Battlecry!
This is a weekly bulletin for practices in the Realms. Practices are one of the most important facets to the Realms, it is a place where many people are introduced to the game, as well as a place to enjoy the company and meet new members of the community. Even if you are not a fighter, it is still a great form of exercise, as well as a way to hone your combat skills, which is an important skill for helping out at events while NPCing. A lot of what makes a great combatant in the Realms has to do with muscle memory and building a good intuition for combat, which can only happen with consistent practice, so make sure to try and stop by your local practice as often as possible
Monday
Camelot Fight Practice (https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1858)
7:30pm-10:00pm
Details
Practice consists of a mix of individual and group combat.
Water refills are available if need be, bring your own container.
Public restrooms available on site.
Loaner weapons are very limited, plan on bringing your own.
Masks are optional.
Important Notes
None this week.
Weather
Temperatures in the mid-70s, moderate chance of rain in the afternoon. Check in with the SMAS Discord server for updates to this week's practice.
Tuesday
Western Massachusetts Fight Practice (https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1857)
6:00pm-8:00pm - West Street Playground, Ludlow, MA
Details
Practice consists of a mix of individual and group combat.
Loaner weapons are not available.
Water is not available, bring your own water.
Public restrooms are available on site.
Masks are optional.
This is outdoors and inclement weather is very likely to limit attendance.
Important Notes
None this week.
Weather
Could be a hot practice, Temperatures will be in the high 80s.
Riverhawk Summer Fight Practice (https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1871)
5:30pm-10:30pm - Frothingham Park (15 Park St), North Easton, MA
Details
Practice consists of a mix of individual and group combat.
Loaner weapons are available.
Water is not available, however there is a nearby convenience store.
Public restrooms are available on site.
Masks are recommended, but not required.
Important Notes
None this week.
Weather
Could be quite a hot practice, Temperatures will be in the low 90s.
Wednesday
Nashua Blackwood Fight Practice (https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1857)
4:00pm-8:00pm -Greely Park (Concord St), Nashua, NH
Details
Practice consists of a mix of individual, squad, and line battles, as attendees prefer.
Loaner weapons are available.
There is no water on site, bring your own.
Public restrooms are available on site.
While a few people might be there around 4:00, 5:00 is a more likely time to get started.
We set up near the grills and tables on the West side of Concord St, just off the access road to the north of the public restrooms.
Masks are optional.
This is outdoors and inclement weather is very likely to limit attendance.
Important Notes
None this week.
Weather
This will be a very hot day with temperatures in the mid 90s cooling down to the mid 80s in the evening.
Central CT Fight Practice (https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1860)
6:00pm-9:00pm - Pierson Park, 5 West St, Cromwell, CT
Important Notes
Practice consists of a mix of individual training and if attendees are interested, team combat and combat games.
Loaner weapons available.
Water fountains are available in season, best to bring your own drinking water however.
Public restrooms available on site.
Updates
None this week.
Weather
This will be a very hot day with temperatures in the mid 90s cooling down to the mid 80s in the evening.
Thursday
Stratham Hill Fight Practice (https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1859)
6:00pm-8:00pm - Stratham Hill Park, Stratham, NH
Important Notes
Practice consists of individual combat for the first half, and ditch style team combat for the second half.
Masks are optional.
Loaner weapons are available.
Water is available on site, but bring your own container.
On-site bathroom.
Updates
None this week.
Weather
Temperatures in the high 80s, with a low chance of showers.
Practical Logistics: Starting a Fight Practice in the Realms
This week we are going to talk about one of the more challenging aspects of starting a fight practice, dealing with problem players. A problem player could be someone who is intentionally not taking their shots, being overly aggressive, or being difficult about the structure of your practice, among other things. Giving this topic some consideration early on in the process is important, because if you have a plan in place you will be able to quickly and effectively deal with the player. The longer you wait to deal with an issue, the more of a chance there is that it will affect others at practice, or turn into a toxic environment.
The first step in the process is having a plan to recognize potential issues. Some, like ignoring shots, (what was once referred to as rhino-hiding), will be quite obvious. For others you will need to pay attention to your practice regulars and make sure they are comfortable speaking to you. Most of the issues we are going to cover are going to involve a conversation with the player in question. Sometimes this can be awkward, and you may be tempted to push it off or hope it resolves itself, but in most cases dealing with it directly and courteously is going to be your best option. If you are uncomfortable with confronting people about this sort of thing, seek out a practice regular you trust, preferably ahead of time, and talk to them about being available to help you out in these situations. More experienced players, especially those of knightly orders, are usually a good resource for this, or can at least point you in the direction of someone who may be of better service.
Missing or not taking shots is probably the most common issue you will have to deal with at practice. This can be a wide array of reasons, some more malicious than others. For newer players who are blowing off shots because they don’t have the experience yet, it is best to take them aside and ask that they do a little one on one training with an individual who is willing to take the time to go over all the game mechanics. This is normal growing pains for many players, and you should be encouraging to them to help them get on the right track. In other situations you will find that you have some players that are blowing off shots and should know better. This tends to be really common when you get players who are used to a lower skill level practice, where they are used to winning a lot, coming to a higher skill level practice, where they are not used to being at the bottom of the barrel. This can be very frustrating to your regulars, and it is best to take the individual aside and run through the basics again. If they get defensive, try to take a minute of talking through the most recent incident calmly and explain what went wrong. If this continues, you may need to suggest having them do some one on one training or stepping out of group content for a little bit to act as a marshal, and calling out incidents as they happen in real time.
If someone has a negative attitude about practice, it may not initially seem like something that could cause a problem, but it is important to remember we should all be doing this to have fun, and a bad attitude can bring down the mood quickly. Oftentimes if someone is showing up to practice with a negative attitude, they may have a problem with how practice is being run, or an outside issue. It is good to approach such players early and have a conversation about any aspects of practice they aren’t enjoying, and reminding them to try and keep a positive attitude while at practice. For some, just calling attention to the issue is enough to make them realize they have had a poor attitude, where others may need more reminders.
Blow strength can also be an issue, as culturally across the Realms from practice to practice there will be a slightly different culture of where the line between too hard and acceptable is. Try and work out with your regulars early on in the practice where that line is, and try to stick to it. Blow strength isn’t something that can really be measured, and is often hard to communicate the level of what is acceptable, but if this becomes an issue it is best to speak with the individual in question privately, and just let them know where the line is at this practice. While they may be used to a more liberal limit on blow strength elsewhere, at this practice they should focus more on finesse. Likewise, if you have a player who is used to a much lighter blow strength limit and is constantly asking folks to watch their blow strength, it would be good to take them aside as well and explain what is the norm for this practice. If a player is still having problems with being hit too hard after that, then bring it up to the more aggressive players privately about trying to avoid harder shots against that player.
Bullying is fairly uncommon at practice and sometimes hard to spot. Practices will often be attended by folks from different groups who have different levels of friendships. Sometimes what looks like gentle ribbing among friends can actually be bullying or vice versa. If you witness anything that looks suspicious check in with the people involved privately to give them an opportunity to ask for help. If there is a situation where all the parties are okay with the level of ribbing, but it makes others at practice uncomfortable, ask the involved parties to tone it down at practice. If you do have a situation where someone is feeling victimized, speak to the other party privately with the former's permission, and make them aware that their behavior is unacceptable here.
If you are an attendee at a practice, and you notice any of the above incidents happen, you should talk to your practice organizer about it. It is okay to let something sit for a week if you need time to process it, but the sooner you can communicate it, the quicker it can be dealt with. If you are uncomfortable with bringing it up to your meeting organizer, seek some advice from someone you are comfortable with. It is important that if something happens that we try to report it, so that it does not happen to someone else.
If you are unable to resolve any of the above issues there are a few things you are going to have to consider. First is righting the situation at your practice, which will likely involve asking the party in question to either resolve the issues presented to them, or to stop attending practice. If you are unable to resolve these issues, you will likely need to submit a report to the Complaint Review Board (CRB) via Realmsnet. There are two different versions of reports, complaints and infraction reports. Complaints should be reserved for more serious issues, or issues that have been repeated multiple times after the individual has been spoken to. Infraction reports are a little bit unique at practices, as practices are where you go for practice, so I would recommend being a little more lenient here. If someone isn’t really taking constructive criticism to heart and over time you are seeing a lot of the same problem, but maybe not consistently, I would consider filing an infraction report. If you have any questions about this process, you can read more about the process of Realmsnet or by reaching out to a CRB member.
In the case of some sort of emergency, reach out to your local authorities or emergency services. This is something that to my knowledge has never happened at a Realms fight practice, but is always good to be prepared just in case.