January 2013 Highlights

How the heck can I be first on this one? I'll take it. I dont often get to be first, and after such an incredible event to be able to highlight. . .

OMG SOOOO TIRED

So many highlights. I will miss too many but still, heres some:

Having a warm room to sleep and entertain in. Thank you Steve for all your hard work, thank you Brian and Charna and Mike for the propane. It started off the weekend so right.

SO much challenge this weekend. Starting off knowing what not to do, setting myself up not to do it . . .and doing it anyway in the end. Darn the allure of real food and how you can rationalize it completely if you're hungry enough.

Spitting in the face of a higher power. Because the alternative was unthinkable. Still, mistakes were made. . .

Letters from home. Lets ignore that one of them had the royal seal. At least one of them was. . .well it was pretty depressing too.

Drawing new targets on travance. Lets add the Unseelie to the list, as well as further putting ourself in the angry eye of Xualla. Selendrias remains to be seen, enemy number 3 for the weekend? Wondering if we're going to have anyone left to call an ally.

Hearing my message spread throught the lands through my people and never being prouder.

Getting cooperation and support from unexpected places. Never judge a book by its cover.

Running into the challenges of working with effective fanatics.

Trying new ways of doing things. Seeing some succeed beyond expectations, and others show clear gaps that need filled.

Leraning how much potential runs throughout the land.

Feeling hope for the barony.

Complimentary tarot readings. Carlos, you did it again.

Running with a plot that was both beautifully complex but not so convoluted you gave up trying to follow it. I loved the fact that like in real life, things overlapped and entwined and affected each other, but were their own separate things.

HAVING PEOPLE HELP BREAK DOWN THE NEW MANOR.

My event was muddled due to needing to leave on Saturday for OOG reasons. I'll be gone in Feb., and back in March with a vengeance.

Friday night, sitting in the middle of a snowy field, under a full moon. Eerie, alien, and appropriate.

Alisandrian Cookies. "Lord Blackthorn, these are poisonous. I must save you!" "I have an Alchemy Shield."

Ritual #2 - a rousing success. Norm's, not so much. Norm, never let me roll for you again. You should know this by now.

I have to agree I am STILL feeling the muscle pain from this event but is totally worth how awsome it was.

WTF FAERIES! major womp womp when we first went for the thread and it turned out to be faery tricks. Also more research for dominic, lots of fun roleplay with that.

Worst fears coming to life when the lycan escapes. :ohmy: the lycan battle was itself amazing though. Sam you did a great job with that.

Finaly so many lessons I got to give. I taught so many lessons this last event it was cool.

Friday
*Magic tricks with Kirt's character, the alchemist. That fire-powder snapping trick is wonderful, and testing the snow outside the inn was great for the atmosphere. I hope that it puts more pressure on the community to address the Sea-side Portal Problem.
*Opening Gambler and learning some tricks from Dimitri and Tsoli Silverbow. Thanks guys!
*Flesh Golem (?) Mod. And they told me we were just fighting grave robbers. If I learned anything from being unconscious in a freezer full of cadavers it's that you can never have enough spell points. And don't preach to me about being a frugal caster, because Stoneskin is just too good not to share with everyone!
Saturday
*The wonderful Golden Candle Mod! The reason well-seasoned characters couldn't intervene was smart, and I hope future mods explore other creative ways to justify low-level exclusive mods.
*Snatching the Candle and fleeing from twenty-odd people was the most thrilling KR experience I have had so far.
*Getting lectured about the importance of not getting caught by my good friend Sergei. It won't happen again...Not that anyone will be aware of.
*Trying to play poker with Augustus and Rosette! I'm a Gambler who is absolutely awful at Gambling. Should I be worried? I bought the lists for the Charms and Insults, first of all! Anyway, mythanks go to anyone at the poker table for putting up with my terrible playing.
*Sitting with Sergei, Tobar, and Nicoli for feast. Oh, a Gadje can't pour his own damn grog? I'll be more than happy to serve my fellow advent- Freeze Water! Ha Ha Ha! Romani Revenge, and I didn't even need a Hex!
*Arrive at main mod to come face to face with who I can only assume was the Kindly Queen of the Unseelie Court. I appreciate whoever casted the Mind Shield before the event, but it didn't help against an Absolute Piercing Dominate. It was fun creeping up on fellow newcomers and blasting them to oblivion with my Inferno spell, and worth being gagged and bound for the rest of the battle.
*Tsoli (Bill) is an awesome guy. A potion of refreshment along with my Dragon's Ale, topped off with Hot Cocoa with a side of Stoneskin and Earthen Armor? Such great service!
*Story time with Nicoli Boryev, the story in question being about his family curse. My heart goes out to you, Nicoli.
Sunday
Manage my sheet, dump the fifteen points of build I had left into spell points, cleaned up and hit the road.

Best event yet! Thanks go to Damien(Dimitri) , Zach (Tobar), Chris (Sergei), Marcella (Ilana), Bill (Tsoli), Justin (Augustus) for looking out for me. An honorable mention to David Ryes as well for tying my Mask in a square not when the Velcro was destroyed. Hope to see you next month!

-Missed out on the rapidly disappearing feast but an upset Ilana was granted some amazing apple pie by Kamei and was given support from Haroldson.
-Almost every relationship built up this event was crumbled by various actions of theft.
-Arden gets a gold star.
-I think Ilana bonded with Shamis. It was pretty cool.
-The three Imps during Main Mod. It was great 'hanging out' with you guys in the hall as everyone else dealt with The Menagerie
-"That's why you don't put Demon Marks on your face!" (I didn't get to see all of it, but Steve did good with the Encase With Ice plan and his various poses) Running around in circles after Raqoztl. Everyone's reaction when Kristen switched places with Alex when it was time to beat said demon to a pulp.
-Being asked about 6 times in 2 minutes about Ice Phoenixes suddenly. Ilana has a reputation for odd lores I guess.
-But, at least she knows what she needs to do next!

(Ilana introducing Alicia to the 'bottle psion' Her reaction was priceless and her bravery was appreciated)

The next couple of months are going to be interesting I think

How the heck can I be first on this one? I'll take it. I dont often get to be first, and after such an incredible event to be able to highlight. . .

OMG SOOOO TIRED

I think you answered your own question right there. So much fun we pushed ourselves into being too tired to type about it until the day after the event.

-I love helping out where I can, so when I was asked for a simple idea for a mod, and it worked out even with me showing up late, I was glad.
-Showing up at lay on, and getting pulled in for certain things right away on my NPC shift.
-showing up in town as Oren after a few months outside of the proper, and the stories I had come up with for those who wanted to know what happened to my hair and beard..
-My talk with the witch hunter masters, and their reactions to my reasoning. Followed directly by the reasoning and assignment of my new teacher.
-the conversations that I had on low combat times all event were great, if not a little slow moving from physical exhaustion from walking everywhere constantly.
-I lost track of how much I drank at the bar, but I love the way it has pulled so many of us in, and given us another place to collect more directly inside the inn.
-realizing that by saturday morning I had seen most of the witch hunters off to bed, and laughing that if I went to bed I would not have gotten up in time for the meeting I had posted about.
-making sure the baroness was safe in the new manor, and being invited back in after they thought Jack and I had already left. ( as always: you are an amazing hostess Jen. That snacks, and heat were just what was needed to keep us going.)
-my last questioning.
-all the demon fighting, and consequently my final test. I had hopes that this was going to be the event that I got my chance at the list, but I wasn't expecting how or when it happened.
-I was probably the most surprised person at feast when I was squired. Sheer dumb luck I was sitting at a table end, and not the middle of the back table. Thank you all for the well wishes.
-Immediately after feast having a duty to the Baroness, as well as getting a few things answered, and all the congratulations in the mean time.
-main mod was fantastic. I love being able to see who I happen to be swinging at during the biggest battle of the weekend, and with the snowfall, and the full moon, and clear sky, we got just that. Being in the inverted tower again and again as the mod kept leading us back in and out of the tower area. Also loved when the hunters split off to fight the lycan that was released, they knew just where certain characters were going to be while the rest ran after Sam in the woods. Fast lycan, or tier 5 demon? Guess where the tortured souls were.
-finally getting the time to have the talk and lesson for my first steps into my fourth lower list. As everyone else who found out about it said: ABOUT TIME! Jenna, the discussion was fantastic, and I am really looking forward to how this works out. (Tools of the trade, and the core of a hunter) And Jenna, I loved that line : "I suspect that you would call yourself a Demon Hunter before you call your self a Witch hunter."
- Being ordered to go to bed by two knights and the Baroness. And since the lycan that was reported to be on the front lawn of where I was going to sleep, I headed out. Seeing that he wasn't there, and that going down hill on my already dying feet, I took my orders instead of my instincts, and went to bed. Rather not be completely hobbled for work (MONDAY MORNING).
-waking up at a reasonable time, and the lessons, and discussions I both received, and helped give out. After becoming a Tortured Soul, it was fantastic to teach a Belmont lore: demon.

-and as always. the new faces and old friends. The little talks I got to have with a lot of you, and the in depth interactions with some of you, are always a treat.

just so many good things happened this month. Can't wait to see where it all leads in the coming months.