Market Day in the River Lands, Unity Food, Part I

Market Day in the Port City of Cheshire

 So every week I send out announcements, "It's Market Day in the River Lands. Come join us!" I guess you wonder what this thing called Market Day is all about and so I am going to enlighten you.
Yes, you have undoubtedly seen blurbs on the blog and even some pictures of us all gathered around market stalls. But, what exactly is going on? Well, it's simple, Market Day is a weekly event where roleplayers in the community gather to buy scripted Unity Food from the Hobbits. Market Day is a time to hear the latest gossip and, even, start some rumours.
   Scripted Unity food you ask? Well, I intend to do a four part series to explain the Unity system and how it fits into our roleplay. ICly, it begins with the hobbits who make scripted foods to sell for play realm coin. It is only recently that we got the food scripts, courtesy of it's creator Warwick Falconer, and it is only today that we actually have food to sell to the shoppers. Now here is a scenario you might see at the Market.

Fiesty Preparing Her Stall for Market Day

Juste Rivers: "Heys der, Welcomes to da Market Day, Missy Druid Fit. Mees got some fresh pies for da saling. Mees gots some pie wif da apples," takes a deep breath, "and some pie wif da berries and one of dem punking pies all da peoples likes." No, Juste isn't a child. He is a full grown hobbit, though his speech and his mannerisms may appear childish.

Fitheach Eun: "Ah pumpkin; I love those."

Juste Rivers: "Mees got some punkings from Mistah Can's farm. Da pies is very fresh."

Fitheach Eun: "Ah yes he said he was growing a fine crop of pumpkins this time."

Scripted Pies That Are Sold For Play Money

   And so, it goes on like that. Eventually, Fit will ask how much the pies are. And Juste will tell her they are five copper coins. At this point, she will roleplay giving him the coins which he stashes in his pouch and then he will pass her one of the pies.
   Now, thanks to Warwick we actually have pies to pass to the player. The pie goes into her inventory and she can place it in her home to be eaten later.

   Now why exactly does one need scripted food? It's simple. We use the Unity Meter system to make our roleplay more immersive. We wear the Unity meters which monitors our stats, food being one of them. And as the day moves forward, the food stats lower. To get them up, one must eat scripted food which basically feeds the meter. And if one lets the food stat drop to zero, they will literally fall unconscious, falling to the ground immobile until he or she eats again or a healer heals her.


   Now the food scripts are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. There are items we are hoping for in the future. There is a pouch with which you can gather food items, potion items and even use to keep your play realm money. So, when we have all the Unity pieces, folks will be able to chop wood to earn coins which go into their pouch. Or they might dance at the inn.  Some folks will receive weekly wages for their positions in the lands. And, in turn, when they go to market, they can actually pass the copper coins to Juste for the pie (from their pouch to his). His income is dependent on selling and eventually you will have to work, not only to buy food, but to pay rent for your IC home.
   So, yes, it is all about immersion and making the roleplay as realistic as possible. With the pouch system, you will be able to collect foods from the farm or berries and apples from the wilds and use them to make your own scripted food in a specially scripted oven. Immersion, living the life - that is what we do in the River Lands Medieval Roleplay Community.

   And that is what we do at Market Day in its basest form. And, thanks to Warwick our roleplay has been enhanced considerably. In the next article I will explain Unity - the Meter, the weapons and the pouch system. We are well on our way to being fully immersive. And we welcome everyone to join us for our events or just to drop in for a visit. IC (In Character) events do require medieval attire, but there is a selection at our Welcome Area and at the stores in our medieval mall.