On warm Monday afternoons, Noyer Field transforms into Stormhaven, the home of more than a dozen characters reminiscent of a J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy.
Stormhaven is the Muncie chapter of Dagorhir, a combination of live-action roleplay, martial arts and medieval combat. Founded in 1977 as a way for Tolkien enthusiasts and medieval history buffs to share their interests, the nationwide recreational sport encourages followers to take on another personality and enter a realm of battle. Most of the participants' supplies are homemade, including self-made costumes and foam-covered rods used as makeshift swords.
The goal is to strike your opponents without necessarily hurting them, Bradley Cobb, a 2006 Ball State University alumnus, said.
Cobb said he discovered Dagorhir four years ago and started a chapter in his hometown of Indianapolis. Mittlemarch, the Indianapolis chapter, hosts practices five days a week and has a large high school following, he said. Arriving at Ball State the following year, Cobb enlisted the help of Zach Virgo, a fellow fan of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, in talking to hall council and receiving funding from the Student Government Association for a community weapon pile, he said.
Stormhaven now has almost 20 participants, Cobb said.
In the nature of the game's roleplay format, each of Indiana's seven chapters has its own story of formation. Stormhaven received its name because of its location. Stormhaven is "nestled into the corner of some foothills that protect it from the storms coming through the area," Cobb said.
Cobb, known in battle as Alric, son of Harland, based his character on a Visigoth barbarian from the time of the Roman Empire, he said. Although his alias comes from a historical perspective, some roleplayers' identities are inspired by fantasy novels, he said.
Despite Dagorhir's emphasis on rough-and-tumble, full-body contact, the numbers of male and female participants are nearly equal, junior Lori Walden said. Walden, a "really big fan" of role-playing games, was exposed to Dagorhir while living in Indianapolis for the Urban Semester student-teaching program last August.
"There are a lot more women than I expected," Walden said. "I'm not as physically strong as the guys, and I have asthma, so I would rather talk than fight. But if a girl asks to fight and says 'I want a sword now!' they'd acknowledge that."
Walden said she loves the confused looks passers-by give her when she's dressed as her character, Lotta Andvari, a bearded female dwarf from the land of Tyrra. Her shining moments, however, come when she shares Andvari's background: Andvari is based on the 60-page dwarven handbook from the New England Roleplaying Organization, and she prefers the research aspect to that of combat because "it's like something to build off of," she said.
With the effort she and her fellow Dagorhir players put forth into sewing costumes and acting the part, sometimes the lines between the realm of Stormhaven and reality of Muncie blur, Walden said.
"You can lose yourself," she said. "You can forget who you are. You are that persona you chose."
Because of Dagorhir's success, other groups have spun off and created their own swordfighting clans. Freshmen Laura DeCamp and Evan Phillips began swordfighting this year outside of Knotts-Edwards and Mysch-Hurst halls. DeCamp, who battled in Dagorhir during high school, introduced Phillips to the sport, he said. While they are not affiliated with Stormhaven, the concept is similar to Dagorhir.
"What appeals to us is the fact we made the swords ourselves," Phillips said. "It's mostly just our geeky tendencies. For me, it's just fun. It's like any other sport - it's the adrenaline rush."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
