Calling all LEW Judges

[Manzanita]

LEW is going through a hard time. We may need to make some executive decisions. How many judges are still active here? Please post in if you're a judge or willing to judge.

Current questions: Are we ready to fold the mega adventure? Do we need to change the character approval process? How can we recruit more DMs?

[Heckler]

Related to my post in the "Is LEW in trouble" thread.

Manz, it might be helpful if you could spell out what exactlyis expected of judges.

Personally,I'd be willing to step up and help judge.

Are we ready to fold the mega adventure?
Overall, yes. There might be a couple that are willing and able to continue, though.

Do we need to change the character approval process?
At this time I don't think so. The only problem we have right now is a lack of judges, isn't it? If we get some more judges we should be okay.

How can we recruit more DMs?
I dunno. Let me think on it.

[Patlin]

I'm around and semi-active. It seems most of the adventures I'm in have died, and I've been so pressed for time my own adventure died as well. Out of six characters on two living worlds, I think all the adentures together are seing a couple of posts a week.

I'm in favor of killing the mega-adventure.

Here are some questions for consideration:

Can we get statistics as to how far the posting rate has fallen for LEW as a whole?

If it's not just my imagination, can we figure out why we're in a downward spiral?
-- Are people less interested in 3.5 now that 4e is out?
-- Is the economy (or other problems) diverting our attention?
-- Does a low post rate reach a critical mass and cause a general loss of interest?

I think all of the above contribute, myself.

So, what should we do?

[B4cchus]

Hi all,

in response of Manzanita´s call I will be returning on semi-active duty as a LEW judge.
I will start with Judging (characters and adventures) only and not before November the 17th.

I think we need to shrink down some parts of LEW in order to focus on it´s main activity: running and playing adventures.
I suggest the following to start with:
-shut down all inactive adventures (including the M-A).
-postpone all approvals for custom content (classes, spells, items, Dieties, etc) that are not submitted by a DM as part of an adventure
-make a round check of all active players and thier PC's
-the same for active judges (which Manz already started).
With this we can reboot the whole thing and start out fresh with new adventures.

Regards,
B4cchus

edit: as far as recruiting more DM's: I think we could get some DM's from other places on the board. Also, it might be a good idea to join forces with LEB, as they seem to be in the same tight spot as LEW.

[Boddynock]

I'm still here. My posting rate has been abysmal for most of this year but I think I'm moving into a better place in my life, so may be able to increase my presence a little.

I'm prepared to continue as a judge, and to focus on character approvals, but even with Trouvere and covaithe helping out as assistant judges for the last couple of months, approvals have been lagging. It's a big job, and getting bigger as character levels increase - although, having said that, with the general downturn in new members, it may stabilize.

I suggest that we make Trouvere and covaithe full judges, so that they have full approval rights (currently approvals require at least one 'senior' judge's input). I did suggest this earlier today to my fellow character judges, and was going to wait to put it to the 'full bench', but given this opportunity I've taken the plunge!

Patlin, I agree with you that all three of your possible causes for a downturn have had an effect on LEW. You're certainly spot on about the critical mass factor.

Frankly, from what I've been hearing, we don't need to kill the M-A. It's already dead. We just need to give it the last rites.

Lots of smaller adventures may be a way to go. Small groups, continually active, with a buzz of activity and a cross-fertilisation of ideas in the RDI, may be just what LEW needs.

Another suggestion was made in the discussion thread about LEW in trouble - in fact, a revisiting of an older suggestion, that we allow a 4th character for players. I think that's not a bad idea, since it allows keen players to do what they enjoy (and, in the process, to reinvigorate LEW). But perhaps, given the fact that we need DMs too, we might make approval of such a character dependant on a once-off purchase via DM credits.

Just a few ideas - and an underlying commitment to do what I can to help LEW not only to survive but also to thrive!

[Trouvere]

Originally Posted by Patlin

Can we get statistics as to how far the posting rate has fallen for LEW as a whole?

I've taken a look at a few adventures. In the case of stalled ones, I've looked for the final active period and not included the last 3 months of complete non-activity.

A Sojourn in Sairundan (Part 1, first 1000 posts), 8.8 posts per day
A Sojourn in Sairundan (Part 2), 1.7 (well, that says it all!)

S2: War in Vastermarch, 4.3
Its sequel, S3: The Scythe of Seto, 2.0

Notes on the Aether, 6.8
Its sequel, A Rather Odd Shovel, 1.5

But we do have some active adventures:
Darque Portal is ticking along nicely at 3.3
Sinister Spire is running at 1.5 ppd, but has fewer players
Ends Meat, 3.5
Urn Your Pay, 5.2 (we are the champions!)

The M-A:
Undine the Sea, 1.8
Blind Watchers, 1.6
Terra Subterranea, 1.3
Peregrinations of the Shard, 1.2
Tempest Fugit, 0.8 (that was 1 post per player per week)
Nocturne of Sorrow, 3.5 (the paradoxical one. This was the first of the M-A threads to die, yet it had the best posting rate. It just stopped one day, with the party surrounded by zombies)

[Patlin]

Originally Posted by Trouvere

I've taken a look at a few adventures. In the case of stalled ones, I've looked for the final active period and not included the last 3 months of complete non-activity.

A Sojourn in Sairundan (Part 1, first 1000 posts), 8.8 posts per day
A Sojourn in Sairundan (Part 2), 1.7 (well, that says it all!)

S2: War in Vastermarch, 4.3
Its sequel, S3: The Scythe of Seto, 2.0

Notes on the Aether, 6.8
Its sequel, A Rather Odd Shovel, 1.5

But we do have some active adventures:
Darque Portal is ticking along nicely at 3.3
Sinister Spire is running at 1.5 ppd, but has fewer players
Ends Meat, 3.5
Urn Your Pay, 5.2 (we are the champions!)

The M-A:
Undine the Sea, 1.8
Blind Watchers, 1.6
Terra Subterranea, 1.3
Peregrinations of the Shard, 1.2
Tempest Fugit, 0.8 (that was 1 post per player per week)
Nocturne of Sorrow, 3.5 (the paradoxical one. This was the first of the M-A threads to die, yet it had the best posting rate. It just stopped one day, with the party surrounded by zombies)

Excellent, and very usefull. I'm going to go visit a few threads I'm not in for the mega adventure and offer to help close them out with an xp reward.

[Phoenix8008]

Originally Posted by Patlin

"Daddy's teaching me to play D&D. I am his 'young apprentice.'" Brielle Patlin, 7 years old, 3/9/08.

Off topic: Love it. I've got a 5 year old little girl that is dying to play D&D with the rest of the family (Me, mom, and brothers 16, 13, and 10 years old). Don't know how long we'll be able to hold her off. Another year or two to learn reading and such better should do. Sorry for the inturruption, back to your regularly scheduled discussion...

[Erekose13]

I'm still around, though as an ex-judge I'm not sure I'm ready to come out of retirement yet. I can help close up some of the threads and award XP. And I might be able to watch a game or two, but if they end up falling I wont be able to pick them up only award Xp and close up shop. Definitely not ready to take on character judging though as mentioned in the other thread if it comes to DMs to rule on their own PCs I can cover my adventure.

[Manzanita]

I guess we'll keep our current character approval process for now. If it continues to be problematic though, I think we should try something else.

I intentionally never got involved with the mega adventure & haven't followed it. Are there still some, though, that need closing out? I'll try to help out with that if needed.

[Knight Otu]

As far as I see, Tempest Fugit and Peregrinations of the Shard are unresolved to some extend. I'm not sure about Blind Watchers of the Sylvan Shard, where DM and players still post, if slowly.

[Phoenix8008]

Originally Posted by Knight Otu

As far as I see, Tempest Fugit and Peregrinations of the Shard are unresolved to some extend. I'm not sure about Blind Watchers of the Sylvan Shard, where DM and players still post, if slowly.

Rae (the DM for Blind Watchers) had posted a little bit back that due to RL slowing him down he was going to use what posting he could do to cut to the chase and wrap up the adventure as soon as possible. Don't know exactly how quick that would be at the rate we are going, but that was his posted intention.

[Boddynock]

Judges, there's an email coming your way.

[Bront]

Hey guys.

My time is in flux at the moment. I have some because I'm between jobs, but I still have a kid to deal with.

However, I'd hate to have LEW die, and I've tried to keep an eye on it whenever I checked in.

I'll try to see if I can't get a bit more active. Maybe see if I can even revive a character or two.

[Trouvere]

Originally Posted by Knight Otu

As far as I see, Tempest Fugit and Peregrinations of the Shard are unresolved to some extend. I'm not sure about Blind Watchers of the Sylvan Shard, where DM and players still post, if slowly.

There are also Nocturne of Sorrow and Lost Mithril.

[orsal]

Originally Posted by Manzanita

LEW is going through a hard time. We may need to make some executive decisions. How many judges are still active here? Please post in if you're a judge or willing to judge.

I'm not as active as I once was, although I will continue to watch the adventures I'm signed up to judge. I haven't been doing much character judging lately, and that's part of the problem -- we don't have enough total time commitment from the character judging team to handle everything. And if we're about to close up most or all of the mega-adventure, there will be a lot more characters gaining a level shortly. (Time XP alone should amount to half a level.) I don't feel I need to resign that post, but everyone should be aware, in deciding how many judges we need, that I'm not pulling my weight.

And while I can continue to judge my current adventures, I'm not about to sign up for any more in the immediate future.

Originally Posted by Manzanita

Current questions: Are we ready to fold the mega adventure?

On an adventure by adventure basis. Rystil Arden is DMing all but one of them, and he's been missing. If there is a DM who think (s)he can take over one, and is willing, and the players are interested in continuing, there's no reason we shouldn't let that happen. But I think most of the groups are failing in their quest (aborting an adventure is usually most easily done by declaring failure) -- which should leave space for another plot turn in the future, if someone wants to run with it.

More generally, as to why LEW is moribund: We set up a situation where most current activity revolved around one DM, and shortly after that started that DM, previously one of our most active participants, had a sudden life change. I don't think it necessarily indicates a larger problem with LEW, but we'll see how many players have given up altogether just because so much of the world wasn't moving for so long.

[covaithe]

I somehow managed to miss this thread until now. I've said elsewhere most of what I have to say on what I think LEW needs. In brief: DMs to run short, easy games that conclude successfully. The rest we're either doing ok with or can muddle along without.

I'm willing to judge, but I'm not able to take on any more DMing responsibilities right now or for the immediate future.

[Rae ArdGaoth]

This judge is guilty of being delinquent in posting lately. In my defense, I'm being extraordinarily productive in the real world.

I'll agree with orsal that the slowdown has been due to a small number of normally active people rather than a reduced amount of general interest. Since I am running 3 games and have 2 characters, I am guilty of being one of those people, I suppose.

I've reached a breathing point, and I'm reorganizing my time. LEW has always been my favorite pastime, and I hope for it to remain so. It's given me no small amount of grief that I've had less time for it than I used to. So while I can't promise 1 post per game per day, I can promise that I'll spend a few solid hours a week on LEW. Starting today.

Character Judging is a chore. It takes a lot of time and is a relatively thankless job. That being said, I think it's an important component of what makes LEW successful, and I'll continue to be a Character Judge in whatever capacity I'm able. For now, that means updating the Approved Character List regularly. I'll do that as soon as I update my adventures.

A million apologies for going AWOL! I can't say it enough, I know, so I'll stop saying I'm sorry and get back into gear.

[orsal]

Originally Posted by Heckler

Manz, it might be helpful if you could spell out what exactlyis expected of judges.

(1) Judges vote on new content and houserules. A judge isn't required to vote on every single proposal, but it is expected that you'd be looking carefully at them, because we can't approve anything unless at least three judges (more, if there's dissent) agree.

(2) Judges receive all the adventure proposals. You're not expected to read them all: If you have a character who you think might be a potential player, you shouldn't. Only two judges need to sign off on an adventure proposal to run it, and it's usually not hard to get two, so that's no big deal. However, those who do sign off should have considered consistency issues ("Does this adventure contradict anything established about LEW?"), and long-term implications ("Does this adventure establish anything that's going to be awkward down the road?") as well as fairness ("Are the challenges appropriate to the characters expected to play?"). So, a judge should be up to date on the LEW canon.

(3) One judge must watch an adventure. This judge will sign off on the XP and treasure awards, and award DM credits at the end. (S)he should also be able to catch anything inappropriate (inconsistent with LEW rules or known facts) that slips in (since the DM might not be as expert on LEW matters as a judge should be), and possibly answer questions. Those pretty much never happen, and the approval part is really a formality, so in practice the most important part of this task is that, if the DM goes missing, the judge has to step in, by continuing to run the adventure (ideally), recruiting someone else to take it over (possibly), or handwaving a wrapup and giving final XP awards (if nothing better can be done). So, you'd have to check the adventure thread regularly, to know your LEW, and to keep the original email with the adventure proposal.

(4) A subset of judges is responsible for approving characters at creation and at every new level. This is the most demanding, but only a few judges (currently four) do it.

Have I left anything out?

[Boddynock]

Originally Posted by orsal

Have I left anything out?

Be trustworthy, loyal ...