Report on The Opening the Gate Initiatiative

by Jason (Aeston) Rosa 

Greetings people of the Realms,

It is my happy responsibility today to talk to you all about a recently begun initiative which we're calling 'Opening the Gate', headed by the Knights of the Realms and the Knights of the Eternal Flame, in order to spread the joy of LARPing to a wider audience and to act as a recruiting inlet to our community.

Discussions about how to make this concept a reality actually began many years ago, as far back as 2022 when the idea was somewhat piloted at the Bennington, NH Rhubarb Festival. Back then a motley crew of Realmsies set up a tent with some show-and-tell items and trained interested fairgoers how to fight with boff weapons. By all reports, everyone had a lot of fun and the concept was a success.

At the Rhubarb Festival in 2022 (James Murphy).

Since then both knightly orders have had multiple discussions about how to make that initiative larger and more ubiquitous. We’ve discussed returning to gaming conventions, attending fandom-themed events, and exploring more opportunities, like the Rhubarb Festival, to bring what we do to an audience that may never have experienced something similar. 

Several months ago, we had a significant breakthrough in our planning. I had sent several emails and made several calls and left several messages with organizations across various New England towns whose job it was to put on their town fairs held through the summer and fall. Most of those attempts at contact bore no fruit. Except for one. A message I left with a woman named Sandy from the Pepperell, MA Fall Festival Committee. Not only did she call me back but her tone was immediately enthusiastic about my proposal. I gave her a 5-minute rundown of who we were as a community and our plan to host some mini-questing content at her fair and she was completely hooked, inviting us to be a part of both their Summer Festival and the Fall Festival that followed a few months later.

And so what could we do but get to work? We planned a short dungeon experience, we talked about how to best engage people that would be walking by, we divided up tasks like printing pamphlets or organizing props, and this past Saturday afternoon all our efforts came to fruition.

The dungeon starts to come together. 

Our booth getting set up (Kathy Fey).

Another view of our booth.

It took a little less than two hours for all to arrive and set up a free-standing dungeon. Fairgoers started to trickle in at about 5:00 and a few cautious but interested people came up to our booth to ask about what we were. A few of them were cajoled into learning how to fight. Over the next half hour or so it grew to a steady stream of people that were trained on how to use a single short while their friends and families watched and took pictures. It was certainly a productive situation but I began to wonder if the dungeon was set up for naught.

Training some of the band that would be playing later (Kathy Fey).

Lots of training going on.

Then we had a group that was ready to challenge our dungeon experience. We had come up with some very simple character classes that they could choose from in order to draw them into the experience. They could choose a fighter and call armor. They could choose a healer to heal limbs and combat raise dead. Or they could choose a sorcerer and throw a couple magic missiles.

The dungeon experience was pretty simple and overall about a ten minute endeavor. First the adventurers had to take on a tribe of goblins that was guarding the door to the dungeon. Once they dispatched those greenskin foes, the door had to be unlocked by solving an ‘untangle the knot’ puzzle. After the door was opened they entered the necromancer’s domain who would continue to animate a pair of skeletons again and again until the adventurers managed to slay first the undead then her. As they retrieved her staff from her corpse they realized that it was actually a magic dragon-slaying spear! And now it was time for them to enter the dragon’s lair. Confronting the monster was difficult. They had to first disable its movement by chopping off all of its limbs. Only then could they strike it in the head enough times to finally stun it. And then they all had to grasp the magic dragon-slaying spear and thrust it together into the dragon’s head, killing it with the power of friendship! As the dragon died they found the treasure chest that it was guarding and in looting it found the treasure, bead necklaces they quickly wore as a symbol of their triumph and gold coins with a QR code emblazoned on them that would direct them to RealmsNET.

Battling against the goblin tribe.

Unlocking the door while solving the puzzle.

Facing down the necromancer and her skeletons.

Into the dragon's lair.

Stab! Stab with the power of friendship!

Treasure!

As I finished running that first group through the dungeon I was happy that they had such a fun experience and thrilled to see their smiles. I wondered how many more groups we would get to come through. As I walked back to the dungeon entrance I was informed there was another group ready to go. And then another. And then another. From that first group until the very end of the fair the dungeon crew did not get a single momentary break. I estimate there must have been at least 15 parties of adventurers in total. Holy moly.

Meanwhile, in the few glimpses I would get outside between the dungeon walls, I saw the rest of our area was just as abuzz with activity. People were asking questions and taking flyers at our table. People were being taught to fight in groups of two or three or even more. Everyone was having a great time.

The training continues.

More people training and visiting our table.

I lost track of how many times one of our participants told me how much fun they had or how great of an experience it was. I directed all of them back to our table to make sure they grabbed a flyer telling them more about Realms and letting them know it's an experience they can have regularly if they want to. One mom asked if we could do this at her kids’ birthday party.

Before I conclude I want to recognize everyone that came together to make this endeavor succeed. Our crew was small but mighty, and everyone worked very hard with very little downtime. Ryan Welch, James and Emily Murphy, Kathy Fey, Keith Cronyn, Sean and Karen Veale, Dani and Ben Lacasse, Max McCalla, Emma Sherman, and Jamie Bancroft. Also thank you to Chimeron and Blackwood for loaning us so many of the props we needed to get through the experience, Steven Sanford for letting us borrow the dungeon walls, and especially to SMAS for all the single shorts that they loaned us.

In the final analysis, it's hard to neatly gauge our success at this endeavor, largely because there are so many metrics by which success can be evaluated. Was our goal to provide entertainment to the many throngs of mundanes at the festival? Was it to introduce people to the concept of what a LARP is? Was it to spread the name of the Realms and inspire people to try it out, hoping that some few of them might someday come to an event and become a part of our community? I think it was probably all of these at least to some extent. And I will say from my perspective it certainly felt like we could be proud of what we accomplished.

Overall the Pepperell committee was extremely happy with our participation in the event. We’ve been invited back to Pepperell’s Fall Festival on October 3rd to do something similar or slightly different in bringing LARPing to the masses. I’m told by the organizer, Sandy, that the Fall event is many times larger than the summer one, which was only in its second year. And I imagine for as long as we want to be a part of them our invitation to participate in those Pepperell events will be ongoing. I hope we will continue to take them up on those invitations, at least in the near future, and see what comes of it. And as this initiative picks up steam, maybe even expand into other towns and other festivals if we can summon the time and manpower to do so.

Hopefully our Opening the Gate this time was the start of something big and hopefully you are inspired to help be a part of it next time.

In service,

Jason Rosa

Knights Commander, Knights of the Realms

(more pictures follow)

Taking on the goblin menace. 

The hit feature film: How to Slay your Dragon.

Gotta start your monster slaying young. Very young.

This puzzle is easier than 4th grade math. Right?

Obviously no LARP is complete without informative literature.

Only slightly less chaotic than your standard Realms event.

A typical allotment of dragon horde. Note the QR code gold coin.

A very necromantic date. 

The family that slays together, stays together,

A Gilded Invitation

Good People of the Realms,

It is my pleasure to invite you all once again to Ashen Bounty, our annual harvest feast this fall. This year is a special celebration. This year marked the fifteenth year since the founding of Ashenmark and this will be the thirteenth Ashen Bounty. For much of those fifteen years I have served as the Highlord of Ashenmark, but at this years feast I will have the privilege of stepping down, and abdicating my rule as this year we celebration the ascension of Dame Umbra and Sir Raynor Skyline to the throne of the nation.

I invite you to join us on Friday night, as I will hold my last court in Ashenmark, before stepping down. Saturday will see a day of feasting, competition, reverie, and camaraderie alongside the ascension of the new leadership as they hold their first court. We hope you will join us in this celebration as we transition to a new generation and era of leadership in Ashenmark.

Highlord Temorse Sorrowind of Ashenmark

OOC Note: Registration for this event will go live later this week, Sunday will also include the normal Sunday questing content.

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)

Announcement: Queen of Hearts XXXI: Knave of Hearts

 

Hello people of the Realms,

I’m here today to make a rather major announcement about the future of The Queen of Hearts Tournaments and War Maneuvers.

It’s kind of a long walk to where we’re going but my intent is to be open and transparent, so please read on.

--------------

Here’s the tldr; Queen of Hearts this year will be fundamentally different than usual, will not have premade teams, and will overall have a less formal but still very fun composition overall. This event will be subtitled Knave of Hearts.

--------------

It is probably helpful if I put this in the context of some more recent history. Since the pandemic, it has sometimes been a struggle to find two teams that are both willing to invest the incredible amount of effort it takes to organize and execute everything that’s necessary to make Queen of Hearts happen.

Not always, of course. Multiple years we have had two teams that from day one were enthusiastic and energized and carried that all the way through August. Other times, however, it did not come together easily.

This year in particular, no one initially stepped forward with a solid desire to run a team. Sometimes that happens, and in response I start to ask around and try to inspire people to step up. It’s not uncommon at all. This year we had one team, The Broken Spears, who fully embraced the challenge. I also had several other potential teams that expressed a true desire to put something together and take the field but simply had too many conflicts to make it happen in time for this summer.

I think the reality of the situation is this, compared to the early 2000s and 2010s, especially since the pandemic, the Realms is a smaller community that is overall less focused on tournament fighting than it has been in the past.

After some deep thought, honest conversations with my team, and contemplation about the event and the role it holds in the community, what’s become clear is there is probably just enough inspiration and energy in the Realms to put together a formal, fully traditional Queen of Hearts every other year.

So what do we do with that? Well, there is another old and sporadic Rhiassan tradition that we’ve sometimes visited called Knave of Hearts. These events have been uncommon, the last one was over a decade ago, but their intent has always been to create a place to just run our standard slate of war maneuvers without the formality of making teams and keeping score, and all the other aspects of the event that consume a lot of time, money, and energy. 

So beginning this year we will absorb the Knave of Hearts style, with an array of updates, into the normal Queen of Hearts framework. On odd numbered years, like this one coming up, we will hold Knave of Hearts events. On even numbered years we will run the traditional Queen of Hearts style like we have for the three decades prior.

--------------

So this year’s event, Queen of Hearts XXXI, will deviate from its last 30 years of tradition and instead officially be known as:

Rhiassa Presents: Queen of Hearts XXXI, Knave of Hearts

What does this mean? Well, I don’t 100% exactly know all of that yet, but I will tell you what we do know.

• There will be no premade teams. We will sort all of the combatants into two teams in some way that is fun and interesting but also mixes things up a little bit.
• The event will largely feature war maneuvers. The Queen of Hearts favorites will all be there, Live Chess, Hadrian’s Wall, Castle Battles, etc. We will also have a chance to try out some new experimental war maneuvers and bring back some classics that have been retired for a while (Folkestone Challenge???)
• There will be an assortment of non-combat war maneuvers as well, such as Targetball.
• There will be some amount of individual and small-group fighting.
• There will be an awesome night quest by a big production team that takes full advantage of the whole site, some parts of which some of you have never seen.
• There will still be cards to keep score, still be lots of prizes, still be lots of lifting one another up and celebration of everyone on the field. 

There are questions that have yet to be answered of course. We’ve gotta figure out exactly how all this looks. Our event holding team will be getting together soon to figure out everything you will need to know and to publish that information.

But in reality all you need to know is this; show up, bring all your weapons, and prepare to spend a fun weekend fighting it out on Rhiassa’s war maneuver fields. 

All are welcome; there’s no need to wait to be invited to a team and no one to have to pre-coordinate with. 

Let’s fill up the event site with everyone who loves big fighting tournaments and have a great time together as a community.

--------------

Now for a couple remaining details.

Everything that was planned for Queen of Hearts this year will be pushed forward to 2027 for Queen of Hearts XXXII.

Chimeron will still be the guest marshaling staff. The non-com categories and rubrics will remain as we’ve already announced them. Thank you for Chimeron for your cooperation so far this year and we look forward to working with you next year to make your ideas come to life.

The Broken Spears remain on the roster as one of the two established teams. All of you have my deepest gratitude for stepping up this year and trying to keep with our normal traditions. I know for some of you who have already begun preparations this might be disappointing news. Please instead try to think of it as an extra year to prepare and to make even more grandiose plans and crafting entries. We’re sincerely looking forward to seeing your team on the field next year.

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I’ve said a lot at this point, but I’ll leave off with some personal thoughts that have come to mind as I’ve contemplated all of these things the past few days, which, believe me, has not been easy.

Rhiassa holds in trust two of the Realms oldest traditions between Queen of Hearts and Feast of the Leviathan. In my tenure as lord of Rhiassa I’ve always expressed a maxim to my team; evolve or die.

These events have stood the test of time because we’ve been willing to update them and acclimate them to the changing eras of our community. An event format and norms that the Realms found fun in 1996 would feel widely out of place in 2026, and I’ve taken a lot of pride in the fact that we constantly reflect deeply on how to make our events better, adopt new things, and put aside things when their time has passed. The fact that all of you still trust us with these event traditions after all these years is not one that I take lightly.

This kind of change to Queen of Hearts has probably been a long time coming and if I’m honest with myself I have most likely been a lot more stubborn than I should have been in seeing it. I owe a lot of gratitude to the people around me who have been gently encouraging this change for the last few years while also giving me the space to make that decision for myself.

This is not a retreat from our ideals about event holding, we’re not going to approach Knave of Hearts like it does not matter as much or think of those years as the years where we get to lay back. You’ll have our full commitment to making these years as engaging, interesting, competitive, and fun as we possibly can. This is the evolution the event needs to push forward into this next chapter. I think it's a positive one that will let us try a lot of new and exciting ideas.

As always, thank you to everyone who has supported us and our events over all these years. We look forward to seeing you in August. We look forward to your help in writing the story of what Knave of Hearts will become.

In service,

Jason Rosa

Voting is Open for the 2025 View Awards!

 

It's time once again to cast a vote for your favorite people, events, and other stuff from last year in the View From Valehaven Player's Choice Awards!

VOTE HERE: https://www.realmsnet.net/surveys/11

Voting:

Voting opens today and will close on January 11th at 11:59PM.

On the voting page you will see all of the nominations that were made for each category. 

You may vote for up to THREE different events/people/items per category. Each of these votes counts equally. 

Winners and Presentations:

The View Awards will be presented at The Feast of the Leviathan after Rhiassan Court.

Rather than a single event/item/person winning best in a category, there will be three winners per category each recognized with equal standing to one another. In cases where there are ties there may be more than three.

The purpose of these awards, as always, is to give the community a way to say “thank you” to its members and event holding teams for going above and beyond in how they enrich our game. By recognizing multiple events as described above it extends our ability to show our appreciation and extend our camaraderie with each other without also having to rank each other’s contributions in contrast to one another.

We look forward to running these awards for the 2025 eventing season and we are honored to be able to present them this year at Feast of the Leviathan.

Announcing the 2025 View Awards!

 

The View from Valehaven Awards are returning to The Feast of the Leviathan once again! 

TLDR:

Nominations open TODAY December 22nd on RealmsNET

Three nominations needed to get on the ballot

Voting opens on December 29th on RealmsNET

Voting concludes on January 11th

Three winners per category

Award presentation at Feast of the Leviathan

Categories listed at bottom of article

Details:

We had a fantastic, full year of events in 2025 and we’re looking forward to recognizing one another’s efforts in this year’s View Awards!

There are some small changes from last year as we continue to try to make the awards process better. so please read below if you want to be well informed.

The View Awards voting is split into two phases: the nominations and the votes.

Nominations:

Nominations open on TODAY, December 22nd and close on Sunday, December 28th at 11:59PM.

Nominations Link: https://www.realmsnet.net/surveys/10

Nominations and Voting will both require you to log in to your RealmsNET account.

Returning from last year is the event category: Social event. We decided that there were enough events that didn’t fit in any other category where the main purpose wasn’t specifically feast, questing, or tournaments but rather coming together to socialize with a variety of entertainment options available.

Speaking of event awards, some event awards will NOT require nominations. One Day Event, Weekend Event, Tournament Event, Feast Event, Questing Event, and Social Event will all appear on the voting form with ALL events that meet those definitions able to be voted on. Each event was tagged as either One Day or Weekend and as one of the categories of events mentioned above.

Besides those categories, there is a change in what nominations get on the ballot. For the other Event Awards, the Publication Awards, the Individual Awards, and the Paragon Awards, three nominations must be cast in order for events/people/items to earn a spot on the final voting ballot.

To nominate, fill in the events/people/items that you think should be on the official View from Valehaven Awards Ballot. 

There will be one blank provided per category but you can create more by clicking the (+) button to make multiple nominations per category. There is no limit to how many events/people/items you may nominate for each category. You may leave categories blank. You may also submit the form multiple times to nominate further entrants per category if you decide to add more later. 

Voting:

Voting opens on December 30th and will close on January 11th at 11:59PM.

On the voting page you will see all of the nominations that were made for each category. 

You may vote for up to THREE different events/people/items per category. Each of these votes counts equally. 

Winners and Presentations:

The View Awards will be presented at The Feast of the Leviathan after Rhiassan Court.

Rather than a single event/item/person winning best in a category, there will be three winners per category each recognized with equal standing to one another. In cases where there are ties there may be more than three.

The purpose of these awards, as always, is to give the community a way to say “thank you” to its members and event holding teams for going above and beyond in how they enrich our game. By recognizing multiple events as described above it extends our ability to show our appreciation and extend our camaraderie with each other without also having to rank each other’s contributions in contrast to one another.

We look forward to running these awards for the 2025 eventing season and we are honored to be able to present them this year at Feast of the Leviathan.

Find the complete list of voting categories below:

EVENT AWARDS

• Outstanding One-Day Event (no nominations)
• Outstanding Weekend Event  (no nominations)
• Outstanding Tournament Event (no nominations)
• Outstanding Questing Event (no nominations)
• Outstanding Feast Event (no nominations)
• Outstanding Social Event (no nominations)
• Event with Outstanding Special Effects
• Event with Outstanding Props & Costumes
• Event with Outstanding Night Quest
• Event with Outstanding Food
• Outstanding Dish at an Event

PUBLICATION AWARDS

• Outstanding IC View from Valehaven Article
• Outstanding OOC View from Valehaven Article
• Outstanding View from Valehaven Series
• Outstanding View from Valehaven work of Poetry, Song, or Fiction
• Outstanding Realms Photograph (please include public link and accurate photographer information)
• (this category will have all Facebook banners from 2025 automatically nominated)

PLAYER AWARDS

• Outstanding Group for Staffing and NPCing
• Outstanding Newbie (under 1 year in Realms)
• Outstanding Younger player (between 1 and 5 years in Realms)
• Outstanding Bard
• Outstanding Craftsperson
• Outstanding Photographer
• Outstanding Artist
• Outstanding Vendor
• Outstandingly Dressed
• Outstanding Feastocrat
• Outstanding Servant or Kitchen Staff
• Outstanding Combat Marshal
• Outstanding Magic Marshal
• Outstanding Trainer
• Outstanding Mentor
• Outstanding Displays of Kindness
• Outstanding use of Support Magic
• Outstanding Roleplaying of Magic
• Outstanding Roleplaying by a Player Character
• Outstanding Roleplaying of a Single NPC Role
• Outstanding Grunt NPC

PARAGON AWARDS

• Outstanding Honor in Combat
• Outstanding in Helping Eventholders
• Outstanding Role Model
• Sapphire Award (awarded to individuals who identify as women or gender minorities who go above and beyond in the community and are outstanding in advocating to advance women and gender minorities in the Realms)
• Outstanding Contributions to the Realms

A Very Special Announcement - Writ of Eques Fieri

Matt reading the Writ, prepared by Karen Veale

The text on the above scroll that Matt is reading reads as follows:

WRIT OF EQUES FIERI

On this day of the Thirteenth of December, One Thousand and Twenty Five, the following is herby proclaimed to the entirety of the Realms.

Owing to abounding years of dedicated and meritorious service

Owing to persisting, faithful stewardship towards the entirety of the community

Owing to a ceaseless dedication towards personal growth

Owing to a unwavering commitment towards the franchise of others

Owing to an ever present attitude of selflessness and devotion

It is the intention of the KNIGHTS OF THE REALMS to welcome SIR MATHIES OF BLACKWOOD, Knight of Blackwood, Knight Commander of the Knights of Blackwood, Lord of Verglaz, Knight of the Eternal Flame, Master of the Spoon, as a member of our Knightly Order during court on the Seventeenth of January, One Thousand and Twenty Six at The Twenty-Seventh Feast of the Leviathan in Lionsmark, Rhiassa.

---

The Knights of Realms cordially and enthusiastically invite the entire community to celebrate the recognition of Matt “Mathies” Butler as a fellow knight and his admission into the order.

In keeping with the new tradition of the Knights of the Realms, we have announced our intention to knight Matt in advance of the event at which we will do so. Rather than maintain a veil of secrecy, we feel it is better that those who love, admire, and support Matt can be there to witness his inclusion within the order. At a small private ceremony earlier today, Matt was surprised with the above announcement and scroll.

We hope you will join us at Feast of the Leviathan this January in honoring Matt’s many years of tireless service to our community.

Matt being congratulated by the Knights of the Realms

Winter Revelry Announcement

Hello Dearest Adventurers!

As the nights chill and seem to last longer, I’ve sent my fellow crows to the far corners of the land to collect things most wonderful for a day of Revelry this Winter! The night may be long, but there will be much to get up to at this year’s celebration! Many activities including helping our darling mimic discover their name; I hear you all have been sending in names and the top choices will be made available for you to vote upon your arrival at the hall. 

Once you have entered the warm hall on what I presume will be a chilly evening, you can warm up with a drink from the fantastic bar and some delicious masterfully crafted food. And if you love food, you simply must decorate a gingerbread person or perhaps try your hand at the dessert competition which I hear is Ugly Sweater Themed! The most over the top and gaudy, but still delicious dessert will win quite the prize. Time to break out the luster dust and sprinkles, I cannot wait to be captivated by each and every one of them!

If you don’t have a sweet tooth, that’s alright too, the Adventurer’s Guild will have harrowing quests up and running for you to take a whack at. Or maybe you like to gamble your shinnies at the casino or take on the best of the best at the Stacked Deck Tournament. For the bards among you, there will be some lovely caroling to get everyone into the spirit. And of course gifts for all from yours truly and a visit from Pater Yule for our younger adventurers. 

For even more presents, you can participate in the Gift Swap, always a delightful time. And make sure to bring your green and gold so that you can shop at these fabulous vendors: Wulfemoon Studios, The Wandering Potato, Rowan's Rarities, Starry Knight Crafts, Nestra's Treasures and Treats, and Ethereal Hive Crafts AND participate in the incredible charity ticket auction to support House of Hope!

In addition to all of that, we will be on the look out for this year’s Lord/Lady/Magistrate of the Festival, someone who encompasses the season’s spirit in all that they do. More on that in my next missive. Thank you for letting me express all my excitement in this letter to you; I am thrilled to gather with you again this year and to have a delightful day of revelry! 

Humbly Yours,

Cornix

___________________________________________________________________________________

OOC:

Hello everyone! Just to follow up on a few of the points mentioned. If you are interested in participating in the Gift Swap you can sign up with Kelly “Twen” Bonci. More information coming out very soon on that! She is also your point of contact if you would like to donate an item to be auctioned off in support of the House of Hope fundraiser at the event. Feel free to email her at paladinfund@gmail.com. 

If you would like to be a vendor at the event and are not already on our list, feel free to reach out to Sarah “Evie” Fournier on Discord (evie1111) to get signed up. 

Community Care in the Realms

TLDR; The Order of the Spoon is helping to organize assistance during the upcoming uncertainty of food assistance benefits, if you could use assistance with meals or groceries or you would like to volunteer to help, please click HERE. To donate funds please click HERE. __________________________________________________

The Order of the Spoon has taken pride in feeding the people of The Realms for decades, from grand feasts to quest snacks, the order has provided countless meals to our community. Now more than ever we are planning to serve up the community, both in game and in real life. With changes and uncertainty surrounding food assistance programs across the US, we want to make sure that no member of our community goes without.

In that spirit, The Order of the Spoon, with inspiration from Becky Baron, is organizing an effort to raise funds and deliver home-cooked meals to members of our community who may be affected by this shutdown.

If you or someone you know could use a hand, whether that’s a warm meal, groceries, or a little extra help getting by; please fill out the form linked HERE

All submissions will only been seen by select members of the orders administrative council, and only the necessary delivery details will be shared with volunteers helping to prepare and deliver meals.

If you would like to help cook or deliver meals, you can also sign up through the same form linked above, every pair of hands and every bit of care helps keep this community strong. If you would like to donate to the fund, please do so HERE. We will also be hosting a bake sale to help raise donations at Feassst of the Gorgon on November 8th, 2025. 

In addition to this, we would like to take a moment to remind the community about the Paladins Fund, if you need further financial assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Kelly Bonci. 

[Editor’s note; You can learn a little bit about the Paladins Fund in this article]

Now more than ever, we have the chance to live up to the ideals we play for: resilience, compassion, and community. The Realms community has always been there for each other, I'm certain this time will be no different.

In service,

Dani Lacasse

The Order of the Spoon

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly via discord or messenger. 

Queen of Hearts XXX Programming Notes

Hello everyone, I’d like to make a couple programming announcements regarding the upcoming 30th installment of The Queen of Hearts Tournaments and War Maneuvers. First an announcement about Saturday night then one about Sunday morning.

—

I want to explain our plan for celebrating this notable three decade milestone. 

Normally after dinner break you are all accustomed to gathering around the stage for the crafting and presentation tournaments. This year we’ll be structuring our evening a little bit differently. 

We’ll be having a party!

We’ll be setting up tables and chairs near the site’s extra-large fire pit and celebrating thirty years of Queen of Hearts with a bonfire, elevated apps brought around by our staff, and a mocktail bar with refreshments for the summer heat! 

We’d also like to have a small opening ceremony at the beginning of the party so we’re asking all Queens and True supporters to have a prompt return from dinner break.

What about the non-coms you ask? Well, we’ll still be doing those presentations and performances, they’ll just be happening at the outset of the party as the beginning of the evening’s entertainment! After they are done we’ll also be inviting people up to tell stories they have of past Queen of Hearts, and we know there are a lot of great stories out there so get them ready to share!

And as the evening draws on we hope everyone will take the time to relax around the fire, enjoy the camaraderie of the evening, and help us reflect on the joy we all feel. Not only in having an event reach this milestone, but that we have a community that has endured so long and has so much history for us to be a part of.

—

On Sunday morning, we will be having a Breakfast fundraiser.

A great many of you know the Dolph family, Dave and Carrie, and you may have seen through social media that they tragically lost their home in a fire. Dave and Carrie both spent decades being invaluable contributors and paragons of service to the Realms community. I do not think its an exaggeration to say that they were instrumental to building this game into what we have today. We’d like to take this opportunity to try and help them out in their time of need.

This fundraiser is being organized by Angie and Jason Grey, and more information will be forthcoming as we put the details together.

So as you crawl out of your tents in the morning or you make your way back to site, skip the Dunkin’ line on Sunday and have breakfast with us to help our longtime friends.

—

Thank you everyone for your attention to these announcements. We look forward to seeing you this August at Queen of Hearts XXX.

In service,

Jason and the Queen of Hearts Staff

Armor Drive at Leviathan

By: Kelly "Fern" Perfetto 

At the Feast of the Leviathan I will be facilitating an armor drive on behalf of the Wyvern College and the Knights of the Sable Dragon. 

Below is a combined list of armor that new players have asked for and armor that the KoSD loaner armor bin could use - the Armor Wishlist. We are looking for armor that is in good condition and reasonably light that fits the rules of the game as they stand currently. No thirty pound chain shirts, please! Armor deemed too heavy or broken will not be accepted. Additionally, armor deemed not close enough in appearance to real armor will not be accepted. 

If you have armor you would be willing to give away that fits the descriptions below, please contact me with what armor you will be bringing to exchange at FotLeviathan. I ask that you contact me ahead of time so that we do not end up with more armor than we need, with no place to store it. You can find my contact information on Realmsnet. 

For each accepted piece or set of armor that you bring, you may choose between either a discount for Training Day 2 on April 5th 2025 or for KoSD Questing 3 on September 19th-21st 2025. You may use this discount personally or transfer it to one attendee of your choice. We cannot reimburse anyone beyond free entry. 

If you cannot donate armor now but would like to contribute, keep an eye out for more initiatives coming soon!

Thank you all,

Kelly “Fern” Perfetto

Armor Credit for Event

Pair of greaves $5

Pair of bracers $5

Pauldrons $5

Helmet or coif $10

Chest Armor $15

Other Items Negotiable 

Armor Wishlist:

Greaves/leg armor (pair) - 9

Bracers (pair) - 1

Pauldrons - 1

Head armor - 6

Chest armor - 7

Other Items - Reach out

A Very Special Announcement - Writ of Eques Fieri

The Writ beautifully penned by Karen Veale

The text on the above scroll reads as follows:

On this day of the 4th of January, One Thousand and Twenty Five the following is hereby proclaimed to the entirety of the Realms.

Owing to abounding years of dedicated and meritorious service

Owing to persisting, faithful stewardship towards the entirety of the community

Owing to a ceaseless dedication towards personal growth

Owing to an unwavering commitment towards the franchise of others

Owing to an ever present attitude of selflessness and devotion

It is the intention of the KNIGHTS OF THE REALMS to welcome SIR SAKARIASVAFNIR “SAKA” REDWING Knight of the Eternal Flame, Avatar of Chimeron, Knight of the Sable Dragon, Warlord of Chimeron, Member of the Chimeron Royal House, First Mage of Rua Thar Cinn, as a member of our Knightly Order during court on the Eighteenth of January, One Thousand and Twenty Five at the Twenty Sixth Feast of the Leviathan in Rhiassa. 

...

The Knights of Realms cordially and enthusiastically invite the entire community to celebrate the recognition of Patrick “Saka” Bobell as a fellow knight and his admission into the order.

Beginning with our knighting pervious to this one the Knights of the Realms have begun this new tradition of announcing our intention to knight Pat in advance of the event at which we will do so.  Rather than maintain a veil of secrecy, we feel it is better that those who love, admire, and support Pat can be there to witness his inclusion within the order. At a small private ceremony earlier today, Pat was surprised with the above announcement and scroll.

We hope you will join us at Feast of the Leviathan this year in honoring Pat’s many years of tireless service to our community.

Women and Gender Minorities Forum Announcement

 By Kelly “Fern” Perfetto

This upcoming forum is about and for women and gender minorities. As such, only those who fall into these self-defined identities should attend.

On Friday the 23rd of August, from 7 pm to 9 pm (end time variable depending on interest), there will be a combination presentation night and forum discussion about Women and Gender Minorities in the Realms, hosted and moderated by Kelly Perfetto. 

This meeting will be split into two parts. The first is a moderated forum which will be recorded. The second is a more free-form discussion which will not be recorded. The recorded portion of the forum will be shared at a later date for anyone to watch. A way to access the zoom link will be shared prior to the forum in both the Realms Discord server and the event description, located here: https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1990

Dani (Elizah) and Nataliya (Shader) plan to present about the Knights of the Lunar Aegis and the Huntress Guild, respectively. 

We plan to have a wide range of topics relevant to the experiences of women and gender minorities in the Realms. Topics for discussion include:

• The roles and expectations of fighters and support casters
• Experiences in the Realms in the past and present 
• What behind the scenes work does and does not get recognized 
• How women and gender minorities are identified in comparison to male counterparts
• Women and gender minorities in leadership
• And more 

~ ~ ~

A quick note from Kelly:

Most events these days are getting a ‘Why I Want to Go’ article. While this is not an official event by any means, I want to share my thoughts behind holding this forum. 

I joined the Realms in October of 2021, and people I talk to keep saying the community is changing a lot, even in comparison to just five years prior. A lot of these changes are the natural  result of time passing; people step away from the game, plot lines wrap up, leadership turns over, new plots begin, new people join and learn the ropes of the community. 

Some changes, however, involve stepping away from rote expectations of the past. Even after less than three years in the game, I have seen improvements in the safety of weapons and fighting styles. The Realms is more dietary restriction conscious than many restaurants I’ve been to, and some feastocrats are trying to find even more ways to allow people to enjoy food at their events. Even the wording of the Omnibus has changed and adapted over time.  

I know the way women and gender minorities interact with the game and community is changing as well. There are more leadership opportunities available across the board. There are some incredible female fighters continuing to teach the next generations how to work with their bodies, instead of against them. Support casters and fighters now more often work as a team rather than a main character and extra. Previously thankless tasks like kitchen work, garb making, and organization are becoming more recognized. 

Our broad experiences still differ, though, from the experiences of the bulk of the Realms population. Come join me this Friday to talk about our shared experiences, ways we know the Realms has changed for the better, and ways we want to keep our game growing and changing. 

Wyvern College Newbie Exchange Program Now Open for Enrollment

The Wyvern College is proud to announce that enrollment for the Newbie Exchange Program is now open! The enrollment period lasts from now until the end of the day March 31st. We aim to have newbies visiting with nations by May. 

The Newbie Exchange Program is open to any newer player who would like to get to know nations better. The process is detailed below. 

For Newbies:

First, you fill out the form. You will indicate how interested you are in meeting each participating nation, and if you have a preference for the type of event you meet at. You will also be able to indicate whether or not you would like to hear the ‘pitch’ for petitioning, or if you are currently interested primarily in learning and making connections. 

Next, we work with both you and the nations to find the event that would work best for both parties. 

At the event, the Wyvern College staff will make introductions if you have not already been introduced. You will spend the day questing, tournamenting, feasting, or otherwise spending time with the nation. You will have the opportunity to learn about the group’s dynamics and culture, and make new friends and connections across the nations. 

The priority of this program is flexibility. If at any point you decide you want to opt in or out of meeting a nation or going to an event, we will adjust to change plans if they have been made. 

You can complete the form here:

https://forms.gle/89cxbqgS3NAnvRw29 

For Nations:

Most active nations of the Realms who are looking to take on new members have already been contacted. If we have not already contacted you and you would like to opt in, please reach out to any member of the Wyvern College staff. 

Nations will be contacted before each event, to ensure that they will be available for and comfortable with having an additional person. 

Each nation will be providing their own unique experience to the newbies. It is up to you to decide how to introduce your nation!

We are excited to start making introductions between newer players and nations!

The Wyvern College Staff