Players of Cottington Woods

So you've decided you want to journey into the Woods, but aren't sure of the path before you. Here, then, is the information you need to begin your journey into the Written Word.

First, join our GoogleGroup Player List:
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/playercottingtonwoods
This is our main form of communication with our players and cast regarding the game. Feel free to join in and ask questions. You can also view it directly on our website, here.

Getting Started as a Player:

Character Creation
Player Survey
LARP Conflict Survey
System Rules
Character Database
Earning CP
Preregistering for an Event

After an Event:

PELs
Between Event Skills
In-Game Letters

Contact & Social Media Info

Character Creation

Whether you already have a concept in mind, or are just beginning to figure out what you'd like to play, please take a look at our Character Creation guidelines, rules, and information. You can find them by clicking on the link here, or by clicking on "Info" --> "Character" in the menu above.

Once you have read the Character Creation section and have a concept in mind, please submit your concept to characters@cottingtonwoods.com or use the Character History Submission Form.

This does not mean that your concept/history needs to be complete at this point - in fact, we expect that there may need to be some tweaks after we review them. We want your concept to be a dialog with Plot Staff, so that your concept best fits the world and the stories & plotlines that already exist. Do not worry if we request you make changes; it only means that we are as interested in ensuring you have fun and your concept works in our world as you are.

Initial Character Concepts should be submitted no later than 6 weeks prior to your first event.

We kindly ask that finalized Character Histories be submitted no later than three weeks prior to your first event -- and even sooner, if possible, to allow us to incorporate them into event plots. Note that the closer to an event you submit information on your character, the less likely Plot will be able to react to that in that upcoming event.

Player Survey

When you have time, we'd also love it if you could fill out our Player Survey. This gives a chance to get to know you as a player - what plotlines you do and do not enjoy, your expectations and experiences. We want this to be as much your game as ours, and as much as possible, we will try to tailor our plotlines towards your personal preferences.

LARP Conflict Survey

When scheduling our events, we'd like to know what other games our players, NPCs, and Staff are playing, so we can try our best to avoid major conflicts. In the end, however, we're at the mercy of site availability, and can absolutely make no promises that we won't conflict with a game you love out there. There are just too many LARPs running in New England to avoid conflicts, but we'll do our best within the site availability constraints to avoid major conflicts!

System Rules

Once you've created a concept, now is the time to really understand the rules, skillsets, and headers available in the game. The System Rules can be found here, or by clicking on "Info" --> "Rules" in the menu above.

Character Database

Once you are ready to build your character, log into the character database to submit your build. The character database is located under Interact then Characters on the menu above. You must be logged into the website to access the character generator.

Earning Character Points

All characters begin at 250 Character Points (CP).

CP can be earned from a variety of different means, including:

Event Attendance (10 CP for weekend events, 5 CP for one-day)
Submitting a PEL (10 CP for weekend events, 5 CP for one-day)
Setup/Cleanup (10+ CP)
Loading and Unloading the Trailer in Attleboro (10 CP)
Bitter End (assisting until all clean up is done & staff leaves) (10 CP)
Donations to the game (variable based on donation)
- Current Donations list can be found under Interact -> Donations
- Donations CP is immediately applied to your character, so you can spend it for the upcoming event! But we do rely on you to then bring the items to the event as promised!
Referring an NPC to Cottington (5-10 CP per NPC per event)

NPC must Preregister to NPC and list you as their Referrer
You receive 5 CP per NPC for their first event, 10 CP per NPC for the second event they NPC, and then 5 CP per NPC per event for each event thereafter!

NPCing games with which we have a CP Exchange or NPCing Cottington Woods (5-10 CP for attendance, 2.5-5 CP for cleanup/setup, 2.5-5 CP for a PEL)
Early Event Preregistration when offered (2.5 CP)
Early Event Payment when offered (2.5 CP)
Photo of You/Your Character for use in Monster Camp (5 CP)

In advance of each event, we will post a Donations list if donations are needed. You can earn additional CP by making donations to the game. These are usually props, costumes, weapons, makeup, food, and other needed items.

We do have a CP Cap that increases with each event, by an amount equal to twice the potential max CP earning for that event. For example, the first Cottington Woods event was a one-day event, where you could earn 15 CP. The Cap increased after that event from 250 CP (starting cap) to 280 CP.

Each One-Day Event increases the Cap by 30 CP
Each Full Weekend Event increases the Cap by 60 CP

The current CP Cap can be found on the character generator, but here is the CP Cap going into each event: One Day Event: ~~350~~ 360
*** Due to the Cottington Woods Fundraiser hitting $4000, the Community Reward of Raising the CP Cap by 10 CP was unlocked ***

PREQUELS - September 18 & 19, 2021, One-Days: 360
October 23, 2021, One-Day: 390
FIRST EVENT / CAMPAIGN OPENER - May 20-22, 2022, Weekend Event: 420
September 16-18, 2022 Weekend Event: 480
October 14-16, 2022, Weekend Event: 540
April 7-9, 2023, Weekend Event: 600
May 19-21, 2023, Weekend Event: 660
September 15-17, 2023, Weekend Event: 720
October 13-15, 2023, Weekend Event: 780
First Spring 2024 Weekend Event: 840
Second Spring 2024 Weekend Event: 900
First Fall 2024 Weekend Event: 960
Second Fall 2024 Weekend Event: 1020
First Spring 2025 Weekend Event: 1080
Second Spring 2025 Weekend Event: 1140
First Fall 2025 Weekend Event: 1200
FINAL EVENT - Second Fall 2025 Weekend Event: 1260

Donating / Transferring CP: We do allow PCs to Donate/Transfer CP to another Tales player, so long as you have not already spent the CP. Send us an email to updates@cottingtonwoods.com with Your Name, The Player you are giving CP to, and the Amount of CP to transfer.

Preregistering as a Player

We strongly encourage all Players to preregister to attend an event on LARP Poral. This not only let's Plot Staff know that you are attending, and thus can prepare plot for your character, but also ensures that you have a space reserved in case we hit our Player Cap. If we have reached our player cap, we cannot accept additonal players for an event, even if you show up at the event. Please, preregister!

For more information on events, including costs and location, go here.

PELs

PELs (Post Event Letters), aka Summary Letters, are one of the tools of communication that Plot Staff of Cottington Woods uses to stay informed of what players and cast did during an event. Much as we keep asking the Faeries to grant us all-seeing-powers, we can't be everywhere at once and see all the wonderful things you are doing or schemes you are hatching. Your PEL is your chance to tell us what you did, what you are planning on doing, what you liked and didn't like, pass along some NPC praise, and more.

They also earn you CP, if you submit them before the deadline.

PELs are always due 2 weeks after the Sunday of an Event. You can still submit PELs after this deadline (and we strongly encourage you to submit one!), but you will not receive CP for it.

Please send all PELs to PEL@cottingtonwoods.com.

You do not need to follow the form below, though the form are the types of things and information we as Plot Staff would like to know and receive about your event. We know some people enjoy writing in-game journals or letters or other such things; you can submit that instead as your PEL, or write bullet-point answers to the questions and add your in-game journal/letter/etc at the end.

PLAYER PEL:
1. What were you involved in during the event?
2. Were there plotlines or encounters you particularly enjoyed? Are these the types of things you'd like to be involved in in the future?
3. Were there any NPC characters you particularly liked, or would like to interact with again? This is your chance to pass along some praise (which we then pass along to our Cast), as well as inform staff of who you enjoyed interacting with.
4. Did anything happen that might require followup?
5. Do you have any specific plans next event that you feel we should be aware of?
6. Were there any roleplaying encounters/moments that you want to share with the Staff?
7. What are your character's goals? What actions have you taken or plans made to achieve them?
8. What are your Out of Game goals for your character? How do you see your character developing?
9. What are your character's fears? What do they care most about? Have these changed - are there new fears, or new things or people they care about?
10. Who are your characters friends/allies? Enemies? Have you made new ones (friends/enemies/allies)?
11. Do you have any feedback on the game? Is there something you'd like to see that is not currently there? Any problems you had that you feel we should address?
12. Did you assist with cleanup? If yes, please describe what you did for cleanup.
13. Any other comments/feedback:

We know some people like to use Google Documents to keep their PELs. Google Docs are fine, but we ask two things:

Please ensure that if you share the Google Doc, you send an email to pel@cottingtonwoods.com with the doc in the body of the email. (Check off "Paste the item itself into the email")
Either make pel@cottingtonwoods.com an editor so they can add other plot staff members to the doc to read it, OR change the doc permissions so that Anyone with the Link can access the doc.

Between Event / Info Skills

There are several skills in the game that allow you to take actions between events to gain additional information or influence the game in some fashion. These skills must be submitted for use by the PEL deadline of 2 weeks after the event.

You may submit Between Event Skills using the Info Skill form here.

In-Game Letters

Letters: can be submitted with the Info/Between Event Skill form, or can be submitted to pel@cottingtonwoods.com (please put "Letters" somewhere in the subject of the email if sending separate from your PEL).

Our Letter Policy:
You may also submit Letters if you are writing to NPCs between events. There is no guarantee that a letter will reach its destination (or won't be intercepted) or that you will receive a response, unless you have an appropriate skill that guarantees a response. As Plot only has so much time between events, we kindly ask that you don't send us twenty different letters -- or that if you do, you tell us which one or two you want most to reach its destination/have a response.

Sending Letters will cost in-game money for letters being sent to non-local NPCs. Over the winter, the town merchant, Geoffrey Hamille, will be establishing the courier service in Cottington Woods and will responsible for this going forward. Again, there is no guarantee going through either service that the letters will reach their destination or a response will be given, though generally letters sent through Courier service will arrive where intended. But anything can happen.

Other Ways to Stay In Touch With Staff:

You can reach us by submitting a question through the Contact form on the website, or by sending an email to "info@cottingtonwoods.com."

We also have a few other places where we post information and updates, aside from the Cottington Woods Google Group, and where players ask questions and provide information. These are:

Cottington Woods Player List: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/playercottingtonwoods (this is the main list for the game), or embedded in our website here.
Facebook Private Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402007979812326/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CottingtonWoods
Google+ Page: https://plus.google.com/100290594421236689424
Google+ Private Community: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/107486907405192387340
LiveJournal: http://cottingtonwoods.livejournal.com


	Players of Cottington Woods So you've decided you want to journey into the Woods, but aren't sure of the path before you. Here, then, is the information you need to begin your journey into the Written Word. First, join our GoogleGroup Player List: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/playercottingtonwoods This is our main form of communication with our players and cast regarding the game. Feel free to join in and ask questions. You can also view it directly on our website, here. Getting Started as a Player: Character Creation Player Survey LARP Conflict Survey System Rules Character Database Earning CP Preregistering for an Event After an Event: PELs Between Event Skills In-Game Letters Contact & Social Media Info Character Creation Whether you already have a concept in mind, or are just beginning to figure out what you'd like to play, please take a look at our Character Creation guidelines, rules, and information. You can find them by clicking on the link here, or by clicking on "Info" --> "Character" in the menu above. Once you have read the Character Creation section and have a concept in mind, please submit your concept to characters@cottingtonwoods.com or use the Character History Submission Form. This does not mean that your concept/history needs to be complete at this point - in fact, we expect that there may need to be some tweaks after we review them. We want your concept to be a dialog with Plot Staff, so that your concept best fits the world and the stories & plotlines that already exist. Do not worry if we request you make changes; it only means that we are as interested in ensuring you have fun and your concept works in our world as you are. Initial Character Concepts should be submitted no later than 6 weeks prior to your first event. We kindly ask that finalized Character Histories be submitted no later than three weeks prior to your first event -- and even sooner, if possible, to allow us to incorporate them into event plots. Note that the closer to an event you submit information on your character, the less likely Plot will be able to react to that in that upcoming event. Player Survey When you have time, we'd also love it if you could fill out our Player Survey. This gives a chance to get to know you as a player - what plotlines you do and do not enjoy, your expectations and experiences. We want this to be as much your game as ours, and as much as possible, we will try to tailor our plotlines towards your personal preferences. LARP Conflict Survey When scheduling our events, we'd like to know what other games our players, NPCs, and Staff are playing, so we can try our best to avoid major conflicts. In the end, however, we're at the mercy of site availability, and can absolutely make no promises that we won't conflict with a game you love out there. There are just too many LARPs running in New England to avoid conflicts, but we'll do our best within the site availability constraints to avoid major conflicts! System Rules Once you've created a concept, now is the time to really understand the rules, skillsets, and headers available in the game. The System Rules can be found here, or by clicking on "Info" --> "Rules" in the menu above. Character Database Once you are ready to build your character, log into the character database to submit your build. The character database is located under Interact then Characters on the menu above. You must be logged into the website to access the character generator. Earning Character Points All characters begin at 250 Character Points (CP). CP can be earned from a variety of different means, including: Event Attendance (10 CP for weekend events, 5 CP for one-day) Submitting a PEL (10 CP for weekend events, 5 CP for one-day) Setup/Cleanup (10+ CP) Loading and Unloading the Trailer in Attleboro (10 CP) Bitter End (assisting until all clean up is done & staff leaves) (10 CP) Donations to the game (variable based on donation) Current Donations list can be found under Interact -> Donations Donations CP is immediately applied to your character, so you can spend it for the upcoming event! But we do rely on you to then bring the items to the event as promised! Referring an NPC to Cottington (5-10 CP per NPC per event) NPC must Preregister to NPC and list you as their Referrer You receive 5 CP per NPC for their first event, 10 CP per NPC for the second event they NPC, and then 5 CP per NPC per event for each event thereafter! NPCing games with which we have a CP Exchange or NPCing Cottington Woods (5-10 CP for attendance, 2.5-5 CP for cleanup/setup, 2.5-5 CP for a PEL) Early Event Preregistration when offered (2.5 CP) Early Event Payment when offered (2.5 CP) Photo of You/Your Character for use in Monster Camp (5 CP) In advance of each event, we will post a Donations list if donations are needed. You can earn additional CP by making donations to the game. These are usually props, costumes, weapons, makeup, food, and other needed items. We do have a CP Cap that increases with each event, by an amount equal to twice the potential max CP earning for that event. For example, the first Cottington Woods event was a one-day event, where you could earn 15 CP. The Cap increased after that event from 250 CP (starting cap) to 280 CP. Each One-Day Event increases the Cap by 30 CP Each Full Weekend Event increases the Cap by 60 CP The current CP Cap can be found on the character generator, but here is the CP Cap going into each event: One Day Event: ~~350~~ 360 *** Due to the Cottington Woods Fundraiser hitting $4000, the Community Reward of Raising the CP Cap by 10 CP was unlocked * PREQUELS - September 18 & 19, 2021, One-Days: 360 October 23, 2021, One-Day: 390 FIRST EVENT / CAMPAIGN OPENER - May 20-22, 2022, Weekend Event: 420 September 16-18, 2022 Weekend Event: 480 October 14-16, 2022, Weekend Event: 540 April 7-9, 2023, Weekend Event: 600 May 19-21, 2023, Weekend Event: 660 September 15-17, 2023, Weekend Event: 720 October 13-15, 2023, Weekend Event: 780 First Spring 2024 Weekend Event: 840 Second Spring 2024 Weekend Event: 900 First Fall 2024 Weekend Event: 960 Second Fall 2024 Weekend Event: 1020 First Spring 2025 Weekend Event: 1080 Second Spring 2025 Weekend Event: 1140 First Fall 2025 Weekend Event: 1200 FINAL EVENT - Second Fall 2025 Weekend Event: 1260 Donating / Transferring CP: We do allow PCs to Donate/Transfer CP to another Tales player, so long as you have not already spent the CP. Send us an email to updates@cottingtonwoods.com with Your Name, The Player you are giving CP to, and the Amount of CP to transfer. Preregistering as a Player We strongly encourage all Players to preregister to attend an event on LARP Poral. This not only let's Plot Staff know that you are attending, and thus can prepare plot for your character, but also ensures that you have a space reserved in case we hit our Player Cap. If we have reached our player cap, we cannot accept additonal players for an event, even if you show up at the event. Please, preregister! For more information on events, including costs and location, go here. PELs PELs (Post Event Letters), aka Summary Letters, are one of the tools of communication that Plot Staff of Cottington Woods uses to stay informed of what players and cast did during an event. Much as we keep asking the Faeries to grant us all-seeing-powers, we can't be everywhere at once and see all the wonderful things you are doing or schemes you are hatching. Your PEL is your chance to tell us what you did, what you are planning on doing, what you liked and didn't like, pass along some NPC praise, and more. They also earn you CP, if you submit them before the deadline. PELs are always due 2 weeks after the Sunday of an Event. You can still submit PELs after this deadline (and we strongly encourage you to submit one!), but you will not receive CP for it. Please send all PELs to PEL@cottingtonwoods.com. You do not need to follow the form below, though the form are the types of things and information we as Plot Staff would like to know and receive about your event. We know some people enjoy writing in-game journals or letters or other such things; you can submit that instead as your PEL, or write bullet-point answers to the questions and add your in-game journal/letter/etc at the end. PLAYER PEL: 1. What were you involved in during the event? 2. Were there plotlines or encounters you particularly enjoyed? Are these the types of things you'd like to be involved in in the future? 3. Were there any NPC characters you particularly liked, or would like to interact with again? This is your chance to pass along some praise (which we then pass along to our Cast), as well as inform staff of who you enjoyed interacting with. 4. Did anything happen that might require followup? 5. Do you have any specific plans next event that you feel we should be aware of? 6. Were there any roleplaying encounters/moments that you want to share with the Staff? 7. What are your character's goals? What actions have you taken or plans made to achieve them? 8. What are your Out of Game goals for your character? How do you see your character developing? 9. What are your character's fears? What do they care most about? Have these changed - are there new fears, or new things or people they care about? 10. Who are your characters friends/allies? Enemies? Have you made new ones (friends/enemies/allies)? 11. Do you have any feedback on the game? Is there something you'd like to see that is not currently there? Any problems you had that you feel we should address? 12. Did you assist with cleanup? If yes, please describe what you did for cleanup. 13. Any other comments/feedback: We know some people like to use Google Documents to keep their PELs. Google Docs are fine, but we ask two things: Please ensure that if you share the Google Doc, you send an email to pel@cottingtonwoods.com with the doc in the body of the email. (Check off "Paste the item itself into the email") Either make pel@cottingtonwoods.com an editor so they can add other plot staff members to the doc to read it, OR change the doc permissions so that Anyone with the Link can access the doc. Between Event / Info Skills There are several skills in the game that allow you to take actions between events to gain additional information or influence the game in some fashion. These skills must be submitted for use by the PEL deadline of 2 weeks after the event. You may submit Between Event Skills using the Info Skill form here. In-Game Letters Letters: can be submitted with the Info/Between Event Skill form, or can be submitted to pel@cottingtonwoods.com (please put "Letters" somewhere in the subject of the email if sending separate from your PEL). Our Letter Policy: You may also submit Letters if you are writing to NPCs between events. There is no guarantee that a letter will reach its destination (or won't be intercepted) or that you will receive a response, unless you have an appropriate skill that guarantees a response. As Plot only has so much time between events, we kindly ask that you don't send us twenty different letters -- or that if you do, you tell us which one or two you want most to reach its destination/have a response. Sending Letters will cost in-game money for letters being sent to non-local NPCs. Over the winter, the town merchant, Geoffrey Hamille, will be establishing the courier service in Cottington Woods and will responsible for this going forward. Again, there is no guarantee going through either service that the letters will reach their destination or a response will be given, though generally letters sent through Courier service will arrive where intended. But anything can happen. Other Ways to Stay In Touch With Staff: You can reach us by submitting a question through the Contact form on the website, or by sending an email to "info@cottingtonwoods.com." We also have a few other places where we post information and updates, aside from the Cottington Woods Google Group, and where players ask questions and provide information. These are: Cottington Woods Player List: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/playercottingtonwoods (this is the main list for the game), or embedded in our website here. Facebook Private Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402007979812326/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CottingtonWoods Google+ Page: https://plus.google.com/100290594421236689424 Google+ Private Community: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/107486907405192387340 LiveJournal**: http://cottingtonwoods.livejournal.com


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