What You Missed - KoEF Questing: Nighthawk's Jamboree

by Mikey "Janus" Donnelly

A troll, a goblin, and a kobold walked into Nighthawk’s Jamboree.  This wasn’t the start of a joke, but the start of an adventure.  They were from another world, a world where last year we created their gods, and saved their plane from death.  Of course, for the denizens of that world, millennia had passed, and the adventurer’s of the realms were simply known as the “God Makers.”  The goblin, kobold, and troll had ventured forth to find us, as the prophets of the 6 gods we made had gone missing.  Now, Grebinar found this odd...as we had created seven gods.  So, we went forth to find out what happened on the other world, and help recover their prophets.

We traveled through a tunnel system as two separate groups, trying our best not to fall to our doom (not that a few people didn’t fall) fighting against some sort of mole people who guarded the passage between our worlds.  

We arrived to warring tribes, who all blamed the other tribes for the loss of the prophets.  We stopped the fighting, and found the prophet of the seventh god, who could only speak in whispers, as they was the power his god had left, as his name was made forgotten by a being called the Unnamer.  After conversing, we were brought to the shrines of the gods, and were brought up to speed on the past thousand years, how everyone found a god to follow, and formed tribes around it.  The gods would speak too loud for anyone to hear, so each god had a prophet, one who could properly hear the gods...until they vanished.  At this point, the 7th prophet stepped forward, with a loud booming voice, speaking on the behalf of his god.  He claimed that he took the prophets so that there would be no choice but to give him a new name and regain him the followers that were lost to him after being unnamed.  He hid the prophets in the the Gloming (the place where last year we had created the gods,) where we would need to god’s blessing to enter.  That was how the unnamed god ensured his shrine would be rebuilt, and that he would be given a name, since he was one of the gods whose blessing was needed.

We went to the broking grounds, and individuals overcame various challenges that matched the gods domains.  I helped Grebinar show leadership for The Captain, and I told a fortune to earn the blessing of Memoral.  Others did various other challenges, including singing, fighting, and feats of strength.  After we all earned favor, we renamed the 7th god, not to it’s original name, but to Trollinar The Grand Wizard In The Sky.  We also helped build up his shrine.  With that done, we advanced to the The Gloming.  Well...at least most people did.  Me, Faelinn, Amyss, and one other who’s name escapes me at the moment arrived in another place where we had to figure out how to escape by overcoming various puzzles.  We didn’t quite succeed, but we did well enough to earn potential, which we needed for later.

After we failed, we found ourselves amongst our friends while others were teleported out to attempt the trials we had faced.  We found we were advancing through an area that turned and had a wide variety of challenges, which when defeated would grant potential.  We had to translate a story to put a being to sleep.  We had to figure out how to navigate a large country, going from place to place.  We had to defeat various strong monsters, some of whom reflecting attacks and magic back, and others we aren’t quite sure how we defeated, just that we did overcome the challenge.  One who danced and turned people to gold, a giant game of Hungry Hungry Hippos,  and another who forced people to face fears.  We also were occasionally coming across prophets who would hand us two runes when we freed them.

Finally, we got to the last of the prophets, the prophet of Memoral, goddess of magic and intuition.  She informed us that the runes can be used to power our escape with potential, but we would need to defend when we left until the gate closed or anything could escape.  So, we covered the runes, and opened the door, and beings from all over the Gloming attempted to escape.  The fight was hard, but we did our best to defend.  We crafted new runes spells to help defend ourselves, and harm the enemy.  While we were forming one of the last ones, our line fell, and fighting erupted all around us.  Things were escaping...including the Unnamer.  It was fighting us, and forcing people to...forget things I think.  Eventually, it escaped, and the gate closed.  At this point, we were thanked for our deeds, and we traveled home.

 

 

Creathorne Clean Up!!

Creathorne site clean up!
What can you expect? 


We will be doing general cleanup, repairs and rebuilds and if we have the time and money (which Becky says we do) we will be putting on an extension to the tavern. We are not taking down the old one…NOT a Chance!

The plan is to extend the tavern another 40 feet longer. We need to get a roof on the prop shed before the snow flies, and perhaps a roof on the tower as well.

We need to weed-wack and mow the fields. This was much easier when there was a horse here right? Looks like people are pretty busy Friday and Saturday, so it sounds like Cleanup will primarily be on Sunday. People are welcome to come camp Fri/Sat night but nothing really starts till 10am Sunday. Then well then we have Lots to do. The hope is that people can make it up, and EH’s who have used the property, if you cannot make it, please send your body proxies that will work. Work, not just stand around and watch, but work.

Here are some before pictures. We will see the after pictures, after...!

WIWTG: Oaken Guard Fall Training

This weekend, visit UConn to get some more points in for OotL (Thats Order of the List for you new players, or really old players)  Tourneys fill the day.  Some will be geared just for new players.  This is exciting as it means new players can get in on the action, and old players can sit and watch.  Maybe coach, maybe mock.  Depends on the type of the person, I suppose.  Either way, have a blast this weekend!

If tourneys are not your thing, consider swinging by Little Creathorne Farm to help with clean up.  This is a site used multiple times a year for Realms events.  Unlike most of our sites, this property is owned by one of our own.  Helping tidy up this site is an investment in future events.

Players seem so young now

An Atypical View

A Call to Arms: Blackwood

by James "Sir Tao" Murphy

1) What does this heraldry currently represent?

This heraldry is the current national heraldry of Blackwood “Proper”

2) Please describe your heraldry for us.

Starting from the center: the heraldry is an outline of an owl sitting on a sliver of a moon, on top of a yellow eight-pointed star which rests on a field of blue and green quarters, surrounded by a silver border.  

3) Give us some background. How did your heraldry come to be? Who or What created it?

Short answer or long answer? 

Short answer: Sir K

Long answer: The original heraldry of Blackwood under Prince Nigel was a blue field with a gold star. When Sir Santiago (Dark/Dimos) headed up just Idaris province he had a blue owl on a silver moon on a black background as the provincial heraldry. When Sir Santiago (Dark/Dimos) declared himself Lord of all of Blackwood (declaring Sir Aerik dead) but then soon after sacrificed himself for his true love, Sir K was then placed in change of Blackwood and new heraldry was necessary. Sir K started with the blue owl and silver moon, but changed them to black to mourn the passing of Sir Santiago (Dark/Dimos). He put these in front of the gold star (represents majestic nobility), and put the star on the field of Blue (represents loyalty and integrity) and Green (represents growth, self-reliance, and independence). Sir K also added a sliver border (which represents peace and serenity). The cardinal points of the gold star just barely touch the silver border. Now typically metals should never touch, but Blackwood is not known for following all the rules.

Other stuff that belongs here:

The sworn provinces of Accoria, Acteon, Thorn Valley, and recently Northern Alliance have the choice to freely keep their own heraldry or adopt the “proper” heraldry. At this time I believe only Acteon has modified thier heraldry to include the gold star. 

It should also be noted that each internal province also has its own heraldry that can be seen at Blackwood feasts and other events. Some members have put it on the back of a standard tabard. 

As the Clontarf Blackwood Casio is based in Castle Clontarf, its banner is the same as the Clontarf heraldry (yellow wheat stock and red prancing lion, on a field of black)

4) Why was this heraldry chosen to represent you? What is the symbolism behind it? What was the inspiration behind the design?

I guess I should have read this question before I answered number 4. Any known parts of this answer can be found above.

5) How long as the Heraldry been in the Game? Has it changed at any time since it was first created?

This question too has many parts answered above. Prince Nigel’s banner was first used in 993? At some point a five-pointed crown was added in the lower left quarter. I am unsure when Sir Santiago (Dark/Dimos) created the Adaris heraldry, but I suspect it was around 1004, the current Heraldry as described above was first worn in late 1009 early 1010.

6)What do you hope seeing this heraldry means to the rest of the Realms? 

We play the game, we fight the fights, we cook the foods, we solve the riddles, we celebrate the victories, we have diverse characters, we are not all the same, we are not all different. 

 

And:

“For a nation that has ‘not our problem’ written on their currency, they sure do get involved in a lot of other nations' problems.”

What You Missed - Feast of Blackwood (feast portion)

First, the menu! A variety of delicious and filling fare was served throughout the day, including soups (with the award-winning Hungarian Mushroom making a most-anticipated return) and flatbread pizzas. There were two rounds of entrees with accompanying sides; these were of course followed by dessert.

The menu in full:

All Day: Salad bar; bread and flavored butters

Soups: Vermont Sharp Cheddar Soup; Beef and Cider Stew; Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Flatbread Pizzas: turkey, bacon, cheddar with cranberry jam; Margherita (tomato, basil, garlic, olive oil); BBQ pulled chicken (chicken, caramelized onion, BBQ sauce)

Main Dishes:

Round 1: Roast Pork with Dijon Apricot Glaze; ratatouille; mashed potatoes

Round 2: Whole Roasted Chicken flavored with Lemon and Thyme; apple stuffing; mashed sweet potatoes

Dessert: an Assortment of Cupcakes

Relaxing and playing games *

Making a donation to the Clontarf Casino #

 Of course, a feast would not be complete without court! Some notable business that occurred at Blackwood court on Sunday:

• Sir Tao stepped down as Knight Commander of the Knights of Blackwood, and Sir Saegan was appointed as the new Knight Commander
• Sir Jinx was made First Knight of the Knights of Blackwood
• Bones was appointed Captain of the Royal Guard 
• The Northern Alliance swore fealty to Blackwood
• Sir K took Kharne of the Northern Alliance as his squire to the Knights of Blackwood
• Rusk joined Blackwood as a petitioner
• Tarja came out of her possession by one of the Nine Princes of Hell and remembered who she was

 

The Northern Alliance #

The new Knight Commander #

Squire to the Knights of Blackwood #

In addition to the bountiful food and the court proceedings, the day also included an auction, gambling and a poker tournament (see The Stacked Deck update for more on that!) plenty of socializing, Order of the List tournaments, and Tao's famous "Deal or No Deal." All in all, a great event in and of itself, and a great way to cap off the weekend of questing!

 

Deal...or no deal? *

The poker tournament *

[Editor's note: photos marked with (*) by Jesse Gifford; photos marked with (#) by Dustin Mack]

The Stacked Deck - updates from Feast of Blackwood

by James "Sir Tao" Murphy

First a couple quick corrections:

• First: Jayce was not the first person out at Feast of Folkestone, it was Sir K. I apologize; the error was mine alone.

• Second: When I updated the list from Tournaments of Creathorne to include the Tournament of Blackwood results, I left off Methos's (John Bermen) 3 points; I never noticed until this event when John earned more points. I have gone back over each tournament to make sure that no other mistakes were made.  

Now on to Feast of Blackwood:

It was a 50 Blackwood or 60 other gold buy in, hold-'em only, eight-player tournament. Late entry was allowed for the first round as well as re-buys. Two players did do a re-buy, adding to the pot.

Slade finally broke his streak of coming in 5^th, by coming in 8^th. We had a new player, Thoril, who took the 5^th spot.  7^th was Temorse, 6^th was Belle.  That left the top four: Methos, Rillan, Eamon, and Tao.       

With eight players we paid two spots, and four stacked deck spots

Tao was the first out, but it was the hand that made the tournament. four way limped pot. When the board had two spades, Tao went all in with the smallest stack and a flush draw, Rillan called, Methos got out, and Eamon called, the river was the ace of spades which Tao thought was good news until Rillan made a bet and Eamon called. Rillan had the better flush and the chip lead.

Next out was Eamon in third but then Methos offered a chop and Rillan agreed. The dealer stated that while they could split the gold we still needed a winner for the points. At that point Methos went all in, waited for Rillan to call, and then folded his hand (they agreed that Rillan would take the first place points).

So:

First                       Rillan

Second                 Methos

Third                      Eamon

Fourth                  Tao

This points the stack at:

1)	Tao	18
2)	Rillan	13
3)	Mathias	10
4)	Jinx	9
5)	Eamon	8
6)	Jayce	7
7)	Methos	6
8)	Shadow	6
9)	Sir K	5
10)	Damion	3
11)	Daekara	3
12)	Phoenix	3
13)	Meds	2
14)	PJ	2
15)	Nova	2
16)	Mestoph	1
17)	Eldritch	1

Future gambling:

• October 31^st: I believe Black and White will have gambling brought to you by the Royal Chimeron Casino, table games?

• November 7^th, Feast of Fairhaven: Clontarf Blackwood Casino, table games including Roulette, Craps, chuck a luck (new-ish), Blackjack (with Jinx’s and Tao’s special bets), let-it ride, and the newest game Clontarf Trips (3-card poker). There will also be 25/30  gold poker tournament (might be the last one to get points at).

• November 15^th, Feast of Autumn Twilight V: had the Royal Chimeron Casino last year where they debuted mini-Baccarat. My belief is they will make a return engagement.

• December 5^th, Order of the List Invitational: Creathorne Hula Girl Casino table games

• December 12^th, Tournaments of Artemis V: has had gambling in the past, I expect it will again

• December 18^th – 20^th, Crazy Uncle Cecil’s tavern: Chimeron Royal Casino usually hosts, in the past they have done poker tournaments, but have had small fields, hope that changes this year. In the past, the gambling has only been on Saturday night.

As always if you have info on any gambling happening at events and would like it included here please let me know (this would include more info or confirming info on posted events).