Hello everyone! Kayse here.

So obviously one great way to encourage some roleplay is through the process of hosting an event, but oftentimes people find themselves struggling when it comes to planning and hosting events. Luckily for you all though, I myself was put through the meat-grinder and had to learn how to plan and host these sorts of things by myself. It’s difficult and a bit nerve-wracking at first I’ll admit, but once you become used to it, it can be extremely fun and gratifying.

Balls vs Galas. What’s the difference, and what do I need for those?

A lot of people use the term ”ball” and ”gala” interchangeably, but there is a pretty important difference between the two. A ball’s main purpose is entertainment and socializing, but a gala is a fundraiser- typically for a specific cause or non-profit organization.

Regardless though, there are a few things that should probably be present at both of these events:

• Music
  • This can come in the form of a jukebox with music discs, or you can hire a bard to do some fun bard roleplay. Hiring a bard also allows the opportunity for not only a character to make some silver, but also for them to establish themselves as a mage.
• Food & Drinks
  • While obviously we don’t NEED to eat or drink within Minecraft, hiring someone to cater some custom food and a tavern to provide drinks and a bartender allows for the atmosphere of the event to feel a bit more full. Similar to the previous, it also allows for a character or two to be paid for their work.
• Something to pass time
  • In real life, something to pass time would come in the form of dancing- however we play Minecraft and the options for dancing are limited, so there needs to be something to pass the time for those who aren’t always keen to just stand around and talk. Try hosting a poker game, silent auctions, and raffles. Get creative and see what you can plan to entertain others.
• A schedule and time frame.
  • Usually balls and galas are on the longer end of events that happen, and typically last about an hour and a half. You should plan a good start time, and if you have any specific events or activities, plan for when those start to make sure they stay on track.

I want to host a festival in my town!

A very common event hosted by various towns, festivals are a great way to promote businesses on Valence- and can be a fun and casual way to promote roleplay. So what do you need?

• Businesses!

  • There’s a couple of options when it comes to hosting a festival. If you live in a specific town, encourage your businesses to be open physically for the duration of the festival. However, I also recommend building and opening some stalls for businesses outside your town to rent out. Encourage everyone to try having some sort of special going on to encourage people to spend money.

  • Festivals don’t always make a lot of money, so try to plan for the businesses that open to pay a small amount of money so that you’re not at a complete loss. This can range from a specific portion of their sales to a set amount of silver to be paid by everyone.

• Competitions & Games

  • Not everyone wants to just spend money, and that’s okay! Try planning a handful of games and competitions for players to participate in for the duration of the festival. Brewing competitions, pig/horse races, connect four, or even a guess who game involving blocks are all great ideas! You don’t necessarily need to make any sort of sign-up, but charging a small fee of silver to play is a great way to make some money- be sure to include some small prizes though!

I just want to chat with people, how do I do that?

Some people aren’t interested in making silver in their events, and that’s totally fair. If you just want to have an open forum to chat and talk with others, hosting something such as a tea party or a fireside chat is a great way to be able to casually talk with a large group of people.

I usually recommend having a specific topic or question posed for your chat, in order to give people some prompting on what they wish to talk about. This can range from current political events, to a silly question for people to debate. If you don’t have anything in mind though, and think that your character is an interesting enough draw on their own- host a Q&A with your character! Allow people to ask you questions about anything and everything.

I want to host a competition/tournament, what are my options?

On Valence, we’ve had a habit of using Discord provided games to host competitions and tournaments that everyone can participate in. This can be anything from Poker Night, Blazing 8s (UNO), Chess in the Park, Checkers in the Park, and Letter League are all great options for Discord hosted events.

Then we can move into more physical server side tournaments. You can also host a multitude of things server side, such as dodgebolt, a contest of arms (fighting), building, and marathon-style races.

Regardless of if you host a Discord or a server event, there are a few common things between both that might benefit you.

• A Sign-Up Form
  • While not every single competition needs a sign-up form, they can help greatly when it comes to planning events. In these you should collect OOC Contact Information (like Discord & Minecraft usernames), as well as relavent IC information such as names and addresses.
• Prizes
  • While some people are satisfied with just getting bragging rights for winning, it’s always nice to receive something extra. A ”winner’s purse” of silver, a cool player head, a limited time item, or a powerful weapon, are all great options to deal out to the winners.
• Referees
  • For things like fighting tournaments, it’s usually a good idea to hire a referee or two to make sure that no one is cheating. Besides, it allows for someone to get involved- and perhaps make a bit of money.
• Rules
  • If you have referees, you probably need some rules as well. I won’t sit here and tell you exactly what rules you should have- but it’s important to make a set of rules so that the playing field is fair. Feel free to add some goofy rules as well!
• Sports betting
  • Gambling is something that many spectators love to participate in, so recently we’ve tried to add sports betting as a common thing for tournaments and competitions. Basically everyone places their bets on a specific person/team, and if that person/team wins- whoever bet on them gets more silver than what they originally bet with. In reality it’s a bit more complicated than that, but I’ve always get someone else to plan and run the bets.

So there you go! I hope that I was able to help at least a little bit. If you need extra assistance, try opening an event team ticket here- and one of our event runners will be more than happy to help you plan, set up, and even find a good time to host your event at.

I hope to attend some more player events soon, so good luck!

Love, Kayse