Random Witterings!

I’ve taken part in Live Action roleplaying for many years now. I started at the age of 15 or so at a local group that ran every weekend in Brighton called Run The Gauntlet (or Gauntlet as it was usually called). It wasn’t until a few years later I started to go to the annual Lorien Trust event called The Gathering and attended that for a good few years. I got Tony interested (he’d been roleplaying for many years but had never tried Live Action) and we both went along to The Gathering.

Omega then started up a new system called Pheonix Revelation and our roleplaying group decided they’d like to try Live Action and we formed the Lorgaire De Eolas for that system. Since it finished, we’ve sadly stopped attending LARP but it remains something I would love to get back into if the right system came along.

What Is Live Action Roleplaying? (LARP)

LARP is basically the next step from Roleplaying Games but without the dice, the table and the books. Instead you ‘become’ the character, much as you would if you were taking part in a play. Instead of stating what you’re action is going to be, you actually do it, whether it’s casting a spell, racing into combat or trying to talk your way past someone.

It’s faster paced than table top roleplaying because you don’t have the time to stop and think about what you’re action is going to be. A lot of the time whether you succeed or not is down to your own skill, not the roll of the dice, but it does depend on your character statistics – which in the end can call for greater roleplaying.

So it’s like a Play?

It is like a play in many respects, the most being the part you play. After you have created your character, you then make it come alive with its own personality and traits – most of the time decided on before you start your first adventure. So in that respect, you do a lot of acting. The big difference is that there is no script to follow, what you decide to do, decides the outcome. Some people prefer LARP to re-enactment because there is no pre-ordained outcome. You are not recreating a battle long since fought so you don’t know how it will end; the ending is instead up to you.

How do you Fight?

It can vary from system to system but generally what it comes down to is, you have a certain number of hit points on each location of your body (left arm, right arm, right leg, left leg, back and chest). Not many systems count or allow head hits as this can be dangerous and some systems actively discourage them. (Having been whapped around the head a few times myself, I wholeheartedly approve of a no head-hits rule.)

Each weapon does a certain amount of hit points of damage so that when you are hit, you subtract that amount and when you run out of points on that location, it stops working. Generally you keep count during the combat and after it is finished, the ref will update character cards and keep track of the damage.

It does require you to be honest about the number of hits you have recieved but it can be easy to lose track in the heat of the fight. Try and be as honest as you can, there is nothing worse than having someone come out of intense combat and saying.. “oh no I wasn’t hit” when it is blatantly obvious they were. That type of cheating gains you nothing, causes anger and mistrust and spoils it for everyone.

What do you fight with?

Weapons are strictly laid out in most systems rules especially where safety is concerned. The weapons can be made of a variety of materials but there are strict guidelines as to what materials and where.

Melee Weapons

The most common hand-to-hand weapons have a rod core made of bamboo, graphite, or dowelling then dense foam or carry mat is cut to shape and then packed around it and glued. Then it is covered in coloured tape or a latex solution mixed with paint. It may sound odd but there are some very realistic and spectacular examples to be seen.

The strictest part of making LARP weapons is that they are padded enough. You need to be able to feel it when you are hit but not enough to leave a bruise! Of course, there are some people who will leave bruises no matter how padded their weapons are. A quiet word with the said person can usually result in them pulling their blows. If not then it’s time to have a word with your nice friendly ref.

Missile Weapons

Most systems have no problem with people using bows but they are probably the most controlled weapon to use. A lot of the time, only bows of a certain poundage can be used and the arrows have to be made in a certain way normally with the tip being a padded affair (not padded over a real arrowhead! but *only* padding) and it has to be bigger than an eyesocket. Knowing how to use the bow is a big advantage and a lot of people will only let you use one once you’ve proved you can use it. It might look easy and a lot of fun to do but using a bow in too close quarters and aiming wildly can have some pretty nasty results.

Other items that can be used for missile weapons are things like a bit of foam, latexed etc to look like rocks, fireballs etc. They need to have a little bit of weight to get them to have any sort of range so a little bit of weighting can be ok – just bear in mind that it needs enough padding so that it becomes safe. Not everyone will be watching you throw it!

A big no-no which I have personal experience of is tennis balls. Yes they do make effective missiles for fire-balls but they also squish noses pretty well. They don’t even have to be thrown that hard. It’s all very well to say you won’t aim any higher than chest height but in the heat of the action, “oops, I got excited and just chucked the thing”!

The list of weapons you can make and use is as long as your arm. If you can imagine it and make it, you can usually use it! Just don’t sulk if the ref says no you can’t, he probably has a good reason for it.

What About Costume?

You can do as little or as much as you feel like for costume. Some people just wear jeans and a T-Shirt with a bit of material they call a tabard over it, and others wear full authentic armour. It really is up to you.

It can be very expensive to create a good costume and not everyone has the resources. A lot of the time there will be people willing to lend you bits of costume until you can afford or have the time to get your own. If you decide to make yourself something there are loads of resources you can use to give you ideas. Pattern companies usually have a fancy dress section and you can find some really good patterns from those, or go to the library and look up historical costume – you don’t need to make the authentic thing and you can arrange a workable pattern quite simply by looking.

There are numerous companies that make and sell LARP costume and also Companies or hobbyists who make Re-enactment equipment. From them you can use anything but the weapons (people get *really* annoyed for some reason when you come at them with a metal sword…. odd that….) You can go overboard but then if your character calls for someone with bad fashion sense or really wants to look like an overdressed peacock then hey, go for it!

How do you use magic?

The way magic is done probably varies a lot more from system to system than fighting. There are usually two types of magic, Mage magic and Priest or Cleric magic. I’ve seen systems that have a very extensive religion mapped out to enable characters to be clerics and the Mage side is almost as complex. Basically each system will have defined what spells each class can cast and how. Spells can be cast with a gesture, a long complicated invocation or you screw your eyes up in what looks like mystical concentration and then it happens. Generally, the number of spells you can cast at any given time is down to how many magic or mana points your character has. The number of magic points (and hit points) is related to what statistics you choose when you create your character. This can advance when you have completed adventures and your character progresses.

Is It Dangerous?

One of the biggest concerns in LARP is safety. No one wants to be carted off to hospital with broken bones, cuts and bruises and for a large part it comes down to the individual. Using padded weapons etc cuts down the risk drastically but you can cause injury to yourself and others by being excessively stupid. Running full pelt downhill into a wooded area increases the risk of you getting wrapped round a tree. The situation might call for it but would it really have made a difference to be a bit slower? Most people are amenable to the suggestion of “can we take this bit slowly?” and if they aren’t, you can always appeal to your ref. At the end of the day, everyone is there to have fun.

What type of Systems are there?

There are as many types as you can think of really. Everyone has interests in different aspects of fantasy and sci-fi and will create or play in one that fits their interests, There are fantasy, sci-fi/cyber, vampire, mixed games all around the world, it all depends on what you want to play and how far you are willing to travel.

This all sounds brilliant – how do I get into it?

There are all sorts of different organisations springing up around the world. As I live in the UK I can only really comment on the ones over here but I believe it is as widespread abroad as it is on this side of the pond. The best way to find out is to ask around. Most Universities have some sort of Roleplaying Society who may know if there are any groups in your area. The Internet is also a very good way. There are a couple of newsgroups for Roleplaying and even one dedicated to LARP. You could also see if there are any roleplaying shops in your area – they often have a message board on which LARP groups often advertise. Or you can put a message up yourselves and see if anyone responds. A lot of people who do LARP also Roleplay as well.