The Kender
First Post
I've read a little about it. What exactly do you do though?
LARPing?
- Thread starter The Kender
- Start date
Andor of the Blade
First Post
That's a little bit like asking "Sports, I've heard about them. How do you play?"
There are many different types of LARP games. Generally, they are role-playing games on a larger scale (up to several hundred people) where you are the physical embodiment of your character.
This usually involves dressing in appropriate attire, i.e., armour, weapons, etc if you are a fighter.
There are many sites which can tell you more about individual games. Here are a few that were up when I last visited them:
http://www.larp.com/wildlands/everhold/
http://www.nerolarp.com/
http://seventribes.freeservers.com/
There are many different types of LARP games. Generally, they are role-playing games on a larger scale (up to several hundred people) where you are the physical embodiment of your character.
This usually involves dressing in appropriate attire, i.e., armour, weapons, etc if you are a fighter.
There are many sites which can tell you more about individual games. Here are a few that were up when I last visited them:
http://www.larp.com/wildlands/everhold/
http://www.nerolarp.com/
http://seventribes.freeservers.com/
Tsyr
Explorer
LARPing is as varied as any other form of roleplaying.
At its most basic, its esentialy roleplaying using yourself as the miniatures.
Some forms are very combat oriented... Being good with a foam sword is quite important in these type, as well as the ability to make said swords, and armour and such. Bruises happen. These tend to be the most fun, IMO. Spellcasting is often handled through things like throwing beanbags for fireballs, etc, or it's just arbitrated by a game master. This type of thing is normaly done in fields, woods, etc, and may or may not include multi-session storylines.
Another type of the sterotypical whitewolf LARPer... these tend to be political socio-dramas, if you ask them what they are... Personaly, I don't see much behind people with white makeup pretending to such blood while kissing up to a prince character for favor.
Some are more official than others, there are several nation-wide (and international) larping groups out there... IFGS is good for DnD type larping. These are good because they tend to have standardized rules, so they don't turn in to a "No, that counts! No, it doesn't!" arguement, as well as an enforced level of saftey. I use the IFGS rules, though I'm not a member of IFGS. It includes rules for how to set up locks for thieves to pick, which is really cool
... but beyond that, it's just some fairly decent larp rules, even if it errs on the side of caution as most "official" larps do.
At its most basic, its esentialy roleplaying using yourself as the miniatures.
Some forms are very combat oriented... Being good with a foam sword is quite important in these type, as well as the ability to make said swords, and armour and such. Bruises happen. These tend to be the most fun, IMO. Spellcasting is often handled through things like throwing beanbags for fireballs, etc, or it's just arbitrated by a game master. This type of thing is normaly done in fields, woods, etc, and may or may not include multi-session storylines.
Another type of the sterotypical whitewolf LARPer... these tend to be political socio-dramas, if you ask them what they are... Personaly, I don't see much behind people with white makeup pretending to such blood while kissing up to a prince character for favor.
Some are more official than others, there are several nation-wide (and international) larping groups out there... IFGS is good for DnD type larping. These are good because they tend to have standardized rules, so they don't turn in to a "No, that counts! No, it doesn't!" arguement, as well as an enforced level of saftey. I use the IFGS rules, though I'm not a member of IFGS. It includes rules for how to set up locks for thieves to pick, which is really cool
... but beyond that, it's just some fairly decent larp rules, even if it errs on the side of caution as most "official" larps do.
I can also point you to the Live Action Roleplayers Association (LARPA): http://www.larpa.org/
Tom Cashel
First Post
a different answer
I've always felt this way about it:
LARPs..... **shudder**
LARPers are the "weird people" that the Norms and Straights talk about when they mention "those weird people who play RPGs."
I've always felt this way about it:
LARPs..... **shudder**
LARPers are the "weird people" that the Norms and Straights talk about when they mention "those weird people who play RPGs."
Re: a different answer
*sigh*
Oh, ye who are uninformed, and willing to stick to stereotypes, be enlightened!
*bonk*
Come on. You, who engage in a hobby that has public image problems should know a lot better than to have that reacation. You are being no better than those "Norms" and "Straights" (hey, yeah, let's stick a stereotype tag on everybody, just to be safe!) who frown on you from playing RPGs, doing exactly the same thing they do to you. Cripes, man. Ever hear of the Golden Rule?
LARPers are no different than any other gamer. Some are good, some are a little over the top. On the whole, they are no less weird than other gamers. Or baseball fans. Or any other hobbyist.
So, go toss your stereotypes (for LARP players, gamers in general, "Norms" and "Striaghts") and open your eyes and see people.
Tom Cashel said:
*sigh*
Oh, ye who are uninformed, and willing to stick to stereotypes, be enlightened!
*bonk*
Come on. You, who engage in a hobby that has public image problems should know a lot better than to have that reacation. You are being no better than those "Norms" and "Straights" (hey, yeah, let's stick a stereotype tag on everybody, just to be safe!) who frown on you from playing RPGs, doing exactly the same thing they do to you. Cripes, man. Ever hear of the Golden Rule?
LARPers are no different than any other gamer. Some are good, some are a little over the top. On the whole, they are no less weird than other gamers. Or baseball fans. Or any other hobbyist.
So, go toss your stereotypes (for LARP players, gamers in general, "Norms" and "Striaghts") and open your eyes and see people.
Larry Fitz
First Post
Both!
The Twin Crowns Campaign Setting is actually based on a LARP. So you can use whichever you are more comfortable with to ease you into whichever is new to you.
www.lionerampant.com
www.livingimagination.com
As to 'profiling' Larpers as weird people compared to tabletoppers, it has been my experience (10 years of Larp, 25 years of tabletop) that they are in fact mostly the same people...
"Hey! Would you like to play a game? Let's play 'eat the hoard stealers', that's one of my favorite games."
-Agnashazaraz, Elder Red Wyrm, to some unexpected guests.
The Twin Crowns Campaign Setting is actually based on a LARP. So you can use whichever you are more comfortable with to ease you into whichever is new to you.
www.lionerampant.com
www.livingimagination.com
As to 'profiling' Larpers as weird people compared to tabletoppers, it has been my experience (10 years of Larp, 25 years of tabletop) that they are in fact mostly the same people...
"Hey! Would you like to play a game? Let's play 'eat the hoard stealers', that's one of my favorite games."
-Agnashazaraz, Elder Red Wyrm, to some unexpected guests.
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The Furious Puffin
First Post
Admitly it is from just one experince, but I haven't been a great fan of vampire larpers.
At the University club market day, the Vampire crew were all
A) Dressed entirely in black
B) Standing shoulder to shoulder with the arms crossed infront of there chests
C) Staring at anyone who came anywhere near them, in a way that said "go away now"
Not friendly people at all.
However, I have never had any experince at all with the other type of Larpers, so I cannot comment about them
At the University club market day, the Vampire crew were all
A) Dressed entirely in black
B) Standing shoulder to shoulder with the arms crossed infront of there chests
C) Staring at anyone who came anywhere near them, in a way that said "go away now"
Not friendly people at all.
However, I have never had any experince at all with the other type of Larpers, so I cannot comment about them
Eben
First Post
In my experience: nothing beats your imagination.
The illusion doesn't stand up when faced with our mundane reality. In my opinion, there is no added value: neither combat nor magic gave me a "real" experience.
So all there was left was the roleplaying experience. But you get that around a table as well.
If your interested: give it a try. It's not like it's a lifelog commitment.
The illusion doesn't stand up when faced with our mundane reality. In my opinion, there is no added value: neither combat nor magic gave me a "real" experience.
So all there was left was the roleplaying experience. But you get that around a table as well.
If your interested: give it a try. It's not like it's a lifelog commitment.
Mordax_sighs
First Post
I just attended my third NERO session, last weekend. I'm really not a LARPer at heart - too much running, and those guys really *are* crazy (even though I really like some of them ).
But, it has a couple of major advantages over tabletop:
- NERO events last 1-3 days, without any breaks. That's a lot of time to socialize and fight and whatnot.
- You get to RP with a much larger pool of people than you would via tabletop. There were at least 60 people at the event I just attended. That was pretty cool.
I really recommend trying it once or twice, just to get a feel for non-tabletop gaming environments. (If you're athletic, it may appeal a lot - actual skill at swinging a padded PVC pipe or chucking a packet of birdseed makes gameplay worlds easier.)
Can't really speak about the others...I did try Vampire LARP one time, ages ago, but I mostly just remember it sucking. And not like it was supposed to...
). But, it has a couple of major advantages over tabletop:
- NERO events last 1-3 days, without any breaks. That's a lot of time to socialize and fight and whatnot.
- You get to RP with a much larger pool of people than you would via tabletop. There were at least 60 people at the event I just attended. That was pretty cool.
I really recommend trying it once or twice, just to get a feel for non-tabletop gaming environments. (If you're athletic, it may appeal a lot - actual skill at swinging a padded PVC pipe or chucking a packet of birdseed makes gameplay worlds easier.)
Can't really speak about the others...I did try Vampire LARP one time, ages ago, but I mostly just remember it sucking. And not like it was supposed to...
