I have a new sword! And it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in a long time. Yes, I also have a floor ticket for Iron Maiden next year, but this is a new sword, AND IT’S MINE! I was mighty nervous holding her for the first time, though it was pointed out that I was walking faster than normal into class the night she arrived, but she just feels right in my hand. It’s the most expensive, and important to me, purchase I’ve made in some time, and I’m so damn happy that it’s worked in my favour. A fellow student had ordered a similar blade in the previous order, and it felt a bit too wobbly in the blade for my tastes, so I was mighty nervous. But yes, I now own a steel rapier, and it makes me very, very happy. There’s also the temptation alter my traditional pre-training routine to raise it above my head and yell “By the power of Grayskull!” Well, that or “Blood and souls for my lord Arioch!”, a slightly more niche reference, but one I’m more likely to have to bite back yelling when I’m on public transport. Town Hall station in summer is one of the levels of Hell as far as I’m concerned, and the people employed to clean it deserve CEO level wages. But I digress…

In other good news, Path of the Warden has announced their next event! So, it seems I’ll be heading back to Adelaide in June to hunt monsters again. Now, we currently know very little about the event, other than it’s in another part of the game world, and there’ll be new combat styles. I want you to know that I am being VERY GOOD, and PATIENT and CALM and am continuing to leave the admins alone despite the many questions I have. Most are around the new setting, but not knowing if we’ll need to create new PC’s has been on my mind, or as the Bard may have put it, “New PC or not New PC, that is the question.” 

Now, regardless of the answer to that question I’m going to the game, as I had a stupid amount of fun the first event, to the point it seemed to click that this was my sort of LARP. I know it won’t be the same, as there’s been changes in the GM team, and several players have already indicated they can’t make it. Change is good – the idea of going to do the exact same plot, but somewhere else doesn’t have quite the same appeal, you know? It’s not as if I don’t have character ideas stashed away – the current leading one involves a lot of fake tan (That my wife has already volunteered to help apply) and potentially singing sea shanties as I go into battle. To quote my wife, “With your singing voice you won’t need a sword to scare the monsters off.” She’s not wrong. The urge to have a good IC death (preferably on the last night of game) has also returned, but that may have been influenced by a recent binge through random Star Trek: Deep Space 9 episodes, most of which just happened to feature General Martok, aka the BEST KLINGON EVER.

But at the same time, I’d love to see the people involved again, renew IC relationships, to see the school’s teachers again and update the black market I’d been running on garrison. (Hopefully it hasn’t been shut down in my absence, though at least one of the teachers is aware of it. I was about 3 feet away when another student let it’s existence slip and it felt like a live action Homer vanishes in the hedge moment.) To see old comrades once again, celebrate their victories and mourn their losses. To use the back scabbard I own to carry my lady’s blade, and to see if my character’s journey from penniless scoundrel to dedicated field surgeon and proud Warden continues. On another note, In-Game Fiancée and I may have spent quite some time and brain power planning ahead for our characters futures, and I’d dearly love to continue their story. It’s perfectly normal to be excited about that sort of thing, I mean, it’s not as if I’ve been Googling for IC wedding rings for us to wear, that would be utterly absurd…

To be clear, I’m not insisting this happen. It’s not a deal breaker for me. Roleplaying is a group exercise, and I have no interest in making demands of the GM team. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Oh no, I have to create and outfit a new PC, oh the horror… It’s looking like a busy year on that front, given I’m eyeing off going to Lost Settlers, Concord and the first Australian Drachenfest, to say nothing of recently being alerted to an alt history Babylon 5 game that’s being planned in Melbourne. Yes, I have already indicated my interest in playing a Centauri, and if you’re surprised by that you really shouldn’t be.

Oh, and there’s Phenomenon. It feels weird to not already know what I’ll be submitting for the next con, I have ideas, but nothing that feels solid enough yet and that’s been disturbing me. Are my new brain meds slowing that down, or am I getting more discerning? Do I take next year off and play? Or should I stop worrying, let my brain do it’s thing and see what happens? Lastly, there’s Knotfest, and while I’m incredibly keen to see 3 of the bands on the bill, those being Skindred, the Hu and Halestorm, I really don’t want to give money to Pantera, or to be specific, Phil Anselmo. I have a long term bias against that band that has nothing to do with them musically, more that every Pantera fan I knew when they first broke out was a violent meathead, and that impression has stayed with me. (I’ve occasionally often wondered if any of them discovered their glam period.) Same with The Doors, though those fans were more garden variety dickheads. But to see the mighty Skindred, to fire up the Newport Helicopter again, that might just be worth it.

Time for bed. Good night all. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.