Howdy Prospectors,

Game is right around the corner and that means its time for Check in team, of which I am a part of, to remind you of the importance of precheck in.

Currently our check in team is just two folks and one of them will not be able to assist this next game which means...it's just me. So precheck in is super important. Anyone who was at last game knows that even with folks check in in before game I was solo last game and we did not push folks to do precheck in, specifically the Friday before game, in this case that would make it 10/25 preferably before 7pm.

The reason for this for anyone who has not been on a check in team before is for each players check in it can take between ten minutes to an hour depending on character complexity. Last time believe it or not i tried my best to get everything done a few days before game and we still had to print a few sheets onsite.

My goal this time is to get as many folks prechecked in by the cut off time as possible for two very important reasons.

1. I got oh so much to do with ST prep and new player setup, folks brand new to the game get a bit of leeway.

2. As the only person doing this with a wife who works til 5, I cant get there with all the checkin supplies until pretty late on Friday. I can get folks prechekin packets to someone heading into game early, but the check in is around 6 large boxes, and obviously very complex.

As such if I don't have anyone volunteering to be the Jonny on the spot to work on chekin onsite before i get there this is what we have.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, are brave enough to volunteer, or you have anything from last weeks checkin that we never got to.

Thank you

-Nate

Rules team has been working hard on cleaning up our rules system, and while we still have a lot of work ahead of us (including overhauling the rarity system), we are happy to roll out our first update. These changes will be effective for the November event and can be found already implemented in the rulebook.

Kinain! We have heard your desires and are proud to announce the introduction of Kinain to our game. Look for them under Mortals and Changeling.

Using willpower to resist a mental effect now affords you 10 seconds of free mental resists.

Several powers have been reworked:

"Charm has been updated to improve its clarity, and its call has been altered to make it more obvious what it does in play."

"Monsters has been renamed Induce Mistrust and its call has been changed to make it more obvious that a power has been used and how the target should respond"

"A new power, Entrance, has been added which combines the effects of Turncoat and Love. This was done for a few reasons, most notably that several players have expressed some discomfort with the specific emotional connotations of the Love power, and because Turncoat and Love have mostly the same effect (the target is now an ally) so having both felt redundant. Entrance has a similar vibe to Love, in that it is emotional manipulation, but offers the target more room to interpret how they respond emotionally to the power. At current, we are simply replacing all intances of either Love or Turncoat with Entrance, though we intend to update trees to reduce redundancy at a later date. Anyone with either the Love or Turncoat powers will be replacing those powers with Entrance going forward (and if the specific tree they get Entrance from is later updated to no longer provide Entrance, they will be allowed to retain the power regardless)."

"The Animal Form power, originally introduced for Pooka, has been added to Protean and given to Ratkin and Corax as well."

We have decided to change the names of the 2 North American Garou tribes and their totems to be more respectful of indigenous culture.

Last but not least is the introduction of Dark Prospects new rewards system- Silver Nuggets. Look for the post detailing it in the forums.

All players must have received all up-to-date COVID-related vaccinations. Players who have a medical condition that means they cannot be vaccinated should contact staff to see if an exception can be made; exceptions will require some sort of documented evidence.

Players will need to send in proof of vaccination to staff or show proof on-site at check-in. Please send in or bring your vax card (or other vaccination record) or a photo of your vax card. We recognize that legal names on medical or government documents may be different than the names we know you by, so please let us know who you are when you send in your info!

Masking at games is not required, but anyone who wishes to wear a mask for whatever reason is welcome and encouraged to.

We will require rapid testing the day of the event, no matter how you feel. You will be required to show proof of a negative test at check in, so please have that ready to go. If, for whatever reason, you are unable to complete a test before game, we will have tests handy for you.

If you test positive for COVID, please do not come to game unless you test negative for at least two days in a row before game. Also, if you feel sick at all (COVID or not), please stay home and rest.

Only one week until game! Please remember to send things in before next Friday if you're playing a new character, preferably by Wednesday at the latest so there is time to get you through approval.

Looking forward to seeing you on the hill!

If you are attempting to create a new account on this site, please message me so that I can get you approved. With the onslaught of bots that overwhelmed the site in the past, we have new accounts locked down. So, let me know you are trying to join and I will approve you. Thanks!

A note from your CG

It is currently just me, with some help from folks who have other game jobs.

If you are a returning player who wants to bring in a new character, please send in a ticket asap so we can get you approved before game, online, as approvals on site will not currently be a thing except maybe for brand new players who don't have access to the resources, or have questions. Though the preference is to have everyone approved ahead of time.

Thank you for understanding, and I look forward to seeing you up there in a few weeks!

Greetings prospectors!

I am very happy to announce the rebirth of Dark Prospects! After a very long hiatus, the game we all love has returned. There will be changes from what we remember but we will try to make it as painless as possible. Our new game site is Camp Sylvester. They are located in Pinecrest CA, near Yosemite.

Our return game is set for April 26 - 28. Registration is now open. I can't wait to see you all there! If you are a new player, please peruse this site for all of the links and other information it contains but also make sure to sign up to the forums. It is our primary method of communicating in this community.

Stay tuned for more updates and don't hesitate to contact an XO (me) with any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

Our apologies for the extended silence from staff as relates to the near future of Dark Prospects.

The pandemic has taken a toll on us all, and it has been very hard for staff to invest energy into the game without a clear path forward, or a timeline for hosting safe events. This became doubly true after vaccines and new CDC guidance raised everyone’s hopes only to have those hopes dashed due to Delta and fresh outbreaks.

With the emergence of Delta, updated CDC guidance, and rising caseloads in the area, staff met recently and agreed upon a plan for moving forward.

Reopening: It will be a while.

The staff of Dark Prospects believes it is better to go slow and be safe rather than make plans only to cancel them. There are documented mental and even physical health risks to sparking and then quashing hope.

We are waiting for the science to say it’s safe. For the CDC, and State and County Health officials to give the all-clear. We are waiting for basketball games and ice hockey and other running around/ in-your-face/ shouting games to re-open. And then we plan to wait for another month or two to pass to be sure that lifting restrictions doesn’t lead to another outbreak.

This may mean no game for an extended period of time - possibly years.

We understand that other LARPs have begun hosting in-person events again, and that is their prerogative. Our staff has decided that given the small spaces we play in, and our RP-heavy environment, the safeguards required to make a Dark Prospects event safe would be prohibitively disruptive to the experience of playing and running the game.

Staff will meet every 3 months or so to evaluate this plan, and we will let you know if anything changes. But until we do, game is cancelled until further notice.

Online game: If you really want it, pitch it.

Dark Prospects storytelling staff is not ready or prepared to run virtual events. However, if players have specific ideas for a virtual game they would like to see happen, storytelling staff is open to discussing ways for small-scale player-driven virtual roleplay events to occur. If you would like to organize and run such an event, please reach out to Peter to discuss your idea.

There is the possibility of plot team support for such an event, but the majority of design, organization, and execution need to come from those submitting the idea.

New Character Policies: Coming soon!

During our recent staff meeting, we identified two problems that need to be addressed, and we are working on the solution(s).

New players have felt trapped into character sheet decisions made before they’ve played that no longer make sense once they have attended an event.

The workload and out-of-game time requirements placed upon CG and Check-In while on-site are not sustainable. Our staff is burning out, and the positions are untenable for many players who might otherwise be interested in joining staff.

With the new CDC guidelines for safe activities for vaccinated people, the XOs are looking into the feasibility of resuming scheduled Prospects events.

Please take this survey to help us get a grasp on where you stand. As always, feel free to reach out to an XO with questions/comments/concerns

https://forms.gle/Vyu8hpLnGEH9bymL9

Hello! I wanted to give an update on the current state of Dark Prospects. I miss Quarry Creek, and I am guessing you do as well. The game is on hold for the foreseeable future, until local health officials and staff of the game feel it is safe to resume. Once it is safe to resume and we can negotiate for reliable dates for game, we will notify the Dark Prospects community here on Facebook and in the forums.