by Hannah "Nhadala" Blood
Becoming a member of a nation can be one of the single most
important defining moments for your character. Nations represent different
things for different players, but overall joining a nation has meaning for everyone involved. Part of
joining a nation is representing your new found national pride with – dun duh
duh dahhhhh – a tabard!
Why the tabard? Well it’s an easily defining factor for any
sport – jerseys, shirts and skins, pinney’s (oh god middle school flashbacks).
Covering our torsos is the most obvious way to define who we are. Some nations
use this to define petitioners vs. full members, NPC’s use this to define
crunchies vs. big bads, some nations use this for unity and equalization – but
some nations are starting to stray the path from traditional tabards for a more
garb-oriented approach. I’m a fan of straying, but honestly my extreme national
pride has me torn.
ToC is coming up, and I’ve spent hours looking for garb.
Every time I find something I love, I think “why spend this money if my tabard
will cover it?” or “what if I lose weight and it doesn’t fit later?” I’ve
turned down possibly hundreds of garb ideas because I my tabard is easier, and
represents something I’m passionate about – but I’m starting to realize something. Even
if my garb is covered by a tabard, I still know I’m wearing it.
Garb is about fun, creativity, characterization, and
confidence. I love my tabard, and would never want to hide it, but just become it’s
covering most of a badass corset I bought doesn’t mean I’m not wearing a badass
corset. If I want to have a heckin’ awesome garb day, I should just live it up.
Who says I won’t use that garb as an NPC later, or go to a ren. fair, or just
wear it on my day off? It’s worth it. What’s a waste of money is buying
something I’m “meh” about because I think it goes with my tabard.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I, Nhadala Kinder of
Grimloch, am going to try and step up my garb game because ultimately I’m worth
it. YOU’RE ALL WORTH IT. Join that nation – wear your tabard and garb with
pride – do the thing.
