First timer; Char feedback, phys-reps and sleeping arrangements

[Geoffrey_Willoughby]

Hi Beet, and welcome to the game and the forums

Re playing solo, there was a pretty good thread a while back:

Flying Solo - Advice for solo characters

I haven’t played a strictly solo character, but I felt so disconnected from my group I ended up joining another. I get very little fun out of groups which aren’t into the same things as me, and end up being a functionally solo character chasing stuff I like. I ended up finding a perfect match group in the end though, but I found it myself IC. I think it’s entirely possible to work as a solo character in the sense of not being connected to a group in a nation as long as you engage with cross-nat…

and another discussion on props for potions etc (probably over-detailed for your purposes)

Potion physreps: salve, liquid, oil, or infusion

The potions have all sorts of exciting descriptions, some of which take a bit of thought to physrep. So here are a few thoughts and an invitation to add your own. profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/Potion [quote] Anodyne Embrocation Form: Salve. Description: This dark blue cream has a gritty, slightly sandy texture. It smells strongly of freshly cut grass. Put a tiny drop on your finger or your tongue, and the tip quickly becomes numb. [/quote] I think for most salves it makes sense to s…

First, that sounds reasonable from my POV, although remember that the Brass Coast are NOT Dodgy Camel Merchants. Being a sleazy amoral trader in medicines and “medicines” is probably fine. I can reccomend a Herb Garden as your personal resource if you want to churn out potions.

Second: The amount of props you could use is defined by how much effort you want to put into it. A table with dripping glassware and dribbly candles is fine, a small folding table with chopping boards and grinding stones, a pestle and mortar, a couple of rows of tiny bottles containing powders and oils and things… All of these have turned up in play. All are optional.

If you want to make props for your raw materials, you can. Cheapest method is combing the hedgerows on site for grass, dandelion leaves, ivy, and similar suitable props Or you could invest in packets of herbs and spices from the supermarket, which has the bonus that they’re all edible and often strongly scented. I made props, detailed at the end of the Potion Physreps thread. In terms of little bottles, there are many places selling these on-site, I believe Chow’s Emporium will sell tiny bottles at 2 for a £. As noted in that thread, you CAN prepare potion props with the right flavours and colours… that’s a bit too much effort for me, and entirely optional. Probably not to be tried for your first event…

And no, they don’t NEED to be safely drinkable. Any of them. You could do so, just in case of silly LARPers drinking every bottle, but that’s not your responsibility. Olive oil impregnated with chilli oil looks good and is technically drinkable…

Third: The IC game ends at 1am and resumes at 10am, except in the Senate (where you will be kept awake by dancers…). You could quite feasibly stay up round the fires till 1am and then ask someone if you could snooze in their IC tent. Which would probably be fine if it’s unused. I suspect there’s a lot of the Brass Coast marquees and awnings untenanted till the morning. I don’t know if anyone else goes for sleeping rough at Anvil, you may need to ask the organisers about it…

Hope that helps a little.