Contributor: Amanda/"Istamira"
Submission: The 2nd in a series of IG and OoG written commentary from a "novice LARPer"
LARP System: Accelerant
Location: Boston, USA
PC Name: Istamira "Mira" Nascirus
Years LARPing: 0 years, 7 months
Website: Istamira's Quill
In and out of character commentary from a novice larper. Character names, places, and sometimes even plot specifics may be changed or altered to protect readers from horrible knowledge that could threaten the very fiber of the universe! ... or something like that.
The first game is always the thing people ask me about now that I've been playing for more than one time (or I guess I should say, now that they know I wasn't chased off by the first game). It's all still pretty vivid in my mind...
This is the second in a series. Please share, and leave feedback in the comments.
Submission: The 2nd in a series of IG and OoG written commentary from a "novice LARPer"
LARP System: Accelerant
Location: Boston, USA
PC Name: Istamira "Mira" Nascirus
Years LARPing: 0 years, 7 months
Website: Istamira's Quill
In and out of character commentary from a novice larper. Character names, places, and sometimes even plot specifics may be changed or altered to protect readers from horrible knowledge that could threaten the very fiber of the universe! ... or something like that.
The first game is always the thing people ask me about now that I've been playing for more than one time (or I guess I should say, now that they know I wasn't chased off by the first game). It's all still pretty vivid in my mind...
Even unto the last minute before my first game, I was studying “how” one played. It wasn’t just the rules, but the very principle of the thing. Exactly how did one transition from one "encounter" to the next? How did a fight start? I fretted over every little thing, even down to pondering if and how you were supposed to roleplay if you bumped into someone at the bathroom sink. I got a pretty vigorous crash course in just about all of it within the first hour of being there. So much happens in the first night that it feels like a whole day even though I hadn't arrived until like 10pm.
The first fights were an exercise in me trying desperately to avoid the “front line”… an act of futility… and trying to figure out what in the name of all gods was going on. I have a pretty vivid recollection of hearing the voice of my main friend, which at first gave me warm fuzzies thinking "oh good, someone I know!". Then I realized they were shouting unpleasantness to the tune of “5 damage, 5 damage, 5 damage” and whirling over towards my vicinity. You kind of take for granted how tall your friends are until long arms are stabbing you in the gut. You also suddenly come to fear familiar faces when you see them in action. I'd only gotten to know my friend for a year or two, but enough to recognize mid fight that I knew next to nothing about how freaking good they were at boffing. They were like a different being all together. A force from which to cower back. Boy did I have the "cower back" part covered!
On one hand diving right into the action as a new player has its advantages. Most of the videos I’d seen always depict duels or daylight battles (because let’s face it, filming in the dark would suck). Seeing a battle at night gives you a whole new appreciation for larping as a hobby. It’s scary. It’s chaos. It’s dramatic. It’s… gloriously addictive. You legitimately fear for your character's safety, and become sucked into the moment. Suspension of disbelief takes hold. People's costumes, their weapons, everything becomes more real seeming, at the same level that allows you to enjoy your favorite movie.
On the other hand, diving right into the action as a new player has several disadvantages. I didn’t know any of the finer (but important) points of battle – like the fact that being clobbered in the arm doesn’t automatically render that arm useless. Or that if you’re using a two handed weapon, you need to keep both hands on the weapon. I’m sure I had read those things somewhere in the playbook, but it’s not the same as trying it in person. That little rules book goes WOOSH right out of your head in the throws of “omg don’t kill me demon thing!”
For my first game, I went by myself. I told my friend on staff that I wanted to try it, and they arranged for me to stay with some other players, who fast became my "new friends". One of them complimented me on being “brave” for trying out larping alone. In retrospect, perhaps the better word was being “foolish,” for I never did get a chance to practice before getting into the thick of it, having no one to practice it with (and I didn't want to bother my staff friend, they had their hands full enough getting ready for the event). While the night battles were a great crash course, I sorely lacked practice with the basics of fighting before hand. The newbie module was useful for showing where various points of interest were in town and letting me start to get my feet wet with the roleplaying aspects of the game, but things took a sharp turn to “sink or swim” once the first large battle broke out (which was about maybe 12 minutes into my evening), and I hadn’t even learned to dog paddle. But I made it through coughing and sputtering, and with a clear mission: learn faster.
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This is the second in a series. Please share, and leave feedback in the comments.
LARPing is, I think, at its heart a nocturnal activity. Does cool stuff happen during the day? Yeah, of course. I've had some amazing daytime fights-- you can see, there's not as much confusion, and cool costume details really stand out. This doesn't come across in film-- it looks like people with foam and costumes being people in foam and costumes. Night time-- things get cool. Foam weapons become weapons. Tabards become the real clothes and/or furs of enemies. The campsite? It turns into whatever fantasy realm you've entered. The nighttime battle on an open field, when the stars are fully visible, and that scenic wind rustles the trees? It becomes real. The LARP magic works itself. Suddenly, the lanky guy-who-runs-the-game becomes whatever monster or warrior or demon he wants you to believe he is. The rope lights aren't lights-- you're not wondering how the staff rigged them. Five hours later, when battles have been won, lost, and new questions have presented themselves, you, the "real you," realizes it's almost dawn. You've been up for nearly twenty-four hours. You should go to sleep, but you don't want to.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I think the "AMAZED" wears off after awhile. Even in some "best case" scenarios, it seems like what was once spellbound belief, however fleeting, turns into appreciation for the art-of-LARP. However, irregardless of our experience (or lack thereof), we all have our moments of "this is real," and it has a lot to do with nocturnal LARPing.
I remember one of the most amazing things at my first event was seeing the sight for the first time in the daylight. Arriving to the camp, as most people do, after a fair drive after getting out of work on a Friday night it's all ready well dark. Once the action starts you get pulled this way and that by people far more familial than you are. I found myself far more distracted by myself trying to keep the rules strait and all the new and wondrous things abound. By the time I crawled out of bed late the fallowing morning it was like I was transported again. Being able to see things in the light was light every thing you thought you knew was new all over again. It was no less spectacular but another opportunity.
ReplyDelete@Cwig,
ReplyDeleteEven now, when I am more familiar with more of the camps, the first light is still exciting. It's a chance to see new costumes and makeup. Plus, people are more IG by the morning, rather than an hour or so into the event, and whatever the way they want to RP the game has become more crystallized. Plus, and I think Lost Eidolons and Madrigal do this exceptionally well, some campsite lend themselves to daytime use. Madrigal really captures the woodsy trails and waterside feel of Shadowfane. Lost Eidolons uses the small campsite to create a "town versus the world" feel, where daylight is (somewhat) safer. For interested people, I'm posting a link to both games in the links section.