Why I Want To Go - Black & White 2012

Black & White 2012
November 3, 2012 (Saturday, 12pm) - November 3, 2012 (Saturday 11:30pm)

This long running event has established itself as the event that provides something special to the Realms. Throughout the year there are many events for those who like to quest and many for those who like to fight and even a few for those who like to socialize and eat. Black & White is the premier event for providing a grand stage for really getting into your character; role-playing to the hilt in a unique venue. This is the event to see and be seen. In the past many Realms shaking events have occurred here...what will happen this year?

The event site is only used for this event and it is a wonderful site. The outdoors are nicely maintained and the building is rustic and really helps the overall feel of the event. As a side note, there is a cannoli cooking contest this year, so if you want in come prepared (I heard a rumor Vawn is making bacon cannoli).

Why I Want to Go- Carnage Noir

Carnage Noir: Carnage 15
November 2, 2012 (Friday 5pm) - November 4, 2012 (Sunday 2pm)

This is the annual event at a gaming convention. If you are a gaming geek (like me) then this place is pure awesomeness. You can play a little Realms and then your favorite tabletop rpg or board game. This is a smorgasbord of gaming...a gamegasm.

The site is a lovely site for this kind of event, just getting there requires you to drive through some really nice locations. The site is large enough to handle all the gamers, while still allowing the Realms portion enough room to set up what we need. Last year there was a black plastic dungeon set up outdoors. If you are planning on staying the entire weekend, you'll have to find another nearby hotel as the con hotel is already fully booked.

Question of the Week - 64

What real life celebrity would you like to see playing at a Realms event?

Behind the Scenes- Feast of Folkestone

I hope you enjoy this peek behind the scenes at the work involved in throwing Feast of Folkestone.  Sorry if the length of this piece seems excessive, but it reflects the massive scale of the event and the many many  people who contribute.- Angela "Phoenix" Gray



Wednesday- Our fridge cleaned out awaiting the onslaught of food.  The second shelf has things we'd planned to use for the feast.  The remainder was what we hoped to keep of our food.














Our 5 page shopping list. Jason input recipes into the app, Paprika,
which compiled what we needed into a master list.  Items of note include 30 pounds of butter, 40 onions, 10 dozen eggs, 6 pounds of cocktail shrimp, 90 chicken breasts, 50 pounds of beef brisket and 25 pounds of pork loin (I should note here that as those who were at Folkestone questing know, we ended up with lots of extra food.  I was raised by a grandmother who showed love by feeding people and considered not having enough for guests the ultimate in failure.  It may have led to me encouraging Jason to over shop).








Shopping trip #1 to BJ's. Took 2 hours to shop.














The fridge post shopping, once we threw out the rest of our food and removed a couple shelves everything just fit.  It turned out to be fortunate that BJ's only had 1/2 the brisket we needed, otherwise we would have had to have broken out coolers.

Wednesday also included making dough for 18 dozen cookies, grating 25 cups of cheese, and boiling 3 dozen eggs (as well as repeatedly cleaning the kitchen).  In addition Bonita, jazzed up our menu with art work Wed.















The day also included a second shopping trip to Market Basket for the non-perishables BJ's didn't have.







There were some breaks from feast prep to work on items for Folkestone Questing.














Thursday-  Prep included making and baking 31 mini loaves of vanilla corn bread, baking 18 dozen cookies, roasting 12 sweet potatoes, as well as making humus and olive tapenade.






Auction items also were made, and costumes too!!








Friday- Finally we were packed and set to go
















The day of the feast there were 9 Folkestone cooks in the kitchen.  We made 10 appetizers, 3 soups, 3 main dishes, 4 sides, and a LOT of dessert.

We also recruited some of our friends to help with the cooking.

As you can tell it was lots of work, and the above doesn't even include the casino staff (thanks Zula and Co.) , the 8 servers, people making sure drinks were made, our amazing volunteer crew of dishwashers (thanks Steve and Owen!!), and our large and thorough awesome clean up crew.

While it was lots of work we were happy to do it and managed to have some fun along the way (and hope all our guest did too).

Art by Douglas "Metron" Fisher

Why I Want to Go- Mightier Than the Sword

Mightier Than the Sword

October 28, 2012 (Sunday 12pm) - October 28, 2012 (Sunday 6pm)

A tourney event that is different. Instead of the perennial combat tourneys, this one will feature some new and different competitions. Wits and thinking ability will be tested, music and the arts will be tested and there is even a competition for the best dressed (so come looking your sharpest). This event will test you in ways you've never been challenged before...can you rise to this new and unique challenge?

This site is gorgeous. Not only is the area/lawn outside the building beautifully maintained with lots of unique and interesting things to look at, but the building itself is perfect for an event. The building has the look of something that would easily fit into the Realms. That being said, there is no fighting inside the building. Also, new players who have attended less than 5 events get in for free. Of course, if you pre-reg the cost is small and even the at-door price is reasonable.

Why I Want to Go- Rhiassa Presents: What Lurks Beneath IV

Rhiassa Presents: What Lurks Beneath IV: The Want of Water

October 27, 2012 (Saturday 12pm) - October 27, 2012 (Saturday 7pm)

This series of elaborate dungeon crawls has been a highlight for the past few years. The staff always does an excellent job of creating a believable environment with solid dungeon settings (walls, etc) and costuming of the monsters. They usually feature at least one new outstanding monster costume. One thing I have liked in the past is that while there is lots of good fighting there is also a good mix of puzzles and physical challenges included. This event for something for a wide variety of players who like to quest and their individual preferred questing styles.

This event site is very large and allows the event to feel spread out. It also allows them to keep the players active in one area while staff preps the next encounter area; thus there is very little downtime. There is a player cap (due to building rules) so make sure you check out the event write-up to see if there is still room. Also, if the event is full, you can check to see if they could use more NPCs.

Question of the Week - 63

What is the best dish you've had at a feast?

Happenings On the Emerald Path

A news and announcements section of what Realms players are doing outside of the Realms.  If you know of any news feel free to let us know at aearlegray@gmail.com.


Congratulations to Henry "Guilliam" Giasson III who was promoted to Sergeant First Class in the United States Army on  10/5/12. 

Photo by Angela Gray

Michael "Caleal" Preato started a new job last month writing for the Voices News.  Congratulations!!

We have another birth in the family. This time it's Colin "Shane" Campbell having a son, Grant Colin Campbell, who weighed in at 7lbs, 4oz. Two pictures are included, one of him and his wife and the second is of him as Shane at last years War of Shadow event.

Photo by Casey Lemay

Photo by Robyn Nielsen (Andy is on the right)

Last, but certainly not least we want to express our sincere happiness for Andy "Sir Sean" Disbrow who underwent a successful kidney transplant late last month.  We wish him the best. 

Grimloch Tribune

The Grimloch Tribune

By Callahan “Syruss” Marsden

LEAD STORY: Grimloch’s Legendary Hidden Temple (a non canon comical story told by Theddy Quill)

Last Tuesday sources from Grimloch’s Archaeological Digest reported that two T.H.U.G.S (terrors, horrors, undead, and ghoul squad; Grimloch’s elite undead hunting task force) Unit agents (Sir Rohde and Priest Syruss) have made the archaeological find of the century. The "tenacious tag-team" happened upon the lost temple of Olmec.

“The discovery was an accident” reported Sir Rohde who claimed that the two were running for their lives from “Giant RED JAGUARS”.

“The Craziness did not stop there!” exclaimed Priest Syruss “When we thought we were done for we saw this strange lake where we knew we could lose these oversized house cats. But as soon as we jumped in the water these “”ROPE SWING TIRES”” shot out from the lake, and we needed to navigate in and out of them.

“Yeah it was nuts” Rohde chimed in.” We would have swam completely around them but these Blue Barracudas were trying to bite our bodacious buns off!” 

“Yeah and these stupid Orange Iguanas were trying to beat us to the temple!” Syruss said “It is a good thing they met their end to those ravenous fish! Otherwise we would have been lunch for those over sized minnows”

The two continued their rant about the strange wilderness and their findings.

“Just when we though it was bad enough” Rohde started to say.

What You Missed- Portals, Dragons, Monsters and Mages Oh! My!

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Why I Want To Go - Realms Day at the CT Ren Faire

Realms Day at the CT Ren Faire
October 21, 2012 (Sunday 12pm) - October 21, 2012 (Sunday 8pm)

We don't normally cover non-Realms functions, but this is something a bit different that may be of interest for our readers. The CT Ren Faire is going all out to accommodate us this year. By buying online we get a reduced cost into the event (see the "event" write-up on realmsnet.net for more info on this). They are also giving us an exclusive tent area only for Realms members. This Ren Faire is in its 14th year and continues to grow each year. Of particular interest is that one of the highlights of the Ren Faire is their Halloween Knights spectacular of jousting and ren faire combat. The most interesting part is that the company that runs the jousting and combat is owned and run by a former Realms player, Scott Rodlin. This non-event looks like an excellent opportunity for a bunch of us to hang out and have fun out-of-character.

Why I Want To Go - Unearthed

Unearthed: War on the Mountain
October 20, 2012 (Saturday 12pm) - October 20, 2012 (Saturday 6pm)

[Disclaimer: The author of this article is part of the staff for this event.]

With the sudden arrival of a mountain where the Northern Wilds once stood, things have changed. A new village has formed in its vicinity but is now beset by difficulties. Will you be one of the adventurer's to come to their aid? What will you find once you are there? The eventholder for this event has shown a consistent ability to provide the players with an excellent questing and role-play experience, while still requiring martial skill. Will you be up to the tasks involved?

The current goal is to gather enough NPCs so this event can be run as a straight-forward quest event. However, if there are not enough confirmed NPCs then it will have to be run Convergences style which will require the players to NPC a portion of the event. So, it is advised that you let the event staff know if you will NPCing (or playing) sooner rather than later so they can best prepare the event.

Question of the Week - 62

If you could give a new player advice in one sentence, what would it be?

What You Missed - The Feast of Blackwood III

Photo by Dustin Mack - 2012

Photo by Dustin Mack - 2012

Photo by Bethany Tozier - 2012

Photo by Bethany Tozier - 2012

10 Questions - Alysha "Kyntela" Metcalf

Alysha "Kyntela" Metcalf

Photo by Melissa Fitzgerald

How long have you been playing?

I started playing in the fall of 2006, when I was a freshman at UConn, but wasn't super active until mid-2008. My first event was Feast of Ivory, where Jason/Aeston brought a big group of UConn newbies. In the first couple of years, I went to practice more than I went to events. Tournaments of Creathorne in 2008 is what really got me excited about eventing. 

How has the game changed since you've been playing?

I think there has been a shift towards combat and the martial aspect of the game. There definitely seem to be more tournament events now than when I first started. As someone who prefers tournaments to questing, this has been positive to me. Weapons have also become lighter and faster, which has been great for me, since my first weapon (a PVC 5-foot) was nearly impossible for me to wield with one arm. I am constantly impressed by innovations in weapons technology. 

Overall it doesn't seem like the game itself has changed much, rather my involvement in the game has grown and evolved over the years. Becoming an EH definitely changed my perception of the game and allowed me to see things in a different light than when I was just a player.

Who have you learned the most from?

I have learned a variety of things from so many people in the game, even just from casual conversations about game mechanics or plot ideas. I feel like I've learned a lot just by observing how other people play their characters, and incorporating what I like (or don't like) into the way I play. I learned a great deal about combat from the people I've sparred with at practices, especially Chris Marques/Jaha and other people who have taken the time to work with me. 

But the person I have, without a doubt, learned the most from would be Jason Rosa/Aeston. Not only did he bring me into the game, but he squired me and has taught me so much about being a good player, a good NPC, and a good Event Holder. Jason constantly pushes me to set goals and accomplish them, always seeking to raise the bar for myself and the other members of Rhiassa. His leadership of Rhiassa emphasizes the value of hard work and dedication, and above all, service to the Realms.

What was your best moment IC?

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of a role-player, and Kyntela isn't all that different from Alysha. But I would have to say that my best IC moment was Queen of Hearts 2010, when Kyntela was squired to Sir Aeston, and won Champion of Rhiassa the following day. Those events may blur the line between IC/OOC, but I consider them defining moments for my character.

Photo by Angela Earle Gray

What was your best moment as a NPC/EH/Player?

As an EH, I think my best moment was this past summer throwing the Event Which Must Not Be Named with Lani and Jeremy Grayson. It was my first time throwing a questing event, and planning the whole thing from conception to execution. Seeing all of our hard work come to fruition, and getting good feedback from players enjoying what we created, was extremely rewarding. 

As an NPC, Mike Amend's event "The Legend of Yumenguan" (a.k.a the ninja event) was probably the most fun I've ever had NPCing. Not only was it a blast to play a ninja, I felt that we created a memorable and exciting experience for the players by jumping down from the stands, catching arrows, and just being really high-energy in general. 

As a player, one of the best experiences I've had, and continue to have, is with the Huntress Guild. I like to think that through practices and the discussions that we've had, the Huntress Guild has helped encourage female players to get more involved in combat and be more confident in the game. I was extremely happy with the number of women who turned out for the Tournaments of Artemis event last year, and the effort they put into competing. One of my favorite moments was the crafting day we held at WPI, where not only members of the Huntress Guild came and built weapons and armor, but other members of the community came out to support us. 

What would you like to see changed or developed more in game?

I would like to see more continuity between events/plots. Because we have so many plots going on at any given time, it becomes easy to suspend your disbelief and not consider how odd it all really is. I do value the way that anyone can be an EH, and get involved in that way if they want to, but I think more continuity would increase the sense of immersion. Going along with that, (and this might sound hypocritical coming from someone who regularly wears black shorts and t-shirts under my tabard as garb), but I would like to see garb/costuming developed more. I am personally going to make an effort to dress my character more appropriately for a medieval/fantasy setting, because I think it really helps contribute to the whole atmosphere of an event. 

I'd also like to see more active marshaling on quests. There can be an attitude that players calling their shots/armor or keeping track of their spells doesn't matter as much on a quest as it does in a tournament setting, but I think that's ultimately harmful to the game. We should all strive to be honorable players (even if our characters are not) no matter what the setting. 

Also, actual boat battles on real pirate ships.

What advice would you give new players?

Don't be afraid to get involved. My biggest regret is not being very active when I first started playing. It took me a while to get over my initial shyness. Don't hesitate to jump right in and get involved in plots, fight in tournaments, or hang out with groups of people. Make yourself known, and make a positive impression on people. It can be hard to shake a negative reputation, especially if you end up being known as someone who doesn't call their shots. Take the time to practice and focus on learning how to call your shots. Winning will come with time and effort. Volunteer to NPC often; not only do EHs appreciate it a ton, it gives you extra opportunity to practice combat. Oh, and go to the Event Goers/Players Meeting! 

What do you love most about the game?

I love the sense of community more than anything. It is rare that you find such a large group of disparate personalities that can all come together for a common cause. You can be the weirdest person on the planet and the Realms at large will accept you for the strange and wonderful person that you are. Sure there are people who groups who don't always get along, but in the end I feel confident that we always have each other's backs. This is evidenced any time a member of the community experiences a personal hardship; the outpouring of support and well-wishes from the Realms is always amazing. I have met some of my closest friends (including my best friend and significant other: Ben Grant/Rohde) because of this game, and it's hard to think of anything better than that. 

As crazy as this might sound, I actually love the proposal system and the Players Meeting/EHC. Maybe not the physical process of sitting in a room for 10 hours arguing about what constitutes a "day," but the fact that so many people are that dedicated to improving the game. The fact that they spend their free time crafting proposals, or take the time to make suggestions and comments on other people's proposals, or even take a whole Saturday to help shape our rule system, really speaks to the level of commitment that exists. 

Who would you like to see the next interview be with?

Diana LaPierre (Kiira of Grimloch)

Anything else you'd like to take the opportunity to put into print?

Ten points to Gryffindor!