Conspiracy Monthly

By Kieran//Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

  By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

 By: Kyra/Kieran Barry

From the award winning publication! 

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kyra/Kieran Barry

2026 EHC Digest

Hello everyone,

I want to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone who attended both the Players Meeting and the Event Holders Council. Serving in this role within the community is no small undertaking. Making decisions that impact the entire community can feel daunting at times. However, once the meetings concluded, I was reminded exactly why we do this work: for the love of our community.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, stayed engaged, and remained respectful and focused. Your professionalism and kindness helped ensure that both meetings ran smoothly and productively. Thank you to those who paused to say “thank you” throughout the process, who approached conversations with respect, and who remained thoughtful even when decisions and discussions were complex. That spirit of gratitude and mutual respect makes all the difference. It’s what allows us to have hard conversations while still feeling united in purpose.

At the Players Meeting, we had 55 virtual participants and addressed 56 total proposals. Of those, 37 passed and advanced to the Event Holders Council.

At the Event Holders Council 44 eligible Event Holders were in attendance. We addressed pending CRB cases, reviewed 39 proposals (31 of which passed), and conducted a thorough review of our standing policies. As a result, we officially removed the COVID Standing Policy enacted on June 12, 2021, as well as the Modified Non-Com Rules, which have now been incorporated as a formal rule. We also voted in our new administrative teams (which can be found below!)

I would also like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the team members who supported these efforts every step of the way and throughout both meetings.

Crystal W. — thank you for the many hours of preparation leading up to both meetings and for your steady support throughout. Thank you for helping steer conversations with clarity and care, making space for voices to be heard while keeping us moving forward. Your passion and dedication does not go unnoticed. 

Nataliya K. — thank you for being an absolute rock star. Your help with counting hands and cards at both meetings, along with coordinating and organizing those joining virtually for CRB proceedings, ensured accuracy and kept everything on track.

Emma S. — thank you for assisting with counting at the Players Meeting, securing the room for the EHC, running the computer and always being one of my biggest supporters. 

Anna R. and Kyle Y. — thank you both for jumping in last minute to assist with counting at the Players Meeting. Your willingness to step up wherever needed is deeply appreciated.

Keith C. - thank you for always giving me a safe space to talk things out and providing meaningful guidance especially leading up to the EHC, and for answering procedural questions on how certain things were handled last year

Tucker N. — thank you for helping talk through and clarify the CRB processes. Your insight and guidance were invaluable during those discussions.

Pi Fisher — thank you for answering my questions throughout the EHC and for being such a steady and knowledgeable resource.

I’d also like to thank everyone who stayed afterward to help clean up quickly following the in-person meeting. That extra effort and teamwork did not go unnoticed and is another example of the care people continue to show for our shared space and community.

It truly takes a village to carry out work of this scale, and I am so thankful to be surrounded by people who are willing to show up and give so generously of themselves.

Thank you all for your continued commitment to this community.

-Dani Lacasse

_________________________________________________________________

2026 Administrative Roles:

Administrative Meeting Organizer(s)

Pi Fisher 

Backup: Crystal Welch 

Complaint Review Board

Chairperson: Nataliya K.

Vice Chairperson: Emily Murphy 

Paul Tilton 

Hannah Boucher 

Pi Fisher 

Backups:

Ben Lacasse 

Ed Drummond 

Josh Learned 

Death Marshal

Bri Meisser

Backup: Ian Pushee

Event List Administrator

Ian Pushee  

Backup: Dani Lacasse

Facebook Moderation Team

Dani Lacasse 

Jason Rosa

Sarah Fournier

Nataliya K.

Nixon Showalter 

Minister of Magic Items 

Ian Pushee 

Backup: Tim Suitor

Omnibus Editorial Committee

Kelly Perfetto

Pi Fisher

Nixon Showalter 

Cameron Huneke

Zachary Koval

Conspiracy Monthly

By: Kyra/Kieran Barry

From the award winning publication! 

Disability in the Realms: The Character

 By: Bri Meisser

Read the first installation of this series HERE

Disability is something that encompasses every aspect of one's life. I was given a task to write 3 articles about my disability and how it impacts my ability to engage with the Realms. I will be splitting this series into 3 distinct sections. Bri The Player, Margaret The Character, and Bri The Event Holder. My hope is that by the end of this series, you will have a better respect for some of the struggles our disabled players go through in order to continue to play this game we love. Becoming disabled is the only minority group anyone can join at any time, and we will all deal with health related issues as we age. But maybe by working together, we can create a game that’s more accommodating and understanding to those issues. I am only one disabled individual, and everyone’s experiences are unique. But here are mine. This is Margaret, the Character. You can read part 1 here:

Many people use fantasy and roleplay as a form of escapism. And while there are many things that one can escape by entering new worlds, one thing which cannot always be escaped is disability. The WISIWYG nature of our game means that any character I play will inherently be disabled because I am. If I am in a wheelchair, so is my character. If I’m in too much pain to wear armor, so is my character. This can be challenging in a world full of perilous quests and which tend to involve a lot of mobility and fighting. 

When I first joined the game I was a fighter. I went to fight practice frequently and immensely enjoyed that part of the game. In fact, I found the spell system fairly intimidating which is ironic to think about now. I was Mighty Margaret, slayer of Rexan’s Champion, and a warrior within the Realms. It was my identity as a character. However, as my health began to worsen, I had to slowly drop weapons and armor. My arms couldn’t handle the strain of a full day of fighting, nor my body the weight of chainmail. One of the reasons I immensely enjoyed aspect system playtests was that they allowed me the flexibility to do some fighting, while also having spells to fall back on when my health worsened. Or which allowed me to have a fighter combination and armored cloak instead of heavy armor. But the reality of my situation is that my health impacts my in-character build. And I am fortunate that our game is flexible enough to allow me to change builds to fit my needs, as many other games lock you into skills and paths. 

If it was up to me, I would be a 2-path. I consider myself a fairly skilled archer, and 2-path allows me to engage in the fighting I enjoy while also having access to the highest circle of spell. But I never know if I will be healthy enough to fight on any given quest. So I find myself a 3-path, forced to prioritize my health over my preferred play style. 

I have roleplayed my disabilities in various different ways as I’ve played this game. Sometimes I try to not think about it too much, and to pretend to be as normal as possible. This sense of normalcy can be precious and makes the costly medical interventions I endure worth it. Other times, my character laments the fact that she is able to bring back people from the dead and summon forth divine powers, but can’t heal her own chronic health issues. As I said before, LARP can be an escape, but it can also be a good medium to process these difficult emotions. Going on a personal quest for self acceptance can be as fulfilling as pretending everything is okay. And both have their places within the game as we go through difficult things.

One of the hardest things for me is reconciling how my Oaths as a character are impacted by my health as a player. There are two in-particular that stick out to me in that regard. One is the Magi tenant of ‘quest until the last quest is done’. I love questing. It is my favorite part of this game. But sometimes I can’t quest until the last quest is done. Sometimes I am in my wheelchair, and the quest takes the party into an area that is not wheelchair accessible. Sometimes I can’t come back on Sunday to finish up questing because I’m so exhausted from Saturday that I’m not safe to drive. Sometimes I could do the quest, but the physical cost of the crash I would endure isn’t worth the benefit I would personally get from that quest. While I would love to set a good example of excellent quest leadership and participation, sometimes I have to miss this quest so I can make it to the last one.

The other tenant which I can struggle with at times is the Knight of the Crown tenant of ‘do what is right, even if others would oppose you, even if it would cost you your life, ensure that it is done.’ I find doing what I believe is right as a character to be relatively easy. I will fight an enemy which I have no hope of defeating in order to inspire others to continue after me. What is much much harder is when what is right, is for me to rest and take care of myself. I don’t like asking people to do things I’m not willing to do myself. I want to lead by example. And yet at the DI3 Saturday night quest, when my legs gave out and I physically could not walk any further? One of the hardest things I ever had to do in this game was not to try. But it was to sit back and trust other people to succeed without me. 3 years ago I wouldn’t have been able to do that. Now I don’t have a choice. 

In many ways playing a disabled character is like being a disabled person. The same sacrifices, mental calculations, and accommodations that go into being disabled don’t go away just because you get a magic wand and cosmic powers. But the way that we respond to those setbacks and use those to set a good example both in and out of character are really important. Next time, I will discuss my work as an eventholder. How I manage to balance my health needs with the strain of running an event. How being disabled has shifted my design philosophy when creating encounters. And how I create the type of event I would enjoy playing in spite of the struggles highlighted above.

Until then,

Bri Meisser

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Communities Helping Communities

I’d like to take a minute of your time and share with the Realms community something that happened very recently. Back in September, we held our annual Feast of Blackwood at Camp Joslin in Charlton. Lisa Laconto who is the director of Special Events for the Barton Center for Diabetes Education who owns the camp, approached me in the kitchen during the feast. Lisa had explained that her food service director and assistant had left their employment with the camp the prior week and that the camp was in a bind for their upcoming annual fund raiser in November and that the cheapest caterer they could find on such short notice wanted to charge $65 per person for just the dinner service. Lisa asked if we would be interested in running the kitchen for their fundraiser. It would entail serving upscale appetizers, entrees and desserts for 200 people.  

I told Lisa that I would get back to her but wanted the ability to put together my own kitchen staff. After our feast, I reached out to those within our community who have worked kitchens with me and knew would help me support this other community. Everyone who I reach out to said yes. My kitchen staff consisted of Liz Butler, Ben and Jana Greene, Dani Lacasse, Matt Hewitt, Lynn Butler, Kristopher Payne and myself. 

With crew selected, contract signed and 5 weeks until showtime, we set out to create an upscale menu that was highlighted by scallops wrapped in bacon and a large charcuterie board (with thanks to Jason Rosa for sharing some knowledge). Although in this article I focus on the kitchen as that was my job, the focus for the night was on the fund raiser and the camp trying to surpass last years goal. For me this was simple, treat it like an event and put on the best menu I could with as little spent as possible as every penny saved went to the camp. In the end, I was under budget by more than half of what was given for food and overall with our donated time as the caterers, we saved the camp just under $13,000, which directly goes to the camp. The Chairman of the Board introduced himself to us and thanked us for the best food they have had in years and for being not only under the budget given but for being below last year’s food budget as well. By the end of the night, the camp had their best fund raiser ever by more than doubling this year’s goal. 

Being able to do this was very meaningful for me as we all have family and friends that struggle with diabetes. I never would have been given the chance to do this or have the amazing friends who came to my call if it weren’t for the Realms. In the end, it was one community helping another community.

Matt Butler

Sir Mathies of Blackwood 

 

P.S. We have been asked to run the kitchen for next year’s fund raiser 

[Pictured from left to right; Back Row: Matt Hewitt, Jana Greene, Ben Greene Center Row: Liz Butler, Matt Butler Lisa Laconto, Kris Payne Front Row: Dani Lacasse, Lynn Butler]

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi friends! Dani here hijacking this (sorry Matt) tagging in on this article for a moment, but just for a moment I promise. While Matt has taken the time to highlight his kitchen crew and the incredible fundraiser event itself in this wonderfully written article, I would really like to take a second to stress just how astounding it is that Matt was able to pull this off. For those of you who have planned and hosted grand feasts or served really any food at and event in the realms before you know this, but for those who haven't, this task was no small feat especially while being the third large scale food event Matt led this year in about a seven month span. With less than two months prep time Matt was able to form a full kitchen staff, curate recipes and a full menu (printed and framed) which needed to be fully vetted and approved by the camps board and execute it near perfectly. And while there was a great team behind him, what is a team without a leader at its helm? Without Matt's guidance, expertise and patience during the entire weekend (yes weekend, while the event was on Saturday he was there Thursday evening until Sunday morning prepping and then cleaning up) we certainly wouldn't have been able to make it all come together as it did without him. The bond Matt has formed with Lisa and the entire Camp Joslin community this past year has lead us to an incredible experience that doesn't come often. So with that I just wanted to take this moment to say thank you Matt, for this opportunity and so much more. 

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

[Trips on the way to the weekend and spills copies of Conspiracy MONTHLY from pockets]

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

You notice we never include the date on these?

Stories from Divine Intervention 3

Following a tradition set upon at previous Divine Intervention events, stories have been gathered. Tales told by those who bore witness to that which occurred. These, are Stories from Divine Intervention 3

—

There we were, scattered around the site doing small challenges for a big game of clue. I approach my good friend Harkel getting a brief on one of the challenges and am told we need a 'silly' weapon. Well, as fate would have it, I finished a trident just two days prior! So, after a run back to the tavern to grab my gear, I approach the challenge and engage in glorious Trident and Buckler vs Flail and Shield combat! 

Well, glorious may be stretching it. As it turns out, tridents aren't good at wrapping around shields, but they are really good at stopping flails. It was a long battle of attrition, where my self-cast Enchant Armor allowed me to take at least 5 blows to my shield arm, but in the end I emerged victorious!

~Ian "Timm" Perry

—

So, it was nighttime. In Hell. There Bogen and I were, tromping up the hill to go help out our friends, so far left alone by demons. Then, we run into 6 demons, all deciding that it was our time to die. So, we sprinted back down the hill, chanting "Fuck that shit! Fuck that shit!", Bogen waving glowing rainbow orbs. Hilarity among the assembled adventurers ensued.

~ Styx

—

I have a few.

Most visible to others was the timeline. Gideon asked me a question, something like "I hear there was a time before Calladen went into the Dagger of Sacrifice that he was helping us? Where in the time loop is that relative to where we are?"

I did not even know how to begin answering, so I starting drawing instead. 

I added elements, others came by and contributed. We dredged our memories for what happened at events that were over a decade ago by mortal reckoning. "Did that really happen before we defeated Bedlam?" "Wow, that was a busy year." I tried to keep it as focused on the task at hand as possible, but still had to include a time skip, a loop, and a supplementary timeline to track Laika's major events. Kovaks protested that there were too few dimensions, which is true, but it was barely comprehensible as it was.

I am not sure that the timeline really turned into anything pivotal, but it was memorable, and I had some good conversations about pieces of it, so I am glad I made it. 

For another: there was a staff that needed to not touch the ground in Hell, that Vesper had to bring with us as we traveled into Hell. I was asked to help, and we eventually settled on trying to shrink it. Under considerable time pressure, I threw together a ritual with four or so people. We performed it, but on the moment when I focused the magic on the staff, I felt a psychic attack attempt to compel me to instead take the staff and give it to the very being we seek to keep it from. I was a Protectionist when I first began adventuring, and while my spells are no longer focused in this way, it still comes naturally to me to block such magic. In this case, however, I was tested nearly to my limit. After my initial Protect the Soul failed to hold it off, I was forced to escalate and use all of my strength and tricks, from my Force of Will as a Knight of the Red Branch to my power as a Magus of the Realms, in a matter of seconds. Finally, drained, I realized I had fought it off, but could barely consider it a victory: the staff remained its original size, I had far less power available to fight in Hell, and I fear the being learned from me in our brief conflict.

A brief story: at one point in Hell, I had rested on a bench, within sight of the temple. A pair of demons accosted me. They observed that we, the visitors, had been lying all the time. One of them added that he had been eating the lies and they were delicious. As I knew that several of the demons were seeking to make deals in exchange for information on the pieces of soul we sought, I jumped on this. "Oh really? You eat lies? That could be traded for. I can lie to you all day!" The demon did look like he was considering it, but the other immediately stabbed me. I hear that the first exclaimed with upset that his chance at being fed more lies had been snatched from him, but the other just said "I hate lying." Perhaps they were like the classic puzzle guards, but instead of one telling the truth and the other lying, one loved truths and the other loved lies.

Finally, I want to repeat something I told the group after we left Hell: this may have been the most successful quest into Hell that I have ever been on. All too often, we flee Hell, barely alive and having given up too many valuable positions, made dangerous deals, and had to cut our losses. I remember questing into Hell to attempt to spread Duchess Ophelia's influence during the Bedlam War, and I believe we only made it out when Laurante made a new deal with the Queen of Worms. I remember the Druid challenge which resulted in a demoness serving and influencing the Queen of Faerie, and the temple to Aurora in Hell being desecrated. But this time, we not only succeeded, with the child's soul being restored, we left Hell a full hour before our deadline! It was an impressive victory.

~ Magus Rosetta

—

We spent much of Saturday in the town of Lost Hope, trying to right and rewrite the shadows and memories of wrongs done to the townsfolk. At many of these locations, Tears of Aurora mixed with those tears of the Mother of the Child of Light were collected. Once we had all of them, our next steps became clear. 

As was evident to everyone walking among these shades in the shattered ruins of the town, terrible things had occurred, and the gods had allowed them to come to pass. As adventurers, we were told that some of our group must pay penance, though none of us had been present when these atrocities had been committed. 

Last September, I started learning what it meant to be an adventurer, partially to increase any possibility of meeting the gods I have studied for a few years now. Alight with nerves after waiting in line, I placed my right hand on the mirror containing the Tears of Aurora, and my left on the vessel to Antioch’s power. I reached out, and there was something, someone reaching back. There had often been a faint presence in Coventry, but nothing so potent and real as this. The voice, formless, entered my senses without reaching my ears, greeting me and saying that it was good to finally speak with me as well. Antioch once again impressed the severity of the wrong done here, and I agreed. “Something has been lost. The Child never had the chance to grow into something great. What can be done about this?” Antioch bade me to create, possibly with magic, something wonderful for someone I did not know, voice swirling like a chorus, like a mind greater than any one man. I readily agreed. How could I not?

Later, in Hell, I used my ward spell to get myself and others through hoards of demons. I have always used this spell to call upon Antioch. That night it felt just a little more powerful, a little more imbued with purpose.

~Kelly "Charis" Perfetto

—

I have two stories to share. One involving my goddess, and one her husband, as it seems to go.

The first was when we discovered that Death Knights were guarding the Temple of Aurora. While the rest of the party was ready to make their way into battle, I did the stupid yet noble thing. I gave away our element of surprise, and seanced Garm. I sought out Pawldo to ensure I had a Knight of Garm bearing witness, and I flipped over the timer. Garm just responded “you again” in his gruff voice as soon as he answered. That’s how you know he cares. I explained that we were coming, for Aurora set us upon this quest. He said if we wanted to enter the Temple, we would have to prove we could. And that we did. 

Later that evening, I was brought back to life in the Temple of my goddess, having just felt her loving embrace in spite of my dead state moments before. Both my boyfriend and my Knight were gone, the altar where we had sacrificed Tir moments before laid bare, and it was time for us to follow. I kneeled before the altar, tears flowing freely, as I asked Aurora to take care of them. As I got up and left, people tried to comfort me, telling me that they would be okay. But for once, I was not afraid. I knew they were safe because I have faith, and as long as they were with Aurora nothing could ever go wrong.

~ Squire Margaret August

—

The Friggin’ God Bottles             

~ According to Makhta ~

So there were these bottles, with different gods’ names on them, that you couldn’t move off a table but you could put little power gem things in them.  Like voting, I guess. And Rexan was on a bottle there too, I don’t know why, I thought it was dead, but anyway.  There was one unmarked one that we figured was the Absolution god, which we were told not to vote for, no matter how tempting absolution sounds to be honest, so we put a “no” sign on it but that didn’t stop some people from voting who can perfectly well read but don’t believe good advice.

Anyway, a god who was not included was none other than Vesper, and I pointed this out to him and I said he should have a bottle too, and he said “go ahead if you want.”  So I put a fancy gold “Vesper” on a party cup and slammed it down on one end of the god bottle table, just to find out that Jasper had already done that with another party cup on the other end and it already had stones in it!

So later we found out that people were moving stones around, most notably from Vesper’s cup – because apparently it wasn’t a “real” god bottle or whatever.  So that wasn’t right.  And Shadow got a bottle added and had a bunch of votes, so why not Vesper?

So after we dealt with all the night’s questing and I still had magic to burn because – well, ha ha gods, the joke’s on you – and so far I’ve never asked for divine aid for anything actually serious and life-saving – Charis said they could help me get in touch with the leylines or however they connect to magic so we could right the wrong of this big affront to our personal friend the god.

Charis’ mage-y senses said that we couldn’t add a bottle, like Shadow got to.  We’d have to take over one already on the table.  Like what the hell Garm, how is that fair?  So we figured Rexan would be good ‘cause it’s not alive anyway, and I was ready to go but Charis thought we should make sure we wouldn’t be hurting Vesper with this, like giving him Rexan’s domain or something.  Sheesh, crazy cautious actually smart mages….

And while we’re dithering about this and figuring that out, Rexan’s bottle moved!  It went right over to friggin’ Dionin’s and glommed on and shared stones and everything.  Like, what the hell!  I mean, glad to see Rexan running in fear, but Dionin?  Son of an actual…   anyway….

So we got moving, got some nice drinks in some party cups to invoke Vesper’s party spirit, called on powers and toasted and linked arms and drank over Vesper’s previously shunned god cups, and lo and behold!  Rexan’s bottle un-glommed from Dionin’s and it suddenly said “Vesper” on it, all fancy and shining with godly goodness!

Now just to remind you, Vesper was okay with all this so whatever consequences he got after were hopefully good god consequences, but also his problem, and I dunno what ended up happening but I heard he got all the votes he needed to – I dunno, graduate or whatever, so he was out of the running when it came time for penances later.  Which was too damn bad for a lot of reasons.

I’m sure there are no negative or lasting repercussions from this moment of justice, and I’m glad I could use the arcane mastery that the gods forced on me to help out one of their own.  Party on, Vesper!

Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Credit to Sean Finn for an article I wholesale got from him, no wording change needed.