More to Melee than fighting
The purpose The Kingdom of Praelia brand Melee is to act as a Living History organization that incorporates a sporting aspect. It is very important for faction to remember this mission statement. The goal of a good Melee faction or person should not rest solely on the win. Instead, factions and individuals should look more towards faction and self improvement. This is broken up into three major areas, culture, crafts and combat. It is just as important for a faction or individual to display mastery of historical culture and crafts as it is to win Faction of the Year or the Master at Arms title. No one in the kingdom really cares how mean you swing a stick if you are wearing shorts and a white T-shirt. So get out, research your persona, be active on the forums and join guilds. Guilds are an incredible advantage for citizen to use. If you are having trouble getting good garb together, go meet with the Tailors Guild and not only will they help you create your soft kit, but they will also teach you to be able to make your own. The skills available to learn by member of our guilds are too numerous to list here. The Tailors Guild is just a good example.
There are other ways to enjoy KOP events and practices as well, such as faction greatness. Factions are encouraged and even rewarded for the hard work they put into making their camps look good. This task has been accomplished in the past by adding a tent, a cooking pot, weapons racks, rugs made of deer hide, authentic tools, armor displays and even having actual food set up at a table. These are a few of the past ideas for faction camp beautification. In my personal opinion, nice looking faction camps add to the atmosphere of melee as well as help to form strong bonds among your team. If you have a nice looking encampment, you might be more protective of whom you let enter it.
To summarize, combat is only one small part of what is offered to the citizens of The Kingdom of Praelia. However, the guilds and staff can only help those who are willing to put forth the effort to help our kingdom grow.
