Beloved barony, I come with grim tidings. The time for preparation is now! PRAY HEED, DEATH IS COMING! Autumn is coming. With the cool air, harvest, and the changing of the leaves, as we all know, so come the army of the dead. We must beware and ever vigilant, as we know they come near Samhain! We will be having our annual tournament to determine who shall take on the undead, of course, and with it, the contest for which artisan will be chosen to depict the carnage as well as the fabulous potluck charcuterie depicting the spooky happenings as a warning to all who come to Bryn Gwlad during this ill-omened time.
To vivify your visions of Zombie Tourney for 2024, here are some depictions from last year and this warning, which I pray you heed: Be ever ready in October, for death will surely come to Bryn Gwlad!
Schedule
- 6pm
- Room Setup!
- We will be arranging tables and chairs, bringing in the list field, thrones, etc
- Reference the map below for the planned layout
- 630-7pm
- Fighter Inspections
- List signups
- A&S display items and Spookchuterie setup
- 7pm
- Opening words from HE Orazio and kolfinna
- Starting the tournament!
- A&S displays open for populace judging
- Spookchuterie open for noms
- 830pm
- Closing court — we will recognizing this year’s Lich Lord, Undead Artisan, and Best Zombie
- Cleanup and farewells – pack out all our stuff and stack/fold up tables and chairs
Layout
This layout is a top-down view of the big room in VFW 8787. The Stage is on the right side of the image (thrones will be on the stage).
Long rectanlges represent tables. We want one table for the List, one each for the welcome tables, and three each for the A&S display and Spookechuterie/food. The remaining tables and chairs can be placed however is optimal for spectator and fighter use.
As with last year, I will be hosting the contest to determine our artisan or scientist who will lead our efforts against the oncoming hordes. The prizes will be a unisex piece of jewelry celebrating the theme as well as the pass down pennant. We all remember last season’s skull bedecked and carved labradorite number, just ask last year’s champion James Iserhardt, whose prize and winning entry are depicted below. As with last year ALL entrants will receive a token of appreciation for their efforts. No documentation is required, though it is appreciated. Theme should include concepts of death, afterlife, and/or undeath, any and all cultures welcome, any and all mediums welcome. Be creative and bring us your best
Fair Greetings,
For the past several years, Bryn Gwlad has held a Zombie Tourney at the Fighter Practice before Halloween. It all started after Sir Gaston ran across a line in a period fealty oath, saying “our liege man, against every creature, living or dead…” which suggests that our medieval predecessors considered the walking dead to be a possibility. As usual, the tournament will be a “snowball” format: in the first round, the fighters will be paired up like usual; A and B fight, and, say, B loses. He becomes a zombie, and is now A’s minion. In the next round A and B will fight C and D. The winning team captain now has three zombie minions, and they go on to face other teams of four in the next round. This continues until there is an overall winner.
The basic rules:
- Humans fight as normal. Zombies can be wounded/dismembered by blows to the arm or leg, but can only be killed by a blow to the head.
- Zombies are not the brightest creatures–they tend to follow orders from their Zombie Master explicitly, but mindlessly.
- These are “slow” zombies–they shamble and lurch around, not move at full combat speed.
- Zombies are typically armed with some kind of blunt instrument: single sword or mace on the armored field, and boffers on the rapier field.
- Double kills will be refought until there is a clear winner–we don’t want rogue zombies terrorizing the neighborhood.
Presuming we have enough boffers (soft, non-rigid items), the armored and rapier tourneys will culminate in a grand, boffer-only melee for all the fighters. (So if you’ve got boffer weapons, bring them out.)
As with last year Bryn Gwlad Cooks Guild will be bringing our best for the Spookchuterie and we encourage all populace to bring their favorite spooky dishes and drinks to share. If you don’t have time to painstakingly craft your potions, concoctions, salume, or gustatory, to ward off the army of darkness, store bought is fine. Have fun creating your fabulous and fantastical items!
