Patrisha Macfarlane's 2010 Wintersday Gift Giveaway

Dwayna's wings sweep the sky and reveal a starry sight...

Grenth's cold winter Moon broods, but shines ever so bright...

And the little children pray and wonder: "What gifts will the Lady bring us this night?"

------- Ascalonian Wintersday children's rhyme

Esteemed Ambassadors,

I bring you greetings and well-wishes on behalf of Her Grace, the Countess Talia Caribdus of House Caribdus and the island nation of Callisea.

With this missive, I have the honor and pleasure to announce that during the Wintersday Season of this year 1079AE(1589CC), Her Grace's servant, the Lady Patrisha MacFarlane, Callisean Ambassador to Kryta, will once again be reprising her role as "The Winter Lady", and will be again traveling the nations of Tyria on a gift-giving tour of goodwill. During these nights, the Lady Patrisha will be giving away many gifts of value to the citizens of Ascalon, Kryta, Cantha, and Elona. This is the 6th Winterday Season that the Gift Giveaway has taken place and Lady Patrisha is hoping that it will serve as a vehicle of peace, especially in the Kingdom of Kryta, having so recently faced the hardships of war and a struggle for their freedom against the oppression of false gods and their unholy servants.

Patrisha's traditional first stop will be in the place that started it all, 6 seasons ago: Ascalon City, in Ascalon, our House's nation of origin. However, unlike previous years, Lady Patrisha will be ending her tour in Lion's Arch instead of back in Ascalon City. It is hoped that the extra attention this year will help to ease the reconstruction pains of that battered nation and populace. Lady Patrisha will be traveling with an extra heavy guard this year, as it is known that White Mantle holdouts seek revenge on our House for the assistance we provided Queen Salma and her people during the recent war.

Lady Patrisha's exact itinerary is as follows:

Ascalon City, American District 1, December 27th at 6pm Pacific time

Lion's Arch, American District 1, December 28th at 6pm Pacific time

Shing Jea Monastery, American District 1, December 29th at 6pm Pacific time

Kamadan, American District 1, December 30th at 6pm Pacific time

Lion's Arch, American District 1, December 31st at 6 pm Pacific time for the final giveaway, rock paper scissor championship, and a year's end farewell.

If for some reason Lady Patrisha is unable to enter district 1 at the scheduled stop/time, due to it being population locked, etc, she will drop down to the next available district. Keep an eye on this thread! If you are waiting for her at any of her stops and she is not showing, she will post update information here telling you were to find her.

All gifts given are of course free, and are intended to favor the new, young, and less fortunate heroes of our lands, but gifts will be available for veterans as well. Each person opening trade with Lady Patrisha will receive one profession-specific item (if possible) per showing. Attempts to fool Lady Patrisha usually fail miserably as she remembers names very well. Holiday items and mini-pets maybe substituted if profession-specific items have run out at that time. Each showing usually lasts for 60-90 minutes or until items set aside for that night are gone.

Rock, Paper, Scissors:::

A competition event that has not been held since the 1075 (2006) Giveaway has returned due to popular demand of those responsible for assisting the Winter Lady.

Each showing after the evening's giveaway event has concluded, Lady Patrisha will ask for four volunteers to compete against each other in a tradional bout of RPS, best 2 out of 3 rounds. The two pairs winners when then face each other to determine the nightly winner. Prizes will of course be given to those who prove their martial prowess in this game of skill and strategy. Each night's winner will then be able to compete in the championship sem-final and final rounds after the season's last showing in Lion's Arch on the 31st. If a nightly winner cannot show on the 31st, then the runner-up from that particular night's competition will compete as his/her alternate. The final winner will receive this year's finale prize (and it's a beaut!)

Those with questions about the event may ask here, may send a missive to our Diplomatic Center, Events Branch ([email protected]), or may contact Patrisha MacFarlane in-game when she is available. I will take the opportunity to answer each season's most common question now:

Q: What kinds of items are being given away?
A: Profession specific golds, greens, and high quality purples, including rare skins as available, until they run out. Once items run out for a profession on a particular night, other items such as holiday treats and minis maybe substituted. For example: if you show up with a warrior character, you'll get a warrior item.

Q: Can I request a specific item?
A: Within reason. Again with the warrior example: If you use swords over axes or hammers, you may request a sword, and if any are left, Lady Patrisha will accomodate you. **Demands** for specific items will be ignored. Be nice and polite at all times, please.

Q: You said minis. Will Lady Patrisha be giving away undedicated minis again this year?
A: Unfortunantly, this is unlikely this year. In the past Lady Patrisha has had a ton of minis to give away of her own (she has 18 characters across two accounts), and many minis were donated by friends of the giveaway. However, the introduction of the HoM calculator as seen minis become an even hotter commodity. Lady Patrisha has dedicated almost all her minis that she kept for herself so she could make her 50 (many of these will still be given away), some have been sold to finance the Giveaway, and only dedicated minis have been donated as of this missive. Of course, people still want dedicated minis so they can play with them in-game and we will have those to give away. If the Gods smile on us, perhaps we will have some undedicated by the 27th.

Q: You mentioned donations. Does Lady Patrisha still accept donations, and when?
A: Most certainly, and at anytime. You can make arrangments with her in-game, post here, or contact the Events Branch at [email protected] to make arrangments. Many of our donators actually show up to the events and stand under the tree with Lady Patrisha to give out their items themselves.

Q: Where in each city does Patrisha show?
A: Lady Patrisha always sets up shop under the Wintersday Tree in whatever city she visits, the only exception being Shing Jea, in which case she sets up in the main courtyard. In Acalon City, the tree can be found in the drained lake-bed directly under storage and in front of the armor crafters. In Lion's Arch, the tree can be found in the main courtyard near where Dwayna and Grenth do battle during the finale. In Kamadan the tree is found next to where the merchant's tent is usually located, between it and main storage.

Q: You said one item per person. Does that mean one per account, or one per character?
A: Lady Patrisha prefers that each night you only go to receive a gift one per account, that there are enough gifts to go around. Of course, you always attend to the next night's showing to receive another.

Q: I've heard that each year the finale gift has been a big-ticket item. True? And what is it this year if so?
A: Yes, you've heard true. Finale gifts in the past have been: perfect Gold Stormbow in '05 to the RPS winner, perfect Gold Fellblade in '06 to the RPS winner, miniature Gwen as a finale gift in '07, Voltiac Spear as a finale gift in '08, and a perfect modded traveller's Icy Dragon Sword in '09. As for this year: it's SECRET, and I'm not tellin!

That concludes this year's announcment.

A Blessed Wintersday Season to you all!

Chen-po Duan, Chamberlain, House Caribdus

Just a heads up in response to a question that I've been asked in-game a couple of times:

Yes, notification was sent to ANet's Community News by one of my helpers the same day this was posted here. No, I don't know why it hasn't shown up on guildwars.com as it usually does. I'm guessing they just haven't updated/decided not to update the Comm News for whatever reason. Another Email will be sent tommorrow morning.

Happy Wintersday!

It has been updated, Patrisha, and your event is posted there.

They haven't put the community news on the front page yet. (and I'm not so sure if they intend to do so)

http://www.guildwars.com/community/news/

Indeed! I just checked it myself and saw that they posted it up yesterday evening. I don't think they intend to front-page the Comm News this time as I'm pretty sure they have all went home for the holidays.

Thanks for checking!

December 27th and tonight's showing was in Ascalon City, Amer dist 1, starting at 6pm Pacific.

Had a really decent crowd, and even some brand-new players! Only a handful of Mesmers and Rits, but the other professions were well represented, especially Warriors. This was a very good thing as I had many Warrior items to give away.

A few people tried to be tricky and come back for second gifts, even going so far as to try to hide behind tonics, but remember: I always remember the names of people I give gifts to! Of course, you can't blame some people for trying.

In all, 87 items were given away. Almost all were gold and green, but 6 purples were also given away. This is not including Wintersday Gifts and tonics, which I don't keep a count on.

Tonight's Rock Paper Scissor winner was I Am A Warrior Guy, and he will go on to compete in the Semis at Lion's Arch on the 31st. Captain Medieval was the runner up after several hard fought rounds of rock on rock combat.

See you tommorrow night in Lion's Arch, Amer dist 1, at 6pm Pacific.

(remember, if for some reason I can' get in, like the district is full, I will post showing update here)

December 28th and tonight's showing was in Lions Arch, Amer dist 1, starting at 6pm Pacific.

The crowd was huge, but trickled off pretty fast, after about 40 mins or so. Again, only a handful of Mesmers and Rits. Only three Dervishes, and NO Paragons, which really surprised me. Again, lots of Warriors amd Rangers. Maybe Warriors are making a come back.

Several people trying to be tricksy again, claiming that they didn't get a gift, but my precious always remembers your names! We had one troll who decided to fill the district chat with obscenities and racial slurs for no reason whatsoever. Hopefully that'll be taken care of. All in all, it went really well, despite those couple minor issues.

113 items were given away. Most gold, some greens, and a handful of purples. Some unded and ded minis were also given out, along with an unknown number of Winter Gifts (including the Green kind) and tonics.

Tonight's Rock, Paper, Scissor winner was Devon Connors. He will go on to compete in the Semis on the 31st. Ren Shinada was the runner up.

See you tommorrow night in Shing Jea, Amer dist 1, at 6pm Pacific

December 29th and tonight's showing (like 6 hours ago, I got involved with something after and forgot to update) was at Shing Jea, American Dist 1, at 6pm Pacific.

I you haven't been to SJM recently, you should go, just to see it and get some "laughs". Tonight's showing was short and only 63 items were given out, along with a number of Winter Gifts and Tonics. The low number of items was mostly due to the fact that very few people were actually paying attention to the Giveaway, so focused they were on their own "affairs" LOL

It was kinda a hoot, in a disturbing sorta way, but I think next year we might be moving the Dec 29th showing to the EoTN. I'll have a talk with the Emperor and we'll see what the atmosphere is like in SJM next year before we make any final decisions.

Due to the "distractions" in SJM, I held the RPS competition elsewhere. Rhasa Ghoull was tonight's winner and goes on to the Semis on the 31st, with Angelica Frost as tonight's runner up.

Tommorrow night, the 30th, I will be in Kamadan American Dist 1, 6pm Pacific.

(PS ran out of Necro and monk items. We'll try to have some rustled up by then)

Till later!

December 30th, Kamadan, American dis 1. Tonight's showing was HUGE! Hundreds of people showed up and I actually ran out of gifts to give, despite having friends of the Giveaway standing by to mule stuff in and receiving several donations.

It was a great time although we had trouble getting the RPS competition started. In all 213 items were given away by myself and a couple helpers, not including the two stacks worth of Winter Gifts, ded and unded minis and Tonics that went out.

Tonight's RPS winner was Pony Slaystation X and he will play in the Semis tommorrow night in LA.

Speaking of which, the LAST showing of the year will be tommorrow night in Lions Arch, American Dist 1, starting at 6pm. There are still plenty of gifts stored to giveaway tommorrow night, so if you've not made it by to pick up any yet, make sure you do tommorrow because once they are gone, they are GONE. The Semi-finals for RPS will kick off right after the giveaway followed immediately by the finals.

I hope to see as many of you there as possible

ok folks, the possibilty of a full district has occured. We'd managed to avoid this issue all season so far, but I suspect the large number of AFK's in the upper districts waiting for 12:01am DvsG showing has plugged up the works.

As promised, I am making this post to inform you of a district change. One of my elves tells me that district 20 is available. We are moving there now. It will be advertised in the Party Search Window as well.

Correction: Dist 20. All others have afks up to the sky

Last night's showing may have been the largest we've had since 2005. Despite the hassle of the district change, hundreds of people came through our district to receive gifts and extend well-wishes.

The exact number of items given is unknown, sorry, I lost count at 313 as gifts were rapidly given out and many donations came in at the same time. Most were golds and greens as always. Hundreds of Winter Gifts were given along with tonics as well after I received a donation of over 1000 gifts and 750 tonics.

We started in Lions Arch dist 20 at 6pm Pacific and went non-stop until 8pm when I called a pause to gift-giving so we could conduct this year's semi-final and final rounds of the Rock Paper Scissor Championship.
Although a couple of our nightly winners did not show, their runner-ups were available and were prepared to compete in their place.

In our first pairing Devon Conners met Pony Slaystation X in 5 rounds of sneaky, tricksy combat. After the dust settled, Pony Slaystation X was declared the winner after his scissors took control of the field.

In our second pairing, I Am A Warrior Guy met Vayle Ivey, a runner-up from a previous night. In a battle that mirrored their first meeting, the two went a marathon 8 rounds until a victor was decided, nearly tying the record of 9 rounds set in 2006. In the end, Vayle Ivey's rock pummeled her opponents scissors and she moved on to face Pony in the finals.

The final pairing was quick and decisive. Both opponents had gauged the other's previous performance. Both were confident that they had the strategy needed to take their opponent down. But, in the end it was Pony Slaystation's simple and elegant piece of paper that decided the day, and he was declared the victor. Collecting her runner-up prize of 5 ectos, Vayle Ivey stood tall, rightfully proud of her performance, and complimented her opponent on his victory, which the victor graciously accepted.
Pony Slaystation X then collected his Champion's Prize from The Great Feo, an Oppressor's Weapon of his choice, dyed in any color of his choice. Pony wisely chose the Oppressor's Spear, a weapon favored by many for pvp combat, and chose to receive his prize undyed.

After the RPS Championship, the Gift Giving continued and by 10 pm Pacific had moved to district 40 as district 20 had filled up with more AFK's. Many more gifts were given until my bags, box, mules, and the same of my donators was finally empty. The event finally concluded at 11:45 pm Pacific as I met friends to greet Dwayna and support her in her battle against Grenth. In all, a solid 5 hours and 45 minutes of Gift Giving, competition, and Wintersday joy to end the season.

I now wish to take a moment to give my heart-felt thanks and appreciation to those who donated their time, items, spirit and good cheer to the event. Without them, this year's event would not have even come close being the smashing success that it was:

The Great Feo: For his time, donations of many items, time spent farming them, and his donation of this year's top prize. Be sure to find the Great Feo for this year's Canthan New Year as he will be hosting a district for a full **24 hours**

Algonda Friedenbaum: For her donations of literally over a thousand Winter Gifts, items, and the time spent watching my back at each showing this past week.

Borassus Palmerum: Who has been donating items for literally months in preparation for the event, and gave his time promoting it and getting the word out.

Tamar Greystone: The supa-pack-mule-addicted-to-chests-ranger. My guildmate who has helped to support my Giveaways since the very beginning. This guy has been the cornerstone of the event and even though work and family sometimes prevents him from making an appearance, his spirit follows the event everywhere it goes.

Rhasa Ghoull: One of our nightly RPS winners, he was unable to show last night, but his selfless nature was with us anyway. Despite having his account recently hacked and losing millions of gold worth of some of the most valuable items in the game, he STILL donated dozens of gold and green items that he recently aquired or the hacker left behind.

Pony Slaystation X: While waiting to compete in the Semis, Pony stood with me in district 20 giving away a signifcant number of unded and ded minis, and probably a couple stacks of tonics if not more.

Angelica Frost: For donating items, being my sounding board, giving me great ideas, and letting me rant when things don't go my way

Devon Conners, Bathazars Captain, Perfect Destiny, Smart Asssssassin, and Tashiro Kurosawa for donating items they did not need.

ArenaNet: For great holiday events going all the way back to Halloween 2005 (BTW, Awesome hats this year!)

Dwayna: For giving me the best job in Tyria!

And you! For showing up and making it fun!

Till next year! Happy Wintersday! Hope to see you in Cantha this New Year.

Thanks for the siege turtle mini, the chakram, and the elementalist staff, Patrisha. Happy New Year and Wintersday to all.

Malan Wetherby/Jebel Musa/Octobriana Rao/et al.

Lady Patrisha --

I know you have/were having computer problems, but I do not see an update as to your schedule for 2011 ... If there's someone with whom I can coordinate giving gifts to, please let me know (currently, I am sitting on more ToT bags than I know what to do with, as well as a substantial number of Wintersday Gifts and some green/gold items)