Thread: New XP Award System

New XP Award System

June 1st 2010 we will be changing the way that XP is awarded on the site. Effective on that date all site members with active characters will be awarded a flat 4 XP per month.

I want everyone to understand the reason we are doing this, which is for the overall health of the game. In one year, a majority of characters on our current XP program have purchased most of what they really want on their sheets. Their done, so where do they go? We are awarding too much XP to characters too fast. Character sheets are fast outpacing the story to back them.

In a relatively realistic world, it takes time to learn something new. At our current rate you can learn three new basic disciplines per month on your vampire. Einstein couldn’t master three new skills a month!

So for the health of the game we are going to lower the XP Award to a flat award to active characters. This will lengthen out the life of the chronicle, stretch the life span of characters, and make the gaining of a nifty new power something really special and a very cool moment for you and your character.

Jim! You cry out, I want to have (insert nifty power) now! Well you can, but you will have to use the Player Point system to buy extra XP to get that power. Yes I’ll be blunt about that aspect of it. We have seen a major slump off in the purchase of Player Points, which is not good for the health of the business. I’m hoping to encourage folks to think not in terms of buying a big lot of Player Points at a time, but maybe they pick up just a couple to a few dollars a month. (Not that we don’t appreciate the big purchases too!) We are dependent on Player Points to continue funding the business side of what we do, which includes the planning of Hatter Con, new technology (most of that is NOT free), new gadgetry , costumes, and of course paychecks for the Staff who work very hard for you.

It is my goal to have a full time Staff that work exclusively for your entertainment, but these people keep telling me they need to pay their bills! So we count on each and every one of you to support us by giving what you can. Subscribers to Player Points, every dollar goes to a good cause, either buying more nifty bells and whistles, stock piling to fund Hatter Con or to put food on the table for the Staff!

The last aspect of this change is that it will make Audits of character sheets very easy. My Staff or I will be awarding the XP once per month. So when we do audits we will know all XP is only marked by us, we just have to check that, check for PP conversion to XP, and then add the numbers. This streamlines the process for everyone, again making it easier to get in and play!

Again this is first and foremost for the long term health of the game and length of the chronicle, but when we started looking at all the benefits this could bring about for the business and for our customers overall, it was a no brainer decision.

If you have any questions, ask the Staff!

-Madhatterr