Lurin
Duke
Foreward
Once again, as our third season draws to a close, I once again look back at how far we've come, from the first game I ever ran, under a different chapter's banner no less. Looking back we had twelve total people, 8 PCs and 4 NPCs, of which 6 or so were my existing d+d gaming group at the time, now I look back, about four and a half years later and see our 'average' attendance hovering at just about 45 people, generally meaning that we have 4x as many folks on site each game than those humble beginnings. We've gained new folks, and lost some as people's lives take them away from game or they decide to participate in other endeavors, in the end the great news is we've been growing consistently.
Thank Yous
Generally the first thing I do each year is offer thank yous to some of the people who make things possible, I could never thank everyone that helps out but I like to tag the big names for people that really help make things happen. I'll start this year by highlighting someone who usually isn't in the limelight as much as she should be, and this Emilynn Henderson, as the longest running member of staff at this point, she has been constantly working, and helping, to run our game and is constantly looking to catch all those little things that help make the game fantastic. Next up Thanks go to Paige Hubbell who has stepped up to help run the logistical side of things and is one of the two key folks spearheading our efforts next year. The background tasks and logistics are generally a thankless job and she continues to strive to help us run the best game possible, indeed it was her efforts that where instrumental to leading us to our currently favored site and many of our most popular policy changes. (I'm the one responsible for all the ones you hate <winks>)
Of course we can't forget to thank our head of Plot Stephen Stana, who handles much of our plot you see mentioned in favorites every event. Our food helpers Krystal Castle, and Larp Mom Christina Sletten, Our amazing logistics helper Alexander Thompson has been a fantastic help keeping our database up to date. Our recurring npcs such as Amy George, Arianna Bringall and company, Tristan Williams, Kristin Gate, Brent Woodward, Adam Peckron and so many others!
Attendence
Our attendance continues to grow, but our focus on next year will be ensuring as many people that come, come back each game, I'm excited by the work our new plot crew is already doing on this, expect to see more, smaller mods in the mix by popular demand.
Income/Costs
This is always a touchy subject, nobody that comes to larp (yet at least) is so independently wealthy that costs don't cross their mind. Running Larp is an expensive hobby to get into, and we continue to review our rates and policys to help ensure we can keep prices as low as possible while still providing a quality game. Our biggest challenge currently is that we don't get pre-registrations in early enough and this increases our costs in both food and head-count areas. We will be releasing updated costs for the 2012 season soon, and while prices are going up (slightly, about $5 a head for all participants) we are also excited to be planning great new deals for those who are willing and able to pay for their season ahead of time, as this allows us to save money by paying deposits ahead of time and take advantage of cost saving deals.
Schedule
Our schedule for next year is currently under review, our busiest games have always been those held outside of the Summer month and we will likely be taking that into consideration for next year, additionally this will be the first year working with my new staff to set dates, so it might take a small amount of extra time.
Staffing updates
As always we'll be reviewing our staff, adding more newbie marshals, and adding some new plot members, and some extra members to our tavern comittee to help ensure we have good food service at our future games. A full list of staff members will be posted once I confirm all roles and new staff members.
In Closing
Overall I'm very pleased with our third years performance, and am looking forward to being able to provide a better game with our new staffing structure, as our game expands it's simply not possible for one person to try to do it all. Our new staff is eager, skilled, and experienced many with far more larping experience than I have! I'm also looking forward to seeing the game from a PC's perspective (okay, I'm looking forward to playing) as I will be PCing at least in November and likely the first few events of the new season to help drive home the authority of our new team and prevent confusion.
If you've read this entire letter, I assume you are bored, or at work, but I still thank you for your time!
David Glaeser,
Owner, Alliance Southern MN
Once again, as our third season draws to a close, I once again look back at how far we've come, from the first game I ever ran, under a different chapter's banner no less. Looking back we had twelve total people, 8 PCs and 4 NPCs, of which 6 or so were my existing d+d gaming group at the time, now I look back, about four and a half years later and see our 'average' attendance hovering at just about 45 people, generally meaning that we have 4x as many folks on site each game than those humble beginnings. We've gained new folks, and lost some as people's lives take them away from game or they decide to participate in other endeavors, in the end the great news is we've been growing consistently.
Thank Yous
Generally the first thing I do each year is offer thank yous to some of the people who make things possible, I could never thank everyone that helps out but I like to tag the big names for people that really help make things happen. I'll start this year by highlighting someone who usually isn't in the limelight as much as she should be, and this Emilynn Henderson, as the longest running member of staff at this point, she has been constantly working, and helping, to run our game and is constantly looking to catch all those little things that help make the game fantastic. Next up Thanks go to Paige Hubbell who has stepped up to help run the logistical side of things and is one of the two key folks spearheading our efforts next year. The background tasks and logistics are generally a thankless job and she continues to strive to help us run the best game possible, indeed it was her efforts that where instrumental to leading us to our currently favored site and many of our most popular policy changes. (I'm the one responsible for all the ones you hate <winks>)
Of course we can't forget to thank our head of Plot Stephen Stana, who handles much of our plot you see mentioned in favorites every event. Our food helpers Krystal Castle, and Larp Mom Christina Sletten, Our amazing logistics helper Alexander Thompson has been a fantastic help keeping our database up to date. Our recurring npcs such as Amy George, Arianna Bringall and company, Tristan Williams, Kristin Gate, Brent Woodward, Adam Peckron and so many others!
Attendence
Our attendance continues to grow, but our focus on next year will be ensuring as many people that come, come back each game, I'm excited by the work our new plot crew is already doing on this, expect to see more, smaller mods in the mix by popular demand.
Income/Costs
This is always a touchy subject, nobody that comes to larp (yet at least) is so independently wealthy that costs don't cross their mind. Running Larp is an expensive hobby to get into, and we continue to review our rates and policys to help ensure we can keep prices as low as possible while still providing a quality game. Our biggest challenge currently is that we don't get pre-registrations in early enough and this increases our costs in both food and head-count areas. We will be releasing updated costs for the 2012 season soon, and while prices are going up (slightly, about $5 a head for all participants) we are also excited to be planning great new deals for those who are willing and able to pay for their season ahead of time, as this allows us to save money by paying deposits ahead of time and take advantage of cost saving deals.
Schedule
Our schedule for next year is currently under review, our busiest games have always been those held outside of the Summer month and we will likely be taking that into consideration for next year, additionally this will be the first year working with my new staff to set dates, so it might take a small amount of extra time.
Staffing updates
As always we'll be reviewing our staff, adding more newbie marshals, and adding some new plot members, and some extra members to our tavern comittee to help ensure we have good food service at our future games. A full list of staff members will be posted once I confirm all roles and new staff members.
In Closing
Overall I'm very pleased with our third years performance, and am looking forward to being able to provide a better game with our new staffing structure, as our game expands it's simply not possible for one person to try to do it all. Our new staff is eager, skilled, and experienced many with far more larping experience than I have! I'm also looking forward to seeing the game from a PC's perspective (okay, I'm looking forward to playing) as I will be PCing at least in November and likely the first few events of the new season to help drive home the authority of our new team and prevent confusion.
If you've read this entire letter, I assume you are bored, or at work, but I still thank you for your time!
David Glaeser,
Owner, Alliance Southern MN