FinalHavenLarp.com

I suppose I'll kick this off.

NPCing was a lot of fun. I can definately see why doing it full time appeals to people. I don't think I'm ready to give up PCing, but the occasional foray into the other side of things might be welcome.

My most memorable experience of the event would have to be roleplaying with Ang (Eilonwy) as Auroch. For my first real NPC gig, getting to play something that was not only evil but brilliant and manipulative gave me the chance to pull out the stops and really get deep into the scene. It's an interesting thing to have a foot in both those worlds, doing justice to the evil bad guy and enjoying that challenge while the PC in me is screaming at the good guys to see through my lies.

I felt a real rush in scrambling to read the situation and respond (honestly, when required) about my intentions while still trying to generate sympathy from the PC's. It was a razor's edge, and one that a villian less intelligent could never have managed. I'm grateful to the GM's for giving me such a fantastic character to play for my first run.

Nice event! I had a good time, enjoyed the excellent food, and it was great to see everyone. A very appropriate plot for the weather, and thanks to all for the great RPing. My only regret was losing one of the only two noble and good NPCs we have encountered in the history of Haven. Perhaps he will achieve epic villain status and re-emerge over and over...and over...

Thank you, everyone who was there when I somehow tipped the bench over when I was re-tying my shoelaces (I wasn't sitting on it weird at the time, so I'm not sure how I managed it) and saved me from getting burned or anything set on fire in the fireplace. I didn't think I actually fell into the fireplace but several people who were right there said I did. About six people yelled "Grab her, grab her! Get her out!" as soon as the bench started tipping over. I leaned forward towards the bench so I would be as far from the fire as possible and had several pairs of hands grab me and pull me out almost as soon as I fell into it and start beating at the back of my clothes, just in case. I am VERY, VERY grateful.

I also had a really good time as the "dog" and hope I didn't pester people too much OOC. I managed to stay pretty warm in my getup, if not uniformly so. It was interesting playing from the perspective of a character who didn't really have any stock (Or real understanding) in what was going on beyond staying alive and finding food. I really got into character yesterday and a lot of the things I was "saying"/doing weren't a really conscious choice; that was really cool. I think it really started after game-on when I came up from the stairs and started digging in the snow with my "stick." I went/snuck (badly, I might add, as I found out later from Esmeralda who said she could see my ears at the windows) around to the back of the lodge where the "wine" and drinks were on the back porch to cool off. I was just getting ready to investigate when Sslisk opened the door. The noise of the door alone scared the HECK out of me, let alone Sslisk coming out. That's one scary, strong looking person!!! The interaction I had with everyone was priceless, even the NPCs. She's particularly fond of the pretty ribbon Eli gave her, even though it's really dirty now. And of course, begging for food and getting scratched and petted all day, hehe. There was the part where the earth elementals were in the lodge and everyone was in a defensive circle. I guess she didn't think they were that scary (Thinks: "Yeah, they kinda smell like the ground when I stick my head in a hole"). She comes walking over all oblivious like "What's going on guys?" and Alexander looks all frustrated, makes like he's going to try to explain what's going on, thinks the better of it, grabs her and puts her in the circle. As for everyone else I had fun "bonding" with, you know who you are.

I particularly liked all the interactions the NPCs had with each other when they weren't directly in communication with the PCs. "Holy cows! Do you know they got a dog that can talk here?" One points at Styx. "I wonder if that one can talk too? Here doggie, doggie!"

When one of the cow guys was tied up and dragged off (I don't know exactly what was going on, since I wasn't over there by him): "Hey, what'r they doin' to that guy?" "Hey, yeah, don't hurt him too much, he has good cows!"

I did, however, forgo the urge to jump on the buffet table where all the food was. I figured everyone would understand though.

It was fun to once again be in the NPC/GM role. I miss it periodically, but my true love is PCing. Im simultainiously sad and glad I wasnt playing Woden this event. It would have been awesome to been in the thick of things, but I know I would have inevitably done something stupid.

Having a good number of NPCs made things nice. It makes us more effective because we can a) cover more plots at the same time. And b) throw a number of NPCs into a fray and make it seem like a far greater threat then it may actually be.

There were some truely awesome things that went on behind the scenes that the bulk of the PCs will NEVER find out about. For those people who have manage to pull these things off I can only say that my hat is off to you.

The food was awesome and the role-playing top notch, but that’s about it.

There might actually have been a lot going on, as I didn’t see any NPCs besides the party-goers for most of the event. There seemed to be a lot of interaction going on, so this was probably a non-combat character’s dream. Unfortunately, as a warrior character, I was quite bored nearly the whole time. Didn’t help that I was ordered to guard a door and then left there. Eventually I had to break character just to go do SOMETHING, both to aleave my frustrated boredom and to work some warmth back into my limbs. The two encounters I was involved in that actually broke out into some fighting were very brief and anticlimactic. The NPCs let us know combat wasn’t an option by having their characters start swinging 5 Crushes repeatedly against PCs fighting under starvation conditions. That ended the fight and fun real quick, all right. Then, at the last chance for a decent fight, the NPCs simply gave up and stood there while another NPC killed them off. Not fun.

Part of it’s my fault for creating a character dependant on the actions of others – a dumb brute of a soldier who merely kills things and follows orders - but I was really disappointed this time out.

as a mainly non-combat character, I had a hella good time. I'm sorry I messed up the scene when I had to bail. Paula(hannah was not feeling well, and was dizzy, and I was trying to get out quietly....with a confrontation happening in front of the lodge. Sorry about that.

I love playing Sen. You guys are not shy with your praise about the food. At some point I hope to be able to make enough to last. *LOL* I wish I could have stayed, and would sure like to see a summary of what all went down.

We should have made an announcement ahead of time that the event would be little to no combat and provided some sort of alternative for those who play combat oriented characters. We could have offered to have pre-made characters that fit into the plot for them to play or maybe allowed them to write up one-shot characters at the same level as their principle character for the event. This is a lesson we will apply to any upcoming one-day events.

At most Final Haven events when it is cold, people are able to put up with the cold for a while as the only heat coming into the building radiates directly from the fire itself. But give it 20 hours or so and the stones themselves heat up, radiating a lot more heat into the building and by Sunday everything is pretty nice and warm. As Sunday morning comes around, the fires are given time to die down on their own and the event is capped off pretty easily.

This event started by shoving as much wood into the fire as I could as fast as I could because I knew I wasn't going to be able to have those stones heat up, and all of the heat was going to be concentrated from the concentrated openings of the fireplaces... people standing in front of it were blocking the heat from those who weren't able to stand there and others just didn't have a choice... it wasn't their place to stand in front of a warm fire and they often suffered with the cold. The end of the night came quickly and just as some stones were warming up, the fire was at its peak and had to be scattered and put out as best as I could in a very short time, leaving pieces still burning and smoke filling the building.

This to me was a great analogy of how the event itself went. The way most events work is at a pace we as players and characters are able to take care of situations... most big decisions seem to take about 24 hours to fully work through their cycle. However, in a 11 hour game you can't wait around for 5 or 6 hours trying to solve a problem and not expect others to make decisions on their own to solve the situation on their own, or look for a resolution before the end of the game. Some people weren't able to fully get involved over the event (or find that "one" niche or event that really made the event for them... easier to find in an event 4 times longer, I'd assume) while other characters found that opportunity to find something that worked well for them. It was sort of hit-or-miss, but there were lots of opportunities for most players and characters if they looked hard enough.
I can understand certian characters who were built for combat and the likes having problems in the game, and the players who didn't want to play a one-shot character just for this event either, but I'd heard earlier too that this was going to be mostly a "political/social event, revolving around Rodrick and the Final Haven/Woodhold situation", but maybe that didn't come across to others as loudly.

However... I did enjoy this event. The food was good, the RP was pleasent and pretty fulfilling. Hell, even Quen got a little attention without being dragged into something big. *L*

Kudos goes to the GMs and the NPC crew that helped round out the game. It'll be interesting to see the new directions the game goes in and who'll be back and who won't. (Atrum as leader when some Guild leaders weren't there? Fire King returning? Elemental Plane of Earth destroyed, especially after questioning the existance fo the Planes in the first place? Quetzel's death?)

I hope it was enjoyable to most others too. See y'all in the Spring.

I haven't finished writing up my thoughts yet, but here are my pics. I didn't weed through them, just posted them all. Hope you guys enjoy. Feel free to comment on them and add those box things

Haven't been on the page in a long, long time so I apologize. Aside from having the boots from hell, I had a good time. Glad to hear the villlain had fun with the naive little thing, though I did latch onto the "wicked intent". Unfortunately, things went in a different direction. *shrug* Gotta love our PC communication. Heh. Made for a very dramatic finish. And yes, most excellent plot for the weather with anubis hounds running around to boot (not literally). Cool.