Workshops
We begin the event by splitting the players into small groups to get to know each other. This will allow you can step into the game already feeling connected. It will also help you recognize other players without spending the first part of the evening staring at nametags!
There will be two workshops, each lasting about 25 minutes, and your character packet will tell you which group you’re in for each session. Use the workshop time to get to know your fellow players before you get into character. Discuss what you’re looking for from this game and listen to what your fellow players are looking for.
Workshops are out of character and focused on what you—the player—want from this game, not your character’s goals.
This isn’t a time to go around in a circle and fully explain your character. Some connections in your workshops are more important to talk to than others, so we encourage breaking into smaller groups or even pairs to keep things moving.
What to talk about during workshops
Do you want to know the twists in advance, or do you want to be surprised?
Other characters have information and secrets that your character doesn’t know. Perhaps your character’s sire is secretly an Anarch spy, or maybe your bandmate is planning to betray you to get a better record deal.
Do you want to know the major twists in advance so you can think about how to react? Do you feel more immersed in your character’s story if you are genuinely surprised?
What do you want to happen in your game?
You and your fellow players should all strive to uphold an atmosphere of “play to lift.” Everyone is here to have a good time, so be open to making decisions and guiding the narrative accordingly. Let your fellow players know if you really want your redemption arc to succeed, to die a horrible and dramatically public death, or live happily ever after with your vampiric lover and they’ll try to help you make that happen. If you don’t know what you want and would like to just wait and see, reacting to whatever happens in the moment, that’s a great thing to let people know, too.
What do you NOT want to happen in your game?
While you should always feel empowered to guide or break off a scene using your safety mechanics when it is veering into uncomfortable territory, now is a great time to let the people you’ll be playing the closest with know what content you do not want to come up in your game.
Talk about your feelings
There’s going to be plenty of emotionally heavy content in the game, whether you see it coming now or not, but all of you have a connection or two on your sheet that is going to hit the hardest. These should be obvious: sire and childe, lovers, siblings, etc. Spend some time talking to those people about what exactly your relationship looks like and what tone and level of intensity you both think you’ll be comfortable with. Things can change once the game gets going, so be ready to check in and renegotiate with them as needed.