SR Review Year 02

Southern Rebellion this year was held from Friday, August 7th to Sunday, August 9th, at a site called “Lightning Point” set high in the mountains above Los Angeles.

Attendance

This year’s event saw a total attendance of 49 people (34 campers, 15 daytrippers), not at all bad for a first-year campout planned and advertized in only five or six weeks. Attendance by side and land broke down as follows. The numbers in parenthesis indicate campers versus daytrippers.

The forces of the North in all their glory. The banners, from left to right, are Ashen Spire, Thor’s Refuge, Wavehaven, and Seven Sleeping Dragons.

North

03 Ashen Spire (3-0)
02 Crimson Wood (0-2)
03 Seven Sleeping Dragons (0-3)
07 Thor’s Refuge (7-0)
09 Wavehaven (6-3)
01 Wyvern’s Spur (1-0)
25 Subtotal (17-8)

South

08 Crimson Sanctum (4-4)
10 Siar Geata (9-1)

The forces of the South in all their glory. The banners, from left to right, are Crimson Sanctum, Siar Geata, and Silver Sun. Note that most of the Siar Geatan contingent is missing from the photo.

01 Silver Sun (1-0)
19 Subtotal (14-5)

Outlanders

01 Haranshire (Goldenvale) (1-0)
02 Inland Ocean (Blackspire) (2-0)
02 Olympus (Iron Mountains) (0-2)
05 Subtotal (3-2)

That makes Rebellion 2009 the first year to see attendees from every chapter in Westmarch, and from a whopping 12 chapters overall.

Narrative

Friday

The site, people quickly learned, was located at the end of a long, twisting mountain drive several attendees described as “scary.” People began arriving early, in some cases as early as 11AM due to huge Northern enthusiasm.

Friday night at the Southern campfire. Cadogan is the one gazing mournfully at Grix’s Guinness.

They found a site that everyone described as beautiful, but also to find that falling pinecones had turned what had been grassy if unlevel terrain on the initial site visit into now-deadly terrain for anyone not wearing knee protection.

The event did get off to a slow start, as the autocrat was late due to unexpected last-minute errands, one attendee (Weedhopper of Silver Sun) was delayed to a blown tire, and the portapotties were running late. Once arrived, however, the event got underway quickly. Northern and Southern campsites were chosen and the two warcamps quickly arose, banners and all. The fine folks of Clan McAbee sponsored a wonderfully tasty first meal of stew, salad, and rolls with garlic butter, while the War ‘o Crat and Autocrat planned out the first battlegame. In the end, that game was delayed to insufficient numbers, but spirits were high as the campfires started up and people got down to socializing. The ongoing game was deferred to the following night for the same reason. Most people that night ended up around the Southern campfire, as the two groups wanted to bond. Notable fire events included Brigade showing his mastery of fire, the 11PM arrival of the portapotty trailor, and Weedhopper sponsoring an informal late-night meal of bacon and bacon-fat-fried eggs.

Saturday

Saturday morning came early, and with an unexpected glitch: not all of the expected pancake griddles had arrived safely at the site, making breakfast production slow. The attendees were understandably antsy, but patient, as Feast ‘o Crat Morrza and Daedreth capably worked their magic to turn out giant Crimson Sanctum pancakes as fast as possible.

While breakfast was underway, the War ‘o Crat and Autocrat started mapping out the day’s games, assisted by the ever-generous Azus. The games kicked off with the prior day’s delayed battlegame, Opening Maneuvers.

A view of the Southern battle line during Opening Maneuvers, as seen from mid-field.

The North positioned most of their forces on their right flank (the armies of Thor’s Refuge, Wavehaven, and Wyvern’s Spur), with only one on their left (the army of Ashen Spire). The South split their forces evenly, with the armies of Siar Geata 2 and Silver Sun on their right flank, and the armies of Crimson Sanctum and Siar Geata 1 on their left. On the first side, the three more numerous and more experienced armies of TR, WH, and WS trounced CS and SG1. Notable figures included Feanix, who was berserk the entire game; and CJ, who had a wounds-kill polearm the entire game, both thanks to constant resurrections from Thorin. On the other side, SG2 and SS were held at bay for almost the entire game by the lone AS. Notable actions included the pair of bards (2.0 and Staccatto) wreaking havoc in the Southern lines with their magics, backed by heavy archer fire. Only at the last moment was Jack of SG able to slip past them and plant several flags and balance the match. In the end, the battle was a hard-fought draw at a score of 9 to 9 (out of 20 possible points – 2 were unscored). The North received an extra point for roleplaying, due to a well-played death by Collin the Red, but the contest was still neck in neck.

After a welcome lunch of hot dogs, chips, and cookies by Westmarch, the attendees moved on to the second battlegame, River Crossing. The South opened with a disadvantage, as the Siar Geata army was tied up elsewhere and their side was down one fortification due to a construction delay. However, they were reinforced by the arrival of a new army of raw recruits. The North’s more experienced troops pushed through a first wave, quickly scoring the majority of their six engines and several banners (the points for one engine, however, were given to the South as a penalty, due to Northern failure to follow instructions). The South destroyed one engine, and then rallied impressively and hard: the new recruits spontaneously formed and held a shield wall line on the bridge that lasted 15 minutes, significantly delaying the approach of the remaining engines and banners. Though all these units scored, leading to Northern domination of unit scoring, the valiant noob action did lead to Southern domination of the time scoring. In the end, the North held the slimmest of edges at a score of 21 to 19 (out of 40 possible points). The South received an extra point for roleplaying, due to a new recruit playing it up with Tit-tanic, but the contest was still neck in neck.

After a short break to hydrate, the attendees moved on to an abbreviated version of the third battlegame, Capital Siege.

A view of the Northern siege engine during Capital Siege, as seen from mid-field.

The South’s missing Siar Geatan army arrived just in time, and battle was joined in full force. The North laid down a withering hail of fire between Azus’s mighty trebuchet, 2.0’s bowmanship, and the wizard Brigade, all supported by strategic polearm work. The South managed to hold for a significant amount of time, led on their own side by some brilliant arrow fire by Rangor, numerous fireballs by Daedreth, and a mad anti-wizard dash by Longfox, as well as the assistance of a newly arrived siege engine of their own manned by Beboman and Palmley. After a long battle, the North cracked the great gates of the fortress. The South still held for some time, but eventually enough defenders died that the rest were swept, and the outermost layer of the castle fell. As most of the Southern army was dead, the inner layer fell shortly thereafter, quickly followed by the inner keep, leading to complete Northern control. Time ran out in the shortened game just thereafter, before the South could fully recover and launch a counterattack (but still giving the South an edge on the time portion of the game). In the end, however, control trumped time: the North crushingly won the round by a score of 28 to 12 (out of 40 possible points). The North also received an extra point for roleplaying, due to a well-played death by Azus. At this point the North held a significant edge, unless a later game or the bardic could tilt it back.

Dinner was next, a tasty repast of homemade sloppy joes, macaroni salad, and fruit salad by Wavehaven. People gathered and gabbed in small but enthusiastic groups.

Court was next. The session opened with Uranaga, in his capacity as autocrat, thanking people for attending Southern Rebellion and helping make the event a success. Prince Keluric was up next, and awarded Uranaga with a smith and the title baronet. Uranaga then announced the new chapter of Eldritch Hills. Brigade then announced Feast of Mars would host an auction fundraiser. Keluric then gave updates on both Feast of Mars and SKBC. Several of the monarchs were queried, but politely declined to hold their own courts. No roleplaying points were awarded during court.

Saturday night at the Southern campfire. Staccatto is performing his second bardic of the evening.

After court, a large portion of the Northern contingent unfortunately had to depart, leaving the South with a lopsided attendance advantage. This led to the cancellation of the final game in the series, Prisoner Hunt, as well as the ongoing game, Assassination, whose combined 40 points could have made or broken one side’s bid.

A short break was next, during which people socialized and cleaned, and several folks did some light sparring and training (notably, Tevas offered some great combat tips to a few individuals, and Grix got to practice some unique maneuvers with his shield).

The bardic was next. As most of the North was gone, not a single entry was offered to compete with several riveting Southern performances. These included a sea chanty by Doogan with accompaniment by Staccatto on guitar, an a capella Irish folk medley by Staccatto, a long rambling story by Brigade about a conquest involving chocolate milk, and various short impromptu modern songs by both Jack and Staccatto on guitar. Despite the fine presentations, this left the event management with a quandary: the North had no chance to compete, but leaving an event when ahead sets a poor precedent for how to win. In the end, the crats followed the rules and awarded zeros to all five categories (15 points unscored), but gave the South 5 points for overall bardic victory, plus another 3 points for good roleplaying from three of their four performers.

Sunday

As Sunday’s event was canceled, the day dawned in an unhurried fashion. Breakfast was also unhurried, as due to lack of a spatula the planned meal of french toast was scrubbed in favor of Denny’s. This did cause a bit of a concern, as one of the Northerners almost went into insulin shock to due to lack of food, but the morning was saved by the arrival of a bag of candy.

People broke down their tents, said their goodbyes, and then proceeded down the windy mountain road one last time.

A group of about 15 gathered at a nearby Denny’s, where much teasing and merriment were had. The group finally broke around 1:30PM, and people said their goodbyes again and headed home.

Victory

Final victory points totaled 60 for the North and 49 for the South. That is a difference of 11 points, or just under 20% -- which translates to a minor victory for the North. Who knows, however, how the event would have turned out if a full Capital Siege, a full bardic, and the other two games had been run….

Finance

This year’s event cost a total of $557.76. This broke down as follows: site and facilities, $340.85 (61.1%); battlegame supplies, $152.32 (27.3%); feast support, $42.68 (7.7%); and other $21.91 (3.9%). The event was paid for by two sources. Gate fees accounted for $496.00 (88.9%), which came from 34 campers at $12 each and 15 daytrippers at $8 each, minus two campers who were comped and one daytripper who signed in but failed to pay. The remaining $61.76 (11.1%) was from a private donation.

Thank you for reading, and we hope to see you next year.