Moots 2, 2008 - a disappointment

I've been to Nijmegen before, but never actually to the woods near Nijmegen Dukenburg. That was where the Moots was held. We found it quickly enough and managed to pitch our tent not completely on the sand but partially on the grass edge around the field.

drahkan had asked us to bring our Pathfinder outfits as we would be undercover on some mission. It sounded brutal, sounded like fun.
Sadly, the quest we would be returning from could not be played so we stumbled into the game with numerous wounds without ever having played to receive them. *sigh*
We were healed by some guys from Phoenix and Lord Mori'gil spent most of the evening talking to various people. We were present, but did not engage in conversation.

Highlight of my evening was the remark I made when we were watching Bâh's ritual. I was wearing a sleeveless cloak of Drahkan's, which had a small emblem with a wolf's paw on the hem. "I sure hope this doesn't mean the Wolf Clan will be humping my leg." I said to Lord Mori'gil.
Sadly, our Lord sat next to Ral of the wolf clan, who kept on winking and calling me over for the duration of the ritual.
Bâh's ritual was fun to watch though. She was putting her frustration for Phoenix into a cookie, and it was entertaining.
The night was very cold though, and I slept poorly, waking up to the thought "What the hell am I doing here?"

Truth is, as loyal as Aliph is, the only thing we do in the play is to facilitate for Drahkan. The only thing we facilitate is peace & quiet. People are less eager to approach Lord Mori'gil when there's two heavily armoured guys standing behind him, after all.
As far as the roleplay goes: yes, we are standing right next to Lord Mori'gil. That doesn't mean we're necessarily paying attention to what is being said. If the Lord gives us an order, we will hear it - both because it's something he says and because usually he uses a stronger, louder voice to issue orders - but the rest of the conversation passes us by completely. We're paying attention to the surroundings, who have their weapons unsheathed, is that a monster running towards us, and why is Vosco touching Lord Mori'gil? Again?

It works the other way around too. Because we're never included in the conversation next to a "They're with me" or a "We are alone". So yes, we do stand around Navigators, faction leaders, and other VIPs, but we do not talk with them and they have no idea who, exactly, we are.
I guess Aliph's background hit the mark with her "Without my lord, I am nothing".

And that is exactly why it's not fun to play her. I sat outside the fighter's guild on Saturday and a blue-painted woman came up to me. "Do you know someone who can learn me fight?" she asked.
"No." I answered. Because I could not, nor could Dandin, and Lord Mori'gil hardly ever takes on students.
"But this is the Fighter's Guild, isn't it?" she asked.
"Yes." I answered. And then the woman turned around and walked away.
There was no fun there.

So by the time it was four o'clock I was seriously bored, had sore feet (a blister) and a sore back. I finally called Nathreee, who lives in Nijmegen and went to visit her and her husband elsewhere in Nijmegen.
There was fun there. And a lot of it too!

When I got back I decided to go back in character and there was a huge bash in the Pentagon. This was rather fun, although I could do very little with the spear I was holding in such a large bash. I went down twice, still I got healed, and survived.
Dammit.

Sunday I decided against going back in character, and instead cleaned up the tent and packed the car. I was left with an hour or two of waiting until Time Out was called and we could clear away the tent of the Fighter's guild. Only after that were we allowed to check out and go home.

So that's it, and I've said it before and I'll say it again now: no more Vortex Adventures for me. Maybe it will be more fun with a different role, who knows? But Aliph....it's just not my kind of role to play.