Joke Of All Trades

This past weekend was our event at Vassal LARP and my goodness it was a blast!

From fighting over a supply route in mud and rain to shooting dice in the tavern, from politicking in a yurt to storming the field in full armor, this event had it all.

Can't wait to return in the fall and explore the consequences of this event!

Vassal LARP 5 likes, 1 comment. "The Fall of Orstatt"

I had the distinct privelage of making a complete 14-15th century kit for a customer, and luckily, they are similar size and shape as me so I was able to get some good photos of it!

This was made to be a good starting basis for a condottiere kit. Linen braes and undershirt, wool hosen with leather grommets, linen-lined velvet doublet, wool chaperone, and silk giornea. Lots of work! I took much of the general construction concepts from "The Medieval Tailor's Assistant", modified a bit by my own research. All pieces were made from scratch without patterns, made bespoke to the client's measurements after we collaboratively selected the fabrics. Machine sewn but done with care not to leave noticeable machine stitching.

The order didn't include footwear or a belt/sword, that's just for the photos, but everything else was made for this commission.

Overall, this is pretty general attire for the period, but the giornea (a type of pleated surcoat/tabbard) is relatively unique to Italian military and nobility.

This was a very cool project to take on, I love doing these complete kit commissions and I do offer customized bundles. If you're in the market for something like this, shoot me a message and let's talk!

Here's a goofy little video I put together of yesterday's kit hike, now up on my much-unloved YouTube channel!

Kit Hike: A Winter Walk A brisk winter walk in my 16th-17th century Scots kit-- just me, my dog, and maybe a drop or two of poitín. Normally I make all my own kit, but this kit is t...

Put on some 16th-17th century Scots kit today and took a walk round the land. It was good fun, though Bukowski enjoyed it more than I did!

I really love this kit, I've been working to refine it a bit and still have a ways to go, but it's functional!

A new sword and scabbard complete and in the hands of its new owner!

This is a LARP saber, a cheapie from Amazon but tested to be good enough for Vassal ( ), modified to better resemble a saber of the Carpathian steppe.

The scabbard is made from scratch, designed to look like a real wood-cored steppe scabbards of the 8th-13th centuries, but crafted from leather strong enough to hold shape without a wood core in order to be safe for the LARP field.

POV: you just said something disparaging about horse milk

I showed you my yurt linens, pls respond

I made quite a few things over the summer!

Here are some side-by-side shots of my western steppe gear, one for LARP and one for living history! The steel saber is by VAS Crafts and the real shield is by True History Shop. The LARP saber was a cheapie that I've modified.

The quivers, scabbards, and the green shield were made by me. The quiver and arrows are based on the example from Moschevaya Balka with a little variance thrown in. The shield is based on 12-14th century Caucasian and Turkic art and made by True History Shop. The saber is based on a 10th century example found at Eger in northern Hungary. The LARP counterparts were crafted to mimic these examples.

Another incredible event in the books with Vassal LARP! This was an amazing time with a ton of story development, even without any warfare (this time ;))!

I'm already excited for spring!

Tempting Fate Vassal LARP LLC. presents Event #7, “Tempting Fate,” September 25-28 2025.After tumultuous events in Rikterfelden, many adventurers now find themselves at Be...

Now that the wedding is over and I've been re-introduced to free time, I've been doing some painting for tabletop, specifically Heroscape!

Here is some of my most recent batch, a hoard of skordyre-- terrifying alien bugs, and their queen!

Years ago, before the advent of speed painting, I somehow concocted an alchemical mixture that allowed me to paint an insect carapace with that perfect glossy gradient of black with whispers of purple and green, like an iridescent beetle. I wanted to figure out how to do that again but on a larger scale.

I dont think i quite got it the way I had hoped, but I'm still very happy with these. The trick was dry brush layering and mixing different varnished before applying a wet-look clearcoat. The photos here don't really do them justice, honestly. They look VERY different than anything else on a heroscape table!

Feels good to be painting again, and I'll soak it up while I can before reenactment and larp starts up again toward the end of the summer.