@skew - This is a Soft Open. It was stated clearly that some systems, including the wiki, were still under construction. People were interested in getting into the game, familiarizing themselves with the grid, starting to RP. Thus far, from what I've seen, the lack of a finished wiki has not impeded anyone in doing this.
Merry Christmas to all!
Wanted to hop on and let people know that this project is still happening! Our busy little beaver backsides have been working diligently at it, and there's still plenty to do! Unfortunately, this means that our initial hopes of opening with the new year likely won't happen. Might be just a trifle longer. But you roleplaying types are notorious for your patience, right? <snerks>
I blame the holidays.
In the meantime, we're opening up a Discord server where people can chat, network with other players, offer suggestions, ask questions, et cetera. The invite link is here: https://discord.gg/qEtvpUg and will not expire. Feel free to pass it along to others, too! The more, the merrier.
And now, I dive back into frenzied gift-wrapping, because procrastination. 
"Someone's therapist knows all about you."
"I think a perfect metaphor for your life would be someone trying to stand in a hammock."
Cannot even begin to express how much I love...
When a huge scene is going on (which are usually nightmarish), full of drama and tension and impending doom hanging like a cloud overhead.. but all the players are being downright hilarious and sarcastic and fun in [OOC].
Seriously, nothing better.
This really was random. As in, I was looking through other stuff on youtube, and randomly stumbled across this. And it completely and totally made my day. So I had to share:
To me, forgiving is something I do more for myself, than for the other person. In forgiving them, I'm shedding a burden. Freeing myself from the emotional and psychological weight of whatever happened. Allowing myself to move forward unencumbered.
So yes, I've done lots of forgiving. That's worlds away, however, from forgetting. It takes quite a bit - time and work - to regain my trust once it's taken a significant hit.
@Coin You did it to me, too. Many times. I still fasehate you for it. SO MUCH ANGST. C'mere so I can throw things at you.
I can't think of any bloopers off the top of my head, for myself. There are probably bajillions of them, but I'm drawing a blank. This makes me sad. I shall endeavor to screw up in epic, hilarious fashion in the near future so that I can regale the lot of you with the retelling.
@rdc Agreed. The last wiki we had, after Mechanipus shut down suddenly, was the product of several people frantically saving as much as they could from the old site, and then trying to recreate it on the new one. Some things got left out, some were simply left unfinished. I personally take responsibility for the failings in the Werewolf section, and I fully intend to make sure that it's fully fleshed out this time around.
Kid-designed pumpkins are the best, though! That one's pretty damn adorable.
So I'm actually really happy with how my pumpkin turned out this year. I still see stuff I probably could've done with shading on various parts, but my hand was so tired by the time I quit last night at 3am, I decided to call it good. Here he is:
How about the rest of you? Let's see those Halloween masterpieces! 
Absolutely. And may very well be lower than the XP cap that was in place at Reno. We're still discussing policy changes.
Reno, beyond its initial incarnation, was about preserving an environment that someone else had made. Allowing people to continue their personal stories, in a setting they enjoyed and were familiar with.
Portland is an entirely new setting. It's no longer about preserving someone else's legacy, but creating something new. The area is wonderfully rich with story already, and within the first week of planning alone, we've come up with even more that we want to add - all nestled beneath the umbrella of a defined metaplot that will affect all spheres and encourage (or even necessitate, at times) cooperation.
It's not going to be a shiny, happy world of rainbows and frolicking unicorns. The city will be vibrant with culture, as it is in the real world, but the hope is that the dark and gritty underbelly of it all will be creepy as fuck.
One of the issues we ran into with Reno was that our generous XP policy led to a heavy population of 'dinosaurs.' We're going to be toning that back, at Portland. Things will be more challenging. People won't be able to sneeze in the general direction of a Rank 5 ephemeral and wipe it out of existence. Risk will return as a prominent factor, and along with it, we hope, more of the 'darkness' that's supposed to be a core theme of the World of Darkness.
On a smaller, sphere-specific scale, an issue we've long noticed across many games is the disjointed nature of the Mortal/+ sphere. Generally, it winds up being comprised of scattered 'lone wolf' types, who don't really fit in anywhere and usually wind up feeling pretty left out of the game overall, unless they manage to tie themselves somehow to someone(s) with a supernatural template. We're changing that at Portland. Plans are still in early stages, but we hope to create an active and cohesive sphere for these folks, complete with backstory of their own and two distinct factions they can get involved with.
The changeover is still a couple of months out, but the people involved are massively energized and already working like crazy on all this. Meanwhile, Reno will remain open all the way up until we switch to Portland, to allow people to finish out their characters' stories.
The winds are supposed to change. That's where that whole phrase comes from, right? 'The Winds of Change.' OooOOoo. So impactful.
Except they haven't. Not here at Reno. Not in a long, long time.
Reno was birthed from the mind of a mad genius. Blackjack, as he was known here and then ( @tragedyjones ), worked with a small cadre of like-minded crazy folk to create a dynamic environment. And they succeeded in that. Beautifully. He has our respect and gratitude for opening this place. He'd probably prefer gifts of money and/or beard grooming products, but our respect and gratitude will have to do.
Then Wendigo came along, scooped this pearl up out of the dust where it had been left abandoned, brushed it off, shined it back up some, and Reno lived on. She took her leave somewhat early on, but dedicated staffers kept things going.
And then the winds blew, and Mechanipus closed its doors. Reno faced closure. There was brief discussion about opening a new game on a new host, maybe set in Charlotte SC or up in the Pacific Northwest somewhere, but ultimately it was decided that we should throw things at the wind, and be all, "Fuck you, wind! Change sucks!"
So Reno was transferred, intact, to Kydance. And it's been a glorious run, kept vibrant with story, a steady stream of new and wonderfully creative players, and a metric fuckton of effort and dedication from the staff corps.
But this time, we can't ignore the wind. We've run out of sharp and pointy things to throw at it. Our voices are hoarse from all those "Fuck you, wind!"s. Reno's contract with Kydance is up, the first of the year.
Before you freak the hell out and stop reading to engage in an epic display of Muppet-arming, do read the next line, at least. I promise I'll be done waxing prolific shortly.
We will be renewing the contract.
This time, however, we're going to take a beat and do a pretty massively spectacular overhaul on this place. When we reopen, hopefully within a reasonably short timeframe, we won't be Reno anymore. All characters, all builds, all of the everything in the history of ever omg (okay not really but you get the idea) will be gone.
When we reopen in early January, the doors will be flung open onto a new city: Portland, Oregon. Contrary to rumors that are apparently already making the rounds (to the eye-rolling of those actually in the know), we will still be offering Vampire, Werewolf and Mortal/+. The only sphere we are dropping, at least for the time being, is Hunter. Because Hunter is still 1e. When that changes, it will likely be brought back. Maybe others, down the road. We'll see!
Watch this space for further details.
You have been a topic of discussion. People want you back. Hunter needs you. Aria needs someone to torment. 
(If you're just somebody who knows this player, poke him for us.)
Here are a few.
Catnip is ten times more effective at repelling mosquitos. And your cat will love you.
Also, this. All the this.
On mispronunciations: When I was little, I ran across the word 'antique' in a book I was reading, and for quite a while, I pronounced it 'an-tih-cue.'
Life hack I wish I knew sooner: If the volume on your phone is crap, put it in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the sound.
