2017 - Mage - Jason Place
Introduction and Background:
Hello,
My name is Jason Place. I'm currently the Mage Coordinator for OWBN and am applying again for election.
Professionally, I am a network and systems engineer/architect. I handle large scale projects and deal with some fairly intricate math and logic and all that. It's part of why I'm a mechanics enthusiast in a lot of ways. My basic philosophy is that good mechanics enhance RP by reinforcing the story. Bad mechanics contradict the story or detract from it by slowing things down too much. I'm a narrative simulationist, I guess is the best way of putting it.
RPG wise, I cut my teeth on the Marvel Superheroes Advanced Box Set back around 1989. That quickly led to AD&D 2nd edition, and in high school finding the WoD books around 1994-1995, though I never had an opportunity to actually play it until almost 1997.
As far as OWBN goes, I've been an ST since we joined around 2001, HST and CM since about 2002, had a stint as the Mage coordinator from 2006-2007, took a break for a few years, and have been the Mage Coordinator again since 2011. I have also been a subcoord for a number of offices over the years, including CBC (Then Garou coordinator) as a TN for Silent Striders and Fianna in different terms, Web coord as a general technical assistant, Admissions coord as the Territory assistant, and in general have been pretty vocal on the council and ST lists for years.
I'm going to try to keep the rest of this application fairly succinct, I know I tend to start falling asleep when I read long coordinator applications. :)
Forgive any bad translation, I am using google and things may come out odd.
Introduction and Background (Portuguese):
Administrative Experience:
My most relevant bit of experience is that of serving successfully as Mage coord before. As mentioned, I have previously served for seven terms. To repeat what I said last year, in the past few years, we've made large strides with Mage. Most people were barely aware of the Mage presence in OWBN before that, even though 20% of games claimed at least one Mage PC on their books. Now, we have a handful of ~20 player (or more) Mage games and satellites in the org, a significant number of Storytellers who are now willing to allow Mages into their Vampire/Garou/etc chronicles on a limited basis, and a visible presence both in the org as a whole and at a number of event games. Professionally, as mentioned, I am a network engineer and the lead systems architect for a large company. I'm very familiar with organizing small teams in order to develop resources for a large number of users. I've learned when to delegate, when to handle something myself, and how to set reasonable goals in an appropriate timeframe.
Administrative Experience (Portuguese):
Meu pedaço mais relevante de experiência é o de servir com sucesso como Mage coord antes. Como mencionado, eu já serviu para sete termos. Para repetir o que eu disse no ano passado, nos últimos anos, fizemos grandes avanços com Mage. A maioria das pessoas mal conhecia a presença do Mage no OWBN antes disso, mesmo que 20% dos jogos alegassem pelo menos um Mage PC em seus livros. Agora, temos um punhado de ~ 20 jogadores (ou mais) Mage jogos e satélites na org, um número significativo de Storytellers que agora estão dispostos a permitir Mages em suas crônicas Vampire / Garou / etc em uma base limitada e um visível Tanto na organização como em um conjunto de eventos. Profissionalmente, como mencionado, eu sou um engenheiro de rede e arquiteto de sistemas de chumbo para uma grande empresa. Estou muito familiarizado com a organização de pequenas equipes, a fim de desenvolver recursos para um grande número de usuários. Aprendi quando delegar, quando lidar com algo eu mesmo, e como definir metas razoáveis em um cronograma apropriado.
Personal Statement:
Personal Statement (Portuguese):
Goals:
My first goal is to bring the Mage political structure up to date. I wanted to do this last year, but unfortunately, one of the key resources we were waiting on is still in art direction from Onyx Path, and since we are following their game line per previous council votes, I don't want to take any significant steps until we know where they are headed with the New Horizon Council. That said, being in art direction means that the product is nearly out the door, so I anticipate we can dig into that and get a prop ready this coming year to bring us into at least rough alignment and start the international-level Mage politicking going.
We've successfully increased Mage presence in the org, and I intend to keep pushing that forward. We now also have several (5+) separate games geographically dispersed with characters talking to each other nationally. At this point, I think we may be able to have a Mage-dedicated event in OWBN. I'm going to be discussing it with STs this year and attempting to find the best place to host it, the best time so as not to overrun with existing events if at all possible, and figuring out those logistical arrangements.
Our ST resource packet had a lot of work done on it and I currently have it in a draft form that needs a few more tweaks and then some polishing. I expect to have it out before this summer if I am re-elected. If I am not re-elected, I'll turn it over to the new Mage coord and if they want to publish it I will offer my services. This is going to be a completely non-binding resource packet, just to help STs unfamiliar with Mage use them in a more reasonable fashion without having to dedicate the time to learn the full system.
I am considering updating the current Mage packet as well, and will be surveying STs about what they want added to it or what is unclear. We may have enough mage plot / mage PCs in the org now to actually begin putting prominent PCs and chantries in the packet, or released as a supplemental "Here's the Mage Org" sort of packet.