Arc Sphere Distortions

Arc Sphere Distortions

by Steven "Therian" Matulewicz

Tips and Tricks for Queen of Hearts by Lani "Gwen" Grayson

Hello friends,

Let me start by saying that the view from my soapbox is great! I’d like to take the opportunity, on this, the eve of Queen of Hearts, to share some tips and tricks to have a great time if you are planning on coming out and visiting us in Rhiassa this weekend.

1. Bring bug spray, sunscreen, and socks. Look, I’ve never been sorry that I packed these things for any event I’ve ever gone to, and I can’t imagine they will serve you wrong here.
   
   
2. Follow Omnibus Rule Number 1. “We should all be doing this to have fun.” Seriously. Have fun! You took the weekend off from adulting, you paid your entrance fee, so have fun! And here’s the secret--you are in control of how much fun you have. Make a conscious choice to play in such a way that you have fun. No one else gets to control how much fun you have at an event except you. So if the competition starts feeling particularly intense, or you can feel yourself losing your cool, make a choice to do something differently. You cannot (unfortunately) control anyone’s actions except your own. So rather than letting the event happen passively to you, give yourself agency and allow yourself to have fun. You deserve it!
   
   
3. Assume the best about people. It’s easy to decide that someone intentionally blew off that shot that could have totally changed the whole course of that super important tournament. But, let me offer an alternative narrative to that situation I just described above. Let’s assume, just for a minute, that the person who just blew off that shot did it by accident. Maybe, they were caught up in the moment and didn’t feel it. Maybe the shot didn’t land exactly how you thought it did. Maybe there is something else going on in this situation that you don’t understand. Whatever it is, you have a choice here: to get upset and angry, or to assume that the person is doing the best they can today to uphold their personal honor. If you want to alert the marshall, by all means, please do so. That’s what we get paid for. But, before you get angry with someone, assume the best about them, and give them the benefit of the doubt. Hey, just maybe, they’ll do the same for you if the situation is reversed.
   
   
4. Tip your marshall. And I’m not talking about, “Don’t eat yellow snow.” It takes a lot to keep me looking this good. Aeston is getting pretty sick of buying me new outfits at this point, and Nighthawk is looking to buy a new hat. In all seriousness, your marshalls are doing the best they can to help monitor fights, but we are (with a few exceptions), human beings and we make mistakes. We literally cannot see and accurately call every interaction that happens between the teams. You outnumber us (by a lot), and if you can keep that in mind throughout the weekend, you will be happier, and honestly, so will we. We do this because we want you to have fun, so please, cut us a little slack.

Lots of love from yours truly,

Sir Gwen Hawk

Ask the Editors

Ask the Editors 

by, 

The Editors 

Episode 14 

Someone must have asked her where to find Nighthawk. 

Hello again, and welcome back to the strange and unusual minds of our editors. This week's question comes to us via email and proved to be a toughie.

"Do you think sexism is still rampant in the Realms? Why or why not? Do you care?"

~Anonymous 

Anonymous has the best questions! Let's get some answers for them.


First up, Lani 'Gwen' Grayson:

“I believe that in a lot of ways, Realms is a microcosm of society as a whole. As such, I believe that there are pockets of Realms society where sexism still exists, but that, on the whole, society and Realms are both far more progressive now than they were even when I started the game. For some points of reference, from 2008 to 2011, 13 people were recognized as KOEF, all of them men, but from 2012-2017, 12 people were knighted, half of them women. In addition, the Event Holders Council voted this year unanimously to remove gendered pronouns from the omnibus, which made me very proud to be a part of this community. Discrimination, in any form, is offensive, and where it still exists every effort should be made to curtail it. However, I believe that as a community we are taking the right steps to making the Realms a place that is safe and fun for everyone.”

Thank you Lani!


Now we hear from Diana 'Kiira' LaPierre:

“Sexism, I believe, is still prevalent in the Realms, just as it is in Society in general. However, I believe that sexism can both benefit and hinder women in the game. As a female it is easier to get attention since we are the minority. But, it is also harder for us to garner respect, specifically when it comes to combat. It is harder for women to become exceptional fighters than it is for men because of physical differences. It's not to say that it's impossible, it'll just take a lot of women a lot more time and energy to get good at it. Also, from my personal experience, men are less likely to take tactical advice from me, but when a male compatriot says the exact same thing, it's taken. Do I think it's impossible to gain respect as a female? No. Not by any means. But, your opinions or statements will be questioned, and when up against a male, will most likely get discredited “

Thank Diana, but I really think we need a man's opinion....


Here to 'mainsplain' for us, it's Alex 'Lucas' Newbold

“Yes. Yes I do. If you don't, it's because you don't want to see it, or because you have decided not to see it.

The Realms has a lot of rampant problems, one of which is that if a woman does something great we say, "She does it pretty good, ya know, for a..."

The Realms is a microcosm of the world we live in. The problems of the world reflect into the Realms.

To use an old phrase... "If it waddles like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, it's a duck."

Have you noticed The Huntress Guild? In a perfect world where it didn't matter if the fighter was a man or a woman I doubt we would have a Huntress Guild, because we wouldn't need to have a guild of fighters dedicated to women. Women wouldn't need to train aside from the men or have a place to train together. It would be Men and Women just hitting each other with swords guild.

I care, because I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that 50% of my friends are women. That half the kids related to me are my nieces. That a good chunk of my friends have daughters. That some of the best fights I've had, were against women. That, in some corner of my mind, I remember thinking to myself "Hey, she was pretty good... ya know, for a... Dammit I'm part of the problem."

Thanks Alex. I mean, not for being part of the problem, but for answering the question.


Last, but not least because that would be sexist, Sara 'Zarine' Jessop:

“Again, I am probably in the minority here, but no I do not think that there is a rampant sexism issue in the Realms. I think that there are some sexist people, just like there are in the real world. But a few people does not an entire community make.

Also, I need to dispute the word 'still' in the question, because I don't really feel like we were ever all that sexist. Back when I started playing there were far fewer girls in the game. Girls, and even smaller guys, did not really fight much. Now there are a lot more ladies around and more and more of them at least try out fighting every now and again. Does that make us less sexist and more inclusive. I don't believe so.

The inclusiveness of the world of fighting comes from technological improvements, not from some magical attitude shift. Weapons and armor have become much lighter, and even though combat has gotten much faster it seems more physically safe. People who are physically more delicate now have a fighting chance (see what I did there) of not getting hurt by heavy weapons and can wear armor that they can actually pick up by themselves! That's not to say that all women are delicate feminine flowers, but the majority of us are built leaner than men.

As far as less girls playing back then, I don't feel like the community actively dissuaded them, but rather they isolated themselves. It was a bit of a vicious cycle where girls felt that not enough other women played so they didn't come, only adding to the issue. There was also a healthy dose of 'larping is dumb' either because they really thought so, or because it wasn't cool. Now that it's less stigmatized to do such nerdy things, I feel like more girls are at least trying the game out and seeing what they think of it, and a lot of them are even staying. And as we get more ladies into the game, more and more will feel more comfortable because they won't feel so alone in the community.

So, the TL;DR version (sorry, I had the feels about this one) is that I don't think we can equate 'participation' as a sign of either sexism or lack thereof, and I don't think there is a sexism issue in the community as a whole. Also, this is all about OOC sexism right?? Because I have totally different opinions on IC sexism....”

Thanks for that lengthy opinion, Sara. Girls talk forever, jeeze....

So there you have it. The opinions of our editors on another controversial subject in the Realms. I'll bet you all know what 'microcosm' means now right? That's probably good, because the Realms really is just a reflection of the real world and mundane society. It's interesting to note that when we heard 'sexism' that we assumed that Anonymous meant towards women. That, in and of itself, is telling, but it seems that most of us feel that we are moving in the right direction. We still have a ways to go to truly feel like we are all on equal footing, but we will get there. Besides, girls are taking over, didn't you know? Out of the seven of us here on The View staff, five of us are girls. So really it's the guys you should probably feel some sympathy for.

Thanks for reading. Please join us next time when we answer the very interesting question "Do you think a Social Justice Warrior (or at least somebody who says, "Hey, that's not cool.") should leave such notions at the door of a Realms event? Because hey, role-playing, amirite?"


Questions can be sent to Sara “Zarine” Jessop via email (Sarajjesop@gmail.com), facebook messenger, or in person. The question box will also be making the rounds at various events. Please note if you'd like your question to remain anonymous and/or if you would like to address specific editors

The Sword of Kings

The Sword of Kings

Provided by, Janna "Iaween Penn" Oakfellow Pushee

Author Unknown, spelling as originally presented in the document

    Long, long ago there was a goddess of honor and valor named Aurora, and she spread her influence throughout the lands. However, there came a time when these great attributes were not so common. There were few men who deserved to be her followers, but throughout this time there was one man who's deeds shined through the darkness. King James was an honorable, just and valiant king, who ruled firmly but fairly and exceeded Aurora's standards in every way.

    "This man deserves a gift," she said. And so, speaking through an oracle, she told him of a magic sword hidden deep in the depths of an old dungeon. "You may have the sword if you survive the quest," she told him. She wanted him to prove himself.  She observed him as he fought his way to the core of the dungeon and in the face of certain death, James performed calmly and boldly. When he reached the final chamber he faced the mighty dragon known as Strathmore. The two acknowledged each other before engaging in a long bloody battle. Both combatants were mighty, but James' skill prevailed. Disappearing in a puff of smoke, Strathmore vowed to get revenge.

    As James collected the sword Aurora appeared to him "You have founf the Sword of Kings. You deserve it, for it is a sword of honor. In addition, I grant you immortality in order to insure the security of the sword. Your body will not live forever but you will. You will grow old and die and be reincarnated one year from your death only to grow old again and repeat the process. This cylce will continue for as long as your soul wishes.

    King James returned home and informed his knights and people that he completed his quest, and protecting the sword would now be part of their duty. Years went by and upon his death bed James called his knght commander to his chambers.  There he told him of his gift of immortality and that in a year's time he would contact the knight. He presented his sword to the knight and asked him to bear it until his return.

    This cylce went on for genernations until it happened that the king returned to find all his knights dead, save one, the one with the sword. His land had been split and conquered. So the reincarnated king and the last knight traveled alone looking to find worthy people to knight in an effort to retake and return honor to the dying land. However, before he could carry out his plan into effect, they found themselves being attacked in the wilderness.  The battle left the remaining knight dead and the king mortallly wounded.

    James spent his life's last efforts continuing onward through the woods. Knowing he was going to die, he realized he must place the sword in someone's care until he could return. At this time, Randal the Light was wandering aimlessly, yet with a point, when he happened upon the dying James.

    "You there," said James, "you are my last hope, so I must trust you. Take this, it is a magic sword. Use it to continue an order of knights called the Knights of the Crown. They should be people of true honor and valor in order to be worthy. Give the sword to the first person you knight, and ask him to weild it in my place." James coughed, fell to the ground, and died. Randal prepared a burial for him and turned his attention to the sword. Packing it away he, wondered which way he came from or if he was coming or going. Not being able to decide, he chose to return home to Shadowhawk....if he could only remember the way.

The View Retrospective - Bardic Circle

Scanned by Jeremy Grayson
Originally published in The View from Valehaven, 2nd Edition, Volume 3, Issue 4; May 2006

I Can't Even

I Can't Even...

By, 

Sara 'Zarine' Jessop

… put your money where my mouth is

Something disturbing had been brought to my attention recently. I have not spent too much time around public fire pits this year, so I have been unaware of some of the goings on but I had assumed the usual shenanigans were occurring. Drinking, dancing folk unaware of how much clothing they have removed, tone deaf people singing odd songs from foreign lands, people complaining about the musical leanings of the person in charge of the magical bardic device... But I never expected to hear of something so absolutely disgusting as people putting currency in their mouths.

I have had a lot of questionable things in my mouth, but never money. Seriously, as a medical professional I can tell you that the stuff is amazingly nasty. You should always wash your hands after handling any kind of currency, especially if the next thing you plan to do is eat. The foreign paper money that we commonly call 'greenbacks' seem to be especially contaminated. We really have no idea where that stuff is even from, never mind who has handled it. Fortunately there exists people who have studied this strange outlander currency and their findings are quite enough to make you want to wear gloves whenever you need to touch it. 

“But Zarine, they told me the money had been laundered...” Oh, you poor, idiotic pleb. Money laundering has nothing to do with sanitation. It means, dear reader, that they have concealed the illicit origins of the money so that it seems that it was acquired though legal activities. Meaning that particular money is probably even dirtier than you think. A solid majority of greenbacks are contaminated by 'pharmaceutical' residues, and I am not talking about penicillin.

Speaking of penicillin, an estimated 94% of bills are contaminated with pathogens. What are pathogens, you ask? My dear friend Miriam defines it as “a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease”. Greenbacks are not actually made of paper, but rather 25% linen and 75% cotton, making them fairly absorbent. The influenza virus can be actively transported for up to seventeen days via currency. One researcher discovered roughly 3,000 types of organisms present, including bacteria linked to food poisoning, pneumonia, and staph infections. They can contain fecal matter. That's poop, for the folks in the back row. The antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus, know as MRSA, can survive on it and cause life threatening blood infections. Each piece of currency contains an estimated 10 such microbes per square centimeter. Still want to put that in your mouth?

Wash your hands after touching money! 

I handle a lot of money. I also handle a lot of diseased things and bodily fluids (because I am a doctor you pervert). I handle a lot of things that have changed hands many times. I wash my hands thoroughly after touching any of those things. I wash my hands after using the rest room as do most people. It's estimated that currency contains more bacteria than a latrine. If I'm going to die prematurely it's going to be for something like being sarcastic at the wrong time, not because I stuck something in my mouth that gave me a terminal illness.

While dancing drunkenly around the fire, might I suggest having people put money in alternate places? If directly into your hand or coin pouch isn't sexy enough, perhaps your undergarments? It's still not exactly sanitary, but you do what you've got to do. You don't need to put anything suspect in your mouth to make a little money.

Speaking of this weird outlander currency, why accept it at all? Until this George Washington or Abraham Lincoln show up to back their currency it's worthless in our lands is it not? So you are risking contracting a nasty illness for literally nothing. Come on people, I'd like to think that you all have a little more self respect than that. I have patients that contacted illnesses for far better reasons that require my medical expertise, and I would far rather help them than someone who pulled a dollar out of somewhere questionable with their teeth.

Stay classy, Realms.

See you next Tuesday.

Zarine is the proprietor and Madam at Alchimia Lupanar, a magic marshal approved practitioner of medicine, an award winning author, and has 36 years of experience in giving her unsolicited opinion.

Arc Sphere Distortions

Arc Sphere Distortions

by Steven "Therian" Matulewicz