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| Photo by Lexie Mitchell |
1) What achievement either in or out of character are you most proud of?
I am the most proud of having brought, or been a part of bringing in, a
number of well known people into the game, in multiple different
decades. I don't want to name names, because that would seem boastful,
but it means a lot to know that I made an impact on the game, through
those that are still involved.
2) Are you a fighter or a caster? Have you always been? How did you choose?
I have three characters. Lysis-fighter, Enricho-fighter, Braemor-caster
When
I first started, I was with a group of people that started their first
event complete with tabbards, flag and heraldry. (The group was called
The Sons of the Phoenix) Within the group, we had a mix of different
types of casters, but it made the most sense for me to be a fighter,
since I had a martial arts background.
I stayed a fighter because I really wanted to hone
that one skill and it wasn't until I felt I was a very accomplished
fighter (yes, back in my day, I'd say I could hold my own. Now a
days.....not even close) that I was ready to start a new character,
Braemor, whom was a spellcaster.
3) Have you ever owned an artifact, memento, or magic item that has meant a lot to you, and why?
I've owned many different magic items and momentos throughout my career.
Mostly they were just that, items. None held much significance to me,
Andy, but two hold some significance to Lysis. The War Banner of Teng
Hua and Kedamono. (Story to follow in answer #7)
4) What group of people do you spend the most time with and why?
Not sure if you mean IC or OOC, but the answer is likely the same.
Jason and Angie Gray. Jason and I have been friends for longer than I
can remember, and I formed a friendship with Angie starting at one of
her first events. He was the best man at my wedding, they housed me when
I was homeless for a couple of months, and I ended up living a block
away from them. We are also all students at the same dojo. IC, I feel
like I get along with, and can hang with just about anyone.
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| Photo by Jesse Gifford |
5) Who is your best friend in character and why?
My best friend, IC, would be Da'oud. He is my sworn brother and he took
my family name of Matsuma. I have to be honest and claim old age, but
I'm not 100% positive of the situation, but I believe we were both
trapped somewhere and by becoming sworn brothers it helped us escape. I
could be TOTALLY wrong. It was a LONG time ago.
6) What event or moment had the greatest impact on you as a player?
I have two of them, actually. It was my first event, Silverquest
1995. My group was out questing and as the fighter, I challenged
Jeremiah Darksparkle. A daywalking vampire only effected by silver.
Well, we had none, and I didn't know, so I died. The NPC (played by
Scott Rodlin) probably assessed that we were no match and didn't
decimate the party, but I died. The group wanted to get me raised, but
many healers of the time would only raise you if you paid them (I'm glad
that changed). Since it was our first event, we had no money. I
eventually got raised, but it took quite some time. Later that night, I
was hanging by the fire, alone. A person walks up and sit and strikes
up a conversation. He asked how I was doing. I told him that I was
bummed because I was the best fighter in our group, and when I died, I
couldn't be raised because we had no money. He reaches into his pocket,
and hands me a stack of gold. I was having such a horrible time at my
first event, that I was considering if I wanted to stay or not. This one
gesture kept me in the game. No joke. This person was Matt Spakoski.
(His character was Sebastian Grey, the Lord of the Sloths)
The
other was being Knighted into the KoEF. It was the Feast of Chimeron
9. This event was to be the culmination event to fight the war against
Pathos. The event holders thought it would be cool for the players to
have bagpipes playing while the war happened. So they made sure that I
was there (was it a ruse just to make sure I showed up?) and I also
brought two bagpiping friends of mine. During dinner, I'm sitting with
my friends. The KoEF get up and start making speeches about someone that
is going to get Knighted. I vividly remember turning to my friends and
saying, "Woah. This is a big deal. They haven't knighted anyone in 3 years.
I wonder who it is." When I got called up I was stunned. I had been
running The View from Valehaven for a few years at this point. This was
when The View was an actual printed document. I was just so surprised
that the Order felt like I had given back to the game enough to be
recognized for my service.
7) What event or moment had the greatest impact on your character?
It would have to be becoming Emperor. (Here is the story
associated with question 3) At the time, the nation of Teng Hua had been
vacant for many years. Emperor Stone Dragon had left, and the country
was in ruin (Meaning, the player left the game and nothing happened to
the nation). Folkestone decided to start a plot to find a new Emperor.
The plot was: In order to become Emperor, you needed to find an Item of
Regalia. There were 7. One for each Province. Items were: No-dachi (5'
sword), Katana (3'8" sword), Wakisashi (3' sword), Tanto (18" dagger),
War Banner, Samurai armor, and the Coin of Wealth. In order to claim the
throne you needed to present an item to the ancient, along with your
army. Then each army will fight to determine who will gain the throne.
For the whole year, people who were vying for the title were searching
and searching. Needless to say, I wanted to win, and the only item I was
able to secure, was the War Banner.
The final
battle day came up, and there were a number of people trying to win.
Sebudai (played by Lackey), Shadow (played by Steve Hinkle), a Demon NPC
(played by Jeff Maki I believe), and a character played by Colin
Campbell (Can't remember his IC name). This character was the former
warmark for Teng Hua, and the item that he acquired was Kedamono, the No
Dachi, which had been his weapon to begin with, as warmark.
After
the war was over, it had been tabulated that I won by 1 point. At this
time, the event holders placed all 7 magic items in front of me, and
allowed me to keep only 1. The other six would go to the other
provincial governors to help them hold their seats. (Meaning they were
taking them out of play). I, as a player, wanted to keep the armor
because it would have been the most useful, but I felt character wise,
it would make more sense to keep the No Dashi and give it back to
Colin's character so he could continue to be my warmark. However, when I
did so, he informed me that he was not going to stay on. (IE: He was
just an NPC that he was playing for the year to help the plot). So this
meant that I was allowed to keep Kedamomo. It is no longer a backed
item, but it still has significance to Lysis as it is a reminder to him
of how he gained the throne.
8) What is your most embarrassing moment, either IC or OOC?
I know this will sound pretty lame, and honestly I wasn't really
embarrassed , but it was funny. At the coronation of King Pyr, I was
outside sitting on my throne. My girlfriend, at the time, was there and
she wanted to give me a back rub. I turned my throne around, sitting on
it backwards, and she proceed to give me a back massage. Unbenownst to
me, Talon (John Berrini) had taken her place and I was getting a massage
from him (Nice hands John). During the massage, my girlfriend comes
around to the front and asks if I'm enjoying the massage.
9) What is the best piece of advice you'd give to other players?
Unless you have a medical issue stopping you from doing so, fight.
Learn to fight and learn fight well. With all weapon styles. It is the
one skill you will be able to use with any character you play. Even if
you decide to play a spell caster as a new character, learn to fight.
And not just with a 3'. Even if your character can only use a 3', learn
to fight sword and shield. Learn 2 handed. Learn flourintine. If you
know how to fight these styles, you will be able to better defend
against them. Trust me. Fight.
10 ) What is the most important thing you've learned through the game?
Fair play. I know it seems cliche, but it's true. There is truly nothing
to be gained from cheating. When I started, there were a few players
that were blatant cheaters. And not just not calling shots. And it was
widely known. They may have gotten a brief immediate reward, but the
long term damage they did was something they couldn't really overcome.
It's just not worth it. Call your shots, and don't cheat. If you die,
big deal. It's just a game.
BONUS QUESTION #1: Who would you like to see the next interview be with?
I think it's great to interview newbies. Yes, they may not have as
many, or as long stories, since their playing career is much shorter,
but it can be very meaningful to them, and can be quite an honor to be
asked for an interview. I couldn't give you exact names, since I'm not
involved in the game as much any more.
BONUS QUESTION #2: Anything else you'd like to take the opportunity to put into print?
Not really. I think I've chatted your ear off enough. lol
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| Photo by Jesse Gifford |