Question of the Week - 73

What do you think about it when the rules are read at the beginning of an event? Useful or a waste of time?

View From Valehaven Awards Nominations

The nominations for the View From Valehaven Awards are currently ongoing until 9pm on Wednesday, January 2nd. This is the time to enter your nominations for each category. Soon thereafter the actual voting will take place until midnight on Thursday, January 10th. The actual awards will be handed out again at the Feast of Leviathan on January 12th.

You can make your nominations at the realmsnet website. The actual link is on the front page at the bottom of the menu on the left side.

Funny Pictures

In this series, we're posting some unique pictures of us as we play in the Realms. The challenge we present to you is to provide us with funny captions for the pictures in the comments section. Try to keep 'em relatively clean and fun. (Photo by Casey Lemay)

What You Missed- Uncle "Crazy" Cecil's Tavern Part 2

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

What You Missed - Uncle "Crazy" Cecil's Tavern Part 1

Photo by Dustin Mack - 2012

Photo by Dustin Mack - 2012

Photo by Dustin Mack - 2012

Photo by Dustin Mack - 2012

Question of the Week - 72

If you could own any one magic item already in the Realms, which one would it be?

Blast From the Past - Part 11

Before the ease of the internet, the voting for the View From Valehaven awards was done with ballots (the View would mail these out by post to all the subscribers) that people would have to fill out and hand/mail back in. A lot of the categories have changed significantly. Here we get to take a look at one of those early ballots from the 1993 season. This past year saw the re-inclusion of Most Intimidating, maybe we'll be able to add more in upcoming years.

Funny Pictures

In this series, we're posting some unique pictures of us as we play in the Realms. The challenge we present to you is to provide us with funny captions for the pictures in the comments section. Try to keep 'em relatively clean and fun. (Photo by Casey Lemay)

Solomon by Evan O'Connor

Solomon

Part 1

      The night upon the rolling dark sea was freezing cold. Winter had set in within this area of the world, and was something that Solomon had not been very accustomed to. Not yet, anyways. He pulled his fur cloak tighter around him to protect his rather weak form against the forces of nature, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He was from a land far to the southeast, one where it was warm the majority of the time. A realm of heat, where the earth was dominated by urban landscape, shimmering high domed towers of white marble and gorgeous palaces, where magicians and wizard-police ran supreme and horrific beasts droned in the damp jungles and conflict between the civilization of man and the cannibalistic elves in the southern deserts.

      This was not those lands, where he had grown in an abbey that his parents had sent him off to in order to learn the ways of the Tabebai, the ancient line of healer-warriors, who tended to be used as chroniclers, seers, lore-keepers, and healers while the armored wizards of the police forces and clockwork automatons fought in their ugly despicable wars in his native country.

      Solomon pulled his short sword from its scabbard to inspect it. The steel blade shimmered in the moonlight. He sheathed it, rolling his eyes as they moved over a large wave. He was going to be sick for the fifth time during this journey. 

Why I Want to Go- SOS/A Very Merry Yule at Uncle "Crazy" Cecil's Tavern

SOS/A Very Merry Yule at Uncle "Crazy" Cecil's Tavern
December 21, 2012 (Friday 7pm) - December 23, 2012 (Sunday 12pm)

Every year this event seems to get bigger, better and more popular. Friday and Saturday are full of questing and Saturday night is THE party to end the year. The rumor mill is saying that the questing this year will be truly epic and on a grand scale; I hear you will not want to miss it. As for the party after, that will depend on who shows up, though Father Yule is likely to make an appearance again this year giving out gifts to those who asked...and were nice. Honestly this event is perfect for letting go and having a good time with your friends.

This event site is excellent for questing; it has woods, trails and a building perfect for dungeon crawls. The tavern is also very nice, though if this event gets much bigger it may become too small. Also, there are cabins for sleeping off the party which is very nice indeed. Note that while this event is a single event, you can choose to only stay and pay for the questing on Friday night.

Question of the Week - 71

What combat call do you like the least (armor-piercing, poison, disease, boulder, etc)? Why?

Folkestone Hall by Douglas "Metron" Fisher

Funny Pictures

As part of a new series, we'll be posting some unique pictures of us as we play in the Realms. The challenge we present to you is to provide us with funny captions for the pictures in the comments section. Try to keep 'em relatively clean and fun. (Photo by Bethany Tozier)

10 Questions - Matthew "Kharne" Loven

Matthew "Kharne" Loven

Photo by Casey Lemay - 2012

How long have you been playing?

I started playing in 2000 my first event was TOC so I have been playing for 12 years

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

The game has had some changes to it since i have been playing like mostly spell changes like adding or revoming them, also the game has seemed to skrink more each each with the large events losing numbers or the tipical small events barely being leagal.  i feel effort in the game on both event holders and players sways.  It some times seems like effort is low then every so often you get blown away and your faith returning making role playing a breeze.

Who have you learned the most from?

There has not been one perticular person in which i have learned from.  But several over time Andrew Disbrow, Ben Greene, Angie and Jason gray, and Travis Wilcox to name five ones that have known me since i was a teenager.

What was your best moment IC?

Best IC moment was a folkestone questing when Griff was kidnapped by hord of undead and we had to rescue him from being scalpped alive..  That was a fanastic event and the whole Northern Alliance had a blast we all still talk about it to this day.

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

Best NPC moment is when ever I am part of a giant monster with Beth Tozer we always give it 110 percent and love being apart of it and adding our unique touches to the creature.  example ( we were the huge spider queen at feast of blackwood 2012) 

Photo by Bethany Tozier

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

What I would like to see more developed in the game are small details like NPC garb and Theatricals.  The stories to events in our game are always great and well thought out, but when you get down to it, its the details to an event that make it legendary.

What advice would you give new players?

Advice i give to new people is meet as many people in the realm as you can, be social. You learn a little from everyone and earn friemdships for life.  Soon you will find your own path in the game and have fun with it for years and years.

What do you love most about the game? 

What I love most about the realms is that you don't have bounderies, your only limit is your imagination.  It can be an escape from the real world to have a blast with friends who share the same interest in larping. 

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

Next interview I would want to read would be from a crazy outgoing spell caster like James Swift (Tim Suitor) (The James Swift interview can be seen here.)