Ten Questions with Alan "Gherradynne" Skumautz

How long have you been playing?

I've been playing the game for nine years.

How has the game changed since you've been playing?
When I played we had to cost by downs and you learn spells as fast as you wanted to based on your weapon restriction.we also use just PVC to make weapons out of.
Who have you learned the most from?

Henry Giasson. He taught me how to do leather making and how to make armor.he also taught me about the respect, honor and how to treat others in this game
What was your best moment IC?

The year that I help organize team Yipp  for Queen of hearts and Won. We had one of the highest scores in the history of queen of hearts.on top of that I took my first win as an armor Smith at Queen of hearts.
What was your best moment as a NPC/EH/Player?

Making an event polar my first year when I ran festival of Val Dara.that I found out from players they enjoyed themselves and had a good time.
What would you like to see changed or developed more in game?

To see better props and characters wearing better garb.
What advice would you give new players?

Do not join a nation or group for at least your first year you need to learn the game understand and find out what type of people you'd like to hang out with and fit in with. It's better to be with a bunch of people that your friends out of character and spend time with in a group that you're going to joining game. The people in your group overtime will become like a second family that's why need to take your time and figure where you belong first.
What do you love most about the game?

It's how we handle combat and spells. You're only as good as a fighter as you can fight there is no abilities or skills you have to improve on your own.with spells you only get so many and you have to learn how to be good and use them well unlike other systems where you get points every time you show up to add to your combat or add to your spells and our game you learn how to be a better player.
Who would you like to see the next interviews be with?

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

I feel that people of been in the game for a while have a responsibility to help and teach new players and any opportune you see a new player come in the game helps him ask him questions and see what you can do for them it's a very rewarding experience.

What You Missed - Ashen Bounty

by Ben "Squire Kyro" Hamilton

The invitation to Ashenmark was like many before. There is awesome food waiting for you, but first there was this petty little magistrate that needed to be dealt with. Apparently the local villagers didn’t like being experimented on and turned into humanoid demons by the magistrate and his allies. These creatures wielded indestructible claws and took more hits than any human. The half-demon hybrids weren't even the scariest things to greet us in Ashenmark. Alongside the demons came hellish imps whose sole desire was to end our lives in a blaze of fire.  Thankfully many of the best that the realms has to offer had arrived in Ashenmark and took on this challenge.

Our first challenge for the day began with the combination of Wrath and a demon potion. I’m not sure what possessed him to drink the potion, but losing his mind and turning on us with his newly grown claws probably was not part of his plan. Each time he was dropped, he would regenerate and return to try to kill us. Luckily a few mages managed to trap him in a circle and eventually repaired his mental state.

With our empowered Wrath fighting along with us again, we set our sights on the source of the half-demon hybrids. I believe the name of the man creating these creatures was Demrocran. He informed us that he was being supplied by the magistrate to create the creatures. While we did try to reason with him, we ended our conversation by attempting to kill him. At this point the heroes of the Realms found ourselves trapped by Demrocran. His minions attacked us from all sides while his magical barriers keep us from running away. After some time and many dead demons, we figured out how to break down these barriers by utilizing the guts of our enemies to unlock the barrier.

Having stopped Demrocran, we learned of a few folks that were in need of some aid: a Dryad, a Priest of Garm, and a blacksmith. While traveling to the Dryad we found the path blocked by a giant plant monster. To deal with the monster we split our group. A small group continued on to help the Dryad and cure her diseased tree while the rest of the us took on the plant monster. Its roots reached out and emerged from the earth far from its core. We had to take down each distant set of roots to be able to take out the core of the monster. After the Dryad was helped and the plant monster defeated, we move on to the location of the Priest of Garm. Now I'm not entirely sure why but we killed him immediately. And while he was dead a few brave souls attempted to fix his patients. We managed to not save a single patient, many of us got covered in brimstone, and when the priest was raised he demanded that we leave. It was at this time that Garharz offered up his anti-brimstoning process that involved resist death, a torch, and many exploding adventurers. Having cleansed ourselves of the brimstone, we traveled to our next objective, the blacksmith. Instead of meeting a kindhearted gentleman, we were greeted by a crazed man with an indestructible chestplate. Along with him came more waves of the demons and imps that had attacked us the whole day. We took on their forces and collected keys to unlock the chestplate from the blacksmith, but we did not have the means to save him as he was too far gone. The last we saw of the blacksmith was his scalped remains.

From there we moved on to the  stronghold of the Magistrate. He greeted us and demanded that we leave him. We refused and began to clash weapons with his army. Demons, imps, and plant creatures stood in our way. As we cleared out the stronghold we maneuvered through a maze of fire, explosions, and lava pools until we stood at the final chamber of the magistrate. It was here that I found myself killed. When I awoke I was informed that the magistrate had been disposed of and all that remained were the pieces of his wings and armor. While I regret not being around for his demise, I knew that the best part of the day was yet to occur as we made our way back to the feast hall of Ashenmark.

To top off our victory, the best cook in Ashenmark (that being Dame Twenaria) along with her kitchen staff had prepared a grand feast with ninteen tasty dishes. Some of my favorites being: Spicy Lamb Stew, Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Savory Bread Pudding, and Dessert Wontons. Along with the food came a great atmosphere with music, board games, gambling and stories. Everyone had a grand time on such an enjoyable quest and feast. It’s a shame Ashen Bounty only happens once a year.

On a side note, we all got to congratulate Daekara on joining the Invictus military.

Creathorne Clean Up

Creathorne fall site cleanup 2015:
 
Sunday came and went, many of the Eventholders who used the site over the season, did not attend cleanup or send body proxies in their place. So they will have to make that up some how before the snow fly's.

Jana G. and James M. did mowing, Ben G, Allyson C. Erin P-M., Illy G. and Matty L. worked on the prop shed roof.  For the small amount of people who attended we did get a bit completed. We will still be working on things till we have snow on the ground freezes.  Reach out and get in contact with Andy when you have time to make it up to help out.  It's a lot of work to upkeep a site, as every year the Realms grows larger, and more and more people attend events at Little Creathorne Farm.  That's a lot of boots trampling the ground.


Creathorne Spring Clean Up day will be here before you know it, I'll see you there.

WIWTG: Black and White

Our community sees very few events that simply ooze culture like the event this weekend does.  The Black and White is a long standing, well loved event that centers around culture.  The daytime features fun quests from various event holders to help entice you into stories while entertaining you.  As the sun sets, people ditch their armor and don their finest garb, traditionally in, you guessed it, black and white.  Many people choose to wear a mask, as tradition says Death walks the ball, and if s/he sees your face, you could be doomed in the next year.
While you avoid Death's glance, you can gorge yourself on the culinary delights from the Chimeron kitchen. (skip the crabbies.  To spare you, please send them directly to me.)  There is a dessert competition which is not something to miss.
Court at Black and White tends to be Chim-centric, for obvious reasons, but many groups, nations, and knighthoods will make important announcements.  I always find it interesting and often entertaining.  I am sure Sit Wil will have his casino set up at some point.  And don't forget the auction!  Tickets for the auction can be earned and purchased in various ways throughout the day.
The dancing is always sort of entrancing to me.  Dancing itself sort of terrifies me, as I hate hurting people, but I do enjoy seeing people have so much fun while gliding around to music.
One last thing:  The mail box.  Specifically, Father Yule's mail box.  If you are looking for something special to aid you in a quest, a new pair of mittens, or a shiny new dagger, maybe a letter to Father Yule will help you on your path.  If you cannot attend the event for some sad reason, pass your letter off to a friend.  But its best if you deliver it yourself, really.  (There are certain rules about the letters, which will be placed near the box.  Please pay attention.)

In short, go to the event, immerse yourself in culture.  Have fun!

An Atypical View

10 Questions with Nicole "Aryss Destuval" LaRoche

1. how long have you been playing?

My first event was in the middle of winter probably 12 years ago?  I can't even recall the event, but it was really cold, really wet and there was at least a foot+ of snow. 

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

I think the most obvious change for me is the learning progression of spells.  I remember hitting an event almost every single weekend during the summer, partially because we were obsessed with eventing, and partially to learn spells.  At the time you really had to dedicate time to your learning (2 events per spell in the second path, and 3 events per spell in the 3rd) It gave me a great personal goal to work on during events and really made me appreciate my spells more.  I kind of miss that progression honestly. 

What You Missed - Oaken Guard Fall Training 2015 (photos)

Pennants flutter over the tourney fields

Friendly conversation before the tournies begin

Aeston promotes Kite to Captain and presents her with her mantle of office

Zeno joins the Oaken Guard

Scipio is welcomed into the Oaken Guard

Katya joins the Oaken Guard

Kanye the Giant receives his tabard

Eion joins the Oaken Guard

The Oaken Guard, past and present

Watching the fights; Saegan's awesome hat

Zeno v. Kanye in the Newbie Tourney

William v. Kyro, sword & buckler

Playing some softball

Rillan v. Luke John, hand-and-a-half

The new Oaken Guard members receive tunics for participating

Scipio wins Best Newbie and the prize: custom decorated wooden chest

Kanye poses with one of his Newbie Tourney prize plaques

Enlon v. Raynor

Four-person pile-up

William v. Vuel, sword & marn

The Value of Community

When reading through past View articles, it is obvious that the value of our community and connections stand out to people.  We have the type of relationships where we help each other out, often regardless of personal feelings. I’m fairly certain there are few in game that would drive by another Realmsie broken down and not stop to help, and when we’ve needed to come together as a community country lines and geographical lines blur and people have often been surprised by who has stepped up to help them.

We’ve provided each other with job leads, references, places to live, goods and services along with support achieving our Realms specific goals.  We are at our best when we’re helping each other be the best we can be. Yet we, as many others limit who can help us by only sharing our aspirations with a limited group.

Thus I’d like to re-share some goals both in and out of game that were shared with me. In them you may see commonalities with people you didn’t realize you had, differences to celebrate, and perhaps ways you can help.

Angela “Monique” Wood- In Realms: move into a leadership role within my nation (in action more than in title). Out of Game:  to reach a point of financial stability.

Allison “Hippie” Cunningham- In Realms: I would like to get into the Order of the Peacock, now that it has been restarted. Out of Game: I have a goal of passing the CPA test when I finally get to take it.

Jacob “Hermian” Bouvier-  In Realms: figure out how best to enjoy myself again. Out of Game: Finding better ways to connect with people. I feel like I lose connections really easily. One for both might be becoming more reliable

Ed “Tulli” Drummond- In Realms: My goal is to become the best player I can. Not just fighter, but involved in the community as an NPC, as an Event Holder and as a player. I want to do the people I view as mentors proud, them knowing it was their influence that brought me to where I will be. Out of Game: My goal is to provide my son and wife with the best life I can help provide. To share in our families triumphs in order to give them a better life than I did growing up.

Zach “Rubis” Senchuk- In Realms: to contribute to the Realms in a permanent and meaningful way. Out of Game: to be self supporting.

Carol “Charwindle” Eddy- In Realms: I want to make archery a viable weapon combination for fighters in unlimited combat; by 'viable' I mean 'respected' - not relegated to a caster's weapon combination. Out of Game: I have all sorts of concrete achievable goals... Things like 'learn Arabic' and 'publish my novel'. They matter less to me than other, more foundational things. I want to live my life as a witness to intellectual Catholicism. The benchmarks on that one are a little harder to measure!

Will “Viro” Beatty- In Realms: to be active for a long time and to help out and be at least somewhat respected. Out of Game: I'd like to have a house of my own eventually.

Becky “Naralia” Garbos- In Realms: to make sure they game stays fun. Out of Game: to be as healthy as I can be.

Andrew “Rorin” Bancroft- In Realms: I've accomplished a lot of the Realms goals that I had this year. The major outstanding ones atm are helping to throw the next great Realms plot and really driving player re-engagement in questing again, and making Order of the Magi. Out of Game: either getting back into shape and staying that way, or improving my career to the point where I'm more comfortable financially, and with my day-to-day in the office.

Josh “Enlon” Whalen- In Realms: To at least qualify for Order of the list (and go if i can. I might not be able to because of the military). I also want to help the UCONN newbies. Out of game: to get my life situated with the military.

Josh "Lako" Fitzgerald- In Realms: Trying to make the realms community more immersive not just in the quest lines that are thrown but in the world that we create. While being in-character I hope to show people that staying IC isn’t difficult but does come with a little self attention and that doing so can bring on a plethora of opportunities for fun and entertainment that may be lost while chatting out of character and that staying IC can create a much more vivid world we play in. I'm talking about a lot more than just staying IC so you can get involved in plot lines cause I don’t feel it is the EH’s job to entertain everyone that is there at all times but rather to give people the opportunity to entertain themselves. As for the Eh side of things I hope to make a large impact in standards for eventing and show larger options for Eh’s to latch onto and take from. to show people that sometimes big and flashy aren’t what is needed sometimes it's in the little details that matter and where to look for those details. Out of game: Right now I am going through a personal struggle with an injury in my back which is severely inhibiting my ability to be who I am, I have to be careful of how I move at all moments and aware that I am not as strong as I used to be so one large goal in my life right now is to get my back fixed and back into shape as soon as possible. I wish to be able to enjoy running hiking, climbing, and many other physical activities I am unable to right now.

WIWTG Ashenbounty

Why do I want to go to Ashenbounty?  I want to go to support my countrymen.  Mostly, I want to go to feed you all until you can't comfortably move.  Bring your fat pants, Ive got new dishes and old favorites for you guys.  Plan to eat for about 5 hours.  Also, let us know you are coming so we can plan food.

Enough about me.  Why do YOU want to go?  Come to Ashenmark, where there are troubles in small towns.  I'm sure its nothing, really.  Theres no way it could be a big deal, or we would never knowingly endanger our friends, right?  Right!
On a semi serious note, I know the team has been working very hard to provide an interesting storyline with engaging characters, role playing, neat props and a few surprises.
Please dress warm, its going to be a little chilly.  There are cabins which are not heated, but DO have electricity.


And NO ROBOTS!  (well, only a couple, but they're cool)

An Atypical View

What You Missed: KoEF Questing 2015: Nighthawk's Jamboree (photos)

An artist's rendition of Nighthawk at his celebratory jamboree

Tossing a ball to knock over cups, just one of the many fine games at Nighthawk's celebratory jamboree

What is a jamboree without hoop rolling?

And of course, Nighthawk was a gracious host, providing ample delicious refreshments for his guests.

The heroes of the Realms fight their way to Hollow World, hoping to bring aid to the people whose lives they shaped.

The way forward involves fighting over a dangerous pitfall.

 The elder explains to the heroes how the tribes United to worship the gods that are created by the god makers of the Realms

 Drawing armor and weapon combos for Tywin's challenge 

Fighting in the challenge of Tywin to earn his blessing

A troll worshiper of Caleal (of Ashenmark) gets into an argument with Gau Dring

 Finding a comfortable seat during the Proving Ground challenges

 Attempting the challenge of The Captain

A group attempts to defeat the challenge of time and freedom, solving puzzles to escape the room they are locked in.

 Navigating the challenge of Caleal of Ashenmark to receive his blessing

Hungry Hungry Heroes

The heroes were tasked with gathering the colored orbs while bring rolled around.

 Frozen in place, turned into statues of gold

The shrine of Tywin, God of Battle and Luck, sitting atop the Mountain of the Prophets

 The shrine of Caleal (of Ashenmark), God of Dexterity and Speed

 The shrine of Memoral, God of Magic and Intutition

The shrine of The Captain, God of Morality and Command

 The Unnamer, the forgotten God, seeks to stop the heroes from escaping the Gloaming.

 The prophets, restored to their positions on the mountain, thank the heroes of the Realms who saved them.

[Editor's note: all photos by View staff]