Introduction: Dagorhir: an Intoduction the Best Hobby Ever*

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About: No one of consequence.

First off, let me say that I am not trying to offend your hobby. Dagorhir is just incredibly fun, one of the most fun things I've done. So what is Dagorhir? To put it simply, Dagorhir is a sport/game involving full contact medieval combat. People make swords, axes, shields, bows, spears, you name it, ans battle with them. The first thing you just thought was either, "Thats awesome!" or, "Sounds painful." If you're that first person, good job! To all the second people, don't worry. Weapons are padded and Dagorhir puts a lot of emphasis on safety. It is a full contact sport, so injuries can happen like in any sport, but the most thats likely to happen on an given day is a bloddy nose. If you think this is your type of thing, keep reading. If it's not, keep reading! You may find that you do like it, and I challenge everyone who reads this to visit their local Dagorhir chapter and try it at least once.

Step 1: So... Tell Me More

"Dagorhir Battle Games are many things to many people. Dagorhir combines fast-paced full-contact combat simulation with elements of live action role-playing. Dagorhir combines elements of both history and fantasy. Dagorhir is both a sport and a game. Dagorhir’s participants experience their fantasies on a variety of levels. This wide ranging appeal is the reason for Dagorhir’s nationwide success."

That paragraph up there is how people who do Dagorhir describe it. Here's a link to the website http://dagorhir.com/.
Have a look around and see what they have to say for themselves. They have pictures of various battles, rules, tutorials on weapon building, the whole nine yards. Hopefully the more you look the more interested you'll get. Make sure you look at the rules on how to play. You don't need to memorize them. At your first practice others will gladly explain the ins and outs of the game.

Take another look at the pictures on the site and above. These guys are having an awesome time. They are getting fit, having fun, and  living thirty years longer than the average human. Joining Dagorhir will be the best decision you've made in two years, you're life will be complete, money will fall out of the sky, YOU WILL BE IMMORTAL! Sorry, got a little carried away.

So now you're hooked and you want charge into battle armed with the most dangerous looking item in your cubicle. Points for enthusiasm, but that's not the way to do it. Keep reading this instructables and I'll lay out all the steps necessary. 

Step 2: Step 1-Finding a Local Dagorhir Group

Cruise on over to your computer and go to the Dagorhir website. Find the column of red links on the left hand side. For those of you who are color blind, it's going to be a sort of dark grey. Click on the link that says, location of Dagorhir chapters. You'll find a two scale map of the U.S.A and all the Dagorhir groups (called chapters). If you live in the America, then you can just scroll through the list and find a chapter near you. Give them a call and see when and where they meet.

But what if you don't live in the U.S or there aren't any chapters near you? If you can't get to Dagorhir, bring Dagorhir to you! From the main page of the Daorhir website there is a link that says joining Dagorhir. If you click on it it gives you info on how to start you own unit.

Now you know where your local Dagorhir chapter is, head over for a practice! You don't need anything your first time. Talk to the people, get to know them, watch the fighting, join in the fighting, and checkout their weapons. WASN'T THAT AWESOME! Sorry, caps lock is stuck, or I'm just really excited, hard to tell. Come back to the next practice, and the next one.

You've begun to see the light that is Dagorhir, but you can't freeload forever. You need to make your own weapons, garb, and choose a name.

Step 3: Step 2- Making Magic, and Weapons

Making Dagorhir weapons is easier than you think. There are a few main kinds of weapons. Shields, swords, spears, axes, javelins, all that jazz. There is also an endless cesspool of "creative weapons". Some are okay, and some are just for looks, but unless you are a experienced weapon builder, which you aren't, keep it simple. I know it's tempting to say, "iwantahugeawesomeaxewithspikesontheendandachainandiwantittoshootlasersandimsosadthattheresonlysixmonthesleftbefortheendoftheworld." Honestly,how can you say that much in a single breath?

The first two things you should make are a sword and shield. That's not a suggestion, it's an order. If you disobey I will reach through the internet and slap the stupid out of you. Then you'll go sit in you're room and think about what you've done.

So... a sword and shield. On the Daorhir website you can click on the link labeled ,how-to. Then click on getting started and you'll find a nice simple tutorial for making a sword. If you click on weapon tutorials you'll find several others how-tos including a few for shields. A word of warning, you first one will probably be incredibly sloppy. But that's okay. Like many things in life like school, sports, and eating 12 tacos in a minute, it takes practice to be good.

Congratulations comrade! You are no longer mooching of others. As you get more and more in to the game you can make more advanced and fancy weapons, but you're good for now. Almost. Besides the weekly practices that most Dagorhir units have, there are also big events where several units or chapters will get together for a weekend of awesomeness. In order to go to those you have to be at least sixteen and have your very own garb!a.k.a battle clothing 

Step 4: Step 3- Making Garb, and Inventing Your Image

You might have noticed the clothing, commonly referred to as garb, that the people in the pictures are wearing. Some look normal, some look awesome, some look realistic, and some look ugly just because. People dressed as nights, Spartans, Romans, fantasy creatures, and more. You get to pick your persona, and it can be whatever you want. True, what you want might be stupid, but it doesn't matter! Unless your very self concious and people might make fun of you and then your self esteem will go down and you'll start grief eating and gain twenty pounds and you friends will all mock you when you ask for help. But what are the odds of that?

For your first character, do something simple. Maybe one day you'll be Antlythonepsus the second, conqueror of earth with a flaming cape, but not today. Settle for something like Hadon the friendly neighborhood medieval warrior.

Some simple garb you can make are a tunic and a pair of pants. In the how-to section on the Dagorhir website there is a section on making garb. This instructableshttps://www.instructables.com/id/Viking-Costume-somewhat-historically-accurate/ has a nice design for basic viking garb. 

While you're making your garb, think about your character. What will your new name be? What is your background? What time period? Put all of those into a pot, stir at low heat for twenty minutes, and you've got a decent Dagorhir character.

Step 5: Step 4- Expand!

At this point, you've got all you're basic needs. You can go out there and slaughter some not so innocents, but you don't want to settle for mediocre. You want to be better. Achieving this is done by consuming the souls of your dead enemies in the midst of battle. Or you can just get busy. Start fighting more to get better. Work on your weapon making techniques. Make a really incredible character with sweet garb. The world is your oyster! in a strange disconcerting metaphorical way. 

Now you're into Dagorhir and are starting to get good. Your welcome. You know you could never have done this without my help. Well, maybe you could, but it would have involved googling all this stuff your self. Who wants to do that?

And remember, HAVE FUN!