Pressure Point 4 Tournament Results

Pressure Point 4 has concluded with many amazing moments, memories of perseverance and triumph, and stories that will be told over and over again for decades. Congratulations to all competitors who survived the gauntlet and emerged on the other side having a full realization of their own strength and potential.

We'd like to share tournament results for the event with the community.

First, an introduction to our teams:

The Red Team: The Red SyRenZ
Team Captain: Jack, Team Mom(s): Syruss and Priest Z (and sometimes Tao)

The Green Team: Swallow Twice
Team Captain: Hedda, Team Mom: Daekara

The Blue Team: Forbidden Blueberry
Team Captain: Shader, Team Mom: Saegan

Now onto the tournament results. Points throughout the day were awarded for first, second, and third place, with the additional rule that the third place team had to finish the challenge to receive those points.

Stretcher Sand Bag Carry: Forbidden Blueberry

Spider Web Struggle: Forbidden Blueberry

Tank Tred Time Trial: Swallow Twice

Marble Maze Mania: Swallow Twice

Belt Favor Fever: Swallow Twice

Squat Scramble Fight: The Red SyRenZ

Tug of War: The Red SyRenZ

Multi-ball Madness: The Red SyRenZ

Start a Fire: Forbidden Blueberry

Campfire Cooking: The Red SyRenZ

Leave No Trace: 3-way tie, The Red SyRenZ/Swallow Twice/Forbidden Blueberry

Mapquest: Forbidden Blueberry

Number's Game: Forbidden Blueberry

Wealth of Knowledge: Forbidden Blueberry

Whozzat: Forbidden Blueberry

Paper Towers: Swallow Twice

Blind Maze: Forbidden Blueberry

Freesia's Fitness Challenge: The Red SyRenZ

At the end of the "day" on Saturday there was only a 12-point difference between first and last place, with each team having been in the lead at least once.

Aeston's Perpetual Purgatory of Punishing Puzzlers: Swallow Twice

Daredevil: Forbidden Blueberry

Skit Redux: The Red SyRenZ

Assassins: Forbidden Blueberry

Scavengers: 2-way tie, The Red SyRenZ/Swallow Twice

Balls and Cones: Swallow Twice

Floor is Lava: Swallow Twice

Slip and Slide: The Red SyRenZ

Maze Battle: The Red SyRenZ

Party Like It's 1999: The Red SyRenZ

Strength of Arms: The Red SyRenZ

Team Rock's Rockatude: Forbidden Blueberry

Overnight and through the morning, going into the final event (the Fight-a-thon), the lead had changed place several more times. Before this last event there was only a 2-point difference between the first and last place team. The marshaling staff was on the edge of their seats knowing how close it was going to be.

Fight-a-thon: Forbidden Blueberry

At the conclusion of the event, during the award ceremony, the marshals gave out some superlative awards. Team captains were already recognized in their position of leadership so the other members of the teams were looked to for each of these honorifics.

Grittiest Player:

The Red SyRenZ: Luke John

Swallow Twice: Grarr

Forbidden Blueberry: Hamilton "Ham" Burgundy

Team Spirit:

The Red SyRenZ: Jericho

Swallow Twice: Aris

Forbidden Blueberry: Kara

Most Valuable Player:

The Red SyRenZ: Elizah

Swallow Twice: Jasper

Forbidden Blueberry: Ryu

And the winning team for Pressure Point 4 was...

The Blue Team: Forbidden Blueberry

What You Missed - Anthologies 1

by: Amber "Tarnisha" Fox & Emma "Companion" Rovira

We started our day with a Blue Ranger(though that is not his Name), looking to guide us to the Laurins village of Spring (the first known point of the blooming) so we could do some detective work. For payment, he asked for the name of the door into the Laurins so he could Find the Path to it in the future...and P.S. his services started in the Laurins.  Getting to and through the door was our problem to solve.

Soon after a shady character in black robes ~~named~~ called Blot (though that is not his Name). Blot left the Laurins a few months back.  His intro usually includes 'yes I'm a villain, but not your villain'. To that I add 'yet'. He was selling some pre-charged, transferable spell sashes that day, not collapsing the whole Narromancy system with massive collateral damage, so no reason to stab this time.

How to find the door? Someone volunteered their Find the Path spell :/ ... to the door we don't know the name of.  Luckily, Four has been several time and could lead from memory.  Per usual, we had to cross through a section of Hell where red and blue devils are squabbling.  Luckily it was a short span so some were able to just run the gap.  Ash of Creathorne started a rumble on one side, drawing lots of attention which helped out the slower folks.

We found the door, it was neither labeled nor talkative about its name.  Also it was closed.  Four had the brilliant idea of writing a statement on the door, paraphrasing the statement of our previous passing.  It didn't work for the first two people, but the third wasn't a scholar or artisan, etc., but had the role of hero. The door opened for our hero and and everyone could tailgate from there.

Margaret guarded by Tir and a few others lingered to do a ritual and got that name.  Ask Margaret or me if you want the door's name.

-----

We were lead to the village of Spring, and what do ya know there were plant monsters swinging seed strike in the area, just like last time. We had known that Spring was early in the transmission line of the Blooming, but not how early. Apparently, this town was where the Blooming Patient Zero was from. That's new-ish info. 

There were 5 very dilapidated, abandoned buildings. The First I looked at was a quarantined house-- all boarded up tight and the door had been locked from the outside (before falling in at some point). One bed was inside, no other furniture. There were scratches and claw marks around those barred openings and tally marks on the walls of the days passing by --who or what ever was in there for a full year at least judging by those tally marks.

I nearly missed it, but on the same wall that the door was on, there was the message "This was all my fault" scrawled on a wall.

I moved on while the other folks were distracting the the nasty and aggressive plant monsters swinging vines to slap seedstrike onto folks. In case y'all are concerned, We were very responsible and (as planned) after we left the Laurlins everyone got a Cure Disease from Violet's CoH, whether they needed it or not. We brought home no new cases of the Blooming.

The hut furthest back was weird. It had been massively overtaken by vines... but they were growing inward, not towards the light. 

The vines were being *told* to keep the hut together. So the vines *can be* controlled. Who or what made that possible was no longer in the hut. 

Next in line was the village Inn, also a bit weird. It looked like folks in the common room didn't just get attacked by vines and claws, but also with swords and all quite suddenly.

Fourth was the Apothecary's hut. A lady named Molly had done a lot of research and we found her spellbook... but she was super frustrated with not being able to develop a cure. Since it didn't look like they knew about the curse part of the Blooming, alchemy alone wasn't gonna get the village to a cure.

Her Ghost was *cheesed* and pretty stabby, but some reassurance that her work was valuable and her spirit was able to move one.

The 5th structure was the Smithy. Four, shapeshifted into Opal's butterfly form, investigated there. Umm, nothing significant was reported when I asked. 

With the ghost gone, we could get some reading in. There was a string of Foretells, some of which had come true and several hadn't been crossed off yet. One foretell mentioned the King's guard confiscating that spellbook of research notes. Oh Hey, 2 fighters soon came on scene saying they were the Guard, "The Queen's Guard?", "No, not the Queensguard". Yeeeeah, they were very likely working for the Laurin's "Fae king" and like the ones mentioned in the foretell. (We know that this monarch was the one who hired The Villain to create the Blooming.) Very prudently those guys never saw or heard about the spellbook and we took it with us when we has beat down the vine monsters fully and the Door appeared again. 

----

Welp, the door dumped us out near a cult dedicated to "the curse Rune" of Miradu. I headed out to the Western flank and missed a lot, so I'll let Companion tell this tale. 

[Companion's section]

Here is a rundown of what we found.

We arrived, and were presented with Midoru cultists, and a barrier made of fire and water behind them. They were looking for and mining silver, though they had a slave to mine for them as if they didn’t they would slowly die. They offered me a position by their side as a smith that has worked with silver before. Of course we started killing them. On them they had concentrated elements. We used concentrated fire arranged in the shape of the rune Iru to turn off the water half of the barrier, and we used concentrated water in the shape of Dana to turn off the water half of the barrier.

Through the barrier there was another one, this time made of wind and earth. So, rinse and repeat. The cultists were getting annoying as we were getting cornered, so I killed them all with a 5pt. And the lieutenant got another one to make him fuck off for a bit. However, once we broke down the final barriers, there he was again.

He had made a Midoru creature, one that only dies when it was stabbed while smiling. Our group went on to kill the lieutenant, and find out information about a ball/dance party the cult is hosting at some point.

---

The Door then opened to have us visit 'T'he 'H'ero (this guy is Entitled and a pinnacle of his role, so said with capitals). He was fighting hard to keep the forces of Hell at bay and prevent all of the Laurins from being overrun. He did have a dashing profile but was all business while frequently slapping fireballs out of the air with his shield.

We didn't have any fighters or any 5 foots for the one paths so Raindrop did a mage rune ritual to invoke as The Defender.  They got mystical armor and better weapons... as long as they didn't stray too far from The Hero, who the magic was channeling through.

The rest of us helped out by collapsing the fissures the devils were entering from.  There were lots of fissures and only the two fighting distractions-- it was tough going but we managed.  After crossing a lava lake on a distressingly narrow bridge, more of the same, but the door was back and it was time to leave.  However, Raindrops still invoked, charged off after a distant cluster of devils.  <Sigh>  They'll be with the hero, we will worry if Magus Raindrop doesn't come home in a few days. [footnote: Happily, Raindrop did make it home and with a little more info about the history of the hero].

------

Next the Door lead us to Qua Taereth Nuuna (Warlord Makhta's lands). However, this was not quite the realms, but some off balanced spirit space.  

To start off we though the original McKrye could help, so we flaunted the booze and bar with no N to dare him to show up and deal with the shadows.

No dice.  We soon encountered a murder owl, many wolves, and hostile ghosts handing out guilt trips. ((My daughter was NPC'ing so I may have murdered the child ghost more often than my character normally would.))

We started collecting any bottles of booze we could find.  We didn't know what we needed them for, but knew they'd come in handy.

A precog went off and gave us direction. We needed the QTN banner, the letters for the barN sign, and lots of booze inside the foundation of the real-realms barN. The wolves were hiding some of the letters, others appeared when a task was finished. 

It was hard getting booze off of the drunks, but by performing some of the QTN regionals, we managed.  One was raising a toast to valor or courage but with a story.

I was walked through doing a four point ritual by a spirit who couldn't speak.  We were calling to the animal guardians spirits of QTN.  North was the stag who invoked strength, East was the hawk who was fierce and had piercing vision(insight), South was the turtle with healing (/health), and West was the bear specializing in protection.  Other folks were drafted into pairs or trios to face the murder owl with valor and to hunt the threat.

With the tasks done, the Spirit space faded away and we were truly in the Realms again, watching the true sun riding low on the horizon. 

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Pressure Point - Points from the Past

organized by: Dani Lacasse & Kyle Yazinka 

Contributions by various noted authors

Nick "Raynor " Quadrini

Pressure Point.  An event like no other, one that still stands clearly in my mind after so many years.  It was incredibly difficult and astonishingly fun, one of those moments in your life where you know you're experiencing something special the whole time.  I ran, jumped, held over 30 grapes in my mouth, fell in love with a rock, swam, and battled against sleep until my body reached its limit.  But through every labored step, I was having fun.  There's a special thing that happens when you're struggling, surrounded by your teammates and facing challenge after challenge: you face it an overcome it together.  I still have the photograph of my team, smiling with our painted green rock and our precious bananas, sitting on my desk.  If you're considering going, you should know that it will be difficult.  You will be tired, sweaty, and pushed to your mental and physical limits.  But it will be one of the most fun and satisfying events that you ever experience, and after you've had a long sleep you'll remember it for the rest of your life.

James "Tao" Murphy

How Pressure point 3 changed my life. (not an exaggeration). 

Before PP3 I drank 2-3 liters of Diet coke a day. Running up to the event, I cut back, and back, and for a few days had none. In my suv was a cooler with some that I stared at for several minutes at the end of the event. But after accomplishing the event, I decided I did have the strength to quit for good. I have not had one since. 

Some bits I really enjoyed, going for captain; failing, but still eating a century egg (with cheese). Building a bond with my team, the Red Jaguars. Fighting the first fight, and the last.  Doing more pushups than kids half my age. Bringing a 6”6’ to a single short fight.  I lugged that thing around but got to use it when it counted. (actually, I did not plan on using it for the final fights, but my 5’ broke). 

Because I brought a backpack (with a stool for the frame) I had a change of clothes. I had tissues, I had rope, and a bunch of other useful stuff. Now I have fair skin and burn easily. I brough full sleeve shirts. One white set for the day, one dark for the night.  I also had changes of, other items of clothing.  Getting out the water at 8am? And being able to put on fresh underwear was amazing. 

My advice, don’t try to cheat, don’t try to sneak stuff in. That is not the game. Also, try your best. Don’t quit. Even if you can’t run, walk, if you can’t do 10 pushups do 8, be prepared to do a lot of different things. Be prepared to fail at some of them. 

Paul "Grindin" Tilton

There's something about running a mile to the beach at 5am after fighting, exercising, and puzzling all night that makes you go “What the hell did I sign up for? Why am I here?” Because in that exact moment, it boggles the mind. And then you look around you at the teammates who have stood by you at every challenge, the competition who forced you to dig deep to find more energy. All people who signed up to push themselves, the same as you. 

I've been in plenty of “battles” in the Realms, but Pressure Point was an actual trial. Everyone who participates in Pressure Point is saying “I am no vacationer, I am ready to show what I am made of.” From what little I have heard about this iteration: your mettle will be tested, and you may think about quitting… but you won't, because your teammates and your competitors need you.

Cody "Kirk" Garcia 

The weekend was a bit of a haze but here is what I remember. The first day was a ton of fun with all the team competitions and challenges. It felt a lot like a field day from when we were younger. Tug of war, team eating challenge, balance challenge, races, exercise challenges, ECT. The. Night hit and this is where I stop remembering much until the end of the night part where you had to stay awake while sitting in a room with everyone else and you were not allowed to talk. Fall asleep or make noise and you were docked points. Dawn hits and Trent forces us all to jog some distance down a road to the lake. It was exhausting being sleep deprived. The lake activities were a blast. Que the end of the event with the award ceremony. Most of it still feels like a fever dream but it was an amazing time and I still have the team pic from the event on my wall. 

The Epic History of the Realms: Chapter 3

 Chapter 1

Correction to chapter 1: I’d misunderstood some of what Jarrod had described. “Queen” Lisa trained Jarrod in The Game, not Mid-Realm. Jarrod was trained in The Game and went on to play in Mid Realm. Speaking of Arastorm’s Game (I misspelled that name earlier), I was able to get in touch with the SCA’s Arastorm (Karen Tchipakkan). She described that they started the Game in order to make fighting more accessible. For many years Heavy List fighting in the SCA was the martial activity, but the barriers to entry were higher than we are used to. In her words, this new light combat “allowed people to fight with less strength, less armor, less risk of injury, less expense, all of which were excluding people without money, strength, etc.” She says practices were in her yard and at Tom Cook’s in Weare.

Chapter 2

Correction to chapter 2: My first event as a player was officially named “Kiltavia”, the term “the Plague Event” was but a nickname. Additions to chapter 2: Anne Livermore (Lady Anne) and Kate Hubbard started in 1990, The latter in Rwathchleweyn. Kate remembers the Rwathchleweyn Water Wars featuring a floating blow-up dragon with (actual) bikini-clad maidens riding it. Kathy Fey has a picture of this.

Chapter Three: Building a New Society, IC and OOC.

For me and many others, 1992 began with hope. While the details were still being thrashed out, it was now clear that the Realms would not end. I was blissfully unaware of later “new wills” from which Shannon vainly tried to control aspects of the game from outside the game, only to be soundly ignored by those who were still playing, contributing, and forging the game onward. 

My next event of the winter of ‘92 was the first event ever run by prominent event holder Randy Gordon (Sir Randal): Crown Tourney. In character, Sir Randal was holding the tourney to knight/present the sword of Kings to a worthy bearer. Much-missed Janna has previously chronicled the back story of the Sword of Kings, perhaps the most famous blade of the 90s. The Chimeron website notes Sir Shane’s knighting. I remember among Shane’s laurels was the “best chest” award. I was distracted: a friend (who had attended Kiltavia) had to leave WPI and transferred to UCONN. This event was at the Horse Arena which has hosted many Realms events since. I thought it a shame they had lost contact with the Realms but were unaware there was an event right there! Turns out I was mistaken, as UCONN has more than one campus. Decades later, the Baronial sloop still bears her character’s name, “Muriel”. But my chief memory was taking up the bow. I’d had a simple fiberglass bow from a yard sale years before I’d heard of the Realms, and here I borrowed a couple of arrows and fell in love with archery.

Crown Tourney: This might be the first Realms picture of Jeffo (left), McKrie (right), and myself (Center) in the Realms.  Photographer unknown. My first bow is close at hand.

I met the best archer of that era, Sir Fletch. He could, when wounded in the arm, sit and hold his bow in his feet and aim and fire competently with his remaining arm. Naturally, he won the archery tourney that day. I vowed to strive to eventually beat him in an archery tourney.

The ‘92 spring event season began with “The Third Annual Tournament of Fools”, the last event hosted by the Amazons. The Amazons disappeared afterwards in a common failure mode in that era: key people graduated college. Their swan song was a spring event featuring a court where lots of Chimeron-trained WPI students swore their character’s fealty. In minutes, Chimeron became more than just a significant nation, but rather solidly the most numerous. Peter Brillinger (Meerkcat) was among the many who swore, as well as the nation of Banecroft, myself included. We were eager to be part of the team. Jeff Ogorzalek (usually addressed by his nickname “Jeffo” for obvious reasons) took pictures in the spring of 92 on what I’m told was that site. I can’t remember that event having an outdoor component, but if not, there may have been a different event on that site that spring which I’ve forgotten. In any case, here are some of his pictures:

Sir Shane is first on the left. The blue and black heraldry in the center was that of the mercenary company Eclipse, so I believe that is Sir Alanom facing away. 

The Chimeronean timeline dates this era better than my notes, which started in earnest later. There were a lot of things starting in the fresh canvas. It was a time of unparalleled possibilities. And while many of the WPI-trained players hewed to Chimeron, naturally not all did. Most prominent of that latter was Verai. Verai began as a house of healers whose power were proudly derived from a demon, namely Asmodius. Led by Taithan (Kevin Teft) and Cora (Bella Forrister), whose political legerdemain proved to be epic. This was in the era before the “Seed of Life” spell, raises were often a sharply limited resource, and having friendly healers could make the difference between having more fun playing the LARP or lying there under the clouds or stars indefinitely. Having a surplus of raises was very effective in winning friends and influencing people, but that in no way diminishes their personal political skill or charisma. 

With Valehaven relegated to history, a lot of other nations also had their genesis. Eagles’s Rook was founded by Sir Gunnar (Steve Johnson) around now. This was also the year that Prince Nigel (Paul Cote), founded Blackwood. Paul had given the Realms a try in ’91, with relevant experience acting in King Richard’s Fair since ‘89. Being the “5th Earl of Blackwood” had then been just a matter of character back story, but 92 is when Paul brought in his Ren Fair friends in join him. They officially founded their nation at “a Chimeron feast at Umass Amherst”. Paul made a historical milestone as the first openly gay Realmsian. At this point in our interview, I incorrectly told him that by my recollection, he had been preceded by Keven Teft by a narrow margin. But checking the notes and putting things in order for this article, I think Paul is right: Kevin wasn’t at Kiltavia, so must have officially started in 92. Any slight chronological edge does not change the social bravery that both their stances took. Although the Realms then were more open than mundane life, the early 90s were far less so than this third decade of the 21st century. If these Realms are now a place where the entire Rainbow of being can be free to openly be their real selves, it may have begun with their examples. 

The event season began in earnest. In early July was the “War for Addison”, in which a fey prince invaded the Realms. This was the first time I was at Darkvale, a famous event site distinguished by a cliff face and cool dark forests. I remember the excitement and grimness of Banecroft’s first truly serious action. We lost the battle but the war was won because they key to the event was that the Fey word “Addison” translated to “honor”, and by fighting with honor, the Realms had passed their test. But Darkvale was to remain a fateful site in the Barony’s lore for what was soon to happen. 

It was in this crowded spring and summer that we had the first offshoot LARP, “Riz-System” run by John Wrisley as previously alluded to. It was a mirror image of the predecessor LARPS in that It had the same combat system, and players with their histories and nations from the Realms were in no way discouraged. I’ve always considered the Baron’s experiences in those events as much a part of his story as Rwratchlewen is for Eldritch, making it a part of Realms history even if technically it was a separate LARP. 

Then things started to go darker. My men were increasingly dissatisfied with our position in Chimeron. The reason being that they felt excluded, and I could not in honesty say I did not share some of their feelings. We understood that we were the new guys and it was our place to do grunt work. Grunt work had to be done and our commitment to teamwork was then as it is now. What we objected to was being seen as good for only grunt work, with no understanding shared in how what we were doing contributed. I might be briefed on what was going on a week after an event, which I would then share with my men. But we hungered to know what was going on at the event, where we might do some good with that knowledge. That early frustration is why I became known for frequently briefing younger adventurers in later years, as well I remembered the craving to know what was going on.’

The problem was compounded because I made a strategic error. I thought the reason we were treated thus was because Chimeron’s inner circle had a poor opinion of our abilities. I instructed my men to act more independently, to avoid seeking help. To demonstrate we could act without hand holding. To prove our worth to them. Of course, this backfired: Chimeron naturally saw this as us pulling away. We were viewed as less reliable, so they trusted us less. It was a vicious circle neither group intended. And then there was the loss of Jamal, Seneshal of Banecroft. 

In the Realms, there are three levels of being dead. Combat is swift, decisive, and frequent; so being struck down “dead” is common and quickly remedied with magic. If one wishes a foe to be more permanently done in, one’s character can take a minute to make multiple strikes and “rend” a foe’s dead body. Back then this had more colonialist name from which I am still weaning myself. A body in this “rended” state can be brought back with a rare magic spell which did not always work. If that was not done, a character can be permanently lost, the mechanism for which changed over the years. But Banecroft did not fully understand the process then. At an event I was not at, Jamal was rended (in Darkvale) because (as I was told by my surviving men) he tried to intercede to stop a theft. At the earliest next opportunity, with the aid of the mistress of the healer’s guild to which Jamal was apprenticed, we tried to reverse the rending. What I should have done was ask Chimeron for help, but I hoped to handle the matter ourselves. That was hubris: we failed the quest (co-incidentally, also at Darkvale). Now with Jamal at the brink of permanent death, we made another error. On my part, when Chimeron trained me about death I knew less than I have written above. I only knew that “to rescue a rended character, one could get a quest to try and save them.” A chance use of the singular in those instructions (“a quest”) made me incorrectly think one only got one try at it. I hadn’t even seen a rules Omnibus at that point. For Brian’s part, he felt that we would not be allowed to succeed in rescuing his character, and that thus further attempts were futile. He explained years later that he had learned something in character that the event holder did not yet want known. And so, by a combination of ignorance and despair, Jamal was permanently lost. 

The spring of ‘92 was very bad academically for WPI students who were in Realms. For the Barony, it was apocalyptic: not one of us returned to WPI in the fall, although some of continued in Realms. We also had a few new non-WPI members, but these members had not had the benefit of Chimeron training and thus our rift widened. Meanwhile, the most martial member of Verai began training a new crop of adventurers as a martial group named “Doomguard”. With Doomguard, Verai’s armored fist was getting ready for ‘93. 

The summer event season was in full swing. According to Kathy Fey, the most memorable plot was the Shadowlord, who wielded the Champion Sword, which was one of the most memorable blades of that era. It had the power to suck victims into the blade. The Shadowlord had atmospheric theme music following him around. He led undead Cauldron-Born minions.

One of the last outdoor events of that year, in October there was a very interesting development. The Mace of Rhomer, very important to the soon to be long-running Zermarks plot, was dug up from where it had been buried (for real) at the same event site at an event months before. Chimeron led the very hush hush and successful effort to retrieve it. An effort in which every Chimeronean was a part of, except the Barony, which had been viewed as unreliable. For me, that was the last straw. If we were to be explicitly excluded from the interesting stuff, a change was necessary. We believed in Chimeronean ideals of teamwork and diplomacy, but the current arrangement was working for neither party. I entered negotiations with Queen Meg for our independence. Fortunately, Queen Meg saw the wisdom that a friendly independent Barony was of more use to her than a resentful vassal, and saw fit to grant our petition, effective the first event of ’93. There were some elements of her court who were less forward seeing and saw our departure as a betrayal, and it took years of Banecroft being a steady friend to Chimeron to eventually win over these last holdouts. 

It was at the first event of ’93 which Verai made an amazing diplomatic coup and began its rush from prominence towards its pinnacle. A year dark with in-character conflict, in which the newly isolated Barony was very vulnerable. But that is the story of the next chapter…

Low Res Realms 6!

Below is a photo... kinda.

It certainly used to be a photograph before we converted it to a pixelated mess.

We'd like you to figure out the following based on just the squares of color below.

• What event is this?
• What is happening in this picture?
• Who are some of the people in the picture?

The full photo will be revealed later this afternoon.  

Why I Want To Go - Pressure Point 4

by: Anna "Hedda" Rufus 

You’ve heard the stories, haven't you? Our predecessors had battles of all kinds. Protecting our lands against a variety of internal and external threats. Entering through portals and solving puzzles that many of us have never thought to dream of.

People talk back about the heroic and demonic feats of adventurers and how they cherished the camaraderie among the nations. Coming from Atlantis, these stories are like the wars under the waves with different enemies tied to them. My mettle has been tested in many ways since coming to the land. Many enemies placed all sorts of afflictions upon me and took me to the brink of death. The stories that have reached my ears recently? Of a challenge to test myself to the limit of what my mortal coil can handle. These things I have not had the chance to experience since washing ashore. I have been tested through tournaments of many kinds. Stories from the past say this trial cannot compare to those. It proves we can be much more and takes every fiber of our being. How far can you push the mind, body, and soul before it breaks?

I cannot do it alone. Across the realms many of you have heard from me. A call for people to come and challenge themselves alongside me. We will be split into teams. We will attempt to keep ourselves awake and challenge our minds and bodies together for the first time in a decade of previous combatants. Run until your legs give out, then stand back up anyway. Fight till you drop and get back up relying on your teammates to help you up if you must. Fight past your comfort zone, swallow the strange stuff and move forward anyway. Let us take the next step of stories to tell the ones who follow in our footsteps. I cannot promise you will be on my side or, if you challenge your team against mine to take the victory. What I can promise is that you will come to this, test yourself in ways you may not have before, and you will become closer to a tight knit group that creates a bond together.

I will challenge myself to be a captain. I will strive to win and be the best. I will push myself to the limits. There are people there to ensure we are safe, though they will also push us to be outstanding as well.  

Why do you come and read my words? Is it curiosity, or perhaps inquisitiveness? Whatever brought you here, I am glad you did. Let yourself bear witness to this next story of greatness, trials, emotional and physical tests, and the forging of souls that will carry on the chronicle of heroes brought to their Pressure Point.

Whan-Hedda con Atlantis

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Why I Want To Go - Tournaments of the Branch 4

By: Briar "Phee" Sieracki

My dear friends,

For those who have been unable to make the first 3 iterations of Tournaments of the Branch, truly, you have missed some fantastic times.

To begin, Lord Harkon has made sure that the fields are fought as evenly as possible; to begin, there is both Combat and Arts & Sciences. The tournaments are split between Knights and Unbelts…simply, if you are of a peerage such as a knight, a magus, or the like, you fight under that. Unbelts is the easiest way to describe a wide array of people who might not have had the attention drawn to them that they should: squires, pages, people with no titles whatsoever. There are even steps to break Unbelts into further categories, should numbers prove large enough.

Combat is easy enough to explain, but Arts & Sciences…in years past it has been tactics and strategy (using the infamy of Argyle!), embroidery, calligraphy, some…resource allocations…many skills we may not think about when it comes to the world around us.

In this way, Tara has offered a format in which people can fight their peers, and allow those who may be looking for squires, apprentices, or mentees to find them. A fantastic way to match your skill as well as get all eyes on you.

There is, of course, also the Champion of Champions tournament, a recognition of heralds (a personal favorite), and newly added, an encampment competition!

As every year, there are also two altars available, that allow our spellcasters and fighters to try the other paths’ shoes, so to speak. An altar to Rawonam where magic casters may lay their spellbook to take up arms, and an altar to Antioch, where a fighter may lay a weapon or armor and try magic for a while.

Between a casual day of tournaments (a rare case where I enjoy watching the fights!), food, friends…it is worth the time to make it.

Phee

---

I might be a bit biased because Hillary is my partner, but I mean it when I say that TotB is absolutely a tournament you should make the time to hit. In my years in the Realms, I’ve never seen cleaner tournament fights, the joy people get from hearing their names called or trying a new tourney they never would have otherwise.

Swing by for a few. Bring your dad, it’s Father’s Day after all! You’ll be glad you came, and sad you missed it.

Briar

Why I Want To Go - Heroes for Hire II

by: Angel "Aris" 

Hai everyone! If you don't know me I am the one who plays Aris, if you don't know who that is, well its the person running around with orange hair and fox ears. And this is why I want to go to Heroes for Hire. 

First off I want to start by one of my goals as a new player is to hit almost all the events this year. 

Second, I am really excited for the Summer Solstice Festival, (I love solstice's), as it gives me the opportunity to celebrate it and just hang out with people I don't get to see or talk to enough. 

Third, I stand for random questing and all that it is. (aka, the various odd jobs from wildcard guild) Which means plenty of opportunities for shenanigans. 

Hopefully see you there - Angel

Realmsle #34

 

                       

This custom Wordle-adjacent-puzzle features a 5-letter word that is particularly relevant to the Realms.

If the embedded page isn't working below you can click this link to get to the puzzle.

Like regular Wordle you can copy your result's (but only if you follow the link), so paste them or a screenshot onto social media to let us know how you did. But no spoilers!

Happenings on the Emerald Path

Some of our longtime community members may remember a recurring feature on the View From Valehaven called Happenings on the Emerald Path. Since many new faces have joined us over the years, a little explanation is in order.

The Emerald Path was a phrase created by the Bedlam plot team to describe the journeys we take beyond the game; the adventures, milestones, and chapters unfolding in our real lives. Happenings on the Emerald Path served as a space for community members to share exciting news and celebrate one another's achievements.

Whether it was a wedding, the arrival of a new child, a graduation, a new job, retirement, purchasing a home, or any other significant life event, this was where we gathered to recognize and cheer on the next great adventure in our fellow community member's story

We're excited to bring this feature back and once again celebrate together as a community. To kick things off, we've got an emerald path from this past Saturday where community members Dani "Elizah" Lacasse, Anna "Hedda" Rufus, Nataliya "Shader" Kostenko & Brooke "Falco" Gibbas run their first mud run together in Hartford CT. 

Photo by Jamison Bancroft 

If you have an achievement, life event, adventure, or other exciting news you'd like to share with the community, please send it along to Dani Lacasse. 

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Knave of Hearts - Complete Event Information

 

What is Knave of Hearts?

Knave of Hearts is an alternate version of Queen of Hearts Tournaments and War Maneuvers that will run on odd-numbered event years.

The overall mission of Knave of Hearts is to design an experience that is in many ways similar to the traditional norms of Queen of Hearts but to create a version where players can simply ‘show up and play’ without the need to coordinate teams or prepare the many roles that are required for those teams.

Knave of Hearts puts fighting in War Maneuvers all day as the principle focus with some individual combat, some small-group combat, and some crafting tournaments sprinkled in. 

Please read on below to have a full understanding of what to expect at this year’s Knave of Hearts.

Showing Up and Playing at Knave of Hearts

There are no premade teams for Knave of Hearts. You do not have to find a team to join or coordinate with anyone ahead of time at all. To play at Knave of Hearts just bring all of your gear and get ready to spend the day in a wide array of large group fights.

People will be sorted onto four different teams once tournaments begin on Saturday. Those teams will be named for the four different card suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs). Each team will have a single Knave that is leading them that will be determined as those teams are made.

In virtually all war maneuvers two of the teams will face off against the two other teams on a rotation, meaning that every team will fight alongside and against every other team multiple times throughout the day. Each team will accrue points for winning war maneuvers independently of one another.

Many war maneuvers will be unlimited. Some will be ‘Queen of Hearts Limited’. See the description on the Queen of Hearts War Maneuvers page for a full description of ‘Queen of Hearts Limited’

We will be having an individual (and 3-person) weapon-style showcase at the conclusion of the daytime on Saturday. In these tournaments each of the four teams will be represented separately. 

There will be some small-group combat (specifically 5-person) tournaments on Sunday morning. In these tournaments each of the four teams will be represented separately. 

The very last tournament of the day on Sunday will be Knave’s War which will pit all four teams against one another in a spectacle that’s not entirely unlike Queen’s War but with some exciting new twists!

Knave of Hearts Tournament Information

This is a mostly-complete list of tournaments and war maneuvers we plan on running throughout the weekend. Things may get cut from this list, rearranged, or even be added based on time considerations for the event and the pace we follow.

Below are very brief descriptions of the tournaments. The standard Queen of Hearts tournaments will run very similarly to normal (with some slight deviations) and players may refer back to the Queen of Hearts pages on rhiassa.com to learn more about how they work. Some other tournaments that are returning classics will probably require a bit more explanation but complete descriptions are forthcoming.

War Maneuvers (Saturday and Sunday). Every War Maneuver that is won will bestow ten (10) points to both of the teams that were on the winning side. Winning a War Maneuver (and only War Maneuvers) will result in both teams getting a Knave Card.

• Field Battle (Unlimited and QoH Limited)

You fight. In a field. 

• Bridge Battle (Unlimited and QoH Limited)

You fight. On a bridge. There will be a time limit. When the time limit is reached in the Unlimited version of this tournament it automatically switches to QoH Limited.

• Folkestone Challenge (Unlimited and QoH Limited)

A classic tournament! You fight. In a field. That field is full of obstacles that you have to fight around or over or under or through while you are facing your opponents.

• Castle Battle (Unlimited and QoH Limited)

You fight. In a castle. Teams will take turns attacking and defending. There will be a time limit. When the time limit is reached in the Unlimited version of this tournament it automatically switches to QoH Limited.

• Monster Chess (Special armor and magic rules)

A classic tournament! It works a lot like Rhiassan Live Chess but all the pieces are different monsters with different special abilities (the Queen is troll twins!).

• Hadrian’s Wall (Unlimited)

Fight an opposing team on the opposite side of a wall, raising flags for point control. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.

• Wizard War (Super Duper Unlimited)

A classic tournament! If you are a spell caster you automatically get an extra path of spells (circles 1-5). Then you may also choose either another extra path of spells (circles 2-6) or a bump up in your weapon restriction. If that bump up in weapon restriction takes you from light restriction to no restriction you may also wear two points of armor.

• Luck of the Draw (QoH Limited)

A classic tournament! Your team gets sorted into very small squads. Squads get called into the melee in a randomly determined order as the fight builds to its final form.

• Rock Assault (non-com)

Throw bean bags (rocks) across a maze-filled field to score points in the opposing goal. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.

• Grand Teamwork (non-com)

Participate in a physical and mental challenge as a team that will test your ability to plan and coordinate. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.

• Challenge Race (non-com)

Run through this obstacle course as a team completing challenges of skill and chance along the way. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.

• Knaves War (QoH Limited)

The culmination of the weekend. See more information below.

Individual Showcase (Saturday Afternoon). Winning an individual or 3-person tournament will bestow five (5) points to the team that those competitors represent.

Each individual on your team may fight in one individual tournament and one 3-person squad tournament. They may not both be the same weapon style. All of these fights are true limited and casters can break restriction to enter them.

• Single Short Individual
• Single Short 3-person Squad

• Mixed Florentine - Individual
• Mixed Florentine - 3-person Squad

• Sword and Shield - Individual
• Sword and Shield - 3-person Squad

• Hand and a Half - Individual
• Hand and a Half - 3-person Squad

• Oops all Ranged - Individual
• Oops all Ranged - 3-person Squad

5-person Squads (Sunday Morning). Winning a 5-person battle will bestow ten (10) points to the single team that emerged victorious. 

• 5 on 5 Lines

You fight. In a Line. With 5 people on a side. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.

• 5 on 5 Bear Pit

Each side sends in one competitor a time, the winner stays in the pit to fight the next opponent. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.

• 5 on 5 Jugging

Jugging (or Jugger) is a boffer sport that transcends Realms (there are international rules and leagues) though it certainly has a history in Realms as well with our own adaptations that better fit our game rules. Each side has one ball carrier (the Qwik), one true-florentine wielder, one sword-and-shield wielder, one hand-and-a-half wielder, and one Ball and Chain wielder. Only the Quik can score points by placing the ball (actually a skull) onto the goal on the opponents side. The Ball and Chain weapon will be provided by the event.

The Crafting Competition at Knave of Hearts

(The Arcane Artisan Competition)

Crafting is an important part of the fabric of Queen of Hearts and therefore Knave of Hearts must honor that aspect of our community as well, though it will do so through a fundamentally different method.

The crafting tournament at Knave of Hearts will be known as The Arcane Artisan Competition, and it is essentially a tournament about crafting create-your-own magic items.

Any individual who is attending Knave of Hearts may make a single entry to this crafting tournament. Since there are no pre-made teams there is no way to know who else will be on your team the day of the event and a single team may end up with many entries overall.

You may choose only one of the following categories from which to make your magic item

• Armaments (weapons, shields, armor, thrown spell props)
• Apparel (clothing, cloaks, hats, shoes, etc)
• Artifacts (jewelry, accessories, wands, other spell props, etc)

You may employ whatever crafting materials or methods you choose to make your entry to this competition. The item must be brand new and completely crafted by the artisan that is submitting the entry.

All items must have a significant amount of blue on them, though they do not have to be completely blue or even mostly blue. They should all be particularly ornate and come across as giving the impression of looking magical in some way. This is of course in the eye of the beholder, but it is the vibe you should aim for.

You must make up a power for your item and have it printed/written out on a piece of paper that you will submit with your item. Magic weapons can swing magic along with having one very minor power. All other items may have a power that is roughly equivalent to the power of a 3rd circle spell.

At any point after teams have been sorted, each Artisan should place their crafting entry on the tables upstairs in the tavern. The top floor of the tavern will be set up as an Artisan gallery. There will be blank placards on which you will write the following information

• Your proposed name for the item. This name must begin with “The Knave’s…”
• The suit of the team you were sorted on to.
• You must NOT put your name on the placard. The goal is for all entries to be anonymous.

Throughout the entirety of the day on Saturday the crafting entries will be on display in the gallery. Over dinner break the judges will determine the winners.

• There will be up to three (3) winners from each of the categories for a total of up to (9) winners.
• There is no detailed rubric for judging this competition. The winning entries will be the ones that are the most impressive both visually and in the quality of their construction.
• Each winning entry will earn five (5) points for the team they are on. A team can have more than one winner in the same category.
• The winning entries will become magic items for one calendar year. The staff reserves the right to modify the item’s powers before granting it the status of becoming a magic item.

Nightquest

After dinner break there will be a significant nightquest by a major plot team. More info coming soon.

Knave’s War

The final culmination tournament of Knave of Hearts will be Knave’s War. You’ll see that Knave’s War is in many ways inspired by Queen’s War to create a similar experience, ending the event in grand fashion, though there are many differences as well.

Throughout the course of the weekend, teams have earned Knave Cards for winning war maneuvers. These cards have no rank or suit, they are all equally “Knaves”. The Knave Cards that your team has earned will give you a subtle advantage in Knaves War.

The four teams will each compete separate from one another, forming four queues that create a square shape on the tournament field. The left side of each of those lines (looking from the middle of the field) is where players will enter the fighting area. Everyone in every line starts the tournament by “standing” (to use the Queen’s War parlance), there are no people sitting initially. 

Teams may give the Knave Cards to whichever players on their team they choose to. These are essentially ‘wild cards’.

Every member of your team that does not have a Knave Card will be given a standard playing card by the marshaling staff. These will be passed out in such a way that your team will end up with roughly the same number of cards of each suit.

Your team will then arrange its standing line in this order

1. All players with Knave Cards
2. All players with Spade Cards
3. All players with Hearts Cards
4. All players with Diamond Cards
5. All players with Club Cards

When it is time for combat to begin, the head marshal will pull one card from a shuffled deck and call out what suit it is. When that suit is called out your team will send in either:

• The first person in the queue that has been assigned that suit or
• The Knave player that is at the front of the line.

Equipping some of your strongest players with Knave cards and being able to choose when they enter the fray is the advantage that comes from having won those cards throughout the day.

Once the suit is called out by the marshal they will start a 5-count. By the end of the 5-count if your team hasn’t sent in a Knave Card they must send in the matching suit.

Out of the four players that enter the arena only one will be the winner. The three players that lose will start or join the sitting line for their teams, sitting in front of the standing line in the order that they died. Suit order does not matter in the sitting line.

The winner of that fight gets back into the line, at the back of the group that matches their suit (or at the back of the Knaves if they have a Knave Card). They also take the person at the front of the sitting line and have them rejoin the standing line at the back of the group that matches their suit.

Play will continue in this way, with the marshal drawing a card and calling out that suit to enter the arena. If a suit is called and you no longer have anyone who can enter the arena from that suit, you must send in a Knave Card to replace them. If you also do not have any Knave Cards your team forfeits that turn.

Play continues in this fashion until only one team has standing players.

The winning team of Knave’s war receives 25 points.

Prizes and the End of the Event

Prizes to commemorate Queen of Hearts are an important part of the experience and Knave of Hearts will keep that tradition alive. 

After Knave’s War has concluded we will gather together to give out awards for the War Maneuvers, squads, individuals, and crafting tournaments. We will also recognize this year’s winning Knave of Hearts.

(All of the information in this article is archived at http://rhiassa.com/qoh/knave.html)

Why I Want To Go - Anthologies

 

From Violets 

Hello, wonderful people of the Realms, this is why you should join me in questing at anthologies. One of the reasons I'm so excited to go to this event is the blooming. I'm extremely interested in finding a way of healing or curing it using information gained from ground zero. Something else I'm very excited about is finding out more about the blue blazers. The blue blazers is a group I’ve only heard of once before, and im excited to be able to interact with them, though I have been told they do have a price for asking for their help. Hopefully, no one makes any deals.

On that note of making deals, I have been extremely interested in learning more about the weavers. For those unfamiliar with how the strange magic door and people work, the rough gist of it is that there are titles that hold power. Such as weaver, tricker, and traveler, with these titles you can manipulate and change magic and reality in different ways.

Hope to see you soon- Violet

---

Margaret here.

I’m really worried about Makhta. The darkness in QTN has gotten worse, to the point where there are rumors that The McKyre is returning to fight the darkness because the darkness is here. I should’ve made fixing Makhta part of the deal for putting Soultaker in charge of the Dreaming, but I didn’t realize the Dream Demons were going to keep the Chimeronian Vampires because it was ‘funny’. But I digress. 

Meanwhile, someone from a group called the blue blazers wants help finding the actual name of a door, presumably the door to the Lauralins. Nothing sketchy about that. They are offering to take us to Springs, which is the location of the first known case of The Blooming. I still have a ritual that may be able to cure The Blooming, with the looming question hanging over me of if it’s worth the price. All while a former Villain continues to bet on my successes, and to stack the deck in my favor. So uh. If anyone wants to help with all of this I certainly wouldn’t say no. Because the chess pieces are being assigned, and I don’t want to end up as a pawn. 

With Light,

Magus Margaret August, Lightbringer

OOC Note:

I am incredibly excited for Matthew’s first foray as an EH, especially after having to miss their storytellers mod. The teams involved in anthologies are fun, and I trust them to roll with things while managing to turn a free event in the park into one of my most anticipated events so far. Kathy as MM is going to be hilarious, Sky will make us cry, and Matthew will make me want to pull out my hair. All in good fun. Can’t wait to see you there.

~ Bri

---

From Companion.

As someone who the villain has tried to directly afflict with the blooming finding ground zero is an exciting venture. We may be able to collect clues on how to cure or at least slow the progression of the blooming within hosts. This could help us save countless people as the blooming spreads through the lands, as it was designed to be a magic nature combo curse. It's a pain in the ass to fix after a certain point, but if we can find more information, it may be possible!

There is also the potential to find out more about Midoru, the rune that was supposed to be dead long ago. This rune has recently seen a resurgence, infecting at least two known people, myself and Makhta. During our questing into the plane of lost things, two items were found containing Midoru: a necklace and a wand. As of now, what happened to the necklace is unknown. There is still so much that we don’t know about Midoru. However, what we do know is scary on its own. We know that it never died, and that it has a cult to back it. We know that creatures with it on them have started showing up, and we know that it can spread. I am both excited for and dreading what we may learn during this quest.

I hope to see you there,

LiiCompanion

What You Missed - The Gilded Lion and Silver Branch Summer Festival V

By: Sawyer "Jericho" Judkins

This past weekend was the second time I had the fortune to attend this Summer Festival, and it was a great time both times.

The day started off simply with greeting friends as they arrived and some light snacks. The weather looked like it promised to hold out and be nice and warm. And warm it was. The first thing that happened was some group tournaments being run! The Grand Melee kicked things off, which was a great time. Following that was time trials against a horde of Kobolds. Unfortunately, I did not get to participate in the other tournaments as I was working on acquiring some spells at that time, but I heard yells of javelins and something about frogs, and it looked like everyone was having a blast. 

Soon after that, food came out from the kitchen, and as always, you can expect a great assortment of food from the Rhiassan kitchen. Lunch was loaded hot dogs and piping hot french fries. The perfect thing for a summer festival. There were also an assortment of special drinks both from Rhiassa and Chrysantha as well. I did not get any myself, but I had a few sips of Toothless’ and they were fantastic.Other great food mentions throughout the day would be the fruit and caprese skewers as well as the pretzels with an assortment of dipping sauces. Plus a machine that regularly made fresh popcorn.

The Gambler’s Guild also put on a poker tournament! I sadly did not have the time (or the coin) to participate and lose in it this time around, but I know those that played had a good time. The casino was also open all day allowing people to spend their time and gold with each other if questing was not on their menu for the day.

Throughout the day, there were also occasional appearances of infernal looking goats or something. They would rush in and seem to target someone. I took out a bunch from behind, but they ended up exploding taking me with them that time. Another time there was a couple wolf looking beings that came in asking for a chicken to be taken care of? This is information I heard second hand, so I do not know the validity of it.

Soon after lunch, questing began in earnest. I found myself on the Western Flank while others fended off the efforts of Reapers within a forbidden city. I heard there were a large number of adventurers that took part in it. Alongside that, I believe there was supposed to be some Dino-Jousting, but I am unsure if that happened. 

There was a short break before we adventurers once more took to questing in a couple different ways. I heard something about Door Magic and science on one. I ended up getting to deal with some pirates on the other quest a little late, but we managed to find some kind of ore we were looking for, and managed to not lose Ace to some pirates.

After that, I once more headed to the Western Flank while adventurers came to the aid of Arken led by the Fox Spirit to remove a threat that had been hidden from The Mirror while it was active this past winter. A personal thank you from me to everyone that came out to help deal with our problem. While that was going on, I hear that some brave young adventurers ventured once again into a hidden library!

Once questing was wrapped up, we took all our tickets from questing and tournaments and put them into Orion’s Bucket so our names could be pulled to spin a now unrigged wheel to earn gold. Big shout out to the Gambler’s Guild for supplying Aeston with a new wheel, much to his chagrin since there was more than one big winner this year! 

Dinner. Dinner was a loaded mashed potato and corn on the cob. You could get it plain, or you could get it loaded with so many tasty bits, like chili, cheese sauce, and broccoli. I am honestly still thinking about that potato almost a week later! It would also be remiss of me not to mention dessert. Fern, as always, supplied an amazing and delicious spread of baked goods. This year there were chocolates, cookies, and meringues. My absolute favorite is still the Earl Gray Cookies.

As the day came to a close, Aeston lost a ton of money to the wheel, and we all packed up and  headed on our way after another amazing Summer Festival. To hear that this was the last one is bittersweet, and I look forward to more exciting things in the future. 

In service to the Realms,

Jericho Axelthorne

Lord of Arken

Watcher of the Skyless Sea

Squire to the Knights of the Sabble Dragon

Knight of Chaos

What You Missed: Toothless Edition

We went back to the library. We had to paint some stuff to make bad guys happy. I got to throw some Magic Missiles. We had to wrap up some mummies in bandages and then put flowers on them. After dessert, we got to help with Spin The Wheel and it was fun. I got to see a big bolt of lightning. POPCORN!

Toothless