Getting by with a Tabard

Why Garb?
Foam fighting, whether Amtgard or Dagorhir, is about more than beating your opponent into submission. It is also about creating a shared fantasy world in which players interact.* One of the best ways to make this fantasy world come alive is to look the part, and that means dressing in medieval/fantasy clothing (garb). You don’t need to do a lot to meet this goal.

* Some fighters may deny this goal of a shared fantasy world. If they were correct, however, the rules of both Dagorhir and Amtgard would not mandate wearing garb!

Starter Garb - The Tabard
A tabard is the easiest way to start with medieval garb (more specifically European medieval garb for men, although women can also use these ideas, especially for fighting garb). A tabard is simply a large rectangle of cloth with a hole in the middle. Put your head through the hole and you're ready for fighting!

A tabard (laying flat)

There's not much to making one, In its simplest form, just cut out a hole in the cloth. As shown above, it works better if the hole is slightly off center. You may want to hem the edges and facing. This tutorial provides more information about making a tabard.

What to Wear under Your Tabard
A tabard alone won't make you look medieval if you are wearing it over modern, mundane clothing. For example, a tabard over cargo pants looks out of place. Fortunately, you can create a decent look by pairing your tabard with regular clothing that is not too modern. The key is to find modern clothing that approximates medieval styles.

Some examples of medieval clothing

One thing you may notice in the picture above is that the men typically wear long sleeves. You want to emulate that if you want to look more appropriate. In contrast, wearing your tabard over a short-sleeved t-shirt will look like a mish-mash of modern and medieval.

Here is an example of some garb I quickly threw together

The tabard is made from a bedsheet and thrown over a long-sleeve shirt. I find it surprisingly effective!

There are ways to make your tabard-shirt combination look more medieval. Here are some tips:

• Cover the shirt’s modern cuffs and collar. In the picture above, the gloves and mask hide the cuffs and collar. You can also hide the collar with a hood (see the Accessorize section below).
• Make the tabard long enough – knee-length is good. Yes, it will look like a dress; get over it. We already look silly running around with foam weapons; might as well go all out.
• Create a more medieval look by flaring out the bottom, like so:

• Convert the tabard to a surcoat by joining the sides on the bottom half of the garment. It will look like a sleeveless shirt. You can either sew (which will be sturdier) or use fabric glue.

Appropriate Pants
To complete the look, you want pants that don’t appear modern. Cargo pants or athletic shorts just won’t cut it.

If you look at the examples of medieval garb above, you'll notice that the men are wearing legwear that fits tight to their body. They are wearing the most common form of medieval men's legwear known as hosen or chausses. It is very easy to replicate this look using modern clothing; just get a pair of tights. If you are scared of wearing tights you can call them compression pants.

There are a few of things to look for:

• Stick with plain, basic colors (like black) - even though medieval people liked bright clothing they would not have had access to vivid fluorescent colors or wild patterns.
• Avoid or hide logos - again, we want to be basic. However, logos on the waistband are OK because those will be hidden by our tabard
• Try to find material that is not too shiny - natural fibers don't have a sheen like modern synthetics do.

Accessorize

Another way to dress up your medieval garb is to add accessories to your outfit. Here are some ideas.

• A leather belt - belting your tabard will prevent it from flying around, exposing your mundania. It also creates the common medieval silhouette. You want a long belt so you can follow medieval fashion and leave the end hanging down
• A hood or other headwear - medieval men typically wore some kind of headwear. One of the most convenient is a hood, It hides our modern collar and it just screams medieval, You can buy one or find a pattern online (here is one example). You don't have to go with a hood, however. Any medieval-style headwear, even a simple leather circlet, will evoke the proper mood.
• Shoes - medieval footwear is a tall order for beginners so it's fine to wear modern shoes. The key is to avoid something too modern. Stay away from white sneakers! Instead, find plain back or brown footwear (boots are fine).

Upgrade Over Time
The ideas above will get you started with medieval garb. From here you can upgrade over time, adding new and better pieces as you go.

The Ironheart Accord

After reporting my discovery to the Sentinels at Landfall Castle, I Rufus returned to the main island of Ember Shoals and headed toward Heron Hall. I passed ruined fields and the remnants of once-prospering villages. All human habitation was now in ruins. Of people, however, I saw not a trace.

On a couple of occasions, I was attacked by fell beasts. Apparently left on the island by the Faedwyr. These I managed to slay with sword and arrow. I made it safely to the remain of Heron Hall. I strode through the now burnt and blackened corridors. The heron tapestries of the Great Hall lay in ashes upon the floor. All was in ruin, or so I thought.

I next visited the chapel, and found it remarkably preserved. The altar, the chalices, the pews, and the ornamentation were all untouched. I gazed in wonder at this miracle.

"Holy ground. The Faedwyr cannot enter." a voice spoke from the doorway. I whirled around, unsheathing my sword and dropping into a fighting stance. As light shone on the speaker's face, a flash of recognition passed over me.

"Brother Jaromir?"

"Brother Rufus?" he replied. "Is that really you?"

I sheathed my sword, rushed over, and grasped his hand. "Aye, it is me!"

After a very brief, happy reunion, Jaromir grew serious. "Come, let's leave. It's not safe. The Faedwyr keep Heron Hall under watch." He led me out of my old home and into the woods.

On our journey, Jaromir explained what had been happening in Ember Shoals. The Faedwyr had killed or enslaved most of the people, but some had escaped into the wilderness and had formed scattered settlements. The Faedwyr (and their fell beasts) still appeared, seemingly at random, so it was unsafe to travel far. The settlements eked out a meager existence in the shadow of the enemy.

I was greeted warmly at Brother Jaromir's settlement, located in a concealed clearing deep in the woods. It was a ragtag group that included a wide variety of the citizens of Ember Shoals. Wardens rubbed shoulders with corsairs, farmers, adventurers. You name it.

At dinner, I mentioned my resolve to fight the Faedwyr and reclaim Heron Hall (and all of Ember Shoals). My statement was greeted with mirthless laughter.

One of the settlers stated: "We cannot fight the Faedwyr. They have dark, mysterious powers. It's a hopeless dream."

"A dream perhaps," I replied. "But not hopeless." I told them about the three druidic artifacts and the Faethorn. I saw a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

"Come friends, let us band together. Though in the past we have had our differences, let us put those aside and join as one. We will forge weapons of cold iron so that we can stand up against our enemy."

Brother Jaromir interrupted me at this point. "We will need more than iron weapons to be victorious. We will need hearts of iron."

"Yes!" I responded. "And that we have in abundance." I gazed around at the gathering around the fire. I saw a few nods and smiles.

"Therefore, let us form an alliance of the ironhearted men and women of Ember Shoals. Together, we will find the artifacts, fight the Faedwyr, and free our home!"

Cheers greeted my statement. And on that night, the Ironheart Accord was born.

A Topsy Turvy Order

One of the things that irks me about knighthood in most medieval re-creation organizations is that they are misplaced on the order of precedence (which shows how the different titles rank in the official hierarchy).

Let's take Amtgard as an example and compare it the the actual hierarchy in England

Amtgard Order of Precedence

• Barons
• Knights
• Baronets
• Lords
• Warlords
• Masters
• Squires

Source: http://amtwiki.net/amtwiki/index.php/Order_of_Precedence

English Order of Precedence

• Barons / Lords
• Knights of the Garter / Knights of the Thistle
• Baronets
• Knights
• Squires

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_precedence_in_England_and_Wales#Barons

Notice the relative position of knights. In real life, they rank below baronets and lords while Amtgard has them above. In Amtgard (and other medieval re-creation organizations) this creates a topsy turvy hierarchy where there are more lords than knights, and lords get less respect. A more realistic structure would have a smaller number of lords, each having a retinue of knights, squires, and men-at-arms at their command.

I'd also like to point out that the English order of precedence actually has multiple levels of knights. For simplicity I only show 2 (regular knights and Knights of the Garter / Knights of the Thistle) but there are more. Most medieval re-creation groups only have 1 level. This is one thing I liked about the Adrian Empire - they had a 3 level system of knighthood. For example, a combat knight would start as Knight Bachelor, progress to a Knight Banneret, and then to a Knight Champion. A multi-tiered system would allow a player to have further goals after getting that initial knighthood.

I have a lot more thoughts about knighthood but I'll be splitting them across multiple posts. Stay tuned.

A South Florida Kingdom

Hearkening back to my previous post, I mentioned that I prefer smaller kingdoms than we see in Amtgard. Ideally, in my opinion, a kingdom should be no more than 2-3 hours drive from end to end. This would make it easier for most chapter members to attend kingdom events. Thus, I see the tri-county area (Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) as an ideal span for a kingdom. Alas, we don't have one. So what can we do about it?

I hear talk about forming a South Florida Amtgard kingdom. We would need to go through a bunch of hoops to do this. Increase our numbers, become a principality under Neverwinter, and then after a number of years we petition the Circle of Monarchs for admittance. Personally, I just don't see this happening any time soon.

But why should we wait? We can create an independent, cross-gaming kingdom right now. We just need to get the various foam fighting groups in South Florida to join together, come up with an acceptable format, and implement it. The main objective of the kingdom (as I mentioned in my previous post) is to coordinate events and encourage chapters to visit each other.

Having our own kingdom has a number of advantages. We don't need to travel so far for kingdom events. We unite and encourage cooperation among the various local groups. We can develop our own system of awards and titles. We are free to do as we please.

There is one drawback - our awards and titles won't have any meaning outside our kingdom. That's not a problem for me because I don't seek affirmation from a bunch of strangers and don't care if I lose any titles should I move to another kingdom. Some people, however, want to earn nationally recognized titles. Well, there is nothing to preclude them working on another title (e.g. an Amtgard knighthood) while within the South Florida kingdom. I do believe, however, that if we build up a strong kingdom then our titles will carry some weight and people won't care about other awards.

Note that we don't have to call this organization a kingdom. We could call it the South Florida Foam Alliance. The main objective would remain the same - coordinate the disparate tri-county chapters. As its first order of business, I would love to see it reinstate the bi-monthly JUBs (joint unit battles). It's easy to do - let's create a Council consisting of 2 representatives from each South Florida chapter. Set up a Council Facebook page and have the Council elect a President. Then the ball will be rolling.

What are we waiting for?

My Ideal Organization

I'm taking a break from lore stories to jot down some thoughts on foam-fighting organizations.

Soon Ember Shoals will send its petition to join the Amtgard kingdom of Neverwinter. I must admit to having reservations about this move. Not that I have anything against Amtgard - I actually love the v8 rules. However, Amtgard's "government" is the antithesis of my ideal organization. The issue boils down to centralization and standardization vs. decentralization and local autonomy.

Amtgard is a model of centralization. There is a national board of directors and committee (Circle of Monarchs) that govern changes to the rule book. They have a nationally standardized system of awards and titles (including knighthoods). They have far-flung kingdoms that reign over a number of local chapters, verifying that the chapters submit the correct paperwork and controlling higher level awards. Amtgard has devised a rational system that ensures that the local chapters play correctly. Sounds good, right? I loathe it.

I much prefer a decentralized system where local chapters have the autonomy to play the way they want. They should have the right to modify the rules of play as they see fit (although they should be wary of reducing safety regulations). Instead of a nationally standardized system of awards and titles, I think chapters should have the freedom to give out those that they feel are justified (even knighthoods!). The chapters should be allowed to determine the standards they wish to follow rather than have them imposed from above by a faceless administrative body.

Furtthermore, I dislike Amtgard's kingdoms. They are just too large. For example, Neverwinter spans from Georgia to Miami. Its size makes it impractical for a majority of the population to attend kingdom events. This creates a dichotomy between those who can travel and those who cannot. I would like to see smaller kingdoms but because Amtgard imposes restrictions on becoming a kingdom this is difficult to implement. A park could opt to be a freehold, but Amtgard essentially punishes them by making it impossible to gain higher level awards.

I would like to break away from the Amtgard model and see a different structure for foam-fighting,

• The rules of play should be open source.
• A new chapter would not need to sign a contract to play the game.
• Chapters would have the right to tweak the rules as they see fit.
• Chapters would be autonomous.
• They would have the freedom to give out awards and titles as they see fit, without needing approval from a higher body. (The rules of play could include a suggested awards system but the chapter could modify it as desired).
• Without having to report to a higher authority, the chapters would have less paperwork.
• Nearby chapters could ally together to form a kingdom in order to coordinate events.
• Kingdom size will likely be smaller, and therefore more accessible to a greater percentage of the population.
• Kingdom boundaries will not be imposed from above but will grow organically from the bottom up.
• Chapters will not be forced into a kingdom they dislike, and they can always leave as they desire.
• Kingdoms do not have to threaten chapter autonomy. 
• The chapter will maintain full authority over its internal affairs (including awards and titles).
• Kingdom officials will simply focus on organizing events.

Ironically, this sounds a lot like Belegarth. Pity it doesn't have classes and spells like Amtgard.