[Artemisia] Etienne's guide to Raptor War

[Jeanine Schlauch]

Greetings all!

What follows is a simple guide to getting the most out of your Raptor War
experience. I am well aware everyone has their own way to do a camping
event but please let me offer some tips and information to help you get
maximum enjoyment out of your time at Raptor war next week.

*GENERAL*
First, the site opens at 4pm on Thursday and stays open until 5pm on
Sunday. Lots of time to setup and relax  In fact, if you show up late on
Thursday (and only Thursday!) we will even have our Weary Traveler's tavern
ready and waiting with soup for you.

As we have said before, this is a camping event. The site itself is nestled
into the mountains northeast of Mountain Home. (Directions are here:
http://raptorwar.baronyarnhold.org/Site.html )
It is an undeveloped site so expect to find lots of uneven ground, fallen
branches, and unexpected terrain. We have cleared much of it and mowed
pathways and roads but it is still camping. Come prepared. Modern stores
and amenities are roughly 25 miles away so follow those gear checklists you
have and reduce the possibility of forgetting something. Have allergies to
various things outdoors? Bring your allergy meds just in case. Sunblock and
bug spray are your friends. Bring them along.
That being said, we do have some room for RV's but watch the sizes. Too big
and you might not fit through the gate!

We will be setting up a two stall shower enclosure. One side will have a
powered shower head (variable water temp) and the other will be designated
only for people to bring their own solar showers. The first one will also
be equipped for solar shower use as well. Shower pallets and chairs will
also be available inside them. Please be considerate when using these
enclosures as water resources (especially warm water) may be limited. We
HIGHLY recommend *bringing your own solar shower bag*.

There are lots of trees to camp in but remember, first come, first serve.
Paths have been cut through the trees. One road goes through the trees and
another around them.  If you are unloading a vehicle in one please be
courteous and remove it promptly as the road through the trees is only 1
car wide. The paths have been lined with logs from the site. Please leave
these in place. If you need wood, see below.

*DO NOT* bring firewood. Bring an axe instead. (No chainsaws as you are in
the middle ages and should be using an AXE, right?) There is tons of
seasoned wood around in large piles throughout the site. As always,
practice good fire safety or simply join in the already established fire
pits and enjoy some good company/bardics. If you must have your own, please
bring an *above ground* fire container (of whatever myriad sorts) for your
camp. A fire extinguisher is requested for all camps. With the recent
weather and fire danger we need to be extra vigilant this year.

*Parking *- There will be two sections. One for single vehicles and one for
those with trailers. Signs will be posted, PLEASE be smart and heed them.

*Volunteers* - There are always opportunities to help out with Troll,
security, even being a Tavern Wench! (Slap! Sorry dear.) I mean help with
the Weary Traveler's Tavern or homemade soda fundraiser! Let the folks at
check-in know if you are willing to help out.

*TRAVEL*
You will be traveling on both state highways and decent dirt roads. Be kind
and slow down when going by another vehicle. Hate to see any chipped
windshields. Having traveled the road the past couple of weekends, we found
it to be a very pleasant drive and the road well maintained.

NOTE: There is one hairpin corner (you can see it on the map on the site
above) so if you are pulling a large trailer, be prepared for it and
approach it correctly for your vehicle type. Six horse capacity trailers
can make this turn, you just need to approach it right. When leaving site,
think ahead about how you are going to make this turn. We will have one of
our larger signs at this turn.

*WATER and ICE
*Basically, bring lots of both. There will be water containers on site from
a very nice well but lets try and minimize how often those need to be
filled.
Unless we can get a freezer truck to stop by for an hour or two Saturday
morning (we are still working on that), ice will be a long way off. If we
cannot get said truck (and we will announce times if we do) and you are
going to drive for ice, please ask around. There are probably lots of folks
that would like some and we can limit some of the traffic on the road. In
my experience, Artemisians have always been great at this type of courtesy,
let's keep it up.

*ACTIVITIES*
If you get bored at Raptor, you are doing something wrong. There is a lot
going on. Please see the website for the complete list.

Let me touch on just a few.
We have both *Kingdom and Baronial Archery AND Thrown Weapons* tournaments.
Like to hit things from a distance? Raptor  War is your place to be!

*Assassins tournament* - For ages 16 and up. Buy in is $1 (for materials
basically). You MUST be signed up AND on site no later than the close of
Friday night court.  The game ends when one person is left standing. This
game has been a blast years ago. Essentially you get a toy dagger and a
piece of paper with a name on it as your target. The downside is that
someone has YOUR name! Full rules will be available on site at time of sign
up. This is also a prize tournament for Viking beads. Give it a try, you
never know....

For* equestrian activities and hound lure coursing*, please contact the
autocrat, Ladyship Danielle (danielle_sh at yahoo.com) *PRIOR TO THE EVENT!*

*Jugging* for the heavy fighters on Friday afternoon! This is the
completely non-period game from the best Rutger Hauer/Joan Chen movie ever
made (per HG Morgan) *Blood of Heroes. *Get your five man team together or
just show up and join a team! Gauntlets and multiple weapon styles are
highly recommended here. They are not required but having them will give
you more opportunities to play!

*Rapier Rogue and combatants choice prize*. What could be better than
wielding steel blades trying to stab your friends as they dodge around
trees? How about possibly winning a rapier stand just for doing that very
thing??

*HELGA BALL!* Ok Helga's, the Olga's are ready to take the field and fling
cabbage like you have never seen! Curves like Freya but hits like Thor!
Ladies, time to put on that most durable garb and go rough and tumble in a
Viking styled rugby game. Sorry gents, your role in this is limited to
cheering and being the goalposts! This happens Friday afternoon, right
after jugging.

The* final court *of Etienne (hey! That's me!)and Morgan will also be held
Friday evening (7:30 pm). Come see what shenanigans we can get into one
more time!

This only touches on some of the activities happening.
As always, I am more than willing to answer your questions about the site
should this not be enough to get you to join us.

Sir Etienne
mdvlman at cableone.net
 _