Medieval fantasy combat - Rockford Dagorhir (Urbana, Freeport: loan, work, house)

[sirilay]

I represent the chapter of Rockford Dagorhir, Efoloma Isemoo. Dagorhir is where the Dark Ages meet Tolkien's Middle Earth in a safe & action-packed national live action battle game. Our tagline is "You've only read Lord of the Rings...we LIVE it!" Most of our practices consist of individual sparring, team battles, capture the flag battles, and variants therein. Our weapons made with camping pad foam and PVC tubing, and we put weapons through safety testing each time a new one comes out on the field (or a used one breaks down).

While I put "combat" in the thread title, Dagorhir is a lot more than that. We have room for bards, crafters, weapon and armor smiths, brewers, chefs, bowyers/fletchers, and the list goes on. Efoloma Isemoo is part of a national fellowship whose chapters agree to guidelines of good etiquette, courtesy and generosity, and having an all around good time. We welcome all fighters and noncombatants who are interested!

Currently we have a practice scheduled for March 30th in Aldeen Park (623 N Alpine Rd. Rockford IL). It is outdoor, so if you come to fight, we recommend comfortable warm grub clothing and sturdy shoes. Don't worry about equipment--just come out and we'll give you some loaner stuff to borrow. There's a chance if we don't have a lot of people that we will be fighting in a park closer to Court St. If you plan on coming, please contact me or respond ahead of time.

I will continue to post practice updates here, or answer any questions that people respond with.

[sirilay]

The practice on the 30th was great! Only a little chilly, but we still had 20-22 fighters show up and stay for around 5 hours.

We have another practice/build night (building foam weapons and working on garb) on the 3rd at my house, if any are interested. Our next practice in Aldeen Park is on the 6th at 4 pm.

Please check out the chapter website at Efoloma Isemoo, Chapter of the Pahmoten Fellowship for meeting times and dates. Thanks! Hope to see some of you out there!

[sirilay]

We had more Dagorhirrim out from RVC yesterday, 23 fighters overall. Great line battles, and very entertaining conversation!

Our next practice is April 13th at 2 pm at Aldeen Park. I'll be at a Dag event in Indianapolis this weekend, but my second, Lomion, will be in charge of the chapter at practice on Sunday.

Hope to see some new faces!

[puzzlddd]

Is this the same group that used to fight in Urbana, IL on south Lincoln Ave?

[sirilay]

Close. The one in Urbana is Numenor, a chapter of Belegarth, one of Dagorhir's offshoots that came about 6 years ago. Most of their rules are the same; slight differences such as (but not excluded to) javelin weight and Dagorhir's use of titanium for armor.

I started the Dag group up here in Rockford. Another Belegarth group from Freeport practices with us on Sundays.

[sirilay]

At our first June practice (June 1st at 2 pm), we're inviting news crews, newspapers, photographers, and all sorts of media buffs out to Aldeen Park. We're looking to get the word out to those interested in the greater Rockford area. This would be a great day to see us at our best (minimum garb required to fight and herald), and talk to us about what all goes on in Dagorhir.

Our regular practices continue at 2 pm on Sundays, and if anyone has checked the website, we have another practice in St. Peter's Cathedral Park on Court St. this Wednesday, from 5:45 to 8ish.

[karlsch]

Are there any maidens and wenches at these gatherings, or just guys??

[sirilay]

Well, I am neither a maiden or wench, but I am female I do a lot of fighting, but also sewing and crafting, and paying attention to the detail in character and my extra equipment that makes the picture whole. And no, I am not alone. There are several other women/girls that come on Sundays, and a ton more that come to national events. You see a bunch out of Eryndor that are GREAT fighters, a real inspiration on the field, plus Kida of the Kutriguri (now Ravens from out East), Cryn from Mordor, and I could go on.

No, not as many as the guys, but hey, we're holding our own.

[Steve-o]

Soooo, you guys run around and dress like LOTR, while fighting with PVC tubing? Ever heard of airsoft rifles?

[sirilay]

Not all of us are fantasy based. There's the Celts in the Fianna, the Scots of Black Company, Gwynned, Kutriguri, etc. etc. And gosh no! We at least put padding on the PVC.

Heard of airsoft, not such a big fan. Takes more skill in my opinion to kill with a sword than a gun. Yeah, neither Dag nor airsoft is exactly like what it's replicating, but the idea for me hasn't changed.