Does LARP freak anyone else out?

[mistergone]

My theory on freaky LARPers:

The reason that LARPs seem to have more weirdos in them than tabletop games comes from the fact that, as a general rule, LARPs have an open admission policy.

If you’re starting a new tabletop game and advertising for new players, and someone with mental or social problems shows up and creeps you and your friends out, you wouldn’t invite them back, would you? In fact, many DMs I know who have had bad experiences like this in the past now ‘interview’ new players to see what they’re like, preferably in some neutral environment like a bar or restaurant, so that they don’t have to worry about inviting a psycho over to their own house.

But most LARPs (in my experience) have no such restrictions. LARP gamemasters seem to labor under the impression that, in order to remain impartial, they have to refrain from making any value judgements in regard to the player base, making it inappropriate for them to reject people from the game; or else there are so few LARPers available that they’ll take anyone they can get. The result? Players with the sort of severe issues that would get them rejected from tabletop groups are able to get into LARPs; they are, in fact, only able to get into LARPs.

-clippy-

- Eric

I agree here. LARPs are usually way more open than tabletop games. Another of my theories is that like-attracts-like, so say you have a group that at least SEEMS to be on the "wild" side of gaming, you'll most likely get the kind of people who really want to be freaky.

I personally do screen my potential players for tabletop games, as I've had a lot of bad experiences back in my "give them a chance" days with people I did not want to let in my house. Now I meet everyone at the local game store and run a combat scenario and talk with them beforehand. Maybe as a matter of course, I have a harder time finding players for my game now. I still, though not as much as I used to, try to give people a chance. But guys like the player who wanted to play the Cult of Extacist whose major focus was masturbation, well, I threw him out of my house right away. I just won't stand for that.

 

[Thresher]

Cant act, cant sing, cant dance and I dont want to inflict it on the rest of the world.
I sort of look at the LARP as being a bit like a game of paintball maybe with tennis balls and swords made out of nerf or something and its really not my cup of tea.

However, I am something of a blacksmith and metalworker so Im thinking for awile now I might join a metal weapons society and run around learing how to use swords, theres a lot of theme costuming and getting drunk too so it sounds like a laugh.
Ive always had a hankering to sit myself down and make a set of plate or chain armour, but Im not sure if my bank manager would understand

 

[dinsdale]

I have been LARPing for 13 years, though semi-retired now, and can provide a little insight into some of this. My LARPing was split between the MIT Assassin's guild and NERO (both versions.. and if anyone is feeling masochistic, I can do a pretty good job of explaining the breakup Kamard referred to), and I generally had extremely positive experiences, both running and playing in the games.

One thing that helps with wierding out non-players is to have strict rules about where you can perform game activities. In the Assassin's Guild, everyone in the game wore a clearly visible button/badge. You are strictly limited in what you could do in front of people not in the game and can get kicked out of a game for violating those rules. So, even though the game may take place over 10 days and the entire campus, there is minimal impact upon non-players. NERO and most other boffer-LARPS rent out camps and are isolated from non-players

It is also worth mentioning another difference between tabletop and LARP games. Sheer numbers. What is the largest number of people you've fit at a tabletop game? 10? 15? I've been at NERO events where there were over a hundred people, all immersed in the same game as you are and isolated from the real world. The Baron over there, he's a PC, and so is his entire court, the town blacksmith, the serving girl in the tavern, the head of the black market... That's something you just can't get in a tabletop game.

 

[jester47]

For the average LARPer, this is absolute hogwash. It's no more "living another life" than playing DnD on weekends is. Yes, there are people who carry it to far, but there is with *anything*... LARPs, Tabletop, Anime, Computers, Cars, Hunting, you name it.

Sorry Tsyr, I was simply talking about the time and money commitment involved from my personal experience. I am not attacking larpers or meaning to insinuate that they are escapist or carry another identity. I won't play non-boffer because I get bored. And to do boffer right (as I understand it) involves a huge ammount of time and money that I no longer desire to invest because I get the same things from other activities now. That is what I meant about leading another life: I would need another life to get the time to do it right (in my mind) as other things have a greater priority and I want to spend time doing what I am interested in.

I DO have time to lookover some notes and roll up a few stats for my twice a month tabletop game. And D&D is somthing I love to play. Prep takes about an hour and the game takes four. A little longer if I am making somthing whole cloth. That I can fit in.

So do you understand that I was not makeing an attack at you or anyone else who larps? Yes, I DO find it to be kind of silly. But any pastime (such as mountain climbing) is open to that accusation.

If LARPing is how you spend time with your friends and you enjoy it, more power too ya! Go for it. Just because I say I don't do it does not mean I disapprove. It just is not somthing that interests me anymore. But I can see how my statement got interpreted as a disparaging remark.

peace?

Aaron.

 

[RSKennan]

I can definitely understand the trepidation and sense that LARP is "not right".
LARP requires that one put himself "out there" but in my opinion, not significantly more than DMing a tabletop game with voices, strong personalities, and "theatrics".
I actually have an embarrassing story that almost made me swear off LARP.

In the early days of our MV Boffer LARP, my best friend and I were running a scenario by which each of us were playing powerful beings, locked into a perpetual war. Each of us would be nearly instantly resurrected if killed, and the key to destroying either of us was an item hidden in the field. We were excited and mistakenly told everyone to "Bring friends". Game night came, and we started with about 50 or so people, all of which had played at least D&D, or LARP, with little overlap (a lot of those ultimate frisbee "jocks". The scenario started going to hell almost immediately, since the players broke into sides supporting either of us, and decided to attack each other en masse, as well as us. I died a few times, as did my friend and we were both struck by the cheapness of our decision to be immortals (no one was looking for the item to destroy us). People started getting bored and more than a little mad, and my friend and I started blaming each other.
Of course this was when a friend decided to show up with about a dozen "popular girls" (Garrett was always a ladies man), who thought the whole thing was INCREDIBLY lame. At this point I agreed with them, and my best friend was getting upset at my poor attitude. We ended up in a shouting match, and the game ended.

Worst LARP ever. It still stands as one of my most humiliating moments.

But still, the good games were AWESOME, and I really want to play again.

 

[Olive]

see, WoD stuff doesn't appeal IN ANY WAY AT ALL, table top or LARP.

LARPing just seems deeply uninteresting to me, and i have to admit, a little wierd. then again i've never tried it, so i don't have anything other than gut instinct to go on.

 

[Zappo]

I've played two or three times in a Vampire LARP. I got extremely bored very quickly. The guys weren't especially weird, though they did have the usual snobbish attitude towards D&D that so much irks me.

Turns out that every player save me and a few others used their characters from a previous campaign, thus having substantially better stats and more powers. And, since it was my first LARP, they kinda assumed that I knew nothing about the setting (extremely false) or roleplaying in general (of course, D&D doesn't count ). Ok, I could live with that. That kind of things are always temporary.

What made me throw the sponge was the ridiculous overdoing of the political intrigue theme. You know how your average munchkin cares only about combat stats and magic items, and nothing about the story or the character's mind? Substitute "combat stats" for "social stats" and "magic items" for "boons from the primogens". Leave "nothing about the story or the character" as is.

Since the character I was playing didn't have the least interest in politics because as a new vampire he had a lot of learning to do beforehand, I had practically nothing to do, and was quickly bored like a Cha-based rogue in a hack'n'slash campaign. On top of that, getting the condescending smile when I mention D&D and then finding myself in the middle of that assembly of flat personalities irritated me to an extreme.

 

[Salad Shooter]

In the defense of LARP...I know that in White Wolf LARPs at least, there are set Storytellers/Mods/etc. Much of it IS free form without a mod, but they generally are around to bump the story in the right direction, or to generate something if it gets boring. They often portray NPCs etc. I personally have never LARPed, though my friends have. I must say, tabletop seems to me to be more interesting, but I can't say, having only seen one side. LARPing does kind of get to the heart of Role Playing...since you are truly playing your role, every action. Rock paper scissors seems interesting, since it eliminates the need for dice, which can get excessive at higher levels. And thats my little rant on LARPing. Tata!

 

[RSKennan]

I don't think it's a question of whether one is better. They're different animals, each has it's place.

 

[Berk]

I sort of look at the LARP as being a bit like a game of paintball maybe with tennis balls and swords made out of nerf or something and its really not my cup of tea.

Isn't paintball kinda a LARP anyways? I mean you have 2 different groups that try to "kill" the "enemy" with fake guns that shoot paint. People get dressed up for the part of actually kinda being a military person.

Anyways, never tried larping myself, unless you count paintball which I love. I would like to try boffer, sounds kinda kewl, somewhat like paintball. =op Anywaysif anyone knows of any boffer larp groups in the mid west america let me know. I'm atleast interested in looking into it before I pass judgement. Although that obligatory movie on the first page of this thread makes it very easy to laugh at larping from a long time DnD point of view. I mean how many damn lightning bolts did he throw at that ogre? And he even hit his own party members in it. From a DnD point of view, which larping isn't I know, it becomes just so easy to joke about and laugh at.