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.
Editor's note:
We're back with another installment of The Cry of Midgard. We've certainly learned that something troubling is happening in Midgard based on the very small amount of wandering we've done so far. The question is, are you going to be part of the solution or part of the problem?
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There you go. I hope that was enough "support" for you.
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This week we have an interview with Greg Falconer, who plays Daekara (both he/him)!
9ish years now. I started practicing at UConn in Fall of 2014 and went to my first event shortly after that.
The game has put a lot more effort into making great quests, when I started it was a very tournament focused game. The culture has also changed into a much more open place which I think has been great for the community. I see the new players given an environment they feel comfortable stepping up in and its wonderful.
The people I've learned the most from would have to be King Shandar, Sir Trent, and Sir Gwen. King Shandar has taught me a lot of my fighting skills and how to organize and work with groups, Sir Trent taught me discipline and scheduling, and Sir Gwen taught me a lot about running a kitchen and budgeting out food for an event.
My best in-character moment would have to have been at an Ashen Bounty a few years back. It was one of the first quests for which I had done the research to figure out how to kill most of the types of enemies we were facing. Instructing people how to fight creatures while leading the front of the line all day culminated in getting to kill the enemies' champion at the end of the night. Taking the scale mail off him to claim as my own made me feel like a big damn hero.
So my best out of character moment would have to be the at the Coronation of King Shandar. Running my first event as a feastocrat was a huge undertaking, especially with how important the event was to my King and the amount of work that went into it and having a great let us pull through. Hearing the praise and what people loved about the food had me glowing.
I would like to see individual tournaments and war maneuvers come back more. I miss the thrill of those fights and the adrenaline from the competition.
7) What advice would you give to new players?
Explore how you can bring what you love into the game. Chances are there are other people here who share your interests, and you can do something together that you never would have thought possible before. I've built lifelong friendships this way - doing things I never would have expected before coming to the Realms, and now those side projects have become a huge part of my life.
The people, Realms has become a found family for me and outside the game everyone is still friends with each other. The best moments of my life have all been tied to people I met in the game in some way.
I would like to see Ben Lacasse's, Ryan Welch's, or Adam Blaisdell's answers. (Editor's note: Here's a link to Adam's 10 Questions interview.)
This community has done a ton with charities and helping each other throughout the years but especially since we came back from the pandemic. I'm proud of all the good work we do and that we came back and endure.
We hope you've enjoyed getting to know a little more about Greg and his thoughts about the Realms! If you'd like to do one of these interviews, just send Pat Bobell (emeraldsaka on Discord) a message to let him know.
Fresh Faces has been on a bit of a hiatus, and it's about time we get it spun up again! To kick us off, this week we bring you Bri Meisser (they/them), who plays Margaret August (she/her)!
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| (Photo by Brookelyn Gingras) |
1) How did you learn about the Realms?
I learned about the realms through WPI’s SMAS club. My sister suggested that I hit people with foam sticks for PE credit, so I said why not. Eventually, I ended up falling in love with the game.
2) How many events have you been to so far?
41 (editor's note: Holy mackerel!)
3) Had you LARPed or done other types of improv or roleplaying games before coming to the Realms? If so, please tell us about it!
Not really. I did some musical theater and a very very short D&D campaign, but never really done something like LARPing before.
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| (Photo by Matt Brenner) |
Her name is Margaret August. She’s from a demi-plane called Sanctuary, which is a save haven for refugees. Her family has lived there for many generations. She identifies as Hope Light Human. In Sanctuary, there are 12 Guardians people can be aligned to who look after the citizens. She is aligned to the Guardian of Hope, and her family is blessed by the Guardian of Light, which is where the Hope Light comes from. Aside from those influences, she’s a normal human which is where the human comes from. Margaret is generally pretty kind and passionate. As well as an embodiment of Hope and Light. She is an extremely dedicated servant of the goddess Aurora. She is also an Oathsworn member of the nation Voraniss, earning the name Lightbringer. Margaret is a Squire to Sir Laika en’Naur of the Knights of the Crown. All of these things are very important to her, helping to shape who she is.
5) What do you remember most about your first event?
My first event was actually really overwhelming for me. It was Black and White in 1021, and it was the largest group of people who I’d interacted with in one place since the quiet years began. I felt really intimidated, and like I didn’t really know anyone or that I’d fit in. The amount of growth and change that I saw between my first Black and White and my second is something that really sticks out to me.
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| (Photo credit unknown) |
6) What things have helped you feel more welcome in the Realms?
There are a lot of things which have helped me to feel more welcome. The realms community can be incredibly kind and compassionate, particularly to people who are neurodivergent like me. Finding groups where I feel comfortable and at home has done a lot to help me in this. But to be treated like I belong even when I’m not officially part of a group can be really humbling, and many people from many different groups have opened their homes and their lives to me and I am eternally grateful. As for groups I am a part of. The Church of Aurora really helped me to find my footing, and being made a Page and then a Squire by Sir Laika only reinforced that. And even before I began petitioning, Voraniss made me feel like one of their own, from defending me in battle, to helping me find armor and garb, and just being kind.
7) What parts of the game do you find most challenging?
I find knowing my limits and pacing myself to be really challenging. I get very excited and want to do everything, and sometimes I just can’t. And that’s okay. But learning to accept that it’s okay has been a difficult journey. I also have a lot of health issues, so despite my desires to go hardcore questing until 2am every weekend, knowing when to step back and take breaks is an important skill for my long term enjoyment of the game.
8) What Realms-related goals (IC or OOC) have you gotten excited to pursue?
I have a lot of goals I’ve been really excited about. I think I’ll do one IC goal and one OOC goal. IC, I was given a task by my goddess to help find her new Mortal Avatar. This is a huge responsibility and also a privilege, especially for someone as young and new as me, and one I intend to take very seriously. I am also working hard on the quest for her to get a new Champion. So really just working to rebuild and grow the Church, and to ensure all of the positions are filled before the second ascension war. OOC, I’ve been working on a plotline about Margaret’s home plane called Sanctuary plot. I’ve thrown several e-quests, as well as two in-person quests, one unofficial and one as part of Storytellers. It has been an incredibly fulfilling experience and it is a story I am passionate about telling. I hope to throw more in-person content in the near future, and am excited to see where it goes.
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| (Photo by Bri Meisser) |
9) What advice would you give to other new players?
Learn what you’re passionate about and get involved. Talk to people. Make friends. Make enemies. Do *something*. Always strive for growth and improvement, and have fun. Remember to prioritize your real life, and that the game will still be there when you’re done. Ask for help when you need it, and provide help when you can give it. Tell stories, become apart of stories, whether it’s as a player or an event holder, because that’s what this is. A game of stories. And they’re going to be amazing.
10) What have you enjoyed most about the game so far?
I’ve enjoyed so many aspects of the game. I enjoy getting to meet new people. I enjoy fighting and combat. I enjoy being a spellcaster, and really diving deep into plots. I enjoy telling stories. Being involved. It has been an amazing experience so far and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.
We hope you've enjoyed getting to know a little more about Bri and their character Margaret! If you'd like to do one of these interviews and have been playing for less than a couple of years, just send Pat Bobell (emeraldsaka on Discord) a message to let him know.
By Sara ‘Zarine’ Jessop
I always enjoy our annual masquerade, but this year I was particularly excited because I got to be there all day! Yes, I took a day off from my duties at The Lupe to attend this year's festivities and I am so happy that I did because what a wonderful day I had. The weather was sunny and pleasant and the leaves were falling all around us. A perfect autumn day to set the scene for all of the activities. So many activities that one couldn’t possibly attend them all, so I am sure that there were things that I missed that will be omitted from what you missed.
I arrived early to perform one of my Peacocky duties of setting up the Swap Shop. We had so many items up for grabs that we needed to use two tables! We had many visitors throughout the day who outfitted themselves in your previously loved goods. Many times as I wandered the grounds I spied someone wearing something that used to grace my closet with its presence and it warms my heart to see them being enjoyed by someone new!
I spent most of the early part of the day at Invictus Gladatoriums. For those not in the know, that is how we induct both Black and Gold wolves into the nation. Black Wolves are petitioners, and Gold Wolves are full members. We welcomed Mistral into the Milites et Cives Invicti (civilians and militants sworn to Invictus). Then we all fought Lupa, some of us more times than others. While she had already received her Gold Wolf, we hadn’t yet run her ceremonial fights so that was rectified.
Much to Lupa’s relief, we paused mid ceremony as Chimeron was about to do their own ceremonial fight fest, wherein the Champion of Chimeron is chosen. There were many well fought bouts, and even if I couldn’t figure out the exact structure of the competition it was enjoyable to watch. Orion emerged victorious, defeating Tirvanel in the final duel. What a star!
Now that Lupa had had a break to catch her breath and make sure she knew all our names, we finished up her portion of our assembly. Next up was Aiden’s fights as we welcomed him with a Black Wolf. Both combatants did well against all of their opponents and did all of us proud. There wasn’t a very big crowd gathered to watch us, which was a shame because it really is a spectacular fighting showcase. And you missed me actually fighting!
With that wrapped up, I headed back up to the main hall as I was starving. Fortunately the first round of food was out and it did not disappoint. I still say they need to provide full size plates. I want to try everything and that requires a lot of return trips to the sideboard. All those trips were worth it though. I particularly enjoyed the crabbies, cucumber sandwiches, and the brie. The crab dip was also quite delicious. The prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe was… weird? I love prosciutto and I love cantaloupe but I am not sure I liked them together. I ended up taking them apart and eating them separately. The cucumber lemon water was a nice change of pace instead of just plain water, and the cider was very tasty.
I caught a group about to judge something, and was very offended that they didn’t ask me to judge. But then they asked me if I wanted to judge cheesecake and like, who doesn’t right? I learned that not everyone enjoys the same texture of cheesecake as we often disagreed on that front, and that Malaki is the only one of us who really liked matcha. I loved the dulce de leche, which was made by Sabine and was the winner. Honorable mention to the peanut butter, which was really good but seemed more like a peanut butter cake as opposed to cheesecake. And a big shout out to the one we couldn’t figure out. It seemed to be a brûlée but it had a flavor we couldn’t place. Rum maybe? It was extremely interesting to the palate and most of us couldn’t decide if we liked it or not. If whoever made it could share the recipe so we can settle the ‘what the heck is this flavor’ debate, we would appreciate it.
During all of this there was some questing going on. I did not get a chance to participate, but I heard it involved vampires, and maybe eagles? There were Kingsmen who wanted access to some mines to somehow help them return home, I think…? I got all of this second hand and in bits and pieces, so I could totally be way wrong. You should ask someone who went on these adventures if you want more (and more accurate) information.
Then it was time to get all fancified for court. That’s right, I wasn’t already fancy. In fact, I wore a tabard for much of the day. A tabard that I remembered to bring and everything! After getting myself ready, it was time to wander about and judge people. We had two awards to hand out and we needed to peruse the candidates. In doing so, we learned that since no one is really ready for court until court actually starts it is very difficult to get a good look at everyone, make a decision, and then get their names on certificates. So we will be looking into ways to improve that in the future. But for this year, ‘Best Mask’ went to Killian, and ‘Best in Black and White’ went to Marycia (if I spelled that wrong, I apologize). We also chose the color of the season, which is Deep Sage and was very nicely modeled by Kas.
A lot of things happened at court and I cannot possibly remember them all. I know that Vuel squired Lupa, Kiira squired Elora, Cressida was welcomed into the royal house of Chimeron, Saka announced his intentions to take on a squire, a group was honored for rebuilding the Library of Chimeron, a letter of resignation from Aymis was read aloud and Cressida was sworn in in her place, and Ryu was made a royal bard of Chimeron. I am sure some other stuff happened, probably involving Cressida, but that is all I can remember. Perhaps someone can fill us in on what I apparently missed.
After court was dessert. There were cards you got when arriving that secured your place in line, though apparently some folks didn’t get them. I passed on both mine and Trent’s to the less fortunate, since he’d already gone and I had already eaten a large quantity of cheesecake. I did sample some of the other desserts after I’d finished packing up the shop into my carriage. The cookies were good, and my favorite of course was the pumpkin spice.
Dancing followed. I love dancing and I always want to participate, but the dances are always so complicated to learn and by then I am too tired to think straight. I wish there was a way to learn them ahead of time, or just have ‘easier for forty people to learn in 5 minutes’ dances. But the people who did participate looked like they were enjoying themselves very much and I was content to sit and watch the hilarity of everyone bumping into each other and giggling as they learned. Eventually as I relaxed in my chair I realized I was falling asleep and it was really time for me to head home. It was a long tiring day, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
