Plot organization

Latest revision as of 15:12, 15 November 2024

Best Anorak Wearer: Matt Pennington

Overview

Plot is the biggest department in Empire, as it incorporates all our NPCs, our plot writers as well as characters like the bards, egregores, civil servants and magistrates and all the back room operations crew who work in costume and make-up. We've broadly split the deparment into three core activities, creative, production, and personnel. We need lots of people to help us fill out all these roles, so if you're interested in getting involved in the IC side of Empire then we're always keen to talk to you.

At events, the plot department is housed in the monster tent, a giant white marquee at the back of the crew area - and the small plot tent situated next to it.

PD Management

Matt Pennington

Matt is the member of the PD management team with overall responsibility for everything that happens in the plot department - if you have a problem then Matt is your next port of call if the people in charge of your area can't sort it.

Creative

The creative side of plot is the plot team, a group of writers who work with Andy Rafferty and Matt Pennington to develop the plot that happens at the events. Being part of the plot team is more than just writing, members of the team are responsible for ensuring their plot runs at the event, by liaising with plot logistics to ensure everything their plot needs is sorted and that their NPCs are briefed and debriefed.

If you're interested in joining the plot team, then the starting point is to read our plot style guide and then sketch out one or more plots that you would be interested in developing. Once you've done that you can email Matt to discuss your plot. If we like your plot idea, then we'll help you to develop it and run it at the event.

Andy Raff is the head of the creative side of plot, overseeing anything involved with writing or the actual content of a plot.

Production

Plot production incorporates all our vital support crew, the people who choose, sort, and create the costume, the people who do the same for make-up, props and SFX. It includes the people who do any event by event set-dressing (so dressing encounter tents and the battlefield). The creative side of writing plot is handled by the plot writers team but all the logistical issues involved in creating and running plot at events, bar human resources, are all part of plot production.

Phil D'Souza is in charge of plot production - supported by Dhiamara Coulson running the costume, Rachel Durrant running the props, and Vicki Stephenson running the makeup.

Costume

Sourcing kit for plots before the event
Providing costume for all our NPCs
Managing the kit wardrobe at events
Team Leader - Dhiamara Coulson

The costume team dress NPCs and get them ready for encounters. The team use their knowledge of the setting and the PD wardrobe to dress NPCs for roles they are about to play, including the player volunteers for the battles. They also help them to change after an encounter and ensure used kit is put away. At the end of the event they help oversee packing away the plot room away and separate any kit that needs cleaning or repairing. The costume team also work before the events helping to plan and arrange new kit creation and purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.

Props

Sourcing props for plots before the event
Managing the prop store at events
Team Leader - Paul Cope

In addition to boxes of generic props, we have large numbers of unique props for specific game items - such as the Empress' Crown. The Props team help to keep these props organized, so that they are available when needed. They also work to source props between events and give advice on the availability of unassigned or generic props in the existing store.

Make-up

Applying and removing make-up and prosthetics for all our NPCs
Team Leader - Ellie Nye

The makeup team are essential for any roles that require make-up or prosthetics. These include orcs and characters with lineage, but they also include eternals and their heralds. The makeup team plan complex make-up arrangements in advance so that convincing effects can be created quickly in the field. They also help player volunteers don and remove make-up before and after battles. The make-up team work before the events helping to plan and arrange new make-up and prosthetic purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.

SFX

Team Leader - Phil D'Souza

Encounter tents

Team Leader - Jessica Simpson

Personnel

The majority of the people in the plot room are NPCs, volunteers whose main responsibility is to play NPC roles throughout the weekend. The NPCs are divided into three main groups, described below. You don't have to be a member of one of these teams to play a role, we always need more NPCs so crew who want to take a break from their existing duties and play some roles are always welcome.

Beth Charlton is in charge of plot personnel - and in particular the NPC team. If you need NPCs for a plot then she is your first point of contact.

Field NPC Team

Civil Service Team Leader - Jonathan Kidger
Egregores and Bards Team Leader - Clare Evans
Magistrates Team Leader - Jon Creek

We have a number of NPCs who play a single recurring role based in Anvil throughout the weekend. These roles are highly specialized with a clear focus on providing support and assistance to the game and the players. The civil service support the main political structures of the Empire, providing logistical support to the players to run the Empire. The magistrates operate the Empire's legal system directing the player militia as they follow up crimes that have taken place. Our egregores are based in the nations themselves with a remit to support the feel of the nation and encourage the roleplaying in the camp. The bards of the Three Refrains are based from a tent in the centre of Anvil with a remit to visit the nations as they need. Each group of NPCs has their own team leader.

Plot NPC Team

Playing NPCs on the field
Playing eternals and heralds in off-field encounters
Team Leader - Beth Charlton

Our NPC team play the roles that have been created and written by the plot writers that happen on the field and in the Hall of Worlds. Members of the team may portray minor Imperial NPCs, eternals and their heralds and representatives of other foreign or barbarian powers.

When you join the Plot NPC team, we'll ask you for some details about the kind of parts you are comfortable playing, as well as the parts you'd like to play and the parts you'd prefer not to play. This helps us build up a picture of our crew so that we can try to give them the parts they will enjoy at events.

Skirmish NPC Team

Running NPCs on quests, skirmishes and battles
Team Leaders - Faith Elisabeth Lilley, Chira Roberts, Rook Glanten

Our skirmish team are the dedicated crew whose responsibility is to bring to life the battles, skirmishes and quests that the players choose to fight. There is a great team spirit among those who enjoy being part of what is effectively our monster faction. We aim to run all our fights using IC leadership and commands, so there are a range of roles for people.

Many members of our NPC team enjoy a good fight, but if you are writing a quest that involves a fight with a significant number of combatants, then you will need members of the Skirmish Crew to bring that to life. Faith, Chira, and Rook are the team leaders who can provide you with the people you need if given enough advance warning.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{CaptionedImage|file=AndyRaffertyWiki.jpg|align=right|caption=Head of campaign: Andy Rafferty}}
+{{CaptionedImage|file=MattP1.jpg|align=right|caption=Best Anorak Wearer: Matt Pennington|width=250px}}
+<!--{{CaptionedImage|file=Katie.jpg|align=right|caption=Chief Cat Herder: Katie Rogers|width=250px}}-->
 ==Overview==
-Plot is the biggest department in Empire, as it incorporates all our NPCs, our plot writers as well as characters like the nation bards, egregores, civil servants and magistrates and back room operations crew who work in costume and make-up. We need lots of people to help us fill out all these roles, so if you're interested in getting involved in the IC side of Empire then we're always keen to talk to you.
+Plot is the biggest department in Empire, as it incorporates all our NPCs, our plot writers as well as characters like the bards, egregores, civil servants and magistrates and all the back room operations crew who work in costume and make-up. We've broadly split the deparment into three core activities, creative, production, and personnel. We need lots of people to help us fill out all these roles, so if you're interested in getting involved in the IC side of Empire then we're always keen to talk to you.
-The plot crew are divided into dozens of different teams. Some crew are members of many teams, some are members of just one. Everyone who is part of the plot crew is expected to have a good familiarity with the campaign setting. Matt Pennington is the member of the PD management team with overall responsibility for all the plot crew - if you have a problem then he is your next port of call if your team leader can't sort it.
+At events, the plot department is housed in the monster tent, a giant white marquee at the back of the crew area - and the small plot tent situated next to it.
-==Plot Writers==
+==PD Management==
-* '''Write plot for events'''
+* '''Matt Pennington'''
-* '''Run plot at events'''
+Matt is the member of the PD management team with overall responsibility for everything that happens in the plot department - if you have a problem then Matt is your next port of call if the people in charge of your area can't sort it.
-* '''Team Leader - Andy Raff'''
-Everyone who writes plot for Empire is part of our plot writing team. It is the job of the writers to create and run the plot lines that make Empire an exciting game to play. Plot writers are also expected to run their own plot - which includes briefing and debriefing NPCs and helping to get encounters ready by liaising with costume and make-up, however [[#Plot Support|plot support]] exist to help individual writers with every stage of the process.
-Andy Raff is the team leader for the plot writers team. He is in charge of the Empire Campaign; Andy and Matt aim to go through each plot being created for Empire to ensure that the plot we are producing is consistent and of a high standard.
+==Creative==
+The creative side of plot is the [[plot team]], a group of writers who work with Andy Rafferty and Matt Pennington to develop the plot that happens at the events. Being part of the plot team is more than just writing, members of the team are responsible for ensuring their plot runs at the event, by liaising with plot logistics to ensure everything their plot needs is sorted and that their NPCs are briefed and debriefed.
+If you're interested in joining the plot team, then the starting point is to read our plot [[style guide]] and then sketch out one or more plots that you would be interested in developing. Once you've done that you can [mailto:matt@profounddecisions.co.uk email Matt] to discuss your plot. If we like your plot idea, then we'll help you to develop it and run it at the event.
-==Plot Support==
+Andy Raff is the head of the creative side of plot, overseeing anything involved with writing or the actual content of a plot.
-* '''Help and support writers running plot'''
-* '''Keep the plot room running smoothly'''
-* '''Team Leader - Ben Dixon'''
-[[Plot support]] exist primarily to help writers get their plot run at events. Plot writing is a creative process but writers may struggle with the organization needed to run plot in a big system. Our plot support team exist to help all the writers make sure that their plot runs on time and to brief. By liaising with members of plot support, any writer can get help with things like briefing, debriefing, wrangling NPCs, sourcing costume, make-up, and prosthetics. The plot support team are also the first point of contact for the referees when they radio in for the response to player questions and actions involving plots we have put out.
-Plot support manage the monster room and will try to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. Members of the team will set out the room at the start of the weekend and oversee putting it away at the end.
+==Production==
+Plot production incorporates all our vital support crew, the people who choose, sort, and create the costume, the people who do the same for make-up, props and SFX. It includes the people who do any event by event set-dressing (so dressing encounter tents and the battlefield). The creative side of writing plot is handled by the [[Plot team|plot writers team]] but all the logistical issues involved in creating and running plot at events, bar human resources, are all part of plot production.
-An important responsibility for the plot support team is to manage ongoing plot requirements. The Empire campaign has many specific requirements - plot that ''must'' happen - for example battles, the bourse auction, and past life visions. Some of these elements are created by players - such as the ritual [http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/Challenge_the_Iron_Duke Challenge the Iron Duke], some may be the natural consequences of previous plot, for example a quest or skirmish that needs to happen. We need to ensure that volunteers writing the plot for these sections of the game are able to deliver it on time, so the plot support team will monitor progress on critical plot elements to ensure there are no problems.
+Phil D'Souza is in charge of plot production - supported by Dhiamara Coulson running the costume, Rachel Durrant running the props, and Vicki Stephenson running the makeup.
-The plot support team includes a number of specific areas, costume and props, make-up and prosthetics, and special FX.
+===Costume===
+* '''Sourcing kit for plots before the event'''
+* '''Providing costume for all our NPCs'''
+* '''Managing the kit wardrobe at events'''
+* '''Team Leader - Dhiamara Coulson '''
+The costume team dress NPCs and get them ready for encounters. The team use their knowledge of the setting and the PD wardrobe to dress NPCs for roles they are about to play, including the player volunteers for the battles. They also help them to change after an encounter and ensure used kit is put away. At the end of the event they help oversee packing away the plot room away and separate any kit that needs cleaning or repairing. The costume team also work before the events helping to plan and arrange new kit creation and purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.
-===Plot NPC Team===
+===Props===
-* '''Playing NPCs on the field'''
+* '''Sourcing props for plots before the event'''
-* '''Playing eternals and heralds in off-field encounters'''
+* '''Managing the prop store at events'''
-* '''Team Leader - Katie Rogers'''
+* '''Team Leader - Paul Cope'''
-Our NPC team play the roles that have been created and written by the plot writers that happen on the field and in the Hall of Worlds. Members of the team may portray minor Imperial NPCs, eternals and their heralds and representatives of other foreign or barbarian powers.
-When you join the Plot NPC team, we'll ask you for some details about the kind of parts you are comfortable playing, as well as the parts you'd like to play and the parts you'd prefer not to play. This helps us build up a picture of our crew so that we can try to give them the parts they will enjoy at events.
+In addition to boxes of generic props, we have large numbers of unique props for specific game items - such as the Empress' Crown. The Props team help to keep these props organized, so that they are available when needed. They also work to source props between events and give advice on the availability of unassigned or generic props in the existing store.
-The team leader is Katie Rogers.
+===Make-up===
+* '''Applying and removing make-up and prosthetics for all our NPCs'''
-==NPCs==
+* '''Team Leader - Ellie Nye'''
-The majority of the people in the plot room are NPCs, volunteers whose main responsibility is to play NPC roles throughout the weekend. The NPCs are divided into three main groups, described below. You don't have to be a member of one of these teams to play a role, we always need more NPCs so crew who want to take a break from their existing duties and play some roles are always welcome.
+The makeup team are essential for any roles that require make-up or prosthetics. These include orcs and characters with lineage, but they also include eternals and their heralds. The makeup team plan complex make-up arrangements in advance so that convincing effects can be created quickly in the field. They also help player volunteers don and remove make-up before and after battles. The make-up team work before the events helping to plan and arrange new make-up and prosthetic purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.
-===Skirmish===
+===SFX===
-* '''Running the Quests and Battles'''
+* '''Team Leader - Phil D'Souza'''
-* '''Team Leaders - Richard Loveday, James Crollie, Emma Woods, and Andy Connell'''
-Our skirmish team are the dedicated crew whose responsibility is to bring to life the battles, skirmishes and quests that the players choose to fight. There is a great team spirit among those who enjoy being part of what is effectively our monster faction. We aim to run all our fights using IC leadership and commands, so there are a range of roles for people.
-Our [[The Hundred|skirmish team]] are the dedicated crew whose responsibility is to bring to life the battles and skirmishes that the players choose to fight. We will be running conflicts of various size throughout the weekend with the skirmish team portraying the enemies of the Empire. It is a great role for anyone who enjoys fighting and roleplaying a character on a battlefield.
+===Encounter tents===
+* '''Team Leader - Jessica Simpson'''
+==Personnel==
+The majority of the people in the plot room are NPCs, volunteers whose main responsibility is to play NPC roles throughout the weekend. The NPCs are divided into three main groups, described below. You don't have to be a member of one of these teams to play a role, we always need more NPCs so crew who want to take a break from their existing duties and play some roles are always welcome.
+ Beth Charlton is in charge of plot personnel - and in particular the NPC team. If you need NPCs for a plot then she is your first point of contact.
 ===Field NPC Team===
-* '''Team Leaders - Clare Evans, Kate Forster, Jon Creek, Mark Chilvers'''
+* '''Civil Service Team Leader - Jonathan Kidger'''
-We have a number of crew who play a single recurring role based in Anvil throughout the weekend. These roles are highly specialized with a clear focus on providing support and assistance to the game and the players. The civil service support the main political structures of the Empire, providing logistical support to the players to run the Empire. The [[magistrates]] operate the Empire's legal system directing the player militia as they follow up crimes that have taken place. Our [[egregores]] and our [[bards]] are based in the nations themselves with a remit to support the feel of the nation and encourage the roleplaying in the camp.
+* '''Egregores and Bards Team Leader - Clare Evans'''
+* '''Magistrates Team Leader - Jon Creek'''
+We have a number of NPCs who play a single recurring role based in Anvil throughout the weekend. These roles are highly specialized with a clear focus on providing support and assistance to the game and the players. The civil service support the main political structures of the Empire, providing logistical support to the players to run the Empire. The [[magistrates]] operate the Empire's legal system directing the player militia as they follow up crimes that have taken place. Our [[egregores]] are based in the nations themselves with a remit to support the feel of the nation and encourage the roleplaying in the camp. The bards of the Three Refrains are based from a tent in the centre of Anvil with a remit to visit the nations as they need. Each group of NPCs has their own team leader.
+===Plot NPC Team===
+* '''Playing NPCs on the field'''
+* '''Playing eternals and heralds in off-field encounters'''
+* '''Team Leader - Beth Charlton'''
+Our NPC team play the roles that have been created and written by the plot writers that happen on the field and in the Hall of Worlds. Members of the team may portray minor Imperial NPCs, eternals and their heralds and representatives of other foreign or barbarian powers.
+When you join the Plot NPC team, we'll ask you for some details about the kind of parts you are comfortable playing, as well as the parts you'd like to play and the parts you'd prefer not to play. This helps us build up a picture of our crew so that we can try to give them the parts they will enjoy at events.
+===Skirmish NPC Team===
+* '''Running NPCs on quests, skirmishes and battles'''
+* '''Team Leaders - Faith Elisabeth Lilley, Chira Roberts, Rook Glanten'''
+Our [[The Hundred|skirmish team]] are the dedicated crew whose responsibility is to bring to life the battles, skirmishes and quests that the players choose to fight. There is a great team spirit among those who enjoy being part of what is effectively our monster faction. We aim to run all our fights using IC leadership and commands, so there are a range of roles for people.
-===Costume and Props===
+Many members of our NPC team enjoy a good fight, but if you are writing a quest that involves a fight with a significant number of combatants, then you will need members of the Skirmish Crew to bring that to life. Faith, Chira, and Rook are the team leaders who can provide you with the people you need if given enough advance warning.
-* '''Costume Team Leader - Lizzie Upton'''
-* '''Props Team Leader - Rachel Durrant'''
-The costume and props team is essential to dress NPCs and get them ready for encounters. The team use their knowledge of the PD costume and props inventory to dress NPCs for roles they are about to play, including the player volunteers for the battles. They also help them to change after an encounter and ensure used kit is put away. At the end of the event they help oversee packing away the plot room away and separate any kit that needs cleaning or repairing. The costume and props team also work before the events helping to plan and arrange new kit creation and purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.
-===Make-up===
-* '''Team Leader - Agnes Eklund'''
-The makeup team are essential for any roles that require make-up or prosthetics. These include orcs and characters with lineage, but they also include [[Eternals]] and their heralds. The makeup team plan complex make-up arrangements in advance so that convincing effects can be created quickly in the field. They also help player volunteers don and remove make-up before and after battles. The make-up team work before the events helping to plan and arrange new make-up and prosthetic purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.
-===Full time Roles===
-* In addition to our NPC team we have a number of crew who play a single NPC role throughout the weekend
-* These roles perform a range of IC and OOC responsibilities.
-We have a number of crew who play a single role throughout the weekend. These crew fall into one of several different teams, the bards, civil service, egregores and magistrates.
-We are currently looking for more crew with musical or performing talents to play members of the bards team.
 {{Plot Further Reading}}