[1] Participants wear period costume and are expected to stay in-character during events, although the amount of seriousness the role-playing aspect receives varies greatly by unit and chapter.
[2] Founded in 1977, the Dagorhir brand has been licensed to groups in a few other locations,[3][4] with hundreds of members spread throughout the U.S., Canada, Britain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Germany, Australia, and Japan.
The rules of the manual of arms, as well as those pertaining to combat, are upheld by an effective honor system which applies to all players.
Units typically adopt a particular historical or fantastical race or nationality and dress, act, and fight according to interpretation of the group.
Fighters are free to choose their types of armor, picks of garb, choices of weaponry, and styles of play.
He had never heard of medieval reenactment, live action role-playing games or even Dungeons & Dragons but he wanted something to capture the spirit and adventure that could only come from wielding sword and bow.
Dagorhir began to spread throughout the Mid Western U.S, and inspired spin off organizations, including Belegarth Medieval Combat Society.
On January 20, 2009, the Discovery Channel show, Wreckreation Nation, featured Dagorhir in its episode, "Demolition Derby.
Participants are generally members of chapters, called "realms," which are formally licensed to use the Dagorhir name and related designs and documents.
However, after Ragnarok XXIV, the site of the event changed to Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
Groups across the nation hold events open to the public, and first-time fighters generally have their battle fee, if there is one, waived.
In Fall 2006, the second major national event, named after the battle of Badon Hill, first took place in western Pennsylvania and drew over 350 attendees.
Badon Hill now regularly has over 500 attendees, and the event was featured on an episode of the Discovery Channel's Wreckreation Nation.