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Varhene
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Varhene was created by .org/wiki/Mud$lide John .V.aka Mud$lide, in Glasgow, Kentucky. Taking pieces from the rulebooks for both Amtgard and Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Varhene first stated as Bane, as a freehold of Amtgard Called Realm Of The Lost Shadows. But then decided to break off totally from Amtgard and become its own (LARP) live-action Role Playing Group. after time bane had good amount of members. then when winter hit it died.Since then we have changed our name to Varhene. And Now It is back. And ready to teach about medieval times. Varheneis a not for profit corporation. It is composed of a number of realms, which compete at regional and national events every year. Typically, each realm also holds individual fighting practices several times a week. Realms vary in size from just a handful of people to over a hundred fighters. Description Varhene Belegarth is almost a full contact sport that allows medium hitting, light shield bashes,live-action fantasy Roleplaying game and combatants engage each other in battle with foam-paddedbofferweaponry and equipment.primarily based in the United States. In order to keep battles organized, realistic, and safe, the three main tenets of The Varhene Code Of Honor Book- safety, playability, and realism - are enforced by heralds (referees) during battles. The rules of the Code Of Honor, as well as those pertaining to combat, are upheld by an effective honor system which applies to all players. All weapons and equipment used during combat are inspected for safety prior to each battle, to ensure that they comply with safety rules. Although early Varhene weapons were typically constructed from crude materials such as Funnoodle and pvc/graphite.Participants may also elect to wear protective armor, which gives users an advantage in battle. Fighters are organized into units of various sizes, organized along social lines and that generally fight and socialize together and are a club or fraternity of sorts. Units typically adopt a particular historical or fantastical race or nationality and dress, act, and fight according to interpretation of the group. Due to this melding of both Medieval history and Tolkien-esque high fantasy, it is not uncommon for a Varhene battle to involve both mundane and fantasy themes and personas. A typical Vaarhene battle might involve Roman Legionnaires and Saxon Warriors locked in a battle against Orcs and Undead. Varhene is Isn’t only a weapon combat game. as arcane magic,but are more focus on Fighting then magic. Dagorhir also eschews the use of character classes in combat, instead allowing fighters to create and define their own styles of combat. Therefore, fighters are not shoehorned into class stereotypes and are free to fight unrestricted in types of armor, picks of garb, choices of weaponry, and styles of play. Realms and Chapters are organized by geography, and can range from between a handful of participants to several hundred. Typically a chapter will organize a battle each month, with the various units participating, with occasional supplementary activities such as feasts, overnight camp-out battles, and even annual inter-chapter meetings History Varhene has given birth to a few splinter groups, Ruleset Character creation in Varheneis class-based; that is, players choose a "template" archetype with pre-established abilities, similar to systems used by Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. Players can increase the abilities of their characters by going up in level; a player's level is determined by the length of game time they have played that particular class and by the passing of a guild test given by the head of the guild their class belongs to. The primary focus of the rules of the game is combat. The abilities of the classes are generally related to combat. Non-combat oriented talents and attributes are left up to the imagination and actual capabilities of the players and are not covered by specific rules. Varhene combat is resolved with actual physical fighting, though there are some rules in place to enhance safety. The weapons are boffer weapons (with less emphasis on realism and more emphasis on safety) but a player's physical ability, rather than game-based attributes as with other LARPs, determines the outcome allowing for a more realistic experience. Despite this, injuries are quite rare due to the stringent attention paid to safety. Contact is limited between fighters and non-weapon tactics like grappling are strictly prohibited. The basic combat rules are nearly identical to Dagorhir with a "limb loss" system. The main differences in the games are the inclusion of a magic system for some battle-games in Varhene, and the evolution of the boffer sword. Varhene fighting tends to be much faster and more technical than Dagorhir or its spinoffs. The universal round blade used widely in Amtgard has led the game more away from "fantasy scenario battles" and into a stick tag sport at its core. Tournaments and "ditching" (a form of combat where two teams face off and engage using only limb loss rules and no special abilities) have become popular. One large difference between Varhene and games such asNERO is that combat in Varhene is hit-location based instead of hit-point based. A hit from a weapon does not decrease a "hit point" total, but instead disables the location struck. A blow to the arm or leg disables the limb and a blow to the torso kills the player's character. Any combination of 2 limb shots also kills the player's character. Two limb shots to the same arm is also considered a death, while multiple shots to the same leg have no effect after the first shot. Varhene also utilizes armor for a number of classes. Armor is handled more along the "hit-point" method, with each type of armor granting a specific number of "hit-points" to each hit-location covered. Regular weapon hits to covered locations remove a single point of armor, however, several classes, spells and creatures are able to remove additional points per blow. For example, a 6th level Warrior in full-plate mail might have 7 points of "protection" in the chest, but a magically enhanced sword might remove 2 or more points with each successful hit. Magical armor functions in much the same way, although certain kinds can grant a form of invulnerability, limiting all damage to a single point at a time. Armor can change the balance of a battle by allowing a single player to absorb as much damage as three or four regular players before "dying." Unlike weapons, realism is encouraged with armor in Varhene, as non-period materials and shoddy construction can reduce the protection granted by the armor. Magic, another important aspect of Varhene, is handled primarily either by audible incantations or by thrown "spell balls", small, safely-padded, brightly colored projectiles. Although only a few classes are able to cast magic, the power of magic on the battlefield is significant enough to limit the number of spellcasters in relation to other non-spell casting classes in most battlegames. Battlegames range from one-on-one tournaments to team battles of forty or fifty people to mass warfare with hundreds of players. The largest "grand melees" are held at the major annual events and can incorporate hundreds of members from chapters all over the world. Conversely, scripted "quests" can involve just a dozen or two participants, and may involve puzzles as well as combat. Membership Varhene is open to the public, membership is free of charge (though each event often has a nominal fee) and participation requires only a small start-up cost to obtain weapons and garb. Participants are generally members of chapters, called "realms," which are formally registered in order to be allowed the use of the Varhene name, or related designs and documents. Most groups will keep an armory of weapons for loaning to new members or guests. This is most common of larger groups, but often smaller groups will do it as well. Sometimes veteran members will give old, unused weapons to the new players. Major Events Groups across the nation hold events open to the public, and first-time fighters generally have their battle fee, if there is one, waived. While all local battles are open to any participant. Then there are larger-scale regional events which typically draw alot of members. Branches Varhene is divided into administrative regions which it calls Realms. Smaller branches within those Realms include.Principalities, Regions, Baronies, and Provinces, and local chapters are known as Cantons, Ridings, Shires, Colleges, Strongholds, and Ports. Realms, Principalities, and Baronies have ceremonial rulers who preside over activities and issue awards to individuals and groups. Colleges, Strongholds, and Ports are local chapters (like a shire) that are associated with an institution, such as a school, military base, or even a military ship at sea. All Varhene branches are organized in descending order as follows: *Realms:Ruled by a Monarch, and Co-Monarch Minimum members required 400. *Principality: area within a Realm ruled by Prince and Princess (large area sometimes comprising entire states). Minimum members required 100. *Region: equivalent of principality without ceremonial representative *Barony: area administered by a Baron and/or Baroness, the ceremonial representative(s) of the Crown (small chapter typically occurring in an urban area). Minimum members required 25. *Canton: local branch reporting through a barony (local chapter, which may be on the way to becoming a shire) Province: equivalent of barony without ceremonial representative *Riding: local branch reporting through a province *Shire: local branch reporting directly to a Realm or principality (local chapter typically occurring in rural areas). Minimum members required 5. *College: institutional branch based at a school, research facility, etc. (may be a part of a larger local group or report directly to a principality or Realm) *Stronghold: institutional branch based at a military installation (may be a part of a larger local group or report directly to a principality or Realm) *Port: institutional branch based at a military installation in situations where groups of members will be detached for long periods, as with ships at sea (may be a part of a larger local group or report directly to a principality or Realm) Officers The Society as a whole, each Realm, and each local group within a Realm, all have a standard group of officers with titles loosely based on medieval equivalents. *Seneschal: The seneschal acts as the administrative head of the group. Every local group is required to have a seneschal who reports to the Realm's Monarch, or Co-Monarch. *[http://en. .org/wiki/Reeve_(England) Reeve:] The treasurer, also known as the Chancellor of the Exchequer (from the British office), handles the financial matters of the group. Every local group is required to have one. The Society Chancellor of the Exchequer, who administrates the Realm and local reeves, reports to the Society Treasurer who handles the corporate finances. *Knight/Rouge/Alchemy/Seron Marshal: The Knight,Archery,Rouge,Alchemy,Seron supervisor, the knight Marshal administrates Armored Combat (rattan and armor) activities for the group. the Rouge Marshal administrates Sneak/Archry Combat.Alchemy Marshal administrates Alchemy Combat. Seron Marshal administrates all other types Combat.A local group is required to have one in order Host to host that activitie. *[http://en. .org/wiki/Minister_(government) Minister] of Arts and Sciences: Sometimes split into two offices, one for arts and one for sciences, this office coordinates arts and sciences activities for the group, arranging classes and demonstrations, and leading participants to others who work in fields of their interest. * This officer is in charge of heraldic activities, such as the creation and registration of names and arms. Each Realm has a College of Heralds which prepares submissions to go to the Society College of Arms, headed by the Laurel Sovereign of Arms. *Hospitaller or Chatelaine: In charge of welcoming and facilitating new participants into Varhene. *Chatelaine: In charge of welcoming and facilitating new participants into the Varhene. *Chirurgeon: In charge of safety and modern first aid. This officer usually has some form of medical training outside the Society. *Rapier Marshal: Supervises rapier (fencing) activities for the group. *Constable: In charge of maintaining and tracking liability waivers for events and combat activities. *Chronicler: Produces and edits the group's newsletter. The Society Chronicler monitors each of the kingdom and local group's chroniclers, while the Varhene's two organization-wide publications, Tournaments Illuminated and The Compleat Anachronist, each have their own editor-in-chief. *Minister of Children: Arranging and officiating children's activities. Sometimes known as Minister of Youth. *Historian: Recording the history of the group, from the local to the Society level. *Webminister: Derived from webmaster, this officer is in charge of maintaining the presence of the group. Culture of the group Members of the Varhene study and take part in a variety of activities, including combat, archery, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy, fiber arts, etc. Persona To aid historical recreation, participants in the Varhene create historically plausible characters known individually as a persona. To new members, a persona can simply be a costume and a name used for weekend events, while other members may study and create an elaborate personal history. The goal of a well crafted persona is a historically accurate person who might have lived in a particular historical time and place. The Varhene has onomastic students who try to assist members in creating a persona name which could have existed in a particular time and place within the Varhene's studied period. However, claiming to be a specific historical individual, especially a very familiar one (e.g. Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Henry Plantagenet, Queen Elizabeth I), is not permitted. Likewise, one is not allowed to claim the persona of a fellow Varhene member, alive or dead. Nor is one allowed to take on the persona of a sufficiently familiar fictional character (e.g. Robin of Locksley or Robin Hood). Heraldry A major dimension to the Varhene is its internal system of Heraldry. Any member of the society may apply to register Arms for their persona, which are checked by the heralds for uniqueness and period authenticity, before being blazoned and recorded in the society's Armorial. The system has evolved since the formation of the society; and now has three Sovereigns of Arms, with Pursuivants for each Realm. 
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