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Old 02-12-2003, 11:43 PM   #39
Child of the 7th Age
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Maikadilwen,

I'm wondering if there may be some misconceptions concerning Gondor. The thirteen names on that list that appear on the official Gondor thread are the folk who can originate or found games at that level. It's not a list of those who can join Gondor games and/or who have the "right" to post either in games or the Inn.

In theory, anyone who has strong writing and gaming skills is allowed to 'try out' for a Gondor game, unless it is one listed 'by invitation only.' Right now, if you were to look at the names of those posting in the two games currently open in Gondor, you would see that at least half of the posters aren't on that list. So there are definitely people playing in Gondor, even now, other than the "tight circle" of those thirteen names.

So why are people, like yourself or perhaps Amon, feeling so "excluded?" I think it is because relatively few new games have been started in Gondor in the past three months. Even if a person wanted to "try out" for a Gondor game, that would be difficult, because the games simply don't exist yet.

Why is this happening? This is only personal opinion, nothing official, because I'm not a moderator there. But as I looked over the list of potential Gondor game founders, it struck me that 6 of the names are people who've volunteered to help out in either the Shire or Rohan--some as mods, but some also just as 'general helpers' or game founders.

I am a good example of that. About ninety percent of my gaming right now takes place in the Shire. The one new RPG that Pio and I recently developed is going up in the Shire (not Gondor), as a special invitational game to try and teach collaborative planning skills to some of the more experienced Shire posters. That game will be a mix of people from the official Gondor list (6) and regular Shire folk (12).

The problem is that if I'm giving so much time in the Shire, it's going to be very hard for me to have enough energy left to develop and lead a game in Gondor. And that's true not just of me, but of half the names on the "official" list of Gondor game founders. If you are outside looking in, as you are, that must be very frustrating, since you can't try out for a game that doesn't exist!

Would I like to lead a game in Gondor that intentionally mixes some of the "older" Gondor posters with some new faces and talents, perhaps having folk "audition" for it? That sounds like a fantastic idea. I have long wanted to do a First Age RPG where people can not only game but widen their understanding of that particular period of Middle-earth history. The problem is that I would need a 26-hour day instead of a 24-hour one, and I haven't figured out how to do that yet!

So perhaps some of your perception of being excluded stems from factors like this, rather than any intentional effort to keep folk out or make them feel uncomfortable. I believe that gradually new games will go up, and some of them will be open to newer posters. But the process is going to take some time and patience.

Again, this is not official. Rimbaud is the one who can really speak for Gondor as its moderator, but that's just my impression, based on my own experience and looking at the other names on the founders' list.

Cami, Shire Mod

[ February 13, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]
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