VALERI SALTIKOFF'S HOME PAGE
Last updated: 5.12.1998
Who the hell am I anyway???
Alright so, my name is Valeri Saltikoff, but because it's a long and difficult name to pronounce for us finns, people usually call me Wallu, Valdemar Barbarian (I've always wondered who the heck invented THAT one...=),W and so on. I was born in May 1980. I've lived nearly all my life here in Espoo, Finland except for those two years I spent in Kenya, East Africa when I was a kid. Nowadays I study in the Olari Upper Secondary School in a class specialized in mathemathics and sciences. I myself read biology and chemistry as my main subjects. My family includes me, my parents and my persian cat. About my hobbies, see below...
RPG's and LARP's
I have played role-playing games since 1989 or 1990. For those not familiar with the term "role-playing game", let's just say that they are sort of an improvized storytelling with no winners or losers and so on. They're a great way to spend time with your friends. I started with the oldes RPG in the world, Dungeons & Dragons, but within a short time started playing other games as well. Nowadays we (me and my friends) usually play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but also such games as Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, GURPS, Rune Quest, Shadowrun, Cyerpunk, 2300AD., Middle-Earth Role-Playing system and so on (whoops... gotta mention: PARANOIA!!!...=). Currently we have a couple of AD&D-campaigns plus a 2300AD.-campaign under play. I myself should start running a Vampire-campaign as soon as my dear friends send me their character essays (hurry up, guys... I can't wait all the time. ..=).
I took part in my first Live-Action Role-Playing game in September 1997 and got hooked right away. LARP's have the same basic idea as RPG's, but when RPG's are played via storytelling, in LARP's you actually ACT your role character. They are far more interesting and rewarding than normal RPG's but also tend to be more limited and much more difficult to arrange. At the moment I have attended a couple of bigger games plus several smaller ones. I myself am currently running a Shadowrun-miniLARP-campaign. I also plan to arrange a couple of bigger games in the not-so-near future. I am also a member of a finnish LARP group called Galahadin Syryj�inen Puisto.
Other interests
I have practised karate since January 1993. Karate is an okinawan martial art, based mainly on punching and kicking. I practice in EsU-karate and my style is called Shorinji-ryu. It is a popular style in Finland and is known for its numerous foot techniques, upright stances and special kind of Boogu-zuki-full-contact-sparring. I have currently the rank of 3.rd kyu or sankyu, which means I wear a green belt while practising.
I also have a great deal of minor interests. I read more or less a lot, both books and comics and sometimes write my own short stories. I also listen to music. My music taste is quite wide, mostly heavy metal and techno, but also sometimes classical music. I also like tampering with my computer (mostly games, also Internet and especially E-Mail), being with my friends and so on.
A couple of links
People
Aino Lahdenper�RPG
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, some links
Fantasiapelit, a finnish RPG store
FASA corporation, creator of ie. Shadowrun and BattleTech
White Wolf, creator of the storytelling games (ie. Vampire)
LARP
Galahadin Syryj�inen Puisto, our LARP group
Finnish Live-Action Role-Players' Association, the roof organization of finnish live-action role-players
"Vega"-minilarp campaign, home page of the minilarp campaign I am currently running. In Finnish. (note that the campaign is currently not running due to my other jobs)
Kaltaisemme: Halitut, a Vampire LARP-chronicle I am currently narrating
Music
Don Huonot, my favourite finnish band
Megadeth, probably the greatest heavy metal band in the world!
Metallica, another popular heavy metal band I listen to
Vangelis, the man behind the soundtracks for such movies as Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire and 1492: Conquest of Paradise
Literature
J.R.R.Tolkien, father of modern fantasy literature
Museum Arrakeen, page dedicated to Frank Herbert's Dune
Others
Esu-karate, my karate club
My guesbook
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