Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! We're continuing our coffee break feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

You wake one morning to find a perfectly ordinary object from your childhood sitting on your doorstep. You have no idea how it got there. What is it, and who do you suspect left it for you?

Head on back to Social Media to let us know!  

KoSD Questing 4 Wrap-up and Thank You!

From John R, Justin BH and Ed D:

Thanks so much to all you adventurers who came to help Danny in Slumbertimeland at "KoSD Questing 4 - Chapter 1 Redux". Your EH team hopes you had a blast diving into Danny's story a little more, hopefully taking back some lessons about fear, family, and being aware of what you wish for. 

We want to give special thanks to the rest of our EH planning team: Kelly P, Brookelyn T, Sawyer J, and Becky B. These people put many hours into building this weekend-long event for you. Sawyer: You rocked as a Head NPC, and your help made all the combat encounters shine.
We also could not have done this without our excellent NPCs and supporters, Hannah B, Connor D, Zach S, Peter K, Hillary F, Zack E, Kathy F, Ethan K, Steven N, MJ R, Nixon S, Chris G, Paul T, and Bella. You all pitched in to help make this event possible, and you have our deep gratitude. Special thanks also to Chris G for the use of the Drider/Charlotte rig again, as well as Staycee R for propwork, both of keeping John upright and the Ghostly Dress.

Thank you also to the PCs who stayed and helped clean up: Kanik H, Max M, Owen L, Tim M, and Madi N. 

We look forward to seeing you at the opening of KoSD Questing 5, where we will see the opening of Chapter 2. Bring a Jacket.

**Between Game Actions**

Up to two weeks before KoSD Questing 5, you may take up to 3 between game actions. Between Game Actions may consist of:

• Casting one spell of fifth circle or lower toward a section of the plot.

• Having a short letter correspondence with an NPC.

• Having a short conversation with an NPC.

• Some other similar caliber action.

BGAs are accepted depending on EH/marshal availability, discretion, and player presence at events. BGA requests should be sent to John Rescigno, Justin Balanca-Hawkes, Ed Drummond, and Kelly Perfetto.

Why I Want To Go - Tournaments Of the Blue Rose 26'

by: Arthur "Aiden" Granger  

It’s that time again folks! The Blue Rose has put together another chapter in their length history filled with attractions for players new and old. There's a lot of ground to cover so allow  me to list out attractions to expect. 

Tournaments- The Blue rose tournaments feature competition of the highest caliber and the illustrious “Blademaster” Over the years heroes of the realm have tested their mettle in a wide array of combat. If you're aiming to live game history this is a stop you should make in your journey. Only few in my time have achieved this rank and if you feel you have what it takes to join their ranks in the halls of time then this should be on your to do list. Making an appearance this year a nation tourney is in place. Offering a larger scale pvp experience entire groups are welcome to take the arena in an exercise of teamwork and field superiority. 

Conventional tournaments not your style? Not a problem! There is to be a gold auction on night one and night two a cash charity raffle. Kharma has personally scoured the realms to put together a spread of goods and items from across the realm. If you are the type to enjoy interesting curios, rare and old currencies for your collections, or that piece of gear you have been needing to procure this really should be on your bucket list this year. Proceeds from the cash raffle are going to a family from within the community who could use a little help as we all do from time to time.

Finally can we talk about questing for a second? The Blue Rose team has ensured for years now that even the most novice treasure hunter will not go home empty handed. Not into tournaments? Well take a walk and it would not be unusual to find a box filled with goodies or some other prize around! This year activities are being held within Kalumdaka. For those unfamiliar its actually one of the youngest provinces within Blackwood founded by two old friends Meds and Faust. For those who haven't had the experience of meeting them I can tell you for fact you never know what your gonna find. I hear orcs or some other creatures have been about and we will probably have to deal with that….. Past the fun and games many of you have heard me speak on my own hunt to gather keys for the Church of Shadow. Hopes are high that the rumors that have floated about are true for leads on this goal. Time is ticking and last year we heard of this “raven lady” being. Given my own experiences last year I can say she is not someone we want to deal with more than necessary and I intend to make my preparations  between now and arrival to have everything we need ready for expeditions to take place. 

Realmsle #39

 

                       

This custom Wordle-adjacent-puzzle features a 5-letter word that is particularly relevant to the Realms.

If the embedded page isn't working below you can click this link to get to the puzzle.

Like regular Wordle you can copy your result's (but only if you follow the link), so paste them or a screenshot onto social media to let us know how you did. But no spoilers!

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed - Queen of Hearts XXXI Knave of Hearts

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

If you want a break down of what tournaments there were, and who won which, take a look at this handy article https://viewfromvalehaven.blogspot.com/2026/08/queen-of-hearts-xxxi-knave-of-hearts.html

Ultimately, it was won by Team Heart. Which I feel is fitting for the first Knave of Hearts.

The style of tournaments was unusual compared to QoHs from the last few years, and don't worry Queen of Heart enthusiasts, it will return next year. Knave of Hearts is planned to be every other year on the odd numbered QoH years. I personally enjoyed the conceit of four teams styled after the suits in a deck of playing cards. And each team member was randomly assigned, forcing adaptability and reinforcing that this year is more for the folks here to compete for fun, the carefully laid plans of war tourney practices can be carried out next year for those who want to push themselves. It is a reminder that we're all here to enjoy ourselves, that the lines we use to divide ourselves are arbitrary, and being able to enjoy your fellow players' company regardless can be a boon for the community.

Joe Pieiora originally of Realms fame and now of Diable IV videogame fame, which a good number of our community enjoy playing and some have even based a quest series around, came all the way from California to play during Saturday and in the evening provide an excellent night quest. His family came, his wife a Realmsie herself who was lovely to talk to during Saturday, and their kid who gave a good effort in the kid portion of the event run by Brooke of Rowan fame.

So many folks highly anticipated this night quest, and there was genuine debate on whether to npc or pc to see how the game design would work. I can say, from the pc side, it was excellent. We were faced with an Illinarian threat, not necessarily because of the Illinarians themselves but because of a being they worshipped who was beginning to wake. Their heart was, at least, sending waves of madness out through the area. We ran into new threats and familiar faces, and some that may have been lost were returned. This isn't an Order of the Lantern post so I will focus more on the gameplay than disseminating ic information.

It was lots of fun. We self-sorted into three questing teams which determined the type of interactions we'd have vs high combat vs low to no combat. Thematically was very cool, and visually stunning having gone down the Path of Echoes. We reconvened around a mad god's waking heart and put our information and resources together to put it back to sleep, while slowly realizing our guides weren't necessarily on our side.

Sunday brought the finishing of tournaments, wrap up, and the reveal of who won each tournament, with swords being handed out. As revealed at the start of the article, Team Heart won overall. <3

May we cross swords and bare our hearts again next year on the field of Queen of Hearts.

Why I Want To Go - Feast of Blackwood 2026

By: Michael “Swoop” Zajac

What is going on adventures! It’s ya boy here, cursed with the knowledge of things yet to pass, and with that ball knowledge I am predicting that this Feast of Blackwood is going to be a certifiable Banger this weekend. I’ll keep this short and sweet with three main points so you can get back to whatever you weirdos do during the weekdays. That said, here’s my big things to look forward to!

1. Exciting questing and continuing narrative: Blackwood has been really cooking with their Ork’ne storyline now for a few years, and I believe we are at the point where things are about to get real interesting. We’ve met an interesting cast of characters, from good, bad and somewhere in between. We’ve learned some interesting tidbits of Ork’ne culture and their motivations, and seeing how fast they adapt to take advantage of ancient powers  that lie in the provinces of Blackwood. Now armed with knowledge, and a certifiable track record from the Blackwood quest writers, I predict we are at a major juncture for some awesome encounters (May I remind you of such highlights such as Temorse shooting a DRAGON with a magical GUN) and some pivotal plot points for those hungry to consume some potentially unhealthy amount of soul-infused goo paste. I’ve had a good time uncovering the mysteries of these alien Ork’ne and I’ve kept extensive notes the entire time, so if you’ve been lost in the sauce and would like to know more, I’m an open book! Come find me onsite to get the skinny on these very not-skinny foes.

2. Kicking it Old School in Idaris: A big theme for this Feast weekend is going to be Legacy. In simpler terms, it means a look back at some important snapshots in Realms history is being interwoven into this whole event. Idaris is old school, with a lot of prime Blackwood and Realms history baked into the province. Let’s just say if the province was a Realmsie, it would DEFINITELY have a “favorite” knee by this point. Now I only have foggy visions and unconfirmed rumours, but from the sound of it it seems Blackwood is pulling out the ancient tomes, the deep forgotten lore from the early days of Blackwood, maybe never before seen in the Realms at large. So if you have old memories of running around in your riveted steel chainmail, getting thawcked with a drilled core PVC boffer, and more “No shit there I was” stories than anyone has time to listen to, you may want to stop on by this weekend to relive some history coming alive.

3. A Feast to Write Home About:  Now it’s no secret that Blackwood has a fantastic track record of delectable feasts entries, but I believe this one may be the best one we’ve seen to date, due to a few culminating factors. Obviously we have some masterful hands behind the kitchen, Sir Mathies should really swap his necromancy spellbook with a cookbook with the wizardry coming out of those ovens every year. While we don’t have a confirmed menu, previous Blackwood events have given us such memorable dishes like the soothing gazpacho, Blackwood’s iconic Meatloaf in various shapes, and at this point the legendary Hungarian mushroom soup. Known food critic Madam Zarine's only complaint from the soup was that there wasn’t more of it! This expertise and vision, combined with the fact Lady Matiya has been working steadfastly turning this kitchen and its various tools from an unruly mob into an elegant machine of dispensing culinary delights over the past few months, is shaping up to make this the perfect storm, destined for your stomach.

So, come on by this weekend! Quest, running for your life, and food made from for your soul! What more could you ask for?!