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| Photo by Jesse Gifford |
I found out about Realms when I got to WPI and joined SMAS, looking to start LARPing with people from WPI.
How many event have you been to?
I’ve been to 8 events that hit legal. Including ones that didn’t, that number is somewhere closer to 15.
Have you ever LARP’ed before? If so tell us about it?
I have LARP’ed in one system before Realms. It’s called End of Seasons and it is also a lightest touch system set in medieval fantasy. The similarities to Realms mostly end there though. Combat it hit-point based, and ‘drum-rolling’ isn’t allowed. Fighters and spell-casters alike have to buy their abilities using points gained from going to events and staffing, and fighters can only use weapons they had bought proficiency with. The entire game is split into different factions, and what faction you’re in impacts what abilities and spells you can use. Players also have to use points to buy armor use and hit-points in addition to any spells or fighter abilities. There are many more classes in End of Seasons, caster and fighter alike. Caster classes are mostly similar to those in Realms, but fighter classes allow fighters to have abilities like disarm and shatter (breaks what it hits). Events in End of Seasons are less frequent than in Realms, but they all are in the same plot and are all run by the same organizers. Events are also all weekend long, starting Friday night and going until Sunday afternoon.
What is your character like? Where are they from? What is their race? What is important to them?
My character is enthusiastic but timid. He’ll try his best, but often isn’t sure what’s going on around him. He has severe mental issues, and actually has multiple personalities. He was born west of Eagle’s Rook, away from pretty much everything except trees and rocks, but has spent the vast majority of his life wandering through the lands of the Realms after running away from home at an early age. He is human. His friends are most important to him, but he does have a love for knowledge, particularly about magic and the adventures of the heroes of the Realms.
What do you remember most about your first event?
I most remember tripping over my own feet in the dark running through a field fighting elementals alongside Mestoph and Temorse on our way to unleash an evil in the (mistaken) hopes of destroying it before it became too powerful.
What things have helped to make you feel welcome in game?
The enormous amount of support that veteran players have shown me has made me feel like a member of the community, even as green as I am. And being asked at Uncle Cecil’s by Sir Oliver to join Domus Equitum was a moment that made me feel truly welcome as a member of the Realms, as did being told I should join, and being welcomed into, the Chimeron Militia.
What parts of the game do you find most challenging?
I find the politics and social norms of the game to be the most challenging aspects, not because I can’t understand them, but because I don’t yet have a knowledge base for them. Combat and magic are relatively easy to pick up at fight practices and from the Omnibus, but it’s difficult to get into the social side of the Realms without making a lot of gaffes.
Do you have any game related goals (as either a player or character)?
As a player I really want to have a serious positive impact on a quest, or even a plot. I want to have my own stories that people tell as something big that I’ve done. As a character my goals right now are to gain control of my own mind so that I can learn to fight and protect my new family of adventurers.
What advice would you give other new players?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. At the worst you’ll get a snide remark, but much more likely you’ll get your question answered and then some.
What have you enjoyed most about the game so far?
I think that the thing I most enjoy is the creativity of the Realms. The stories told, the characters, the lateral thinking, and artworks created in the Realms are just a huge collection of creativity like I haven’t seen before, and it’s really cool.
Anything else you'd like to take the opportunity to put into print?
Just a thank you to the people of the Realms for making it such a great game to be a part of.