Potential new player questions

Hey guys, my name is Bill, and I'll probably be coming up to play with everyone in June. I'm working on a Barbarian berserker character and wondering about a few things including:

1: Where should I get proper 2h Sword or Axe in terms of either boffer or latex? I know it has to be 48 inches, I've been looking at swords as long as 56 inches, I'm wondering if that is too long for a guy who is 5'9" I'm looking at some latex swords from the Dark Knight armory and whatnot and have no idea if they'll be effective for what I need. I have read the pros and cons of latex weaponry, and for looks alone I think the latex stuff looks way cooler.

2: I'm pretty good on costuming just from help from friends, I'm wondering what I should pick up in terms of incidental stuff like things you might not think you'd need for a LARP but end up using.

3: I wear glasses, how do you generally deal with those in play? Mostly because I am pretty blind without them, so if I can't wear them I'll need to make arrangements now (Probably going to be following my friends around very closely). Also, will I need to take them off for battle? As I'm going to be engaging close in, I'm not overly worried about removing them, I wanted to know if for reasons of safety and not losing them if I should just leave them off entirely.

4: Do you have any build suggestions for the game or early on is there no real wrong answer as far as that goes? I don't want to overspecialize or underspecialize, but this is a pretty different game system to what I'm used to, so any help would bee greatly appreciated.

I'll be coming up for my first time in June with Jason and Ree. Hope to see everyone there, you guys sound super cool.

Very excited to bring you up. I only wish it was this month

Hey Bill! My name's Conor and I help New Player's out all the time.

1: As far as weapon's go it is a matter of preference on what you like so it is hard to say wether it will be good or not for you, I will leave it to someone who uses that size of sword.

2: If you're good on costuming make sure you have a look here: www.knightrealms.com/logistics/189-cloth...-your-character.html

3: Generally if you have glasses you can wear them, safety comes first in this case. As far as combat goes same thing. I would suggest however getting something to keep your glasses from flying off though.

4: Send me a Private Message with what you're thinking and I'll help you out with that. Generally there are no wrong answers, but some things can be better than other options.

As a long time glasses wearer, I'll throw my 2 cents in on that question.
Most people with glasses definitely wear them during game. If you need to see, by all means wear them!
You may notice that I personally don't wear my glasses during game. The only reason I do so is because my eyes are weird enough that I can get away without 'em (I do start getting headaches though, bleh). And as a front line sword & board fighter, my glasses tend to attract boffer hits for some weird reason...I tend to joke that a sorcerer cursed them
However, that's just my weird habits and I would actually advise against that for anyone else. When I was playing an archer I wore my glasses all the time without problem.
I would recommend wearing your glasses, but make sure you wear a pair that if they get beat up/bent/broken, it's not going to be the end of the world (have a backup pair, or an older but still good pair? Take those). Avoid wearing your fancy schmancy designer glasses if possible. But please, do wear your glasses!!! We want you to be able to see when the monsters try to sneak up on you! It's not as much fun otherwise....
If you look through our photos, you'll see tons of glasses wearers in the middle of combat. Just be prepared, and you'll be fine. :)

Hi. I'm Katie. I also help out with new players. As you can see from my picture, I also wear glasses. I have had to have them knocked off a couple times, but it works out. Let me know if you need any help with anything, I'll be happy to help.

Build suggestions would be great, the gear suggestions that were linked earlier are super helpful.

Build suggestions...play what you want to do.
KR is not a game about 'optimizing' or creating a 'pwn' character...it's much more enjoyable to pick a concept that works for you and run with it. Characters will also evolve over time.
At KR it is very easy to expand you character's reach by picking up a new profession list, so if you feel you are over- or under- specialized it is possible to fix that.

Also, you get a three-event trial period as a new player, during which time you can completely change your character for free if you don't like it. So try things out!

I'll ask you this: do you want to be a melee fighter? Ranged fighter? Sneaky sneaky type? Magicky type? Magicky with nature type? Makey things type? Keep people from dying type? Erm...I'll come up with more types later

So, in short, yes there are no real wrong answers. Every profession is loved and appreciated :)
If you have any idea of what you want to play, let us know and we can definitely throw a barrage of suggestions at ya.

Oh I understand, I do, I'm just curious about making a very melee-oriented character to complement my friends who are playing an archer of sorts and a healer.
I have a very strong concept because I've been working with two players already and we've got some ideas, I'm just curious if there are things I should do with my initial points to ensure I have the best time as the kind of player I am.

For a starting melee based PC I think you best bet would be to get a defense skill (Parry) to call and to make sure you come in to game wearing some kind of armor. The extra AP you get from a chain shirt (for example) will significantly help. Beyond that if you want more advice its probably best to do it in PMs with the new player marshals or other players (PM me if you want) to bounce ideas around.

The other main thing to think about is pre-requisites. If you know you are going to want power-X but you can't start with it for some reason, make sure you have the pre-requisites for it. You'll earn build your first event, find a teacher for power-X and learn it your first event.

Good luck with your build!

Joe H.

I do believe you mentioned a character concept previously...I really shouldn't post when I'm half asleep, lol.

Going off what Joe said, I would say to decide whether you want to be more offensive or defensive. Based on the fact that you're looking at a 2he, I would guess the former? In that case, there are several different lists that all have their own flavor and unique abilities...chaos warrior, berserker, warrior are the three that come to mind.

And I'm writing this while barely awake, so I'm probably missing points you made already, for which I apologize in advance

I was going with barbarian Berserker, yes.

Which sadly precludes parry. As for the chain shirt, I'll look into that. I've got more than a month to purchase/build my stuff for the first event I'll be attending, I just like to be fully ready.

For Barbarian Berserker I would recommend you look very carefully at the starting Racial skills for the Barbarian Race:

Brawling 2
Ice Fortitude 2
Ignore Pain 3
Ignore Magic 5
Strength +1 8

Each of these you can "self teach" one time only. So the second time you want to learn Strength +1 you'd get it from Berserker for 15 points.

Most of the Berserker skills require Strength +1 as a pre-requisite. So I think you will want to get your Two Handed weapon (4 points) and Strength +1 (8 points) and that is 12 But that is just one possible path.

You could also do Two Handed Weapon (4), Brawling (2), Ignore Magic (5) and plan to pick up (self teach) Strength +1 at your first event with the build you earn.

It all depends on what you want your "flavor" to be when you come in. None of these is optimal or better than any other path.

Joe H.

Oh hey I just found out there is an event on the 29th, and that has me incredibly excited to come up sooner. I do have some questions, however. 1. I had a costume idea to have ready for the end of June, this speeds things up a lot. Should I do something wild and crazy like cut up an old suede jacket I had to make a barbarian-ish vest for myself? Also, what are the views OOG and in terms of RPing on a garment that still has a zipper on it? I'm unclear on how to remove that given my own rather limited skill at modifying clothing. Cutting arms off is easy enough but removing zippers and finding a new way of wearing it might be beyond me.

Hi,
I'm Sean and like Conor and Katie I am a new player marshal. I will do my best to answer any questions and help get you ready to go.
For the zipper question, no one will blame you for a zipper, I wear a Nike Fuleband under a bracer and no one has said anything in a year. As you go on your costume collection will grow and evolve, I know mine has.
We can't wait to meet you.

If you are still real unsure of the zipper, you can always paint it to match the color of the item its on. Also, for the costuming, grab some fur, tie it around your boots and belt until your costume arrives. OR you can always NPC for the event to earn some more build to create your character. Dont worry, you have options.

I have one other minor concern... when I am super excited or frustrated I get a stammer. It is minor but I am a little worried about the rping aspect of a big berserker dude who lapses between pretty big and booming pronouncements and moments of awkward grinding out of words.

Bill - knowing your RP, I don't think it will be an issue. But if it worries, you, incorporate it into your character.

My two cents-

#1 Don't worry about it. This past weekend was my first event, and everyone was more than understanding about the many things I was confused or mistaken about and the many times I stumbled over the name of a spell or skill. I don't think anyone is going to worry about a minor thing like that.

#2 To echo Caldor, incorporate it. The best characters are those with a minor twist that makes them more interesting and more real. Heck, I'd make it even bigger and use it to add more depth to the character.

But the main thing is not sweating it. It's a very welcoming group, and I can't possibly imagine there being the slightest issue about it.

Don't worry too much. Everyone is super nice and welcoming. You will be fine.

Don't you even worry about it! I have the same issue with big words and things, but I use it IG as my character so to show her lack of knowledge or just for a fun little innocent twist haha
Like for instance the word Londwyn she says it: LONDU WIAN haha
Everyone is very kind and open so no reason to stress :)

It's not a stammer, it's your rage getting the better of you.

Who cares if you can articulate, when you are ready to tear the head off the guy who had the audacity to attack your new found friends!?


Just one way of making it a part of your character if it happens.

Good call. Oog I mostly stammer in stressful or emotional situations so that works well.