Post by jordancbrun on Jul 8, 2011 8:11:07 GMT -5
I started playing NERO back in 1991, after my father found an article about it in the Boston Globe and thought it would be something I'd like. I think, for a while after, he regretted that decision. When I joined, I was member number 303 in their database, in the Massachusetts chapter. It was one of two chapters at the time.
I played in Mass for 3 years before moving to Michigan in 1994 to start NERO Detroit. My goal in creating the chapter was to focus on all the things that I thought were great about the Ravenholt game but to fix many of the problems that I'd seen and witnessed personally.
I wanted to create a true in-game world where our player base would have the opportunity to shape the very world around them. It was my policy and desire that we would always physically represent everything that the players experienced. No trails described as hallways. No libraries that didn't have books. No giants that were actually human-sized.
More importantly, I wanted to create a world that would actually allow characters to become heroes and villains. The small group of us realized that this could only be done by offerering two things. NPC's had to act like PC's. And there had to be real consequences for every action taken by the PC's.
I think that we accomplished this over the 4-year time that I ran the chapter. The game wasn't for everyone. By the end, we had about 40-50 regular PC's, even though we'd had hundreds come out and try. Not everyone is okay with the risk-reward setup that we have. Many went on to start other games that catered to their tastes better, like CARPS.
After I sold the chapter, I started a new game because there was so much demand from my core of players. It was called Jhakarovah and was a lot of fun for a few years. The game system was designed with waves of magic (an in-game method to explain ability reset), no classes or levels (just pools of skills bought to enhance abilities), and an even darker, deadlier tone than what I'd run at NERO. The first words of its rulebook were always: "Be Warned: Your character will die.". It was my thought that a game could only keep its players long term by killing its characters to avoid stagnation.
In the end, I gave up Jhakarovah because I wasn't able to run the game myself long-distance from Ohio (where I'd moved) and because of differences between myself and the people who were running it in my absence. The Jhakarovah player base went on to spawn a host of other games, some still running.
Over the time from 2001 to 2008, I LARPed pretty sporadically, playing NERO mostly. It was my son's coming of playable age in 2008 that brought me back on a more regular basis in 2008.
When Jason Miner, the owner of NERO Detroit asked me to take over the ship for him in 2010, I was a little torn. On the one hand, I'd come to love playing the game again and was intrigued by the idea of returning to what I viewed as the Sanctuary brand of NERO. On the other hand, I didn't know if there was a place still in the game for this style of play and the real world offers me so much less free time these days.
In the end, I made the right decision. The players of the chapter have really embraced the challenge level of the game and I feel like, for the first time ever, the players here are immersing themselves completely in the stories that Jay, Jordan, and I are telling.
Well, this has gone on for a long time, and I don't know how much I've really shared. I suppose that it's been more about how I run than who I am.
On that note, I am a criminal defense lawyer and a father to my 11 year old son Derek (who should be at the next event). I am married to an amazing woman who I actually met through NERO named Christy, and who I hope will get some free time to play before the end of this year.
So that's me, in a nutshell... A 20-year veteran of this game we all love who's excited that it appears some of the best years are still ahead.
I played in Mass for 3 years before moving to Michigan in 1994 to start NERO Detroit. My goal in creating the chapter was to focus on all the things that I thought were great about the Ravenholt game but to fix many of the problems that I'd seen and witnessed personally.
I wanted to create a true in-game world where our player base would have the opportunity to shape the very world around them. It was my policy and desire that we would always physically represent everything that the players experienced. No trails described as hallways. No libraries that didn't have books. No giants that were actually human-sized.
More importantly, I wanted to create a world that would actually allow characters to become heroes and villains. The small group of us realized that this could only be done by offerering two things. NPC's had to act like PC's. And there had to be real consequences for every action taken by the PC's.
I think that we accomplished this over the 4-year time that I ran the chapter. The game wasn't for everyone. By the end, we had about 40-50 regular PC's, even though we'd had hundreds come out and try. Not everyone is okay with the risk-reward setup that we have. Many went on to start other games that catered to their tastes better, like CARPS.
After I sold the chapter, I started a new game because there was so much demand from my core of players. It was called Jhakarovah and was a lot of fun for a few years. The game system was designed with waves of magic (an in-game method to explain ability reset), no classes or levels (just pools of skills bought to enhance abilities), and an even darker, deadlier tone than what I'd run at NERO. The first words of its rulebook were always: "Be Warned: Your character will die.". It was my thought that a game could only keep its players long term by killing its characters to avoid stagnation.
In the end, I gave up Jhakarovah because I wasn't able to run the game myself long-distance from Ohio (where I'd moved) and because of differences between myself and the people who were running it in my absence. The Jhakarovah player base went on to spawn a host of other games, some still running.
Over the time from 2001 to 2008, I LARPed pretty sporadically, playing NERO mostly. It was my son's coming of playable age in 2008 that brought me back on a more regular basis in 2008.
When Jason Miner, the owner of NERO Detroit asked me to take over the ship for him in 2010, I was a little torn. On the one hand, I'd come to love playing the game again and was intrigued by the idea of returning to what I viewed as the Sanctuary brand of NERO. On the other hand, I didn't know if there was a place still in the game for this style of play and the real world offers me so much less free time these days.
In the end, I made the right decision. The players of the chapter have really embraced the challenge level of the game and I feel like, for the first time ever, the players here are immersing themselves completely in the stories that Jay, Jordan, and I are telling.
Well, this has gone on for a long time, and I don't know how much I've really shared. I suppose that it's been more about how I run than who I am.
On that note, I am a criminal defense lawyer and a father to my 11 year old son Derek (who should be at the next event). I am married to an amazing woman who I actually met through NERO named Christy, and who I hope will get some free time to play before the end of this year.
So that's me, in a nutshell... A 20-year veteran of this game we all love who's excited that it appears some of the best years are still ahead.