10 Questions with Angela "Monique" Wood

Photo by Angela Gray

How long have you been playing?

I first started attending SMAS Fight Practice at WPI in September 2010, and participated in that year's Newbie Night Quest. My first Realms event was King Cecil's coronation in April 2011, so I've officially been playing for nearly four years.

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

Bamboo weapons have gone from being a niche thing to a mainstay of the game. The Order of the List was founded, and with it came a surge in popularity of tournaments. An epic, universe-scaled plot wrapped up, followed by a period of relatively few, fairly small-scale plots as we let our emotions recover. New faces have entered the game and become prominent. To be honest, there haven’t been any massive, sweeping changes that I can point to; just the shifts and changes you would expect over the course of four years.

Who have you learned the most from?

This is a tough question. I’ve learned a lot of things from a lot of people--fighting skills, situational awareness, self-confidence, leadership, sometimes even a healthy does of What Not To Do in a given situation. Likely the person I’ve learned the most volume from is Dave Martin, my knight; as his squire I’ve learned a great deal about combat, quest tactics, leadership, and a very unique sense of humor. But the most potent lessons I’ve learned came from snapshot moments with various people. Sir Callin dragging me to the front of the line of dead because he wanted me up and fighting showed me that I was valuable; I was wanted. Guilliam taking thirty seconds before Queen of Hearts 20 taught me the key to being a competent and valued team General. The bois NPC with a black mask for a face taught me that I always have more to give, and with the right motivation I can defeat any opponent. Sometimes these lessons come from veteran players, sometimes from just the right alignment of circumstances, They are often thoroughly unexpected, and I’ve learned to look for them at any time, because there is always something to be learned, whether about the game, the people around me, or myself.

What was your best moment IC?

I have a strong tendency to want to be involved in everything, and tend to have a decent sense of when and where important conversations are taking place. My instinct to listen in on conversations to know what’s going on hasn’t yet gotten me accused of eavesdropping, but it’s only a matter of time. At any rate, that sense came in handy at Uncle Cecil’s Yule Celebration a couple years ago. We’d spent the day witnessing various events in the life of the Stag of Morrow. The questing had wrapped up, but the party hadn’t yet gotten under way. I excused myself from a conversation when I became aware that someone--the Stag, I quickly realized--was making a quiet speech to those who would listen. As I moved closer to hear better, he spoke of how he would soon have to leave. He’d been building an army of peasants and those who’d lost their homes to Bedlam, and as he would no longer be around to lead it, it was his duty to choose someone to serve as this army’s general in his stead. He spoke of the traits this individual should have--honor, courage, etc.--and of how he’d been watching the adventurers for some time to see who might possess those traits. I reached the front of the crowd, stepping into a small empty space where I knew I’d have a good view of who he chose--just in time for him to make eye contact with me and beckon me forward.

Photo by Jesse Gifford

I was dumbfounded. Even as I realized I’d been walking forward as though I knew he’d choose me, I was looking over my shoulder to see who he might be indicating, then pointed questioningly at myself. Surely it should be someone more experienced, more involved than me? But at his nod I very self-consciously stepped forward. He bestowed upon me the gifts that were given to him at his birth. I accepted them graciously. And that is how I became a general of a Realms-wide army.

Then a few hours later he went out to face the ZulaBois, and died in defeating it. I stayed inside where it was warm and didn’t even realize it was happening. That part was less cool.But, hey, that’s adventuring for you.
 
What was your best moment as a NPC/EH/Player?

One of my first experiences NPCing was at an event thrown by Hillary Fotino involving a lot of deadly toys and childplay. It was great fun playing toy soldiers and dolls, but my favorite roll that day was Raggedy Anne. Skipping around Riley Commons with my troll-twin counterpart Andy (played by Pat Bobell) insisting in a painfully high-pitched voice that the PCs play with us was a blast. Of course, they were pretty quick to figure out that ‘playing’ with us tended to result in them being dead, which rather spoiled our fun, but at least then we got to play the “fighty game” with them. The moment that stands out to me most clearly is when one of them started spouting an Abjury verbal--I couldn’t tell whether it was an Enfeeble or Banishment--at Andy. I let out an extra-high-pitched shriek of “LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!” and dodged through half the PCs to reach that abjurer. I interrupted him, but they managed to kill and impale one of us shortly thereafter, and it wasn’t long before they defeated us both.

As they were leaving the room, they left me kneeling over Andy, sniffling, murmuring “Andy? Andy, wake up. Why won’t you play with me?” Borjid noticed, took pity, and lingered long enough to cast Call the Soul on Andy. It was an extremely touching scene and I was really pleased to be a part of it.

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

I would like to see more emphasis on non-combat activities, and community efforts and encouragement to improve non-combat skills. Combat has a very strong focus in our game, and with the rise of the Order of the List, there’s a lot of motivation for individuals to improve. You don’t see as much of that with things like bardic performance, drawing, sewing, woodcarving, etc. There are a lot of skills that are really valuable and would add a lot to our game’s sense of environment, and I’d love to see them get more attention. The Bardic Collegium is making a really good splash in terms of vocal performance, and the Order of the Peacock is primed to make a similar splash with garb. I’d love to see more efforts like that, and to see those efforts appreciated more widely.

I also would love to see more quests. Whether multi-event plotlines or one-shots, it would be great to have more opportunities to go out and solve problems in our imaginary world.

Photo by Jesse Gifford

On a related note, it would be amazing (though understandably not necessarily/immediately feasible) to develop a system of shared EH resources. I’ve seen this mentioned a few times; rather than reinventing the wheel over and over, how great would it be if new EHs could draw on a ready supply of materials? It would lower the barrier to throwing events, and would also make events higher quality, with better costuming and props all around.

What advice would you give new players?

Watch, listen, observe. Ask questions--but try to do so at appropriate times. If someone doesn’t have the time or inclination to explain why you’re on this quest, ask someone else. Talk to PCs and NPCs alike. Ask to borrow garb or armor if you can’t yet provide your own. Introduce yourself to people, learn a bit about them; if people know your name, they’ll get you up more quickly when you’re dead. Be aggressive in combat, don’t be afraid to be hit, but don’t be reckless. Remember that no one has been playing forever, and some of the ones who seem to know the most have only been playing for a couple years longer than you. Value their advice and ideas, but don’t be afraid to offer your own--while it may seem true in their perspective, it likely hasn’t ‘always been that way’, and even if it has, it doesn’t necessarily always need to be.

What do you love most about the game?

When I am among the Realms, whether at an event or an OOC function, I feel wanted. I genuinely feel as though I belong--not just that it’s right for me to be there, but that the people there are happy to welcome me as one of them. As someone who has often felt outcast, looked over, out of place, and second-best (whether for valid or invalid reasons), that sense of belonging still takes me by surprise even four years later. From what I’ve heard from others about the friendships and community they find in our game, I think I’m not alone in that sense. That is what I love most about the Realms: it provides comfort, welcome, and belonging to those who have spent no small time looking.

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

Trying to name people who haven’t been interviewed yet, I’d love to see interviews with Eric Willisson, Sam Teatum, Matt Brenner, and Hannah Brown.

Anything else you'd like to take the opportunity to put into print?

I wasn’t very active last year, and there were periods where I went so long between events, I was afraid I would be forgotten and no longer be relevant. Now that I am able to attend more events, I’ve been thrilled to have that fear proved wrong. Many people have made it evident that they missed me, they’re glad I’m back, and they want me involved in things. Thank you to everyone who continues to remind me why I fell in love with the Realms, and is helping me to remember and continue to grow that love now.