Yet another reason L5R is an awesome game
Jan. 1st, 2011 02:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daidoji_giseiIt's because the player base, while blessed with frequently annoying people, is really capable of doing amazing things. Today the annual tournament known as the Topaz Championship is taking place. Topaz began years and years ago as a player-created event that combined New Year's debauchery with card-flopping, and while AEG now includes Topaz as one of the important "Jewel Tournaments", its essential character has not altered.
This year's Topaz included a non-card side event: a fundraiser for the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. The fundraiser was L5R-flavored by giving the person making the largest donation a chance to affect the storyline of the clan they were playing for.
I just found out how much money the fundraiser took in: $13,000. Yes, I really meant to type 13K.
It gets better. One of the players present works for a company that matches charitable donations up to $12,000--so this is now a $25,000 donation to that food bank. That's a lot of meals!
A cynic would point out that this year's story point involves a hotly debated issue that is literally going down to the wire on how it will resolve. That's missing the forest for the trees, IMHO. Tournament organizers were sponsoring food drives and other charitable events as part of their tournaments long before AEG started giving them story points--the company was just following the players' lead. L5R players like combining philanthropy with card-playing and parties--and that is why L5R is awesome.
The game mechanics are also pretty sweet, but that's another post.
This year's Topaz included a non-card side event: a fundraiser for the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. The fundraiser was L5R-flavored by giving the person making the largest donation a chance to affect the storyline of the clan they were playing for.
I just found out how much money the fundraiser took in: $13,000. Yes, I really meant to type 13K.
It gets better. One of the players present works for a company that matches charitable donations up to $12,000--so this is now a $25,000 donation to that food bank. That's a lot of meals!
A cynic would point out that this year's story point involves a hotly debated issue that is literally going down to the wire on how it will resolve. That's missing the forest for the trees, IMHO. Tournament organizers were sponsoring food drives and other charitable events as part of their tournaments long before AEG started giving them story points--the company was just following the players' lead. L5R players like combining philanthropy with card-playing and parties--and that is why L5R is awesome.
The game mechanics are also pretty sweet, but that's another post.
