Fresh Face- Miguel "Neko" Rivera

Photo by Jesse Gifford

How did you learn about Realms?

My friend Josh(Lako) informed me about it

How many events have you been to?

My first event was TOC last year but I didn't have the time or finances to stay active. I started back up again at Feast of Chimeron this year.  Then Tournaments of Creathorne, Dragon Master 3, The Gilded Lion, Entrepreneurial Recovery, Blackwood Tournaments, Tournaments of the Void, and The Event Which Must Not be Named. So that would be 9 events.

Have you ever LARP’ed before? If so tell us about it?

I tried Nero many years ago. It was a fun experience for my first time but it was way to expensive and I didn't like how underpowered you were. Then I did LoR for about a year before I got into Realms and I enjoyed the system which is similar to Realms so it was a smooth transition.

What is your character like? Where are they from? What is their race? What is important to them?
He is cunning, curious, not very trusting, and knows when to fib or flee. I was once a normal cat but was reborn in a land probably not known to many people; called the abyss. My master an myself are the only thing that matter to me.

What do you remember most about your first event?

How friendly everyone was. Realms has a great community of people who are willing to help you out. Tournaments of Creathorne has a little bit of everything questing, tournaments, socializing, and drinking lots of drinking.

What things have helped to make you feel welcome in game?

I was able to join with a group of friends. So if I ever feel overwhelmed I can head to my friends who are in the nation of Gau Dring. Through them I have met many other people and hope to meet many more.

What parts of the game do you find most challenging?

Getting involved in plot for quests. There so many people and so much going on it's hard to know whats always going on.

Do you have any game related goals (as either a player or character)?

As a player I would like to be one of the best florentine fighters as for my character well you know what they say about curiosity. You’ll just have to wait and see >;3

What advice would you give other new players?

Just get out there and do stuff. Don't be afraid talk to npc's/pc's do stupid things (obviously nothing too detrimental) get involved and most importantly enjoy yourself.

What have you enjoyed most about the game so far?

What haven't I enjoyed. Every day is a new adventure. There is always something going on. I've had some good moments and I'm sure there will be plenty more epic encounters. I can't wait to become a more veteran player.  

A Call to Arms - Gau Dring

The View from Valehaven is pleased to announce the start of a new feature series, A Call to Arms, the aim of which is to showcase the different heraldries in the Realms. Every group and many organizations, guilds, and individuals have distinctive and different heraldries, and sometimes the outsider can't help but wonder what those heraldries mean to the people who bear them - what does the heraldry represent? How did it come to be? What is the story behind it? And so started the idea for this series. It is our hope at the View that we can all learn a bit more about each other, our game, and our history along the way. 

[Editor's note: if you are interested in submitting an individual, nation, guild, or group heraldry for the series, please email Jen (areni.daru@gmail.com) or any other View staff member]

Gau Dring

 

Photo courtesy of Josh Fitzgerald

1. What does this heraldry currently represent? (ie: a nation, an individual, a group, etc)

The Heraldry represents the Nation of Gau Dring

2. Please describe your heraldry for us.

The Full Symbol of Gau Dring which is a Purple Tomoe surrounded by a Blue Mountain and blue borders on the tabard represents a full Member of Gau Dring.

Without a Symbol and with a Green Border is a Petitioner to becoming a full member.

If they have no Border it is the mark of a civilian of Gau Dring.

3. Give us some background. How did your heraldry come to be? Who or what created it?

The idea behind the symbol began with Lako's idea and with the help of the other nation members it grew into what it is now.

4. Why was this heraldry chosen to represent you? What is the symbolism behind it? What was the inspiration behind the design?

The Heraldry is a symbol that Lako sees as his future growth and remembering where he came from. The mountain around the Tomoe is a throwback to the Borderlands as well as representing the region that Gau Dring is in. The Tomoe represents the ideas behind the Nation that most things come in threes.

The Realms has Questing, Tournaments and Feasts; in the Realms we have Fighters, Supports and Questers, each with its own roles in the world yet they all are part of a larger force and all have something in common.

This is also represented in the Leadership, there should always be three in charge, a Top a second and a third they will always keep each other in check and do the best for the nation.

5. How long has the heraldry been in the game? Has it changed at any time since it was first created?

The Heraldry has only been in the game for a short time less than a year now.

6. What do you hope seeing this heraldry means to the rest of the Realms?

Honestly i want people to look at Gau Dring as a nation that is there to help and can be trusted.

Lako and Enlon of Gau Dring by Robyn Nielsen

WIWTG: Storytellers 10 and Tournaments of Chaos 10

Heres another "oh, Im so old" post.  Just kidding.  One decade is a long time to run an event.

illustration by B Gonzales

In its first inception, this event helped fledgling event holders get a stage to try their hand at sharing a vision.  Seasoned EHs could offer their help and guidance.  Seriously, very cool idea that helped
springboard some amazing tales.

This year is a Storytellers first.  Instead of just 3 few hour slots for story time, there is a whole weekend of mayhem.  Time travel, dreaming, gods, and the Adventurer's Guild all have ways you can be immersed.



But if stories are not your cup of tea, travel to the great North for another decade long event, Tournaments of Chaos.  Aside from Order of the List points, they advertise food, fighting, night quest, gambling, and laughter.  Everyone likes to laugh!    

Things Janus is No Longer Allowed To Do in The Realms

62 Things Janus Kil’tra is No Longer Allowed To Do in the Realms.

By Christopher "Janus" Donnelly

People think that part of being a hero is not making mistakes.  Rather, it’s about overcoming them.  Over my decade-plus of adventuring I have made many mistakes.  Some are bigger than others.  Here is a small sampling of those mistakes.

1. I will not summon a creature to confirm it is dead, regardless of how certain I am it is dead.
2. Death is not a substitute for sleep.
3. I will not give any of the following in exchange for power: My mind, my sanity, or my soul (or any part thereof).
4. I will not use seer spells.
5. I will not cast more seer spells to fix the problems my previous seer spells caused.

An Atypical View

Happenings on the Emerald Path

A news and announcements section of what Realms players are doing outside of the Realms. If you know of any news feel free to let us know at aeaerlegray@gmail.com

Welcome to the world!!

 

Madilyn Ann LaRoche, a 9 lbs 20 inch baby girl born to Nicole "Ariss" and Josh LaRoche on July 4th.

 

 

 

Mandolin Rose Fox, the daughter Amber "Tarnisha" and Stephen "Fox" Ballou, of who arrived at 6:18am on March 1st. Mandy weighed in at 7lb 11oz and was 20inches long.

 

 

Oliver Octavius Osio, a 6.6 lb, 19.5 inch baby boy born to Jessica Hope" Osio and Romulo Osio on July 15th.

 

 

Congratulations!!

 

Josh "Lako" Fitzgerald and Rosemary "Kyara" Campbell were married on June 20th. James "Tao" Murphy officiated and the wedding party which was composed of many Realmsies included Josh "Enlon" Whelan, Cory "Asarn" Roy, Douglas "Runaris" Gibbs, Liz "Krystal" Ferraina, and Sam "Sybil" Desrochers.

 

 

 

The Azure Guard as a group activity decided to go into Boston and try "Escape the Room" July 18th. You are locked in a room for an hour and your job is to figure out how to get out. Only 20% of the people that try are successful. They got out in 45 minutes and impressed the Marshal on some of the things they found. They reported that "A great time was had by all, and we defiantly recommend others try it."

Taylor "Roarke" Struthers was named the student of the year at Brattleboro School of Budo. This award is given for demonstrating excellence in dedication, etiquette, and citizenship.

After an extended leave from the field due to medical issues, a healthy Jason "Malaki" Gray is reestablishing his massage practice.

 

There are a lot of new things in Ian "Atticus" Struckhoff life, he is now "Wizard" (Director of Customer Support) at LevelUp in Boston, and recently moved to Union Square in Somerville.

 

 

A Call to Arms - Southern Wastes

The View from Valehaven is pleased to announce the start of a new feature series, A Call to Arms, the aim of which is to showcase the different heraldries in the Realms. Every group and many organizations, guilds, and individuals have distinctive and different heraldries, and sometimes the outsider can't help but wonder what those heraldries mean to the people who bear them - what does the heraldry represent? How did it come to be? What is the story behind it? And so started the idea for this series. It is our hope at the View that we can all learn a bit more about each other, our game, and our history along the way. 

[Editor's note: if you are interested in submitting an individual, nation, guild, or group heraldry for the series, please email Jen (areni.daru@gmail.com) or any other View staff member]

The Southern Wastes

by Mike "Sir Panther" Palumbo

1. What does this heraldry currently represent?

Our heraldry represents the WasteRunners of the Southern Wastes, also referred to as The Wastes.

2. Please describe your heraldry for us.

A lot of people have trouble seeing it, but once it's explained it clicks. It's a blood red moon with the silhouette of a goblin head. Most people can make out the extended lower jaw and the eye socket, but it's the fact that he has a helm with the visor open that throws off most people. Once you realize it's an open visor, you can see the vents, and the hinge point.

3. Give us some background. How did your heraldry come to be? Who or what created it?

Our heraldry was created during the birth of the Realms. Nana Prom, one of the founders of the game, created it and dreamed up the origins and environment of The Southern Wastes. We, the remaining members, hold it in high regard because tragically Nana died young (the real player, not a character). As a result, we will never change it, and even went to great lengths to preserve it digitally to allow us to continue using his art, rather than our own version of his art.

4. Why was this heraldry chosen to represent you? What is the symbolism behind it? What was the inspiration behind the design?

The logo is a specific reference to the goblin infestation in the Southern Wastes. Humans and elves live in The Wastes and the goblins are largely in charge. The short history can be read here: http://southernwastes.com/writing/burn.htm As Wasterunners, we deal with them every day in some way. 

5. How long has the heraldry been in the game? Has it changed at any time since it was first created?

The heraldry has been in the game since the game started. I have a shield from that era with the original art on it. There exists one or two others. Once when I was young, I changed the blood red to a moonlight white, thinking to update it. I was informed that our former member Lou threatened to break my arm, but after some time to calm down, they concluded that it would be allowed. A few years later I changed it back realizing my mistake. I appreciate that those before me were willing to allow me to grow and influence the development of the Southern Wastes, instead of just insisting on conformity, and when I realized that this extended to the logo despite their unease, I eventually concluded that I was wrong and I changed it back, as a sign of respect. And we will never change it again, we could change anything else about the group, but that has to remain the same. I'm told that Rob will damage me if the shield is ever damaged beyond repair.

6. What do you hope seeing this heraldry means to the rest of the Realms?

I never really thought about it before, it was always meant for us internally, a small sign of unity among a group of diverse individuals. Like I said, most people aren't sure what it is, it's a puzzle to them, and I guess that's appropriate because we are something of a puzzle to most people. We don't completely fit with most other groups or their ideals. We have our own way, and we're all a bit off. If anything it means bonded. We may disagree with each other, we may fight each other, at times we may even hate each other, but the bond never breaks.

What You Missed: Tournaments of the Void by Saegan

Have you ever stared into the void and realized that it was staring back into you? 

Arriving Friday night, it was exactly as was promised, and more, light hearted storytelling around the fire, a poker tourney, and a scavenger hunt. Skarda, Kirk and I opted to do the scavenger hunt, so we wandered off into the dark, with nothing but a dagger between us, and not really a clue what we were looking for. Searching for a while, we were able to find quite the horde, and brought back to Dygen crazy things like the corpses of Will 'o' Wisps, ectoplasmic rocks, and eternal snowflakes. Not to mention, birds, snakes, and a fancy tile you might find in an exquisite outhouse, or some lord's kitchen. Also a wand that emitted some sort of negative light. It was great, it made everything we were looking for glow, even if we didn't know we were looking for it.

WIWTG: The Event Which Must Not Be Named IV

Almost every week you read this, and I tell you all the wonderful reasons you should hit an event.  Each and every event has its own appeal to certain people.  But, at the risk of sounding biased, this is one of my favorite events to hit.  I couldn't even say its a "real" Realms event.  What happens there doesn't affect the world of the realms.  It takes place in Hogwarts.  Even to our PCs, this is not a "real" place.
However, this is one of the most fun, off the wall, high RP events you will hit this year.  Now, come on.  We all love Harry Potter.  Don't deny it.  Now you can have a chance to immerse yourself in a variation of Hogwarts and live through events like the Sorting Hat (Im a Hufflepuff!), eat treats from Hog's Head Pub, indulge in Butterbeer, and fight that snake faced dude.  You know who.
Each day is filled with lessons, and the night is plagued with dementors, Deatheaters, and spiders (who might be friends with you, or they might eat you).
I don't want to share more.  But if you are up for the adventure, join us this weekend.  It will be a (wand?) blast.

An Atypical View

GOFER Behind the Scenes Part 2

Behind the Scenes:  A Look into Event Holding

By Steven Matulewicz

Event: Good Old Fashioned Entrepreneurial Recovery (The Dragon’s Den)
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2015.
Subject: Event Design, The Process (Article 2 of 3)

…Why were we doing this again?

I find that the reason people want to hold Events can differ greatly.  For me, the first few years I played this game were amazing and I felt I wanted to give that experience to others.  Over time, I also had ideas, both for story and for design within the game, so my desire to hold events took on a life of its own.

Many years ago now (something like 20 or so), I was working closely with Stephen Johnson and had many discussions on effective EHing.  From those discussions I came away with two things.  The first is that what you really want to create at an event is a Moment for a PC.  If you can, even for a short time, make people forget about their lives and give them a sense of truly being their character…. If you can do that, then as a Story Teller style EH, you have succeeded.  The trick is that an EH really cannot force a person to do this.  No amount of props, money, special effects, etc, by themselves can immerse someone completely.  It is up to the individual.  So the goal of a quest is to create opportunity for the Moment to happen.  It takes an understanding of who your event caters to and making sure they are as engaged as possible, in the ways they want to be engaged (e.g. fighting, puzzles, traps, etc.)

Ask Syruss

Ask Sir Syruss

Photo by Jesse Gifford

Sir Syruss is a seasoned adventurer with over 10 years of experience slaughtering undead and charming the ladies, beating up bad guys, frustrating good guys, and grossing out the ladies. So if you have a question no matter how bizarre, weird or funny (the funnier the better, then we can sell more issues of the View), consider asking the man who loves to tell you how to live your life……..even though no one tells you how to live your life. (OOC- questions for Sir Syruss should be sent to View staff at aearlegray@gmail.com)

Yo, Syruss!

Why the hell can't every race speak COMMON?! I mean, English. Okay, so what I'm saying is I don't understand why people feel a need to have accents, or even speak in a different language in our GAME. Especially since people do accents so terribly. Does it even help our culture/atmosphere, in your opinion?
- Class Act -----

Dear Classy Correspondent,

I have traveled far and wide, over mountains and beyond the sea. I have encountered many different dialects and accents along the way. From the mystical speak of the Teng Huanese to the grunts of the Orcish Clans beyond the great sea. Each one different, unique, special, silly, and sometime impossible to understand.

The two mysteries that go with this:

One. How do they all speak two languages? Sure, people can speak multiple languages but is there a school for the Common tongue in every land? Or perhaps it is a requirement in middle school before you can go on to learn Farming 101 or Farm Raiding 102.

TWO. Why most people don’t speak in their local tongues with other similar creatures? I feel there may be multiple dialects that cause a language barrier. Or perhaps they are making it up as they go along.

Either way it’s important to note it is our diversity that make these lands so magical. What we all bring to the REALM that makes it this colorful place that we love to roam. If we were all copies of one another how much fun would that be?

So learning another language isn’t for you and sure maybe those foreign Ogres sounds like garbage and tip terribly but let us celebrate those differences not get all the villagers and riot on those stinky tipping Ogres.

Remember you don’t have to like it but don’t be a jerk.

Love,
Sir Syruss

This one was short so here is a bonus one.

Dear Sir Syruss,

The active sweaty mind wants to know: "talcum or wicking shorts? Hug the lugs or powdered donuts?" How do you fight off the monster chaff-age?
-Sir TMI

Well Mr/Mrs Personal Question,

The smart play is both……..
It’s like Sir Nymbous O’Leary always says: “If you can’t stand the heat don’t go to the Wastes during summer time….Seriously, your nuts will stick to your leg like a Saurabian Slime Monster.”
……Well they can’t all be insightful...

Good Night Everybody!

Gambler's Guild Presents- The Stacked Deck

At Tournaments of Blackwood we ran a 25/30 (25 Blackwood/30 other) gold Hold Em poker tournament. 5000 chips, 15 minute blinds. 10 people entered and it did come down to a chip count for the last two players standing. The chip difference was less than 10% (23800 vs 26200) when the final blinds were 1000 2000. It was a very interesting to watch the different styles play against each other.
Congradulations to Mathias for the win, Daekara for second, Nova for third and Mestoph for fourth.

This puts the standings at
1)      Mathias               9
2)      Tao                       8
3)      Shadow                6
4)      Rillian                   5
5)      Daekara               3
6)      Phoenix                3
7)      Nova                    2
8)      Jayce                    2
9)      Mestoph              1
10)   Jinx                       1
11)   Eldritch                1

Ties were decided by how the players played against each other last, or if they have not played then the most recent win.

Looking at the schedule the next 4 events that will have gambling will be:

Grimloch Presents: Tournaments of the void July 17-19, Blackwood Clontarf Casino: BJ/Let-it-Ride/Roulette/craps. The poker tournament will be Friday night 25/30 (25 Blackwood/30 other) gold buy in, 5000 chips, 20 min blinds no time limit. (Maybe another one on Saturday if we can get one in)
10th Annual Tournament of Chaos: July 31 – Aug 2, Creathorn Hula Girl Casino, table games, poker tournament is listed as an 8 person minimum with a 100 gold buy in, probably Saturday night.
artisans summer fling: Aug 28-30, Creathorn Hula Girl Casino, table games, poker tournament TBA
Feast of Folkestone Sep 4th, Blackwood Clontarf Casino, Table games, 50/60 (50 Blackwood 60 other) gold buy in.

 If you are aware of gambling that is happening at any event please let me know and I will include them in these updates.

WIWTG: Tournaments of the Void

Grimloch is putting their all into a 3 day tourney event in CT this weekend.  Of course, Order of the List points can be obtained, which will be a big draw for those of competitive nature.   Like all good events, a casino will be around to help people win gold, or lighten their pouches, depending on their luck.
Campfires for stories (telling or making, who knows?)
Dinner on Saturday night.  Plus, the description mentions a relic scavenger hunt.  That sounds very cool.

So, bring your weapons, tents and gold for a weekend with Grimloch.

An Atypical View by the Silent Scribbler

Behind the Scenes: A Look into Event Holding By Steven Matulewicz

Behind the Scenes:  A Look into Event Holding

Event: Good Old Fashioned Entrepreneurial Recovery (The Dragon’s Den)
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2015.
Subject: Event Design, The beginning (Article 1 of 3)

The purpose of this series of articles is to be a “look behind the curtain” of Eventholding.  The hope is to help show people what it takes to pull off an event, but also to give insight into the way we all approach and execute events.  In my case, there has been interest in what we did to make G.O.F.E.R. work as well as it did, and so the Felwood will be putting together some helpful articles.  As a warning, if you like magic tricks and don’t want to know how they are done, then in a similar vein, you may not wish to read these articles.  But if you are looking to throw events and see how other people put them together, then read on!

What You Missed- Blackwood Tournaments IV by Josh "Enlon" Whelan

Blackwood is a land I have only been to a few times, and I had never been to any of their tournaments. It was a good weekend full of fun tourneys, good food, and a quest with a strong story.

The tournaments started out with armored on the first day, which was a nice twist that I enjoyed seeing. After some very good and entertaining matches throughout the day we eventually took a break from the single tourneys and moved to the grand melee to decide the generals for the war maneuvers. Since the generals were decided by the winners of the grand melee the typical winners of grand melees were the generals (Shandar, Wrath, and Guilliam). However there was a random winner that came out of nowhere. Nico independent civilian of Gau Dring won his first grand melee with a sneaky magic missile while dueling the last opponent Dygen of Grimloch.

From there the tournament turned into war maneuvers, the Sun team with generals Wrath and Guilliam vs the Moon team with Shandar and Nico as their generals. The first war maneuver was a castle siege but with a twist with weapons. Blackwood wanted to play test a new weapon design, which was a 7 foot slash weapon. Both teams were able to successfully defend the castle from the invaders in the end. The next maneuver was one where each team lined up in a queue and then every 10 seconds another team member would join the fight from each side. It became much more interesting when each team had two spawn points instead of one. Annoyingly yet fun nonetheless the tourney turned into a guard the spawn point when one team got ahead, However a few rounds it was a giant battle where you had to constantly watch your back.

After the war maneuvers it went back to single combatant tourneys. Around lunch time we were treated with pb&j sandwiches to defeat that slight grumble in our stomachs, it was a delight which held us over until dinner time. As usual Blackwood is very good at feeding the masses, we all were treated with a delicious and well-seasoned BBQ. When the night quest rolled around we all were well fed and ready to roll out.

The Night quest had a strong story and was good at staying consistent, however a flaw that some people didn’t like that it was a light on combat. The majority of the night quest was solved with charisma and wits. Our goal was to revive someone named Holiday, this was someone who would balance the elements. We started the night making a deal with a necromancer and a god named Change to retrieve one of the pieces needed to revive Holiday. We then went through a door to enter a pyro/rock world which had another piece we needed. Neden used their puzzle solving skills to get this part done.  Kyara then allowed a pyro spirit enter her body to be able to carry the piece we needed. The quest moved onto the water element where we had to worry about flash floods when the spirit got moody. Bohis used his charisma to charm to sway the elemental to reason with us. Once we retrieved the last piece from her we met with an oracle to perform the ritual to revive Holiday.

This is the part where I realized there was a lot of sacrifice for this quest. Quite a few people sacrificed a tick for all this ritual to go off, and some other people risked quite a bit more. The last sacrifice was made by Searix which he sacrificed his magic and possibly his life to bring back Holiday. Once Holiday was back we all were cursed (any more details than that are unknown). After we were all done and Holiday was raised the pyro spirit inside of Kyara started to take over and caused a raging monster to go throughout the camp and kill quite a few people. Luckily she was able to be restored to her normal self.

What You Missed: Gau Dring Big Game Hunt

All photos by Dustin Mack

The following information was distributed prior to the event:

Coming to a Tournaments of Blackwood near you:

Are you looking to kill some monsters? Do you think you can never find a good enough challenge in the Wilds of the Realms? Do you want to test your mettle against bigger and stronger Monsters and think you have what it takes to win?

Well, congratulations because this Sunday, Tournaments of Blackwood has agreed to allow Gau Dring to host our first Big Game Hunter. The Lands of Gau Dring are still affected by Chaos Portals and other odd effects we have thought of ways to deal with these issues but instead have decided to embrace it. Every so often we will come across a particular curious beast and we want to bring it to you to see if you can handle yourself against it. There will be no hunting of this creature, we took care of that for you. 

Small groups will be sent to a safe location where the creature has been contained and you will see if you can defeat it. Our first iteration will be something simple to give you a taste of what is to come. I hope you partake in this simple adventure and any questions please send them my way.

Lakomasoi Nuntiak
Top of Gau Dring
High Priest of Harlequin

"OK we got this, spells at the ready.  Heft your axes and lets wreck whatever is around the corner!"

"Hey guys!  I'm new in town, can we be friends?"

"Quick kill it!"

"Wow, rough crowd."

"Is no one going to comment on my stylish clothes?  This is a really lousy town, see if I give you a good review on Macebook."