Xanodria - the Beginning

 So let's talk about LARPing.

I do a larp called Xanodria. (www.xanodria.com) (I will admit it's a terrible website.

It started in 1995, when Xanodria introduced a 1920's horror game.  Truth be told, dressing up in medieval clothing sounded a bit ridiculous, but doing a LARP based on H.P. Lovecraft?  I could wear a suit. That would feel less ridiculous.

And thus the character Arnold Nido was born. He started out as a pulp fiction writer who fainted at the sight of blood. (He fainted a lot at first.) I eventually convinced my friend to come as Nido's bodyguard with a character named Frederick Constantine. We had great fun 

While we were playing that, we realized that the players of the medieval fantasy LARP were playing NPCs in the horror game, so I decided to return the favor my being NPCs in the fantasy games.  From there the addiction progressed to actually being the GM of some games, and eventually running the company.(and at one point running just the Fantasy game).

Eventually the world ended, as a good cosmic horror campaign should.  At the same time I was getting married and decided to step away from the LARP for a while. It would be about 8 years before I came back, this time as a PC in the fantasy game. But more on that later.

And So It Begins

 Yeah, I don't expect anyone to read this.

In one week I return to LARP, even though the Delta Variant may shut things down well before the next one.  It's been a long time since I have been to a LARP, maybe a few years, and it has worn upon my soul. My LARP family has been in my life on and off since the 90's, and I enjoy going there (another post will describe the LARP itself.

Covid has caused disruption in LARP, yet is caused a boon in my tabletop gaming.  Skype is my best friend as I play Savage Worlds, Star Trek Adventures, Vaesen, and Mayfair's DC Heroes. I am the GM for all but the DC heroes game.

Finally, I am on some meds to deal with Depression and Anxiety. They keep me pretty level, and I have been lucky at finding medicine that works for me. My sincere sympathy goes out to people who can't find the right mix of medicines to help them. It was nothing but pain and despair before the meds. Ironically, the LARP helps also (though I would not recommend it as a substitution for therapy or anything like that).  I don't know if it is being able to explore my emotions in a safe environment, or if it is just doing what I love to do among people that I love, but it does help.

Other than that, I am a husband to a wonderful wife and father to two sons, the older one being a bit crazy as a varsity football player and also a member of the marching band (he never rests).

So that's pretty much it.  If you are reading this, I can't guess how often I will update it.  There will probably be a bunch of posts right away, and then they will pop up as I game or have mental health thoughts.

All of you take care.