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Have at you, then!

A blow for medieval fun

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Laurie DeWitt⁄The Gazette Matt Claggett, 19, of Gaithersburg, also known as ‘‘Thrall,” strikes the pose of a warrior during the role-playing game Dagorhir, which members of The Guard played Sunday afternoon in a field behind Kemp Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring. Click here to enlarge this photo Laurie DeWitt⁄The Gazette In a Sunday afternoon role play battle, New Market resident Scott Kelly, known as ‘‘Beast,” lies ‘‘dead” on the ground on a field behind Kemp Mill Elementary School as Glen Burnie resident Dennis ‘‘Brutilus” McCarthy (top left) attacks Martinsburg, W.Va., resident Jim ‘‘Aries the Walker” Husband (center) and Silver Spring residents Jeffry ‘‘Jonah Hawkmoon” Jones and Dave ‘‘Graymael” Vierling (both behind Husband) approach to join Riverdale resident Jason ‘‘Lieutenant Crunch” Morris and other members of The Guard in the game called Dagorhir.

After a few moments, the bodies littering the field rose and battle began again — doom near at hand! — with swords swinging wildly, arrows piercing the air and shields blocking blows.

The Rev. Jonah Hawkmoon blessed a man who’d fallen dead to the ground and lay with his face buried in the grass, metal helmet askew. Dog Boy, only 11, ran barking and screaming, ‘‘Run away!” swinging dark gray swords in each hand like a ninja.

The Forge — O, fear the Forge, who learned to fire a weapon when he was but a lad — a marksman clad in brown leather armor he’d made himself, fired arrows with deadly accuracy from the top of a hill, taking out enemies one by one from his vantage point while one warrior bellowed, ‘‘Watch out for Forge’s arrows!”

If a hobbit or elf had happened to wander through Silver Spring, he would have felt right at home in the makeshift Middle-Earth, particularly since evil wizards were few that particular afternoon.

The good reverend, also known as Silver Spring’s Jeffry Jones, 42; Dog Boy, Gaithersburg’s Jimmy Kidwell, 11, and Forge, Riverdale’s Chuck Morris, 50, were playing Dagorhir, a battle game. Dagorhir was founded in 1977 in Rockville — part of the Aratari Realm.

Aratari now serves as the main chapter for 13 units in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, including The Guard, the unit that holds battle practice behind Kemp Mill Elementary School every Sunday. The Dagorhir name (pronounced dagger-here) is derived from ‘‘Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sindarin tongue and translates to ‘‘Battle Lords.”

To watch warriors A field battle will be held April 1 at Lane Manor Park, 2600 University Blvd. E., Hyattsville. Registration begins 10 a.m. and goes until 11:30 a.m. Newcomers get to fight their first battle free. Battles usually run about four hours, with different scenarios and breaks.

Dagorhir, a live-action role-playing game for people who like medieval history and fantasy, allows players to create a character and costume for themselves.

‘‘It attracts very intelligent people, people with a great sense of humor,” said David Vierling of Silver Spring, 43, a war-weary veteran known by his comrades as Captain Graymael.

It’s important to be able to identify your fellow warriors. For instance, the Vardrotta, another unit in the Aratari Realm, dress as Vikings, Vierling said.

But there are no such uniforms for The Guard, where anything from warrior to shaman to troll is acceptable, as long as players take care to remain in character. Not even goblins are given the cold shoulder.

There’s a role for everyone, even those who don’t want to fight, like hobbits, who like peace and quiet. The Wheel and Rose, The Guard’s tavern, brings and sells food at battles, and merchants stay in character, be it barmaid or musician.

‘‘Our group has sort of a silly edge to it,” Vierling said. ‘‘Some groups, like the Romans, take themselves very seriously.”

Some Guard members, like Jones the Reverend, enjoy medieval history and create historically authentic garb. Others are fascinated by Tolkien-esque fantasy. ‘‘People really get into their costumes. They’re very authentic,” Vierling said.

Weaponry, however, is not. Swords, arrows, javelins, shields and all other weaponry a warrior might desire is forged from fiberglass rods, foam rubber, glue and sometimes duct tape, then decorated.

Some weapons are forged by none other than Forge, or Morris, who also creates armor for other members of The Guard’s cavalry.

Morris, whose sons also play Dagorhir, has been involved with The Guard for about three years, though he’s only been fighting for six months. He’s The Guard’s top marksman, which makes sense — he’s been firing arrows off and on since he was about 14 years old. But these arrows bounce harmlessly off bodies. All weapons are checked before battle to ensure they won’t hurt anyone.

The tip of an arrow, for instance, resembles a duct-tape marshmallow. When the arrows hit you, players said, they don’t hurt. Injuries sustained during battle are most often sports-related, like a twisted ankle from running and tripping.

Morris isn’t just deadly with a bow and arrow; he also kills on the grill. He often cooks for the group when they go on weekend battles and camping trips. Battles are held once a month at different sites in the Realm, and units from different chapters will break into two armies — unity for the sake of common cause — and attack.

‘‘I fed the whole bunch at Ragnarok,” he said.

Ragnarok is the battle many Dagorhir players live for. The weeklong camping trip and battle draws chapters from across the nation — or, from various realms. Last year, more than 500 people attended. This year’s battle will be held in Ohio in June.

Dog Boy, or Kidwell, loves Ragnarok even though he’s not old enough to fight — you have to be 15. However, many groups allow children to practice.

‘‘It’s awesome!” he exclaimed, before running off, swinging swords and bellowing war cries.

His mother, Sara Kidwell, 42, formerly of Gaithersburg and now of Riverdale, agreed. Sara, or Siothaed, has just as much fun fighting and role-playing as her son. She used to participate with a medieval group but has been with The Guard for three years.

‘‘I joined this group because I knew Graymael from college,” she said.

The Guard’s tireless leader, Vierling, or Graymael, has been playing Dagorhir since 1979. In the early 2000s, he helped form a unit in Silver Spring.

‘‘I was never athletic, really, until I got into Dagorhir,” Vierling said, adding the battle game often appeals to people — kids particularly — who might otherwise be inside playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons.

The good fight

When The Guard practices, members run different battle scenarios — unlike medieval reenactments, battles are not choreographed and each is an adventure of its own. Some battles play out similarly to the children’s game Capture the Flag. Some end when all the players are dead. In some battles, warriors are intent on capturing the opposing team’s king or queen.

‘‘Zombie” battles slowly turn players into the living dead — when they’re killed, they come back to life as zombies. (‘‘It ain’t easy when you’re the last human on earth!” Dog Boy Kidwell proclaimed after a zombie practice battle Sunday. To stay alive, he said, ‘‘You gotta run like crazy.”) Zombie battles end when all the humans are gone.

In ‘‘bridge battles,” players must take care not to step into pavement, which serves as a bottomless pit. Grass growing in cracks in the pavement serves as a rope bridge, which warriors deftly tip-toe across.

In all battle scenarios, there’s plenty of running and weapon-wielding.

When players are struck in the stomach, the blow usually kills them, Vierling said, though blows must be delivered with a certain force in order to be effective.

A blow to an arm or leg usually means that the limb is severed for game purposes. A player who loses his or her right arm, for example, will drop the weapon, put the arm behind the back and continue to fight one-handed. Those who lose a leg in the line of duty must kneel on one knee and continue to fight in that position. War cries — or grunts of ‘‘Brains! Brains!” in the zombie battle — are encouraged.

‘‘It is an extremely physical sport, especially if you’re fighting with a longer weapon. It uses every muscle in the body,” Vierling said. ‘‘It’s like tennis, only on a much rougher scale.”

And it’s good for stress relief. ‘‘If you’ve had a rough day at the office, you get to go out there and beat on your friends,” Vierling said.

Silver Spring’s Karen MacKavanagh, 39, known as Flittie when she’s in character, got involved with The Guard in 2004 and said it’s been good for stress as well as for fun.

‘‘It reminded me of the games I used to play as a kid with my brother and other friends in the neighborhood,” she said, adding her husband, Jones, got into Dagorhir because of her.

‘‘I used to do theater,” Jones said. ‘‘... Here, I get to be a Hollywood actor and hero.”

There, on the field, in their realm, they get to be anything. Gone are the lawyers, doctors, government employees and students, and in their places are valiant, heroic warriors. There’s 28-year-old Jason Morris of Riverdale, or Lt. Crunch, who’s hoping to become a captain. And there’s 19-year-old warrior Matt Claggett of Gaithersburg, or Thrall, who lets his mother Elizabeth, or Malloren, 43, practice putting force behind her sword-swing on him. When she’s not smacking her son with a padded sword, she’s stitching him a luxurious fur cape to wear in battle.

With warriors so valiant and relentless, the fate of Middle-Earth is in good hands.

Swing thy sword, smite someone

The Guard practices noon to 3 p.m. Sundays at the field behind Kemp Mill Elementary School, 411 Sisson St. Though younger children can practice with The Guard, you must be at least 15 years old to fight in battles. Go to www.guardhouse.org. For information about the Aratari Realm and its other units, go to www.dagorhir.org or call the Voice of Dagorhir at 301-231-3594.

Dagorhir:The basics

You must be age 15 to fight in battles.

Weapons must be checked before battle.

If struck in the torso with a weapon, you’re dead.

If struck in the arm or leg, you lose a limb and must kneel or hold your arm behind your back.

Handheld weapons cannot strike a player in the head. However, weapons like arrows can.

Players are often on their honor and must judge the blows they receive.

For a full list of rules, go to www.dagorhir.org⁄rules⁄manual.htm.