How long have you been playing?
My first experience with the game was a double header weekend in 1998. Black and White and Yoma. Two totally different styles of events so it was an interesting experience. I was a teenage girl who really just showed up because my boyfriend and his friends pressured me into trying it. I thought the game was interesting, but I was a really different person then so I thought it was kind of stupid and I was a bit embarrassed about even playing at all. But almost 20 years later, here I am.
How has the game changed since you've been playing?
Besides weapon and armor being lighter, and cheaper? The attitude of the game has changed a lot. There is a lot less PvP, everyone 'gets along' (or so it seems) and there is a lot more worry about offending people and hurting feelings. This can be both good and bad. I felt a lot more immersed in the game when there was more PvP as the world felt a lot more real. There was a continuity to it that we don't get as much from plots which change from week to week.
Garb has gotten better. Yes, I said that. I know there is still room for improvement, but I think it has come a long way since I first came into the game.
There are a lot more kids, and I don't just mean because I am old. I mean actual little tikes running around. I personally am not a fan of more kids, but it does allow more people to continue to enjoy the game even though they are older and busier, where as back when I started most people felt that they needed to walk away from it when they got to that point in life.
The Omnibus has changed a lot as well, and I don't mean just the rules. It is much more verbose, more serious. I miss the simpler, thinner, more fun focused rule book.
Who have you learned the most from?
Ah, my least favorite question because it's the hardest to answer. When you've been around as long as I have, you inevitably learn a little bit from everyone, and everything you learn is important in some way. Everyone in Invictus deserves a mention here, just for showing me that I can do things that I never thought possible. But I suppose you want me to single people out.
Jon (Trent) is obviously the person I have spent the most time with both in and out of game (he's like a fungus that just keeps hanging around), and as such I am sure I have learned the most things from him. Most importantly he has instilled the most confidence in me both in and out of game.
Diana (Kiira) has helped me a lot with learning to craft and how best to build my spell paths and use them effectively. She also pushes me to be better in all aspects of the game.
Mike (Vuel) has helped me a lot at practice. His patience with me has helped a lot and he always pushes me to do just one more fight. If it weren't for him I would spend a lot more time sitting on my butt at practice.
What was your best moment IC?
My Gladitorium (initiation into Invictus). I'm not sure I have ever been more nervous for anything, ever. I actually felt sick to my stomach from nerves and excitement. Then I felt sick from exhaustion from all of the fighting (though Vuel did most of the actual fighting, it was a lot more physically demanding than I expected). In the end, I felt that I deserved that tabard, and I felt so proud to have Shandaar present to me. The feeling of hard work paying off was the best feeling.
And joining a nation that I believed in was an amazing experience that I will never forget.
What was your best moment as a NPC/EH/Player?
I very much enjoyed playing Delphi, the Oracle of Blackwood. It was a different role for me, and I really liked thechallenge of role playing someone new. Creating a costume and a personality for a face character was really fun, and I was really grateful to have the opportunity to play someone important who got to help shape the plot. It was also a lot of fun to watch people fight for Delphi's honor with that ridiculous staff during the tournaments.
What would you like to see changed or developed more in game?
I would really like to see more collaboration between eventholders and plot writers to make a more consistent world. It would be nice to have things cross over from event to event, instead of having to wait a year to not only continue a plot, but for it to even exist again. It would also be nice for the PCs to fail every once in a while, and to have it still matter next week.
I'd love to see the return of more PvP (reason: please see 'how has the game changed...'). We can all still like each other outside the game, but why do we all of our characters have to get along all of the time? Why can't we all go to war with each other and then go have pizza?
What advice would you give new players?
Don't be embarrassed too easily. Talk to people. Don't be afraid of screwing up. Enter tournaments. Go to practices. Visit all the fire pits and listen to all the stories. Ask questions. Get involved.
What do you love most about the game?
How absolutely life changing it is. I met my husband here. I have met almost all of my friends here. It is not an exaggeration for me to say that if it weren't for this game I would not be where I in in my life, and I am in a pretty damn good place. It's shaped who I am more than just about anything else in my life, and I feel like I am not the only person who can say that.
Who would you like to see the next interviews be with? Please list three people.
There are people who haven't done this yet?? Lets try to get a good variety here: Elias (Nate Carr), Riverstone (Allyson Cunningham), Rillan (Joe Sims)
Anything else you'd like to take the opportunity to put into print?
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Are you a man? Are you single? Are you rich and/or powerful? Zarine is single. Just sayin'.