Next Years Stage Combat

Seeing as stage combat is going to be drastically changed and since we now need our own gear (since our bag of sticks was in Goliath's stripped car) I'm revomending as a group that we switch over to these. Shinai are cheap, light, and safe alternatives to solid wood swords and necessary as entry level fighting weapons for reenactment groups like SCA and Adrian. The average cost is around $15-$20. If we all swap over to these then stage combat can be a lot easier and safer. The suede grips also feel much better than duct tape.

ftw

Club Shirts

Possible paladin society shirt if anyone is interested. Bulk orders are always cheaper so the more people that want this or any other design the less we have to pay

yes

Dart flintlock!

Available at crackerbarrel for some reason and online, these things are random and great. Shoots about 25 feet with about a foot of drop and a decent max range. A safe way to shoot each other in the heads without needing a fencing mask or a license to kill!

Pirates Flintlock

Hilt hardware-The rifle shoppe

for those of you who have those nice rusty saber blades of ours, therifleshoppe.com, a manufacturer of fine historically accurate firearms, happens to have some rough cast sword hilts. They are pretty rough and would take some dedication to make a decent hilt, but if done right would look awesome.

The Rifle Shoppe

bandguns

http://www.bandguns.com/

a random website that sells "safe" firearm hominids. The guns do not have locks on them, but they do look nice and are not the expensive. Also, after ordering one we could build a group of them in the tech room :D
...did i mention they fire giant effing rubber bands of death

passes purple this week, just saying. Also, mandatory general populous meeting tomorrow (Thursday)

Random stuff

The pseudo mythical archery guild will start up rather soon, probably on the spur of the moment at fair. Also, since there is a rather large (about 5 people) who are interested in cossacks a guildish group for that will probably be up and running as well when its gotten around to.

General knowledge about fair

Pretty much this will be a sloppy check list of the most important things about fair and what you need to know to make it a great season.

Duarte is the Duke of Arundel (a fiefdom in England)

orders of non point rank (men):
knight of the garter
Knight
Esquire
Squire
page
Knights of the garter have armor and a full sized banner, so therefore are rare. This rank is usually gained by graduates but there are two instances of students gaining the honor (soon to be more)
A knight is the the most common higher rank, currently our one knight is John Kinney with Andrew Gritsmaker, Travis Robertson, and Tom king soon to gain the rank. Characterized by the right to carry a sword and their own heraldry along with the right to wear black and spurs.
Esquire is a nonofficial rank in society because it is not common. It is a combat squire; a squire who has been given the right to bear arms by their lord. It is historically a fighting rank for those not rich or powerful enough to become knights. A historical esquire would have worn armor and have been trained in the art of war, but wore silver gilt spurs, rather than the gold gilt ones of a knight.
Squire's are thier knights armor bearers, responsible for supporting them in battle, dressing them in armor, and keeping thier loreds war kit in order. Usually carries a long bladed knife or other non sword weapon.
page is the lords man servant, who learned how to serve before being served.

Due to the misinformation being spread about eating daggers, "eating daggers" should be short bladed impliments and hidden away in a boot, corset, belt bag, etc. unless it is peace tied with a zip tie or leather lap for display purposes.

Booth Etiquette:
Always find a replacement before leaving
When leaving for a extended period of time, alert Duarte directly. If you do not have a legitimate reason for leaving then please DO NOT LEAVE! It is ok to shop, but do so sparingly on days where we have enough people to cover your post.
Please do not use the lady's guild tent/game tent as a way to get out of being in a booth. We get in for free because we provide an appreciated service to the fair.

Many of you still need to learn weapons, armor, chain, finger weaving etc. so listen to the demos and ask for help rather than ignoring a facet of society. Its only hard till you learn how (comprehensive list of weapons and armor in the works)

Girl scouts are evil, but smile and wave and it will all be over soon. Luckily for us (at least the guys) they do not show much interest in the knights guild functions, so it is bearable (sorry Ladies :c)

Drunk Person Etiquette:

It is perfectly acceptable to deny a person the use of a weapon or a piece of armor based on level of sobriety, visible lack of responsibility, age, creepyness, or any other vibes you may feel. The perfected stare of the weapons merchant (an icy stare, following their every move while not talking to them) usually keeps people in check.

Examples-
(Gr*******r) the drunk stormtroopers of death guy who put on a mail shirt, helmet, and shield to take a picture and could barely get back out of it with the hlep of two people
(J****) Drunk Indie guy who attempted to cock crossbow
(general populus) Asian Robin hood and his dragon bearing friend. This guys head is literally so big that he can't get the great helm on correctly. He will cut his eyes out if he wears the gothic sallet

That about covers it, so.....
remember to have fun, keep a laid back yet functional encampment, buy overpriced crap, and don't try the emu turkey legs ;)