Lots of people asking for some of my summary from the events/travel this year, so here ya go! The stuff I learned this year was primarily just little travel lessons and how to deal with logistics in regards to myself. Ill just present a quick bulleted list here of those lessons and points about each event. Feel free to ask questions for more detail. Drachenfest - Better game play IMO. - Fighting and battles are far less scripted. - Some folks in my group this year think there was better role play to be had here. From my point of view both events were about the same on this. - More surprises due the events being almost completely character driven. - Distance between my tent and the parking lot was bout 1.5 miles. (if you made a wrong turn that number turned into 4.5 miles...) - Battles are almost 100% PVP. But no real consequence for death so dont be too worried about that. - Town is smaller, less vendors, less food, and far away from some camps. ____________________________________________________ Conquest - Better story line IMO. - Fights feel scripted, but more theatrical. - Battles are almost 100% PVE. Permanent death when you die the first time. - Town is bigger, more vendors, better food and close to every camp. Plus much much more entertainment value. - Parking is much closer to the camps. - Feels much more dangerous. I came very (VERY) close to being assassinated by a PC that I had defeated in battle during Drachenfest. - NPCs look AMAZING. - Some seemingly invincible NPCs can really detract from battles however. - End of the world plot this year made the event feel a bit cliche. - Conquest has a much stronger logistical support system with refs/GMs everywhere on site during the game. ____________________________________________________ General travel tips - DO NOT PLAN TO LAND AND DRIVE TO THE EVENT ON THE SAME DAY. This was a huge factor behind my mood being so foul the first day and a half. Give yourself at least a day in a hotel to decompress from that long flight before you arrive. - When departing, plan to leave Monday (event ends on Sunday) this gives you time to really get ready to leave and not lose things like I did because I was in a hurry. Also if you are shipping it makes things a lot easier since most of the shipping related stores are closed on Saturday/Sunday. Add extra time to deal with shipping as needed. - If you are shipping, find a way to have a box ready to go. Dont count on being able to find one big enough easily, at the very least give yourself time to. There are three UPS locations in Hanover (on google maps) they might sell big ones. - When shipping items back use Deutsche Post. You can send a box that is up to 2 meters long. I sent a latex shield and two sword back for 35 euro. Say they are toys and dont value the box at over 200 euro when they ask because then insurance starts to shoot up real quick. - If you can afford it for Conquest it is pretty easy to drive back and forth staying in a hotel rather than on site. Drachenfest is not as simple but doable. I did it for both events this year. Travel times to the hotels I was using for both events were about 40 minutes. However if you are made of sterner stuff than I am and can stay on site I really recommend you do as sometimes things happen later in the night that can be fun to participate in. - There is a store called Real. It is like Germanys Walmart, not open 24 hours though. You can find most things like spare clothes, food, some camping supplies, pharmacy stuff, etc, at these stores. There is one in Hanover on the way to the event. - If you dont want to be part of the Grand Expedition when you go you will have to start planning very very early. Pretty much as soon as possible youll have to look for a camp to stay in and deal with the logistics of tents. Which means contacting Conquest and Dracehnfest staff and buying your own tickets, etc, etc. Some of you know that the previous year I thought the Grand Expedition group was overbearing and not a very fun place to be at times. Im very very happy to say that things changed dramatically for the better this year. I would gladly endorse anyone that is interested to talk to Rick Wynne about doing so if they choose to have one next year. I think/hope they will after this year being really fun for everyone involved as far as I could tell. I certainly will be doing so if that is the case. - If you look up a guy named Mark Royal, he rents tents out to people for Drachenfest/Conquest. Although Im not 100% sure if he just does that for the Grand Expedition or not. - Two events is really rough on a persons body when combined with all that travel. I recommend choosing one or the other. Conquest probably provides a better value and good time for most of the people I know in this group. - Credit cards are certainly not accepted everywhere. Make sure to carry cash. - Rent a car if you can. Rent it early so you can ensure you get an automatic if you dont know how to drive stick. - If you leave from Pittsburgh the PIT - CDG - HAN flight plan is my personal choice. ____________________________________________________ Costs! Here is a break down of my costs this year. Round Trip Ticket: $1650 Rental Car (13 days): $500 ATM withdrawals: $2370 (This paid for gas, food, buying stuff at events. I came back with about $600 in euro left. I bought at least $750 worth of new LARP equipment) Tent Rentals: $135 Event Tickets + GE Camp fees: $445 Hotel stays: $865 (10 out of the 12 nights I was there) Some random restaurant/gas expenses that I didnt pay cash for: $335 Total after some pay back from shared expenses with Noah: $6000ish Now keep in mind this is one person traveling and baring the brunt of most of the costs on the car/gas/hotels. You can cut your costs by dividing it up among other people. Or just staying on site if youre a person who can handle camping unlike me.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:26:55 +0000
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