Why I'm in Folkestone by Jesse "Mestoph" Gifford

I've been thinking about this topic a lot since I volunteered to write this article.  Why did I join
Folkestone?

There are a lot of reasons I could say that would sound good, but the truth is actually rather simple.  I
started LARPing because I enjoyed the fighting aspect of it more than almost anything else, and at the time Folkestone was the premiere fighting nation.  They won all the group tournaments and most of the individuals as well, and I wanted to win.  It's not a very deep reason to join a group, but I don't think it's a super uncommon one either.  It didn't hurt that several of my friends were in Folkestone at the time, but my main motivator was a desire to be in a group with the "best".

There were other things the group had for it as well.  Folkestone was, and still is, at its heart a family
 .  We're a group that is not bound by the blood in our veins, but the blood we've spilled (metaphorically) together.  There are very few in the realms who can question the pedigree of the group.  Folkestone has produced KoEF, KoR, Magi, and has consistently been a huge contributor to the game in almost every facet.

Fast forward to now.  Folkestone is a much changed group.  With the rise of Grimloch as the premiere martial nation in the Realms, we have moved to a much different role than we once had.  I've changed as well.  Due to a knee injury I can no longer focus on the combat side of the game like I once could.  Both my personal priorities and the priorities of the group have shifted.  We now focus more on providing engaging and entertaining content for the game than we do on fielding a winning QoH team (though we still act as key contributors to nearly any team we run or support for QoH).  The Nation War at Creathorne is not as important to us as really nailing the one day event one of us might be throwing later in the year, yet we'll still be there to fight.  Winning tournaments isn't as much of a priority to us as it is to some, yet our Champion has placed in the top four at Order of the List for the last 3 years.

That's our biggest strength, and honestly what I get most out of this family I was lucky enough to choose (and I was lucky enough for them to choose me as well), our diversity and how well rounded we are.  If we want to fight, there's someone in the group that can stand toe to toe with anyone out there. If we want to quest, we've got people who excel at saving the Realms.  If we want to impact the culture of the game, we've got one of the best Bards for that. If we want to learn to make weapons or armor, there's someone that can do that.  If we want to make garb, or props, we've got someone for that.  And when we all want to throw epic content for all of you to enjoy, we have a ton of people to do that.

Photo by Matt Norris

At the heart of everything, this group is my family and closest friends.  We've had people drift in and
out.  Some have left the game and some have gone to other countries.  But as I write this, it is one of my favorite days of the year (and part of why I waited until the last minute to write it).  It is Folkestone Thanksgiving, and there will be people there who have not been to an event in years, there will be people there who were once in Folkestone who left for other groups, and there isn't a single one of them that I am not looking forward to seeing tonight.

We don't win like we used to, but we're still the family we always were.