Persona Guidelines 7.2

Taken directly from the 7.2 Rulebook the previous section is Getting Started

Real History:

A persona should be based on people who could have lived before 1650 AD. The name, weapons, clothing, etc. are encouraged to be historically correct. Do not impersonate a famous historical figure.

Fantasy:

The persona should be based on a book, movie, historical mythology, or a unique creation of your own. Again, do not impersonate a character from the medium you choose. Remember: Every persona must be either of an ancient, medieval, or swords and sorcery related background.

Heraldry

Create a device or insignia to display on your flags, banners, and coat of arms. The device should be unique or at least in keeping with your persona or company. You may register the device with the Guildmaster of Heraldry and the Prime Minister.

Companies

People may wish to band together as a fighting group. This group is called a company. The company should choose a name, captain, second in command and device. A person may be in no more than one company.

Households

People who wish to form a non-fighting group within the club can create a household. The household should choose a name, a Master and Mistress of the House and a device. A person may be in any number of households.

Events

There are many types of games and events held regularly. These include:
1.) Tournaments- competitions between individuals or groups for awards, honor, or challenges.

2.) Battles- involves two or more armies attacking each other for various reasons.

3.) Special Events- quests, feasts, demos, trips, revels, fairs, workshops, and other ‘games.’

The next section of the 7.2 Rulebook is Combat, Weapons and Equipment

Choosing a Persona

by Lord Sionnach o’ Ros Sidhe

Everyone would like to live in a fantasy world, and that is exactly what Amtgard seeks to simulate. Amtgard is a world of medieval fantasy- a place where knights, lords,elves and sorcerers mingle on magical landscapes. And, in order to become a part of thisworld, you must create a new identity for yourself, an alter-ego who exists side-by-sidewith the other denizens of this fantastical place. Whenever the society meets, you BE-COME this new persona, in dress and in speech, in attitude and in combat. As you playyour character, you interact with the personae of other club members, in effect creatingamong yourselves the wondrous, imaginary society that is Amtgard. What follows arehints and guidelines that will help you in selecting the persona you will become to enter intothis magical place.

The inspiration for your persona may come from any source- legends, history,fantasy fiction or your own wildest daydreams. For instance, if you like the idea of playingan elf, you may choose to be a traditional Germanic elf, a lighter, littler Tolkienesque elf, oreven a sprightly Elizabethan spirit. Or perhaps an historical era appeals to you- a druidicsorcerer from ancient Ireland. When you draw your ideas, with a little research you canlearn how to dress, fight and most importantly, act in character. Remember that Amtgardis a world of MEDIEVAL fantasy, which roughly translates into any time period fromprehistory to the Renaissance. While this may not mean much in fantasy fiction set onalternate worlds, at least the medieval spirit must be maintained (in other words, no lasertoting space pirates, although a low tech warrior from a post-holocaust Earth might work). Also, while you may be inspired by actual fictional or historical characters, the personayou create must be original, so that while it is great to play a Cimmerian barbarian or anArthurian knight, you cannot choose Conan or Sir Lancelot as an alter-ego. Beyond these considerations however, the only limit to your persona is your own vivid imagination.

Something to keep in mind when selecting a persona is the Amtgard system ofcombat. In combat, there are several classes of character, such as warriors, barbarians,wizards, scouts, assassins, and so on. When you are on the battlefield you must elect tobe one of these classes of character for that particular melee. However, in a differentcombat session (and there are usually no more than three at a weekly meeting) you mayplay a different character class- in other words, one week you might be in the mood towalk onto the battlefield as a heavily armored juggernaut, while the next week your fancymay be the elegance of a monk or the tenuous power of a thaumaturge. It is encouragedthat you try each of the classes for yourself and experiment. For this reason, you may wishto choose a persona that can justify switching roles. For instance, elves are ideal foralternating between warrior, scout, and wizard. Likewise, an outdoorsman could equallybe seen as a healer, archer, monk, scout or warrior. One crafty fellow could interchangeas scout and assassin. But some combinations are harder (though naturally not impos-sible) to justify, such as a 10th century Danish Viking (a classic barbarian/warrior) becom-ing a sly, unarmed magician (which would probably roll the eyes of fellow Amtgardians).Later, of course, to counterbalance your first character, (a small and slippery thief, let’s say) you may create a second persona altogether, perhaps a knight who dabbles in the mystical arts. Initially,however, it is advisable that you develop one persona fully before spreading yourself (and your character’sexperience) out. Also, it is simpler at first to play a more physical (read: non-magic casting) character class inorder to become accustomed with the rules of combat. Then, you may begin playing wizards and healers. Most importantly, keep in mind that these character classes are simply designed persona, but by no means alimiting or deciding one. The final factor in what your character is and does is your own, unique imagination.

Lastly, something to consider in choosing a persona is your personal, physical attributes. This is not tosay that if you do not consider yourself particularly quick or large, you should not be an elf or a Zulu warrior.But let’s face it, a six foot four inch, two hundred pound hobbit just does not work. While such a charactermight be amusing, it is better in the long run to select a persona that (roughly) fits your body type. Not only willthis paint a stronger picture visually, but I think it will give you a more positive attitude about the character andabout yourself. Many people are unaware of their own, physical potential and what better way to explore thisthan in the fun and harmless thronerooms and battlefields of imaginary Amtgard? The closer your personamatches your own physique, the less you will rely upon abstract rules to equalize yourself with other Amtgardiansand consequently, the more of your own potential you will be able to utilize. Of course, we all know that theobject of fantasy is to allow you to be something you cannot be in the mundane world, and this idea isreinforced here by insuring that you are actually BECOMING your persona at every meeting of the society.One of the useful attributes of fantasy is its power to allow you to explore yourself. This very act in itselfbecomes an adventure. Remember that not everything in fantasy is combat and the same is true in Amtgard.Select an alter-ego with which you feel comfortable, both mentally and physically, and that much more of yourenergy can be channeled into having fun.

By now, you should have an idea of what type of persona you would like to create . From here youmight want to perform a little research to come up with a background for your new self. As an example, let ussay that you have chosen an Elizabethan elf as a race. This means that you will be much more magical in naturethan say, a Tolkien elf, and you will be of the Oberon/Titania cycle. Minimal reading will tell you that thesespirits were derived both from elements of classical mythology and elements of Celtic/Germanic legends. Nowchoose which (if not both) side appeals more to you, and explore it. For instance, your elf might be moreCeltic in nature, a fairy tale rogue with a fleet foot and a flashing sword. Elizabethan elves as often as not hadmagical origins rather than biological ones: the birth of our example elf, might have come say, at the dawn whenthe sun opened the petals of a rose in a fairy ring, a rose on which the mightiest warrior of Ulster in Ireland bledhis final drop after falling to the superior numbers of his foes: the rose bloomed at sunrise and an elfin infantawoke at its center. A brief life story will come with a little daydreaming; our elf was raised by fairies andleprechauns but, alas, the influence of the warrior’sblood (perhaps his “father”, making him a half-elf?) drovehim to explore the world of men, and he became a magical, capricious wanderer; until finally he came to a Grand Duchy and established himself as the Duke’s Champion. The name should catch the spirit of the character: our elf has the name Sionnach o’ Ros Sidh, which is Gaelic for Fox of the Fairy Rose. From hisorigin, it is easy to decide a personal motif, which will be the rose: his clothing will tend to be scarlet in color,often he will bear a flower for his lady friends, etc. With a little effort and much delight, a persona is created and fledged; in this case, the elf is the character played by the author of this article.

Not all origins have to be as colorful as this. You may choose to be a dwarf from a mountain army, orthe grandson of a Roman Centurion left behind in Saxon England. You may even simply explain yourself as a Norse Viking or a wizard in a tower. The more research and imagination you put into your persona, the morebelievable, interesting and downright fun it will be, both for you and for your fellow Amtgardians. After youhave chosen and named your persona, you will have to form a mental image of what sort of clothing you will wear, what sort of weapons you will use, what speech patterns would be appropriate, and so on. In short,think of what you will do to transform yourself into your new identity at a meeting of the society. At first yourcostume need only be basic. There is a Garber’sGuild in the society with garbers who can help to make anoutfit for you. Some weapons will be provided by the club, but eventually you will want to make your own andpersonalize them for your character. The most important thing that you must provide at a meeting is a goodunderstanding of who your persona is and a healthy desire to have fun being that character. I guess above allother pointers I have given in this article, this last one is by far the highest priority. If in creating a persona youuse good sense, a dash of effort, and a heaping helping of your own unmatchable imagination, there is no reason that you cannot, through your persona, live out that life that everyone wants, on the wide and magic all and scape of Amtgard.