Post by Sir Nichtmar on Dec 14, 2006 8:51:54 GMT -5
Your First Day
On your first day, you'll be greeted warmly by our members and introduced to the wonderful world of Dagorhir.
You won't need to bring anything but yourself; we have extra weapons, and you won't be required to have garb or a persona.
Before you begin fighting, we'll need you (or a parent/guardian, if you're under 18) to sign a release form. You can print one and fill it out ahead of time or you can pick one up when you get here, but you (or your parent/guardian) must sign it in the presence of an official from Mittelmarch. If your parent can't make it to your first practice or event, you may have it notarized. You can find a Notary Public at the local library or school, and most banks will notarize something for free if you have an account with them.
Once your release form is on file, you can begin. We'll teach you the basic rules and show you the basics of fighting with the Dagorhir equivalent of a shortsword. When you've finished the training, we'll send you out onto the field to experience Dagorhir to the fullest.
Persona
You'll need three things to participate in Dagorhir: a persona, a weapon, and garb (clothing). This thread will focus on the first.
Because Dagorhir is what you make of it, your persona can be as simple or complex as you want. Some people only have a name, and never worry about backstory. Some write 15 pages about their character. Most fall somewhere in between.
Your character can be historical (Visigoths, Romans, Celts) or fantastic (elves, dwarves, orcs). I would advise that you first choose what kind of character you'll be, then choose a name that fits. For example, if you wanted to be a Visigoth, you might do a Google search and find a list or two of Visigothic names. (Click me and me.)
Now you can start to think about your backstory. Some of you may have experience creating a character and writing a backstory, but for those of you who don't, start with the basics: family and purpose.
Who are your parents? Do you have siblings? Other family members with whom you are close?
What is your purpose in life? Are you trying to restore your family's honor? Avenge your father's death? Rule a province? A Kingdom? Destroy the Red Skull tribe of Orcs near your home?
To help you think about your character, go to the Silver Moon Tavern and fill out the "Getting to know you" surveys.
Got a basic idea of your character? Here's the fun part:
No matter where your character was born, grew up, or was living, you are no longer there. Somehow, you have ended up in The Land Between the Lands. Specifically, you're in a settlement called Mittelmarch, located in the Greatwood.
Weapons
You'll need three things to participate in Dagorhir: a persona, a weapon, and garb (clothing). This thread will focus on the second.
Because Dagorhir is what you make of it, your weapons can be as simple or complex as you want. You can go out on the battlefield with just one "popsicle sword" or you can go out bristling with swords, daggers, javelins, throwing axes, and a shield, all crafted by you and all distinctly yours.
Before we go any further, let me stress two things:
1. Learn with a veteran before trying on your own.
You will save time, money, and hassle. Nothing is worse than to tell the new guy that the sword he worked on for 5 hours isn't legal, and he's gonna need to start from scratch.
2. Practice the basics before moving on to more complex techniques.
Again, you don't want to spend $12 and 6 hours crafting "Soultaker the Mega-Polearm" only to have it break 2 hours after you start using it.
BASIC WEAPON-MAKING
Many basic designs can be found on the Dagorhir How-To Page.
Eryndor has an excellent Flash Tutorial. I would advise watching it, even before getting with a veteran, because it will give you an idea of what to expect when crafting weapons.
Garb (Period Clothing)
You'll need three things to participate in Dagorhir: a persona, a weapon, and garb (clothing). This thread will focus on the last.
Because Dagorhir is what you make of it, your garb can be as simple or complex as you want.
EXAMPLE FIRST-TIMER GARB:
VETERAN STANDARDS:
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Sage Advice from Kinsman Oron the Wolf of Pentwyvern:
*************
Tradition has established certain expectations of what is and is not acceptable for garb.
Minimal garb expectations include a tunic of crotch length or longer and medieval style(baggy) pants. Otherwise, non-humanoid characters are expected to maintain garb that is not blatently mundane and is fitting to their character. Footwear is preferably period boots or earth tone shoes, however is not considered of great importance.
Certain things are particularly forbidden: Blue jeans, camo outfits, and live steel(sheathed or not) are not allowed on the field. Anything blatantly mundane and modern should be avoided.
In our sport, you will be judged to some extent by your garb, so dress to impress and look like your character, not mundane Joe Blow.
Tips for cheap but acceptable garb
Tunics. Good Will is your friend. We had someone in Nan Belegorn pioneer the "polo shirt tunic" that is perhaps the simplest garb fix I know. Get a polo shirt from Good Will ($2), cut off the collar, buttons, and any noticably hemmed edges. Poke some holes where the buttons used to be, and lace some leather lacing through the old button holes. Wah-lah, insta medieval look.
Pants. Lots of people get away with black sweatpants, cut off the bottom elastic if you like. Another cheap solution is martial arts pants. You can get them in white or black from Century Martial Arts. They're loose, will take a lot of abuse, and look period. Also, many people use Hakama pants, which can also be found at century martial arts.
Skirts. A common trend among monsteresque personas nowadays is big baggy colorful skirts. Often you can find something colorful and perhaps a bit flashy, then shred it to rags--the long tatters create nice visual effects when you see goblins whipping off mad ninja spin moves and twirling around with flailentine. For a hordish look, scrapped up earthtone clothes work real well. Once again you can find suitable stuff cheap at goodwill-- sweaters, skirts, shirts you can rip up, etc. all for under $3 an item.
Footwear. A lot of monster and oriental personas tend to go barefoot. For more European humanesque personas earthtone boots or mocassins aren't hard to find at a typical department or shoe store.
Feasting Garb. For when you want to dress shnazzy for feasts, its probably cheapest to design your own formal garb. Its possible to find fancy capes, cloaks, and the like through online merchants, however they're usually very expensive. Visit your local fabric store for cool fabric and patterns. You may find something in costumes/renaissance sections of pattern books. Feasting garb is usually something people don't acquire until after they've been in the community a while so don't sweat not having any.
*************
Basic T-Tunic Instructions
T-Tunic Instructions and pictures taken from Dagorhir Website.
Alric
On your first day, you'll be greeted warmly by our members and introduced to the wonderful world of Dagorhir.
You won't need to bring anything but yourself; we have extra weapons, and you won't be required to have garb or a persona.
Before you begin fighting, we'll need you (or a parent/guardian, if you're under 18) to sign a release form. You can print one and fill it out ahead of time or you can pick one up when you get here, but you (or your parent/guardian) must sign it in the presence of an official from Mittelmarch. If your parent can't make it to your first practice or event, you may have it notarized. You can find a Notary Public at the local library or school, and most banks will notarize something for free if you have an account with them.
Once your release form is on file, you can begin. We'll teach you the basic rules and show you the basics of fighting with the Dagorhir equivalent of a shortsword. When you've finished the training, we'll send you out onto the field to experience Dagorhir to the fullest.
Persona
You'll need three things to participate in Dagorhir: a persona, a weapon, and garb (clothing). This thread will focus on the first.
Because Dagorhir is what you make of it, your persona can be as simple or complex as you want. Some people only have a name, and never worry about backstory. Some write 15 pages about their character. Most fall somewhere in between.
Your character can be historical (Visigoths, Romans, Celts) or fantastic (elves, dwarves, orcs). I would advise that you first choose what kind of character you'll be, then choose a name that fits. For example, if you wanted to be a Visigoth, you might do a Google search and find a list or two of Visigothic names. (Click me and me.)
Now you can start to think about your backstory. Some of you may have experience creating a character and writing a backstory, but for those of you who don't, start with the basics: family and purpose.
Who are your parents? Do you have siblings? Other family members with whom you are close?
What is your purpose in life? Are you trying to restore your family's honor? Avenge your father's death? Rule a province? A Kingdom? Destroy the Red Skull tribe of Orcs near your home?
To help you think about your character, go to the Silver Moon Tavern and fill out the "Getting to know you" surveys.
Got a basic idea of your character? Here's the fun part:
No matter where your character was born, grew up, or was living, you are no longer there. Somehow, you have ended up in The Land Between the Lands. Specifically, you're in a settlement called Mittelmarch, located in the Greatwood.
Weapons
You'll need three things to participate in Dagorhir: a persona, a weapon, and garb (clothing). This thread will focus on the second.
Because Dagorhir is what you make of it, your weapons can be as simple or complex as you want. You can go out on the battlefield with just one "popsicle sword" or you can go out bristling with swords, daggers, javelins, throwing axes, and a shield, all crafted by you and all distinctly yours.
Before we go any further, let me stress two things:
1. Learn with a veteran before trying on your own.
You will save time, money, and hassle. Nothing is worse than to tell the new guy that the sword he worked on for 5 hours isn't legal, and he's gonna need to start from scratch.
2. Practice the basics before moving on to more complex techniques.
Again, you don't want to spend $12 and 6 hours crafting "Soultaker the Mega-Polearm" only to have it break 2 hours after you start using it.
BASIC WEAPON-MAKING
Many basic designs can be found on the Dagorhir How-To Page.
Eryndor has an excellent Flash Tutorial. I would advise watching it, even before getting with a veteran, because it will give you an idea of what to expect when crafting weapons.
Garb (Period Clothing)
You'll need three things to participate in Dagorhir: a persona, a weapon, and garb (clothing). This thread will focus on the last.
Because Dagorhir is what you make of it, your garb can be as simple or complex as you want.
EXAMPLE FIRST-TIMER GARB:
VETERAN STANDARDS:
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Sage Advice from Kinsman Oron the Wolf of Pentwyvern:
*************
Tradition has established certain expectations of what is and is not acceptable for garb.
Minimal garb expectations include a tunic of crotch length or longer and medieval style(baggy) pants. Otherwise, non-humanoid characters are expected to maintain garb that is not blatently mundane and is fitting to their character. Footwear is preferably period boots or earth tone shoes, however is not considered of great importance.
Certain things are particularly forbidden: Blue jeans, camo outfits, and live steel(sheathed or not) are not allowed on the field. Anything blatantly mundane and modern should be avoided.
In our sport, you will be judged to some extent by your garb, so dress to impress and look like your character, not mundane Joe Blow.
Tips for cheap but acceptable garb
Tunics. Good Will is your friend. We had someone in Nan Belegorn pioneer the "polo shirt tunic" that is perhaps the simplest garb fix I know. Get a polo shirt from Good Will ($2), cut off the collar, buttons, and any noticably hemmed edges. Poke some holes where the buttons used to be, and lace some leather lacing through the old button holes. Wah-lah, insta medieval look.
Pants. Lots of people get away with black sweatpants, cut off the bottom elastic if you like. Another cheap solution is martial arts pants. You can get them in white or black from Century Martial Arts. They're loose, will take a lot of abuse, and look period. Also, many people use Hakama pants, which can also be found at century martial arts.
Skirts. A common trend among monsteresque personas nowadays is big baggy colorful skirts. Often you can find something colorful and perhaps a bit flashy, then shred it to rags--the long tatters create nice visual effects when you see goblins whipping off mad ninja spin moves and twirling around with flailentine. For a hordish look, scrapped up earthtone clothes work real well. Once again you can find suitable stuff cheap at goodwill-- sweaters, skirts, shirts you can rip up, etc. all for under $3 an item.
Footwear. A lot of monster and oriental personas tend to go barefoot. For more European humanesque personas earthtone boots or mocassins aren't hard to find at a typical department or shoe store.
Feasting Garb. For when you want to dress shnazzy for feasts, its probably cheapest to design your own formal garb. Its possible to find fancy capes, cloaks, and the like through online merchants, however they're usually very expensive. Visit your local fabric store for cool fabric and patterns. You may find something in costumes/renaissance sections of pattern books. Feasting garb is usually something people don't acquire until after they've been in the community a while so don't sweat not having any.
*************
Basic T-Tunic Instructions
T-Tunic Instructions and pictures taken from Dagorhir Website.
Alric