Thursday, October 11, 2018

Ask the Editors - New Plotholders


Me and my friends have all these great ideas for plots and quests and I really want to throw them. But I don't have any event holding experience. Is there an easy way to start throwing plot without just jumping into throwing whole events?

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Many events have opportunities to throw scenarios.  For example, Chimeron Questing that is coming up in July averages 100 possible scenarios during the time of the event.  If you have ideas and want to start small, a venue like this is the way to go.  I also cannot stress enough to find an experienced EH and bring them on board, even just as a mentor/ consultant.    Regardless of the size of the scenario or event, they could give you valuable insight into how to make your dreams a reality for everyone.

-Steven “Therian” Matulewicz

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One of the things that makes Realms really special is that anybody with the gumption can tell their own story. I think it’s wise that as a new event holder you aren’t trying to jump right into throwing a three day quest (been there, done that, and there is quite a learning curve). There are lots of ways to start out small until you build up your confidence to throw a whole event on your own. For example, in the past, there have been whole events dedicated to helping newer players throw their own plot, such as Learning to Fly. If you can team up with experienced event holders who can help fund and staff your event, well then, congratulations, you are in a golden spot to really run with your ideas while getting feedback from the experts. If you don’t actively have a mentor, or such a call for plot isn’t out at the time, it might be a good idea to reach out to EH’s to see if they would be interested in having you run a small encounter at their event. This usually flies better at tournaments or feasts where there is less in the way of active questing going on. In addition, you might be able to throw a whole night quest if you can find the right event and EH to team up with. The moral of the story is that you are going to have to do some work to pull this off. You are going to have to ask questions to people you might not know very well, you are going to have to be prepared to hear the word no and not get offended by it--but if you are willing to put in the work, there are venues out there for you to test out the event-throwing waters. Good luck!

-Lani “Gwen” Jones

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The easiest way to get experience with plot is to volunteer to help throw it with someone else. The experience is pretty valuable, in my opinion, personally I’d even say the best experience you can get is from joining the team that throws your favorite event series. It may seem like a bit of a sacrifice, but if you really want to get into the Event Throwing side of things, the team that throws your favorite events is probably the team you want to learn from.

Outside of that, infrequently there are events that offer slots for smaller quests, like Storytellers for example, or Convergences once upon a time.

-Keith “Saegan” Cronyn