[Ansteorra] Event Limits? - Sidebar Question

[Reihla at aol.com]

> why should Baronies get to do 3 events and us non baronial groups
> only two?
> Is that a rich get richer thing, or what?

I have to say that, for the most part, the idea of a barony hosting a local 
event to raise money is a myth.  I don't know about other groups, but 
Wiesenfeuer typically breaks even or makes a few hundred on local events.  Our coffers 
are healthy, yes, but that's really mostly from *years* of making a few 
hundred dollars on one event per year.  Our events are usually very well attended 
(we average @250-300 at baronial and @150 for our Yule event).  Our baronial 
event usually makes just enough to cover our expenses, plus pay for site (which 
charges us per person) and any consumables that are needed for the event.  When 
we found ourselves actually making money on the event we spent more money to 
make things more comfortable for folks (renting the pool, investing in misting 
systems, etc.).  Our December event makes a little money, but we find it is 
better to drop the site fee because it allows more people to attend.    

That's not to say that I think making money is a bad thing.  We've got 
ongoing expenses like meeting space, upkeep on storage, upgrading and repairing 
baronial property, new regalia, prizes, etc. that cost.  Nice that we can raise a 
little money to cover those things.

I've played in both a moderately sized barony and a small shire (well, it was 
small when *I* was there).  My experience leads me to believe that baronies 
were given one more event per year because of their larger populaces (one more 
court to allow recognition for the extra people).  I wasn't there when the 
decision was made, though, so that's just a guess.  Besides, baronies worked hard 
to attain that status.  I don't think I'd be alone to suggest that perhaps 
they might have earned a few extras for their effort (nobles to represent them 
to the Crown, an extra date on the calendar, etc.).  If shires want the perks 
they can do the work it takes to grow and petition for elevation in status.

It's worth noting that Wiesenfeuer already dropped it's third event last year 
for a couple of reasons:  one, we wanted to bid for Kingdom events and 
couldn't seem to scrape up the enthusiasm or the staff and, two, we were running 
into burn-out from our core working members and, three, we had a new canton that 
wanted to sponsor an event and we preferred to focus our energies on helping 
them.    

Kat  >^.,.^<