Howdy,
I’m a new player going to event 1 2019 and I’ve decided on the brass coast. However…
I suffer from anxiety and I’m worried about ending up spending the event alone, I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice from their experience, give some advice on how to get involved in a group? or perhaps just tell me something interesting about the brass coast in general.
Any and all replies would be greatly appreciated and I am insurmountably excited.
Thank you!
Okay let me start by offering you a warm welcome. It is good to see a new face and I think it is commendable that you are doing a bit of research. There is a wiki so if you want you can skip all my facts and go there and then just come back and look at the last few paragraphs which are more about IC.
THE FACTS ABOUT THE BRASS COAST
When spending time in the brass coast, imagine money a little bit like ice cream on a hot day. You want as much ice cream as possible but it melts very quickly and flows away. You will have to pay in game currency to even sit down with a group unless they are your IC family. Coin is so important that it is imbedded in their superstitions. I think it something about a coin can gain luck from a good deal and that luck and be pasted on by passing the coin. People may keep hold of a particularly lucky coin but they are more than happy to part with most of their money if it means they will get more back.
You don’t have to be related to be family but once you are family, your loyalty is very important.
Bells are fairly popular accessories for people in the brass coast. You will most likely hear someone from the brass coast before you see them however you don’t have to wear the bells.
Your clothes are you own and it is thought that your soul imprints on them. This means you do not share them and when you die, they are burnt. You should also avoid wearing white as it symbolises poverty or black as it symbolises death. Kohan will sometimes wear black before a battle. The Kohan are people who have started off without a family and usually are warriors or body guards for the hakima.
The hakima are the scholars and magic users of the brass coast.
Honesty is very important especially when a contract is involved. If you make a contract with someone then you must stick to it but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a bit devious with the creation of the contract, as long as you are honest.
For example, you may have a cake that someone wishes to buy. If you believe it is worth 5 rings then you can offer it to them for that even if it should really only be 3. If they accept it at that price without any battering then more fool them.
If you want to look into good virtues that link with the Freeborn then I suggest looking into prosperity, Loyalty and pride. Prosperity is all about having wealth but also sharing it. In the brass coast you will do this a lot. As I mentioned family and loyalty are interlinked. Pride is always a good one because there are few nations that aren’t proud of who they are and what they have achieved.
Look into all the virtues a little bit because religion is fairly important on the surface of anvil. Also look into the three sisters.
THE SOCIAL STUFF
If you are unsure then talk to the egregore. If you can’t find I think the brass coast have three, flame, dust and glass which are symbols of the brass coast. I have found the people to be very friendly in all camps at anvil so you shouldn’t have too much problem talking to people. If they are annoyed with you then remember it is most likely IC unless they have taken you aside and told you otherwise or it is clear you have done something OOC that would require you to be spoken to.
During the evening the people of the brass coast like to sing songs round their campfires or go drinking if they are not otherwise engaged. This is probably true of most nations as well. If you want to join a campfire, simply walk up and offer them a ring. If they ask for a crown then they are probably busy and so it is best to go and find another fire. If they ask for a throne then they are being rude to you and you should be offended but they won’t do this when they haven’t met you.
If you know any song then maybe sing them or you can just listen. You could also take some food to share and it may also allow you to sit down without having to pay as you are giving a service.
It can be quite scary as all social interactions can be but sometimes it is just about making your tongue act before your brain can. A simple greeting should start you off. Maybe try and play a character that is a little bit bolder so when you get into character you might be able to pick some of that up. You can alternatively start off by remembering it is a game and using that as a way of letting yourself know it is all for fun.
What does your character do? If they are a magician then they can go to the hall of worlds and make friends there with all the other magicians. If they are priest then go to the synod. There are also a few places open around the place. They are most taverns but there is also the hub and the imperial offices where you can find work.
You can also try talking to people OOC while in the food lines for the OOC food stalls. This is a good place to talk to people because if you make a mistake then they can’t hunt you down for it IC because they haven’t met you. It is unlikely that you do make a mistake because we are all in a similar boat which will probably be a group of smelly, damp and tired people waiting to get food.
It will be hard to know what to do until you are actually there. You will get nervous and things will feel strange but you will get a really exciting buzz that you will never forget. Your first game will always be special as long as it wasn’t a miserable one, simply because it is your first game. You will learn a bit how people work while on the field.
If I am there next event then feel free to come up and talk to me. I’m not sure yet if I can come along (hopefully I can). If am going I will gladly give you my description so you can find me. I hope this helps and if you need any more advice, just ask.
Not a Freeborn myself, but I can say one of the best ways to find a group in advance is probably via the BC Facebook group here Redirecting... - although you can turn up and find a group in play (and some would recommend doing that), it’s not necessarily the route for everyone, especially if you get anxious! The people on there are lovely (plus there’s a lot more of them) and I imagine you’ll have a few people who would at least be willing to chat with you about group joining 
If you are able to arrive Thursday, spend the Thursday evening meeting people. Even if they are not your group/nation or are complete strangers. Its very informal and people tend to be welcoming. And having some friendly faces dotted around the site can be reassuring.
I had thought about this and I aim to go around helping people set up Thursday so I could make some acquaintances.
I think it costs £5 extra to pitch your tent earlier. Have you been camping before?
An excellent idea. Arriving on Thursday will allow you to wander around, meet people, have a quiet chat with those who are early, and watch the tent-city arise around you, instead of jumping in the deep end with over a thousand folk rushing around
E1 can be cold though. What’s your experience at camping in cold and perhaps muddy weather?
Additionally, if you suffer from anxiety, I can reccomend a series of youtube videos by RickVanMan where he started Empire (last year. He also has some anxiety issues). There is also a series of tents etc across the field where anyone can driop in to sit down and calm down for a bit, I think they’re called spoonie tents. There is also a spoonie LARPers FB group.
(Why spoons? Ah, that’s another story… available on request)
You may not believe it but hes the reason that I’m going to empire. I had wanted to ever since Tabletop weekly’s videos but RickVanMan’s videos, seeing his experiences, has given me that final bit of courage to go.
I’m not going there to meet him, It’s his holiday and down time so I wont be going there to bother him hes just given me the motivation to set the organising and planning in motion.
Yep, go camping every year in the rain wind and snow, camped at one place were it got down to -10 and we had to push the snow off the tops of our tents in the morning.
Good, then you are ready for the lakes and mudslides that will be anvil during the winter event. The one difference between this and enduring normal camping is that the traditional brass coast clothes do not give much protection from the elements so it is good to have a few layers hidden underneath.
Got my thermals already then
Sounds like you’re pretty prepped for it If you wander around the nations with drinks and stories, and find yourself in Dawn, and head for the big red/black tent… you’ll probably find RickVanMan in there
But do not wonder into the big cornered off square in the middle, things will go badly very quickly.
I saw that in his video is that like a little arena? If so can anyone come in and fight a bit? Also can i challenge random people to a fight? i kind of want to get good at the combat.
Just as an additional thing thank you to everyone who replied you’re all so nice and helpful!
Now now…
The squared off section with the flags, bunting and shields around it is called the Glory Square. It is where Dawn holds its tournaments, duels, announcements, funerals, festivals, musters and ceremonies.
Also a lot of combat training. You could indeed turn up, stride in (noting the RP effect enchantment upon it), and announce that you wish… “martial practice and training from the knights of Dawn!” (… or words similar).
And you will likely have half a dozen or so Dawnish willing to spar with you, give you some pointers, talk through your techniques, and so on. You will make friends, and get a bit of respect, as Dawn quite likes those willing to stride up and challenge them
And I, or another healer, will be on standby to pick you up…
Randomly stomping around challenging people to fights will get you in trouble.
Asking for sparring practice or similar works better.
Anyone can come in and fight. Most people will be from dawn and it is very likely you can get them to come in and fight you.
If you want to learn how to fight then talk to the people. There are a few people who will be willing to give you a few tips. I was given some advice before starting monstering because there is a bit of spare time as the player take ages to get organise.
There was a priest in the brass coast that said he would teach people for coin. I’m sure there are other people like him that can teach you a bit. I can give you a few tips if you want but it will only be the basics.
Any information and/or tips would be great I’m a knowledge hoover right now so I want to learn as much as i possibly can. Ill probably be using a sword spear (pole-arm) and likely no armour, cant afford it haha.
You have to make the glory square sound horrifying so it is more glorious when you come out of it alive. You have to romanticise it so instead of being that bit of grass cornered off with some sticks and rope, it is ‘The land encircled by the hopes and fears of the dawnish, a zone of combat that two will enter and only one will leave.’
There is a new player skirmish before time in on Friday when the new player team NPC’s will go through the combat rules on the battle field, and give you an idea of what the mass battles are like.
Depending on which nation you end up in asking around for sparring practice form any of their existing fighters will usually work too.
It is also worth joining your nations Fb group, or even asking on the forums if anyone has spare armour they can lend you. There are plenty of people with more armour of various sorts than they can possibly wear all at once, and lending it out to others justifies them keeping it all, so always worth asking.
Do also remember though that apart form the 2 major battles (one monster, one as your character) and maybe a skirmish or 2 if you’re lucky you will need other things for your character to do. This can be as simple as enjoying the festivals, sampling the drinking establishments and watching the world go by, but do consider what else you might like to be involved in.