is in the Gettysburg DB. I can say that the racial secrets do not really hit the mark with why we should not create a centralized DB. Our entire system requires players to make sure the information characters are acting upon was something they learned in game. I think it should be expected that any player who knows a in game secret should not play their character with that knowledge. Also players not representing a culture properly seems to be a small issue. With travel in Alliance i think if a player from Gettysburg visited XR and saw the culture then I could be called out for portraying it wrong....i guess. seems kinda stupid. The only thing I can understand is that a player would not be able to have racial backstory relevant to that location. However I think being an Ogre in a new land with different cultures can provide really interesting experiences that i feel outweighs an occasional mod about my races history. But it also really isn't hard to get the other race packets.
 
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