What You Missed - Evie's Tavern Presents: The Midnight Festival II Tournaments of the Lunar Aegis

by: Sawyer "Jericho " Judkins

The weekend started out like any other. Toothless and I arrived in Shadowdragon and were immediately presented with the sight of Evie’s tavern. We set up our tent along with the other members of Arken and soon set to work setting up our camp alongside the tourney field. This is one of the first times in a while that almost our entire nation was present at once! As we finished getting the final lanterns hung, the tournaments began!

I had never participated in a tournament that was focused on duos before, and it was very enjoyable. It started off with a team grand melee, and though Toothless and I, Team Tooth-Thorne, managed to defeat the first duo we came across, we were quickly finished off by Team Flight Risk. For the rest of the days, the duo tournaments were varied and excellent. I enjoyed every single one of the fights I participated in, and loved the camaraderie between all the teams. Of course, there were also plenty of non-coms! I think I would be remiss to not mention the sneaky game of trying to attain the most pins. Of course this turned into children swinging with the flat of their blades at everyone’s heads instead. 

I of course need to mention the food as well. Tempest put on excellent food, and it all tasted very yummy! I particularly enjoyed the cheeses. I would also like to highlight the homemade pickles Kyomi brought. I am not a big fan of that flavor, but they were great! I also loved how easy it was to tell which foods were gluten-free for our friends that find gluten poisonous.

The shops! I have never seen so many vendors at a single event before! In attendance I remember there being: Realms Outfitters, Mercenary Market, Shalindra’s Shop, The Wandering Potato, Karmha’s Creations, and Gundulf’s Tavern. (Sorry Shalindra, I can’t remember the name of your shop!) All the wares they had out were excellent and eye-catching. The Order of the Peacock also had their Swap-Shop set up alongside the clothing set out by the Knights of the Lunar Aegis. All were very important for the fashion show to come.

Of course, all tournaments must come to an end, with team Flight Risk with an incredible showing all weekend, well done Fern and Jasper! Then came my favorite part of the evening; all the activities in the tavern. Things went into full swing with the Fashion show. Now I admit, I am not a very fashionable person. In fact, Zarine has threatened me with harm for my original tabard. So I did not know what to expect from this, but Toothless was so excited, so how could I not watch. All the participants came out to their own theme music, and got to show off their stuff. Then they interviewed with the judges. I think in all, there were about twelve participants, and it was great to watch all of them. As that wrapped up, the festival games began. We got to pick ducks out of a pond for points, throw stars at sleeping sheep, and throw hoops at glass bottles. I think I might have tied for most sheep knocked off in a game, but I am unsure. This was followed along with the raffle, which Toothless cleaned house with. And I got the giant snail which I was excited about.

Then we all hung out by the fire telling stories and sharing good drinks. This is always such an important part of adventuring for me. Getting the time to unwind from all the doom and gloom, the end of the world saving, and just typical adventuring. Being able to relax with my friends and my nation is always a highlight. There was much dancing, rejoicing, merriment, and good company. Which the Realms would be sorely lacking without it. If you have not had the pleasure of attending the Midnight Festival, I invite you to come join me around the fire next year.

In service to the Realms,

Jericho Axelthorne

Lord of Arken

Watcher of the Skyless Sea

Squire to Knights of the Sable Dragon

Knight of Chaos

Notes From Toothless

• We played The Dragon is Coming

• Lots of good snacks

• Got to go camping and it was cool

• Lots of tournament fighting

• Awesome bubbles

• Beautiful night sky

• Dancing at the fire

• There was a fashion show

• I really liked the carnival games

Out of Character Note:

I just really wanted to thank the staff for an amazing event! I am sad I missed the last one and intend to make this part of my yearly must haves for events! I also really want to thank everyone that contributed to making Liliana’s weekend amazing. From helping her not be scared in the fights once I had died, to getting her kitted out for the fashion show, and gifting her a shield (which she was adamant she needed to use it at practice on Tuesday). You all really helped her have an amazing time. As she said many times over the weekend: “This is like a dream come true!” 

 

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Why I Want To Go - Anthologies 2 [Part 2]

by: Kathy "Makhta" Fey

Makhta:

Sometimes it falls to people like us to save Creation.  I mean, gods don’t have their own hands and feet right?  So there’s this arc – it’s a super powerful Creation-magic artifact – that the bad guys are after too, and we have to beat them to it.  

If you have no idea what’s going on with any of this, welcome to my world, but we’ll catch you up on anything you need to know about what we’ll be facing and what we need to do and, heck, how this all fits in with our whole reality.  Ace will explain it all to you with an orange.

As for the fact that we’re questing into Fae – or, the Mysts, or something – I don’t have the slightest but I know it can mess you up big time so we’ll have a briefing on that too.  Which I better pay attention to.

But don’t let all that scare you.  You’re a hero, right, you wouldn’t be scared anyway!  But please come help out because, well, I like Creation right where it is and I’d rather it stay that way.

Other than that quest, I know there’s some Sanctuary magic mumbo jumbo going on, which is also tied into world-saving actions, so get over here heroes we need to jump into that together.

And then, there’s the Laurlins stuff, which I also don’t get but there will be experts on hand and I’d really appreciate it if you all could work on fixing Traveller’s friggin’ lung plant curse problem because holy hell that’s gone on long enough. 

And hey – with all this questing into like every plane of existence but our own – I have a personal request to make.  Please do not let anyone wander off on their own, and please for the love of all gods don’t leave anyone behind.  

Kathy:

Anthologies will be a treat!  You have a whole team of great storytellers presenting a collection of unique but interconnected mods, each of which serves a dual purpose – as both a nice chance to bathe in plots we’re invested in, and as a great entry point for people who haven’t encountered these plots before and want to dive in!  Or even just stick a toe in, or just hit things and huck magic around – whatever you find fun about questing, you’ll find it here.  What’s not to love about spending a day hitting your friends with sticks in a park and getting all worked up over our own intertwined and epic stories!

Why I Want To Go - Anthologies 2 [Part 1]

By: Briar "Phee" Sieracki

 August, R.Y. 1026, loose thoughts from a desk in Caer Estelle, Val’Dara

The days are ticking down as we come ever closer to a quest that no one should ever wish be a need. While a majority of our forces focus on a quest for the greater good, one that’s too important to be left to the wayside (as many of our adventures ever are), a number of us are to split off and to step willinging into the Mysts of Forgetfulness. It is not an undertaking to do lightly, and though out of our number I have stepped into it the most frequently (much to my own dismay), I made a promise.

I keep my promises.

Raindrop has asked aid to seek someone from their previous cycle, back in the First Age. So, they have sought a questing party of those they know, love, trust. I am…uneasy, bringing my child and…and her father with us. I know it’s going to be difficult, and it’s been some time since the Mysts showed us all its tricks. I am ready and wary, and know that that may not be enough.

The quest we split off from seeks a far more dangerous, timely fight. An item that is crucial to keep out of the hands of those that seek it, out of Napheclthi’s hands. I don’t know this quite as well, though Ace, Margaret, and others who have been working on this would have a much better grasp. It’s crucial enough that reality itself is staked on it…and that’s worth keeping out of an Unmaker’s hands. Find those who have stepped through a book into the place known as Jhoril, they’ll answer questions better than I could.

After that, I turn my focus on another delve into aiding Sanctuary. I hear we will have spirits guiding us, and helping us make our way through temple grounds. What spirits those may be, what trials we will be tested against, I don’t know. In passing conversations I hear things about Cryodinium oaths and weapons, Ardor and a knighthood, and on occasion I find myself looking for a blade to come to hand that I have never known. It’ll be…curious to see how this plays out, especially as I feel perpetually like I’m four steps behind in understanding Sanctuary’s convoluted histories. It’s…oddly enjoyable, as if I’m a student in my family’s halls again, discovering a new corner I had missed before…

And then…the part that makes me most curious, and most concerned.

The Laurlins are familiar as a bedtime story and just as strange and different. A land beholden to the aspects of a story, and yet…not quite. Again, another place where others know more, and again, it’s comforting to find something new to sink my teeth into. I’ve felt what I can only describe the lands being just as curious about me, felt it tell me one of their titles and shape changes to my magic. I’ve never been able to tap into the regional magics of lands before, and technically I’m not feeling the Laurlins’...but all doubt must be pushed aside. We have surgeries to end curses, and what’s sure to be a fight ahead of us.

---

Why do I want to go? Where do I start? 

Alex is bringing a touch of a complex, convoluted world to the Realms, and I am so excited to see people’s reactions! (I’m both sad to be missing out, but glad I’m not needed for this mod: My face role will show up later down the road, and very different from Phee!) If you’re looking to tap into a plot that’s gonna have a lot of parts, Dark Cosmos is for you!

While the Fae plot quest that’s happening simultaneously is split off and a capped number, don’t let anyone fool you into thinking you can’t do more things, have character growth, or tease a bit of your character’s backstory as an oldbie! There’s something fun and satisfying in getting to explore a new part of a good friend’s backstory all these years later. 

I know Sanctuary is a big plot, overwhelming at times, and I’m the worst at keeping up with it. That doesn’t stop me from looking at each new angle, going “huh!” and rolling with the punches. Ash has been doing a fantastic job making a complex multiverse feel alive by having so many factions working towards various goals, and hey! I get to do a Star Wars with this mod!

Finally, Laurlins. Just like our other fantastic storytellers, Matthew has woven a wild fairytale (heh) with this and I’m so excited to see what she’s got in store. This is my first real time interacting with Laurlins stuff that hasn’t been in passing, and they suggested an absolutely bonkers, fantastic thing for my pre-reg perk. I can’t wait to explore that and this plot line!

If you’ve held on for my long-winded IC and OOC rambles, you should absolutely try to make it out to Anthologies 2, as either a PC or NPC. You’re guaranteed to have a good time!

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,

Tournaments of the Lunar Aegis Tournament Results

On behalf of Lunar Aegis, thank you to everyone who participated in our very first tournaments! Whether you came as a pre-made duo or signed up as a mixed solo, we were absolutely thrilled with the number of participants and the enthusiasm everyone brought.

We wanted to try a different tournament format that encouraged teamwork, communication, and mentorship, and we hope everyone who took part had a great time! We’ll be sending out a PEL soon to gather some feedback and hear what you thought of the format.

Thank you again for helping us make our first tournaments such a success. We’re already looking forward to hosting more in the future! ⚔️✨ - Dani/ Elizah

Teams

ZZ Top - Zage & Zebby

Maple Syrup - Griffin & Leo

Shield Bros - Alister & Parthos

Tooth-Thorne - Jericho & Toothless

Chaos Kids - Char & Spyder

Shadow & Bone - Varyk & Bones 

Breakfast Mode - Nos & Rax

Better Late Than Never - Eldritch & Aelias 

Bumble Beef - Cronin & Rue 

Flight Risk - Jasper & Fern 

Anton & Co - Anton & Cronin 

Mixed Solo's 

Aris

Petcan

Flora

Voutiá

Skyline

Tournament Results

Duo Grand Melee

1. Team Flight Risk

2. Team VP (Voutia + Petcan)

3. Breakfast Mode

Unlimited 2v2

1. Team Flight Risk

2. Breakfast Mode

3. Maple Syrup

Unlimited Tag Team

1. Breakfast Mode

2. Better Late Than Never

3. Team Flight Risk

They're Sisters, NOT TWINS

1. Breakfast Mode

2. Skyline + Petcan

3. Team Flight Risk 

Crown the Clown

1. Isoba

2. Bones

3. Rue the Day

Going Rogue

1. Cylas 

2. Bones

3. Maple Syrup 

Duncan’s Duo Challenge

1. Team Flight Risk

2. Maple Syrup 

3. Anton + Co.

Capture the Flag

1. Team Flight Risk

2. (tied) Breakfast Mode + Better Late Than Never 

Dragon’s Coming

1. Everyone!

Artistry

1. Everyone who participated!

Mixology 

1. Elowen

2. Mathies

3. Fansy

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team