The LARP Bug

It has been a longtime since  (life circumstances, lack of groups, lack of time, and having my LARP stuff stolen) since I have got to participate into any type of serious LARP (Live Action Role Play) and before then I was LARPing on and off depending on my circumstances and the availability of groups. Recently, I have gotten the bug again and I have been working on tracking down local groups and interest but this has proven difficult to due to the state of the union and a few other factors. I think I have gotten the bug from my recent communications with By Night Studios and reading various stories regarding the subject matter.

Most of my experience has been with Minds Eye Theater for the World of Darkness (Vampire, Werewolf, etc) with some boffer thrown in. 

When I was in high school I ran a two year hybrid (tabletop/LARP) Vampire the Masquerade game that towards the end it got so big I needed multiple Storytellers and lots of chaos and multiple story lines ensued. After that I played in various games where I was able to make it off and on and one of my last experience was a six month Vampire the Requiem campaign where we met every week and played downtown. This was one of my favorite experiences and my schedule allowed me to be consistent so a lot of stories and other situations bared some very rewarding fruit. It was also my first experience where we were playing in a more public area (it was close to downtown instead of a park, private property, etc) where we could go a block over and mingle with the normal population and even use the various restaurants, etc. I thought that was really great, there was about 3/4 blocks that where more isolated and peaceful and then a block or two that was more in the general public eye. Home base was the public library and locations spread out form there. The location made things interesting and added a lot of immersion elements. In addition, I got to meet a lot of great people. Though, I moved away from that location and that was about seven years ago. 

My last experience was a convention experience shortly after the release of the new Vampire the Masquerade rules came out (I had my physical copies in hand). The game was an all nighter and it is chaotically fun. Though, this is where my LARP got stolen during the morning hours at breakfast so that really marred my final experience.

My boffer experiences I can count on one hand. I have got to experience some organizational like Nero and some home brews like Firefly. I had fun at all of the venues but some of them I enjoyed more then others. My favorite was the Firefly session I went to and my least favorite was one of the Nero games I went to. A few years ago (I think in 2018) I was really trying to prep and plan for an old west World of Darkness (that was about three hours away) game that was going to be one of those all weekend events. I spent the time and tried to collect various Nerf gear, seed packets, and some costume pieces. Alas, some life events happened that made that trip impossible. This was a big bummer to me because even though it was a boffer LARP, combat was not a main focus and the people who wanted to go and fight could and while others could stay in town and focus on role play. There was also a sash you could wear that designated you as a non combatant. 

When I think about my experiences of LARP (just like my tabletop gaming) have been mostly good. I have had some negative experiences but those have remained with individuals then the venue or game as a whole. Outside of those situations, I have had some great role play experiences and enjoyed some breathtaking character development. This is in addition to all the memorable character and story interactions.

Thinking about it all, I really prefer the theater style LARP (like Minds Eye Theater) that use Rock/Paper/Scissors system or a card mechanic for resolution. Between RPS and a card system (like Vampire the Requiem MET) I prefer the card system as you get more variable results and it makes it feel like the characters abilities are more effective. Though, with some of the LARP gear now available like RPS cards (which fixed one of my biggest issues with it) I enjoy the RPS a lot more. 

With that being said, I can enjoy boffer but it is something I do not seek out much unless it is not heavily combat focused. This is really for two main reasons. The first one being is that there is a big difference between character's skill and my in real life skill with boffer weapons. The second being is boffer usually requires hefty investments in costumes, weapons/gear, and travel/time/money for the all weekend venues. 

I guess the point of all of this is to say that I got the bug to LARP again and I have been slowly trying to recover some of my stolen materials (I have had some people reach out to help me that I am greatly appreciative of). I am also on a quest to find a local group and I hope there are people I can get in contact with - even if they are dark or online right now. 

There is also a new LARP style that I have recently discovered that I hope to get experience. It is called Nordic/Scandinavian psychodramas and a lot of venues have ran this style in the WOD setting as well as other styles. The venue seems to give people pre-generated flawed characters. The role play theme is not to play to win but to play to make interesting stories. A lot of what I have read it about has gotten my full curiosity. It is now on my bucket list to try.