LARPing

[Ariel23]

Some of the posts here talk about size, but not fun. The only thing heavy attendance guarantees you at an event, is more options for adventure, and more people to RP with (or get PVP'd by), not that the game will be awesome. Often, it's a function of population density as often as an indicator of quality.
I'm sure those games are fine, I'm just saying I would put "# in attendance" out of the Top 20 factors for my personal game enjoyability.
If 200,000 people go to a NASCAR race, it certainly doesn't mean I will want to.

I find that with any game, MMORPG, LARP, or tabletop RPG, it's far more about the story and other players (and Plot staff or DM) than the ruleset or mechanics of the game.


Where I live (Calontir) the SCA mostly sucks, and has for 25 years. There are good people, but not enough to cancel the boredom/frustration/aggravation of dealing with people who take themselves way too seriously. OTOH, there are some really great kingdoms elsewhere. Outlands and Ansteorra come to mind, but there are several.
I go to Pennsic every year, but even there I avoid Court like the plague. [Unlike the period, there aren't really any plagues in the SCA.]
[By the way, the "Creative" part of SCA is a lie.]


Amtgard has about as much RP as a a console RPG where RP is defined as any game where you can level up and improve your character.
The fact that you have a class and a level (up to 6) does NOT make it role-play. Only the players can do that. That's why I'd rather have a good group than a good game.
OTOH, if you really want to get together and hit people with boffers like mad, then that's the RP for you. There are plenty of boffer groups available.

Fortunately, my local chapter (Falcon Tor) was created by one of the original founders of Amtgard, and he is pushing to give up their Amtgard association so that they can have more RP rules. [Yes, Amtgard is kind of against that sort of innovation/complexity.]


Mostly I play NERO. There are 2 chapters within 3 hours of me (<200 mi) and I want to say 6 chapters within 5 hours. In all likelihood I could play a full weekend event every week for the rest of my life, if I was made of time and gas money.
NERO Central NERO Central has a great playerbase and an awesome Plot staff. They don't have enough NPC's but the PC's are all really cool, so they are happy to NPC for "free." It's also a nice retreat from hoity-toity nobles and idealized feudalism. Those things all still exist everywhere else in NERO, just not at Central, which is more of a tribal experience where no one owns land or holds titles. [Nice for new players.]
It's a lot more thoughtful than your typical "D&D Outdoors" type of event. There are some really good chapters in the midwest, we are lucky in that regard.

Whoa, it's a 240 page LARP manual. I'm impressed.

NERO's rulebook is half that. I don't know anything about IFGS. 2 posts up, you said that you didn't like it because of all the rules.

(if I want that kind of rules detail I'll play pen-and-paper)

*shrug*

 

[pawsplay]

Amtgard has about as much RP as a a console RPG where RP is defined as any game where you can level up and improve your character.

While I'll agree Amtgard is not RP-centric, I would not use this analogy because leveling up and improving your character is a fairly minor matter. There are only six levels to each class, and they amount to probably less of a difference than six levels in most games that have more levels.

As noted, Amtgard is a hybrid activity, part LARP, part combat sport, part society.

I'll definitely disagree that Amtgard hates innovation.

 

[wingsandsword]

TOO OLD? I am 36. The master of the thieves guild before he left was 63. The mistress of our healers guild is 59. Please... NEVER TO OLD.

Second that.

The player of our Healer's Guildmistress at our NERO chapter is 56 in real life. I'm 30 and I play one of the major nobles at our chapter. Another noble is 34 in real life. Most of the veteran players I know in NERO are in their 30's or 40's and have been playing for a decade or more.

I've seen everything from teenagers barely old enough to play, to fiftysomething grandmothers, from poor college students carpooling and living on ramen to wealthy attorneys driving Jaguars playing NERO.

 

[Mournblade94]

Where I live (Calontir) the SCA mostly sucks, and has for 25 years. There are good people, but not enough to cancel the boredom/frustration/aggravation of dealing with people who take themselves way too seriously. OTOH, there are some really great kingdoms elsewhere. Outlands and Ansteorra come to mind, but there are several.
I go to Pennsic every year, but even there I avoid Court like the plague. [Unlike the period, there aren't really any plagues in the SCA.]
[By the way, the "Creative" part of SCA is a lie.]

I recently stopped doing SCA. It needs to be held in context. What I like about SCA is that people are exploring HISTORY and not FANTASY. If your creative part is trying to interpret history, that is OK. But to often people go in fantasy garb, and the SCA is not the place for that.

I know alot of people in SCA, they are extremely Period and extremely CREATIVE. If one wants to run around as a vampire, they need to find a larp, not an historical organization.

 

[Umbran]

Where I live (Calontir) the SCA mostly sucks, and has for 25 years. There are good people, but not enough to cancel the boredom/frustration/aggravation of dealing with people who take themselves way too seriously. OTOH, there are some really great kingdoms elsewhere. Outlands and Ansteorra come to mind, but there are several.
I go to Pennsic every year, but even there I avoid Court like the plague. [Unlike the period, there aren't really any plagues in the SCA.]
[By the way, the "Creative" part of SCA is a lie.]

Well, the SCA isn't a role-playing game by most standards I'm aware of, so I'm not sure it's really a useful comparison.

I cannot speak to the folks of Calontir in general, or even for the whole of my own home East Kingdom. But here, in the Barony of Carolingia, there's a goodly amount of creativity. But then, around here you can't swing a cat without hitting a highly qualified Laurel.

 

[Obryn]

FYI, Dagorhir is on Discovery Channel's Wreckreation Nation tonight at 10 eastern / 9 central.

The organization I was a part of - Belegarth - split off from Dagorhir in the early part of the decade over some political issues.

It's still basically the same game, though, and bravo to them for getting on a show like this! Check it out if you want to (hopefully) see some great hard-hitting combat.

-O

 

[Silver Moon]

I cannot speak to the folks of Calontir in general, or even for the whole of my own home East Kingdom. But here, in the Barony of Carolingia, there's a goodly amount of creativity. But then, around here you can't swing a cat without hitting a highly qualified Laurel.

Same up here in Stonemarche. I'm not a member but my wife and oldest daughter are both very active in the Arts & Sciences realm. My wife also merchants at Pennsic every year selling her assorted wool and yarn products.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

FYI, Dagorhir is on Discovery Channel's Wreckreation Nation tonight at 10 eastern / 9 central.

The organization I was a part of - Belegarth - split off from Dagorhir in the early part of the decade over some political issues.

It's still basically the same game, though, and bravo to them for getting on a show like this! Check it out if you want to (hopefully) see some great hard-hitting combat.

-O

Gah, I missed it!

 

[Obryn]

Gah, I missed it!

It'll be on again. If you have Comcast's On Demand or something it may be there, too. I think Dagorhir's actual screen time was about half the broadcast, so they take a pretty close look at it.

It was actually a really good segment. It was very ... surreal ... to see a good friend of mine (Fergus) talking on Discovery Channel. I can't tell you how many times I've been drunk with him.

The segment was very ... respectful(?), too. I mean, if you're looking at a bunch of adults in costumes hitting each other with fake weapons, it's very easy to just sit back and poke fun. Nope; the host took it as the game, sport, and pseudo-martial-art it is, jumped in, experienced it, and apparently had a good time.

Frankly, I think it's about the kindest any form of media has ever been to us. While they did poke a little fun, it was good-natured and ... um ... well-deserved. I mean, it is undeniably a little silly. The important thing is that it wasn't shown as purely silly.

-O

 

[Umbran]

While they did poke a little fun, it was good-natured and ... um ... well-deserved. I mean, it is undeniably a little silly.

Good gods, no! Running around in funny clothes hitting each other with sticks of latex or padded PVC is serious business, not to be taken lightly!

The key to maturity is not putting aside that which is immature, but being able to properly choose when to not put it aside.