July 415 Favorite Moments, Deadlines, Feedback, & IBGAs!

llywelyn

Artisan
Please send us your event feedback: http://goo.gl/forms/Tz9pZB7dYm Feedback can also be emailed to plot@alliancedenver.com .

IBGA Form: http://goo.gl/forms/H7NpKxrA05 (please read our IBGA Policy and Actions Between Games: Getting the Most out of IBGAs before submitting; also I do know that this is the same form as last time, since we're throwing all of them together on our end). You can only submit an IBGA if you did not go to the Death's Islands event in July. Please get them in, if you are sending them, by August 2nd at the latest so that we have some time to think them over.

Pre-register for the next event (event is August 21st–23rd at Sky High Ranch, pre-registration deadline is August 16th): http://www.alliancedenver.com/payment---logistics.html

If you are submitting a character background and looking to get that approved before the next event, the soft deadline for submissions is August 7th. Email these to plot@alliancedenver.com . You are welcome to submit it after that, but we may not get a chance to approve it or send it back with feedback before the August event.

Finally: We are looking for submissions either for coin (for your character) or GS (for you) for the Acarthia Times about this event or just the world in general! Please email those to plot@alliancedenver.com so that we can approve them. Soft deadline for Acarthia Times articles is August 15th.

Hope everyone has a great time at the event!
 
In no particular order...

* Naga mod. I am always a fan of mods that require me/my group to think our way around a situation. This was not a fighting mod. This was a fun, talkind mod, with some sneaking, and some careful words, and some negotiations. I had a lot of fun on it.
* Some of the conversation that spun off of that mod was fantastic. I'm not sure that I have ever seen LeGard at a loss for words before, but the expression on his face at the fire later was so worth exploring Tinder's naivete on certain subjects.
* The three way miscommunication on where I was supposed to be. Tinder does not wander off on her own! Seriously! (But I find the continued roleplay of people exaggerating her supposed propensity for doing so exceptionally humorous).
* Lola the Seawitch. Trace is easily one of the most gregarious, friendly people I know, but it's not often that I actually get the roleplay with her, and I got a fair amount of time with Lola this weekend. I loved this character, and I loved how it really displayed Trace's roleplaying chops - such a different portrayal from Katherine, and it was wodnerful!
* Saturday morning breakfast. I was running late that morning (and the following), so I didn't make it down to the tavern, and I have never been so glad IG. There was some huzz worthy internal agitations over the idea of consuming any part of a sentient creature, even if willingly given.
* TRex battle, the first, not to be confused with the tavern assault that happened later on Saturday. We had a great team for that mod, one that deliberately, and at one point exceptionally rapidly, strategized how to handle our situation, and it was a lot of fun as a result.
* The centipede and TRex battle the second; I honestly had a lot of fun in those fights, even with the number of times I went down in the latter. The gratification of lighting up the TRex with Ice Storms (that used most of those scrolls for me) and seeing LeGard fall out of its bulging stomach was pretty awesome.
* Sneaky mobs hitting Tinder in the back. *peers* You know who you are, and I totally need some shields behind me.
* "Tree-Not-Tree." You also know who you are, and you spawned roleplay that will continue to evolve as the Wylderkin around me started adding this into their vocabulary; snake-not-snake, monkey-not-monkey, fox-not-fox.
* Eating outside of the tavern, to avoid the boisterous monkey culture inside of it, and all of the conversation that followed; Rourk insisting that all was well so long as poo wasn't thrown at his dinner (and later deliberately moving his polearm into his lap), the Dawn Strider Captain joining us, with carefully worded disdain toward the monkey culture, having to remind others who'd been put off by the shenanigans in the tavern that we were the guests, not the other way around, and it wasn't our right to tell the monkeys to behave in 'civilized' fashions.
* Speaking of eating - OMGs, Jack! Those were some of the best fries ever! Never mind the shortbread cookies. I realize, you fed us Americana, but it was awesome!
* The flight from Monkey Island; also, pulling Jesse's baboon-kin onto our ship. Watching the lines form up and fall back while others were clamoring onto ships was epic, and watching Kendrick shake the king's necklace at the monkeys still on the wharf as we were pulling away.
* The deliberate camaraderie of checking on the other ships after we made landfall at the Isle of Light.
* Peat's late night warning; I never sleep well at these events, so when Peat showed up at our door to tell us what had happened to her on the road, I was the most mobile person to answer the door. (I really need to work on my sleep wear, in order to make it up to the task of leaving the warmth of my cabin IC in the late night. I have no idea how Dia wasn't freezing).
* Kraken ink! I have been carrying empty bottles wedged beneath the bark since I heard about this particular event, and it finally came up! Woo hoo! (I'm fairly certain that the other people on Tinder's ship found her squee of excitement reasonably inappropriate; and I was suddenly glad that the Saturday night fight did not eat up my memorized Dragon's Breaths).

Monkey Island:
The plot for this weekend was exceptionally well done all around, but the fantastic roleplay on the part of the NPC players that went into Monkey Island went above and beyond. Y'all got into the physicalization of monkey and ape so exceptionally well while still maintaining a wonderful air of whimsy, and it was non-stop. There was always a monkey somewhere, and monkey events happened around us, that didn't even necessarily include us (the monkeys beating the pails, and getting into little simian fights; the wrestling match, followed by poo flinging). It really made Monkey Island, more than any of our other locales, feel alive as its own distinct from us community, and that was amazing.

Overall Dimness:
This was a thing on Saturday, but you know, it was the most IC thing in the world. There was some obvious thought put into how to handle the setting, including what kind of lighting to give us in what place, and the lack of light given to us in the 'dilapidated building made of bamboo' that happened to be our tavern on Saturday night was amazing. It made light sources important.

Here, I would also like to mention that trapping the PCs on ships so that you would have 30 minutes (to however long) to scene set the rest of the game site for us was amazingly brilliant. Sure, we went 'back to the tavern,' but the tavern was different when we got there, and that was _awesome_.

Glass Cannon Magery:
I experienced this thing during the Saturday night battle that was odd for me. It was one part spell conservation, and one part recognition of a mage's roll in some things. Tinder went into that battle with a fully loaded offensive spell set; she had very little utility on her (which is not usual for Tinder). She walked out of that battle almost completely depleted; she had a few things in her arsenal left (and most of them packed some serious boom) but not many.

For me, the personal strategy of watching for where and when to chuck those damaging spells, and for reserving them in stages dependent on where we are in the fighting was interesting. Mostly because I haven't read any of this in any kind of strategy guide; I've learned it through practical experience and application in the game, and from mentoring conversation between Tinder and Anders, Tinder and Aneira, and all three.

Monkey Idol :
As many of you know, Ray (aka Eldred Morningtide) could not be at this event, an event he had been really looking forward to for a long time. He, Mike as Baron Egel (sp), and Trace as Dame Katherine had been having a wonderful time talking up a variety of things in relation to this event, and Ray decided he wanted to do something special for it. He sent me to game with a gift for Baron Egel and Dame Katherine; Katherine wasn't there, and Baron Egel didn't arrive until into the afternoon on Saturday.

I carried this gift, wrapped up in black cloth and tied to my spell bag until after dinner on Saturday, when I got it up the hill to the Salty Vixen, and Baron Egel.

The sound of Egel's/Mike's laughing (and his expression) when he opened up that bundle and saw what Baron Morningtide felt Baron Egel "absolutely needed" in order to complete the quests of the weekend - that is, a golden monkey idol, wearing a placid expression while flipping the viewer the bird - was epic. (Made all the more personally epic for me in that, less than 20 minutes later, we were fleeing Monkey Island).

In conclusion, the last thing I'd like to say is that I got some amazing actual roleplay this weekend. From the character development angle, it was subtle, and made me noodle over the ways that Tinder's childlikeness filters into game through her overall alienness, while making her at the same time very adult. One moment in particular stands out, where I stopped a conversation by taking someone by the shoulders, shifting them to look at the mountains, and the clouds boiling in over them, all of this wordlessly, and then apologized for my frivolity. The conversation that followed was quiet, and lovely, and one of many particularly immersive moments in the weekend.

Thank you, everyone, who contributed to that - I would name each of you, but, as always, I think the best of roleplay lies in the surprises we don't know about until it shows up right in front of us IG.
 
Walking with Dia as a Sirine (had never seen it spelled that way before) as her natural charisma drew people out to speak with us, Walkign toward the down as one after another small groups of 2-4 people tried to stop us, all of which who became our friends, or ended up taking a 10 minute nap on the docks. After one of which Dani who was marshaling thought I had thrown an Arcane dominate more then I should have, to which several people broke character suddenly with "That was BRIAN?!?!?". This later culminated with "Are you hungry? Don't worry, we can take you somewhere to eat." Gotta love careful phrasing.
 
Short and Sweet:

-Fav Mod/Town Battle thing: Troll village capture the flag was awesome. I like that it was a roleplay and different-than-slaughter opportunity, the setup of it, all of it was really awesome.
-Roleplay with the PCs . If I was to write an event feedback/review, it would be like 5 pages of thanking the PCs for some very wonderful moments at the tavern, in the battlefield, hanging out sitting on rocks, around the camp/boats, at the campfire, walking around, everything.
-THANK YOU NPCS. You guys are great from the roleplay of the different groups/tribes/etc you did, to the fights we had.
-I had a lot of fun NPCing during the shift I took. Not that this is surprising from me cause I love that. I had a great time RPing out the crabs. Some of you taste bad and need to get out of our home, some taste good and we'd like to eat you. I had a great time hanging with NPC camp with the shadow encounter.
 
Oh man, this weekend was such a great RP weekend for me. I wish I'd had more time for those quiet RP moments I enjoy so much, but the ones I did have, I deeply enjoyed. Here are a few of my favorites:

*Stumbling blindly back down the mountain after Saturday night's big fight, sobbing uncontrollably as the emotions of the day's RP hit Alis at the exact worst moment, and the moment during that when she realized that she had true friends by her side that she didn't even realize she had. It was super powerful and I really enjoyed it.
*The Confrontation. Those involved know what I mean. It was SUPER emotional and super amazing, and I really enjoyed feeling my character "snap".
*Confessing said confrontation to Parzival. Parzival's immediate delight that Alis had broken someone's nose, and him asking, "So how's that pacifism working out for you?"
*Stories around the fire Saturday night, including Rourke (spelling?) telling the story about the naked battalion and Frank's white tail.
*Being right about the monkeys. For reference, -I- hate monkeys, so I decided that rather than trying to RP neutrality all weekend or however long, I'd just let Alis distrust them too. AND I WAS SO RIGHT! Monkeys cannot be trusted. Eff those guys. :|
*The compliments on my new hair; THANK YOU!! You guys made a really terrifying decision that only happened because of a TERRIBLE mistake feel soooo much better. I really appreciated the confidence boost.
*The birthday wishes, also wholly and deeply appreciated. I know it's a little self-serving for that to be part of my favorite moments...but it was.
*Those cookies, oh my god.
*Also lemonade. Can we -always- have lemonade? Pretty please?
*Moria's violin. Such a cool setup, and very well roleplayed!
*Capture the Flag!! It was such a delight for my character to see New Acarthian's negotiating rather than rushing in with a 'kill them all' attitude. She was sooo happy, even if it was short-lived. ;) She is so proud of you guys.
*PINK SAAR! I forget your character's name, I'm sorry. But I am deeply delighted at the existence of a pink tiger saar. Thank you.
*DINOSAURS AT LARP, OMG!!! I had trouble containing my OOC excitement. Barely managed it, but it was sooo hard. I ******* love dinosaurs. Especially raptors and t-rex's. And I love whoever wrote them into game. So much. Thank you.
 
  • Getting hit in the face! ("Srsly, Trace? That was #1 on your list of favs?" Bear with me...) I am a magnet for faceshots, for which I apologize for becoming "That Player" with yet another Hold to escort my sad face off the field. I took a bad face shot right in the eyes in the Shadows Fight which drove my glasses into my nose, and then sent the spectacles flying. I couldn't see, and feared that both my face and perhaps my glasses had been smashed. What ended up making this unfortunate moment top the list of favs was the outpouring of kindness from players throughout the event, checking in on me at convenient moments to make sure I was alright -- which I am. Nose is scraped up, but glasses held up, nothing serious; I am indeed alright. People in our Alliance community genuinely watch out for each other, and that is hands down my favorite thing about this whole group! My special thanks to the kind male whose voice I couldn't identify while my eyes were closed who offered his help as a medic -- I apologize for snapping at you in the moment, but I genuinely appreciate your consideration! And to Dia, who so thoughtfully approached me quietly while I was sitting the fight out to offer to help get me back to the main camp if I wanted. I don't actually know who hit me; I heard it was an NPC. Whoever you are: You did nothing wrong here. This was just an unlucky shot that I turned into by accident. **** happens in LARP. No lasting harm, no foul!
  • Blanket Fort: My great thanks to Jack and Quinn for their OOG forbearance in allowing me to sleep in the corner of the tavern like a hobo. My request was really weird, and I appreciate very much how friendly y'all were about it. It was so nice of you to let me do something a little oddball with the witch hut this event.
  • New Character: Loved getting the chance to view the game through a different pair of eyes by playing my alt Voodoo Witch, Lola. My thanks to Porch, Ellie, Dia, Fodder, B, Ian, Bria, and everyone in the "Alliance Costume Workshop" Facebook group who helped me put together the look and pieces for this costume. Porch made me all those really awesome beaded skull necklaces that I was wearing, by the way -- He got inspired by this concept, and just took off on fire! I'm so grateful, Porch -- That made the whole outfit, thank you!!111!! I got the nicest compliment at dinner on Sunday night when a fellow PC who had interacted with Lola a few times asked me, "Were you even at the event this weekend?" because he didn't recognize that was me under all that voodoo!
  • Warm Reception: Although I was at least a known element as a player, I was surprised so delightedly by how welcoming all the Acarthian characters were of Lola. Everyone was just so nice about letting me in on their modules and adventures, and into their conversations. I felt included, welcomed, and treated fairly and even generously with treasure splits. Thanks for letting me in, everyone!
  • The Great Serpentine Conspiracy: Friday night's Naga module! Thank you, Jim, for letting me tag along! Ditto Kat's comments -- I enjoyed the format which could've gone to combat, or stayed in negotiation. I like feeling empowered as a PC to make that decision. I was so tickled to discover later in the event that, "Latin is a thing," and the hints there were not just from my own fevered imagination alone. I'm eager to see what develops with the Naga hereafter. This mod provided the basis for TONS of interaction with PCs later as I made it a point to tell everyone I could find about the Naga. Plots which give me something to discuss with other PCs are always my favorite plots. (Thank, Bel, for requesting repetition of the moral of that story over and over!)
  • Cannibal Town: ZOMG. CANNIBALS. Cannibal ritual! I got to BE the cannibal! I got be an auto-cannibal! Getting covered with blood paint! Peat: "I'll take the one with arms!" Timing just right my introduction of my Voodoo Witch character to actually manage to find some creepy shamanistic blood magic plot on my first event. Highlight of my event, hands down (or off)!
  • Jurassic Park! SO happy that Keith and Silver chose to NPC this event -- thank you, guys! Your roles as the Monkey King and Queen really gave y'all such a nice opportunity to showcase your roleplay talents. I loved the feel established by the formal audience with the Monkey Monarchy in the natural amphitheater, and the nicely coached consistent roleplay from all the NPCs. Jumping and hooting along with the monkeys at the end of that just for giving Wazee a piece of my jewelry, and then roleplay with Ah Ah AHH (Rachel's NPC) over my accouterments was such fun, so flavorful! It felt like an entirely different game setting -- I loved it! Great job! On the flip side, getting to enact the philosophy of, "Always know your exit strategy," with Kendrick and Wolsey during the Monkey King's sudden but inevitable betrayal on the flip side was probably my second favorite moment of the game after only getting my arm cut off and then eating it for breakfast. That I just typed that sentence in sincerity is an achievement in itself for this event. :) Loved the "wild animal park" format of finding modules and encounters out beyond the giant gates. The banana module format, picking actual bananas off trees, getting the warm roleplay reward of making Wazee's grandmother happy, and then getting the very real treasure of eating a real banana at the end was delightful to me. I enjoyed the stuffing out of Monkey Island, honestly.
  • Monkey Idol: This is how much I enjoy the excellent characterization and roleplay among our PCs. Ray wasn't at the event. And I wasn't playing Katherine. Nevertheless, Kat pulling me aside OOC to show me Eldred's gift for Egil and Kate was easily a giant highlight of my whole event! I was just tickled by that!! Thank you so much, Ray and Kat, for the creativity, thoughtfulness, and Kat's burden of carrying that damn thing around with her during her adventures to deliver the punch line. My mind kept going back to that all event, and it just makes me smile even more every time I think of it! LOVED IT!!
  • Day 62 - Still Not King: Small but really appreciated plot element: I loved searching the deserted pitch black cabana of a "tavern" on the Isle of Light, and finding the leather-wrapped bundle with the journal entry from previous shipwreck survivors. It was such a small, easy prop that did so much to establish setting and wonder for the island. I wish we'd have had energy/time/gumption to follow up on its clues to find that party -- but leaving your audience wanting more is always a good thing.
  • Goldfishkin. Bless you, Tim. You're Lola's new favorite TV show! :)
  • Small Moments: Had so many enjoyable small moments with various PCs. Chatting up Bran over the importance of feeling fear in order to rise above it to become brave before our Shadows adventure was such a lovely, warm, and very realistic character moment. Counseling Ulric as a shaman, and our repeated honors to the Elk Tribe throughout the weekend were a delight! Spending more time with Panax and Banks than I normally do even as Katherine when they're on my primary team with me -- loved teaming up with Panax, talking about the perfidious starfish, and collecting items for his sketches, investigating the Naga! Getting to team up with Aneira cooperatively for a change of pace! PCs putting up with Lola's inability or unwillingness to pronounce their names correctly, and either teaching her better ("Dere he is!"), or ignoring the nicknames and rolling with it ("Smart Mage," "Money Man"). Moira standing so resolute as Lola's defender -- I've gotten so much into the habit of playing a cap level Fighter class knight that it was sheer delight to me to be in that position -- and I adored the chance finally to have an excuse to roleplay with Fodder!!
  • Cannibal Cookout: Rivervale, Scions, Bayenna, thank you for such camaraderie and fun at our Saturday cookout! On the Rivervale private board, Mark described that quiet time as being worth the price of admission on this event alone, and he isn't wrong! Everyone getting together and just openly sharing and splitting the labor of setup and cooking was delightful to me. I love you guys! I'm so happy we planned that. Thanks to everyone who was a part of that!
  • Kracken Fight: Simple, brief, not overly complicated -- Loved it!
In all, I had SUCH fun introducing Lola, and making a ton of new IG friends for that character! I expected that most of my fun there would be in the cosplay and moments of initial shock when people saw my creepy teeth! Honestly, I didn't expect to get to go adventuring, and get involved in conversation and story like I did. Everyone was so welcoming and kind. I'll be back to playing Dame Katherine again for a few events, but I eagerly look forward to sending Lola to visit all her new friends in New Acarthia as soon as I can! Fortunately, Tinder gave Lola a much more enticing description of what that city is like than I'd heard earlier in the event. ;)

Thank you,
Trace Moriarty
a/k/a Lola, Cannibal Queen and Empress of the Night
 
So many for me... where to begin...
-Electricity in NPC camp!!
-The generosity of PCs and NPCs alike as cases and cases and cases of water, gatorade, and soda showed up in camp ,along with various snacks and food throughout the weekend, keeping us energized for you all.
-DREADING boat cleanup and NPC camp cleanup, and my surprise when both were done without my asking.
-kitchen cleanup and the willingness of several NPCs and PCs alike to help us clean it up at midnight.
-Monkey Court- I had this vision when I was writing it... and I think it was Silver who suggested it be in that amphitheater.... it totally made the scene. However, it was the amazing RP of ALL the NPCs present, who made it exceed my vision with their awesome RP skills.
-playing Wazee- I had so many fun RP moments with you all- especially John's favorite quote: Monkey: "You traitor monkey!" Wazee: "I'm not a fukkin monkey! I'ma baboon!" ANd all the fun RP going out to mods and coming back from mods.
-Marshalling capture the flag and wishing I could have played my PC for it! Dani rocks for coming up with that!
-All in all plot team comraderie! We were on fire this event behind the scenes!!
-THE PC NPC shifts!! GEEz! Like I said at closing, I never want to have to force paid players to take a shift, but with this many people who volunteered for 2-5 hour shifts, I might ever have to! LOL Seriously, you guys HELPED OUT THIS EVENT in a BIG way!!! THX!!
-NPC kickassery! They were like robots! They kept hydrated and kept kicking ***!! Well done !! Especially the hard core mod team, who kept trucking back and forth with me to sea elf land, 5 mods straight!!
-Jack's meals.
-Running a mod and seeing a deer watch us roughly 10 yards away. Watching a PC archer pretend to hit it, and then asking for a deer item tag, for which I gladly awarded him. lol
-Friday night campfire. I was sad I missed it last event, as I heard so much amazingness about it... but this time, I got to partake of the 8,000 drinks. lol The songs, the stories, it was all worth it... and made me remember times in my youth PCing... sigh... lol
-Coming back from playing the big bad Saturday night with Dani and seeing a million stars above us. I will miss elements of MMR, but give me my Sky High!!!
 
So many things! This event was so much sheer fun.
  • Playing Bonedreamer the Bloodsworn shaman. The sudden stillness when Bonedreamer limped into the tavern and circled around the outer edge, staring at everyone. Being irate at the presence of a naga (Sisar) in the Bloodsworn meeting hall. Conversations with people in the tavern, and then discussions at the Dawn Pride campfire. I wanted to visit more of the ships but I had to be up at stupid-o-clock to be on time for the ceremony, which absolutely had to happen prior to breakfast for Reasons.
  • The initiation ceremony into the Bloodsworn, how each character reacted and engaged and stepped forward, everyone in the tavern running outside at the sound of screams and staring in shock, and the camaraderie between the six participants afterwards.
  • The looks on people's faces when Bonedreamer explained what "communion" actually was. And seeing the sometimes surprising people who chose 4-legged pork or long pork.
  • Capture the flag! Trolls! Troll king! I was worried that PCs would choose the combat option instead of the negotiate option and we wouldn't get to play capture the flag. I'm so glad we did. I only wish I could have spread the bases out further, but there was no good place that was further and still safe at night (further down the Hummingbird trail was all kinds of construction and horrible things sticking out of the ground and metal rusting debris).
  • Walking towards NPC camp OOG after my nap and seeing monkey-kyn yelling at pirates over bananas, and being both tremendously confused and terribly amused. The NPC portrayers absolutely ran wild with their monkey-kyn roles! Loved it so much!
  • Playing Captain Cecily Floramonde Eglantine Brown of the Dawn Pride. I wish I'd gotten to play her more, she was so much fun. (Heck, I played two high-status characters this weekend and I actually did it decently! High status is hard for me and I feel like I actually managed the tone and physicality this time.) And interacting with the Dawn Pride passengers as well as a handful of other people, and getting to react to monkey-kyn. I wish I hadn't been so tired Saturday night and had managed to attend the Dawn Pride festivities but I was wiped.
  • SIRINES. Dia was amazing. Brian was also fantastic. Knox was a great sport and did some of the smoothest bluff-then-cast that I've ever seen once his Dominate wore off. Yurg yelling and running to the tavern when his wore off. Baron Darius asking wtf did they stabilize the sirine for. All the roleplay and reactions. Utterly fabulous.
  • The dinosaur gate when the monkeys attacked. Confine-confine-confine! Wow. That was efficient.
  • Rusalka! Everything about playing rusalka. Reactions, questions, confusions, all of it.
  • All the mingling and interaction and community at each ship, and how people went to check on each other after fleeing monkey island, and just. So much cool camaraderie!
 
Oh! After further chewing on the event - one of my favorite things was the dynamic between Lagarde and Sisar the naga, and conversations I overheard between Sisar and various other characters. So delightful and strange. Also Lagarde's captain presence especially during the monkey attacks!
 
Oh boy, this weekend was absolutely awesome!

  • Deciding and immediately regretting to speak to someone who approached our boat late at night.
  • Friday night party! Everyone who was involved was a blast, and Alchemical Roulette was fun too :)
  • Taking out nearly a full load of evocation for the shadow fight, blowing it all at once on the Big Bad, and then grabbing those that were feared for the rest of the fight
  • Getting nearly ALL the oranges in our task, to the surprise of Jesse.
  • Meeting so many new faces that I missed last event! Everyone is so friendly as always, and also Trace does an amazing job at creating such strong immersion with her characters :)
  • The Grillout on saturday evening was a blast, and ended with monkeys invading and kicking us off the island
  • NPCing as a murderbat and getting to play with the scions a little was fun, and then following that with the Necromonkey that got carted around for about an hour. NPC shifts are always so much fun!
Overall, very good event and I'm very excited for the next!
 
1) Getting to run with a Rivervale-only mod team earlish Saturday while waiting for monkey task. I called us having to fight coconut crabs (which was a good but tough fight), then we fought a large gator (thanks Tim for running it for us!), and then as soon as we finished up our gator fight we were jumped by a pack of raptors. Good times.

2) Monkey task: Had a lot fun with the team we ended up putting together. We had all of our bases covered and we seemed to synergize well. We were tasked with collecting raptor eggs from, you guessed it, a raptor nest. When we got there we spied a few different clutches of eggs scattered about the area. Each egg as a yellow balloon, most of which were filled with water, which we all felt was pretty cool as it gave them weight and some wiggle but also made them somewhat fragile. Plot did an excellent job and the NPCs we squared off with were great and a real challenge given they were new to our chapter and the ruleset!

3) NPC shift: Holy crap that was a blast. Between the monkey wrestling, the crab migration up the road and the huge raptor pack fight we all worked hard and had a great time. The raptor fight especially stands out as I got to sneak and stalk the PCs which I NEVER get to do as Brom. Was a great way to try something else and take a break from my PC. Jen was awesome at getting our HUGE volunteer group organized and active and the NPC crew was so full of energy and acceptance. You all rock it and truly make this game as awesome as it is!!!

4) Dinner time at Lyra: Man. Good Company. Good Food. Much laughter. Relaxed. Honestly, even if the rest of the event ended up a dud for me for some far-fetched reason, this would have made it awesome besides. I love doing for others and helping out with the cooking really made my night. Thankfully the rest of the event was great too!

5) Final fight Saturday night. It was creepy. As we walked up the road, most of which obscured in shadow due to the trees on either side, being harried by NPCs was actually kinda spooky. Tension mounted as people had to stop for heals or refitting which made the walk all the harder as it meant more resources being tied up before the inevitable climax fight. Skeld, Katya, Panax and Knocks were great and the 5 of us really felt like a team. We kicked butt. Later in the fight Ulrich was voluntold to come with us but do so with a smile and enthusiasm as he helped guard Katya, who carried a fragment at that time. The second part to the fight was hard and Brom was close to a bean pull. Thankfully Aneira's keen eyes and Kendrick's quick action prevented that fate!

6) F*** snakes. Hehe.

7) Kraken fight: Great way to close out the weekend. Fun, challenging, straightforward, characterful and just all around awesome. Watching Corey hurl packets from such a distance so that Osborne could help the other ships was awesome to witness. Having Anders and Noah at Brom's side as we fought off attacks from the back was freakin' fantastic. All around just a good fun fight.

There are plenty of other moments and interactions I should mention but I'll stop it there. I had a great time with many great people. As I always do.

A big thank you to Jesse, Jen, Dani and David for keeping things rolling and a huge thanks to all of the tireless NPC portrayers for making this game awesome. You all are truly cherished!
 
Trace! Speaking of small moments, I found Lola's note to the people who might come to the Death Isles after us. I'm not sure how many people you showed it to IG or OOG before putting it in place, but I thought it was dipped in awesome. *smiles*
 
Thanks, Kat! Quinn kindly captured the physrep for me during tavern cleanup. You just reminded me that I need to scan that and email it to Plot.

What we're talking about is that when we entered the dilapidated, crumbling tavern on the Isle of Light on Saturday night, we found a note from shipwrecked survivors warning anyone who found it about some dangers on the island. Lola decided to pay forward the warning, and just as we were running to board the departing ships, I hastily scrawled a note for whoever comes by next, and left it on the hearth in the abandoned tavern.
 
Alchemical Roulette was wonderful; thanks to everyone who participated and contributed ahead of the party! Definitely enjoyed all of those things that totally didn't happen. Looking forward to finding creative ways to enforce the very important rules re: discretion, which some people seem to think do not apply to them. *ahem*

making so many really lovely new 'friends' during my NPC shift. You were all wonderful sports! <3 Thanks, Darius, Banks, et al for a simply wonderful interrogation! And the lift up the stairs. :) And Brian, for serving up some ethereal seduction realness!

Am I the only one who didn't see the monkey betrayal coming? Getting all of the monkeys drunk at once was a total highlight- shame I didn't know to wait another half hour! </3 That chase up to the boats was one of the best and most stressful fights I've ever been in!

Getting rolled by Warchester's NPC shift! You guys really know how to make a girl feel loved! And how to add complexity to her interpersonal relationships. Sorry I accidentally made everyone think you tortured me! Thanks for the shirt!

Eating Rourke. The glassy-eyed look on his face when I crowed excitedly about my arm sandwich. Total bonding moment.

Getting to know the Crimson Collective a little better. You guys are the best!

A couple of really lovely conversations Sunday morning while scrambling to recover from my late-night encounters. Between the monkeys and Feather, I think it's possible Peat is just a little too trusting!
 
First thing I liked about the event was the anticipation and nervousness all the players had about stepping out of their comfort zone before the game ever started. It was a risk taken by the plot team to try something so different from the norm, despite player protests, but I am glad they took the gamble and I think it paid off.

Trolls! I finally got to kill some trolls and that was an awfully good time. Sorry to the troll NPC's who I first encountered because I was swinging a bit hard because I was just so excited to be fighting trolls. Sad that I didn't get the opportunity to challenge king troll to a duel but there will be other opportunities.

Friday night's campfire and party. I was a bit worried because things were awfully tame in the beginning but once it got going it was a great time and potion roulette was awesome.

Monkey Island was great, loved everything about it. The NPC's who played monkeys all got really into the role, the costumes were great, and the monkey vs monkey fight was awesome. Crab invasion was hilarious and fun, and of course DINOSAURS! Loved the big battle where we had so many NPC's it really felt less one sided than other field battles.

Shadow fight was fun and I was really I had a lot of armor because those tag lines were nasty.

Lola was an awesome NPC and the perfect character for this particular event, and I enjoyed interacting with her. She added a lot to the atmosphere of the game.

NPCing as pirates late-late Saturday night/Sunday morning. There were some awesome tense moments sneaking around camps and setting upon PC's as they slept.

Improving our teamwork in Warchester and doing a better job of sticking together while fighting and watching each other's backs.
 
I actually knew she was your secondary PC, it was just a slip up, or maybe in the back of my mind she fit the story so well she seemed like a plot plant :)
 
Well, ****! Now my event is RUINED! Thanks for NUTHIN!... Or, you know, a great weekend of camaraderie and shared adventure. Whichevs! :)
 
Well, ****! Now my event is RUINED! Thanks for NUTHIN!... Or, you know, a great weekend of camaraderie and shared adventure. Whichevs! :)
If it makes you feel any better I thought Scarlet was a NPC for a long time at Everhate. :)
 
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