Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

General information, announcements, and discussions about Westmarch, Amtgard, and the LARPing life

Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby deimos » Tue Dec 02, 2014 11:31 am

I have been notified that the Freehold of Mistyvale held a successful local Althing to petition to join Westmarch. This will be added to the January Althing ballot.
In the interim, I encourage an open discussion amongst Mistyvale and Westmarch. I would hope we can clear the air of any misunderstandings and move forward with a clean slate.

A few questions I have for Mistyvale to get things started:
Why do you want to be a land under Westmarch?
What do you expect from Westmarch?
What do you bring to the table to make Westmarch a better kingdom?

Thank you for your time.
Deimos
GMR of SSD
User avatar
deimos
 
Posts: 1776
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 3:22 pm
Location: SSD, Cullyfornia

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Etah » Tue Dec 02, 2014 12:23 pm

I've attended Mistyvale quite a few times and have made a number of observations:

The first, biggest worry with a park so close to another park is if it will become a home for dissident members of the larger, original group. In my opinion this has not come to pass. There is a large group of core Mistyvale members that would not have found out about Amtgard at all were it not for Mistyvale. Po is a shining example of this. Po, for anyone who doesn't know him, is a big goofy guy that does resemble a Kung Fu panda and in my opinion is a great addition to Amtgard.

The second big concern is whether or not the two groups will somehow be in competition with each other. There were some rumors about bad blood and back bitting last year but those did not prove to be true. Mistyvale meets on opposite days from Thor's Refuge, they have held a joint coronation, attended demos together, and TR and MV members attend each others A&S nights and fighter practices. Additionally there is a fair amount of cross attendance between parks. I see nothing but friendship and mutual cooperation between the two parks, in the future.

I believe Mistyvale will make a great and mutually beneficial addition to the Kingdom of Westmarch.
~Baronet Squire Etah Landshark
Corsair
Shire of Aegir's Hall

"Hate is a strong word, but I found out if you say it backwards what appears is a bald nerd." - MC Nameloc
User avatar
Etah
 
Posts: 999
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2009 10:25 pm
Location: In the Halls of Aegir

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby KalevraFallstar » Tue Dec 02, 2014 12:54 pm

I echo pretty much everything Etah said. Last reign Mistyvale and Thor's Refuge, had several discussion and smoothed over a lot of past issues. Mistyvale has a great park spirit, with a lot of very awesome very active players. As someone who has worked fairly closely with their membership in the recent past I would without reservation, support their petition to join Westmarch. I think they would make a fantastic contribution to the awesomeness of our kingdom.
Image
User avatar
KalevraFallstar
 
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:14 pm

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Porkins » Tue Dec 02, 2014 1:34 pm

My personal concerns which Etah brought up still remain. However I feel those types of issues, which are not present at this time, won't be removed if Mistyvale joined or didn't join Westmarch. The issues are something that the park leaders should keep in mind and they should continually work to prevent that kind of atmosphere from forming. That is true for every land, but it should be much more important in lands so close together. As King I had one issue that when I discussed it with the Sheriff of MV I was told to take it up with Burning Lands because he didn't have to listen to me, which was quite accurate**. The main point of that example is that having both lands under different Kingdoms only exacerbates problems, however having the same authority would mean that if problems do arise they can be sorted quickly and cleanly. I was hoping we could do it before I left office but was told they had some contract issues with their sponsored land/academy, but I support this petition now as much as I did then.


Which does bring up one question though, If MV is sponsoring Greystone by taking them in should/would WM also be sponsoring Greystone as one of our lands? Not that it changes my vote, just seems like something to be looked into.






** this was before MV's recent upswing and should not be used as an example against them as the MV now contains 527% more awesome.
In times like these, it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these- Paul Harvey
User avatar
Porkins
 
Posts: 624
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:40 am

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Xen'drik Fallstar » Tue Dec 02, 2014 2:35 pm

For the members of Westmarch that I have not met, my name is Xen'drik Fallstar. I am the current and founding monarch of Mistyvale. I understand that most of people's concerns will revolve around how close we are to Thor's Refuge, and bad blood between a few members from both parks. According to Google Maps, Mistyvale is about 10.6 miles away from Thor's Refuge. Most of us try to target potential members who are closer to our location. And whenever talking to new members and people who are slightly interested, we tell them our park information as well as where and when Thor's Refuge meets up.

As for bad relations, I believe most of that is cleared up. Most of the arguments and hard feelings were misunderstandings, however there were a few that had legitimate concerns and hard feelings. There have been a group of us from Mistyvale, Thor's Refuge, and Westmarch working to improve relations for a while now and it seems to me that we have made tremendous progress. Like Etah said, we have attended each others' park days, MV and TR held a joint mid-reign, we have held demos together, and all in all we have been helping each other out as much as possible.

As for Deimos' questions, I have several reasons for wanting to join Westmarch. First reason above all others, is I want my players to have a voice. As a freehold, we have no say in anything that go's on outside of our park. Secondly, Mistyvale has grown to be the largest Freehold (according to the ORK). But as a freehold, we are unable to rise in park status. This means that if we stay a freehold, I will never be able to give my players the awards that they deserve. Thirdly, with so many new players coming to Mistyvale, I would like them to have an easier time branching out to learn all the different aspects of Amtgard. I want them to have as much help as possible with learning A&S, how to fight, and learning to lead a park.

What I expect from Westmarch, is guidance and assistance. Like I said, I want my players to have access to people who love to help and teach. And I have definitely seen that in a lot of Westmarch players. I would like to have help when my players have proven that they deserves awards and titles. I have read over the Westmarch Corpora several times and I know that it will be a while before myself or future leaders of my park will be able to give higher orders of any award. However I am hoping that it will be easier to get help with this than it is under the Burning Lands as a freehold.

At Mistyvale, we have a few stickjocks, but most of us are flurbs at heart. We love the battle gaming, the Arts & Sciences, role playing, and just having a good time. We have a few plans for park and camping events that we would love to see Westmarch take part in. We are still a new park, about a year and half old. However I see the potential in all of my players. Years and years from now, I see future Serpent and Flame knights. I see Master Wizards and Monks. Our numbers have grown exponentially and that can be a great asset to Westmarch. We have a solid core of dedicated players, and with the number of demos we run both by ourselves and with other parks, we can bring many more.
User avatar
Xen'drik Fallstar
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2014 1:35 pm

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Faye » Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:55 pm

I have one question - why do Mistyvale and Thor's Refuge need to be separate parks? It seems to me that given the close proximity to each other, they could simply be one park that holds two fighting days.
Faye
 
Posts: 351
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:28 pm
Location: Seven Sleeping Dragons

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Porkins » Sat Dec 06, 2014 10:05 pm

That was my original position, it seemed like a better idea to have one park with two fighting days. From what I recall, the founding of Mistyvale was part of an older dream of its founders to have something uniquely theirs. I still think the one park system would be optimal, but because the idea was resisted so strongly in the past it hasn't been brought up again.
In times like these, it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these- Paul Harvey
User avatar
Porkins
 
Posts: 624
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:40 am

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Collin the Red » Sun Dec 07, 2014 6:56 pm

Some pro's and Con's to 2 lands close together:

Con: shared membership pool (although Sacramento County has a large population and several groups of geeks that feeds well in to Amtgard)
Pro: some people can only play one day per weekend, and if you have 2 parks playing on the 2 different days, advantage Amtgard
Con: Rivalries can form (although this could lead to some epic invasion style play.
Pro: If you don't fit in with one park, you can play at the other.
Con: Confusion as to which park you are at. (not a big con, but I'm struggling to come up with cons at this point)
Pro: Easier paper work for the 2 PMs not having to 1/2 or 1/4 credit people attending both.
Con: shared resources stretches thin
Pro: attend both and get two full credits
Con: The misdeeds of one park can cast a shadow on the other.
Pro: twice the office positions available for people to have a turn at leadership
Con: thinking.....um.... :oops:
Pro: shared events like coronations and camp outs
Con: um....give me a minute

This is similar to the relationship between WH and AS. While they are farther apart, several people play at the farther one as they can not attend the closer one due to scheduling issues. Several members play at both lands often boosting the numbers of both.

If there are any other CONs out there, it would be good to voice it. But the issue is not HAVING a second park in Sacramento, the issue is if this second park can also be part of Westmarch.

By allowing this second park into Westmarch, Westmarch gains additional resources of the players and their numbers. This Park has large numbers, creative artisans, service oriented members, and what looks like a park that is encouraging their presence. They do not travel much yet, but most are just now getting to the 6 month mark and have shown interest in next FoM, Darkshore, Flurbtastic, and Clan. This would be a boon to any kingdom. Better our's than another.

Why would we not welcome them in with open arms? This group seems to be truly doing all they can to be the type of Amtgard land Westmarch wants in its kingdom.

As I only returned to TR and WM last month I have no vote yet, but I encourage those that do to vote YES to accepting Mistyvale in to Westmarch.

TL:DR
Mistyvale is not going away, so better to bring them in to WM then not.
Baron Collin MacAbee current King of Westmarch
Squire to Sir Smiley
User avatar
Collin the Red
 
Posts: 2359
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:11 pm
Location: Thor's Refuge

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Lady Tamara » Thu Dec 11, 2014 8:36 am

Mistyvale is a group of happy, enthusiastic Amtgardians. They come, they flurb, they are excited about Amtgard. We have many regulars at A&S, and they are progressing with making garb, weapons and even banners.
They have been told that Amtgard is a welcoming entity, that is is home and family for many. Although we don't always agree on things, we still support and care for one another. Come and meet our members, show them support, join them in the Santa Parade this weekend, then at our park this weekend.
Wife to Collin the Red
http://www.meetup.com/amtgard-sacramento
Tamara on the AmtWiki
O.R.K.
Facebook
Woman at Arms to Sir Francis of Ravensholm
User avatar
Lady Tamara
 
Posts: 2502
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:15 am
Location: Thor's Refuge & Mistyvale, Sacramento CA

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Jace » Thu Dec 11, 2014 3:23 pm

Collin the Red wrote:TL:DR
Mistyvale is not going away, so better to bring them in to WM then not.


We dont negotiate with terrorists...
“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.” Euripides


Lord Jacelendrahz "Jace" Darkholme
User avatar
Jace
 
Posts: 261
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:44 pm
Location: Thor's Refuge

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby GamiXenos » Thu Dec 11, 2014 11:04 pm

Hello everyone, My name is Gami and I would like to add my thoughts on the matter.

While I may be a recent addition to Mistyvale, I have played at other parks in Texas years ago. I took several years off while I attended college, but I never lost that desire to pick up my foam blade. After I moved to California and settled in, I decided to look up local Amtgard groups. Both Thor's Refuge and Mistyvale came up, and I chose MV since it worked best with my work schedule.

The first time I went to Mistyvale I was met with great enthusiasm. When I told them of my history with Amtgard Lady T and Collin helped me find my records in the olde ORK. It was a huge relief that I didn't have to start all over again from scratch and I am truly grateful to them both. Since then, I try to come whenever I can. I fell in love with Amtgard when I was in junior year of high school. The magic I felt when I played all those years ago came rushing back to me as soon as I stepped onto the field. Everyone at the park has been welcoming and helpful to me.

As to Deimos' original questions, I want to see Mistyvale grow. Both Xen'drik and Collin made great points already. In regards to how Mistyvale could make Westmarch a better kingdom, I feel that the cultural diversity should be noted. I believe that with the continued interactions between the two parks, it will lead the members of each park to appreciate and treasure that which makes them stand out from the other park without creating barriers between the two. For example, two cities located near one another do not necessarily fight for each others citizens, though the citizens of those cities gain a sense of individuality based on their own uniqueness in comparison to one another.
User avatar
GamiXenos
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:45 pm

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Porkins » Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:29 pm

So Jace got me thinking ( maybe not in a way he intended), I have tried to work it out myself but I haven't been able to reach a satisfying answer. Why would one park want to join the larger group of another while at the same time, not join the preexisting group within remarkably close proximity? Is it a want of individuality, if so then why join the larger group, If no individuality is needed then why not join the preexisting group. If I was to move to Las Vegas, I could join the local park of Terra De Votem, but lets say the day doesn't work for me so I try and get another park day going. I don't see a reason why working outside of the preexisting land would be helpful or necessary.

While this is not the main topic of the Althing item, Why want to join the larger group when there is a preexisting group that by joining or working with( the two park day system) would automatically grant inclusion. How does one not want to join a group yet want to join the group?
In times like these, it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these- Paul Harvey
User avatar
Porkins
 
Posts: 624
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:40 am

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Laoric » Fri Dec 12, 2014 6:40 pm

Image
“I wanna live 'til I die, no more, no less.”
Laoric
Robbie Suxxorz
 
Posts: 1659
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:43 pm

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Collin the Red » Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:58 am

If you have one park with two days, which day gets the monarchy? Which day is the proper day and the other day being the less proper the day that nothing happens on other than battle games? The day when rewards are never handed out? How would you like to be the guy who can't go to the proper day because I only go to a day that only battle games happen. You would have to come on a second day to receive awards. You have to come on a second day to vote in elections. You have to come on a second day to participate in Qualls. You can never be able to either if you only attend the alternate day that's why one two-day park is less desirable then two one-day parks.
Baron Collin MacAbee current King of Westmarch
Squire to Sir Smiley
User avatar
Collin the Red
 
Posts: 2359
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:11 pm
Location: Thor's Refuge

Re: Mistyvale petitions to join Westmarch

Postby Porkins » Sun Dec 14, 2014 11:14 am

Points for the Monarchy bit, the best solution I can think of is the original solution offered before MV was formed. One Land, one Household. The land would have its officers and the household runs the second land day with its own revolving leadership. However since it is two parks on different days, the officers could very well attend both or one. Neither day is lesser just as neither park is lesser right now. Awards can be handed out on either day has the Monarch could still visit both or could just give permission to the head of household(Steward, Marshal, whatever you want to call it) to award it. Elections could happen at both pretty easily especially if the PM and scribe are chosen from the slightly different payer pools. The best part about having two days would be having the choice to participate on one day or the other, it would be stupid to limit the activities to one day.
In times like these, it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these- Paul Harvey
User avatar
Porkins
 
Posts: 624
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:40 am

Next

Return to General Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 21 guests

cron