January Faire Day

Jesse Grabowski

Jesse Grabowski

Squire
Marshal
There are no market days!! grumble!! It is a gathering... a gathering of what you ask? Why the nobles of course!

January Event Details are here!! The event will be January 25th from 12PM-10PM. Logistics will begin at 10AM. Twisted Pine Lodge is located 22 miles west of Denver off of 70, located on Gennesee Ave. GPS address to follow. Cost for this event is $40 and includes both lunch and Barbara's feast! Menu to follow soon as well!
 
I don't wanna read too much into the statement, but, so this is mostly a Noble thing then?

-Porch
 
Ostensibly what drives our weekend events in New Acarthia is that's when the noble courts gather together so there's lots of "potentates" all in one place -- and that in turn attracts bad guys, and so forth. I read "a gathering of nobles" to mean "generic reason why we're having an event." Further reading into that, I'm guessing Jesse is coming off post-season vacation, heading into Christmas, and he wants to let us know in-game we're having an event, but he hasn't written the flavor text for it yet. Is that about right, Jesse? ;)

Trace
 
Mostly its about dress code for me. Is it going to be purely inside, zero to very little combat, and I can wear light armor or something nice social for all? Will it be very Nobles doing Noble things like an official meeting and I'm going to be outside on guard duty but not seeing much action? Or are we expecting a decent fight and I should come super prepared for the NPC hate?

Comes down to not wearing armor, wearing half my armor, wearing my armor minus pauldrons, or wearing the full getup. But yea just an inquiring mind wants to know when the plot/IG reason and expectations are set for it, no true hurry as it's just a matter of what to pack heh.

-Porch
 
From what I am hearing there will be mods all day so I would come prepared to fight, but since there is also a feast, dressing slightly up would not be amiss either.
 
Similarly, since people are wondering on armor/weapons and such, is there NPCing needed for this event, or is this a Player Characters gathering event.
 
NPCs are definitely needed! There will be continual mods all day, plus roleplay during the feast and such.
 
Eadar said:
I don't wanna read too much into the statement, but, so this is mostly a Noble thing then?

-Porch
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I believe that, technically, all of the past events have been a gathering of the nobles: It's just that there has been less "gathering" in a few of them because Her Grace, who would normally run the official meeting, has been indisposed and because of the recuperating following the war effort. The gathering, of course, brings merchants looking to sell their wares, enemies who are looking for an opportunity to attack the nobles, adventurers for a wide variety of reasons, and of course the trouble that people get into with what was already in the area…

In short, I would expect there to be a wide mix of things ^_^
 
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Hmmm, you know, and this plays more I guess into the "immersion improvements thread" BUT- see I as a player didnt know exactly just ...-why- at all, any of our groups were getting together on the schedule that we were (the game weekends). I had heard some people toss around the "market day" Title, but if that is in fact -not- exactly the case I think it would really help me (and a bunch of other folks, seriously theres a lot of us who dont know why we travel from our home territories every month to glob-forsaken nowhere, heh.) to have the reasoning emphasized and explained in more sortof prominant way. It will help with understanding of what we're doin In-Character and help us establish motivations : 3

Just my 2cents from a non-noble player! :D
-B
 
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This information is in the Players' Guide, btw, in the description of New Acarthia. I agree, however, that more emphasis = "more better."

Trace
 
B.Barber said:
Hmmm, you know, and this plays more I guess into the "immersion improvements thread" BUT- see I as a player didnt know exactly just ...-why- at all, any of our groups were getting together on the schedule that we were (the game weekends). I had heard some people toss around the "market day" Title, but if that is in fact -not- exactly the case I think it would really help me (and a bunch of other folks, seriously theres a lot of us who dont know why we travel from our home territories every month to glob-forsaken nowhere, heh.) to have the reasoning emphasized and explained in more sortof prominant way. It will help with understanding of what we're doin In-Character and help us establish motivations : 3

Just my 2cents from a non-noble player! :D
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AFAIK the "market day" parlance is a holdover from other LARPs, where it is frequently used as an excuse for why everyone is getting together.

To be honest I just had why we were all getting together clarified for me in the event before last. ^^;; I think it will help somewhat when Her Grace is not indisposed and when we get a little more cadence with guild activities (which we are already talking about, stay tuned!), etc, but more ideas on how to make it explicit would be awesome.
 
@Trace- I reeeeally dont feel like the players guide makes the event-to-event reasons for gathering clear enough or structured enough. Like it has all this - here is all this history and world content and all that cool stuff- but it dosnt have info for why we show up each event to that particular place. And thats ok, thats not it's job, but I think we need teasers and a bit more specific info weekend-to-weekend

@llywelyn- Oh that I knew, but if that isnt the reason, we really need it thoroughly announced or made known (Again, teasers each month maybe? or something?) exactly what it IS, each game (A scheduled regular summons in the case of the nobles then, if Im undersanding?), because we're gonna have new players coming in, new characters coming in, and haveing that stage-set and be very clear would be really helpful because not everyone is going to read the books page to page all the way before their first game and getting folks in play fast is best done by haveing a reason for people to show up to a particular location known, or a couple reasons... if that makes sense?.

We also really need a more cirtain reason for non-baronial-team people to show up I think. The duchess is all well and good but what about characters that show up not giving a fig/not being attatched to anything about her or that set of politics?

I dont know what to suggest since I dont have my full bearings on this world-setting or this game yet. But I would guess the basic draws of work, living there, or entertainment could apply. What could make New Acarthia attractive to people in general? What opportunities could abound for a new player/one not attatched to a noble? Relying on "Adventure!" is one given, but I feel like more reasons would be good.
 
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I think that in most cases, all people from a local group are generally supposed to be locals. Having a core of this group being from other areas does put a strain on things for the 'why'. Expecially during the November event, when it came up that the nobles were offering to escort some of the peasantry to go speak to the duchess. Wasn't the point of the baronies being here to be speaking with the duchess? and if so... why wern't they THERE instead of in town.

To put it in general terms, from my limited experience with this group, and a fresh look at it, there is a very large proportion of characters that are;
A) Nobility who are for some reason leaving their own lands to come here
B) Foreign characters who are wandering through

To have wandering heroes is perfectly normal in a theme like this, that is what heroes do. But when you have three groups of nobility with an entourage all leaving their perspective lands to come to a backwater, it can get strained on reasoning. If it were representitives of those lands it wouldn't be so bad. A Councelor and some guards, or a trade caravan. But instead it's heads of houses.

I do not know exact numbers, but best guess, November we had 40-50 people on site total, of that, there were probably 30 consistant PC's. 8-10 NPC's including Jesse, and then 5 or 6 supporting people. like the merchants guild, and the wonderful people providing food for us all. Out of those 30ish Player Characters, it seemed to me that roughly half were either high nobility, or directly supporting high nobility as their retainers and guards.

If the majority of player characters were locals, then of course they would be there. And for larger chapters that have broader player base, a market day or faire gathering is plausable, because they have Players and NPC's to flesh out a market or a faire. This group is just too small scale to pull that sort of thing together yet. Also to be honest, convocations of the Baronies with their heads of houses all visiting the middle of nowhere instead of running their own lands cannot keep going on forever, so over time, those characters will unfortunatly strain the immersion more and more.

But as I said. I'm new to the group, I've only been involved in one event, as an NPC, and there is much of the interplay that I likely missed or misunderstood.
 
Perhaps it might be helpful to you to think of this like US Senators meeting in Washington, D.C., although they represent constituencies in their respective home states.

Trace
 
B.Barber said:
@Trace- I reeeeally dont feel like the players guide makes the event-to-event reasons for gathering clear enough or structured enough. Like it has all this - here is all this history and world content and all that cool stuff- but it dosnt have info for why we show up each event to that particular place. And thats ok, thats not it's job, but I think we need teasers and a bit more specific info weekend-to-weekend

@llywelyn- Oh that I knew, but if that isnt the reason, we really need it thoroughly announced or made known (Again, teasers each month maybe? or something?) exactly what it IS, each game (A scheduled regular summons in the case of the nobles then, if Im undersanding?), because we're gonna have new players coming in, new characters coming in, and haveing that stage-set and be very clear would be really helpful because not everyone is going to read the books page to page all the way before their first game and getting folks in play fast is best done by haveing a reason for people to show up to a particular location known, or a couple reasons... if that makes sense?.

We also really need a more cirtain reason for non-baronial-team people to show up I think. The duchess is all well and good but what about characters that show up not giving a fig/not being attatched to anything about her or that set of politics?

I dont know what to suggest since I dont have my full bearings on this world-setting or this game yet. But I would guess the basic draws of work, living there, or entertainment could apply. What could make New Acarthia attractive to people in general? What opportunities could abound for a new player/one not attatched to a noble? Relying on "Adventure!" is one given, but I feel like more reasons would be good.
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IT seems to me that another likely reason that people outside the baronial teams show up, is the same reason tradesmen show up for Political conferences, there is a good chance to make money and influence politics. If your interested in pursuing an agenda, going to an event where there are lots of nobles is valuable. If your interested in adventure, power & wealth tends to draw unsavory elements that are than available for people to fight (and loot;D) Along with that I think there is some assumption that unaffiliated groups are locals or at least reasonably close since New Acarthia is as close as we get to neutral Territory in the kingdom which is prime real estate for Adventurers.

In the end I think there are a lot of varied reasons that those who are unaffiliated, and don't care about politics to be in New Acarthia on event weekends, but like all communal games it also requires to buy-in/hand waving to make events like this work=)
 
What Trace and Sorin said. Plus I imagine that when you've got the Duchess holding court and the surrounding Baronies present and holding court too, it'd be an excellent time and place for commoners/merchants/etc to bring grievances, petition various nobles for various things, get official business done, and so on.
 
meirya said:
What Trace and Sorin said. Plus I imagine that when you've got the Duchess holding court and the surrounding Baronies present and holding court too, it'd be an excellent time and place for commoners/merchants/etc to bring grievances, petition various nobles for various things, get official business done, and so on.
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It's notable that the owners of Muckross House in Ireland basically bankrupted themselves and spent six years preparing for a single visit from Queen Victoria (she ended up staying one night). That involved clearing forests so that the Queen would have a better view, repurposing bedrooms to fit the Queen's wishes, laying stones for paths and gardens, preparing (and increasing) the serving staff, and otherwise ensuring that the trip would run as smoothly as possible.

Basically, where the nobility go, there tends to be a huge amount of prep work and a massive–and possibly unasked for–retinue. Some of whom are there for the nobility… but many if not most of whom will actually be there for the people who are there for the nobility, or the people who are there for the people who are there for the nobility… etc. Then there's the tendency when you do it repeatedly for an entire industry to grow around it: The various guilds use that time to meet and discuss, farmers realize that they can make bank by growing crops that travelers (both nobility and adventurers) will pay for, merchants ensure that they are there so that can get high traffic from people with money (or who may have it one day), entertainers come in to entertain, guards are then needed to handle crime and invasions now that the population is higher and draws more attention from enemies, etc.

Basically there's a lot that can (and will!) happen when you get a high concentration of nobles in one place in a feudal mercantalist society.
 
I just emailed logistics. I look forward to seeing all of you beautiful people there, and I definitely look forward Barbara's cooking!
 
"There are no market days!! grumble!! It is a gathering... a gathering of what you ask? Why the nobles of course!"
Maybe sense there are no market days, to make everyone feel welcome it could be called, A Fair Day, or a Fair Gathering, as it is the excitement and pageantry that springs up around the Dutchess holding Court... and the gathering of the ....Nobles...
That way no one, can ever not be sure if all characters should show up, and it is still a Political gathering and a joyous and profitable event for those so inclined. And when the ..Nobles..figure it out, how, the Fair Day can also be part of a glorious Tournament!

Just an idea...
 
One other possible IC reason is that with that high of a concentration of nobles, that becomes a primary military target - decapitation (literally and metaphorically) has worked on several occasions in feudal cultures. So on the one hand, you have the Hoarde, who wants to end this war with a quick victory, and on the other you have the nobility basically turning the area around their fortresses into a killing field - with mercenaries, adventurers, and "other" combatants supporting the standing armies, and a tiny economy following them converting their spoils of war into whatever the fighters need.

A bit grisly, but y'know.
 
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