The King's Musketeers

[karohemd]

Last weekend I joined a number of old friends (you might be able to spot fractalgeek, queenortart, undyingking, pengshui_master, sesquipedality and others) in The King's Musketeers, set during the reign of King Louis XIII of France, with characters both from real history as well as literature (e.g. Alexandre Dumas' novels). As often during these weekend events, costuming was at a very high level, many self-made and a number of players even were wearing several different costumes. If you'd like to know more about freeform games, the UK Freeforms website is a good place to start. Here's a selection of photos, with many more being on flickr. The great and sometimes daunting thing about these freeforms is that the plots are written into the characters who then go and try to resolve them (find lost characters or items, resolve old rivalries, make profit/politics/war, toppel those in power, empower the people and so on) mostly by social interaction. Character sheets can be five or more pages long (background, character description, goals, people you know) and there are additional materials to read, too, so preparation for a game like this takes a while.
This was my first weekend freeform for a while (since Queen Vic's Jubilee) but I got into it quite quickly and, unlike some previous games, it went really well for me and I kept thinking something had to go horribly wrong any minute but I not only survived but also resolved most of my goals. My only disappointment was that the mob didn't get to overrun Paris. ;o)

Here's a selection of photos, with many more being on flickr.

 
  
 

Next year's game is going to be Café Casablanca, with characters from Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon and other Film Noir films. It's almost completely booked already and registration is currently on hold while the organisers are figuring if they can fit in any more players. You can always register your interest as there are sometimes dropouts which will need to be filled.

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Wow, you weren't kidding about the costumes! :-O

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Some of the ladies had a dress for each for the five game sessions. I have no idea how many pieces of luggage they needed for those voluminous costumes...

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

Known technically as "Being on a Five-Frock Strategy", I understand!

Glad you enjoyed yourself, it was good to see you again!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Likewise!
I still can't hear Delilah without thinking "Richelieu", despite him standing behind me breathing down my neck the first time we sang it. ;o)

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

That looks superb! What a great weekend.

I could be up for something like this - if it involves 18th century (or near as dammit) clothes (looking at their previous events, the masquerade and more musketeers would be doable for me.)
Not interested in Café Casablanca, but give me a shout for anything else!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Will do! I don't know if they will be rotating existing games on the site or a new one will come in. I'll know when CC has finished. Pyrates might be a good one for you from the list.
IIRC, they're waiting at least 10 years before running a game again.