Thank You very much for reading this.

Okay my dilemma...
I currently have about 20+ friends that are more than interested in Belegarth. I have read the sight multiple times and still reading until the rules and what not are engraved in my brain. I am probably the most organized person in our group and we would like to start our own realm.... I need help though... i would like to talk to anyone that can help me My questions

1. Should We worry about a name, sign, and colors yet?

2. My friends all want to make weapons but without anyone experieced how can we be possitive that our Weapons are legal? Should i take them to a near by gathering of experienced Players?

3. When are There big gatherings of Players for bigger scale wars..

4. Can you PLEASE give me pointers....

Anyone in freeport/rockford area i coudl use your help alot as well you are the closest realm to me We are in savanna illinois towards galena, if you can help us it woudl be very appreciated please contact me anyone with pointers leave comment or Email at Drachelanze13000@hotmail.com

Thank you

If you already have 20 people then it sounds like you have an excellent start. Congrats !

No rush on choosing a name or colors. Get your people together sometime, come up with some ideas from the group, and then vote on it a week or so later. It's good to give people time to think about it. ( Check the Realm list beforehand to make sure you don't use a name that is already used, or that's too similiar. Try to stay away from names that start with A, there are sooo many of them already. Also, black and red are the most popular colors, so you might want to chose another theme. Realm list; viewtopic.php?f=85&t=13470 )

http://www.edhellen.com has swords for sale, and pictures to give you an idea. Or hopefully a neighboring realm will help teach you how to make weapons. There are instructions available online. ( Could someone please post a link ? )

Once you have weapons, start weekly practices in a Park that is somewhat in the public view. Bathrooms are a plus. Sun is great in the winter, and shade will be great in the summer. Keeping the same practice location and the same day and time makes it easier for people to come back. Bring a notebook and make a sign in sheet. Get email addresses and phone numbers so you can reach people. It's easy to make a yahoo mailing list and keep everyone up to date.

Create flyers, or download flyers, add your phone number & email. Put them in area gaming stores or colleges. Also bring them to practice to hand out to interested people who walk by. Eventually you or someone in your realm could make a website or a MySpace page with your realm name to help you network.

Basically just have a good time at your weekly practice Treat people with respect. Show appreciation to people who help out. A good attitude is crucial.

Community is an important aspect of a successful realm. Once your group is going, Put together weapon making days. Go to the movies in garb and hand out flyers. Go out to dinner after practice in garb. Maintain positive relations with neighboring foam fighters and the SCA. It's a lot of fun to go to other games events, and you get to meet even more people. First impressions are very important, so put your best foot forward. And go to national events ! Make new friends and have a great time.

Belegarth Events; viewforum.php?f=153

What other questions do you have ?

To add to what Crynolyn said (which is all very good advice), you're not too far from either Beornve in Rock Island/Davenport or Khador in Freeport/Rockford. I would strongly recommend that after you guys get some weapons built, plan a day and go visit one of these realms. They'd be happy to check over your weapons and let you know if they're legal and give advice, then you can fight with them and ask any questions you might have.

I forgot the most important thing, Welcome to Belegarth !!

Links to weapon construction guides:
http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/alcon/construction.html
http://www.geddon.org/index.php/Category:How_to_build

You'll also want to take a look at this one to find out what NOT to do:
http://www.geddon.org/index.php/Experimental_Weapons_FAQ

Congrats on the group
Would like to possibly come for a visit sometime

The best place to look for gatherings is on this site and check under events and general mayhem.
Also, look under the buy and sell forum, you maybe able to pick up discount priced weapons.

Get a good foundation, then the other things will start and to come together.

Stay in contact

Mods, can we get this locked and/or moved, this isn't the right place for this thread at all.

This belongs in the New Members forum.

Sorry about this, I know that it doesn't really belong here, but when I was looking through the forums, I saw this topic and some of the things said helped a bit.

I was wondering if you all think that it would be worth the effort to make a realm in South Dakota. I think that it would be fun to start up an official realm here, but the thing is that we wouldn't really be able to go up against other groups since we would be the only one in the state.

Absolutely.

You can always go to events. Many, many people travel to events outside of their state.

There's a yearly weekend event in Iowa, plus several day events scattered around Iowa and Minnesota. You can also head West for a number of what I'm told are sweet events.

Thanks!

does anyone have ideas on what a good flyer would be my relams in bowling green we need to reach out more people

Check out this and this and I am working on a trifold, or Eris may beat me to it.

It's great that you guys are excited about advertising and building your realms! If you haven't already, check out The Recruitment Forum and the New Members Forum. A lot of people are happy to answer questions, but you might get faster responses asking in those forums.

Welcome and good luck!