2010 Photo 43 of 52

Do you know this Ghost

2010 Photo 41 of 52

The Getaway

Week long of props

Just back from a week long adventure in the woods of South Wales, were help plot a week long full of monsters and machine with my follow refs.

Although I have been writing plot for fours years and ref-ing for almost two this was my 1st week long event and it was great, hard work yes, but I helped along with the rest of the crew provide much entertainment for the players which is very rewarding when you get good feedback.

My fellow refs also thanked me for the props I provided which helped set the scenes for many of the encounters, although prize for best looking scene goes to Amy for her bloodied vampire make-up. (see below)


First the new look vampires that walk in the day protected from the sun by goggles and full head and hand covering.


This is glowing spirit capture device which was smashed by the players to release the capture spirits


This device the Rakken Transmitter/Attractor (although not completed in this photo) spent a full evening being turned on and off giving players Rakken on demand.


This fearful looking thing made from a Dr Who mask retrieved from skip by DaveP and then converted by me with pipes, suckers on the reverse and various machine bits, eventually flew and stuck itself to a player character and sucked him dry of blood to provide a black out for the Vampires to attack in daylight.


Here we have a blood powered device, fixed again to player it pumped away his blood to empower the vampire with extra strength.


This prop was last conversion using from some spare parts I taken with me, fixed to prop already prepared by the other refs, the lights gave it extra oomph.

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Thunders weekend.

Kit making and acquiring frenzy for last event over and I'm feeling totally worn out, although I think most of that is down the change of weather over one week from frosty mornings to humid temperatures in the high twenty's.

The AscendancyLRP event I helped AndyL put together was set in the Thunders a land mainly based on historic & mythical Japan & China. For this event I decided we needed a bit of extra kit, mainly because we set the event in monastery.

So I made four Buddhist robes, they were very simple based on the real thing which is basically a couple of large rectangles of fabric tucked under the arm and over the shoulder, so all I to do was do straight hems no pattern to follow.

This photo is a example.


I also recycled a robe made by Julie for a post apocalypse game we played and turned it into the kit of the Incredible Wang, which although made from wool, not your traditional oriental fabric looked great with the hat and sash.

Photo of the Indiscernible Wang.


My other bit of costume was purchased direct from China and is a copy of Qing Dynasty Imperial Suit, I did have to spent a couple of hours re-working the belt which despite the size description was made to fit around the waist of someone four inches smaller in circumference than me. I think it looks great with its many embroidered dragons and well worth the price paid, which was only a bit more than the shipping cost.

Photo of the now dead Shogun wearing the costume, although he is now the new Golden Vampire, so the costume use will continue.


I also painted up masks for the Puppet master and Yo-Yo, found some really cheap fans and oriental hats.
The fans can be seen in the picture below, found in a shop in Ripley for 50p each and well used given the heat during the event.


The last thing I made was three clockwork bullets for use by an assassin, although due to massive crop of nettles he found himself cornered when he wanted to escape and fire his last bullet.
Bullets.

Easter week.

Easter weekend I started a weeks holiday with lots of plans starting with a trip to Stratford upon Avon with JulieS to visit the Butterfly Farm which was great, especially to practise your camera skill, took loads of photos a small sample below (wish I took my SLR). The Butterfly Farm is quite warm being kept between 25 and 30deg C, and at 80% humidity since its full of tropical butterflies as well a few fish, reptiles and birds that don't like the taste of butterflies.





This photograph is stolen from Julie and shows me with a butterfly.


Photo of Julie taking a photo


Mr Iguana


After the butterfly farm we had quick wander around Stratford, which looks interesting, didn't visit any of the other attraction or Shakespeare properties although we did pop in Nash's house garden which was free and full of odd but interesting sculptures inspired by Shakespeare plays.



During the following week I mainly spent my time making steam punk guns, a sniper rifle and kind of grenade launcher which I converted into stun gun for the weekends larp event.



The sniper rifle was made from a old cap gun stock,plenty of screws, bit of brass tube, some smaller tube cut to act has spacer for a toy telescope sprayed with brass paint for the gun site. Added to this was decoration in the form the nozzle from old brass paraffin blow torch,some drawing pins, and a bit of wood stain/varnish.


The grenade launcher used the rest of the paraffin blow torch, a cardboard tea tube, a couple of pipe fittings, a sink strainer, another old cap gun stock, a few screws, a bit glue and some more brass spray paint.


After several days of searching for bits I now have lots more junk to make several more steam punk guns or gadgets.

Last weekend I crewed a larp event and got to play a new long term character, currently called the Hermit, he was a bit of grumpy and plenty of fun to play.



The crew (excluding me and AndyL)


The weather on Saturday was the warmest of the year and with lots of carrying kit up and down slopes quite hard work for a unfit chap like me. Sunday was much better, well cooler anyway.

ChrisA with his new steam tech gun and also the one I made.


Took plenty of photos most are the ascendancy website.



I did also go to see Kick Ass, yet another new movie based on a comic book. Enjoyed it, although found myself quite shocked by the language coming out the 13year old girls mouth, I suppose that was intended. Very funny dark humour, don't go and see if don't like comics books

Update of stuff

Over the last few weeks I haven’t done much, but I have done a few things, such as last weekend I went to TORM with Jock and Bridgette.



Usual stuff for sale, I bought an Astrolabe and Perpetual Calendar thing for a 21st birthday present from a company called Hemispherim that does very pretty astronomical instruments.
I did see a nice felt hat, which would have been very tempting at £ 60 but at £ 160 was nice but not worth it, for me at least.

Spot my £160 hat in this photo, its the one with arrow pointing at it.


After the event had a very bland uninspiring meal at the Cocked Hat, which has put me off the place slightly since the previous meal I had there was the same.

Saw my brother last Sunday who’s lad Josh has just passed his driving test, he was telling me that he not bumped the car yet, less than a few hours later he discovered he had rolled his car trying to follow his friend to Crich.

Josh's car roof


He wasn’t injured but it will be an expensive lesson learned.

This weekend I played in a few Ascendancy table top skirmish battles, and lost for the 1st time after 2 draws and 4 wins, the High elves whupped the Skaven.

I also went to ChrisT 21st birthday meal, as honorary family member I was the only friend among the rest of Aunts, Uncles, nephews, nieces etc. Well apart from his girlfriend Emma with bird tattoos.

ChrisT


Nice bit of food at the Spanker, and saw quite a few friends who turned up later, Ste and Deb as well as Freda who is in the middle of her reconstructive surgery for breast cancer and looked very startling with her shaved head.

Ste and Deb


Christophers Sword in the Stone cake made by a friend


Chris's dad AndyT


Chris Mum LindaT and Sister KT


Other than that I have found a new tea or two, I like the pretty boxes in the photo below

2010 Photo 7 of 52

With lack of good photos here is one from the weekends LRP event

Mess by the Oak Tree

This weekend despite not feeling well I went along to crew at LRP event at Shining Cliff Wood and found the much of the west end devastated by woodland maintenance. The signs says they a clearing the softwoods to allow a hardwood forest to re-establish itself, this may be great in the long term but they have stripped vast areas of trees totally and thinned the other area so much they are hard to describe as woodland anymore.

From a entry gate at Higgs Lane to the Shinning Cliff hostel car park run 2 paths, the upper path is still a nice place to walk, the lower path is not, stripped of trees, and then the path bulldozed through the debris leaving loose boulders its a place to avoid and will take many years to grow back into nice walk. The end which did have a nice leafy clearing with a oak tree in middle as been halved in sized, given a nice new footbridge, but the hillside behind has been fully cleared of all tree and was full of the noise of chains saws cutting down more, a large logging company seems to have established a base on the road up alongside the wood.

Once past the east end of the wood into the hostels area things are still untouched and protected by owners so will remain that way.

The bottom path, it looks like this from the area we park in all the way to the Hostel car park.


The old oak tree clearing which was full of atmosphere as been reduced to this.


The back drop has been cleared of trees.


The event itself went well, it was 3 or 4 degrees C which did not feel that cold and dry on Saturday, Sunday it did drizzle then rain at the end of the day, so my costumes got very damp and muddy. The players got into things even if the event was designed to keep them moving, fighting and thus warm, its not the time of year for long outdoor negotiations, although their seemed plenty of things to discuss.

AndyL who wrote the plot had now way of knowing what the players would do Sunday with many optional paths so we had to have many contingency plans and quick costume changes at the ready.

Two mountain bikers nearly came off as they rounded a bend and spotted 2 Gaisha in the wood trying to seduce a chaos mage.


Sam forgot her hair brush, I thought she would make a good Ronald McDonald.



I finished the weekend feeling much fitter than I started with the running around clearing up my listlessness, but the downside was the my cough got worse as the mucus settled on my chest and I think as set itself up for a long stay.

A Weeking of Scampering Lightly

Last weekend was the last lrp event of the year at Unston and turned out good fun.

Not having two of my best friends along due to technical problems with health meant I had only myself to cook for, which apart from one meal I manage time for, lunch on Saturday was a whole packet of biscuits, I should have done better.

Living near by and having a cat to feed I travelled home each night, through some heavy rain both nights and Sunday morning which left the roads a dangerous place, with unseen puddles that tried to stop your steering working. Despite the rain during the day it was dry enough to get the players out for a fight or two, or three, well plenty.

The event was designed to be fun and non confrontational, which some of the players managed to conspire against, I hope it was all taking as in character, from those I spoke to, it seemed to be.

I got to introduce two new characters a wealthy cotton mill owning vampire and a Fey Lord who was meant to played by DaveP. The event ended with an already established character the Dark Rider running off as usual, he's no fool, he doesn't fight to the death when the odds are stacked against him.

I got to be rather silly playing a Monty Python style farmers wife in a dress and wig, standing on a chair screaming scared of 3 blind mice. The players turned out to be not very good at herding blind mice so the farmers wife could chop off their tails.

A few old faces returned, great to see Doug again, I think he enjoyed it, Alex Xian Chi and MattB also said they enjoyed themselves, may turn up to a few new events next year hopefully.

Now a few photos from the event.

2 players try their LRP sneak unseen skills on the resident cat, 15 minutes of sneaking got them a look of boredom from the cat before it walked through a bush leaving them stranded.


Cat can also count, well up to 2 paws.


Dan preparing to indulge his secret pleasure.


Dan has a colour string fetish.


Andy and Heather having strong words with the shop staff about making the tea just right.


Me in my new coat purchase on impulse from TORM, needs a better photo, but camera didn't like the cold.