March Highlights (Spiderpeople everywhere!)

First highlight is definitely Tori's storytelling. I was very much engaged by the plot and helping a rebellious good spiderperson against an evil queen. It appealed to the best angels of Travancian nature. Also the slow expansion of spiderwebs all over the proper was noticed and an excellent slow burn way of getting immersion.

Second highlight: The costuming and roleplaying of all the major NPCs, the healer, the general, the two defectors, the assasin, and the queen were all wonderful choices. I got a moment with all of you except for Ben (Even if my moment with Christine was mostly trying to kill her myself, then ordering every sneakyman in travance to knife her on main mod)

From there, the rescue mod into the rift was well described and neater skeeter, especially rescuing PCS in our first combat with the new rules. It all made sense and there weren't any more holds than in the odl rules, and possibly even less.

Lilith's mod was wonderful of course. I cried twice, wrote a letter and a poem, lost the poem and the letter, only found the letter, and got dunked on by Jason Feldman from freakin CHINA.

Getting put in command on main mod was a great semi-surprise, I knew something was up from pre-game talks I had with Diane but it was still flattering. I wonder who else caught the Ace Combat 0 reference I threw in when Grim as addressing the truth.

Having Jackdaw be my Bannerman was also super fun, as Justin and I play off each other stupidly well. It was buddy cop show during a war as we're moving between battles as fast as we can trying to supervise, pin down, and destroy the evil Spider court.

Every player was on their a game in terms of kindness and politeness with the new rules. I've nver had such universally positive reactions from everyone the whole time, even when we found problems or bonkers exploits we were simply discussing them without getting mad as the will was clearly there to make things better for everyone. So credit to bother the playerbase and the rules team for that.

I had some great moments with Ibn, Bob, and to a smaller extent (Because he wasn't around as much) Victor.

I also got to watch one of the best arguments in game between Jackdaw and Magnus, and get a chance to make a decision as Grim. It was a wonderful set of moments.

Alice B, I had tons of time with Starling this month and it was a true joy.

Norm, as always playing with Silverbow is a true joy, and as he acts as a mentor and promoter to Grim it's super wonderful. Ardin has had Grim's back since 1213 and I'll never forget it.

I love Sonya's new Redcap. The pre-written cards for interaction are so wonderful.

I had great banter with the Bartenders as usual, and a nice moment with Angeliana.

Family roleplay with Burkhart and Caldor were wonderful as always. The Heargens are so solid and loving we almost take it for granted.

Ostcliff impressed me on main mod especially, so shout out to that level of organization.

My NPCs sundaya morning were very cooperative and creative, I loved having two kids to control the elementals and wreak havoc throughout the Inn.

It was super pleasant to run into (and clobber) james on the field during main mod, and have him comment that Grim fights and works exactly like an anime character (Which is honestly very true at times)

For the time they were here, Alex and his crew were truly wonderful to interact with, I always enjoy the fighting they do, and the insight they bring about game mechanics and roleplay. I also loved the new rumor about grim.

This was my first game since Alice and Justin and Jason Feldman made me listen to Hamilton, so of course they barraged me with little nods to it in game and between game. Which was deeply hilarious

Feast was wonderful as well, thanks to Diane and the servers.

Special thanks to Mars for doing my items.

Of note…

This weekend could have been a giant disaster due to the weather- both from game perspective and from injuries… I wanna give everyone mad props for braving the Overperforming Storm and for being careful when y’all were at game.

Highlights; I don’t have many as I am fuzzy brained right now but in no particular order:
Friday Items- Thank you Steve and Conor for help with converting the last of the major items for Duncan. I know there are loose cards floating around but the main stuff is done. Greatly appreciated.
Discussions on Faith- or What can YOU Do Now?

The Search for Knowledge- Rift Spiders no fun.
Duncan with a Gun? Why Yes… And I got fairly good with reloading too. This becomes important... for many reasons all weekend.

The FIRST Gun Duel/battle in Travance. Zach Theis, I gotta say that the duel with your NPC assassin was about one of the best highlights I had this weekend. The continued hilarity that came later…
*bang*
“You!”
“Yes, Me!”
“Oooooooh No you don’t!”

Steve- why is it that I always seem to face one of your fighting NPC roles when I only have my hammer? Damnit!!!
Ms Lavin- our battle of wits/magery and faith was a fun time… Damn Necromancers!

Feast Benediction- Like I was not gonna give it when one of the Flock was cooking? Thank you all for quieting down so I could speak; for some reason, my ability to Project was on the fritz Saturday night. Remember, there is always more work to do… so lets Get To It.

Feast- excellent and very rich food..... for which I paid for later.

Meeting the Queen Part One: A pleasant exchange despite her looking like a Drider. *shudder*

I need my head examined… Its been forever since I ran with Will/Oren or any of the Guard. This night, I ran with Rayven, Oren, Jango and two others… and our merry band eventually ran into the Enemy Queen. Because that’s our luck.

Barracks Field- Yo…. I never wanted to be a combat casting fool. But I wound up being that here. Brazen Devotion made a difference- as the normal casting time would have gotten me killed due to me being mobbed….

Meeting the Queen Part Two-
Me: “Why are we fighting after all?”
Good Queen: “I am leading a Rebellion over the Evil Queen….”
Me: *stares for a good five seconds* (deadpan voice) “bloody revolutionaries…”
Annora: “Duncan, its ok…. The queen we are overthrowing really is a bad perso- er…”
Me: Lass… ye know we don’t do Nobility in the Highlands and I’ve nae issue with it. Its fine… Not about to stop helping… just right nice to know WHAT I’m helping…”


Side Highlight- It was a Blood Spirit that ultimately killed the Evil Queen (with a whole lotta help from Grim) and it was a Blood Spirit who placed the crown on the new one’s head.

Three Templars in a Bar discussing religions… and the crazy semi-blasphemous commentary that comes with it. Much laughter… and Dave/Ben, we NEED to do this again.

There is more there… but right now I’m not thinking of it.

Until the 20th Anniversary, stay safe!

Sadly had to miss Friday, but thankfully the story was well crafted enough to get right into it saturday morning.

SUPERB hats of to tori for a fantastic story, and to all of her NPCs and helpers for really pulling an A-game.

Obviously major props to Rob Ira for being the best, and most bad ass, butt in all travance.

The good queen's thorax was the focus of way too much attention. I knew Caldor was weird on his taste in women, but did not know how many others were too. My favorite moment was when she turned to me and said something to the effect "I have been warned to stop you before I get shot".

The makeup on the spiders was amazing, as was the egg prop.

I really look forward to the idea of having this race of spiders as an ally in the future.

Lillith mod was incredible. Matt, Alice and somehow Feldman pulled a great surprise that resulted in both an emotional and dramatic battle. Alice you did a great job as a mod boss, and everyone did a great job in the fight.

Because I love finding exploits and loopholes (even if I don't want to use them), I really enjoyed watching people find tricks. Props to the rules team for their quick answers, their openness to feedback, and their willingess to talk about the issues (when they had time) was admirable. I look forward to providing formal feedback, even if it means loosing some of my potent abilities.

Matt Calo was amazing with helping people with items as best he could. It was great.

All faiths mass was fun, though I was sad to miss midnight mass.

Diane did a wonderful job with feast. So delicious.

Most anyone who knows me knows I hope for the best and remain cynical of change-as are many disappointed idealists who come from my brutal little corner of this world. when I heard the rules were being rewritten, I was cynical. when I heard who the dev team was composed of, I was cynical about most of them. when I read, I was very cynical. I am happy to admit that the apocalypse I thought was coming did not arrive.

At the urging of friends I branched out a bit and was really nervous (and still am). this turned out to be a good thing because I felt really effective after about three years of being in the community. still waiting on the lore for one of the other changes (looking at Steve and Tori with anticipation for that conversation) but we'll see. I'm not really the type to put myself out on a limb (one gets nervous after so many backfires), so lets hope this goes well. Apparently, there is some tweaks to the double dragoon thing, so I'm willing to help figure out a fix to the issue if necessary. all people have to do is get hold of me.

Friday night started with a grim purpose and frustratingly cunning minds, and warm hearts. then someone did a dumb, and the Hibernian Wall found out about it. Thing about Hibernians: they can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Main was amusing. not only did I finally have a purpose- part of the Queen's bodyguard, but the banter was great including this gem by annora to the queen:

"Donny's good in a fight, but he isn't that bright."

Mission achieved. then, coming into the fight at Alisandria, letting loose with the standard Donny saying:

"SOMETHING'S GETTIN' A KICKING!"

it echoed back. apparently it is slowly catching on and it is a source of demoralization to the opposing side.

Had to leave early, but I had a blast.

JTinney wrote: There is more there… but right now I’m not thinking of it.

Until the 20th Anniversary, stay safe!

Yup.... more. And I'm kicking myself for getting this..

The "Ostcliff Men's Choir". Gentlemen.... thank you for singing through the Gnomish Far Speaking Device to a Travancian who was unable to attend due to weather and other engagements...

You made her weekend And she was at a funeral that day for a well loved patient of ours, the Song... was perfect.

Thank you, gentlemen.

The early evening into the night, Karen and I helped make sure everyone else's cards were ready for the event. When I got checked in, though, Drew did a double-take at my card.

"Balla, did you seriously buy 11 ranks in Wisdom!?"

I nodded and Drew, in the process of losing his mind, ran to the make-up room to show Tori.

Knight Realms has never been about the card for me, so my weekend wasn't any different from the norm. I didn't really know what was going on plot-wise or follow after it. Nalick's array of skills still eluded me. Chet still ignored his card almost entirely because he was too distracted by opportunities to chew the scenery--and also still ate Feast with his hands.

Speaking of Feast, that chicken was superb. Props to Diane and all the players who made it possible.

To all the new Travancians (my condolences), thank you for coming out in a snowstorm to play pretend with us. Saturday evening was especially great (looking at you, Dr. Buttons). Besides, Chet thought it would be a "Wise" idea if someone were at the Inn keeping it--and the booze--secure.

To Steve: Quack. Quack quack.

Tori, from what I hear, running an event is stressful enough; I can't imagine running one centered around a personal phobia. When you wake up from your coma on Wednesday, know that we're all thankful.

Friday night Quick Chek run, but before I left, being asked to check if Matt C. needed anything. When I did, he politely turned down food but "wouldn't turn down a coffee." Here's hoping it helped.

Folks, if you had a functional character card, thank Joey G. It'd be a shame if he were an unsung hero. Special thanks to the Database crew for both not crashing the system, but also working so well together as a team.

Grumpy. Dwarf. Forge. Seriously, you all are consistently highlights of my weekend. One in particular was the briefest exchange with Steven's Dwarf. No introduction, just right into the crudest jokes. Chet's got a new best friend.

See you guys at April, if only the weekend!