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| Photo by Amy Fleury |
How long have you been playing?
Since wwwwaaaayyyyy back on the 4th of July weekend of
1998. I came in as part of a newbie
group (Lunataris) with my friend Phil Ringwood (Aiden). The event we went to
was called "Baron of Dingleberry" thrown by John Berrini (Tallon), of
course Phil didn't tell me the event name, cause who would have thought going
to an event called "Baron of Dingleberry" was a good idea??
We got lost on the way to Little Creathorne Farm where it
was being held -back then the Realms was also called "The Realms of
Wonder." We were on this creepy
wooded road at dusk with no clue where we were, when we saw a young boy riding
his bike. We pulled up alongside and Phil asked, "Have you ever heard of the
Realms of Wonder?" I'm unsure
if the boy thought we were drug dealers
or pedophiles but either way he took off quickly without giving us directions,
of course he probably didn't know them because we were nowhere near site.
Eventually we arrived and I remember pulling in when it was
already dark. My first glimpse of Realms was Dan Rodriguez (Xavier Cardigan,
head of the Crystal Hall for your history buffs), playing a werewolf. He was up
on the rock howling. It was a quite creepy sound and resonated on the site. I
was pretty nervous night questing back then and remember that my first kill was
another player when they spooked me and I bonked them on the head.
How has the game changed since you've been playing?
So much change!! Everyone mentions the weapon technology and
that is a big one, and the armor, but I like to point out that we also had to
take it off to get it fixed. Some of the hardcore fighters carried an extra
shirt and put on their spare when they passed off their main one. There was no
regenerating originally either, and a lot less spells overall. They also took a very long time to learn (it initially took me 36 events to become a maxed 3-path). There were a lot
more magic weapons and you couldn't affect NPCs without one a lot more
frequently.
Who have you learned the most from?
This question is almost impossible for me to answer. Andy
Adams (Lysis) spent a lot of time helping me when I was a newbie. Bill Demarco
(Artex), Jon Jessop (Trent), and Kevin Betie (Cinnabar) after that. Jason Gray (Malaki) has been a part of pretty
much everything I've done for over 13 years and has had a huge impact on who I
am as a player and character. Dave Dolph
(Callin) was my most recent mentor and a huge influence. I learned to fight
long before I learned to role play and I credit Leanne Hoffman (Faelinn) with
helping me learn to truly enjoy that aspect of the game. Recent work with Jay
Bonci (Graham) has led to me dramatically changing how I think about event
holding as I feel like it is an area where I continue to grow. Jason Rosa (Aeston) and Dave Hayden (Vawn)
are both people I consider role models and whose opinion carries significant
weight. Last but not close to least, I've never worked with a newer player
(even for moments) without it teaching me as well. This was especially true
with my relationships with Zach Senchuk (Rubis), Steven Yazinka (Kaelkatar),
and Pat Bobell (Saka). I recently took a
new apprentice Josh Whelan (Enlon) and look forward to the things I’ll learn as
I work with him.
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| Photo by Jesse Gifford |
What was your best moment IC?
In the same way I have a hard time picking "A"
person I've learned from I couldn't pick "A" best in character
moment. The obvious is when I was Knighted into the Knights of the Realms, an
honor made even more meaningful because Dave Dolph (Callin) knighted me. Other
standouts include Generaling the North to a win at North/South War during my
third year in game, many Queen of Hearts moments (I'm proud of having won a
wide variety of tournaments- Mage, Seneschal twice, General, One Woman twice,
and RATs). I was also really proud of our three-woman team that won Tournaments
of Artemis last year (Go Iron Maidens!!). As much as I'm a Magus, I do have a
competitive side and actually love tournaments and the combat side of the game
(though I have a hard time calling armor correctly with how fast combat has
gotten).
Another story that stands out was Ace In The Hole II, a
comedic group tournament event. When Jason and I arrived on site we found that
Folkestone was split. The majority of our veterans who were there were on one
team that didn’t have room for the new Folkestone family. While we could have
gone on the team with the vets that was looking like it might be quite competitive,
we opted to go with the family and make sure they had fun. There were some members of the Borderlands
there that needed a team too and joined us.
We had to be running someone and there wasn’t a logical choice connected
to the full team, so I, currently Cinnabar’s squire, had the brilliant idea
that since he had led the Borderlands and was currently in Folkestone we should
run him, even though he wasn’t there. Then Rob Riley (Rob Scarlett) came and
joined us, and Jeremy Greyson (Nighthawk) came and joined us, and Seth Flagg (D’aoud)
came and joined us. We ended up not just having a team that was a blast to be
on but winning it, and I was able to present Cinnabar with the prize, a box of
magic sea monkeys that summoned the king sea monkey (a kobold). I often feel when you do the right thing
everything ultimately works out for the best, and it felt like proof of that- the Universe rewarded us for sticking with our newbies.
What was your best moment as a NPC/EH/Player?
This is going to sound odd because I was just a crunchy, but
I LOVED NPCing the final Summerfest event. It was just such a strong,
meaningful, epic conclusion for the players involved. It was an honor to make
it happen. I loved every minute from arching with Jarrod in a tower while the
war drums thumped, to watching the tearful final speeches, to picking up
plastic with Sean Veale. Throughout the
experience I had a strong sense of clarity on the importance and impact of
simple service.
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| Photo by Robyn Nielsen |
I also was particularly proud of Event Holding the first and
most recent Pressure Point events. For those that don't know these are
24-hour-straight group tournament events where people's physical and mental limits
are pushed. The teams are picked school yard style and some strong unusual
friendships were forged at them. At the end of the last one pretty much the
entire site, players and staff, ended up in a group hug. To me that exemplified
how special it was.
What would you like to see changed or developed more in
game?
Mentoring is something I strongly believe in, and on one
hand I think everyone in game should benefit from having a more experienced player
help them maximize their potential. That said, I think that sometimes people
take on squires when they don't have the time to work with them or aren't sure
how to do so. I'd like to see more people receiving mentoring on how to mentor
well, and people only enter into those relationships when they have the
time/bandwidth to work with the person they are mentoring with regularly. That said I do think those with little time or
experience can, and should, absolutely help and give guidance to new players, I
just wish those relationships were left informal, otherwise it locks the new
player out of other potential opportunities.
Another thing I consider a problem in game, but am not sure
how to change is the downside of my generation staying around as long as we
have. While it is great to have us
involved to pass on skills and wisdom, I get that we can be downright
intimidating. I recently started working on crafting more and am up to
producing items that appear to have been made by a third grader (if you see
part of my gift swap gift you’ll see what I mean). It is really hard to feel good and confident
sharing them when we have such amazing artisans in game. In the same way I
think newer players have trouble feeling like they are ready to be a Knight when
they are mentally comparing themselves to the KoR and KoEF who’ve played for
many years -Alysha Metcalf (Kyntela ) is our newest Knight and has been playing
for 8 years, all of the rest of the KoEF have been playing for over a
decade, Or feeling like they are ready to hold an event when they are comparing
themselves to seasoned EH’s. We need to find a way to bridge the gap and
have people feel confident stepping up to IC and OOC leadership roles earlier
in their Realms careers.
What advice would you give new players?
My answer was initially, "Don't limit yourself. Don't join a country or become a
squire too early. Learn what is out there and get to know lots of people in
different parts of the game first. Don't say you aren't EVER going to get
involved in any aspect of the game. Enter tournaments, go to feasts, quest,
role-play, try the crafts, cook, serve, NPC, take photos and write for the
View. Oh, go to practices and learn to
fight, no matter what you are going to do in game you'll be stronger and better
at it if you understand combat and get over any fear of taking a hit.
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| Photo by Jason Gray |
While all of the above is still valid, let me expand and share a few stories from what was my favorite event for many years, "Dark Crystal" (Jason was one of the EH's for it btw, but I wouldn't really meet him for years). Jarrod Marshal was one of the only veterans on site and basically single handedly fought us into caves. At one point he died behind enemy lines and I, as a third event newbie, crawled back to him with a Potion of Raise Dead. It was the first time I ever really interacted with a "BIG NAME". He was appreciative and noticed me based on that and was nice to and supportive of me from that point on (who knows without that moment I might not have ended up in Folkestone). I also felt like a hero for the first time. Advice, don't be afraid to get involved, little things can make big differences.
Later that quest I died and was brought behind enemy lines and told I would get back up after a period of time. When I did, I was freaked out and panicked to be there and quickly got back to the group. The next morning I realized I'd been "set-up" to get the magic item, if I'd gone a few feet down the path I would have found the treasure. My advice- don't be afraid to interact on your own or lose site of big goals.
During the day an old woman NPC was running a special tournament for archers. I ended up making it through the first rounds and was set to go head to head with Andy Adams (Lysis) in the final round. The prize was a magic arrow. He convinced me that I could never beat him, but that since I'd done so well he'd give me a silver sword to drop out. He also convinced me silver was rare and I'd be lucky to have it. My advice- don't always listen to someone just because they are a veteran (especially In Character). There are lots of opinions in game, ask a few people the same questions.
And yes, I'm telling you I almost got not one but two magic items at my third event and in both cases messed up. My advice- for every achievement and accolade I've received made more mistakes. Many, many more mistakes. Don't be afraid to make them. Learn from them (I don't think I would have ever reached the point of earning achievement if I hadn't made them) but move on, and don't let them spoil your experiences. This was still my favorite event for many many years.
What do you love most about the game?
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| Photo by Robert Hopkins |
This might sound corny, but the thing I love most about the
game is who I am because of it. I found my confidence through it. I've gotten
more fit because of it. I've developed new skills. I met my husband, all my
best friends, and my non-biological family through it. The things I've passed
on and ways I've impacted people are some of the strongest things I feel like
I've contributed to the world. The pride I feel in watching the people I've
worked with mature and come into their own is pretty amazing too.
Who would you like to see the next interview be with?
My initial answer was "Seeing what is happening behind the scenes I know that we have lots of good interviews lined up so I'll pass on answering this one." Then the person who edited my work pointed out that I was passing up a great opportunity to positively peer pressure someone into responding who hasn't yet. Thus I'll say Matt Brenner, Aaron Metzger, and Steven Yazinka.
Anything else you'd like to take the opportunity to put into
print?
Upon thinking back to my years in game, I realize what stands out to me as special aren't just the times I was the center of attention or did something awesome. Instead they were the moments that I felt very connected to the community and a deep sense of gratitude for being part of something special; laying in the grass at Creathorne with about 60 people watching stars; having Dani Danger (Daniel Pushee) in my lap wearing my Folkestone tabard; sitting on the stairs at Father Yule's feet; listening to Kiira's (Diana LaPierre) bardic at Queen of Hearts and feeling blessed to get to hear something so magical in that setting. Those are just a few I could go on for hours.
And on going on for hours. I recently had both of my former apprentices get a trivia question wrong about me. It made me realize how infrequently I tell stories, especially in character ones. I tend to be a big proponent of trying to be in the moment, and I think it might lead to me under-sharing history. I do have a lot of stories so feel free to ask about Vanguard and the Knights of Destruction, or the Empire, or the time Baba (Jason Gray's previous character) scalped the Baron and I made a deal with an NPC to get him up so quickly that Jason thought Dan Diamond was cheating, which was preceded by the time that Baba and I were horrible brats and refused to fight in the war between the Barony and Illinar because no one asked us (but did go get D'aoud's (Seth Flagg) magic sword back every time Illinar took it), or about Amato, or the Jackle, or Tabbitha or soul-branding Lysis, or.... well you get the picture.