A Journey of Faith and Acceptance
Hello, my name is Jason and I am the Game Master of the Intervention Series. Below, is a short-tale of how Intervention begun, it's growth and many trials, and where it is today. I hope you enjoy!
[Updated October, 2015]
The story of Intervention, officially, began on a summer Thursday afternoon at 3:46pm on June 11, 2009. Unofficially, the story of Intervention had it's routes starting back in May of 2009 when I contacted a good Jedi Outcasts RP (Jedi Outcasts Social Thread v.6.) buddy of mine. The two of us were struggling to find a way to restart the Jedi Outcasts RP once again, which had been limping along for some time and would eventually close in May of 2010 (if I remember correctly); a storied run for the Jedi Outcasts RP that lasted from the early 2000's to 2009. I, myself, had been a off and on member in 2003 and became a dedicated player of the Jedi Outcasts RP from 2004 through to 2007, having a off-and-on commitment due to DRL from 2007 through to 2010. The solid 3 years with the Jedi Outcasts from 2004 through to 2007 were, up to that point in June of 2009, some of my best role playing and, honestly, life experiences I had. However, at 24 years of age, recently moving back into the Denver area of Colorado from being out of State in New Mexico for a year and Southern Colorado for over six months after that, I was trying to find that flame in role playing again that brought so much excitement and good memories in my late teens and young 20's. However, as June 11, 2009 would show, that flame would not be rekindled in a storied franchise such as the Jedi Outcasts RP, rather in a game that----when it first started----I expected it to go for 24 pages and be completed. A historic long run from June 2009 to November 2013 (4 1/2 years), 146 pages (Star Wars: Intervention), our additional Intervention (In-Character Game Thread; Temp Location) during TFN's "The Move" and an additional 17 pages of posts, and with a total of 51 players coming and going through both games' doors during that time frame, had proved my initial thoughts wrong.
With the resurrection of the Jedi Outcasts RP, at least by my hand, a slim chance in May and summer months of 2009, I contacted a extremely good buddy of mine, greyjedi125, that I had role played with in several games from 2003 to 2004 and had retained a close friendship with since then despite us living on opposite ends of the United States of America and role playing in vastly different role playing games for a number of years. Our conversations, over the phone mostly and then through several PMs, laid the foundation of Intervention. Grey would be my Co-Game Master...and I had never once had a successful role playing game yet as a Game Master and, despite a long role playing career, had plenty of rough patches. Greyjedi125 would be---and still is on many things in my life---my right hand man and through many text messages, late night phone conversations, and PMs helped a young, struggling Game Master overcome the biggest challenege any new or young GM faces: handling your players through their own DRL and holding together a storyline---even after key characters had left---and making new storylines when players leave and new players join. Greyjedi125's departure from the game in 2011 due to DRL left a void I thought I couldn't fill and I thought, as General Lee said of General Stonewall Jackson in 1862 in the American Civil War before Stonewall's death: "Jackson has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right". (Randy Inman, Yahoo! Contributor Network, October 4th, 2007)
While many of Greyjedi125's qualities and skills---both in the game and behind the scenes where only I could see his tireless work---could not be replaced, fellow long-time Intervention player and friend Mitth_Fisto and newly arrived Sith-I-5 in 2010, would both fill Assistant Game Master and Co-Game Master roles respectfully and bring other qualities and skills to the staff of Intervention that would help prepare us for the next 2 years and into 2013. Coffee_Ninja and CPL_Macja would also join the staff in 2012 and fullfil oversight of Force usage and Intervention's Wiki Library respectfully. Coffee's council on the Force and staff-player concerns has been priceless and CPL has done all of the featured artwork in Intervention, including our patch, and has worked long hours on the Library wiki (up until 2013). With Intervention: Echoes starting in November, 2013, Bardan_Jusik has been brought on Staff to replace both Coffee_Ninja and CPL_Macja, who both moved on to other directions in life in 2013; Bardan's efforts have been invaluable as he has provided both Intervention and Echoes with a very dirty and realistic Star Wars feel through his characters. Bardan's ability to write very detailed and personal posts for his characters---and his interactions with other characters in the game---has been priceless.
While none of the staff in Intervention, both present and past, can never be thanked enough or all their efforts recognized---such as Mitth_Fisto's constant reliability to get the job done as a Assistant Game Master or Sith-I-5's ability to fill multiple roles, characters, and create and salvage storylines---I, as the Game Master of Intervention, and I hope our players and readers, can give them all a round of cheer and thanks for a job well done. Without their help and efforts, Intervention would not be where it is today.
Back to our story here...
While through the summer and fall of 2009, Intervention struggled through a new game's initial 3 months of existence. As September turned into October and October into the winter months of Colorado (November and December), the outside freezing temperatures and falling winter snow that sucked the life out of the lush green landscape of Colorado during the Spring, Summer, and early Fall months, reflected the state of Intervention. Things were not going well. I had resigned myself to a failed game: my dream of having a successful and fun role playing game on TFN seemed to be fading away and, as I looked at the available games in 2009 and 2010 to play in the RPF, I didn't find any that suited my desire for a fresh, new game idea (although plenty of games were of good quality and design on the RPF in 2009 and 2010, I didn't find any that I personally liked as a veteran, pain in the rear RPer). The Jedi and Sith storylines had grown old to me and I wasn't much one into non-Star Wars role playing. My desire for a starfighter role playing game, the likes of which were popular with the Jedi Outcasts RP and other games back in 2003, seemed to be relics to the excitement of Jedi, Sith, and Clone Wars of the mid-2000's and 2011's. But, 3 Intervention players held out for a last run of the guns, a last charge into the grinder of RPing mixed with DRL. Greyjedi125, Mitth_Fisto, and Bravo readied themselves for their own Battle of the Alamo.
December 2009 saw the near death and our conclusion to our own Alamo, but two new players and the beginning of the Asteroid One storyline arch gave us new hope. You may call it luck or God---the choice is yours---but in February of 2010, when Intervention was about to close for a second time in less then 3 months, I looked up to the heavens and prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ. My prayer was not one of fancy words or intelligent speech, but rather of a man opening himself up to God, his soul's intent honest and open. I gave Intervention to the Lord Jesus Christ and told my Lord and Savior that I wanted Intervention to be a tool for His glory and to spread His Holy Bible to the ends of the earth. While this honest prayer was a feeling I had had for several months prior, I reduced the possibility to nothing more then foolishness. How---or why---would God use a role playing game to reach people with the Gospel and provide help for those in need? Even close Christian friends and even my Church dismissed the idea as silly. Well, God had the final say and He didn't think it was silly at all.
From March of 2010 through till the summer of 2011, Intervention embarked on a journey of faith and acceptance. Constantly found in the top 5 most active Star Wars-based role playing games, with a giant leap in players---14 players including 3 staff at our peak player count in 2011; 17 total, as best as I can remember---and a game that grew and grew and grew. A Library Thread was added to support the added growth and a highly successful OOG discussion thread (the Rocketjock Eatery) aided even further in smooth game operation and allowed staff and players to communicate more quickly about questions and concerns. Players asked other players questions and many storylines were either started or supported through the Rocketjock OOG, before being posted In-Character in the game. During the Spring and Summer of 2011, Intervention had 3 people from my church (including myself) and from 2011 through to 2012, had 11 openly confirmed Christians as either players or staff.
Despite Intervention's success from 2010 through to the early months of 2012, few awards were handed to the hard working players and staff via the RPF Awards. Despite the lack of recognition officially through voting in the RPF Awards, Intervention nonetheless achieved personal recognition of a job well done among it's own players and staff, current and former RPF Managers, and other JCers who simply read Intervention's posts, but didn't play in the game.
Intervention's success would start to come to a slow---and at times choppy---downturn in the Fall of 2011 and reach a fever pitch in Spring of 2012. Several players and staff experienced extreme hardships through DRL. I myself, was working 3 part-time jobs 7 days a week in the Fall of 2011 and would continue to work 2 part-time jobs through most of Spring 2012 and work a struggling full-time job with renewed college classes after a year off, and then part-time job through the rest of Spring 2012 through to the summer of 2012. Failed full-time work expectations late summer 2012, new college classes again, and a new career path in my late 20's continued to derail me in DRL until mid Fall 2012. Struggling full-time work, once again, and a CapStone college class, proved everything was not all sunshine and roses. 2012 was a hard year for Intervention.
Without the dedicated work of Intervention's staff supporting me through my own DRL problems---and players and staff coming around each other in support and help as DRL took it's turn it seemed on us all in 2012---Intervention probably would not be here today. Mitth_Fisto, and Sith-I-5 rallied the players together to keep the storyline running despite a lack of a fully-involved Game Master (me) and CPL_Macja resurrected a left-for-dead Library Wiki and brought amazing artwork to the storyline of Intervention. Players, such as JediFalcon and Liam_Vehn, kept the storyline jumping with new stories and adventures.
As Intervention entered 2013 and neared on the 4 year mark of our journey in June of 2013---and a planned sequel game (Intervention: Echoes) in 2013---I encourage all who read this to not look at Intervention as a role playing game of individuals, but as a role playing game of people who found a common ground among each other---whether that be religion, culture, or shared likes and interests (or all combined)---and enjoyed each others' company, shared in each others' joys and pains of real life, and found a common place to hang their hats at the end of a day and enjoy the Star Wars Galaxy that George Lucas created and Walt Disney will surely continue for generations to come.
As greyjedi125 put In-Character of the Mercs and which I feel applies to the staff and players of Intervention both in game and out of game in real life:
"When men and women of the galaxy mustered courage enough to put aside their differences and come together to fight for a cause greater than themselves, that's when life had meaning. At times like these. That's why they simply had to succeed, too much depended on them." - Winterkill
Thank You and God Bless,
Jason (Bravo) Game Master of Intervention