New Player Rep here!
Hi, Brennan! I'll give you something like a baseline, but understand that an individual experience can vary greatly. I ask, and I cannot stress this enough, that after your first event, please let me know how your experience was, and if there was anything that could have occurred to improve it.
1) When you get to event, you'll need to check in. This is where you pay your event fee (assuming you PC) and your optional food plan ($15 for NPCs, $20 for PCs, must be requested in pre-registration). For new PCs, you'll want to be in full gear prior to check-in so that a Marshal can award you an Armor Rating for starting Armor.
Prior to Opening Ceremonies (more about that later), a New Player Intro is run where I (or possibly someone else) will explain some of the basics of our game (safety rules, basic combat rules).
At around 9:30 - 10:00 PM, we hold Opening Ceremonies, where the staff members will make any necessary announcements regarding the event.
After Opening, we prepare for Game On. At that point, PCs are expected to be in character until the end of the event (barring OOG conversations that occur in OOG areas, or necessary moments of OOGness for clarifications on rules stuff, etc. We try to keep it as IG as reasonably possible).
The event itself will depend upon whether you PC (play a player character of your own making) or NPC (play character/monster roles to help Plot with their storyline). If you PC, you'll spend the rest of the event meeting characters, making friends, going on adventures that you'll explore our site for, and slowly get yourself involved in the overall story. If you NPC, you'll spend the event helping Plot drop story hooks by playing characters who might request help from the NPCs, characters that are designed to show the culture of the world the PCs are currently within, and monsters who might (probably will be) actively trying to murder the heck out of the poor PCs (don't worry, they probably deserve it).
Game off will generally be around noon on Sunday.
2) Please note that even if you don't get your backstory submitted by Friday, this doesn't mean you won't get credit for your backstory. It means you -might- have to wait until the following event. It also might still be approved earlier, we just don't give a guarantee. Plot has a lot of stuff to do between events, so we want to make sure they don't get loaded with lots of stuff.
To echo Gavin, our pre-registration date ends on 8/22. However, you can still register after that date, you just don't get pre-registration pricing, or the option to be on the food plan.
3) "Hey Evan, got any advice for us as to how we can get some inspiration for our backstories?" Yeah I do! Check this out! These culture packets represent the racial cultures native to Calliphestus, the continent we're on. You do not need to use them, but if you want to feel like you're part of the current place, feel free to do so!
http://www.alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/alliance-seattle-culture-packets.27625/
"Hey Evan, what kind of stuff should we bring with us, outside of weapons and garb? Can you tell us about the campsite?" Our campsites (our usual is Millersylvania Environmental Learning Center in Olympia, but our August event will be at Deception Pass) feature kitchens, fridges, and freezers, along with heated showers and mattresses. You are definitely encouraged to bring bedding and tolietries with you. It's probably a good idea, yeah. If you choose to bring your own food, we should have adequate storage space. The sites also feature commercial kitchens for your needs.
"Hey Evan, if I'm a little unfamiliar with some of the character skill stuff, can you help me?" Absolutely. Please feel free to approach me with any question you have. I'm a Marshal, and certainly familiar with the rulebook. I'm happy to assist with character builds, and I'm glad to provide suggestions if you'd like them. Also, if you do submit stuff to Logistics and Plot, and you don't hear anything back, please let me know. I'm happy to be your contact, and I know how to get ahold of people for quick responses if necessary.
I'm here if you guys need me, and thank you for checking out our community.
Edit: Thanks to Gavin and Rick for the responses! Also, thanks to Norm for pointing me at this post!
