Ravnos Coordinator Elections 2009

Your Name: Josh WastaYour Email Address: ravnos83@gmail.com
Home Chronicle: Twin Cities, though I live in Iowa

Position Sought: Ravnos Coordinator

1. Your OWbN/Gaming/Administrative Background

I first played Vampire in my sophomore year of high school, 1995. It was a great world and leagues beyond what I had done in gaming before. My two favorite Clans quickly became Brujah and Ravnos. Through the next seven years, I would play and run all of White Wolf's StoryTeller games. I first joined One World by Night in December of 2002 at Gen Con Southern California on a whim. I played a Giovanni character and met over a hundred members of the organization.

Over the next two years, I moved to Los Angeles and become more involved in the game there, eventually assisting Kenny Lull by becoming an Assistant StoryTeller. When Gregg McCleary began the local Giovanni game, I volunteered to become the Council Member for the group. I served in this capacity until Gregg moved to Arizona in 2004. I stepped up to serve as Head StoryTeller and even remained a Council Member after moving back to Iowa in 2005. I would only give up this position to continue as the Council Member for the new Crusade of Ashes Sabbat game. During late 2006 I applied for and became Giovanni Coordinator - a position I kept for two years. In mid-2007 I ceased being a Council Member and devoted my time to just being a Coordinator. Also, in February 2006 I began, as its sole StoryTeller, Black Hawk County by Night - a chronicle which continues as a member of the organization to this day.

2. Personal Statement

I have a reputation for being outspoken and pushy. Despite these things as negative traits, no one can argue that they have yielded results. In the two years I was Giovanni Coordinator, I took a Clan and genre that was universally thought to be broken and gave them a shred of respect. I also made it clear that this is not a Sect of looking the other way, this is a Clan of vampires who sees the importance of not pissing off the "big dogs". Also, I cleared up the MASSIVE genre breach in which all Giovanni PCs with an itch for getting broken powers would deal with the Sabbat by making knowledge of the Harbringers of Skulls open and available. Venice refused to work openly with a Sect who would house their enemies. By doing both these things, the Giovanni Clan now has a sense of order and games may find it easier to incorporate them into their structure.

As for my plans for Ravnos Coordinator, I feel Nate has been doing an excellent job and it is time for step 2. First and foremost, I will be propping for Ravnos to go one step lower in Rarity for a six month window to reflect the push from India for Clan resurgence. Also, the new "Elders" of the Clan will step forward, not from Romanian families but from Indian castes. I want to see "giorgio" Ravnos adopted into this structure and there to be more and prolific communication. At the same time, I want to see the last remnants of the Rom Ravnos come forward to dissuade characters from joining the Indian Ravnos and coming back to the "old" ways.

In essence, what I plan for this to do it to form three "families" of the Clan - Rom, Indian and Independent (which I imagine most will fall into). I feel all three have a VERY rich history and none should be forgotten. Also, with what White Wolf left us in Third Edition, it seems to be the most solid plan and give players and Storytellers alike a wide berth of options to work into their histories.

There will also be packets and such for each family, should the prop pass, or an overall packet if it does not. Either way, there will be a section on responsible Chimerstry use and tips for StoryTellers for dealing with this difficult discipline.

3. Support From.

Current Ventrue Coordinator, Chad Whitley
Current Wraith Coordinator, Patrick Sniegoski
Current Malkavian Coordinator, Brenden Ammerman
Current Mage Coordinator, James Sampers
Current Ravnos Coordinator, Nate Franklin
Current Assistant Head Coordinator, Rojir McCready
Obsidian Towers
Vitae Aeturnus
City of Springs
La Crosse: The River's Edge
Chicago: Dark Requiem

-Wasta

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Applicant Name: Michael Cormier
Applicant E-mail: mick7742@gmail.com
Applicant Home Chronicle: Gainesville: the New Confederacy (Gainesville, FL)
Position Sought: Ravnos Coordinator

Support From
Coords: Geoffrey Combs Asst Head Coordinator gnv.geoff@gmail.com
Dawn Ireton Archivist dawn.ireton@googlemail.com
Chad Whitley Ventrue Coordinator cwhitley@gmail.com
Theresa Jester Gangrel Coordinator phoenix22@gmail.com
Chronicles: Gainesville: the New Confederacy
ST/CM: William Cox gnvsts@gmail.com
Ocala Sabbat: Hell is Taken
HST: John Bullinger maelfesh007@yahoo.com

Background

My first One World by Night LARP experience was way back in 1999. I played a Malkavian in the East of the River chronicle in Hartford, CT. I played there for only a few months before moving to Gainesville, FL.
After moving to Gainesville, I found it difficult to get into the local OWbN game with the small number of people and the cliques that were already present. So I joined the Camarilla Fan Club. I played in the CFC for a few years, until I just became exhausted with the amount of LARP I was experiencing. I served as the HST of a Changeling game, an AST of a Werewolf game, the Domain Coordinator and a player in the Mage and Kindred games. Needless to say I had a lot of LARP going on, so I took a few months off and when I started to get excited about LARP again, a couple of friends of mine convinced me to try OWbN instead of going back to the CFC.
I was immediately hooked! The players and the atmosphere were more in line of what I was used to in a LARP experience. I jumped right into the two local games that were in Gainesville (Gainesville: Mysteries in Darkness & St Augustine: On Hallowed Ground). Within one years time I had recruited six new players and joined the ST staff of the Gainesville game. I have been an ST or HST of the Gainesville game for most of my time in OWbN in Florida, and I, along with Geoff Combs, helped transition the Gainesville games' genre from Camarilla to Anarch. Now I am a player, and happy to have some relaxed time away from the local ST scene, but am anxious to step up my game and serve as the Ravnos Coordinator for One World by Night.
Besides different LARP games, I have been role-playing for many years experiencing many various games and genres. My first RP experience was in HS with Dungeons & Dragons, and I was very big into Magic: the Gathering. I can still remember saying "one booster pack of Legends, please".
I have played every class, race, clan, genre and been an ST, DM, and GM for dozens of games and groups.
I do not claim to know all the rules for any game, but one thing I stand by in whatever game I am playing or running is to have fun. Role-playing, whether live action or table top, is a hobby that people take part in an attempt to have fun while hanging out with good friends. The end result of a long night of role-playing needs to be fun for everyone involved.
As a coordinator in One World by Night, I will do everything I can to make certain that all Ravnos players enjoy playing their clan and have all resources necessary at their disposal to better their experience in OWbN.

Official Capacity LARP Experience

2001-02 Assistant Storyteller Werewolf, Gainesville: Poisoned Absynthe, Camarilla Fan Club
2001-02 Head Storyteller Changeling, Gainesville: Poisoned Absynthe, Camarilla Fan Club
2000-01 Chapter Coordinator, Gainesville: Poisoned Absynthe, Camarilla Fan Club
2002 Domain Coordinator, Gainesville: Poisoned Absynthe, Camarilla Fan Club
2004-2007 Storyteller (AST and HST), Gainesville: the New Confederacy (formerly Mysteries in Darkness)

Personal Statement

Coordinators in this organization have a difficult job; there is no question about that. Not only must they do what they are elected or appointed to do, but they must keep a professional, unbiased eye on the players and other coordinators. We all have friends and pals in the organization, but I think that we need to keep a closer eye out for the good of the organization as a whole. As an ST, one of my best merits was the ability to look at issues that arose and give a judgment that was fair and unbiased. I will be bringing this ability to the next level as Ravnos coordinator.
Too often have I heard the complaint about coordinators not returning emails in a timely manner. I also hear coordinators complain about frivolous questions brought to them that local storytellers could have easily answered. I want to be able to fix both of these issues right away by being available via email and IM, as well as giving players and storytellers the materials they need to answer any questions that come up concerning clan Ravnos.
Having played a Ravnos for a few years now, I have a great idea who and what the Ravnos are and what they stand for. I love the clan. I have such a great fondness for the clan that I am willing to put my own Ravnos PC that I have played for just over three years now on hold to act as the coordinator for the clan.

Goals

1. I want to take a look at the sub-coord team. I am not certain that a small clan needs as many sub-coods as are listed on owbn.org. I will first get a listing of all PC Ravnos, shelved or not, from the players and STshort url linkjordan Release Dates