The West Kingdom (also known as The Kingdom of the West ) is the oldest kingdom (or branch) of the historical reenactment organization, the Society for Creative Anachronism . It comprises Northern California (including the San Francisco area), Nevada , Alaska , Japan , Korea and the Pacific Rim.
10-553: The Kingdom of the West was the first SCA group, founded in 1966. An initial party with David Thewlis , Steve Henderson , Ken de Maiffe , and author Diana Paxson (at the time a medieval history major at the University of California, Berkeley) and others was held in Paxson's backyard. Many of the attendees were at Berkeley , and were history buffs and science fiction fantasy fans. They held
20-452: Is a dungeon crawl where the adventurers seek a powerful magic item as the primary quest. The adventure is intended as an introductory adventure for new players and game masters who are new to the RuneQuest system, providing practical demonstrations of many of the mechanics of this game system. As Sir Steven MacEanruig, Henderson developed many techniques which advanced the state of the art of
30-497: Is taught). The group is also active with the arts and sciences. These events emphasize the exhibition and/or competition of various artistic skills and research of SCA members. The kingdom has guilds and other groups, which regularly hold meetings to teach such subjects as dance , cooking , armourmaking , needlework , music and other interests. Like other parts of the SCA, the Kingdom of
40-537: The Rockridge BART station in Oakland, California. The BART practice has been the starting point for many people who participate in SCA combat, as well as serving as a laboratory for the improvement of training practices, and the development of combat recreation techniques to better and more safely simulate medieval combat. Henderson was at the initial event of the SCA on May 1, 1966. Henderson died on March 8, 2006, as
50-463: The West uses rattan weapons, generally of a standard authentic weight. The combat blows deal a heavy, though not an edged, attack. Members also make armour. The kingdom has a wide range of heraldic devices, and has even had a book published dedicated to them. In Japan (known in the SCA as the "Palatine Barony of the Far West"), its members combine to create larger scale combat with another group,
60-454: The auspices of the West Kingdom have also split off to form their own kingdoms, generally when the population is deemed large enough and the local culture distinct enough to warrant the split. The main activities within the West Kingdom include tournaments , feasts and revels, universities and collegiums (classes on subjects dealing with modern living history issues, or straight history
70-518: The first party as an outdoor sword fighting tournament using leather armour with some steel. Everyone enjoyed the event, and another was planned. From this first event, the group began to expand. After three years, part of this new group on the East Coast split off and the East Kingdom was founded, distinguishing it from the West Kingdom. In subsequent years, other regions previously operating under
80-435: The martial arts as recreated in SCA armed combat. Among these were the development of dynamic fighting styles that feature fluid movement on the part of the combatant and coordinating footwork with the timing of sword-blows in such a way as to allow the combatant to deliver forceful blows without pausing in their movement. He was also one of the founders of the "BART" fighter practices (for "Bay Area Rapid Training") often held at
90-515: The original failed design team. Henderson's work includes RuneQuest , Worlds of Wonder and Superworld , and a partner in DunDraCon . He was one of the founders of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), where he was known as Sir Steven MacEanruig. He wrote the first RuneQuest adventure supplement, Balastor's Barracks with assistance from Steve Perrin and Warren James. The adventure
100-600: The realm of Avalon, an independent Tokyo -based group of recreationists and fighters and with a number of local Japanese people among its members. In Japan, the SCA, having largely been imported from the U.S., has long revolved around U.S. military bases. Steve Henderson (game designer) Steve Henderson (1944 - March 8, 2006) was the co-designer of several role playing game titles and supplements. Steve Henderson, Steve Perrin and Warren James , began working on an idea for an original role-playing game system for Glorantha , and were soon joined by Ray Turney from
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