The global picture... or at least regional

Recently it has been my fortune to attend the Camarilla Southwest Regional Event held in Phoenix, AZ. This was my first Camarilla Con, and my Second time playing games outside of the state. It is a different experience playing with "strangers", but very exciting to meet so many new people. I was able to put faces to many of the staff I have worked with and talked to over the last 3 years, as well as meet some great people. Many folks were very friendly, and I enjoyed my conversations with them. In character all of my PC's learned a great deal about the world outside of their local stomping grounds. Here is a brief overview of each of the games.

Vampire: The Masquerade - [Cam/Anarch] Mostly hobnobbing, and socializing. It was obviously a political game with people learning about each other with the recent launch of the venue. Of course the more... rash characters found a way to get involved in trouble, and even NPC got in on the action of pushing buttons of these characters. It was fun being in a really thought out costume, and seeing all the great period and appropriate costumes. All in all, I made my first new friends of the weekend at this game and hope the venue lives up to its reputation. [Sabbat] I did not play, but watched a few scenes.. seemed again very political but in a more volatile fashion. Costumes were fantastic for this game as well. Mush more on the visual side of the monstrous nature. I wondered repeatedly what the many non-camarilla guests at the hotel thought about the strange appearance of our group.

Mage: The Awakening - The location was hosted in St. George, Utah, and therefore became a bigger stress for my PC than I had anticipated. Knowing this I might not have had as much to drink the night before.  With this I spent the first part of game running around trying to organized a group of Mages that seemed to have the attention span of squirrels.  They all seemed to understand the  need for organization, but when asked to form into groups.. it seemed near impossible to get them moving. My PC now has the understanding that not only does her local group have serious issues, but the entire awakened society is confused and disorganized. After spending enough time trying to swim upstream with a group that made some decisions with out her input.. she stopped fighting the current and found a group of Silver Ladder and Guardians of the Veil Mages to sit and talk with. All in all.. was an ok game.. Plot was restricted to a few individuals let in, and combat monkeys.. so kinda a let down for some players. I did get some networking done, so that is a plus.

Changeling: The Lost - IC premise was a challenge, of sorts. I think many of us thought it was going to be gladiator style with an audience. Unfortunately not. Those selected to participate got swept off to do their bit, and left the rest of us to our devices.. well that being said.. my PC of course found a way to cause trouble. After getting in trouble for public indecency, She found a way to entertain herself via a limo, and some really fun people. It was very fun to see how another storyteller deals with the antics of our sex driven characters.. All in all, it was a very funny scene and everyone enjoyed it greatly.

Vampire: The Requiem - Another event I was looking forward to greatly. It gave me the ability to see some very interesting things from an IC perspective. Carthians are diverse but like a great dysfunctional family.. when it comes down to it.. no matter how stupid you are.. we got each others backs. With many great scenes and RP moments with a lot of new people I really enjoyed the time and meeting many more new people.

With that said - All in all I had a great time. The presentation by Shayne was amazing and made me really want to go to ICC in September. So... with a little help from a friend, it looks like we are going to go.. the experience at SWRE was amazing and I am totally looking forward to the big event in New Orleans.