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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

What You Missed - Feast of Blackwood VI (photos)


"Good thing you guys are here! We need your help."
  We meet this totally trustworthy looking fellow by the first challenge we stumble across.


"But what does it say?"
Trying to decipher the scroll at the Cassidocious Library while the man himself looks on.


"Look what I found on the ground! Is this a clue??"
 So hard to find good help these days....


"I think it might be written in invisible ink."


"You know, I really think this is a clue." "You sure about that?"


One of the Blue challenges - 500 sit-ups and 500 push-ups per person
(Totally just kidding. It was 500 of each total for the whole group)


A rather lengthy To-Do list

 
"I don't think we brought enough pikes."
 One of the red groups tries the Red challenge bridge battle again.


Another Blue challenge - obstacle course in the woods


Another martial Red challenge - the Antonine Wall


A whimsical lightening bolt fairy, flitting about.
 He really was throwing lightening bolts at people, and giggling while he did it. It's not like we were trying to kill him or anything like that...


...
 You know, I'm really not sure what was going on here...


A third Red challenge.... jugging!


[Editor's note: all photos by View staff]

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Advice for Newbies, From Formerly Fresh Faces

Fresh Faces
Compiled by Becky "Kovaks" Baron


Fall is when The Realms sees a great influx of new faces from the various colleges across New England. Since 2012, The View from Valehaven has periodically conducted interviews in our Fresh Faces series. One of the questions asked is "What advice would you give other new players?"

Here is part one of the compilation of advice from the previous Fresh Faces of the Realms to the newest generation:


Go to fight practices. NPC. Try and make friends with as many people as humanly possible. Don’t immediately join up with the first nation you meet. Don’t get discouraged when people don’t raise you right away, and conversely, don’t get discouraged when you die a lot. Keep the faith my newbie brethren! 
-- Katie "Effa" Smith (Thursday, March 22, 2012)

I think the best advice I can give is that if you want to be recognized and get into plot, you should take your character seriously. Obviously remember this is a game and you should have fun, but the more in character you get and the more you put forth the effort the more you will be noticed.
 -- Justin "Syroc" Pluff (Thursday, April 26, 2012)

Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions! You’re going to need to know the answers eventually anyway. 
-- Samuel "Ezra" Teatum (Thursday, May 24, 2012)

Monday, September 28, 2015

Friday, September 25, 2015

A Call to Arms - Ashenmark

by Tucker "Sir Temorse" Noyes

 

The Ashenmark heraldry

1.       What does this heraldry currently represent?
This heraldry is the current national heraldry of Ashenmark.

2.       Please describe your heraldry for us.
The heraldry contains three symbols (the sword, the shield, and the flame) as well as three colors (red, gold, and black), although each symbol can use different colors in different depictions of the heraldry.

3.       Give us some background. How did your heraldry come to be? Who or what created it?
The colorless version of this heraldry originally belonged to the nation of Elemirre.  However when the lands of Elemirre were gifted during the formation of the nation of Ashenmark, color was added and it became the official heraldry of Ashenmark.

4.       Why was this heraldry chosen to represent you? What is the symbolism behind it? What was the inspiration behind the design?
The heraldry was chosen as a sign of respect for Elemirre.  However once it became the heraldry of Ashenmark, the symbology took on new meaning for its new nation.  Each of the symbols in heraldry represent a part of the Ashenmark leadership, and each color an aspect of Ashenmark, particularly at its founding.

The shield is representative of the Knight Commander of the Knights of Ashenmark, whom, in addition to their duties as Knight Commander, serves as a military leader and is tasked with the defense of the nation and its people.  The sword is representative of the Champion of Ashenmark, a title claimed yearly through strength of arms in a gruelingly long trial by combat.  Finally the flame is representative of the Highlord of Ashenmark, the leader of the nation whose responsibilities including guiding the nation to success and glory.

The colors also have their own meaning.  Red was chosen for battle, as the nation was founded on militant principles.  Gold was chosen  for youth, as the founding members of the nation were all young, and the nation continues to consist mostly of younger members.  And finally black, which as Kahlenar would put it, is for mystery.  The black was chosen more specifically for the unknown.  When Ashenmark was formed it was, as stated before, five fairly young adventurers whose futures, along with the nation's, were uncertain.  I have always found this fitting as the Northern Light blade gifted to Ashenmark was dubbed Tale Untold.

5.       How long has the heraldry been in the game? Has it changed at any time since it was first created?
The original symbol was created back in the days of Elemirre, but the new incarnation debuted at Feast of Chimeron six years ago. 
The heraldry at Feast of Chimeron included three feathers hung from the bottom of the shield as an homage to many of the founding members' roots in the Blue Falcons, although sometimes the middle feather was substituted for an oak leaf, representative of the Oaken Guard for which Kahlenar finds his roots, as well as being a symbol associated with Twenaria.
The heraldry was also modified for the Knights of Ashenmark, with much of the symbology being the same.

6.       What do you hope seeing this heraldry means to the rest of the Realms?
So a nation grows and gains new members as does its goals and direction.  As a group the convictions and traits we hope to epitomize change with every person who retires and when every new person joins us.  The heraldry should exemplify what the nation as a whole hopes to be, and as such, what that is exactly is different now than it was five years ago, and will likely be different in another five years.  So I suppose that my only hope is that the heraldry means to the rest of the Realms what it means to those who currently make up the nation.
                                                                                                                        


Heraldry of the Knights of Ashenmark

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Sorcery 101 Thoughts of the Journeyman Caster by Gerard "Gray" Chartier- Part 2

Sorcery at Quests

With the powers at his or her command, a sorcerer is a welcome addition to any adventuring band.  Armored foes are felled with ease, and those immune to normal weapons can be felled by our magic.  And, unlike mages of other disciplines, our magic is never exhausted.  Be it a short skirmish or a day-long battle, our power is always available to us.

Sorcery’s primary utility is in questing.  It can come in useful at a war maneuver event, like North/South War, but questing is a sorcerer’s oyster.  NPCs usually come in small skirmish bands, letting the sorcerer wrap around to the flank instead of throwing at them head-to-head.  By flanking, you make it more likely the opposition will not be paying direct attention to you.  If they do, that’s good too, because that means they’re not paying as close attention to the fighter they’re squaring off against, giving him or her more of an opportunity to get in the kill shot.  Be wary of stumbling too close, though.

Another good thing about fighting small skirmish groups on quests is that it gives sorcerers a chance to recover their props between engagements.  This is not always the case at big war maneuver events.  If Magic Missile and Lightning Bolt are your primary attacks, not being able to retrieve your props sucks.

Sorcerers also have magic attacks on demand.  Back in the day, that used to be important, as NPCs immune to non-magic attacks used to be at least somewhat common.  These days, it seems like event holders don’t go for the mundane-immune monsters, so having magic attacks isn’t as important as it used to be, but it could still crop up, so it’s nice to have.

One enormous advantage to Sorcery vs other magic paths is that Sorcery is loaded with unlimited-casting spells.  Late in the day, when players with other paths are feeling the squeeze, sorcerers are able to keep on chugging just as well as they did at the beginning of the quest.  If you want to play a mage, it’s nice to have spells you can keep using.

Sorcerers at Tournaments

Tournaments are, by and large, stick-jock events.  There is generally not a lot for dedicated casters to do, and when there is, it’s often something like tests of one’s knowledge of the magic system.  Which is not to say you can’t go to tournaments – Event holders often lift weapon restrictions for the duration of the event so you can participate fully even if you play a caster.  However, don’t go expecting to do much with your magic missiles and lightning bolt.

Even if a tournament does allow a sorcerer to use all their spells, you’re at a serious disadvantage against a fighter or even a 1-Path.  Sorcerers essentially have one tool – thrown attacks.  Fighters have a whole chest of tools they can pick from at will.  Any fighter knowing s/he’s going up against a 2-Path sorcerer is just going to pick up the biggest shield s/he can find and come straight at you.  Since shields are a hard counter to a sorcerer’s main form of attack, your chances of beating a shield fighter are pretty minimal.

Sorcerers at War Maneuvers

War maneuver events occupy the middle ground between quests and tournaments. Your abilities as a sorcerer are relevant, but they’re more relevant in some battles than in others.

Generally speaking, you’re going to want to be right behind a wall of fighters.  With magic missile and lightning bolt, you’re providing offense with reach on great weapons and pikes.  If fighters with these weapons are on the front line, they’re you’re preferred target.  In an open field battle, or a battle with enough frontage to cover to require fighters without shields to step to the fore, you can have a significant impact with your spells.  You might even be able to recover your props and use them more than once, but generally speaking field battles end too fast for that.  Sometimes the end so fast, I’ve still got props in my pocket.

Be advised, fighters are going to expect the people right behind them to have Heal Limb, and they’re going to be looking for armor repair pretty constantly too.  Be prepared to have at least Heal Limb (why the hell wouldn’t you buy down for it anyway?), and squeezing in some armor repair abilities will make you well liked in the field as well.

In bridge battles and similar engagements, on the other hand, you might want to hold off on trying to affect the engagement until it’s about to end one way or the other.  Team Hooray at the bridge battle at this year’s Queen of Hearts (QoH 22) looked like a freaking Roman legion in tortoise formation – front and sides fully covered by door shields.  Made me long for when Lightning Bolt was only 5 castings, but conducted through weapons and shields.  Throwing props into the wedge on the bridge was an act of sheer unreasoning optimism - which isn’t to say I didn’t, it just didn’t do much good.  So, in these kinds of engagements, try to hold off on throwing the projectiles until you’ve got an opening where you can do some good, don’t expect to get them back very soon, and maybe do some good with your secondary shtick.  You DO have a secondary shtick, don’t you?


Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Risen Kingdom

What’s REALLY going on: The Risen Kingdom story
By Jean Baptiste!
The Risen Kingdom: what’s that you ask, with your bright innocent eyes full of wonder and joy? They sound nice, after all angels rise, party members rise.
Bread too. You don’t really see a bad thing rise, except for undead but so many heroes of the realms are undead that it really shouldn’t matter. Unless you’re pulseist. You bastard.
But don’t you skip toward their embrace in friendship, these Risen are far crueler than bread.
So how about I tell you what’s REALLY going on?
Long ago, in a different universe there was a world. A world called… well who cares it’s probably dead now.
This world doesn’t have path magic like we do, instead they derive magic from something called Circle Magic, and seem to engage in a strange mixture of alchemy and druidic magic. They gather Essence from Elementals and use runes to create Void Elementals. Void Elementals are very useful servants, pretty much a equivalent of Golems, however if the procedure is performed improperly there is a tendency of it corrupting other Elementals, creating more powerful and vicious creatures.
Fortunately that would neeeeeeever happen and the Risen Kingdom, at this point a bunch of entrepreneurs decide to establish trade relations with beings from other worlds, creating a bridge to a world called Geo. The important thing to know is a bridge takes people from both sides to make and communication is done solely through messengers. This might have changed but if it has not then that means once the Risen are cleared from a area they can’t continue to invade in force without reestablishing a forward base.
A further question is how they made contact before setting up the bridge. One theory is that there are agents already in our universe corrupted by the void.  Another is that they can send people through anyway but they have no idea where they end up without a bridge.
Now the Risen Kingdom used to be a nice organization with smiles on everyone’s faces and dreams in every slumber. They  were welcomed with open arms by Geo, which was war torn universe with gods like ours, having almost been destroyed by a god who’s name they dare not speak. However they did give it a title at one point. The Dark One.
That’s right Rhode is the big bad… Not really no. But could you imagine?
Either way the god’s cultist army got squished hard, unfortunately the leader of the Risen was murdered by a king of Geo’s servant, who I think was named Kasha. As he was hauled off he delivered a rant and called his own minions to him. At this point the manufactured Void servants turned on Geo and the human menbers of the Risen Kingdom.
This means to me that the Risen Kingdom, while essentially a army of void golems, did not rebel on their own volition, rather they are controlled. Therefore if their puppetmaster (Perhaps Geo’s dark god) is toppled then the Risen will not only collapse, but be controllable by whoever did them in.
In addition I believe the army’s diverse selection is related to the void’s ability to corrupt things. The stronger void creatures are probably corrupted and may be cured. Now the original Risen had no way to do it.
But they aren’t us. They didn’t have our magic, and they didn’t have our gods.
In addition the Risen Kingdom has so far had a very small foothold, they had a portal that Void Elementals came out of in force, but none of their big hitters were there and the portal was quickly closed, by Orion’s butt. In addition the Risen were attempting to create a Iron Road (different from a Bridge, as Rosetta was quick to assert to me during Green and Gold so we shouldn’t be too worried yet) in the Fey lands. This naturally is a lot like nailing a road on a living being, Iron is so anathema to them. However these Risen were significantly more human than the ones from Storyteller. These I believe were the sentient “puppeteers” that I warned about earlier. They were likely not the actual ringmasters, but  as I stated before, the Risen are mostly mindless.
The Risen’s biggest weapon, that we know so far, is the call of imbue. Imbue I believe revitalizes the monsters with the raw power of the void. All we know is it imbues them with SOMETHING and they often hit harder when they get it, revive, or reset armor. It’s a nasty business so whoever calls imbue should be the first target.
Fortunately we got a edge on our side as well. The Order of the Subtle Thread is a organization dedicated to studying magic and have devised a… thing. It is a weapon only wieldable by fighters that allows one to go into spells and meddle with them. This could be done to undo powerful circle spells and seals or even bolster them.  Unfortunately the Order’s weakest link is there ability to name things (Anti-Anti-Magic containment unit? Why not the Anti-Abjuration-Shield) so its called like the Zwiellbopper or something. Ask Drake of Eagle’s Rook.
So now you know…. What’s REALLY going on.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

WIWTG: Feast of Blackwood

So, we all had a week off.  Maybe you hit the fair, went apple picking, picked on your friends at the fair, who knows?  But now its time to buckle down for some good old fashioned questing.  Ive heard wonderful things about the last few years of this event.  There's some serious horsepower dedicated to making sure this event is fun for you.  Roleplaying?  Yup, this group does that.  Props? Yup, they got that down pat.  Story?  Oh yeah, in spades.
And you know how the rest of this article reads.  If you don't like questing, stay for the food. All day Sunday you will be tempted by the finest foods in the land.  And, Id like to point out, one of the dishes from this feast tied for first place "Best Dish" int he View awards last year.  Just saying'.
Do NOT miss the food, it is absolutely fantastic.
Of course, there will be the casino to make of break your bank, so bring your gold.  There is also an auction, so save some of your gold for some goodies.  If fighting is your thing, the Tournaments of the Void will be hosting some fights good for Order of the List points.
everything is better with oak leaves
(opinion, while correct, does not necessarily reflect all persons on staff)

Monday, September 21, 2015

Friday, September 18, 2015

A Call to Arms - Creathorne

by Andy "Sir Shean O'Quinnlin" Disbrow







The heraldry represents the people as a Nation of Creathorne. A gray/silver shield, 1/3rd between is a black middle (fesse) with three bear heads, two above the fesse and one below; the heads are severed not torn. All thee bear heads face right as you wear it, and are muzzled in gold. To the left and right of the shield are two Unicorn Supporters. 

OOC: the shield, muzzled bear heads and fesse are from the Disbrow/Disbrowe/Desbrough family crest, altered for realms. IC: the original heraldry for the O’Quinnlin sons: John, Don and Shean (just the shield with the bear heads and muzzles). Step-siblings or those adopted are not part of the heraldry.

  • the gray/ silver Shield: cleanliness, wisdom, innocence, peace and joy. 
  • the Black Divider (fesse):  military stripes or Belt of Valor.   
  • the Bear heads: the emblem of strength, cunning and cruelty in the protection of the clan. A bear is also a symbol of healing and personal health and bravery.  
  • the Muzzles: are to represent non scalping and the Gold color meaning by law OR  bound by the gods from scalping.    
  • the supporters were later Added When the Nation of Dragonsbane was dissolved and Creathorne was founded in 1993.    
The unicorn supporters:  In part they are a symbol of purity and virtue. They are unchained to display that the force of nature is free and untamed. The lands that Creathorne has were authorized by Prince Robbert II and after his departure from the Realms a formal alliance was signed by Creathorne with both Queen Marguerite of Chimeron and King Tithan of Verai. These unicorn supporters, therefore, also follow the heraldic tradition of being of “supporters that are typically an example of special royal favour”. It was at that time that the nation of Creathorne added the supporters to the heraldry.  

During early Realms, the monarchies at the time asked Creathorne to join them. The decision was made to not do so along with the rest of “The Free North”. Unicorns were chosen to represent not just Moonglade Forrest where Sir Shean came from, but also to represent that we are a Free Nation. They are the emblem of the Incarnation or of the fearsome Creature, often unpredictable. Unicorns are not widely used in early heraldry. At this time Creathorne is the only heraldry in Realms with supporters.  

      Members of the country go through a petitioning process that follows the heraldry’s progression through time and in some cases back to the beginning of the nation. When one comes to join the nation they get a petitioner's tabard with no shield or bears that is just black and gray, as they progress they later receive a tabard with the shield and bears; some were worn by early members of Creathorne in the 90’s. When they become a citizen of the nation they receive the full heraldry with the supporters and are able to vote within the nation.



Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sorcery 101 Thoughts of the Journeyman Caster by Gerard "Gray" Chartier- Part 1

Sorcery!  No form of magic is higher or more potent.  The mysteries of channeling or the secrets of divination pale in comparison to the power to strike down your enemies with raw magic.  Though all mages master potent powers, only the sorcerer harnesses the eldritch ways to battle his foes with the strength of his will instead of the strength of his arm.  For this reason, sorcerers are respected and feared by all wise men.~Gray Erikkson




Hello, gentle reader!  Gerry Chartier here, player of Gray Erikkson, Viking sorcerer extraordinaire!  I and my alter ego would like to offer our thoughts on the most pugilistic path of magic in our system.
If you’re looking for battle magic in our system, then Sorcery is probably the path you’re going to look at first.  Sorcery isn’t the only path offering magic you can use in a fight, but it’s the path with the tradeoff most commensurate with what one gives up by not being a fighter.

This is not to say a sorcerer equals a fighter.  In a one-on-one sorcerer vs fighter matchup, the smart money gives it to the fighter.  However, the sorcerer brings some unique abilities to the table.  I like to think I’ve learned a little bit about them in my time in the Realms, and would like to share them with you for your benefit and amusement.

The Progression

As with all endeavors, the apprentice does not learn the most potent magicks of sorcery right away.  One must develop strength of will, and learn concentration in the midst of the din of battle.  Before developing these talents, attempting to mold raw magic is a hazardous undertaking.  More than one would-be sorcerer who tried to take the short path to power has wound up a burnt out shell of what they were – or worse.

It’s gotten easier to go up the progression over the years.  Plus Rhodefathering has been happening with some regularity over the past few years, so players these days aren’t going to have to spend literally years going up their progression the way I did back in the day.   With that, let’s take a quick look at the spells, from bottom to top.

Pool Spells

There are a lot of pool spells, and they all have utility, but I’m only going to discuss two here: Implement and Light.  Implement has an obvious application to a Sorcerer, enhancing Armored Cloak by granting it an easier active component.  The usefulness cannot be understated – Implement enables one to recharge Armored Cloak in the middle of an encounter.  That’s huge.

Light is also both useful and thematically a natural lead-in to Sorcery.  The Light spell lets the caster harness raw magical energy and put it to a direct physical effect, not unlike Magic Missile and Lightning Bolt.  Plus, it’s nice to be able to put midget light sticks on your thrown props, so you can find them during a night quest.  If you’re just going to have one Pool spell, go with Implement.  If you have two, add Light.

2nd Circle: Protection from Missile

Sorcery is about ranged combat, so Protection from Missile is an extremely good spell for the path.  With Protection from Missile and Armored Cloak, sorcerers are very tanky vs ranged combat, even more so than fighters (unless they have shields), because we can renew our protections much more readily than fighters.

3rd Circle: Cantrip

The powers of most mages are limited in accordance with the discipline they pursue.  Not we sorcerers.  More than any other mage, we have the ability to choose the powers that suit us.
Cantrip is the reason we don’t have to think too hard about what Pool spells to take.  They all have utility, but the utilities are often situational.  Thanks to Cantrip, we can go with Pool spells that will benefit us all the time, and pick up castings of the other spells as the situation demands.

Armored Cloak is a great spell, but don’t go strutting around like you’re invulnerable because you have it.  Most players are pretty experienced at drumrolling an opponent to get through two points of armor, so if you’re in a melee you’re likely to get hit three times before you can call out “Armored Cloak.”  However, if you’re fighting at the ideal distance for sorcery, Armored Cloak will protect you from javelins, arrows, and pikes, giving you time to step back and refresh your protection before stepping into it again.

5th Circle: Magic Missile

Any fool can walk up to a man and stab him with a blade.  Few can yoke raw power to their will and strike down their foes with it.

Magic Missile is the signature spell of Sorcery, and it’s the gift that keeps on giving.  It extends the sorcerer’s offensive reach further than anything but an archer, it’s magic (sometimes important for effecting NPCs), and the sorcerer can keep casting it as long as he can recover his props.
Most people throw their props overhand, but it’s worth one’s while to develop an underhand throw too.  It’s harder for people to block an underhand throw with their weapons, so you’re more likely to sneak it in past their defense.

Also bear in mind that, unlike arrows and javelins, magic missile props are live until they stop moving, even if they are bouncing on the ground.  This brings up the possibility of bowling them under shields.

6th Circle: Familiar

Familiar isn’t really a spell so much as a buy-down mechanic more favorable than the usual one.  For the most part, you’re better off getting powers through Familiar than you are with straight buy-downs, with one notable exception – Raise Dead.  1pt per 1 Raise is not a worthwhile exchange.  It’s basically buying down for a 3rd circle spell with a 6th circle slot.

For my money, the best spell to get through Familiar is Circle of Protection.  It goes right along with Sorcery, enabling you to attack out with your spells while being safe from casters and other enchanted beings.  By taking it through Familiar, you can also pick up a casting of Disrupt, which is good, because you never can tell when you’re going to have to break an opponent’s circle or chant.

7th Circle: Lightning Bolt

The pinnacle spell of Sorcery, Lightning Bolt is both the most and least impressive of the 7th Circle spells.  It’s the most impressive in that it’s the most direct, and the Sorcerer has unlimited uses of it, so Sorcerers can cast it all the time.  It’s the least impressive because a single use of it is not likely to change the course of an event or even a battle.  However, a judicious casting of Lightning Bolt can turn a skirmish, or make a line’s flank fold, and that can make all the difference.

There’s an enormous intimidation value to a held Lightning Bolt prop.  Given that it’s the only ranged one-shot-kill available to PCs in the game, it’s not surprising players keep a wary eye on foes with the prop ready to throw.  You can use this to your advantage.  You can force an opponent to split his attention between you and an ally, giving the ally a better chance of landing a telling hit. Opponents will usually react to a faked throw as well, which can let your companion get the drop on a foe.  It’s almost better to have it in hand than it is to actually throw it.