There were a hundred ways to start this conversation. I’m electing to come to the point and say that as a Multi-player game, Events are a must. In our own little bubble of techno-space, Sosaria is teeming with people who are usually led around through “Official Fiction” by the wonderful Event Moderators. These are those individuals who are elected and paid to shuffle us through a storyline and arc that results in many deathrobes, much roleplaying, and those tiny little things Rares Collector’s fight over, Event items.  

It needs to be said that our EM’s are exceptional people, as a rule. They are hardworking, take a lot of abuse, and do their best to keep us entertained and busy. They are extremely underappreciated on a lot of fronts. Truthfully, they bring people together who normally wouldn’t mix. The problem is that we as a community, should be helping with this task. That’s right, we should be doing our own events. For some this is old hat. But for others the comment of, “We can’t do events! We can’t make what the Em’s do!” springs to mind. While we can’t create the monsters and the effects the EM’s do, there is more than one way to slay a dragon. Events that get your shard or community involved are really very easy if you think outside the EM box. So let’s talk about this, shall we?

The type of event you can do on your shard is really only limited by your imagination. Monsters that spawn right where you want them to can be done a variety of ways: Tame and release, Yellow crystals, or a journey to the location of the beast itself. Personally I’ve used all three of these. Tame and Release works for enclosed spaces with a set of rules given ahead of time. Yellow Crystals being popped is generally a good way to either get a huge pat on the back from your friends or a cry of “Oh My God, I didn’t see that coming,” from your peers. And finally, journeys into the belly of the beast are rewarding not only in the loot, but in the in depth of invololvement it takes to get to them to begin with.

 It also should be said that monsters are not a must for events. What if you want to do a low key oracle type of scenario? A friend or two with a spare toss away spot on an account can fill in for whatever position it is you need them to play. Need a crone with an axe to grind? A follower of the Guardian? A peasant born in the stable of Luna? No problem. If you don’t have those spots, or those friends, you can certainly contact us here at Stratics and we will be happy to give you a lending hand. Simply give your helper a loose idea of the information they need to get across to the masses and off you go.

The next question is what about gifts or prizes? A lot of us do prizes but you need to really keep the price tag to a moderate amount. Hundreds of dollars do not need to be spent here. In all honesty you should try to avoid spending real world money for your prizes. One, doing so makes it harder for your peers to do events of matching value. Two, it looks like you’re trying to buy people. And three, you won’t always be able to repeat that process. It sets a bad precedent. A friend had to point this out recently to me as well for one of my events. I thank her very much for doing so. Prizes can be gained by hunting yourself or with a group. A Doom run, a trip to Navrey, a Stygian run, and so on. You can make the weapons and/or prize suits with a decent imbuer, if you choose to go that route. All that is, is a few hours in the Abyss.

Gift bags are an excellent idea as appreciation tokens. You can put in a runebook with runes to your locations and shops and your RP hotspots. And you can include a small item that represents your portion of your community.

Now, once you have selected your type of event you need to consider timing and a day. This should not be an arbitrary pull out of a hat. This depends on what time zone your shard is on. What are the busiest days for activity are? What nights does your EM do their events. Let me go over this again. ALWAYS WORK WITH YOUR EM! If they have an event set for Monday at 9pm do not schedule your event this day and at this time. You’ll alienate yourself and you’ll cause issues. The EM’s generally work their tushies off to avoid hindering player events. If you ignore this you can almost guarantee they will ignore future dates you post. It’s a common courtesy thing.

Next, you need to get a list together of all the things you need made for your event. Do you need tables? Seating? Food? Don’t wait until the last minute to get everything done. Finally, you need to advertise in a timely manner. Events that happen spur of notice tend to get a lot lower turnout. If you’re going for just your buddies, fine. But if you want to do that all inclusivity, then try dropping runes, posting on Stratics, and announcing in your local shard chat channels the day and time. Be open to questions and comments when you do this. People who find you approachable are extremely likely to come back for more events.

One of the big complaints for avoidance of hosting a Player Event is the comment, “The EM won’t lock my stuff down.” If this is your excuse you need to reconsider your level of laziness. Making an extra table or ten, so you don’t have to worry about it decaying, should not be a problem. If it’s your war status, you can adjust this for one night. Though, in town or on an rp character it shouldn’t be a problem even if you do get hit. If you’re paranoid about griefers, then move the event into a private home where you have control. If you need a gate for your patrons, by all means get on a mage and gate them in or request a friend to gate for you. If all else fails, contact us here on Stratics with a timeframe in mind and we can arrange the assistance for gating.

Never be afraid to try..