This year's Green & Gold was a much more subdued affair
than years past. A bare handful of
people turned out to compete in the annual contest of Youth and Skill vs. Age
and Treachery. The competitors all
seemed to be in high spirits and looked forward to the day's events.
The day began with the traditional lining up of the competitors to divide them into their respective teams. This year, however, the traditional Secret Chaos Ninja Battles began before the teams had even been established! It took several of the participants a few moments to realize that if they were the last one's alive, then their team won. That was several moments more than they had as some of the people faster to catch on rapidly dropped the people around them. It came down to a faceoff between Quinn and Rorin, with Rorin emerging the victor and scoring the first points of the day for the Gold Team.
The day began with the traditional lining up of the competitors to divide them into their respective teams. This year, however, the traditional Secret Chaos Ninja Battles began before the teams had even been established! It took several of the participants a few moments to realize that if they were the last one's alive, then their team won. That was several moments more than they had as some of the people faster to catch on rapidly dropped the people around them. It came down to a faceoff between Quinn and Rorin, with Rorin emerging the victor and scoring the first points of the day for the Gold Team.
After that was the picking of the generals (Green/Kyro, Gold/Gherradynne), with the Green
members debating hotly amongst themselves while the Gold team went with their
traditional, "Not It" and proceeded to find a place to sit and some
shelter from the light rain that was still persisting. Field battles commenced and the teams were
rather closely matched with all three fights coming right down to the
wire. Spirits were high, and all seemed
to be enjoying themselves.
As the afternoon progressed a few more competitors filtered in, all veteran players, requiring the rebalancing of the teams. This required a seldom seen adventurer from Eagles Rook named Lance (oddly decked out in the gear of Prince Gideon, lost in Gaol the night before) to switch sides, and the balance seemed to go with him. While the Gold team was still possessed of skill, the team was comprised exclusively of spell casters and the Green team had a Circle of Protection. This put the Gold team at a distinct disadvantage in the following Castle Siege, Bridge Battle, and Point Control fights
As the afternoon progressed a few more competitors filtered in, all veteran players, requiring the rebalancing of the teams. This required a seldom seen adventurer from Eagles Rook named Lance (oddly decked out in the gear of Prince Gideon, lost in Gaol the night before) to switch sides, and the balance seemed to go with him. While the Gold team was still possessed of skill, the team was comprised exclusively of spell casters and the Green team had a Circle of Protection. This put the Gold team at a distinct disadvantage in the following Castle Siege, Bridge Battle, and Point Control fights
With the day waning it was decided to end the day with a
game of Magic Missile Wiffle Ball. Two
innings of complicated rules changes, and general confusion, and it was decided
the better way to cap off the day was with a good old fashioned game of Kick
Ball. Gold took an early 6-0 lead at the
end of the top of the first, but Green would not be denied and put three runs
on the board during their half of the inning.
Gold would increase their lead by two their next time up, but Green came
thundering back in the bottom of the second and plated four runs. This would not prove to be enough, and Gold
came out on top 8-7.
It was not the usual Green and Gold we've all come to
expect, but the staff and the players made the best of a less than ideal
day. In the end, everyone seemed to have
a good time, and it was more about camaraderie than competition.
Editor's Note- Apparently Jesse did not exaggerate when he said it wasn't about competition as the morning after I received the write up he sent the following note, "I forgot to include in my write up that the event was declared a tie, Green winning the tournaments and Gold winning the kickball game."