Community Statements

This is a compilation of statements from Knight Realms in regards to how the people who run the organization feel about the community of Knight Realms on particular topics. These statements are very important; they reflect the formula for a mindset of success and the inoculation against failure. Use them to help combat problems, and to re-focus your mind on what is most important. Read these statements, and let them guide you with us to achieve bigger and better things.

MAIN
A positive way to approach the LARPing concept is that first and foremost, it is a Game! Play it and have Fun! We play this game together as a community to enjoy it together, and never should we seek to have our fun at the expense of another player’s.

Treat other players and NPCs with all the respect in which you would hope to be treated. Be open to accept the imagination of others. When other people are excited, nurture it, and get excited with them. Seek to be fluid and reasonable, not ridgid and unreasonable. Allow your character to change, to grow, to learn, to lose. Allow yourself to be the spotlight sometimes and the background other times. Give, take, and interact. Talk to someone new that you never interacted with before. They might have something to offer to your RP that you never imagined, and you might just make that event their best!

Make a lot of great new friends for life, and choose not to make enemies. If you can’t avoid negative feelings about someone, then at least leave them be, as you hope that they do the same to you. Knight Realms is not the place to bring your real life fights, troubles, conflicts, and negativity. It is a large game and is played at a large camp, you have the power to focus on spending time with new people and people who make you happy.

But, Knight Realms is not just a game. It’s an experience that you have both in-character and out-of-character. It’s the fun that you have playing the game. It’s also the fun that you have getting together with your friends who play on a monthly basis, allowing you to keep in regular and face to face contact with them. It’s also the opportunity you have each and every month to meet new people, who could turn out to become great friends for life or more. While the game itself is a very important part of it, the truth is that Knight Realms is so much more than just a game. It’s joining and maintaining your connection to a social organization, which has so much more to offer.

We have been running strong as an organization for a very long time. So strong in fact that the Director was able to purchase a great deal of land for us to permanently build a home for this organization. Now we work hard every day to build this organization up in so many different directions and on so many different levels. We are invested in this endeavor. We are proud of it, and we want you to be proud of where this organization is and where it is going. Join us in helping to make this dream great!

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”
- Anatole France





The Director and Staff of Knight Realms appreciate the time you take to read and understand these statements. We plan on adding more helpful sections to this periodically.

SPORTSMANSHIP

Much with any game, good sportsmanship is one of the greatest qualities that someone can hold. Being a good sport about the game, the community, and the players as individuals can go a long way in making the experience great for everyone. Knight Realms should be a place where there are no real sides or competition going on with the other players. Everyone can win if everyone plays with their best intentions first. But no one person should ever be trying to “win” Knight Realms; it is not a competitive sport.

Good sportsmanship is not simply choosing to play by the rules. It expands so much further than that, into the realm of attitude. Have a positive attitude, about the game and more importantly about all of the other players. You should not strictly be thinking about in-game terms without considering out of game implications. Consider the following questions to ask yourselves on occasion:

Is what you are about to do going to ruin the game for someone else?
Am I going out of my way to “win” at a situation at the expense of another player’s character?
Is my targeting of another player truly necessary for my fun, and how is it going to impact theirs?
Am I about to react poorly, instead of showing people that I can be a good sport about things?

Display good sportsmanship! Don’t look to rob other people of their fun, but also make sure that when things don’t go your way, you show everyone how well you can roll with the punches.

ISSUES 

Should you have an issue, ask yourself how you can best help staff to help you resolve it. Offering input and possible solutions is a far better approach than misusing social media to post angry comments and throw tantrums, or, venting to others who might be unaware of all of the variables of the situation. There are always two sides.

The Director strives to encourage all staff - officers and marshals - to be respectful, open to concerns, take a positive, pro-player solution to any issues, and do their best to offer thoughtful, respectful, and well-intentioned ways to attempt to resolve any issues. The Staff of Knight Realms asks its players to do the same.

Try and make it a positive experience for everyone and realize that things will go wrong from time to time. The way you present yourself in an uncomfortable or negative situation can have a huge impact on the culture of the game. Stay as positive, respectful, and receptive to others as you can. Be available and open to suggestions, and really take an objective look back at any situation, including, asking yourself what you could have done differently. Most times issues can be solved in a friendly and positive manner by those involved right there in the moment.

When it comes to problems that arise, always remember, not every issue is going to be the end of the world and if treated in a calm and patient manner, every problem can be solved. The Staff of the game are not out to make anyone's lives harder or play favorites. If it seems that you're not getting the solution you want, it is more likely that they had to weigh the options and make a decision that was most fair for the game as a whole. These are still people and they have a lot of pressure when situations come up, so please always be mindful of this.

Finally, if you do have a complaint, consider that complaining without a solution isn't going to help anyone. If you have a problem and you don't think you have an idea how to fix it, it's still fine to bring it up, but it is better to do so in a way that doesn't come out demanding with ultimatums. If you do have a solution, be mindful to express it, but be sure it isn’t based in negativity such as spite or malice towards another player. We're trying to maintain a positive game and community, and so being able to face an issue with positive thinking and problem solving will always turn out better than poor sportsmanship.

Here are the steps we ask you to consider and follow:

Step 1: Find the right person to contact about your issue.
There is staff designated for many areas of the game. If you are unsure of who to contact, then ask around. If the issue is about a marshal, contact their officer. If an issue is about an officer, contact the Director.

Step 2: How to approach the right person – If the situation is not an emergency, then first make sure they are not in the middle of a role playing scene or urgently busy. Be discreet and let them know you need their OOG attention.

Step 3: Be Polite -- it is worth repeating.

Step 4: Proper scale of problem -- some things need to be fixed immediately. Others can wait. Try to know the difference. If something needs to be fixed immediately, follow Steps 1, 2 and 3 while at an event. If it is not pressing, then try to wait until after the event is over.

Be a part of the solution. Help us make great things happen.

CHARACTER DEATH

You play and are part of a game, you are not just a character. Your character serves as the vessel in which you get to experience the game. Your experience at Knight Realms is the return you get for your investment of time and money. It’s the interaction between you and your friends and the memories you make. That is the most important thing you should take away with you after every event. Your experience is also your characters story, and even great stories run their course.

So your character dies? Everyone gets attached, and can be fearful of the concept of getting closer to the characters final end. Your challenges as a player are to get beyond that feeling, live your characters life to its fullest, play the game with integrity and honesty, and just let the story happen as it does. Your first few character deaths can be a dramatic and fun experience that drives your characters RP in directions you would not have expected. Your final character death can be a bittersweet resolution to a story that you have had a major part in telling. You then have a wonderful opportunity to experience the game through focusing on another character. You can have the excitement of exploring and enjoying aspects of the game that were not so prevalent in your previous character. If you find the challenge of attachment difficult, remember that in a fantasy world finality is subjective. You could be asked to reprise your deceased character’s role briefly through plot.

Do not allow your fear of death to cause you to err so hard on the interruptive side of combat in your favor that you subconsciously do not take hits or count your points and skills usage properly. When you play the game with full honesty -- fall in battle and loose on occasion -- it is far more dramatic and rewarding than if you appear to be some indestructible force all of the time. Be true to your card and stats, be true to combat and your mortality, be true to the story that you hope to enjoy and have others enjoy with you. Knight Realms does not need to be about just one super powerful character for you, but instead a series of characters, complete with strengths, weaknesses, a beginning, and eventually… an end.

Something to think on...

With the new year approaching us in just a few days, now is a good time to remember the ideals and goals James and staff have for the game and community of Knight Realms.

Thank you.