[Ansteorra] The first steps (was: The Journey)

[Chris Zakes]

At 02:21 PM 4/13/02 -0700, you wrote:

(snip)

>My first event was Ansteorra's Twentieth Year
>Celebration. I was (in my mind, anyway) all dolled up
>in a bodice, skirt and chemise. I even had a British
>accent I picked up from high school theatre. I was
>attempting to talk to a gentle (I don't remember who)
>about the schism King Henry VIII had caused with his
>divorces. The gentle looked at me and point blank
>said, "This is not a role-playing game. This is the
>SCA." Well, needless to say, I dumped the accent and
>stopped talking about period stuff for a while.

(snip)

>I know I'm rambling but I just want people to offer
>suggestions on how to create a more "period" style,
>rather than tell someone they did a bad job on
>something or shouldn't be "period" or whatever. We're
>all in this game because we value honor, courtesy and
>grace above all else.


One thing that some people don't seem to realize is that it's not an
either/or division between high-level persona play and the "cocktail party
in funny clothes" mindset. It's a gradual spectrum from one to the other.
Also, people can be at different points on the spectrum in different areas
of the SCA. Joe Stickjock may have beautifully detailed 14th century armor,
but still be using a Coleman tent, for example.

One of the first (and easiest) steps is to just not talk about mundane
stuff. Maybe your boss is a jerk, maybe your car is giving you trouble,
maybe you just got a spiffy new upgrade for your computer, but those sorts
of topics aren't really appropriate for an SCA conversation. On the other
paw, you don't have to spend weeks in the library boning up on the
political situation and household details of your persona, either. (I'm not
saying such research is bad, but it's not essential; especially if you're
just starting out.)

So what *do* you talk about? You can talk about how your friend did in the
tourney, or about some lovely piece of workmanship you saw in the A&S
display. You can talk about the new siege weapon you want to build, or ask
how someone made a hat that you'd like to copy. Tell stories about what
happened at Gulf War, or something funny that happened in Court last weekend.

In the same vein, while having a fully authentic-looking campsite is nice,
most of the people with such campsites spent *years* collecting all the
bits. The first steps are to hide the obvious mundanities. Buy some plain
fabric, or cheap tablecloths or flat sheets and cover up the more obvious
items (like ice chests); stick the propane stove under a table (covered
with another of those tablecloths), or in the tent when you're not using
it, put your Coke in a mug instead of drinking straight from the can, etc.

As for clothes, if Joe Newbie shows up in blue jeans and a D&D T-shirt,
people will look askance, but if he shows up in a basic T-tunic, nobody's
going to look twice. He can always make the more elaborate outfits later.

	-Tivar Moondragon