Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracies abound that Training Day will be a bonifide bonanza of activity!

Why I Want to Go - Knights of the Sable Dragon and the Wyvern College Training Day

by Eric "Johan" Stegehuis

For those unfamiliar, the mission of the Knights of the Sable Dragon and the Wyvern College for this training day is simple: spread wisdom and connections to the community at large independent of national affiliation. We adventurers spend so much time in the action with the groups we’re already with and while that’s great, it’s also crucial to step out of our comfort zone to learn from people who we’ve never met before and hopefully make some new friends along the way. I love learning new things and know that the people running this event have been working their butts off to make this event a blast!

The classes I want to take are about twice as large as my actual schedule, so if anyone has cheap cloning technology, hit me up. I plan on taking

• ASL for Realmsies
• Knight the Realms Challenge
• Dealing Poker for Fun and Profit
• Intro to Feastocrating: Meal Plan Planning (taught by someone who has a dietary restriction!)
• Third Line Healing
• Questing Triage

There is a plethora of classes on a wide range of topics from weapon teaching such as “Dueling with a Single Short” by Aelias Softshadow and “Intro to Piking” by Makhta and Freesia to “Etiquette 101” by Freesia and Makhta and many casino classes by the Lord of Clontarf himself, Tao. A more detailed description of each class can be found here. As for the food, it will be provided by Elizah who has handed out a dietary restriction registration form. As an aside, I have celiac disease, and it makes me feel so much more comfortable when EHs or feastocrats have dietary restriction forms beforehand instead of me having to reach out separately. Having a team at Leviathan dedicated to helping us was a breath of fresh air for many and I would like to see this become the norm, which is one of the reasons I’m so happy that the feasting class is taught by someone who has experience with dietary restrictions. Okay soapboxing over, where was I? Bring an open mind and whatever equipment you can think of for a fun day of chatter, food, and teaching.

In short, if you want to learn something or just hang out with knowledgeable friends, training day has it. Looking to sign up? Here’s the class link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSci-Kj7V-_EQBYbwqISjDNsMJWcTw9ZbSTCLOUi9qcEb3Tgzg/viewform 

Come join us for Training Day, the weather is projected to be at almost 50 degrees and we’re gonna have a great time!

Humanizing the Realms: Keith "Saegan" Cronyn

1. What do you do outside of the game? What would you like to be doing? (Work, school, projects, etc.)

I work in special education, for a private school that’s probably at the forefront of evidence based education for students with special needs in the country. 

Outside I work, I enjoy writing and crafting, spend a lot of time at the gym, or realms related practices. 

2. What hobbies do you enjoy other than LARP?

Other than LARP? I go to the gym a lot. I enjoy food adventures. Writing. Tabletop role playing. I enjoy video games as well. 

3. Favorite meal, dessert, and drink?

Smoked duck l’orange, is my favorite food. Picanha is also amazing. 

For dessert, I like tiramisu, and croque en bouche. 

And my favorite drink is coffee, probably. I’d love for it to be water, but that’s just not true. 

Alcohol wise, I enjoy a good cider, rekorderlig was my favorite before they went to an artificial sweetener. Their holiday blend was Christmas in a bottle. It still may be up there now, but down east is a strong competition. 

Hard alcohol, I tend to be all over the place. I do enjoy a fine Smokey scotch; Ardbeg for example. But I’m not super exclusionary. Run over vodka, I guess. 

4. If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would it be? Would you bring anyone?

I’d love to bring Blackwood on vacation to a tropical beach. Maybe something also with castles and jungle forests. 

5. Are you working on any life goals that you’re willing to share?

Life goals has a level of importance to it; I mean, overall fitness is a goal of mine that I’m constantly working towards. 

I’m not like working towards a doctorate or anything though. 

6. Favorite outfit other than garb?

Gym clothes, hoodie. Maybe a hooded flannel. 

7. Do you have any professional or personal skills you’d be willing to talk about?

I’m certified in crisis intervention, cpr, and first aid. 

8. What drew you to the realms, and what keeps you there?

When I was young my friend’s uncle played for a minute, and let me and my friend fight with the weapons in the backyard. 

When I was a teenager, my friends in high school started going to events, and I went to some backyard events before hitting a couple events my senior year. 

After college there was a hole in my life that needed something so I asked my friends if they wanted to go back to the game. We formed Acteon, and started playing. 

For me it’s everything my life needs to be happy; a physical activity. A creative outlet. A loving community. 

I stay out of love of the game, and community. 

9. Favorite movies/shows/books?

My favorite movies are: Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy, Indiana Jones, and Die Hard.

My favorite shows are: Samurai Jack, Avatar the Last Airbender, the Mandalorian, Dragon Prince, and Loki. 

My favorite books are: The Name of the Wind, and a Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss (please tell me for favorite theories. I will engage in debate.) 

10. If you happened upon 3 wishes, what would they be? (Wishing for more wishes doesn’t seem to work...)

World health, and happiness. A large sum of money. I don’t know, semi phenomenal nearly cosmic power? I feel like my life is in a place where if I had a large sum of money everything else would be easy. Magic powers? The ability to control time and space? 

11. Who would you like to see interviewed next?

Saka

12. Anything else you’d like to add? 

I enjoy philosophical conversation as well, and theory crafting for both books and the realms at large. 

If you'd like to do one of these interviews, send Dani Lacasse (lilpotatogem on Discord) a message to let her know!

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

A Deeper View of Jen: Keeping the Torch Lit

Written by: Dani “Elizah” Lacasse & contributions from various noted authors 

Edited by: Kieran/Kyra “Omri” Barry

Oftentimes it’s easy to consume content that’s placed in front of us without really thinking about all the behind the scenes work that has gone into creating the masterpieces. From brainstorming to execution, the amount of time and effort that goes into upkeeping a publication like the View is undeniable. Someone who would understand this best is someone like Jennifer DeNardis-Rosa who has played her character Dame Areni Stromgate in the Realms since 2004. 

Photo provided by Jason Rosa 

Now while we don't get to see Areni nearly enough at events, oftentimes Jen can be found contributing on the back end of events, from lead up prep, kitchen help, serving, and so much more. But, her dedication to the game goes far beyond the physical sphere. She joined the View of Valehaven team a decade ago in 2014, eagerly contributing to articles like our beloved “What you Missed” and the various titled versions of  “Questions of the Week” series, all while spearheading others like; “10 questions with an EH”, “Belts of the Eternal Flame” and “Views in the View” to name just a few. She steadily upheld this until the time came that the torch was passed off by former Editor in Chief Angie Gray 2014. 

“It can be easy to overlook Jennifer Rosa. She is soft spoken, thoughtful, and very polite all traits that can be associated with meekness. Working closely with her I learned that beneath the exterior is someone who works hard without a need for recognition, is incredibly ethical, and when necessary will dig in and stand up for her beliefs. 

Working with Jen was one of the things I missed most about working on the View. She was a great teammate who brought us staff Santa hats, made us laugh (if you haven't had a chance to interact  with her to see it she has a great sense of humor under that quiet exterior), and was often the person to notice and support others when they were feeling challenged, and make sure our successes were celebrated.” -Angela “Phoenix” Gray  

After taking on the Chief Editor position for the View in 2016, Jen has continued to be the silent force behind the publications ongoing success. Writing, creating and reaching out to others to partake, became second nature to her. Diligently working through the "dark years" without a fuss, Jen has continued to exhibit her impeccable work ethic and absolute commitment to our Realms community.

Truth be told, I see a lot of myself in Jen and one day, I can only hope to leave as great an impact on the community as she has. Her shoes are some big ones to fill, and I am honored to be part of the three who will step into those to ensure the torch continues to shine bright for those that will come after us. Jen, thank you for all that you have done and will continue to do, the torch is in good hands. 

And I'm not alone with my feelings about the legacy she's created for herself. When asking the community “How has the View positively impacted your time in the Realms?”, measuring how Jen has affected the Realms via this singular aspect, we got several responses.

Photo provided by Jason Rosa

Keith “Saegan” Cronyn

“People often see me as a sort of a quiet person, when in face to face meetings, and I think that the articles I put forth on the view over my tenure really enabled the community to see my personality a bit more, and understand my voice, rather than just a fighter.”

Lani "Gwen" Jones

"As a viewer, the content that the View from Valehaven provided me with a connection to other members of our community. I loved reading people’s interviews and getting to know more about them in and out of character. I also fondly remember advice articles and blasts from the past from community members who had a specific niche or story to tell. Once I was contributing, I frequently wrote “Why I Want to Go” pieces, and I really loved the opportunity to dig into event descriptions, talk to EHs, and highlight the diverse and wonderful nature of Realms event-holding.

Why I loved working with Jen:

Jen is one of the kindest and most dedicated people I know. She did such a great job of brainstorming new content ideas with the team regularly and she always made sure we had content planned so that the View could be a staple that the Realms community could count on daily. Jen put an incredible amount of thought into the view and its contributors. She always made sure that content contributors saw their work in a timely manner, and that diverse perspectives were represented in our articles. A lot of the things that make the View great are the behind-the-scenes attention to detail, and I think that the imprint that Jen left on this chapter of the View from Valehaven will have a lasting impact on the publication and the community."

Ethan “Jean Baptise” Goldman

“One of my first communications with the realms was through suggesting how the View could better link its articles. In many ways the view is the main avenue people figure out I do anything that isn't inherently comedic. Even though I just post cartoons.”

Kieran/Kyra “Omri” Barry

“I was asked to write my first piece for the View about why I wanted to go to “Tales of a Teatotaler”, an event my friends were throwing. I was honored to be asked, and it ended up being the first of many articles I’ve written for the View since then. The great thing about the view is that anyone can write for it. While I haven’t talked with Jen, seeing how consistent the View is, even through the ‘Quiet Years’, is amazing. And this has provided an outlet for me when I had to step back from writing responsibilities in other parts of my life, allowing me to keep doing what I love when I thought I would have to be done when I graduate.”

Pat "Saka" Bobell

“The View has been a fantastic way for me to learn more about people in the Realms and their creative endeavors. The various interview series, spotlights on writing, crafting, and photography, and Happenings on the Emerald Path have been outstanding for highlighting folks and the varied contributions we all make to the community.”

Nataliya “Shader” Kostenko

“The View is, much like Jen/Areni herself, what one might call a hidden gem–or an unsung hero–of the Realms community at large. It takes time, dedication, and a labor of overwhelming love to create engaging, community-oriented content week in and week out. And it’s not a flashy kind of labor either–it’s not leading an army onto the battlefield, delivering a dramatic speech, or even getting your name onto the EH list. It’s making sure people have something Realms-related to read as they sit down to breakfast. It’s sparking a lively discussion in the Realms discord server. It’s dropping the dankest of memes. It’s curating valuable information about our community–about our events and about one another. And I think it’s easy to undervalue that, to overlook how meaningful it really is. But in times of hardship–whether that be a huge, isolating pandemic or just a week during which you’re feeling down and disconnected–it’s something you can reliably turn to for an immediate sense of connection, community, and friendship. That’s who Jen is too, in my experience. Someone who always offers everyone–the newest newbie and the grouchiest oldbie–a kind, listening ear and an effortless sense of belonging.”

Ryan “Orion” Welch

“Jen has been a cornerstone of the community for many years. In my time working for her at the View, she supported me as I revived the monthly rumors and encouraged me to branch out into other writing topics, often pushing me to expand the boundaries of my knowledge and comfort.

Jen is also extremely persistent. Early on, she declared that the View would continue to publish a new article every weekday, even when we didn't have in-person events to write about. It was her "damn the torpedoes!" moment, and she challenged the whole team to come up with a lot of innovative content. And we did it!

I believe that the View would not have survived the dark times without Jen's leadership. Her vision has shaped the institution into what it is today.”

Dustin “Toah” Mack

“The View helps keep the game going between events, whether it’s just a weekday or winter. It gives players a way to share things they couldn’t easily at events, and event holders a way to promote and enhance their events. It’s a way for the game’s past to stay alive and recent events to be shared with those that couldn’t be there.

A few years ago Jen messaged me asking if I’d want to be an official photographer for The View. I had questions on the specifics and she helped me understand what would be expected. Once I accepted, she worked with me to make sure my posts were up to the standards of the site. She walked me through how to add pictures and answered all my questions along the way. Jen was definitely a huge help in enhancing my contributions to the Realms.”

Jason “Aeston” Rosa

“I’ve watched firsthand how Jen has grown and shaped the View over the greater part of a decade. When Angie Gray was ready to retire from being the Editor in Chief and pass it off to Jen, she had already distinguished herself as someone who gave her all to making the publication successful. In the following years I watched her gather and lead a dedicated staff, put countless hours into crafting articles and features, and just generally do her best to make sure her years as the new “boss lady” (as she used to call Angie) were worthy ones.

The View is a storied publication. It has spanned close to the entirety of the Realms’ existence, from a time when it was printed with dot matrix printers all the way to its current online form. It’s had many chief editors and countless contributors and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that part of the soul of our community is nestled into its pages, whether they be paper or virtual. Jen, congratulations on joining a historic cast of emeritus editors that have made the View from Valehaven great. I love you.” 

Photo provided by Jason Rosa

 

Realmsle #15

 

This custom Wordle-adjacent-puzzle features a 5-letter word that is particularly relevant to the Realms.

If the embedded page isn't working below you can click this link to get to the puzzle.

Like regular Wordle you can copy your results (but only if you follow the link), so paste them or a screenshot onto social media to let us know how you did. But no spoilers!

Passing the Torch: Chief Editor Turnover

Over the last few months, the View crew has opened up to allow a group of new folks to see what it would be like to work as editors for the beloved publication. Jason “Aeston” made clear that there was some intention that this might result in a turnover of editorial positions, specifically the chief editor position. Recently he made an announcement:

“We’ve been working together as a group for the last couple months and I feel like this crew is ready to take over the View without my hand-holding.

I’d like to create a triumvirate with the chief editor position. These three people represent diverse areas within the Realms and I think will work well together bouncing off one another and supporting one another. I’d like Dani “Elizah”, Ethan “Jean C'est Magnifique Try Baptise”, and Kieran/Kyra “Omri”  to be the three in charge of the whole deal.”

We will be working together to provide the content you all love and follow in the footsteps of Jen “Areni” as chief editor of the View from Valehaven.

We are still determining who’s taking on the role of editor and who will be staying on with us as editor.

We are grateful to this community and to the View from Valehaven for this opportunity.

Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! Time for our continuing feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

Now that we're nearing our first event of the season and calendar is jammed packed with events, what event are you most looking forward to this season?

Now head on over to social media and give us your answer!

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Cultural Comprehension: Cheesing with Ashenmark

 By Kieran/Kyra “Omri” Barry

(Photo courtesy of Jason "Aeston")

Today we’re learning more about Ashenmark and its rich cheese culture as part of a new series exploring cultural and regional lore in depth, from what drives the local economy to why a group's flag looks like that.

From http://www.ashenmark.com/history.htm Ashenmark was founded May 5, 1010 under Highlord Termorse Sorrowind with Kahelnar Swingline, Grindin Starbrook, Killian Battlefate and Osric Turnstone. Its lands were a gift from Dame Twenaria, previously of “Elemirre.”

On older maps this nation was bordered by Rhiassa and Ekembria and is currently bordered by Rhiassa still, in addition to Val Dara, Invictus, Chimeron, and what remains of Ekembria, the rest absorbed into Ashenmark. It is a largely landlocked nation with Amber Lake near its commerce city of Highmarket, and the major rivers Anderlyss River and Deiard River, as well as the Roaring Brook, feeding into said lake. Not pictured is the Elimirre Isle, south of Teng Hua and North-East of Corsica, an island part of Ashenmark’s holdings.

In an interview with Sir Shader Jarlsberg of Ashenmark they expounded more upon the four great cheese baron families of Highmarket.

“I am Shader Jarlsberg of the Jarlsberg cheese mongers of Highmarket. The cheese monger clans in (friendly) competition with ours are Luke John Havarti’s clan (you can tell because his cheese cake was so good)[author’s note: see below for B&W 22 competition] and clans Yarg and Adelost.”

Notable members of the cheese baron families who became adventurers are:

• Shader Jarlsberg
• LukeJohn Havarti
• Moria Yarg
• Lyanna Adelost

“Together we are the backbone of the Ashenmark economy, producing the main export.” This, of course, being the famous Ashenmark cheese. Despite being a largely landlocked nation and the river Deiard which becomes the Lhenrock River before feeding into the sea its only natural sailing route to ocean, Highmarket’s trade greatly benefits from Ashenmark’s Seagate. The Seagate is located in the middle of Amber Lake and allows ships to travel from Amber Lake directly to the other Seagate, also known as Tidegate, located at the Elimirre Isle, by the outpost of Farport.

The prevalence of the cheese trade and cheese families and the effects they have had on the culture of Ashenmark can be seen in the 1022’s Black and White Royal Pâtissier of Chimeron competition. Having been absent a few years, the 1022 baking competition returned with cheesecake as its dessert of choice, and more than half of entries were from members of Ashenmark. That Sabine, a non Ashenmark entrant, won is a testament to her cheesecake.

Ashenmark Entrants:

• Raynor - Crème brûlée
• Umbra - Matcha
• LukeJohn - Peanut butter
• Temorse - Classic

Non-Ashenmark Entrants:

• Sabine (winner of the competition and thus Royal Pâtissier of Chimeron for the year) - Dulce de Leche
• Lunaliss - Blueberry
• Omri - Burnt classic

The four families have “crafted the golden curd since time immemorial", elevating the proud cheese farming tradition, until they became the cheese barons of Highmarket of Ashenmark.

Guess That Realmsie!

Another in our continuing series! In the below picture there is a Realmsie-shaped black hole. Can you figure out who it is based only on the profile? Tell us on social media if you think you know who it is! The answer will be revealed later in the day.  

Laughing Gods In the Eyes: Blue Moon

 I had a great joke about Garm meeting the in-laws for Valentines day but it wasn't actually funny so here's this.

Jean Baptise

Maker's Space with Sawyer “Jericho Axelthorne” Judkins

Organized by: Justin "J'ortsa" Thibeault

Makers Space is a new View series about interviewing the makers, crafters, and artificers of the Realms and sharing their creations with everyone! I know I take pride in my work so I know you all must as well. That being said, how often do you get to humbly (or not so humbly) brag about your creations, so this is your outlet! Tell me everything!!

1. What is your OOC name?

Sawyer Judkins

2. What is your character's name?

Jericho Axelthorne

3. What crafting mediums do you typically work in?

Leather and some light foamsmithing

4. What is your favorite medium to work with? Why is it your favorite?

Leather is my favorite. Something about the work I put into the projects, and step by step seeing it all come together is quite nice.

(Photo courtesy of Sawyer)

5. What is the most challenging part of working with this medium for you? How did you overcome it?

The most challenging part for me tends to be getting all the punched out holes to line up just right. I have started to be a little more precise with the marking of where to punch, and drawing the whole circle instead of just putting a dot. And next step would be to get an actual punch instead of the hand one I use.

6. What is the piece you are most proud of? Why?

The piece I am most proud of at this moment is the helmet I made for my daughter. Seeing her face light up as I handed it to her made the time put into it worth it.

7. What is the piece you have done most recently that you are allowed to share? Tell us about it!

The most recent piece is the helmet I just made for my daughter.

8. What is the earliest piece you made? How long ago did you make it?

The first leather project I made was a small headband and belt pouch as part of a Feast of Highbridge. The first thing I made on my own was probably a deck box for one of my MTG decks, which was about maybe four years ago?

(Photo courtesy of Sawyer)

9. What medium do you wish to learn more about or have been interested in? 

Foamsmithing for sure. Between the weapons and the beautiful pieces of armor or garb utility they can bring to the table of the game.

10. What advice do you have for the rest of the community when it comes to crafting and making?

Don't be afraid of making a mess and ask for help!

11. What inspires you to do what you do? 

At the moment, the satisfaction of knowing that I can wear things entirely of my own making. And eventually when I am ready, see other people in my work.

(Photo courtesy of Brookelyn Gingras via Facebook)

12. Is there anything else you really wanna share with us? Any upcoming projects, etc.?

I have been slowly planning out and designing a full armor overhaul for myself. 

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Rumors for February 1024

 

[Ashenmark]

Unrest continues to grow in the town of Highmarket.  Food prices begin to see an increase as fewer and fewer people are willing to travel into the nearby forest for the purposes of hunting game and foraging.  The missing priest of Gaia has still yet to return, and search parties have been reluctant to search too deeply into the forest.  The sightings of the mushroom circles on the edge of the forest around dawn and dusk have grown more common.

Furthermore there have been claims of the howling of wolves at night as well as some reports of a woman crying or a mournful dirge.  Speculation on the strange events start to grow, even unearthing an old legend from before the town of Highmarket was founded.  Old stories of Lady Yorona, the weeping woman, who was said to once haunt this forest acting suffering a curse start to spread like wildfire.  These rumors have caused families with young children to start to leave the town.

[Blackavar]

Winter has been quiet in Blackavar City, and the influx of new inhabitants has not gone unnoticed. Heraldry has begun to fly over old manor houses.

[Chimeron: North East]

Following the dedication of a rare Heartstone in the city surrounding the Royal Academy for Military Science, travelers leaving the valley are describing strange happenings in the blue town. There are stories about flashes of light, magical earthquakes, and psychic curses. Some are even saying that there’s a huge smoking crater in the middle of the city and the royal government is trying to cover it up!

[Fae Wildes]

As we cross over into the weeks counting down towards spring, the Winter Court has begun their series of dramatic farewell parties. This hasn't stopped the Prince of the Winter Court from causing mischief and sudden cold freezes both in Faerie and the occasional appearance amongst mortals.

~~~

There have been scattered reports of those who dwell in the deeper and more wild parts of Fae, claiming to hear the howling of a hunting pack, but unable to see any. It's driven the more superstitious of them, if that could be said of any faerie creature, to stay behind closed doors until the howls fade away.

[Val’Dara]

For the first time in the years following the end of the war against Bedlam, it seems that the barony has returned to the Greater Realms. Over the past few years, a port town has begun to appear, as well as trade to and from. While no established trade routes have been marked as official, it's clear work is being put in to make roads a little more refined from just worn wagon trails.

~~~

In both cities of New Haven and Caer Estelle, they credit a sudden surge in reaching beyond the forests' boundaries to a "frantic looking pointy-eared person with too many papers, bustling on by". Those who have spoken with this person, even in passing, have said that they seem to have a love of the barony and a fond remembrance for previous heroes from its lands. Rumors also speak of them attempting to set up a makeshift school in Caer Estelle proper, utilizing the castle's disused solars and sitting rooms to create classrooms

On the Order - Knights of the Sable Dragon

What year was your knighthood formed?

Our order was founded by Queen Vrille in 1989, and was at that time the first knightly order in the Realms created after the Knights of the Realms and Knights of the Eternal Flame.

What does your knighthood stand for?

Our order was conceived as an order of service rather than a martial order, which we are glad has now become common for knightly orders. We endeavor to set new members of the Realms community up for success with information, loaner armor, and encouragement to get engaged with content at events. We have also recently resumed our duty of protecting the lands of Blackavar, and maintaining the treaty with the dragons of that country.

What are your tenets?

Protect the Realms

Serve as an example of personal honor

Encourage and aid new adventurers

Promote diversity within the order and within the Realms

What is your symbol?

Do you have a traditional knightly power? If so, what is it?

Yes! Once per event, a Knight of the Sable Dragon may ask a single yes or no question to be answered accurately by the event holder.

What do you look for when selecting squires?

When considering potential squires for the order, we tend to refer heavily to our tenets. Does the person play a good (or mostly good) character? Do they conduct themselves well in and out of character, not just when others are watching but also when alone? Do they appreciate and respect newer folks' contributions to the community, and encourage them to continue growing as adventurers? Do they provide or elevate underrepresented perspectives in our community? Does it seem like they will grow into a 'Yes' for each of those questions if they aren't yet? 

What is your squiring process like?

We don't have a prescribed process for squires to move through. Each knight will have their own ideas of what a squire needs before being recognized as a knight, so the process will vary depending on who a person is squired to. However, we'll discuss as an order whether a squire is ready for knighting, at which point all active knights' opinions will also be considered.

Who is your current Knight Commander?

Our current Knight Commander is Dame Kindrianna, Queen of Voraniss and High Priestess of Vandor. Her First Knight is Lord Sir Torolf of Blackwood.

Who are your currently active Knights?

Diamond, Avendar, Grindin, Guilliam, Kovaks, Torolf, Kindrianna, Saka, Hygar, Aelias, Gordon, Elwin

Do you have any interesting stories from your knighthood's past?

Yes!

Anything else you'd like to add? 

You may have noticed loaner armor bins at most events! Our order maintains these as a resource for folks who can benefit from wearing armor but aren't in a position to make or acquire their own. If you have unused armor kicking around that's in decent condition or can be repaired with reasonable effort, we'll be happy to add it to what we carry from event to event for loan!

Laughing Gods in the Eye: The Void's Mercy

Just because its a cruel and uncaring world doesn't mean you have to be RUDE gosh.

By Ethan "JB" Goldman

Amateur Angling Vol 1

 Jean Baptise has once been called the most readable madman in this Shore. It is not true, but enough believe it. 

0-02-1-1-0-0-1-Baptise

Maybe I should have explained this at the start. Oopsie doodle. Well long time ago I was helping my mother, and I learned a few odd tricks, tricks that, once I formed the Watchers, I realized were perhaps becoming more relevant. But they aren’t things I can use, due to personal reasons. But maybe they can help you, and you can use these methods to create the tools I can’t, to harness the powers I can only catalogue, and maybe make some friends from beyond the stars. It sounded fun, but it isn’t simple. So I’m gonna stop waxing poetic and start explaining, at least what I CAN explain.

Apparently, there is magic, and there is MAGIC, you know, the blood magics, the holy magics, all the things you cant just learn from a few signatures and a demonstration. Hard magics, complicated magics.

Guess what, there's another type of magic, a magic that isn’t, technically, magic at all. There is the Skyless Sea.

I am not really sure how many people CARE about what that is so lets just move to the nitty gritty. The Sea, like all places, has its magics, but its not a land, its a fluid, subjected to the currents of this Shore and others. This magic can’t be used directly but can be used to imbue items WITH that power to be harnessed, or in rites to harness that power in greater rituals. Its a lot of work and it is not a exact science, it CANT be a exact science, the more its explained, the more it is muddied, and Mud is very very dangerous, more so then the Sea itself. So its power can be called, but not commanded, not defined. But how?

Conveniently, all arts operate in this vague space of gray. In subversions and reinterpretations of soft rules. Metaphor and all that right? You can say something without saying it. And thus the Arts were made and there's all these Sailors and Witches and Artisans all harnessing the power of the Sea, and many of them wrote their methods down. And I have some of those books, which I am sharing. But they don't SAY how they wrote these down. They present questions and you have to find the answer. Most of the books mean something to the writer, how they saw the sea, how it influenced them, but they don't EXPLAIN it until you find the secret.

If you wonder how they do this, well I wish it was all the same way, but it’s not. In some of these books I found out the author didn't even encode it at all, the secret MOVED into the books. After all, the Sea has Fish. But as mentioned, I can’t simply TELL people how the sea works, you can orally, but if you write it down, things happen, the secrets change, the books change, it can be bad. But I have figured out some ways to help out. First, while the books are much larger then the articles you are decoding, I have, for the sake of all of our times, made sure that the relevant bits are what you read. So while you are only decoding one or two pages, you are actually “reading” a much thicker book, and when you decode the passage you studied the entire book. So its more like a simulation of studying then actual studying. I was very nice.

So you PROBABLY were wondering what that little number string at the top meant. The first page is the little binding, the title, the books background, and its library code. I designed a code to help say some things without saying them. Hopefully it helps. 

Now lets look at THIS books code: 0-11-1-1-0-0-1-Baptise, lets go over each number 1 by one. First number? The nature of the book, is it from Here, or the Sea. Shore books are 0, that means they are from here, or other Heres, they are safe and sane. They may not be nice, but they describe reality and are written by people. Usually straightforward and safe. A 1 means its a SEA book, these are written by Fish, Shark, Whales, or even the moons. These are NOT safe and I wont be publishing them… but if you happen upon one I can write out its barcode for you.

Often the second number is the most confusing. This is the books… Tone. Everything of the Sea has a Tone, usually 2 Tones even, or 3, these are categorical terms that define certain, shapes of power that thing has. To not get too dragged in the weeds, each Secret ALSO has a Tone, as they are about the powers of the Sea as well. The second number therefore says which of the eleven tones the secret harnesses. Other Tones can be involved as well but the Primary Tone is what is recorded in the barcode. The third number in the barcode just records which secret it is, that means that a book that starts with 0-1-2 and a book that starts with 0-1-1 have different secrets with the same Tone. HOWEVER books 1-1-1 and 0-1-1 will have the same secret. 

To be honest the next 3 numbers aren't exciting so lets breeze through them. Four is subject matter of the actual book, 1? That's instructional. 2 is Fairy tales, blah blah, boring. Fifth is if the book is Dangerous, and I do not mean in a existential sense. 0 is safe, if the numbers not 0 there's something wrong with it. Your gonna want to fix that before you get to the secret, how that is done varies. I’m not going to publish them willy nilly though, let me know if you find one of these. Sixth, if the book features a Moon and if so, which one. I can not say more then this. Moons control the tides of seas.

Really, we probably should have started here, this is what you are all stumped on, number 7, the encoding! Se we already know that these books have secrets hidden within, but books often will share the same method of hiding! So every book with a 7-1 (The seventh number is a 1), will be solved the same way as every 7-1. Sometimes its a little different but the meats the same. But how to figure out which one is which?

Every story has a “Phrase” or word, find the Phrase and the secret is unveiled.  To find the story you need to find the PATTERNS in the story. Some words are capitalized oddly, sometimes numbers are written in weird ways. Sometimes the book will fixate on a certain topic and each subject of that topic assembles into the name. I've done all that but thats not always relevant. The easiest and simplest ones is something where the spacing of the story is what matters, not the actual subjects within. If you find one of these you can just ignore the entire story and just scroll through it and circle words. 

All said and done, these might be tricky, and thats fine. If they weren't tricky they wouldn't be fun. However if you solve them you get the secret. Collaborate if you want, Its going to be a long winter, I am hoping this will let you not feel too bored with the time. I’ll try to help when I can. 

Lastly, while every secret defines a way or trick, the manner you use these tricks are not as important. I will trust that, if you have successfully solved the secret, that you incorporated the secret correctly in whatever “Art” you produce with it. Let me know if you have, and I will back your claim that the item is suitably crafted and empowered. If you wish to use these secrets, or magic in general to find out more of the Sea, also let me know.

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Why We Want To Go - The Player's Meeting

by Jason "Aeston" Rosa

We asked a wide assortment of Realms players from many different starting eras what they believe is the most significant change made to the rules in the time they have been playing. Let's see their answers:

John “Gordon” Rescigno: I can’t remember the year because time has become meaningless since Covid and becoming a parent. But the most meaningful change I have seen has been the removal of spell paths in our current system. Customization to match roleplay is a huge part of what our game has become, and I like that we no longer have “tax spells”. This allows players to have builds that feel more engaging and more importantly, make them feel more like their characters.

Alex "Adoros" Taylor: Honestly, I like the change of the spell system from Paths to the current Pool system. I do wish we had 7th spells back because 4 and 5 circles are quite heavy.

Travis "Elwin" Wilcox: When the entire system changed back in '98 I believe it was.

Kim "Mayumi Sorbus" Coffey: Code of Conduct - most important.

Sean "Wil" Veale: Arch / rouge spell system to circle system (94?)

Eric "Rosetta" Willisson: Adding the Code of Conduct in 2018. It was an essential part of helping to make our community safer, and it was a project carried out largely by some of our newer members at the time.

Alyssa "Umbra" Lee: Allowing more armor materials

Steven "Kaelkatar" Yazinka: Bamboo weapons in 2012 (and fiberglass weapons in 2009) made combat what it is today.

Ed "Tuilli" Drummond: The elimination of the paths of magic. I think it did a great job at allowing folk to build characters the way they wanted to, with a lot more narrative freedom.

Crystal “Cressida” Welch: The most important rule change since I started in 2016 has to be the addition of the Code of Conduct in 2018. This made the game feel safer and made it clear to those in the game, and those looking to join it, that we care about our community and that certain behaviors will never be tolerated.

Sara 'Zarine' Jessop: I can't decide between changing how we learn spells or getting rid of spell paths. Both have made spell casting much more flexible. Spell learning being quicker is much more newbie friendly as well as making it easier for everyone to switch things up if needed but I still think the system needs some tweaking. Getting rid of paths was something I didn't like at first, but it's proven to be a change for the better with people being able to customize their characters better making far more interesting builds. Overall I think both changes work well together and have been good changes.

Kyle “Killian” Yazinka: It’s changed several times but how long it takes to learn spells. When I started, learning a spell depended on what weapon restriction you had. It took longer to become a useful member of a questing party or tournament and in doing so, slowed the game down

Zach "Loken" Senchuk: The code of conduct: 2019ish I believe. Setting a standard, written, list of values we should all hold ourselves to was not the only reason I believe the community has gotten more inclusive, helpful and welcoming, but I think it marks the start of that shift as a whole rather than individual efforts by people or individuals.

Mikey "Janus" Donnelly:  When we added the ability to use alternative weapons materials, such as bamboo.

Matthew "Alexander Cecil" Brenner: In 1998, after much lobbying and discussion on the email lists, we transitioned from the Arc/Sphere system to the Path system. That was an entire spell system rewrite that fundamentally changed almost every aspect of the game except for the mechanics of combat and the abilities of a fighter. Almost every rule change we have made since has been iterative of that dramatic paradigm shift.

Pi "Wait I don't know whether Kwido or Alpacasaurus is my main" Fisher: The change from 7 circles of spells down to 6 circles of spells, paired with the removal of segregated paths of spells. This change was made for the 2018 Omnibus, and it's given us so much more freedom in how we tweak spells, both when we add or remove spells and when we try to tweak power levels.

Nick "Raynor" Quadrini: Adding the CRB and its evolution

Tucker “Temorse” Noyes: Bamboo weapons becoming an omnibus standard

Stephen "Laika" Sanford: Since I've been playing I would say the change from 2 cost to 1 cost buy downs was the most significant change. It happened around the year 2008 I think. The balance of casters and the idea of paths were changed. 1 cost buy downs was so good that there were people who would just buy down every spell in their path and just go embrace death instead of taking any necromancy. Additionally there was no reason to go 3 different paths like a few casters did before because even fully buying down a path including the 7th circle was effectively the same thing.

Keith “Saegan” Cronyn: Probably the shift of 7 circles of spells, and having paths, to having 6 circles of spells, but no paths. I think it was a bold move that broke people free from specific archetypes, but also maintained some measure of comparable balance.

I want to say the change to alchemy happened in the same year, and it was also a cool and well thought out change.

Anna "Hedda" Hewitt: Changing "hold" to be "hold hold hold"

Jason "Aeston" Rosa: The initial shift to 75% coverage for armoring a hit location to me signaled a shift in the attitude around combat. We've always treaded the line between a combat sport and a LARP and I think that change really showed our commitment that garb and story and RP were the more important parts of our game.

Angela "Phoenix" Gray: Somewhere around 2000 they changed repair armor so that it worked when you were wearing your armor.

At the time I was playing a fighter and there were multiple of us that had more than one shirt of armor so that you could fight on the front line until your second point of armor got taken and then you would step back shake out of your shirt. Pass it back to a blacksmith while you were putting on a second shirt. Oh and the shirts were steel then and weighed about 15 pounds.

James "Tao" Murphy: Change to how often you can learn spells. Some early players would look at the amount of time it would take to get all three paths and just stay a fighter. Not saying its a bad thing, but some people have been able to max it in just few weekends. I think we started changing that part of the system in 2010?

David "Tirvanel" Rubenstein: In my opinion, the most important rules change we have made since I started playing was the addition of the Code of Conduct in 2018

If you just look at gameplay mechanics, and not the surrounding rules, I think the most important change was the shift from 1 cost to 0 cost buydowns also in 2018.

Jason "Malaki" Gray: There are a few that stand out that are more memorable and or important.

The first big one was the change in the spell system in 1997 from Guilds and Arch Casters to a Path system.

The next, probably in the late 90s early 00s was when we stopped making people remove their armor for it to be able to be fixed.

The most recent and possibly most important change was when we voted in the Code of Conduct. It was long overdue and I'm glad we had people championing it when we did, as most other larps either had them or were instituting them.

Dan "N" Hudon: Last year I made a 16" dagger and a 4'6" in case I ever wanted to go one path, only for the restriction to be bumped up to 5'/5'2" combined a few months later! The timing was quite unfortunate, but I'm glad 1-paths got that buff and can now use more standard weapon sizes.

Janna "Iawen" O-P: I sadly cannot remember like I used to. Things I was either happy about or surprised were things such as: Love Potion removal, Alchemist/Alchemy overhaul, getting rid of Seventh circles, getting rid of paths :-( , mostly things I can recall were spell changes. Well, there was that one year we did 16-18" for daggers only. Lolz. 😅

Matt "Vesper" Hewitt: Removing paths for casters really added to flavor and build diversity.

Jerry "Pawldo" Pearce: The most important rule change was the introduction of the Path system, replacing Arc/Rogue. This change was introduced to the PCs at Gathering of Heroes 15 Feb 03. It is the basis for the explosion of spells and the nearly yearly refurbishing of the magic system.

Amber "Lady Tarnisha" Fox: The switch from Guilds to Paths was monumental and opened the system up so much and made the magic system more open, no longer requiring you to "know a guy" or sign up for a religion to learn advanced spells. (Timing ~'99?)

The next most important one was creating the 1st circle pool. That lead to how every circle has a pool now. (Timing ??2007 +/- a few years.) The flashiest was adding the Alchemy path to the system-- "magic" for casters who had "non-magical" schtick.

For Non-magic changes: The most important rule change was adding the code of conduct and the CRB/Arbitration committees. I don't think it's quite perfect yet, but we are a much better game for choosing to travel this worthy path. (Timing ~2016?)

Briar "Felnar Dulintel (Phee)" Sieracki: For interesting: the removal of paths! I remember it being a buy-down cost to have spells from other paths, but now it's a lot more free, which can add to a lot of fun roleplaying choices.

For important, this might be a personal preference with my experience in other games, but moving Hold from a single word call to a three-times one. It helps so much in preventing a simple mishearing that stops the entire quest, or worse, a hold not happening when it needs to.

Kelly “Fern” Perfetto: 2023, increasing the size restriction one path casters can have.

It seems like 5 ft weapons and larger combos have allowed one path casters to play on the front lines more. This in turn has lead to a few more people around who can heal caster’s limbs, and more of questing parties can stick together. I really like it, and it’s fun to fight alongside a caster buddy with a five foot!

Kenneth "Celtrex" Crowley: Probably when we decided to move away from spell paths and make all spells into level pools with no cost by down. It was a significant power bump for casters. I believe it was 2016 or 2017 when that change was made.

Dan “Diamond” Diamond: The change to the path based magic system from the guilds.

Ryan "Orion" Welch: Removing spell paths (2018) really upended the way we think about spell and created so many new and interesting spellcaster builds.

Looking through the above there are certainly some common themes. The spell system, weapon materials, conduct reporting. All significant changes that have taken place across the last three decades. There are also a fair number of very unique answers as well, what people decide is an important change is ultimately a function of how they have interacted with the game and the community over their years of playing.

The rules of this game have changed over time in response to an evolving player base and and an overall evolving society as a whole. There aren't many LARP communities out there that have the kind of history that we do and have required a constant, deep, and introspective look at the guidelines we play by and govern ourselves by. I think it is a unique and special thing that the Realms does that isn't very common in our hobby.

Regardless of how anyone answered the above question, my point about the Players Meeting holds true. With so many decades of changes in a set of rules that evolves in accordance with the need of the players, participation in this process is both a right and a privilege extended to everyone who calls themselves a Realmsie. Why we want to go to the Players Meeting is to have our say. It's to make our own impact on how this game changes over time and it's how we ensure its longevity. 

We go to the Players Meeting because the Realms belongs to us. Not just the people who have been playing since the 90's. Not just the people who throw events. Not just the people who lead nations and groups. The Realms belongs to all of us and we all get to create it together. 

Let's do some more of that tomorrow.

Straight Outta Context

Here's our third installment of “Straight Outta Context” where we post a photo with absolutely no context and see what you think is happening! To kick off each post, we'll ask someone random in the community to take a stab at what's happening!

Kieran/Kyra “Omri” guesses:

1. Blue man group plan out their next concert and are getting desperate
2. Legally distinct Gargamel won’t know what hit him
3. Eagle’s Rook member who takes the blue motif pretty seriously has wares if you have coin
   

Share your guesses via discord or in the Facebook comments! Want to take a stab at what's happening in our next picture? Reach out to Dani Lacasse via discord or facebook messenger to signup!