Why You Should Go: to Rhiassa Presents: Feast of the Leviathan XIX

 by Jason "Aeston" Rosa

Certainly one of the longest running feast events in our community, Leviathan has grown into an important yearly tradition in the Realms which helps us both summarize the past year we had together and prepare for the new one.

Having such a long history is a great honor, but with this long tenure runs the risk of an event that becomes predictable and stale. We in Rhiassa work hard to make sure that there is ample entertainment for all of our patrons and we try to add new things every year to keep people interested and to try new ideas. Allow me to summarize some of that entertainment below.

Returning to Leviathan this year for it's third appearance will be the Gilded Lion Carnival. As always, one gold will buy you three tokens with which you can play a variety of games. Wining these games will get you tickets for a raffle of prizes and gold!

The Chimeron Casino will be setting up this year in order to provide those interested with a variety of table games throughout the day.

The Adventurer's Guild will be up and running for a few hours again this year, so take the opportunity to earn some gold while you use pen and sword to fight for the good of the Realms.

Gau Dring will once again be bringing their Big Game Hunt to challenge those who think they are the match of whatever monsters they choose to unleash.

There will be some board games to play, including a tournament with a giant game of Carcassonne.

A day-long gamed called Merchant Barons of Rhiassa will pit competitors against one another as they politic and trade their way to try and end up with the greatest amount of gold in their bags.

For those who are more comfortable relaxing at their tables rather than looking around the hall for entertainment, each of the dining tables this year will have two small games placed upon it for the purpose of engaging you and your close friends while you relax amongst yourselves.

The View from Valehaven awards will take place, as is customary, allowing us to honor those who have done their best to make our community greater.

Of course, all of that is just a sampling of the different tournaments and entertainment we have put together for you.

The real feature of the Feast of the Leviathan, however, is the food. Sir Gwen has worked hard, as always, to  create a stunning seven-course meal that will keep you full and happy throughout the day while you enjoy the company of your friends and family.

We in Rhaissa look forward to seeing all of you this coming weekend.

I Can't Even, Civics

I Can't Even...

by Sara  "Zarine" Jessop 

...Civic Obligations

            It's that time of year again. Time to get out and vote! People proudly wear little pins that exclaim their participation and make sure to tell everyone via the argument board.; Because we all know if you don't post in there, it didn't actually happen right? Residents of the Realms will flock to their local town squares and check off little boxes that can decide the popularity of tens of people! Eventually it will all culminate in the big reveal: The Award Ceremony at the Annual Feast of The Leviathan.

            There is a lot of talk about how voting is a civic obligation. Countless comments have been said  and articles have been written on why it's important to vote, how you should educate yourself on the candidates, and how you should vote for the most deserving candidate regardless of your friendship with them or lack thereof. But thus far very little has been said about important things like what to wear and how to act. Well brace yourselves, dear reader, because you are about to get a educational quickie  in the fine art of voting etiquette.

Note the fancy hat

Arc Sphere Distortions

Arc Sphere Distortions

by Steven "Therrin" Matulewicz

What?  You thought we paid him for these?  No no no...

From the Editor's Desk: The Year in (Re)View 2016

Well, it was another busy year here at the View from Valehaven!

 The beginning of 2016 found us formally saying good-bye to our beloved, long-time "boss lady" and editor-in-chief Angie "Phoenix" Gray as she stepped down from her role to pursue other interests in both Realms and the mundane world, even as we gained the pen of Diana "Kiira" LaPierre, who joined our editorial team in February. We were also pleased to have the opportunity to add three people to our core contributer staff: Ethan "Jean-Baptiste" Goldman, Ryan "Orion" Welch, and Britny "Tarja/Kamilla" Fowler. These four people have been invaluable to the View in helping us to adapt, grow, and change throughout the course of this past year.

2016 also saw the return of a few of our more popular features, including a second season of the comic "An Atypical View" by the always satirical Silent Scribbler, and new burning questions helpfully answered by our resident agony aunt Syruss through his forum "Ask Syruss."

We also saw the debut of the new series "I Can't Even...," in which Sara "Zarine" Jessop shares her vast quantities of knowledge on fashion, social rules, and other relevant topics pertaining to life in the Realms in witty weekly treatises. Other new features for this year included another comic, "Arc Sphere Distortions" by Steve "Therian" Matulewicz; more advice, dispensed this time by Tanner "Illumier-Soft" Wilson (often in tandem with Syruss); and "Choose Our Own Adventure," an ongoing serial short story written by Jason "Aeston" Rosa wherein readers get to pick from four different options the direction in which the next chapter of the story will go.

In all, we published over 300 pieces this year, including the regular features Why I Want To Go, What You Missed, and a few installments of 10 Questions, as well as editorials, opinion pieces, and a variety of other articles and posts written by members of the greater Realms community.  Average pageviews were over 5,500 per month! Not too shabby!

As things changed at the View, so too did they change in our game and our community. This year saw the loss of two of our beloved community members,  Buddy "Brighthammer/ Arg" Wolfhope and Bob Hinkle, as well as the birth of no less than four future new junior adventurers. It also saw the end of Green and Gold, a long-running cornerstone tournament of the yearly eventing calendar which pitted newer players against veteran players.

But this year brought many good things, too - numerous knightings, events thrown by new event-holder teams, and and plenty of opportunities to talk, laugh, eat, fight, and quest with our friends.  And we were privileged to witness our community come together on numerous occasions to donate time and effort and raise money both in memory of and for the benefit of members of our community and beyond.

2016 was indeed a good year, and here's to hoping for big things out of 2017!

In closing, the staff of the View would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who contributed to the View this year! This publication is run as a service and a forum for the Realms community and would not exist without the support of that community, and we are grateful to all of our contributers. As always, we are looking for submissions for the coming year, so if you were thinking about writing something for us this year but didn't get around to it, make it a resolution for 2017. =)

Here's a look back at the ten most popular posts this year in terms of pageviews:

1) In Tribute and Loving Memory of Buddy Wolfhope
2) An Atypical View: Season Two #38
3) An Atypical View: Season Two #42
4) Live Action Reaction Players
5)  To Tabard or Not To Tabard
6) An Atypical View: Season Two #43
7) An Atypical View: Season Two #39
8) Introducing the Arbitration Committee
9) Queen's War: You're Doing it Wrong
10) An Atypical View: Season Two #23


 Looking back at "10 Question" interviews and "Fresh Faces":

•  Joseph "Saito" Bonkai
• Craig "Bohis" Nosetti 
• Steve "Torolf/Red" Nelson 
• Adam "Damion" Landry 
• Pi "Kwido Sedna" Fisher 
• Sara "Zarine" Jessop 
• Robert "Mullet" Hopkins 
• Brian "Crispin" Rubenstein 
• Eric "Rudy" Marques 
• Emily "Kara Akiak" Murphy 
• Rob "Morkeleb the Red/ Alder Ragnarson" Nolan 
•  Noah "Eoin" Greenleaf (Fresh Faces)

Debut of our new series, a continuation on 10 Questions aptly titled "10 More Questions":

• Cory "Asharn Starchaser" Roy
• Ethan "Drike" Burek
• Alysha "Kyntela" Metcalf

Shameless plug: we are looking to continue with 10 More Questions in 2017! Have you already done a 10 Questions interview? That's ok! Since it's 10 *More* Questions, they're totally different and you're free to answer these questions too! If you would like to participate in 10 More Questions this year, email me at areni.daru@gmail.com!

From the Editor's Desk: View Award Voting

     The Town of Ludlow, Massachusetts(my hometown) is well known as being a soccer town. It is a town of mostly descendants of Western European countries, namely Portuguese, Italian, French, with some Polish and Ukrainian immigrants. What does this have to do with anything, you might ask? Well, let's just say that soccer was the #1 pastime in town, and if you were good at it, you were part of the "in" crowd. Being very coordinated and athletic, I made it onto a "Maple League" team, which was an advanced team for my age group, where we traveled to distant areas to play.  I played soccer until around 6th grade.

 

     During my illustrious soccer career, I had so many "friends" and I guess I could have been considered popular. I got invited to lots of birthday parties and over to friend's houses. As I grew older, however, I found that I had less and less in common with these girls. I had always enjoyed video games, action figures, Legos, and playing all sports, not just soccer. There came a turning point where I chose my friends not by the team I was playing on, but by our common interests. Eventually, I chose to be around people who were less dramatic and better individuals, in my opinion.

 

     Needless to say, I rapidly dropped from popularity, but I was charismatic, so I always had lots of friends. But those kids that were formerly my friends created their cliques, mocking anyone who they deemed unfit to be graced by their presence. I stuck mostly with hanging out with boys, eventually becoming a regular at the comic shop in town. 

 

     I'm not looking for sympathy-- on the contrary, in fact-- I feel like I was lucky to have such amazing people in my life and I was so lucky to find them at such a vulnerable age for so many. I assume that a lot of the community has a similar story to mine. Maybe you were a "nerd" or "dork" and were placed into a social caste or high school hierarchy. Life may have been fine, or maybe it was torment. Either way, most of us are beyond High School now. Yet, have we moved beyond the prejudices that we once were the subjects of?

 

     I've seen it in the Realms today. There are cliques formed, either by nation, organization, schools, or even location, which causes this prejudice and groupthink that plagues the game. I am, by no means, beyond that kind of thought, although I'd like to think I try very hard to judge people on their merits and shortcomings, and not by preconceived notions passed among my friends. There are "stick jocks", "paste eaters", and what-have-you. It's not so much different then high school, except that now we are all at least some kind of nerd, otherwise we would most likely not be LARPing at all. 

 

     I'm not passing judgement on anyone, merely pointing out what I have observed in over a decade of playing Realms. If people want to stay within their circles of similar play style people, that is your right and prerogative. When looking through your own windows, think about your perspective versus the rest of the game. Look critically at opinions of others and those of the people you choose to surround yourself with. 

 

     With the View awards upon us, I want you to really consider who you are voting for and why you are voting for them. When you make your decisions, is it based on just your friends, or are you looking at everything? This isn't High School, anymore. We aren't voting for Student Council President or Homecoming King and Queen. We are voting for the people who are putting their time and energy into a community that we all benefit from. Will you vote for your friends because they truly deserve it, or will you vote for them simply because they are your friend or nation member? 

 

     It is so easy to stay within your own comfort zones, never looking past your own perspective. I can see how it seems, year in and year out, a lot of the awards can look like a popularity contest. Maybe you are someone who looks critically at them, and perhaps your not. No one is going to know who you voted for unless you tell them. You can vote for whomever you want. But maybe, just maybe, we should give the awards to those who deserve it so they will keep contributing to our fun and enjoyment as a community-- although, that may be just as crazy of a fantasy as the lands of the Realms are themselves. 

Why Should You Go: Gambler's Guild Extravaganza

by Andy "Sir Shean" Disbrow

Why want to go to Gamblers Guild Extravaganza 1 on January 7, 2017: 

Is it just a poker tournament and some gambling? 

Sure it is, but it is more. It is the top players for the entire season of 2016 playing till there is the best of the best, or perhaps the luckiest... 

This year the Creathorne Hula Casino is hosting and will be providing Blackjack and Let It Ride for people who come to visit and watch so bring your gold. Some of the food that will be provided: stew, hams, turkey with gravy...just to name a few! It is a damp site with a great atmosphere, BUT please be responsible adults! 

So come have a fun day… If people have weapons and want to fight outside there is space available; if people want to shoot real arrows at one of the best archery ranges in New England bring some arrows and a bow and we will have the range open for you. 

Hoping people attending will give us a heads up so we can plan on food… 

See you on Saturday!

Last year's trophy

 2016 Running Tournament Standings:12/22/16: (* denotes players who will be present on Sat)

1) Jayce.............37* 

2) Daekara....... 21* 

3) Rillan........... 16* 

4) Zatarra..........11* 

5) Tao............. 11* 

6) Trent............ 8

7) RuBarb.........5 * 

8) Mathies........ 5* 

9) Gordon......... 5* 

10) Karmha....... 4* 

11) Aeston......... 3

12) Gilliam......... 3 

13) Mestoph.......3* 

14) Avendar....... 2* 

15) Wil............... 2* 

16) Vex.............. 2 * 

17) Hammond.... 2

18) Russell........ 1

19) Therian........ 1* 

20) Jinx.............. 1*

I Can't Even, Procrastinate

I Can't Even...

 by Sara "Zarine" Jessop

…. Procrastination

            So this article is due soon. My publisher doesn't exactly give me a deadline. It's more like a disgruntled sigh and disapproving shake of the head as I hand it to him later and later every week. But I need to get it done before my first client on Monday or I won't actually see you on Tuesday. And Wednesdays are already reserved for... well really I have no bloody idea, but I am sure it's reserved for something that clearly I have no interest in. This morning one of my girls has fallen for the latest trend in illnesses, the stomach bug. Now I have two whole hours less time than I previously had planned on. And therein lies the problem with procrastination.