Winter in the Willows - Event 1

[sesquepadalia]

 

Oh my God, that was AWESOME.

 

I’ve just got back from Knifewinter, and that was, and I have to say this, THE best time I have ever had at an event Larp EVER.  And not an inappropriate lol-furry in sight. Major Kudos have to go to the ref team for running such a great show (I wouldn’t have noticed that they were first-time refs if they hadn’t said, it was so well run) and for being awesome and confident enough to say “Yeah, that sounds cool – let’s run with that!”, and the Crew, especially the Knife Dancers – you guys rocked.

I also have to say, it was really refreshing not playing another political character. Nor a trader or crafter or anyone with anything to worry about much. Which meant I could just hang out and be all mystical, then get into fights, which was a really nice change. I really felt happy to throw myself into this one, and I also didn’t find myself knackered on the Saturday and dying for time-out, so that’s another plus. It was a really well-paced event overall, I feel, and I’m already looking forward to what they come up with for event 2!

The Highs:

·         Drumming Bunny, leading to Stoaty Drumming and the invention of Stoatish Tribal Stomp-Dancing. Hammering on a table has never been so fun.

·         “Cultural Misunderstanding” and the “metaphysical stick” becoming part of the lexicon

·         Our adopted hedgehog :) - I have a feeling that this DT is going to be very much like a wild-woods version of the film Almost Famous for her...

·         Stoaty Drinking Game!

·         My runes – which I’d thought would just be fun fluff – turning into a bit of very cool crunch, and some great role-play. All thanks to the super-cool refs :)

·         The level of acceptance from the rest of the PCs – I was totally expecting we’d all get ganked on the Friday night, but by Saturday night, not only were we not all dead, but I think I actually heard someone talking about “our” stoats (as opposed to the KDs)...

·         ... mostly because of how we put our lives on the line, and all got the shit kicked out of us by foxes. Which I have to say was good fun, despite getting dumped on my arse in the muddiest part of the field PDQ, – the first night combat that hasn’t had me scared shitless, and I think the first time I’ve been actively in a proper melee. Plus the Volkoi chalked up one (and a half, according to Kostya) fox kill.

·         Good food, and plenty of it.

·         Finding a rabbit playing scrabble with a set of runes.

·         Stealing people’s hats, then selling them back to them.

·         Mislav breaking the car.

·         “Crunchy Bones” and “Snacky meat” – the stoats just have some awesome props.

·         The number of people who came up to us ooc saying “If my character dies, I’m coming back as a stoat” or even better, “if my character dies, can I come back as a Volkoi?”* We’re obviously doing something right :)

 

The Lows:

·         Not getting to use the Totem, or have the promised Stoat party round the fire-pit because of the weather.

·         The rain in general was a pain.

·         Boots rubbing :(

·         Being very cold on Friday night, and consequently not sleeping well – next time I will be booking uber early in order to try and get a bunk. Big thank-you to the refs/crew people who let me use one of the spares on Saturday night – slept sooo much better and avoided my back seizing up.

·         Gregor running off on his own a little too much for the tribe’s comfort... Something tells me we’re all going to take a little bit of time to settle into our respective roles.

·         Discovering foxes were rather harder than we thought.

·         Getting confused (names-wise) between Mislav and Metsuki, and ending up with strange combinations and variations in my head, like "Matislav"

·         Not used to wearing a mask.

·         We didn’t get to kill and eat anyone :( Ah well, always next time! :)

 

*the answer is “yes”, but please talk to us before you create your concept