We would like to invite you to a first ever Dragon Legion event in Poland! All aspiring and experienced game directors are welcome to come together and collaborate on making the Polish history come alive. As usual, our Game Director Training goal is to learn about the setting in order to create a unique and interesting storyline that will happen during the Polish Golden Age. After a main narrative is established, we will use it as a basis for creating adventures for a couple of adventure parties that will hopefully someday play them out on a Polish Player Event. We will also hold workshops to train your skills as a Game Director.
Event Date
The event will take place from: September 23rd – September 29th 2023 (Please remember to reserve a travel day before and after the event, keep those days free!)
Event Location
The GD event will take place in Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska, a beautiful upland region of southern Poland that stretches between Cracow and Częstochowa.
Topic of the Event
We will look at Poland’s history through the lens of a Polish Golden Age that spanned the 16th and half of the 17th centuries. That was a period when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth covers almost a million square kilometers and was one of the largest and most populous countries in Europe. To give you some very condensed context, that’s a period of winged hussars, Polish forces conquering Moscow (being the only one in history who achieved that), and an overall renaissance in Polish culture and science, perhaps best highlighted by Nicolaus Copernicus, who published his work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. After that, it all went downhill, and a century later Poland ceased to exist.
As usual, our Game Director Training goal is to learn about the setting in order to create a unique and interesting storyline that will happen in Renaissance Poland. After a main narrative is established, we will use it as a basis for creating adventures for a couple of adventure parties that will hopefully someday play them out on a Polish Player Event. Adventures and a setting book are going to be our main result of the event – bonus points for testing them on the fly, making them deeply embedded in the Polish culture and historical reality, and tying them strongly with the main narrative. There are no specific guidelines here, participants decide if it is total war against neighbors, brutal suppression of peasant uprisings, brutal overthrow of the nobility, or something more deep and toned down, like political intrigue, king assassination attempts, and geocentric model cultists trying to overthrow scientific progress.
Do I need to have any role-playing experience?
Although some experience will help you get into the game more quickly, you definitely don’t need any experience. All you need is the right attitude and the willingness to try something new. If you are an experienced role-player we will ask you to be flexible enough to step away from your “normal” game routine and try something different with us. We will be using the Runestones system that we developed for the purpose of these events.
Who can apply?
You should be at least 18 years old. We can only accept participants from the countries listed below. Currently slots are still available for: Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain.
All applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the coordination team. The best applications will be chosen and both the accepted and rejected applicants will be notified. The application will be open until all slots have been filled, so applying sooner gives you an advantage.
What about accommodation and food?
We will stay in Resort Jura (Batalionów Chłopskich 8, 42-425 Kroczyce, Silesia), specifically, in their Stacja Jura (Jura Station) located on a 1st floor of a building above a bakery (we have that space exclusively to ourselves). We will have 2-6 people rooms with bathrooms at our disposal, and we will also use a conference room for our meetings and work. Breakfast and dinner are included, shops and food outlets are nearby our accommodations.
What about sightseeing and resting?
During the event we will spend some time outside, visiting locations that can give us the best impressions of the fantastic nature and history of medieval Poland. You can expect to hike a little bit and visit old castles and caves, so be prepared for that. We expect you to turn up in time for the workshop sessions but there will be plenty of time to relax and sleep (however, you are responsible for getting enough sleep!).
We are going to plan one or two major excursions for all participants. They will involve renting a coach and driving to nearby locations – and there are plenty. Castles, castle ruins, nature spots, caves, museums, etc. There will also be a hike day, where we will go visit the closest castles to our location (about 10 km), and maybe some caves along the way. The sights we are going to visit and see are more or less tied to the historical era (usually slightly older) that we are going to explore.
Recommendations
In September, this region of Poland has day temperatures averaging about 19-21 degrees (about 12 during the night), and two-thirds of days are sunny, so it is very moderate overall.
Pack hiking boots, clothes that can get dirty, some warmer clothes for colder days, and swimming attire just to be sure.
Included in the event are:
- Flights from your home country and an airport in your area (might not be the closest one since we need to take cheap flights for everyone to stay within the budget)
- Accommodation in Poland
- Food and drinks
- Entry fees for places we visit together
- Travels within Poland
Event Fee:
- 40 Euros for Dragon Legion Members
- 50 Euros for non-members
Funding
The event is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union that supports intercultural exchange of young people. This allows us to cover most parts of the travel costs and accommodation costs for the participants.
Why does the event have a fee if it gets funding?
We have a very tight budget and we would love to pay for everyone but we simply can’t. With the fees of 40 € / 50 € we can pay for the budget overrun so that we don’t end up paying extra for the event. We think this is a good price for a week of role-playing experience, including food, accommodation and travel. If you cannot afford the fee but still want to participate please give a statement about it in your application. We know there are bad situations in some countries right now and we want to make sure that everyone has the chance to be part of this event, so we decided to have 1-2 slots for free for those who really need them. Please don’t abuse this. We cover the travel costs for the flight, the travel from the airport to our location, lodging, food and drinks and any group activities. You just need to take care of your travel to the airport in your home country.
Travel
Expect to arrive at Katowice-Pyrzowice Airport (about 50 km west of event location), Kraków-Balice Airport (about 80 km south of event location), or other Polish airports (Warsaw – 270 km; Łódź – 175 km; Wrocław – 260 km). Then we will try to pick you up by car/bus or perhaps you will need to get a train ticket and arrive in Katowice or Zawiercie, where we will pick you up.
Who is organizing the event?
The people behind this event are active members of the Dragon Legion, young people who are interested in cultural exchange, creating innovative events, and role-playing games. We are all volunteers who organize this in our free time.
Additionally, our Polish partners are members of Stowarzyszenie Mistrzów Gry Tempus (Tempus Game Masters’ Association).
Need more information?
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Just send us an email: info [at] dragon-legion.com. Once we received and checked your application you will get a confirmation email. You can submit your application below.