Favorites!

Copying and pasting from the FB group because I'm not sure where y'all prefer to compile these things and I want to make sure you get ~900 kudos.

-It is so refreshing to have an overarching plot that is relatively straightforward. Not only is it easy to follow and to communicate about with other players, but it allows PCs the freedom to speculate and add their own nuance. On a personal note, I appreciate not feeling like a dog chasing 700 cars, so this was really nice for me.

-Lexx came in like an emotional wrecking ball as Oxalis and killed it with his compassion, dedication, perspicacity, and overall stellar RP. I am really glad to be the Charlotte to his Wilbur.

-"MAN I AM TOTALLY NOT GOING TO WORK WITH THE EMPIRE OOPS I GUESS I JUST JOINED HOUSE HEINLEIN." Shomari, Oxalis, and Tibialis as reluctant Imperial attaches is totally going to go over well, y'all. Totally.

-Tyler going full Taako as Dolzetta.

-The Selunari empire-mafia, in general. So many good good starpals for the kin to work with! Hypatia, Dolzetta, Iskander, Kiritani (sp?), Vesper, Lexi, Gregor, and Amanda and Darkan's PCs whose names I can't remember.... plus the like, 900 other folks. You were all wonderful and superbly costumed.

- Asherah: the Mommening. Swooping in and being the very best mom to the kin, letting them feel their way while being so supportive from the outset. Erika is just a bastion of superb RP and knowing when to be a support character.

-THAT FOOD, THOUGH. Between the tavern crew working their butts of, Eric's amazing beverages and snacks (THAT 100% GOOD WAS TRULY 100% GOOD!), and all the weird kinfood that cropped up... man, I have never eaten so well at game. Kudos to everyone who ate my bugs. I'm gonna break out the weird **** next time.

-Every instance of "you look familiar" I received from NPCs was exactly as concerning as it should have been - thanks to Henry, Hoyce, and Bob Ames for keeping me on my toes.

-Just... Vesper. Ericka is the best RP partner ever.

-I have never gotten whiplash the likes of which I did when I realized who was playing Sasha. Dustin, you looked phenomenal, played phenomenally, and brought this quiet, softspoken flavor of advocacy to the table that felt so genuine and comforting and spoke to what (I think) you were trying to do. I look forward to future teatimes!
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-Kyle is an expert at including people in the game and seeking out ways to make people fit in. I was impressed with his RP as Roark, his costuming, and his constant encouragement of other players.

-Ok, personal note: the number of people who just had no idea it was me under the spiderface felt REAL GOOD.
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-This was the single most mature and inclusive Alliance game I have ever attended with regard to gender presentation, sex positivity, queerness, etc. Thank you to literally everyone who was there this weekend for making this feel like a genuinely safe space to explore these things.

Amazing first event, y'all. I look forward to seeing where this crazy train takes us.
 
Oh boy that was certainly a time.

-Thank you NPCs!
-Cousin!
-More cousin!
-Still more cousin!
-Snoot booping over crossed swords. OLDPEEG was such a whirlwind of feels and all of them delightful to have.
-Hornmom. Asherah looking after everyone (sometimes looking down on them, especially me!), keeping an ever watchful eye on an entire town of rebellious children.
-In Quyah’scenthaal, we cure moderately. Both Mae and Thalion were wonders to fight with and to spend some time just talking about the most ridiculous prophecies and scrolls!
-Yo so many kin! So many good kin friends have been made. Distant relatives.
-Spidercheesepants. I sensed a kind of quiet fury from Tibialis and it was wonderful to see all of the quiet moments and the ones that involved explosive feelings. More spider please!
-VESPER! I NEED TO TELL YOU INAPPROPRIATE THINGS TO SEE YOUR REACTIONS!
-Dark Elf needs to repair relations between two entire races.
-Selunari Void Witch from the Deep South of the Maelstrom.
-Scroll of Carnal Intrigue - Now available in XXL
-Praise the sun.
-Sasha beat me by miles for stunning princess. Go Dustin go!
-Privateers. All of them.
-I have theories and ideas about houses and empires and I love them all and can't wait to interact with it more!
 
(Also copy-pasted from Facebook) EVERYTHING SAID ABOVE but also some other things. Thank you all for making my first Alliance game so amazing and memorable! Next game needs to happen like NOW and also be a week or two long, please and thank you.

-Started my first game off by sassing the Governor General on the way to opening announcements, having Hoyce slide up beside me in the tavern to chide me with a firm "I'll let it slide.. this time." I made some CHOICES. Also having a screaming match with him at the final battle. A wonderfully nuanced NPC, I really enjoyed interacting with all of Hoyce's characters (so many soft feelings for his wolfkin shepherd).

-Asherah's tender ministrations in my moments of need. I remember collapsing to the ground after the final Sunday battle and finding her arms around me, her hand in mine, as I wept. Just the perfect gentle hornmom always there for just the right bit of support.

-ROARK OMG a bastion of just looking badass, asking wonderful questions to pull more flavour from characters into the world, and the best Ogre hypeman an old beast could ask for.

-Grayson's amazing drinks and snacks and just generally being drunken fools with everyone Saturday night in the tavern.

-Being gifted a fresh suit of armor after having everything broken, and beautiful "squires" of Jake and Masani strapping every piece on me in tandem. I felt so fancy.

-Mardex just being a beautiful provider of lovely surprises at unexpected turns, replacing destroyed items and providing valued info all along the way.

- SHOMARI where do I begin, just being the perfect lounging, prowling, perching catlad, not to mention brilliantly scheming.

-EVERY LAST SELUNARI I LOVE YOU. Perfect fancy flowy beings, I could ask for no greater mafia to take things over.

-Secret woods meeting. Oh god it was dark and I have zero night vision, so that was an EXPERIENCE. Very thematic and very cool.

-HFS House Heinlein, I seriously rolled a character with "I HATE THE EMPIRE" as a big tagline and suddenly thanks to Henry's immense charisma I am affiliated with a house. Didn't see that one coming. Was wonderful learning some group tactics in the house fight, sorry I was too busy yelling and crying on Sunday to put them to further use!

-V E S P E R, MY FEELINGS

-there are a zillion more glorious things but I gotta save best for last, Kris as Tibialis delivered real hard in the departments of Feelings and Pure Badassery, looked amazing, and I'm so very glad she dragged me to this game. Thank you eternally for being the Charlotte to my Wilbur, I could ask for no better companion in battle.
 
Gee where do i start with this list, ok so in no particular order:

All things Guild of Wine and Roses, is Vesper going to become a "Crazy" Cat Lady or a "Crazy Cat" Lady.

Mardex sees Vesper with a spider kin and her face in 30 seconds tops showed hurt, joy, anger, sadness, and confusion. Mardex only having been with the would a week just quietly let her know he will be close by.

Mags as guildmistress Lorai (sp?), so much Zootopia.

Hypatia, and Mardex being the scroll finding Sarr, im seriously not dropping presents, Mardex is just putting things in people hands he knows can use them.

Watch people play the three word game and drunk Mardex still playing the game long after others stopped.

All things Grayson, love RPing with Eric Gibson,

Oxalis, you are a beast of an RPer, figuratively and literally.

people not realizing it was me behind the mask until halfway through the event or when i ripped off my mask at the end of it.

Ending wave battle and the conversation with the Governor General afterward, i know where my characters direction is going to be.
 
This game has reinforced why I love low level games.

All players are on equal footing as far as skills, limited resources make everybody work together and nobody has "established importance"

That being said, this game has created a spark in me that has been in the process of getting burnt out over the past two years or so.

Favorites:

- The Black Tusks. You guys were a time.
- There need to be more meat and cheese parties
- casual dwarf racism
- constantly having to repeat "just a reminder, I am a loyal citizen of the empire"
- rendered meat bag
 
So, I'm finally (mostly) recovered from he event. It was an absolute blast seeing the writing and world that we worked so hard on come to life. I love how into the environment the players seem to be.

-The NPC's. There were like 10 for us this weekend man did they work their butts off! Every time I said "I need troll crunchies" or "I need kin for a mod" they were like "I'm in." They were so enthusiastic and kicked so much ***!

-I was in game less than a minute as the Governor-General before I had to establish that he's not really someone to sass off to. Thanks Lexx for rolling with that and realizing it was the character, not the player. :)

-Corollary to the above: All the interactions with Lexx as Oxalis were top notch, what an interesting character.

-All my interactions with Vesper was fantastic! At the end of Sunday there weren't too many people the General would speak fairly candidly to, but she was certainly one.

-Being able to RP as the Assistant Mage's Guildmaster and Heinlein Captain so the PC's at least got to meet a character I was playing who wasn't super strict.

-Having to make clear that the General will not let the law slide on Friday night. It's not a great idea to interfere with a member of the Imperial Family Roark... :)

-All things Henry while playing Pellian Blach (the General's personal healer) at dinner. It was like if Dr. House had no filter on his mouth at all!

-All things Mags. From Baralise to Loray to Lady Keegan she was ON IT!

-Mad thanks to Paul Boyle and Bill Gibbs for their help in NPC camp. From statting and treasuring to just being an encounter head, it made our lives on plot a lot easier.

Last, but certainly not least, writing and running a game with two of my best friends ever!

I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole slew of other great encounters but I'm really glad the event was well received. Thanks for all your support guys!

Edit:

-OMG I forgot Shaheen somehow! The man threw himself into his roles and was a rockstar! So great to see him back and we were so lucky to have him NPC for us!!
 
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- hearing PCs refer to the Governor General as "General Fuckface"
- being grilled as Lady Elizabeth on Sunday morning
- super secret meetings
- awesome costuming and RP from so many people
- having no idea who to trust IG
- tugging PC heartstrings
- hugs, both IG and OOG (keep 'em coming!)
- getting to fight as Barilise was pretty awesome
- Faireplay site! So that's what a dedicated camp can look like!
- introducing Aaron to LARP "Now I understand why you wanted to do this!"
- "Claws?...Oh!"
- a bunch of conspiracy theories
- the first rez of Stormbreak: now with a script
- rock star NPC team
- running a game with two of my favorite people
 
This is too long, but I loved too much...

-Having this lovely, soft spoken, elegant novitiate in the form of Corina plopped in my lap and the gentle attempts to teach over the whole weekend. Vesper is learning as much from her as she is teaching. Masani, you ROCK.
- Reunions with Atra, er... Tibs. Quite conversations on the porch. So many mixed feelings. Kris, you are amazing to RP with as ever.
- Meeting Ox, crushing HARD because apparently she has no gaydar, but turning into complete friends by the end of the weekend. The conversation down near the circle was everything I want in RP.
- Reuniting with an old client -- Magnate Ryatt! I was so glad to be able to just drop into that RP with Henry, and it made so much of my plot weekend. Helping host/mediate political Heinlein breakfast was a PURE JOY.
- Being schooled in politics by Shomari AT the breakfast, and absolutely changing how she views the coy cat for his willingness to speak up and defend his people.
- Rolling with the whole Wine and Roses crew. This is the first time I've ever really had a crew behind ME and you all just made my game. Nunzio's hilarious attitude, Mardex's immediate, gentle loyalty, Lexi finally coming in and being the sane head of the group. It was great.
- Lexi. Seriously. Once she came in, it was like Vesper had a piece of herself back. The scene Sunday morning after Ryatt dismissed Lexi was one of the most intense of the weekend.
- Audrey. That plot was so awful and so beautiful. Laying in the circle with her, talking her spirit back to life, trying to give her reason TO live without lying. It was so intense and so sad.
- The General -- Being utterly certain that the General was a blind tyrant, then actually getting to sit down and talk with him, seeing the reason behind his eyes, the care there, every shade of gray that the politics in this campaign presents... It was amazing.
-Grayson -- Weird and wonderful bonding with Grayson, all the good food, the opposite sides of the coin that the two are, I loved that RP.
- Hypatia: PLEASE CLEANSE ME. Also, so damn sexy. Vesper has a lot of courtesan feelings about Hypatia that she shouldn't be having. The bonding over the darkness just makes me want so much more.
- Iskander and emotions: The philosophy of emotions is fascinating, something I LOVE rping with, and you describe it so well, Scott. I cannot wait to hear more.
- Adorable, sweet, loyal, over excited then over tired Thawayya. Dunno how we became friends, but it's stickin' for good now.
- All the other teams. The orcs, the brothers, the Selunari not a pirate crew. Hell, EVERYONE brought it. It felt like such a living, breathing world.
- Roark weird bones, visions, and bonding over 'You're crazy but that doesn't mean you're WRONG.'
- POLITICS. Oh god, please, more. This is high level, Game of Thrones level political intrigue and I LOVE IT. Every conversation with every noble delegation had so many layers. I didn't expect to dive head first into courtly intrigue, but I'm SO EXCITED. It played out so well here.

I could go on. I had an amazing time. Seriously. If anyone wants to RP or nerd out, just grab me, because you're all wonderful.
 
Hey folks! Thank you so much for sharing this stuff with us both here and on other social media outlets. I am so warmed by how the players are interacting with the plot - and I simply cannot wait to see where you take the story. Like, actually, I can't wait - you've already starting sending in IBGA's. (Which are due end of NEXT week). Already, we've taken some of the interactions that players have made with key figures and created encounters we feel will be engaging and interesting to the key members of the story.

I personally have always felt that the HOP should refrain from listing favorite moments because it feels, to me, like I am tooting my own horn to a degree, and I also don't want to miss mentioning something that someone else found as a favorite moment. I encourage the rest of my NPCS and Plot team to share those moments as long as they do not compromise any player's secrets!!

I will say that every single NPC busted their buts and helped us "sell the world" that we created. We had musicians, and states-persons, tears, and roars, and cannibals, and awesome costumes and enough water to get through the event!

On the PC side, the amazing level of costumes just absolutely blew my mind. The immersion that you brought with you was A+ and I hope that you bring that to me EVERY TIME! I'm starting to see the shape that the players I interacted with want to drive the story and I'm excited to sit down with Magdalen and Hoyce and get their impressions so that we can have as complete an idea as possible.

Food was incredible!

As many of you know I've been job seeking since February and just this last month I've started at a new position and am in the process of moving. As such, my absolute favorite moment of the event, of course, was getting to pick up Danielle at the start of the event and bring her to our new home in East Brunswick with me at the end of the event. This event was a phenomenal first page to our new journey.

Look for a poll in the next couple of days regarding 1.) the build cap update, and 2.) reflections on the "end of the event" and narrative structure.

I am incredibly greatfull to FairePlay management and site coordinators for letting me run this game, to the Staff of 9 Towers for blazing the trail with this structure and establishing that it could (and should) be done, to two of my best friends (Magdalen and Hoyce) for creating a campaign with excessive depth and a rich full bodied flavor, to my amazing, talented, and relentless NPCs, to Caitlyn Ditzler for the Frostfang masks, to the logistics staff for tireless work, to our food folks, and to the players of Stormbreak.

See you soon. Bring an umbrella.

HtM - HOP
Alliance Stormbreak
#breakthestorm
#itsonlyreign
 
Summing up all my favs into one:

All of the new interactions I was able to have with players from those I've known more than 20 years, and those I've just met this past weekend. Being able to play this long and still discover new things about the game to love is an amazing gift. Thanks to you all.

Who knew folks would like it for me to not be PCing my psychotic a@@ hole of a primary......
 
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