How to Start
Often the idea of being an Eventholder can be daunting for someone who has never thrown an event before. And it should be. You are responsible for the enjoyment of dozens of people over many hours. You are responsible for giving the Realms a good name as a place where people can go to have an entertaining time within a structured system. The choices you make will have a positive or negative effect on your event. And it is a lot harder to throw an event than you think it is.
Now that I’ve scared everyone who hasn’t thrown an event before, just do it. While there are many reasons not to throw an event, throw one anyway. If you are even considering throwing an event that means you have idea you want to bring forward for others to see within the Realms. Do not let all the reasons not to throw an event stop you.
I remember the first event Folkestone threw, the first North/South War. We had been talking about it for a couple of years but each time the subject came up we came up with a number of reasons not to; no site, finances, “would it suck?”, insurance. Finally we decided to throw the event. After that decision, we started to find solutions to all the problems we had envisioned. However, if we had never decided to commit to throwing the event we would have never bothered to find the solutions to the problems and the North/South War would not exist.
Throw your event despite all the reasons not to.
Now the question becomes, what kind of event to throw? Likely you have an idea already, but going over the general types would be a good idea.
Tourneys (Easiest): These types of events are generally the easiest types of events to throw. They require the least amount of staff, cost the least amount in cash to run and require the least amount of prep work. They also are a known commodity so they tend to draw the type of player that will most likely find enjoyment at this type of event.
These points do not mean throwing tournament events is trivial or can be approached without effort. The best tourney events are those that involve a wide range of player types; provide the players with something new and keep everyone busy. However, they are a good first choice for a new Eventholder.
Quests (Hardest): These are the hardest to run. They usually require a large pool of NPCs and Staff. They require an enormous amount of prep work. They also need to appeal to a wide range of player types, much wider than other event types. If something goes wrong or you misjudged an encounter it is harder to recover. That said, a well run quest event can be the highlight of a player’s Realms career. Players tend to remember something that happened to them at a quest event long after they forget the awesome kill they got at a past tourney event.
Feasts (Most Expensive): While I feel these are not as hard to run as a Quest event, these are still not easy. A good feast will entertain the players throughout the day, and not simply rely on food to keep the players busy. They are also fairly expensive with a low profit margin. Most first-time feast holders often lose money on the endeavor. However, feasts are a wonderful opportunity for the Realms populace to relax and get to know each other; they are excellent for the community and integral to its growth.
The above three event types are the basic type of events that are thrown. There are, of course, variations and hybrids of these tropes. Feasts will sometimes also include Questing during the non-feast periods. Often, Quests or Tourneys will provide an in-character dinner. Sometimes a Tourney event will be wrapped around a Quest event. There are no limitations set on the type of event a person wants to throw, other than those self-imposed.
So, how to start throwing an event? Just do it. Commit to it and you will find yourself working to overcome the obstacles, instead of using them as excuses not to throw your event.
