On September 4th, 2009, we closed the book on the First Tribe. I was entering college and didn’t have the time to dedicate to the game. As it was, mod involvement was very hands-on, with a weekly weather update that included storyline info. It was hard work!
But I’m not here to complain. That was then and this is now. I am about to graduate and my hours are going to normalize. I’m starting to feel the spark and passion I have for writing smouldering somewhere in the back of my mind. I’ve always felt that The Field never quite reached its full potential.
The First Tribe was wonderful, and all of the old players are welcome to reapply. We won’t be playing old characters at this time. There is nothing to say that they aren’t alive and thriving somewhere in “Wonderland,” this continent is vast. There are plenty of placed that can sustain a community. We’ll think of them happy, successful and growing in number, somewhere far away. For now.
There are some major and minor changes this time around. The first is the starting setting. For the sake of recognition I kept the name The Field, even though the “Arrivals” are not appearing in that misty square field in the Climber Forest. The Oasis, mentioned by the adventurous players First Tribe who traveled south for days, is the new starting point.
The Oasis presents its own dangers, which you will all discover in time. It is a new world full of flora and fauna to discover. There is also the Pond Village in the center of the Oasis. Carving a living out of the world is a lot easier when you have a place to start. Food is plentiful here. The weather is hot, sunny by day, and cool at night.
The reason for removing a lot of the risk and hardship was to encourage more focus on character development and personal plots. I intend to scale back my intense involvement. I am creating characters that are not fit to lead anyone, anywhere. It will be up to you to organize, argue; do battle over the leadership of the Second Tribe.
There have been some housekeeping changes. The first and most important is time. We all play in games with carefully monitored time segments, updated by the mods at set intervals. That’s how we did it the first time around here. You may recall the “one real week equals one game day” plan. It worked for some and drove others crazy. In the nearly 9 months that The Field was open, we barely progressed through a month of game play. This is fine, but it doesn’t give the sense that the characters progressed anywhere.
I would like to see us feel more accomplishment this time; therefore, I have decided the game will play in “real time.” What I mean by this is that if you don’t post anything from your character for a week and a half, that’s cool. They will be camp background noise. It also means you can progress your plots on a daily basis if you want to. There is no waiting for an update from me. Get down with your bad selves and write as much or as little as you like.
Be aware, though, that you still promise to update each character at least once a month. I will be checking for activity, so if something comes up, let me know.
Character limits! Don’t I know that we’re all a slave to the crack? Well, with a nod to that, I have increased the character limit from 3 to 4! Isn’t that exciting?! Haha, I can hear your millions of multiple personalities groaning. Choose your characters wisely. Space them out and introduce people to fill the needs of the Tribe as they crop up. Think about conflict and growth. In addition, keep an eye on the Wanted characters page. I will update it as I see the need, and as people post comments on it.
Another important development is journal economy! Instead of making a journal for each character, you will make one game journal and control all of your characters from there.
The Bestiary and Local Botany pages are empty. Even if some of the same flora and fauna exist, your characters don’t know what they are called or used for! It’s back to the drawing board, kids. One of the great features of the setting is that you, the players, fill it with your experiences. As always, you can comment with write-ups that you’d like to see added to the pages.
Lastly, I intend to hold quarterly awards, the first of which will be held on either June 21st or September 21st, depending on the amount of writing we have to draw from. The players will nominate and vote and the winners will be presented with banners featuring their characters, names, scene title. There is a place on the mod journal to display all of the awards, but you are welcome to store them in your character journal as well! Everyone likes to feel appreciated.
This letter was important for me to write because I want you to know that I never gave up on the potential of the players, or this setting. Life intervened, and I count myself fortunate that life has made it possible for me to give this another shot.
So welcome back to Wonderland. Hold on to your blankets, here we go again.