May Event Highlights

IG cool points to Ming for saving Misaki's butt at the bandit encounter on Friday night.  nice strategy

...and with the Mc banes took down the enemy forces.

Are you forgettin' the McKraegars and the McSweeneys? After all our organizin' and fightin' and bleedin'? Aye, some gratitude.

-Lauren

I'm not sure I would use the word "organize" or any of its other grammatical forms to describe either of those clans.

Oi! We're very organized! You fella's just don't got the means o' seein it.

Just wait till next feast...

Nay, Cyric, I think he's right. Perhaps we should get cute little matching kilts too, aye?

Well, remember dear, you're a McSweeney, and getting you folks to do anything in concert is like getting Apples to pay attention. And Colin's kilt is made out of a couch.

Well, I must say that many years of table-top D&D had not prepared me for LARPing. It was quite different from what I expected though, at the same time not really... I was pleasently surprised at the fact that everyone was so welcoming to the horde of noobs that I was part of. Also the level of structure was nice.

Low-lights:
- Being livid about some OOG stuff on Saturday.
- The doldrums of Saturday.
- Getting close and personal with Mother Earth ( falling down ).
- Being annoyed by some of the other Noobs as per the following:
      ~ Was it just me or did it seem that SOME of them weren't properly counting damage or ignoring it? As an NPC I was doing 4 damage per hit and I would get 3 or 4 hits on some noobs. None had armor and I don't believe they took that many body points... I tried to be honest and when I was sure I rounded up on my damage. I understand wanting to play the game but cheating sucks the marrow out of a game real quick...
      ~ On that note it also seemed that the noob healers were sitting on mountains of healing abilities. Idk seemed like they were using more then they actually had...
      ~ Finally some of the other noobs seems slightly inconsiderate to others at times...
- And being ganked sucks...lol

Highlights:
- Meeting awesome people in and out of character.
- Being fully immersed in the game.
- Not having to roll dice to run or jump or bluff or see or have common sense or...........lol D&D...
- Courage Training was awkward but was great RP.
- NPC shift was awesome...
- Battle was great.
- The game is very open-ended and enjoyable
- Finally, being among people who were kind and all shared my intrests was great!

Okay I've blabbed enough the game was great and I plan to come back

I'd like to comment on some of your observations, Garrett.

As to newbs having the ability to take three or four of your strikes there are a few explanations besides the fact that people might not be able to count or could be deliberately ignoring the effects (although I agree the latter is a problem and I fully agree with your statement "I understand wanting to play the game but cheating sucks the marrow out of a game real quick..." and the former, given the state of education is not to be discounted): 
  1 - they thought they blocked your attack
  2 - they actually put 4 build into body at a 3:1 ratio
  3 - I give out Blessed Armor like candy at Halloween - come to think of it, that is not a good analogy, because I have not had a single trick or treater come to the house in the 31 years I've lived here, but you get the point.  I am particularly generous with new townsfolk and as Zach Their pointed out to me OOG, with no Gypsies around to coddle, it seems I switched my attention to Celts.  I know for a fact on the low level brigand mod (or whatever it was) I took a stroll around the swirling battle and brought back several who had been dropped - including a few recipients of my earlier Prayers.  I did not fight anything (except for when I was attacked once), because that was not my purpose.
  4 - If they were fortunate enough to run into Mars as well, she might have laid an earth armor on them.  Between the two each person could have +20, which ain't chopped liver.

Newb Healers and lots of Healing Points
  Whereas the greatest of the restorative potions has little effect on the total of a 5 year character (although when one is tapped, 32 points can mean the difference between life and death), a minor Potion of Restoration provides 12 Carrer Points (IIRC) and effectively doubles what a 1st level Healer has, if they are fortunate enough to run into someone with the potions.  Maybe during those slow times on Saturday...

Like that little segue?
Saturday Doldrums
All I can say is whenever there was a break in the action, I took advantage of it to RP.  I try to have conversations with people, to find out who and what they are.  Unless it is a time when quick action is required, I just do not go up to someone and bestow a defensive prayer (or an offensive one, for that matter) on her.  Doldrums are also good times to learn skills.  I participated in one of my favorite activities around 4:30 on Saturday - I napped.  I think several new Celts and Lois Maxwell are glad I did and did not retire until  the wee hours of the morning as a result. 

My point is the slow time just means there is not a lot of physical action requiring your attention.  Perhaps you could seek out a minor noble and inquire about the political structure.  Ditto for a cleric.  Are you an aspiring (pick a trade or profession) - inquire as to who is proficient as well as a good teacher.  I had more than a couple of talks with people about them acquiring trades, and Lois set up a wonderful impromptu "school" for teaching literacy.  Lots of time when you see those you consider experienced players off in a corner in groups of two to four, they are not plotting the safety of Travance, but are learning new skills.  Dr. Maxwell (not to be confused with the other Maxwell, Lois) and I were sequestered for 15 minutes, while he explained poisons and disease to me - really basic 1 point lore skills, but to any looking on, we were immeshed in an intense conversation.  Both he and I would have killed (literally, because I needed a corpse to learn how to conduct an autopsy) to have more time.  As Napoleon put it "Ask of me anything but time."  It might just be me, but that and a simple conversation with Mother Quin (we did not get to finish - the urgent press of things beyond our control interrupted - again) are much more of a test of Fr. Edwin than killing some sort of whatever - though the encounter with Orias Wormwood, Fogrom, and Thomas Ahlman ranks in my top five battles.  Those three are among the top in fighting skills, both IG and OOG, so it is always a pleasure.  Wally in particular has been fighting with me since my first night at KR.  If only Derrick was there, I could have gotten my entire set.

I had a quiet conversation with some Celts and Maxwell (I will have to learn her OOG name) which must have spanned at least a half hour.  We all learned something IG about the other.  Celts are almost as much fun which whom to hang as are Gypsies.  Who knows, the next few months may show them as much if not more fun (Don't bitch Zach - you are a member of both).

Inconsiderate people
  ::sigh:: read my comment about the inconsiderate person who took my chess set and board outside and left it under a tree on a bench.  yes it is there for any to use but it is obviously not a cheap piece of crap.  Not necessarily blaming a newb - two people, who between them have at least 100 levels, damaged various pieces through being stupid - but they told me.

Glad you had a good time and look forward to continued interaction.

That explains the case of the uber noobs i guess ... theystill need to watch their swings i forgot about that boffer to the face....I did learn Courage and did some other stuff during the doldrums on saturday but there were still some slow parts... i still had fun tho. thats all that matters.

  4 - If they were fortunate enough to run into Mars as well, she might have laid an earth armor on them.  Between the two each person could have +20, which ain't chopped liver.

Earthen Armor hugs for all!

Where was mine? :'(

So many wonderful things this event!

Well, while Lois may not see eye-to-eye with Father Edwin, she's certainly gained a good deal more respect for him! That late-night lizardmen encounter was really fantastic and memorable.

The sudden forced wedding was hysterical - I'm so glad I decided to bring my camera with me this event. (P.S. Telling someone who's taping another event not to tape you is a great way to get your voice on camera going, "You're not taping me, right?" I'll do my best to clear out the sound on the edit. I'm sorry I don't know your name to actually address this to you personally.)

RP with Dr. Maxwell ("No relation!"), Amizar, and Gwynydd (I'm sorry for the spelling I'm sure I've butchered) was fantastic.
Amizar: "What were you just discussing?"
Lois: "The things we miss from our homelands."
Amizar: "Like what?"
Maxwells, in unison: "Couches."
Plans for a library and museum, plays, and other such bastions of civilization are in the works!

The monster marshall on Friday night allowing me to take the other NPC's to harass the Celts , and talking to another NPC about the things we love about KR - even though we both like totally different things, there is more than enough to satiate our varied desires.

While I did not personally participate in much of the new player mods (Lois will fall over and die in a stiff breeze!), I heard a great deal of positive feedback concerning them, and I am always pleased when friends have fun.

While teaching the Celts to read was a planned activity (I do not, in fact, just randomly carry slates and chalk around with me), Gideon stonegripping all their feet to the floor was not, and it was glorious!

The entertaiment at feast was wonderful. I greatly enjoyed sitting with more people than just Celts, as well.

All in all, it's great to really be getting into the swing of things at KR, and I thank everyone for another great event

pretty good weekend guys.
Friday night was fun seeing the gaggle of new players role into town.
great seeing me little brother Fitz
went to bed early Friday night falling asleep to a nice warm fire and a great story with a great accompaniment. Surprisingly slept all the way soundly through the night.
Sat morning was slow on mods but good on role play. Lazing around Ming's awesome shop and watching the new lowlanders, i mean Celts make oafs of themselves was enjoyable.
As for the whole couch kilt thing, i could make better looking tartans out of me mums old curtains. nah jk guys, you looked good. its taken us a long time to get nice kilts.
skirmish in the kitchen made me angry but i cooled off. bandit mod was fun. i found like all the loot.
feast was omnom.
i had a blast npcing the low level main mod. great plot for that one guys. Major low light was being hit WAY TOO HARD by a good chunk of the new players. when i got home on Sunday i had bruises on my arms.
BEST PART was being woken up by a group of skeletons on sat night and single handily saving my family. Don't come between and mother and her cubs. First time Rhonna has felt actually useful in trevance.
and lol at sleeping all the way till camp cleanup on Sunday.

-"As for the whole couch kilt thing, i could make better looking tartans out of me mums old curtains. nah jk guys, you looked good. its taken us a long time to get nice kilts."

Its not the look of the kilt that counts....its whats under it that does!

That's the man under it, get your heads out of the gutters...

Frank- Highlights coming soon

Re: Fr. Edwin's armor totalling

Some of the newer players were also lucky enough to get Lyric of Protection from Remi during low-level mod. If anyone ran into mahself, Edwin, and Ilana, that's +28, definitely nothing to be scoffed at. Not to mention two beautiful periodic uses of Fanfare of Victory (Horrah for magic items!)

But there are plenty of ways to up your HP while being an ubern00b.

Still though, as a reminder for the newbies:

There is NO need to swing hard- this isn't Amtgard or Daigaheir. Players at KR will take light hits. Plus, power does not equal speed, and speed is far more important in an HP system like ours- the faster (and more) you hit, the more damage you do.

Also, really, getting dropped and RPing damage add to the flavor of the game and make the mods seem more challenging, more threatening, more frightening. There's nothing quite like starting your first count and wondering, "Will a healer get to me before my crit count? Before my ten minute? Eeeee!!" Remi probably got dropped about 7 times during low level mod *alone*.... and other than the part where I fell on pointy rocks, it made the mod that much more fun.

And finally, something that everyone should always keep in mind.
You know what my favorite thing about KR is?
How quickly problems are dealt with and how easy it is to get back to the important parts of LARPing-
swinging foam and having fun!
Which is why we leave our drama llamas at home
('cause really, who can afford to feed one for the whole weekend? They eat a TON! )

HP??!!  You play D&D?

Good weekend it was cool seeing some of the older players bring in new characters, Mike smiths ogre almost scared me to death. and seeing all the new players rocked. Had good Rp with Oak root and Keir Talking and teaching druid stuff. loved finally bringing my D&D group into town and all of them having a blast.happy that all the work we all did on mings tent went over well and seeing ming smile all weekend at his connection to his kitian brothers. and watching rhonna single handedly bamf the undead was awesome. as for the  red onesy its actually the blood of dark druids i wear every night before i go to bed.

... theystill need to watch their swings i forgot about that boffer to the face....

I agree with that. During the low level mod on Saturday one of the NPCs had a latex sword and was swinging it really hard. He cracked me right in the face with it and it cut under my eye a little. Don't aim your sword too high and don't swing too hard.

Re: face shots.

They happen. They suck, they sting, they make you bite your lip and bleed. Speaking as a former competition fencer, however, I can tell you it can be just as hard for an untrained swordsman to *not* hit a spot as it is to hit the spot you're aiming for. Add in the chaotic factor of large battles, (quite often) a lack of light, and a lot of height differentials, and accidents will happen. I highly recommend learning basic sword drills - even if your character will never swing a sword in his life, we all have to NPC - to train your body to hit certain areas. Go find a large tree, a coat rack, anything like that, and put a piece of bright tape at about the 5' mark. Drill constantly hitting under that mark, and you will find that even in the dark you will automatically swing below the neck.

Even with a lot of practice, though, some people are still going to be hit in the face (especially shorter people). Do not be afraid to tell someone that they're aiming high, but also accept that it's most likely accidental and (basically) don't be a jerk about it. Complaining on a forum days afterward won't change the fact that you got hit, but talking to a person right after it happens will have a higher success rate of promoting weapon safety. If you say nothing to them, they may not even know they did it.

Time for a Staff Member to step in.

A lot of new players are commenting about head / face shots, and perceived cheating.  Let me be very frank in saying this: Yes, they suck.  Posting about them on the forums won't change a thing.

If you take a shot to the face, or fight someone that is hitting too hard, the best thing to do is IMMEDIATELY address the issue.  Call a hold, talk to the person.  If a Marshal is needed, get one ASAP.  Waiting until after the fight is over won't do a thing.  Waiting until the event is over just leaves the problem unaddressed, because no one knows WHO was swinging hard, and everyone who reads this will think "That wasn't me."

I don't want to be a jackass, but this is the truth.  I've been at the game for 8+ years now, and Webmaster for 7 of them.  As close of a community as we are, posting on the internet that someone hit you in the face during a fight is no where near as effective as "Hey, you - you just hit me in the face - please watch your shots, that really hurt."  90% of the time, they will apologize, and the game goes on. In the rare event the problem is not corrected, get a Marshal to address the situation on-site, and not after the event is over.

If you have a problem with a specific person repeatedly breaking the rules or being unsafe, get a Marshal immediately.  Do not attempt to address the problem yourself - this usually makes the problem worse.  We're here to make sure the game runs smoothly, and we take this seriously.  We've got your back, but you need to communicate with us, trust us, and let us do our job.  If you don't know who to get in touch with, ask a veteran member to point you to a Staff Member.  And as you use the forums more, you'll learn who people are based on their pictures and names (which is specifically why we post them the way we do).  We'll check with the person who has the issue, make sure we get both sides of the story, and let you know what the result was ("The issue has been corrected, thank you" or possibly "They were legit, they had skills / body / armor / protection you didn't know about").

Thank you.  By working together On-Site at an event, we can all make sure the game runs a lot smoother, and everyone has fun rather than taking home a bad memory that is unresolved.

Highlights

-New player caravan mod was definitely my favorite because it got all of us new players to interact, get some loot, and share a common bond!
-Being wooed by another species
-Learning that there are some really cool people at KR IC and OOC.
-Being attacked by Lizard kin in the middle of the night and being rescued by the good father!
-Hearing my fellow celt being attacked while she was sleeping and her reaction after....
-Getting lots of help from players willing to give a noob some amour!

Lowlights
-Lost my collar and tail!
-People not rescuing us as we were attacked by Lizard kin, But thanks to those who did!

Highlights:
-Seamus calling slay posi with his foot on an undead mook
-Finding out that Galen hears voices
-5 brigands following Rhomulus and I that didn't attack us. We just looked too awesome.
-Talking about Steak and Cake with Yoshi
-Not dieing in my sleep
-Being dropped by my brother Rhomulus on the noob mod
-Goblin mod an hour before main mod complete with squeaky voices and everything. Best time all weekend
-Celts and their literacy
-Carrying carcasses to the lizardkin and them not eating it. Fun times running away
-NPCing the low level mod
-Having the ruby-mithril disappear

Lowlights
-Walking back and forth between the Inn and the Kaledonia cabins
-Running so much on main mod
-No wake-up mod

You're 18, Nick.  Try walking back and forth to Kaladonia at my age a few times a day.

Do not wish for a wake up mod, as at your level it could prove fatal - even with Galen, a wonderful healer sleeping nearby.  Ever try to wake that boy up?

You're 18, Nick.  Try walking back and forth to Kaladonia at my age a few times a day.

Do not wish for a wake up mod, as at your level it could prove fatal - even with Galen, a wonderful healer sleeping nearby.  Ever try to wake that boy up?

Yeah, pointing that out, it's not so bad. I mainly included that because I couldn't think of anything else that was that bad. I think Galen was in the cabin next to me.
Wake-up mod would have torched me instantly. I had one climb and I doubt I would have been able to use it to escape.
How often are the wake-up mods conducted usually?

Depends
Most wake up modes Ive seen or been a part of are to tell you Breakfast is ready
Favorite - getting a morning massage before heading up for French Toast

As close of a community as we are, posting on the internet that someone hit you in the face during a fight is no where near as effective as "Hey, you - you just hit me in the face - please watch your shots, that really hurt." 

Oh yeah I know it's not. I just posted it as to remind people to try and watch how hard they swing with latex. I wasn't complaining, just you know, sending a little note to players out there