With so many newcomers to the forums lately I just thought it may be a useful tool to get you all a handful of links which may help you with your aspirations in the hobby.
To begin with let me draw inspiration from Greg in the ‘Please read before posting’ thread at the top of the forum
We do not 'dress up' solely to dress up...we are after the heart of Middle-earth, and making it feel as real as possible. Because of this, you will find sparse cosplay and LARP discussion here. We do not discourage these activities, but understand that things that hinder sharp swords and hunting live quarry often do not receive the same attention as live fires in the backcountry.
This is the difference between this forum and other outlets for the hobby, if you’re here it’s because you want to LIVE Middle Earth or see those who do. To that end, as much as I encourage you to get out there and start in whatever kit you have, I’d really love to see that kit evolve into the one you dream of and hopefully these tools will help you on that path.
To begin, let me link to the home site of the Middle Earth Reenactment Society, a High Authenticity Organisation dedicated to the furthering of J.R.R. Tolkien cultural studies, within the framework of ‘historical’ reenactment.
They publish a quarterly newsletter (the back issues of which are all available on the site) containing all sorts of things such as researched articles, gear guides, advice on persona development and patterns and recipes.
It is an invaluable resource -
https://edgeofthewild.org/
Secondly here is a link to a sticky thread in the getting started subforum written by Udwin outlining a logical progression within the hobby. One key part of this is persona development which I’ll elaborate on below.
https://www.middleearthrangers.org/foru ... =36&t=3427
So lastly here is Udwin’s thread in which he gives a persona creation worksheet which is an essential tool in figuring out exactly who and what you’re trying to portray in Middle Earth.
Where do you live? How old are you? What are your goals and motivations? All questions you should have an answer to early on as they will help to shape your decisions in building your kit.
Developing a persona will also help expand your research skills as you check dates against major events and try to find locations on maps that match your geographical location and clothing choices. It expands your knowledge and appreciation of Tolkien's work and draws you deeper into his world.
https://www.middleearthrangers.org/foru ... f=7&t=3529
And here is a great example of this persona building in action
https://www.middleearthrangers.org/foru ... f=7&t=4432
I really hope these links are of some use to you, if ever you need advice then my door and those of your fellow rangers are always open.
