Contributor: Zoe
Submission: non-fiction thoughts on Winter LARPing
LARP System: Accelerant
Characters: Tev/Esme
Location: Cambridge, MA
Some thoughts on how to stay safe and have fun during the chill of winter's cold. Check out LARPcast for a Winter Larping episode from Mickey and Bill.
With the Mirror, Mirror Winter Revel swiftly approaching, it's time to think about bundling ourselves out to weather the winds and chills. Admittedly, it has been a mild winter-- troublingly so-- and, with our fireplaces and woodstoves quietly unused, we look forward to fair weather and brisk battles on spring grass.
However, as longtime New Englanders are well aware, the shift from winter-to-spring is a fickle thing. We still face frigid evenings and wind chills that pierce deep into our bones. With that in mind, use this Winter LARPing key as a guide to help you through the frost...
1) LARP costuming often suits the colder weather perfectly. Heavy furs, armor, thick skirts, and warm pants and tunics keep us warm and look great. Use this to your advantage: dress in layers of cloaks, undershirts, vests, and tights that match your costuming period.
2) A caveat to the above? LARP costuming also can get wet, and therefore cold, very quickly. Trailing skirts and capes suck up puddles and winter rain faster than you can fasten your fancy brooch. And, as many of us know, the quickest way to hypothermia is damp clothing in cold weather on cold skin. The answer? a) If things get wet, change out of them in a warm, dry place. b) Avoid things that will drag through water. c) Make sure you have clothing that is easy enough to remove. If, worse comes to worse, and you feel you are in a dangerous situation, you want to be able to remove the clothing yourself. (Though, if you suspect hypothermia, DO GET help from a staff person, who will help you get medical help.)
3) Warm, dry places-- these are important in colder weather, and Accelerant LARPs work hard to have them. Work as a community to keep them that way. Take off wet clothing in separated spaces. Wipe off boots. Close doors. If someone needs to get into a warm, dry space, due to health concerns, let them in-- even if you're deep in roleplay with your super-secret agent. Everyone will understand.
4) Stay hydrated. This can be hard to remember during the winter. Breathing in the cold air is refreshing, and we often don't feel the need to drink as much water as we would in warmer climes. Contrary to this, our bodies are working harder than they would in mild spring weather-- especially if we're enduring the frost. So, instead of immediately going for the hot coffee, pace yourself and grab the water bottle. You can have your cocoa and coffee too, but make sure you drink plenty of water.
5) Stay warm internally. One of the quickest ways to warm up is through hot liquid-- coffee, hot tea, and cocoa are perfect for this sort of thing. However, how soup, served from a crockpot, can be just as good, and far more satisfying. Luckily, in the cold, we're often hungrier than in the heat-- use this to your advantage, and fuel up with some stew, broth, or any kind of soup. Not only are these convenient, but they're a great way to suit specialty diets. If you're a tavern keep, consider serving crockpot from a stew in your tavern (just make sure to list ingredients).
6) Go light with the weapons! Once upon a time, I hit someone really, really hard in the head during a summer time revel. It was my first event, but, since then, I've gone towards the other end, and tend to hit very lightly (I have my slip-ups, like anyone else). So, from my end, this is not something to which I can necessarily personally speak. However, I have been on the receiving end of really hard hits from cold, icy weapons. Especially people newer to cold weather LARPing, keep this in mind: your weapons are made of material that freeze when wet or cold. Hard hits become injurious. Your packets? Little ice balls that can leave bruises. This all doubles on frozen cheeks. So. Keep your weapons dry (as much as possible). Ring in your hits even
more. Never, ever use a frozen packet-- it flings better because it's essentially a rock.
7) Know your limits! As has been mentioned in LARPcast, in Accelerant we use "the plague" as an unquestionable excuse as to why you can't participate in something. It comes and goes, and takes even the most stalwart adventurers. It's basically an in-game way to say, "no, really-- my character would love to do this, but I'm tired/have an interview/exam/feel ill." This sort of device is especially useful in the winter. I grew up in Maine, so what feels like deep winter to most people doesn't really bother me. However, a lot of people are really bothered by extreme cold. This can be especially true if you're prone to chills due to illness, age, previous experiences with hypothermia, body composition (both overweight and underweight people can have various problems in cold weather), or simply preference. Some people love the winter, and will run modules that last for hours in the freezing cold. If that's not your thing, even though you're a were-hunter, and this is weres in the ice forest, make it known. Try saying something like, "I've stayed off the plague for weeks, but I fear that, if I stay exposed in the frost for an extended period of time, it may claim me." That way staff knows you're interested in adventuring, but are looking for something a bit warmer.
8) Keep extremities covered. Cold fingers and toes are sure ways to hypothermia and frostbite. Also, a lot of warmth escapes through your head. Wear hats, good gloves, and socks. If any of these get wet or cold, make sure you have back up to trade in. Consider having a crate of gloves, hat, and clean socks in a monster camp-- give them out to PCs and NPCs who really need them. Offer CP or experience points for donations.
9) Have fun. Like extreme summer weather, extreme cold can make people grumpy. Grumpiness quickly leads to out-of-character interactions, and, perhaps more troublingly, nastiness to other players. Most problematically, this results in what Rob calls "retaliation hits" in boffer-combat. That's when you hit someone harder because they're not taking your hits, they were a jerk to you, or they're simply playing your least favorite monster-of-the-weekend. So, look for ways to make the colder weather a positive part of your LARP experience. Consider the following...
- How does your character react to the winter? Does it remind her of home? Does it make her afraid? Has she ever experienced it before? Does she have stories of creatures that visit only during the winter?
- Things often run slowly in the cold. Think of activities that you, as a player or staff person, can entertain PCs and NPCs. This could be tavern games and activities, fun "flavor" RP parts, or deep political intrigue with lots of RP. If you're a heavy-combat LARP, isolate which players might be content with a lower combat experience; in the meantime, entertain the players who really want combat as much as possible.
- Use the winter conditions as a way to experiment with your character's physical reality. Instead of mourning the loss of your gauzy, signature cape, find a warmer way to show off your character's winter wardrobe. The same goes for bedding, weaponry, and food.
- Throw winter event activities-- warmly lit feasts, tea times, communing around bone circles, dark rituals lit by a fireplace, or walks through the winter woods with a spirit. The atmosphere of the winter suits most LARP perfectly, and can heighten the experience for players and NPCs alike.
- Although not exactly advisable, during the last field fight of a Madrigal winter revel, a friend and I chased a certain werewolf through snow drifts. Although we got quite wet and cold, we were properly dressed, and it was probably the highlight of my weekend...
What do you do to make winter LARPing a safe and exciting experience? If you have experience in the medical community, I'd appreciate any specific tips.
I’ll offer up once bit of advice for people who are running events in cold weather, or really any weather where it is unpleasant to be outside. If you know the weather will be bad well before the event when you are planning your modules then make sure you design them so that you don’t have NPC’s standing outside waiting for long periods of time for mods to start. If it is possible arrange it so that NPC’s can stage in some comfortable spot out of the weather and quickly move to the mod site only at the last second. Ideally set most of your mods indoors. But if they need to be outside, avoid creating mods that require NPC’s to set up in remote far away outdoor location with little or no protection from the weather waiting for slow hooks.
ReplyDeleteVery often you just have to resort to sending the NPC’s outside to the mod site to set up while you send in your hook. In those situations you have to make certain that the person doing the hook knows what they are doing, and can be utterly ruthless. When it is freezing cold and the wind is blowing and NPC’s in crazy costumes are waiting outside in a field somewhere for the PC’s to show up you have to have a plan to get the PC’s to them quickly. You have to send in a NPC hook who has the skills to get the PC’s moving.
PC’s take a lot longer to hook in cold weather. Generally speaking the PC’s will probably be somewhere comfortable to begin with. It is somewhat natural that they might not be eager to speed up the process which will take them outside. They often aren’t ready to just stand up and walk out to the mod. When they learn they need to go outside several of them will always disappear to go looking for their hats, gloves, boots or whatever. All of this extra time needs to be factored in when planning for the mod.
When the hook arrives they need to present the PC’s with the problem or information quickly. If the NPC’s are already on the field then this is not the time for long plot exposition or an extended question and answer session with the hook. If that is required for the mod then it needs to been done before the NPC’s go out.
It also isn’t the time to ask the PC’s to do any sort of complicated organization. If you have already sent out the NPC’s then the hook needs to be of the sort that shows up and says “There is a problem, we need to go there, let’s all/some/you go now.” Avoid putting out NPC’s into the weather and then sending in a hook that tells the PC’s “There is a problem, and we now need to get everyone divided into five groups, and each group needs to include a left handed person…”
Hooking is always a delicate balance. The hook needs to make the mod happen on schedule to meet the needs of staff, and they need to not run roughshod over the PC’s and their gameplay. In bad weather events you have to shift that balance a bit more towards getting the mods run quickly and on time. You may annoy your players a little more, but you can’t afford to brutalize your NPC’s by leaving them out in the weather for long period of time waiting or else you run the risk of them not being willing to go on later mods. When that happens the entire event suffers.
As always, great advice. I've spent a lot of time as an NPC, shivering outside of some tavern, waiting for PCs to attack me.
DeleteOne of the best parts of a good cold weather larp, I think, is that people, when you get them organized, are more willing to act quickly. There aren't quite as many awkward "wait for everyone to get organized moments"... if you plan it correctly.