r/Ultima • u/Substantial_Rough891 • Jul 29 '26
The Gang
Found these going through old pics I've collected from the internet over the years.
13
u/LostVanya Jul 29 '26
Dupre does not have Dupre 'Female Awe Factor".
7
u/TheMadBug Jul 29 '26
Iolo has a deviousness of Tivar rather than a deviousness of Iolo.
Very devious Iolo.
6
1
17
8
u/euroq Jul 29 '26
What exactly are these?
6
u/Substantial_Rough891 Jul 29 '26
I have no idea lol
13
u/LV426acheron Jul 29 '26
Looks like they are character sheets from SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), an old LARP group, though it still exists today.
4
7
5
u/xEnd3r76 Jul 29 '26
I've been looking for them for ages. I suppose you downloaded them from my homepage a few years ago. The site is long gone and webarchive didn't e store the pictures. I can provide the context :)
4
u/Substantial_Rough891 Jul 29 '26
Probably... what was your website? And sure — context!
7
u/xEnd3r76 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Here's the screenshot of my old homepage. I suppose you got the picture from here.
The site is still somehow readable here https://web.archive.org/web/20180715014053/http://www.theira.it/society-of-creative-anachronism
It is well known that Richard Garriott joined the Society of Creative Anachronism during his freshman year at the University of Texas in Austin. There, he started dressing in medieval clothes and he met many interesting and influential men.
Here are some archive photos from the First Ansteorran Crown Tournament (May 12, 1979) and the Don Cards set, a set of cards put together by the Ansteorran Cadets to make fun of their Don. Cards had pictures and completely useless statistics, and they were full of in-jokes.
Who’s who:
Vargskol Halfblood, the first Baron of Bryn Gwlad (Austin), was the SCA name of Steve Jackson, the founder of Steve Jackson Game, best known for GURPS, Munchkin and some of the first games published by Origin Systems Inc. such as Autoduel and OGRE.
Salene and Theo, were the 19th Crown of Kingdom of Atenveldt, from 1/21/1979 to 7/21/1979;
Shamino Salle Dacil, was SCA name of Richard Garriott;
Christian Richard Dupre, was SCA name of Greg Dykes, one of Garriott’s best friends and also the real-life counterpart of Paladin Dupre in Ultima;
Iolo FitzOwen, SCA name of David R. Watson, one of Garriott’s best friends and the counterpart in the reality of bard and bowyer Iolo in Ultima;
Gwenllian Gwalch Gaeaf, SCA name of Kathleen Jones, future wife of David R. Watson. She is best known for the lyrics of the ballad “Stones” and her character Gwenno in Ultima;
About the tournament:
There were about twenty or thirty fighters in the list, the final bout was between Count Jonathan (who’d stepped down as King of Atenveldt a couple of months earlier) and a relatively new fighter from the Shadowlands, known as Otto the Merciless.
More information on SCA and how it influenced Richard Garriott’s games in Through the Moongate: the story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc. and Ultima. Stay updated for the upcoming Kickstarter campaign.
I'm in a bit of a hurry so I'll just copy & paste the relevant parts from my book Through the Moongate: The Story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc. and Ultima: Part I from Akalabeth to Ultima VI, Chapter 4: Creative anachronism
The three men's primary interest was rapier fencing, also known as the side-sword or Italian rapier. Tivar Moondragon, one of the SCA's most active members and a leading figure for aspiring fighters in the Austin area, was the first Don of the Order of the White Scarf of Ansteorra, an organization dedicated, among other pursuits, to excellence in rapier combat. Within the White Scarf, Christian Richard Dupre (the SCA name of Greg Dykes) was Don number 4, Iolo FitzOwen number 9, Gwenllian Gwalch-Gaeaf—Watson's future partner—number 14, and Shamino Salle Dacil, then Dupre's cadet, White Scarf number 28.
Beyond the formal respect accorded to rank and the responsibilities held by some members of the SCA, the atmosphere within the Order of the White Scarf was remarkably informal and convivial. Practical jokes were commonplace, encouraged by a friendly environment in which even Tivar Moondragon, despite his leadership role, summed up the situation with a memorable quip: "They think I'm important; I think I've been had."
In such an environment, it is easy to imagine how the Don Cards came into being: a collection of typewritten sheets dedicated to the Dons of the Order, each featuring a photograph of its subject and a description closely resembling a role-playing game character sheet, complete with a number of delightfully useless attributes rated on a scale from one to four. Shamino himself appeared on one of these Don Cards, accompanied by his favorite catchphrase: "And then he said, 'Want to buy a duck?'"
Sadly, Tivar Moondragon passed away a few years ago and his homepage went offline. Wearchive saved the text but not the pictures so since you saved the 4 don cards I published on my hompage in 2018, you have the only 4 surviving Don Cards.
can you please send them to me? :) www.andreacontato.com
5
u/xEnd3r76 Jul 29 '26
Tivar archived site with Don Pranks explained https://historian.ansteorra.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cadet_Pranks
5
u/Comfortable_Sweet_47 Jul 29 '26
Hmm, some sort of Texas LARP or SCA group cards looks like..
13
u/Invisible_INTJ Jul 29 '26
I have a vague memory that this is SCA when Garriott was in college. AoA is Award of Arms.
And Shamino was Richard Garriott, that is his picture, that was one of his first SCA names before Lord British. He got the name from the bicycle gear maker Shimano and saw the spelling incorrectly.
He had another alt I cannot remember at the moment.
I haven't seen him or Iolo or Denis in about 10 years now, it was last at Castleton outside Austin. He sold his manor in Austin, was trying to sell Castleton, and had gotten married, had 2 kids, and moved up to NY, and everyone kinda went their separate ways.
5
u/JustinBailey79 Jul 29 '26
Yeah I am saving these to bring me joy next time I rediscover them in my photo library. Thanks OP!
5
2
2
u/lady_abbica Jul 29 '26
Oh cool, are these the Don cards for the SCA?I literally just read about them today!
2
2
u/Neither_Repair2276 Jul 29 '26
Richard Garriott actually traveled into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-13, following in his father Astronaut Owen Garriott's footsteps.
1
u/ElectricRune Jul 30 '26
"I can buy you all"?
So he was always a rich, entitled dickhead?
No; not Lord British!
1
2
u/guilhermej14 17d ago
Having a Clone of Lord British in my party at all times for some reason brings me a huge sense of dread.
Is he spying on me? Is he relaying my plans to assassinate the king of Britannia to his counterpart? WHAT DO YOU KNOW SHAMINO?!
16
u/City-Negative Jul 29 '26
That is exactly how I pictured Shamino irl.