"City" Creation Idea/Attempt - SCA Event/Renaissance Faire

[Crion]

Another thought

Have you ever seen the films 'The Village' or 'Silent Hill'? In the first film, the villagers believe that if they leave they would be killed by monsters and they do their best to appease them. In the second, the protagonist enters the town Silent Hill and then she can't leave, all the roads just end abruptly, broken off by a huge chasm stretching as far as she can see.

So you could do the same at some point perhaps, drop the entire village into a particularly dangerous part of the nevernever or isolate it entirely as the nefarious plan enters its final phase

Seen both films. Not a big fan of the first (although I used the village-ish idea in a short-lived murder mystery), and the second is a FAR better game than a film, but that's just my opinion.

Although it would be fun to drop an event like this into the Nevernever and have the party have to act in part. . .or else :-p

[Crion]

Okay, now that I'm dragging myself out of the insanity of the past week, I can put a little more thought into this. . .

I'm meeting with my players soon to design characters and our local city, but I still want this on the side to toss them into it. I have a few hooks/themes/etc sitting around in my notebook (been away from computers when not on the clock; life tends to do that), and I'm hoping to type them into a City Creation sheet and post it here if people are interested.

Since there are apparently some members of this forum that have experienced these kinds of events, I was wondering if they could offer some insight:

1) Tournaments. I've always liked the idea of having certain party members getting dragged into an event against their will ("We need one more, and you look like a strong enough man!") or for a higher goal ("We need to win enough to be sure to remove our foes from the competition!"). I'm thinking of using this as an in-game reason to give the Wrestling-based character an Item of Power (mentioned in another thread; an item won by defeating a Fae), as a progression of an NPC (give the mortal vanilla knight a cursed sword presented by the nobility, which contains a darker personality; think Demonic Co-Pilot and possibly "Beast Change"), or just as a red herring. I know many of these things are simply staged by the actors themselves at the faires, but what about SCA events that people have been a part of?

2) Staged Events. Just how "staged" are these things? Do they always follow a set plot, akin to wrestling entertainment, or are there actually chances of things changing mid-show? How do the people behind the show react when something goes against the set plan? Just curious, as I'm tempted to toss the entire Faire into the Nevernever for one story, and there is still that King of the Night thing going on as well, and let's face it: I don't think either of those would be easy to cover up.

3) The Supernatural. Besides my "be reminded of the time in which they lived" idea, what other thoughts do you have on this? Do you think my concepts are skewed due to lack of hands-on experience and a love of high-fantasy, or do you think the ideas are reasonably spot-on for an event like this in the Dresdenverse?

Again, just fishing for ideas, and hopefully will start plugging out that Threats/Themes sheet here at work today ^^;

Thanks again for everything!

[Brimstar]

Okay, now that I'm dragging myself out of the insanity of the past week, I can put a little more thought into this. . .

I'm meeting with my players soon to design characters and our local city, but I still want this on the side to toss them into it. I have a few hooks/themes/etc sitting around in my notebook (been away from computers when not on the clock; life tends to do that), and I'm hoping to type them into a City Creation sheet and post it here if people are interested.

Since there are apparently some members of this forum that have experienced these kinds of events, I was wondering if they could offer some insight:

1) Tournaments. I've always liked the idea of having certain party members getting dragged into an event against their will ("We need one more, and you look like a strong enough man!") or for a higher goal ("We need to win enough to be sure to remove our foes from the competition!"). I'm thinking of using this as an in-game reason to give the Wrestling-based character an Item of Power (mentioned in another thread; an item won by defeating a Fae), as a progression of an NPC (give the mortal vanilla knight a cursed sword presented by the nobility, which contains a darker personality; think Demonic Co-Pilot and possibly "Beast Change"), or just as a red herring. I know many of these things are simply staged by the actors themselves at the faires, but what about SCA events that people have been a part of?

2) Staged Events. Just how "staged" are these things? Do they always follow a set plot, akin to wrestling entertainment, or are there actually chances of things changing mid-show? How do the people behind the show react when something goes against the set plan? Just curious, as I'm tempted to toss the entire Faire into the Nevernever for one story, and there is still that King of the Night thing going on as well, and let's face it: I don't think either of those would be easy to cover up.



3) The Supernatural. Besides my "be reminded of the time in which they lived" idea, what other thoughts do you have on this? Do you think my concepts are skewed due to lack of hands-on experience and a love of high-fantasy, or do you think the ideas are reasonably spot-on for an event like this in the Dresdenverse?


Again, just fishing for ideas, and hopefully will start plugging out that Threats/Themes sheet here at work today ^^;

Thanks again for everything!

1.  Tournaments at SCA events are scheduled, but NEVER staged.  Awards are decided by groups and given, but other than set methods of presenting such awards (formal presentation) the rest is up to the one making the presentation.  One thing worth noting, is SCA weapons are NOT designed for real use.  Light fighting (rapier) is using fencing style blades and all weapons in heavy fighting are more like a club than a real weapon in terms of effectiveness of design.  (SCA sword is rattan wrapped in tape attached to a hilt that must be designed in a manner that is legal for safety reasons).  That being said, it's not unrealistic for real weapons to be awarded as prizes for tournaments and such, it's just not used on the battlefield.

2. As before, SCA combat is not staged, unless it's something being explicitly done to be staged, typically as entertainment for one of the Royalty. No direct experience working a Renfair, but the staged/scripted feel was one of the aspects about it that put me off compared to the SCA.  Friends that have worked them have said the staff much preferred the staged/scripted setup as then everyone knew how to react.  A Renfair is designed to be a show.  An SCA event isn't really.  It's also pretty much unheard of to have non-participants at an SCA event, rather than just some of the locals plus the cast participating.

3.  I think this is something that could be quite interesting.  A couple people I mentioned it to said the idea of having something supernatural going on in the background with one of these events is quite plausible.  (We mostly discussed Pennsic, as that's the only one of the larger SCA wars we'd all been to)  Most thought SCA was better due to the lack of it being scripted.

[Crion]

1.  Tournaments at SCA events are scheduled, but NEVER staged.  Awards are decided by groups and given, but other than set methods of presenting such awards (formal presentation) the rest is up to the one making the presentation.  One thing worth noting, is SCA weapons are NOT designed for real use.  Light fighting (rapier) is using fencing style blades and all weapons in heavy fighting are more like a club than a real weapon in terms of effectiveness of design.  (SCA sword is rattan wrapped in tape attached to a hilt that must be designed in a manner that is legal for safety reasons).  That being said, it's not unrealistic for real weapons to be awarded as prizes for tournaments and such, it's just not used on the battlefield.

2. As before, SCA combat is not staged, unless it's something being explicitly done to be staged, typically as entertainment for one of the Royalty. No direct experience working a Renfair, but the staged/scripted feel was one of the aspects about it that put me off compared to the SCA.  Friends that have worked them have said the staff much preferred the staged/scripted setup as then everyone knew how to react.  A Renfair is designed to be a show.  An SCA event isn't really.  It's also pretty much unheard of to have non-participants at an SCA event, rather than just some of the locals plus the cast participating.

3.  I think this is something that could be quite interesting.  A couple people I mentioned it to said the idea of having something supernatural going on in the background with one of these events is quite plausible.  (We mostly discussed Pennsic, as that's the only one of the larger SCA wars we'd all been to)  Most thought SCA was better due to the lack of it being scripted.

Thank you, Brimstar. This is the kind of feedback I needed to hear before I really pushed ahead with it. Any words of advice, besides on these three points, that you'd like to offer? And do you think it would be too "awkward" to put non-participants in this for short-lived "faires?" Again, just tossing ideas around to make it one part "believable" and one part "Dresdenverse."

[Bruce Coulson]

For Renfaire 'staged' events, if things start going differently than planned, there would be a moment of shock, followed by the performers acting as if the result was what was intended all along.  (Aspect: The Show Must Go On!)

SCA will do staged events, but generally as an example of fighting and to interest people.  (When there was an Armory exhibit of medieval weapons and art at the local art museum, the local SCA people staged a fight contrasting 'cinematic' fighting vs. 'realistic' fighting.  The idea was to show people that although it looks nice, one lone swordsman is NOT going to defeat 5-8 similarly armed and trained opponents.

Although SCA wouldn't allow non-qualified participants in their fights (for good reasons), bringing a 'mark' out of the audience is a time-honored performers stunt.

[Brimstar]

Thank you, Brimstar. This is the kind of feedback I needed to hear before I really pushed ahead with it. Any words of advice, besides on these three points, that you'd like to offer? And do you think it would be too "awkward" to put non-participants in this for short-lived "faires?" Again, just tossing ideas around to make it one part "believable" and one part "Dresdenverse."

For Faires it'd work.  For the SCA, it's basically all participants in the SCA event.  As far as getting the characters there if it's something they're not interested in, it's hard to say.  Perhaps someone's done some research that indicates something will happen there?  Someone interested in it and dragging along the rest?  Perhaps even have something running through the SCA (or fake equivalent) and using it as a cult for worship is planning on using said event as part of a ritual to give it/return it to power.  At that point you could actually have the group be one of the local aspects then drag them into something much larger for the climax.  (You know...  as I'm making this suggestion I'm realizing I might like to use this idea myself   )

Now as far as villains I'd say that an outsider, especially one that's got tendencies towards anachronistic behavior/speech/dress, hide at one of these events would be child's play.  At the major wars some groups that use similar rules for fighting show up so if someone looks odd or out of place, it's going to be assumed they're related to one of the other groups that come (the Tuchux being the most well known example).

[gaelvin]

If this Medieval Re-enactment Tournament is going to exist alongside a conventional City in the Dresdenverse, why not have some member or members of the re-enactment by NPCs in the mundane world. Kinda the way The Alphas are also Gamers. That could make for an easy introduction to the tournament location. Heck, a PC could even be a part of the group if they wanted to.

I've participated in the SCA for years now, and I've seen that the social cross-section of SCA membership is incredibly broad. From doctors to dock-workers. Science geeks, history geeks and gamer geeks. Heck, even Trek geeks. Literally any Face in a Dresdenized City, could also be a Medieval Re-enactor.

And a quick comment on SCA-style combat. While it's true that the weapons used are rattan rather than blunted steel, the armor worn is quite real, and for good reason. Even tape-wrapped rattan can break bones (particularly at the joints), and even with armor I've seen some wicked welts and bruises. Also, the fighting style is more like a martial art; not at all like stage combat. I've heard a story that an experienced SCA fighter was once hired as a consultant by a police force to train the officers in riot control techniques. Think Sword & Heater Shield = Nightstick & Riot Shield.

[Crion]

For Faires it'd work.  For the SCA, it's basically all participants in the SCA event.  As far as getting the characters there if it's something they're not interested in, it's hard to say.  Perhaps someone's done some research that indicates something will happen there?  Someone interested in it and dragging along the rest?  Perhaps even have something running through the SCA (or fake equivalent) and using it as a cult for worship is planning on using said event as part of a ritual to give it/return it to power.  At that point you could actually have the group be one of the local aspects then drag them into something much larger for the climax.  (You know...  as I'm making this suggestion I'm realizing I might like to use this idea myself   )

Now as far as villains I'd say that an outsider, especially one that's got tendencies towards anachronistic behavior/speech/dress, hide at one of these events would be child's play.  At the major wars some groups that use similar rules for fighting show up so if someone looks odd or out of place, it's going to be assumed they're related to one of the other groups that come (the Tuchux being the most well known example).

You are more than welcome to use the idea. In fact, it's why I even HAVE this thread up and running.

The goal of this "city" is to give the GMs something to use no matter the player base; this way, they can take the uninterested party and drag them into this event without them all being SCA members, all because they know the crazy Black Court Sorcerer is going to open the Gates, or there is a traitor to the Council selling information to the White Court, or even something as mundane as a drug dealer using the event as a way to drop off the goods, not knowing his "client" is a Changeling who brought in the equivalent of supernatural bounty hunters.

Personally, I'm still leaning toward the idea of having a Black Court Vampire step up and try to "take over" while using the event as a way to determine who is "worthy" and who is food. And to think. . .that one was just the start, since I was going to turn this into a recurring location just outside of town.

Thus why I'm trying to blend the best elements of the SCA (kingdoms, re-enactments, member participation, etc) with the Renn Faire (non-members can attend, people come and go, some staffers/vendors always on the move, etc). I think that combination in the Dresdenverse would be almost perfect for use in any campaign, for any number of story arcs (or even just a small part)

Just my two cents ^^;

If this Medieval Re-enactment Tournament is going to exist alongside a conventional City in the Dresdenverse, why not have some member or members of the re-enactment by NPCs in the mundane world. Kinda the way The Alphas are also Gamers. That could make for an easy introduction to the tournament location. Heck, a PC could even be a part of the group if they wanted to.

I've participated in the SCA for years now, and I've seen that the social cross-section of SCA membership is incredibly broad. From doctors to dock-workers. Science geeks, history geeks and gamer geeks. Heck, even Trek geeks. Literally any Face in a Dresdenized City, could also be a Medieval Re-enactor.

And a quick comment on SCA-style combat. While it's true that the weapons used are rattan rather than blunted steel, the armor worn is quite real, and for good reason. Even tape-wrapped rattan can break bones (particularly at the joints), and even with armor I've seen some wicked welts and bruises. Also, the fighting style is more like a martial art; not at all like stage combat. I've heard a story that an experienced SCA fighter was once hired as a consultant by a police force to train the officers in riot control techniques. Think Sword & Heater Shield = Nightstick & Riot Shield.

Thanks for the extra insight, gaelvin. I know a few guys that take part of/used to participate in SCA events (Pennsic for the group, if memory serves correctly), and they've proven to me that you don't need to be a die-hard "Knight in Shining Armor" if you want to re-enact.

I am thinking of tossing a Re-enactment group into the mix, and have them tied to the Vanilla Mortal Knight that has been previously mentioned many times. Whether or not they have any real role to play with getting the party there is up for debate.


And thank you all for the notes on SCA combat. A friend of mine just started teaching me the basics he learned by using a rattan, and after swinging that thing for a while, I can surely see why you'd need armor heavier than what I used in kendo.

For everyone else: I hope you are all at least getting some inspiration here, and if you don't mind sharing the ideas, I'd really like to hear it!
Hopefully, I'll get more of that stuff fleshed out soon. My day got hammered by meetings, and tonight I am meeting with some players to discuss options. I'll see what I can do about adding more to the list ^_^;