Category Archives: Out-of-Game Articles

Any posts made in this category are considered to be Out-of-Game. Generally the information in this category will have to do with mundane things that are not In-Game appropriate.

Harvestwane’s Best of 128

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are our pics for the Best of Sept 31- August 2 game! (We’ll add pictures soon!)

This event’s Best PC goes to Adam Wambolt for his intense performance as Bram Norvin.

As a character who is already known for intense role-playing moments and in-game interactions, it’s not truly a surprise to see Adam with the prize this month. However, for the last 2and a half games, Bram has had to role-play incredibly tense situations that are hard to portray and he did so with a grace good nature without letting it drag him Out of Game. Bram truly represented a stellar PC during these games and we are both proud and wowed to have him at game! Thanks, Bram!

Honorable Mention for this month definitely needs to go to Ukobach who suffered under the same tension and did so with classic Uko stoicism and a well-defined and in character style. It was a tough couple of games, but we are impressed with what we’ve seen with this character! Congratulations, Uko!

And this event’s Best NPC can go to none other than Anthony LaRosa! Whether he’s trying to whip us into shape behind the scenes and help where he can or pushing himself to go out on two more plots even as everyone else has collapsed into the couch, he has been an inspiring and energetic addition to the plot team! And of course, out in game, he is always on point with his role-playing, safe fighting, and constant desire to entertain as many people as he can! We are so happy to have him with us now! Thanks, Toner!

Magestry’s Best of Reapingdusk 127

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are our picks for the Best of the October 13th-15th event:

This event’s Best PC goes to Nate Carr for his beyond epic performance of Future Stiles.

Nate is already well known for his Great role-playing and fighting as Stiles Silvermist but this past event he truly outdid himself in his portrayal of himself from a rather bleak future. From being able to handle the weight of his grim message from the future and his use of his vastly expanded skill tree he had a performance for the ages and proved yet again why he is one of the more dynamic players we have at Magestry. Even when he’s not superpowered, he is a delight whether it’s holding fighting lessons in game, or just hanging out and talking, we enjoy his company.

Congratulations Nate!!!

“Nate was super helpful throughout the event”
“Super Stiles – did an awesome job role playing his visions and is overall concern about the outcome of the future.”
“Super Stiles, it was nice to have someone super powered to rally behind”

 And your Favorite NPC this event was Jeff Pennachio!! Jeff is a vet in the LARP game and strives every event to uphold a personal standard in hopes of making the game enjoyable for everyone he encounters. But let’s not let that dissuade us from his sinister plots. Whether playing the big baddie or the nicest guy in town Jeff is a delight to the game. Even when he’s worn down, broken, and tired, he pushes through the pain to keep going out and crunch or roleplay so you can all enjoy yourself.He tries to keep his fighting as safe as possible in all conditions that the camp has thrown at him. He’s also been a help in trying to keep the morale up in Ops. For all of these reasons, Jeff we tip our metaphorical hats to you. Thank you for everything you do.

“Boom did a great job expressing the mix between sadness due to the loss of Bosephus, abandonment by Elmerton and anger all at the same time.”
“Jeff is always a pleasure to cross blades with.”
“I loved roleplaying with Jeff. Usually its just combat, but I got to actually see some other sides to his characters.”
“Jeff – I can’t express how much I appreciate how awesome of a job Jeff does.”

Magestry’s Best of Newgreen 127

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are your picks for the Best of the April 5th-7th event!

 

This month’s Best PC is a long-time veteran who has always been a great role-player, but really stood out this game. Tom Sadler as Kai seemed to fully step into a leadership position in this strange new area and we got to see him as a commander of a group of people out of their element. Tommy is a help behind the scenes as well, helping to setup when he can and staying to help out as much as he is able. We were impressed with him this game, as were you! Thanks, Tommy!

 

“Kai was extremely helpful and clarified alot of mechanics for me”

“Kai- Tom did a great job this game, between leading the town in fights and also doing his duty as commander.

Commander Windsaber was on his A game, being a commanding presence and at the vanguard of all major engagements. He also roleplayed extensively: from his makeup, you his voice, to his fake-tinnitus. He is always in character and helping others stay immersed.”

“Another standout was Kai. I’d always viewed him as a bit stuffy as leader of the town guard. However, the way he took initiative and settled into his leadership role when it was needed was refreshing and an absolute joy.”

“Tom as Helik/Kai. Was interesting seeing this Helik compared to other Helik.”

 

The PELs have spoken! This month’s Best NPC ended in a dead tie between Karen Hobbes and Miza Hedley! Karen is an incredible staff member at Magestry. Not only does she work tirelessly to write engaging, thoughtful plots, but she also donates so much of our costuming, helps us to bring our creatures and characters to life, and is a wonderful role-player with an extremely diverse range. We are very lucky to have her on staff.

 

“Karen!!! Everything about Karen!!!”

“I really love Grrrowl Tiger. She’s hilarious.”

“Karen is a great addition to the Magestry family, even her crunchy characters are a lot of fun to fight! But the diversity of the roles she plays, geeze!”

“Growwl- Just damn. Karen knocked it out of the park this game.”

 

Miza has been on staff for years now, always helping where she can behind the scenes and going out here and there to do some role-playing. However, this event Miza was truly impressive in all the characters she went out to play. We were awed at Briarcliff and are simply stunned at the depth of her role-playing abilities with her other characters! We know you loved seeing her too, and we are excited to see what else she has in store!

Thanks to both ladies and congrats!

 

“Shoutout to Miza’s crazy spider lady who I barely interacted with but the costuming and acting were stunning from the sidelines and she seemed to hook things excellently and spread information (or maybe disinformation?) really well to the players.”

“Miza’s Briarcliff was a brilliantly played character. She managed to be completely indecipherable, yet amazingly informative. Creepy as hell and yet oddly sympathetic. The movements, makeup and costuming were perfect. Those head twitches and tilts really sold it. That and the two different contacts made it super unsettling.”

“Miza who really stepped into all her roles. I was so incredibly happy to see her out so much in game!”

“Madam Briarcliff. So, so well done. Insanity level was off the wall, and it was glorious and beautiful.”

Magestry’s Best of Boneharvest 126

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are our picks for the Best of our November 4th-6th event:

Finley was TREMENDOUSLY helpful to us.

This month’s Best PC, J.D. Bates, has really created a persona with Finley Porter that shines at game. Finley is such a different character than Bastion and J.D.’s ability to role-play very well is very evident with the switch. J.D. also works to welcome new players to the game and shows a lot of dedication to his character’s garb and personality. It is a joy to watch Finley and we are happy to have J.D. at game! Congrats!

 

“Finley, because he as so energetic and is a sympathetic man.”

“Finley – great role-playing as always but being able to quickly digest the situation and deal with it effectively due to being a quick thinker and very knowledgeable with his and other abilities.”

“Finley did a great job role-playing and keeping the tavern running.”

 

Without this month’s Best NPC this game, some of the coolest moments of the game would not have been able to happen. Taryn Thomas was ESSENTIAL in setting up the totem on the island, acquiring row boats, and helping to make sure that people got across to the island and back safely. She is always incredibly helpful before, during, and after game with all sorts of things that need to get done behind the scenes and has recently joined the plot-writing staff to help in writing the game! We are so glad that she decided to come to game! Thanks for everything, Taryn!

Another huge help with all the coolest and biggest moments at this game was Cara Backman, who gets the Honorable Mention for this month’s award. We loved having Cara back at game and she was another HUGE help with all the physical arrangements that needed to happen for the game and really helped to keep us sane as we tried to do a million things at once. Thanks for all your help, Cara! Come back soon!

 

Magestry’s Best of Reapingdusk, 126

By | | , ,
Leave a comment

Here are our picks for the “Best of” the October 7th-9th Event

Sandow, since he got to be an incarnation and didn’t let it go to his head.

 

This month’s Best PC is a wonderful guy with a heart of gold and a strong, if sometimes subtle, presence at game. Jesse Lemieux as Sandow has really shown us the depth of his role-playing ability recently and has always worked to be a welcoming and helpful person at game. Additionally, he is always a safe fighter and we are glad to be able to recognize him here! Thanks so much, Jesse!

“Sandow takes it this game for me! He kept very true to himself even put in the crazy position of an incarnation! Anyone who can do that and not break their values with the new power is impressive to say the least.”

“Sandow was adorable in his discomfort with the incarnation of community thing.”

“Sandow. I just think he did a great job not only as the impromptu Incarnation of Community, but he was wonderfully in character throughout the entire event.”

“This one will have to go to Sandow this time, his role-playing while the incarnation of community was fantastic, as well as his reactions from the baking contest!”

Mira and Majento and Simon did a great job hosting and organizing the different events for the harvest festival they put on this game.

 

We would also like to add a huge “Thank You” to Amanda Mooney and Anthony LaRosa as well as the rest of the Aces crew for putting on an amazing Harvest Festival. They wrote and coordinated each of those events and pulled them off with great aplomb and then helped out a ton with making a beautiful and delicious dinner! It was a lot of fun and we are very grateful for all the hard work! Thanks, guys!

 

“The whole Aces crew held a really amazing event for Aces Tradegate.”

“Amanda and Toner as Mira and Majento. They did an amazing job as PCs with an almost decidedly NPC role, hosting multiple events for PCs as well as helping prepare dinner for everyone and hosting it as well, all the while staying in character.”

Nick. He spent a great deal cooking and still made time to go out and be interesting characters

 

 

This month’s Best NPC is not a newcomer to this particular award! Nick Donoghue is a rockstar on staff, always helping and always ready to do what needs to get done. You all know how well he role-plays, and let’s not forget his amazing culinary skills that he lends so graciously to us! We are super lucky to have him on staff. Thank you so much, Nick!

“Nick when he was playing Sir Xanthos. The emotion he put in his role-playing was breath taking, I felt the pain he had.”

“Nick – Dude doesn’t stop, he’s always doing something and it’s almost never the same kind of thing. When he NPCs a monster he adjusts his fighting style to match the flavor of that monster. And his food… is magestic!”

“I loved the Wilhelm moments this game.”

“Xanthos, I never thought that he could get that pissed.”

“Nick as Sir Xanthos for being an important mentor for Linarien, and a believable performance and table flip after finding out some important documents were given to the wrong people. Also Wilhelm, he’s always great to see in town, always helpful.”

Magestry’s Best of Harvestwane 126

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are our picks for the September 16th-18th event:

silverbestpc

 

This month’s Best PC is a veteran player with a love for playing characters in full makeup. Whether he’s a golden ray of light or a shadowy ball of emotions, Peter Dey as Silver is an great role-player. It is exceptionally rare to catch him out-of-character during game, and his stoicism broken by random and unexpected bits of humor makes him a likeable, if somewhat intimidating character. Pete has always worked to bring in new people to the game and always tries to make sure to help set up before game and clean up afterwards. His enthusiasm and kindness are noticed and appreciated by all. Thanks, Pete!

 

“I found myself unable to stop watching Silver as a newcomer. While [he is] on the quiet side of things, I don’t believe I ever saw him drop character.”

“Silver, while he was quieter than usual it showed that his character had some deep troubles going on.”

“Silver does a great job of staying in character, has an amazing costume and overall is a pleasure to role-play with.”

“Silver always plays a good Silver and I was more in awe of him this game than usual.”

 

Talya Goodman. She’s always fun to fight and to RP with she plays a great nipper and her enthusiasm is infectious.

 

 

This month’s Best NPC is always a breath of fresh air whenever she comes to game and is ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done. Talya Goodman is a wonder behind the scenes. She is equally as able to play a serious character as she is able to make your tummy hurt from laughing so much and she is a fun and safe fighter who will crunch at the drop of a hat. We are always thrilled to have her at game and are thankful for all the help she gives when she is there. Thanks, Tal!

 

 

“Talya. Hands down. She brings humor into situations which really should be terrifying.”

“Talya Goodman. She’s always fun to fight and to RP with. She plays a great nipper and her enthusiasm is infectious.”

 

Honorable Mention for Best NPC goes to Amanda Mooney in her role as Rebekkah Skye on Friday night! We were absolutely thrilled with her performance, and so were you!  Check out what you had to say about our Miss Mooney:

“Rebby Skye-(the woman who tried to become the Shadow Queen). She seems like a powerful long term villain, who has goal, personality, and a commanding presence about her. She makes a good Evil Queen figure, even if she is not yet a queen (just don’t tell her that to her face).”

“Rebekkah Skye, she just had this aura of power, but combined with that calm, sweet tone and overall scariness I have to say she was the best npc character.”

“Rebekkah Skye. She put off this aura of menace and tension that was phenomenal.”

“Rebbie Skye was very well done, the coronation was very tense and her discussions with the townsfolk and npcs was very captivating.”

“Amanda was soo believable as Rebby Sky, which is great because Amanda is such a kind soul. Amazing role playing.”

“Rebby sky. even though my character hates her, Amanda does a wonderful job playing her.”

Magestry’s Best of Stillbreeze 126

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are our picks for the August 26th-28th event:

Jack Garren for consistently good roleplay as a PC and NPC.

Jack Garren for consistently good roleplay as a PC and NPC.

 

This month’s Best PC has been an integral part of the game and a stand-up member of our community since the beginning. Myk Meyer as Jack Garren has not only been a wonderful role-player and a model PC, but he has also been a warm and welcoming presence for new players and has worked to help maintain the friendly player base we are so proud of these days. On top of that, he always makes sure to come and help out NPCing whenever he can. Thanks, Myk, for all you do for the game and congrats!

I had a great time RPing with Jack Garren. He was quick to talk to many of the new players, and he’s eccentric but enjoyable to be around. I even had a chance to witness some of his deeper character traits.

Jack is another who is always on his A-game. Roleplaying his own particular brand of crazy, and always engaging newer players, the Elmerton just wouldn’t be the same without him.

A lot of the new pc’s were very fun to interact with and meet, but Jack really takes the prize this time. He really went out of his way to “recruit” many of the newer players.

I really like Jack. He is so good at RP that I actually thought he was upset OOG and had to ask him about it. He also goes out of his way to make new players feel comfortable and takes time to answer their questions about the land and important people of Elmerton.

Jack is always hilarious but seeing a dark-side of him was sobering. Great roleplaying

Jack– he was fantastic in his role-playing, and really engaged the new characters right from the start. I pretty much feel obligated to help him rise to royalty.

steve-koval-best-npc

 

This month’s Best NPC is a very new addition to the game who really saved our butts and your dinners this game! While Wilhelm was feeling under the weather, Steve Koval really stepped up to help out and make all those burgers and dogs for you hungry folks! On top of that, he was ready to help out wherever he could including playing crunchy roles or whatever else needed to be done. We are impressed with his abilities and extremely glad to have him at game! Thanks so much for all your help, Steve!

Magestry’s Best of Petalsong 126

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Here are our (slightly belated) pick for the Best of the May 27th-29th Event:

dogwood-best-pc-compilation

Dogwood because he’s just so interesting and fun to interact with.

 

This month’s Best PC has become an Elmerton favorite. With his punny sense of humor and overall sense of wonder, innocence, and curiosity, Dogwood, played by Alex Fabian has brought new life to a town jaded by turmoil and huge problems. Dogwood is such a wonderful character and he is played by an equally wonderful person. Alex has been a very helpful member of the Magestry community, helping before, during, and after games, often times staying until the very end. We are very glad that Dogwood was given a chance to shine since it meant that we also got to have Alex back at game. Sadly, most of the pictures we have of Dogwood are of his furry backside, so here’s a Dogwood’s Derriere compilation. Thanks for everything, Alex.

 

Dogwood is consistently awesome. His immersion, role-playing, and non-traditional style just always gets me. Like, he is OK hiding from most fights, because he doesn’t have to fight. He is just awesome.

Dogwood did a great job this weekend with being briganded nearly twice and was generally fun to hang out with.

Dogwood. Watching him be scared of the hit squads coming after him was entertaining, and watching the town rally to protect him was endearing. He is also hilarious in general, and a joy to be around.

 

This month’s Best NPC is a little out of the ordinary for this post. However, after an 11 year “Best of” dry mikey-best-ofspell (read: being a Game Master), and since the PELs have declared him such, we would like to commend Mike Faulk for his altogether impressive ability to be able to entertain his players and help to keep the game running smoothly. Though we don’t usually include GMs in this post, I thought it was high time to recognize Mike for his dedication and seriously hard work that he does for this game. Mike has helped develop and balance the rules, writes thoughtful and entertaining plots, and over the years has helped to create and maintain our community. You can even still read the Livejournal that we used (and that Mike built) before Facebook became hip. Mike is a huge part of our community and he continues to do wonderful things before, during, and after each event. Thank you, Mike! <3

 

Mike Faulk, as always, has impressed me with the quality and thought that gets put into every plot he writes. Every character he plays is engaging and completely fleshed out. Like an onion, Mike’s characters have layers. They will also make you cry.

Zombie for one because I never though I would see a zombie apply for a job at ACES (Zombie would make a great bouncer though).

Zombie! Always hilarious and highly entertaining!

Magestry’s Best of Newgreen/Petalsong 126

By | | ,
1 Comment

Here are our picks for the “Best of ” the April 29th-May 1st event:

Sebastion really stood out this game. His roleplaying is always fantastic, but it was nice to see it showcased!

Sebastion really stood out this game. His role-playing is always fantastic, but it was nice to see it showcased!

 

This event’s Best PC is none other than the Two-Years-Running-Town-Scoundrel/pirate faemin, Sebastian Dark played by Marque Sterling! Marque has been with Magestry for a while now, and we have had the pleasure of watching him grow as a role-player and as a valued member of our community. Marque has consistently showed dedication, loyalty, and helpfulness to the game, whether it’s flying from Washington D.C. to play (!!), NPCing for us for a while, or staying to help clean up whenever he can. This game we really got to see Marque’s role-playing skills highlighted, and we were duly impressed. Thanks so much, Marque, and congrats!

Here are some things you had to say about Marque’s performance this game:

“Sebastian – Awesome job role-playing a variety of emotions this event!”

“Sebastian did a great job with his angsty plot.”

“Sebastian for roleplay, not just for the major drama with Donovan, but also consistently throughout this event.”

“Sebastian, He really showed his role playing props in dealing with his friend and the conflict between his friend and the town.”

“I feel this event Sebastian deserves special recognition for his role playing when it came to Donovan and Amelia. He did a very good job of showing how hurt he was at what was transpiring.”

“Speaking of Marque, his roleplaying this event was fanTASTIC. He was legitimately distraught after the events of Friday night, and I overheard his and Silver’s conversation. It was very charged, and Marque showed some damn chops. He kept this up the entire game, especially when Donovan showed up again Saturday. I pretty much hung around just to watch him work. Very worthwhile.”

“Sebastian was my favorite PC. His role-playing shone brightly the moment he realized he could blink through the circle of protection and attempt to kill the Morticent, realizing that it was actually Donovan, and every moment afterward all throughout the weekend.”

Dave Kopchick. The man was everywhere this weekend. Fountain of energy which I think helped keep the awesome train going this weekend!

Dave Kopchick. The man was everywhere this weekend. Fountain of energy which I think helped keep the awesome train going this weekend!

 

This event’s Best NPC is, again, not a stranger to this particular accolade, but he is another NPC who truly deserves this award. Dave Kopchick was a whirlwind this event (and in the weeks previous to the event) helping to write plots, getting up early to put out speaks and spots and/or do early morning lessons, leading crunch squads, and generally helping to make sure that things ran smoothly throughout the weekend. Dave has become an integral part of the staff and we are sure happy that he decided to do so. Thank you so much for all your help, Dave!

“Kopchick with his variety of roleplaying and adding bits of non-essential, but environment enhancing little plots. He is always so wonderful!”

“Hanging out with Dave all morning as Baxter was a great time. I know Dave put a lot of hours into that component lesson.”

“The goblin that learned literacy with Dogwood. It was very comical and memorable.”

“My absolute favorite NPC this event hands down goes to Dave Kopchick. Hands down, without a doubt. He tackles each role with everything hes got, whether its a silly NPC like Gigglefritz, or a more tortured soul like the Emancipator, or even just as a crunchie. He has this enthusiasm about the game that is so blatantly clear and very nice to see. We are very lucky to have him back.”

“Baxter was certainly a fun npc to be around the excursion Sunday morning for components and his cheese lesson were both entertaining and informative.”

“Does Dave sleep? I think probably not. He is an unstoppable force of nature and I think has been a great addition to the game since he’s been back.”

Magestry’s Best of Newgreen 126

By | | ,
1 Comment

Here are our picks for the “Best of ” the April 1st-3rd event:

This is what Francis might look like. Pictures of this rare mongrellian are hard to come by!

This is what Francis might look like. Pictures of this rare mongrelian are hard to come by!

 

 

This month’s Best PC is a veteran player who brought a new character into game this event. Though we usually associate Steve Pulaski with his first character, Cael, we saw a whole new side of him with his portrayal of Francis! We have always known Steve to be a good role-player, but we were really impressed with the big changes that were made from Cael to Francis! Everything about the character was different and fun to react to. Steve was also a wonderful help before and after game, staying until the end to help clean up! We are very grateful for all his work. Thanks, Steve! Great job!

 

“The fella who was a badger mongrelian rocked his role-playing, even progressing/growing his character before our very eyes.”

“Francis was alternately terrifying and hilarious, not that it would be nice to laugh at him.”

“Francis – It was so cool to see Stephen play this role and he did so well keeping in character and continuously questioning words and phrases and talking about hunting and such.”

“Francis (Steve Pulaski) when phenomenal, A clear departure for Cael, he was great to see in character, had great costume and props, including a plush skunk stuffed with jerky. He did a great job role-playing learning words from a small vocabulary.”

“Francis was my favorite PC. He was so different than any other character in town, his personality and attitude were refreshing, and he was great to interact with.”

“I really liked Francis the Honey Badger. Steve brought some amazing role-play abilities that we don’t always see with Cael and it was interesting seeing all of the people in town react to him.”

“Felix the honey badger was an awesome PC to interact with, very entertaining.”

Nick D - Lots of fun to fight, dude has a huge heart. Great cook too!

Nick D – Lots of fun to fight, dude has a huge heart. Great cook too!

 

 

This month’s Best NPC is not new to the title, but he has certainly been a person who has raised the bar for Best NPC to high heights.  Nick Donoghue has proven himself to be consistently one of our best NPCs whether it is through his wonderful role-playing, extreme helpfulness, cheerful and positive attitude, incredible cooking skills, or his eagerness to help grow our game. We are so lucky to have Nick on staff here and we know that you feel the same way! Thank you, Nick, for everything you do!

 

“Nick- role-played amazingly also did a great job being a grave golem.”

“Nick is a superstar. Always.”

“I really enjoyed fighting Nick.”