Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

What You Missed - Queen of Hearts XXIX [Photos Edition]

 Photos by: Kersten "YPNN" Prince and Jason "Aeston" Rosa
Captions by Jason "Aeston" Rosa and Kieran/Kyra "Omri" Barry

Aeston announces the start of a Queen of Hearts tournament.

Snatch n' Dodge, a newer staple to Queen of Hearts tournaments.

Art of battle includes the arts of crafts.

Trusting your teammates and the process.

Chess at QOH requires you to put your whole self into it.

Everyone's favorite Roman General's Wall.

Base encampments

 May the best chef team win.

One of them field battles

Group hugs all around

Rock Fight action shot!

Challenge Race shenanigans

Team Magnolia, strike a pose!

Puppet show time!

A soon-to-be-magic sword!

Rhiassans being all Rhiassa-y

The kids found the giant foam blocks

Castle battle!

A little Rhiassan helps hand out prizes

And great times were had by all.

Why I Want To Go - Invictus Tournaments

 Written by: Sawyer "Jericho" Judkins

Tournaments are one of my favorite things to go to, and Invictus is always a group known for their excellent tournaments. This year sounds like it is going to be no exception. To start off with, it sounds like there is some potential trouble brewing near the border with Ariland. Something about a demon wanting to talk with some of us about something. Definitely seems like a thing that would be important to check in about.

The rest of the weekend is promised to be a light-hearted and relaxing weekend of tournaments. King Shandar has decided to do things a little differently this year knowing how many big things are coming up for everyone this year. I am excited to see what kind of changes they have in mind. I had an amazing time at the last tournaments held by Invictus, and was impressed by the selection of varying fights beyond just the basic ones. 

While I might not participate in it, Saturday night is going to be a blast. Zarine’s Nighttime Extravaganza sounds like it is going to be a blast, and a great bunch of non-coms are planned for it! I look forward to hanging around with everyone to watch this fun unfold.

Overall, I am incredibly excited to see everyone there this upcoming weekend in Invictus for their next iteration of tournaments.

See you on the field,

Lord Jericho Axelthorne

Realmsle #19

                       

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

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

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

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Humanizing the Realms: Travis "Sir Elwin O'Bearikin" Wilcox

1. What do you do outside of the game? What would you like to be doing? (Work, school, projects, etc.)

I am currently doing property maintenance for my job after spending a few years as being an Environmental Health and Safety Supervisor for a larger company.

2. What hobbies do you enjoy other than LARP?

I really enjoy 3D printing. I have been doing it for quite a few years now and it makes me happy even though the frustrating parts.

3. Favorite meal, dessert, and drink?

My favorite meal is Putchins, it is a boiled meatballs and dumplings in a gravy poured over crushed boiled potatoes. As for desserts, I enjoy either a good chocolate moose or strawberry shortcake. My favorite drink would be Mt. Dew.

 

4. If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would it be? Would you bring anyone?

I just recently started to learn how to vacation. I would say my big trip that I would want to do would be either England or Japan. Although the transatlantic cruise that we should be doing this year should be really fun. We have been having a great time traveling with friends and of course I go with Sarah.

5. Are you working on any life goals that you’re willing to share?

I have been trying to work on me. Mental health has been a struggle for me for most of my life and I am working on making that better.

6. Favorite outfit other than garb?

I love to put on a fresh pair of slacks, a button up shirt and a tie with a really nice pair of shoes. Always feels good to look sharp.

7. Do you have any professional or personal skills you’d be willing to talk about?

Unfortunately that is just a hard question for me. I have had a lot of professions in my life from web designer, to bagger, to painter, to DJ, to retail management to being the Safety Guy. I think this is a better question to ask in person if you are looking to know something. I may know it or may know someone who does.

8. What drew you to the realms, and what keeps you there?

Way back in the day, mid '90's, I was a freshman in highschool. I was talking to this guy in one of my classes about Dungeons and Dragons and he told me about this really cool thing he did called N.E.R.O. Well, let me tell you, it sounded amazing. You get to play a character much like a D&D one but you really got to go out and do it. Well this seemed just for me after spending years in martial arts so I did what any sane teen of the time would do... I asked my mom. Well when she asked me how much it was, I told her it was $120 a year and $60 per event. In now a day money that would be $240 a year and $120 an event. That was a whole lot of money for a kid to go play on a weekend. Next question she asked was where was it? Now that was when I told her it was in NY. While she still heard me out, that was a final nail in the coffin. There was no way she was going to drop me off almost 5 hours away for a weekend with people she didn't know and out doing something she didn't really understand. Few weeks later she came back to me and said she had looked into it and found a local game that took place only about 45 minutes away. She had a friend who had a friend who played and they were coming over to tell me all about it. So I gathered a couple of my friends at the time and we all got together the next week with a guy from the game. He brought all kinds of weapons and rule books and the fighters manual and the spell casters manual and we talked for 3 hours about all the ins and outs of the game. After that I was hooked. Memorial day weekend came around and I packed the weapons I made and the little bit of camping stuff I had and we were off to Tournaments of Creathorne '95. That is where it all began. My mom made me my costume and we made weapons just like the book said to. They were terrible and we replaced them at the event because they were not safe at all. Now onto what keeps me here. That is not as colorful of a story. I am here because of the people, the community they have built and the history and enjoyment that the years of playing has given me. I started out as a player enjoying the great stories that were being told and soon grew into an event holder at a young age so that I could bring others the enjoyment of the game that they were bringing me. I had an idea and I ran with it. Over the years I have seen so many people come into the game and enjoy what we have to offer. Some stayed for many years others only in brief passing. I stay because I want the game to grow and bring the enjoyment I had when I first started to others.

I stay since the skills you have transfers better in this game to actual results then in most games, where its very sheet focused.

9. Favorite movies/shows/books?

My favorite movie is Demolition Man, favorite show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and favorite book is really hard to pin down. I have a lot of different ones that are really stand out to me for many different reasons.

10. If you happened upon 3 wishes, what would they be? (Wishing for more wishes doesn’t seem to work...)

My first reaction is to loop hole this and wish for Shenron, Porunga, and Genie from Aladdin. I will take this in the spirit of the question though. Wish 1: $999,999,999.00 to be equally removed from the top five richest people in the world and deposited into my bank account as a legal and willing transfer. Wish 2: The ability to bring good health to myself and all those around me. Wish 3: Immortality with a fixed age of 35, able to be ended at the time of my choosing.

11. Who would you like to see interviewed next?

In no particular order: Matt Hewitt Sarah Fournier Tony Quintana

12. Anything else you’d like to add? 

No matter how long you have been playing the game be it a year or thirty, we are all playing this game together to have fun.

If you'd like to do one of these interviews, send Dani Lacasse (lilpotatogem on Discord) a message to let her know! 

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.