Firstly, we would like to thank all the members that came along to the club forum on Saturday.  We hope that people found the meeting as useful as we did. The feedback and suggestions we received both during and after the meeting were welcome, and we will be taking note of all the feedback we received.

For those that were not able to attend, I have outlined most of the points discussed below, and added a few additional clarifications from points and questions raised in the days following the forum (my thanks to Zoë and Bruno for sending initial minutes out).

1/ Caves Redevelopment

We have discussed many suggestions and options for the redevelopment of the caves environment, but the following are the prioritised items that have been budgeted and scheduled to be done:

A/ Secure access to the tunnel end of G/H, with a lockable door to prevent unauthorised access,

B/ The desk area will undergo significant changes, with the provision of two desk hatches to assist with busy periods, and modernising the stock displays,

C/ Area C is to have a number of additional walls and partitions added to increase the playability of the area

D/ A number of independent “setting rooms” will be created.  These rooms will be accessible from the main corridor and can be pre-booked by refs for use in their adventures.  The setting rooms currently scheduled for development are as follows: an in-character tavern with private meeting room in the current IMC; additional work carried out in the Hobbits Armpit to increase the usability as a second tavern; a themed “goodly” temple in the first room of Area C, and a themed “evil” temple using a room from area G/H.  Other setting rooms are planned, but are yet to be scheduled.

E/ The current area splits are to be changed to provide four high-quality adventure areas, all accessible from the main corridor.  This will involve a number of walls being built, and a number of new access points being put into existing walls.  Access points between areas will be delineated initially with fabric barriers, but will be upgraded to more solid separators shortly afterwards.  Maps are available showing the area splits, and additional information will be available as the work is carried out.

F/ Two notice boards will be positioned at the top of the stairs outside of the caves.  This will provide members of the public with information and pictures of what actually goes on in our part of the caves, and will invite them to come and visit (the desk area).

2/ GSM and Points Apps

Labyrinthe has an excellent games system manager in the form of Mark Cox, and we are pleased to confirm that Mark will continue in that position.

The management will have minimal impact on the running of the system, leaving the system management in Marks hands.  We will feed suggestions to Mark, but the final decision will be his.

All points apps require a desk stamp in order to be valid.  Club members with points apps that are not stamped are encouraged to bring them to the desk as soon as possible.  Use of unstamped points apps is considered to be cheating.

3/ Referees and Refereeing

Referees form a vital part of the services offered by Labyrinthe, and it is vital that the club concentrate on providing high quality referees to the club members.  We recognise that recently a number of referees have kindly offered to referee to help the club, but have done so before they were really ready for such a role.  We will be re-introducing the format of prospective referees being assigned to an existing referee as a dedicated A-Ref in order to learn the fundamentals of refereeing.  We may well ask a few existing referees to go through this process as well.  We hope that anyone affected by this will take it in the spirit in which it intended.

4/ The Desk

It is vital that the desk is re-established as the final point of resolution, for both in and out of character disputes, and for the desk to provide back up and support for the referees.  As always, any decisions made by the Desk are final.

With regard to character outlawing, all such events are to be referred to the desk at the end of the day.  In consultation with the players affected, a decision will be made as to whether the outlawing will be dealt with there and then, or whether it should be referred to the in-character avenue available.

Feedback forms will be available at the desk.  They are an important tool for the club, and will be processed by the management in a professional and timely manner.

Please note that if you are not the desk staff or gopher for the day, then you will not be permitted to be behind the desk.

A notice has been up at the caves for some time regarding the removal of personal items from behind the desk.  There is, however, a large amount of equipment (some of which has clearly been there for a considerable amount of time) which has not as yet been removed.

Everything except for latex weaponry and a few valuable items have now been removed from the desk area, and has been placed in the IMC for people to collect.

5/ Staffing

We would like to take the opportunity to everyone who has recently staffed the various positions within the club, particularly desk staff, gophers and armourers.  We feel that it is vitally important that the new management have a detailed appreciation of these roles and have an opportunity to lay out effective and efficient procedures and processes for each.  As such, the management will be fulfilling these roles at the weekends for a while.

6/ Important Club Rules

All club rules are important, but there are two that have particularly significant consequences.

Consumption of Alcohol.  If the management are of the opinion that club members participating in Labyrinthe events are under the influence of alcohol then they will be excluded from further participation in that event.  Anyone being excluded from participating because of alcohol will not receive a refund, credits, items or points.  Repeated offences will result in further action, which may include being permanently excluded from Labyrinthe events.  Over-18 Myths events will have a more relaxed approach, with management providing guidelines to referees on an individual basis.

Consumption of Illegal substances.  If the management are of the opinion that club members participating in any Labyrinthe event are under the influence of illegal substances then they will be excluded from participation in that and future events.  Anyone being so excluded will not receive a refund, points, credits or items.

7/ The Armoury

The armoury will receive a continuous level of ongoing re-investment over time.

It is important that such investment stays within the club, and to help ensure that this is the case, any latex weapons stocked by the armoury will supplied in a bright yellow latex.  This should discourage their use outside of Labyrinthe, without detracting too much from the enjoyment of the club members.

In order to ensure the improved security of club assets, only staff working on that day will be permitted access to the armoury.

The armourer will also be empowered to make weapon safety checks on any weapon being used at Labyrinthe events, and will hold back any failing the check until the end of that day.  The armourer’s decision on this matter is final.

If any club member has any armoury stock, they are encouraged to return it to the armoury so all club members can use it

8/ Labyrinthe Website

 Labyrinthe has an excellent, but underused website, located at www.labyrinthe.co.uk

This website will be the preferred communication method for Labyrinthe management.  We are aware that many club members use a variety of yahoo e-mail groups, and club members are (of course) welcome to keep using these if they wish.  Please be aware, however, that they will not be moderated by, or used by Labyrinthe management.

Amongst many features, the website has a discussion board where queries can be posted and will be answered by Labyrinthe management.

Weekly mailings and other announcements will be made via the web site.

We are looking at a number of suggestions that have been made regarding the website and yahoo, and will assess each one.

9/ Monstering/Refereeing credits

It is essential that Labyrinthe has a clear impression of its liabilities, and one significant area of liability is outstanding credits.  As such, we will be swapping existing credits for new credits over the next 90 days (ending on Tuesday 1^st August 2006).  This will be a straight one-for-one swap, with new credits being used in exactly the same way as they are currently being used.

You can swap your credits in one of two ways: firstly by handing them into the desk, where you will be given your new credits there and then; secondly by posting them to us (at the address provided at the end of this notice).  If you submit your credits by post, please ensure that you include a return address, and the replacement credits will be sent to you by return post.  If you do not supply a return address, then the new credits will be placed for you in an envelope at the desk.

10/ Referee Points

 Referee points will no longer be useable to secure discounts on Eldritch products.  All other uses for referee points will remain unchanged.

11/ Payments

 For a short period of time (1 – 2 weeks), Labyrinthe will only be able to accept payment by cash or cheque (no payments by debit or credit card).  Payment facilities for debit card and credit card payments are being secured, and will be in place shortly.  During this interim period, people who wish to pay for heroes turns or publications where you are unable to do so in person at the caves should contact the booking line and we will record the transaction and contact each person individually to settle outstanding amounts once merchant services are available.

Labyrinthe will no longer be running an accounts service, but individual transactions will be handled over the phone for debit and credit card payments.

12/ Labyrinthe Plot Team

As part of the steps being taken to increase the quality of the adventures being run by Labyrinthe, we will be forming a Plot Team.  This team will consist of six experienced referees; some of who will be Heroes players, and some that are not. 

The current Plot Team members are as follows:  Antony Elliott, Lee Dale, Julian Wiffen, Dan Tingle and Huw Griffiths.  One potential team member is yet to confirm.  The Plot Team will be responsible for providing cohesive plot lines running through the system, feeding plot information to and from referees, and to and from Alan Morgan for use in Heroes.  More detailed information on this will follow the initial Plot Team meeting.

13/ Heroes of the Empire

 The Heroes PBM aspect of the Labyrinthe system is a vitally important part of the overall Labyrinthe experience, but is entirely optional.  The management will continue to work with Alan to enable him to continue his sterling work at adding colour and depth to the Labyrinthe world.

14/ Forums and Theme days

An in-character forum will be run in June (dates to be announced shortly), set in the Festival of Steel in Mordreds Rest, and themed around merchant, held and warband activities.  More precise details on the framework and booking procedure for this event will follow shortly.

Theme days for the rest of 2006 are as follows:

Monday 29^th of May.  4-length caves theme day with Lee Dale as master referee.  Specific theme and booking details will be available from the weekend of the 6^th of May

Monday 28^th of August.  Overland theme day with Matt Loren as master referee.

Friday 29^th December to Sunday 31^st December.  Final Dawn theme day over three days at the caves.

15/ Myths

 Myths are a vital part of the Labyrinthe calendar, but with the handover of the caves happening so late in the year there will unfortunately be no caves organised open myths adventures in 2006.  A number of club members have arranged myths independently, and Labyrinthe will be supporting these with insurance cover, system usage and administration processing.

We are in discussions with myths sites now in order to secure a number of slots for 2007, and dates and details on these will follow shortly.

16/ Adventure Bookings

The preferred method for booking adventures and booking on to events will be via e-mail at bookings@....  All booking requests and enquiries will be acknowledged and responded to.  Club members can also book via the booking line on 07758 739397.  In the majority of cases this will involve leaving a detailed message – including your contact details, which will be responded to as soon as possible.  The caves phone number for use at the weekends will remain unchanged  020 8295 0552. The old booking line number will hold a message providing new contact details.

We intend to make the booking of adventures, specifically with regards to thresholds, easier for club members.  Essentially, if someone wants to book a particular kind of adventure, we will do what we can to facilitate your requests.

17/ Contact Details

 Registered Address:

1, Bell Cottage,

Maidstone Road,

Paddock Wood,

Kent

TN12 7QF

Telephone

Weekdays:  07758 739397

Weekends: 020 8295 0552

E-mail: bookings@...

Website:  www.labyrinthe.co.uk

Regards,

Andy B