LARP Heals

by Zoe

So, as everyone knows, last week-- the week of the Boston marathon bombings, the MIT shooting, the "manhunt" for the suspects, and the city and surrounding areas in lockdown-- was hellish. As someone who grew up in Maine, and has spent much of her life in Boston, I have always felt relatively safe here. (Like everyone, I've had my fears and reservations. But, privileged as I am, I have never felt "unsafe" in my city.) And this past week changed that. For those of us who lived through it, last week was a strange dystopia wherein innocents were killed and injured, peopled streets were emptied, and we were told to stay inside and lock our doors. Speaking personally, after the lockdown ended, I stepped into the warm spring evening, and felt at a loss. I hadn't really slept well; I had watched, on the television, hours upon hours of breaking news; I had relived, in a way only wrought possible by new media, the many tragedies that occurred this past week.

And, around 7 pm on Friday evening, I said to Chris, "I don't want to go to Cottington." I wanted to stay in my (almost) safe little den, and shut out the rest of the world. But, after some over-tired reflection, I reluctantly agreed.

This isn't going to be a play-by-play of the Cottington Woods first weekend event. It could be. I could tell you, in detail, about the wonderful things I experienced, and the equally wonderful people with whom I journeyed. I could tell you about the true magic that the staff created. Or I I could tell you how the enthusiasm of all players, PCs and NPCs alike, made the game spaces fizzle. Or the chills I got from interactions large and small. Or the special beauty of 40 or so people, from many walks of life, huddled around the same crackling fireplace. Or just how damn good it felt to run, fight, and sweat out all of the nervous, cloying tensions I had been keeping in my chest.

But I'm not going to go into too much more detail. But I am going to say is, yes, after all of the scary mess of the past week, I did indeed go to a LARP. And, despite my hesitation, I'm glad I did. And here's why.

LARP heals. I know this personally, and through the experiences of friends. No-- LARP doesn't make the world instantly better. It doesn't change everything in your life into issues tolerable and easy. It doesn't even provide a particularly believable escape from the so-called "real world."

But it does heal. LARPs, good LARPs at least, give you a place to be yourself. A place to be with loved ones who make you laugh and think. A place to narrate your stories, accompanied by the voices of friends and strangers alike. A place to be both brave and weak. A place to where you can return, again and again, and discover at least one new thing. A place with a community who reminds us that many other people, living in the same world, are kind, funny, and creative.

Like most other people in this country, after the Boston marathon tragedy, I needed some healing. Not a lot, because my life, in comparison, was only minutely affected. But, to be sure, I needed some healing. And I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a healing community. They didn't even have to try to help me-- they just were LARPers, at a beautifully written LARP. And that was what I needed. As I move on, still sad and increasingly more reflective about tragedies and loss at home and around the world, I raise my cup to all of you: thanks, Cottington. You were what many of us needed.

LARP and Stigma: Fact or Fiction?

by Zoe

Dan Comstock, of nerology, posted a really interesting response to my post on LARP and journalism. In the interest of keeping the conversation between bloggers going, I wanted to discuss it. He brought up a thought-provoking point to which I wanted to respond:

"Moreover, I have to speak up against the characterization of LARPers are a “stigmatized culture”. I think that’s a tad melodramatic. It’s not like we’re trans-gendered or handicapped or systematically oppressed. We have an unusual hobby, which we do in private. Some people laugh at pictures of it on the net, but so what? People on the net laugh at everything. I certainly don’t feel stigmatized."


I disagree with this, but I wanted to open it up for discussion. Mostly because, personally, I've taken the stigma of LARPing somewhat for granted (that is, assuming it exists). I wanted to get other people's opinions.

Firstly, do I think LARPers are as stigmatized as those who are trans-gendered, handicapped, or systematically oppressed? No. Not at all. However, I do absolutely think they are stigmatized, and here are the different reasons why:

1) Anonymity within the LARP Community
Obviously, I'm fairly open about my LARPing hobby. However, there are many within the community who are not. Online, in their business lives, and among non-LARP community friends, they don't speak about their LARP hobby, and, in many cases, keep it a secret. I've asked the question "why?" to quite a few people, all of whom expressed a fear of one or more of the following: a) losing their job, b) losing the respect of clients, students, and/or colleagues, and c) social ridicule. It seems to me that, whether or not these fears are sensical and confirmed, they are the result of a larger social stigma.

2) A feeling of shame within the LARP community.
This is a more troubling issue to me. At some LARP events, I've noticed a particular embarrassment associated with the activity itself. This happens when, inevitably, over the course of a weekend, a truck pulls through a field fight, some joggers or bikers traverse through a module, or, as was the case at a recent event, a tour group wanders through the camp for a few hours. I've witnessed, that, during these occasions, LARPers turn away their faces, move out of spots of visibility, and break game to appear "normal" (though I've since tried to stop, I've done all of these things on different occasions). Where does this feeling come from? Why do we feel embarrassment because of our hobby? I can't help but think that it comes from a shame which originated in stigmatization of the larger community.

To me, the stigma surrounding LARPing absolutely exists; however, the stigma may or may not be felt by all players, or may be felt to different degrees. The question to me, however, is where does it come from? And to this, I have Dan's post to thank-- I had long assumed an outward-to-inward stigmatization of LARPers, starting in a normative, non-LARPing community. However, I think just as much of the stigma comes from the actual LARP community itself: there is a feeling of embarrassment, and even shame, within many of the LARP circles that I have encountered. Where is that coming from? How does it affect our community? What is the source, outward or inward? (To that end, Bill Tobin of LARPohio has some really interesting ideas and projects in the works on how to positively represent LARPing to a larger audience.)

So, those are some starting thoughts on LARP and stigma. I invite people to share their own experiences. Here are my two big guiding questions:
1) Is LARP a stigmatized hobby-- why/why not?
2) If it is stigmatized, where does that come from?

Making LARPing Easier

by Zoe

After this past weekend, I realized, in the two years that the husband and I have been LARPing, it's just become astronomically easier. When we first started, we had loads of unorganized stuff, piles of costume changes, and food that didn't pack well. Now? It's a few totes, a bag, a backpack, and a cooler of food. In short, it's simple and easily transportable. I think this comes with experience: you slowly learn what does and doesn't work in terms of convenience and expediency. With that being said, I wanted to share a few of my organizational tips, and invite others to do the same. Most of these tips are targeted at PCs and NPCs. However, if you staff a game, you could take this organizational system, and expand it to a much larger frame. Oddly enough, they're also some the same organizational tips for seasonal fieldwork...

Goals for LARPing

by Zoe

So a few friends of mine recently wrote a list of LARP goals. I think this is a really good idea, as it generates ways to make a hobby more successful. After a season of rest, a revel or two, and scheming for the spring, many of us may find ourselves reflecting on how to better our games, so to speak. Those who don't LARP may wonder why people would post about ways to improve the LARP experience; however, I think it's a really helpful tool. LARP is a type of performance art, as I've argued before: it requires skill, improvement, and practice-- during your first year or two, you may feel comfortable being the always awkward with big NPCs fellow, or the dame with the less-than-stellar costume. After you have some experience under your adventuring belt, however, you may want to shift things around. Writing a list of LARP goals is an excellent way to this. Here are some topics to start you off-- remember, your goals can be IG, OoG, large, small, personal, or community-oriented.

1. What IG goals do you have? Are they worthwhile? Are they fun? Have you made progress on them? Do you feel like pursuing them for another season?

2. OoG, are you having a good time? Do you feel like your money is well-spent? If you're not enjoying yourself, what could you do to improve the game experience?

3. Have you developed a team/allies? Do you know these people OoG? What sort of things could you do to make your IG allies your OoG community?

4. How is your costume? How could you make it better, more interesting, and/or more authentic?

5. Have you experienced any weather/climate problems for which you weren't prepared? (Snow, cold, humidity, wind etc.) How could you better prepare for the next event?

6. How's your organization prior to an event? What systems could you employ to make it better?

7. How do you write PELs? What could be better/worse? If you've changed your PEL writing style recently, has it affected your experience from game-to-game?

8. What is your IG experience like? Are you enjoying yourself the entire time, or do you need breaks? What works the best for you from game-to-game?

9. How is your combat? How could it be improved?

10. What are some things you could do to make a better LARP community? This could include welcoming new players, expanding your team base, recruiting new NPCs, apprenticing new staff people, and/or hosting OoG get-togethers.

11. Even if you've bee playing for awhile, have you tried something new?

The LARP Community: Who Are We?

Contributor: Zoe
Submission: The LARP Community: Who Are We? Non-fiction on a current controversy
LARP (system): Accelerant
Location: Cambridge, MA
Character name: Esme Kingslocke, Tev
Years LARPing: 2


So, as most of you have probably read, there currently brews a controversy about NERO forums, goblin policies, the LARPcast guys (Bill and Mickey), and competition for players.

I really know absolutely nothing about NERO, the goblin policy, and/or NERO rules in general. I have close friends, who have posted to this blog, who really enjoy playing NERO, and I’m happy for them. I really don’t have much of an interest in NERO, though I’d try anything once. However, I wanted to add my online support for Mickey and Bill. I don’t have anywhere near the readership that Mickey and Bill have, but I appreciate my readers’ commentary, my contributors, and the discussion generated by this blog. So, I wanted to give the readers the opportunity to (respectfully) commentate on this issue.

Mickey and Bill, to my understanding, were accused of “driving off players” or “ruining forums” due to posting links to LARPcast and LARPOhio on the NERO forums. In fairness, Mickey and Bill have both posted criticism of the NERO system and rules on their blogs/podcasts. I’m not getting into the nuances of this controversy, please check out the LARPcast podcast for Mickey and Bill’s perspective on the situation. (And, please, check out Joe Valenti’s posts/rebuttals as well.)

There’s a big problem, here, however. And that’s the LARP community and the seeming disregard for the importance of this community. I have been fortunate enough to play in the Accelerant community, where, system-wide, we share XP/CP systems (a leveling-up system, for non-LARPers), costumes, make-up, and, perhaps most importantly, criticism. The owner of Accelerant, Rob Ciccolini, openly encourages players, other GMs, and staff members to comment on the game system to make the game better. Rob, his staff(s), NPCs, and players have worked hard to make a PvE environment that, most importantly, creates a positive, inclusive gameworld.

Moreover, while there is some negative sentiment among small cliques of Accelerant players, Rob and the majority of his staff work hard to encourage a panLARP community that embraces the advantages and disadvantages of all LARPs. If Rob or his staff knew that a player were being stigmatized due to involvement in NERO, I’m pretty sure the bullies would be kicked out of the game, or at least warned that such behavior would not be tolerated.

Before I move on, Accelerant, and the predominant players in Accelerant, have worked hard to engender an open, inclusive, and positive LARPing experience. It’s really too bad that Joe Valenti has responded so negatively to this situation. I know it doesn’t reflect on the entire NERO situation, nor, most importantly, NERO players or staff.

So, Mickey and Bill, perhaps borrowing from somebody else, have talked about the “Zero NPC moment.” That moment in your game when your players are playing. Without you. How does this happen? You’ve created a game so good and so engaging that your players can entertain themselves. They are so involved in the game that they don’t need an NPC to entertain them. I thought this, the zero NPC moment, was what LARPing was all about. And how does this moment happen? You make your game better and better over time, taking criticism, ideas from other games and other game systems, and, most importantly, you use every type of media possible to get your game out there.

It’s not about the money for the people who run the games I love. Melissa, at 7V, has written that it’s about the game, not the profit. I know others, like Mac of Endgame, Rob, Jake of Lost Eidolons, and Scott and Jeff of the calling, feel similarly. Let’s not forget the staff people who have written for this blog. LARPing is about a passion for creativity, expression, and telling a story. We do it together. We build community together. So, let’s work on building an inclusive, cross-LARP community that welcomes people from all systems and rules.

For some awesome forums, please check out Lost Eidolons or Endgame. Post links to others you frequent. Also, check out Bill's blog, LARPOhio.

As always, please share, contribute, and comment.

Media and Technology: Representing People in "Documentary" Film

Hello readers! No apologies for the break, as you have more than enough material to read. Inspired by M and B's LARPcast post, I have been working-- for quite a bit--, on the documentary film representation of LARP players. カンタンではないね！(It's not simple, is it? Sorry, I have a placement exam today, and Japanese is on the brain.) Although the good gentlemen of LARPcast reference both fictive and non-fictive cinema, my interest is, mainly, in documentary style approaches. Why? I find it much more interesting. Irregardless of your feelings on The Wild Hunt or Role Models, they, ultimately, exploit the LARP universe in order to tell an unrelated narrative. (In the first example, this film uses LARP to tell the story of a Lord of the Flies type drama; Role Models is a comedy, and LARP is used to facilitate a story of nerdy-rags to geeky-riches via role-playing games. Both have merits and disadvantages.) Ultimately, the fictive narration of any drama relies on appropriation of a genre. This involves much simplification and over-generalization. And so? To documentaries we move.

As any viewer knows, documentaries are farm from objective. Documentaries are a painstakingly edited product that, like their fictive kin, attempt to tell a story. While they may hide behind the moniker of "Non-Fiction," most readers and watchers understand that, despite nons, the lines between the two are blurry.

I start my inquiry with Monster Camp and Darkon. For whatever reason, the latter has been more or less heralded by those within and outside the LARP community. While individuals argue its specific flaws, it has been congratulated as a decent non-fiction film. This is, perhaps, because it more closely resembles narrative coming from mainstream Hollywood. However, Monster Camp has been universally panned as "milktoast dimdram abyssal sludge." While it is admittedly low-budget (and features, problematically, an almost entirely male cast that adheres to tired stereotypes), it is far from a simple piece of drivel. And so, I invite you, frequent and infrequent readers, to start commentary on Monster Camp. This is, of course, part of a much larger project about characterization. Staying safe, I have actually started with Darkon's Becca Thurmond, a single mother who plays an "Amazon," but I encourage you to start elsewhere. This is very nascent, and merely provides fuel for the fire-- so to speak. So, get going! Leave comments below.

Bonesong Part One: Creation Sings, and I Am... in Counterpoint

Contributor: Erin the Red

Submission: In-Game writing from Rowan MacMaith and Chance, two musical players from the same game

LARP system: Accelerant
Your Location: Connecticut, USA
Character name: Rowan MacMaith
Years LARPing: 7

Chance and Rowan are two longtime players-- they are both of the Bayastri race, a cat-like animal race. Cat-races are popular in many LARPs, among many players. Many players use extravagant make-up and costuming. How players play their cat-people depends on the game. Erin writes that Rowan and Chance are "Cat sisters" and "longtime friends." The following is a dialogue between the two female-identifying characters. (Both players are talented and creative musicians.)

Character Design/Development

Contributor: JJ
Submission/Title: Character Design/Development

     I like hearing about the processes through which other people come up with their characters.  Not stats, so much, as the concept for the character itself, mostly because I've seen a great number of different ways that people approach character building, and I'm hoping a few other people might be willing to share how they do it.  I'll stick with PC characters, because the process of creating NPCs is an entirely different beast.

     For me, I find that I tend to pick a couple of base concepts that I need/want to start with for OOG reasons, and build from that, coming up for IG reasons why the OOG things I want to happen have happened, and how my character got to where she is now, and that aside from 'I will be a healer' 'I want to hit things', tend to leave statting for the end of the process. 

     Omi, a human healer, was the first character I'd come up with for any game whatsoever.  I didn't really know how to do this larp thing; I was familiar with roleplaying, but only playing characters that had been given to me, I had pretty mediocre costuming (and was terrified at the idea of trying to paint anything on my face), and I certainly didn't know anything about the game world.  The OOG concept for her was pretty much "I'm not sure I understand this, so I'm not even going to try to pretend that I do".  So she became an ignorant farmgirl who'd been dragged into adventuring by a combination of coincidence and bad/good luck, with no sense of fashion and a fair amount of curiosity about nearly everything.  I ended up filling in some minor details (like, oh, what country she was from) years later, but by then, she was pretty well established, personality-wise.

     Fathom was my first attempt at making a character that was part of an established group.  OOG concept was pretty much 'try new things'.  I'd been larping for a while at that point, and wanted to do a bunch of things I'd seen from the plot side but never gotten to do myself.  I'd never been part of an established team before (my first team that Omi was part of literally met each other on the road a few days before we hit game); I really wanted to play someone who got to fight with a weapon; I wanted to try playing a non-human and I got excited to explore religion in the game, since the first game I played doesn't do religion.  So I ended up with an Adelith (water-aligned race) priest of the god of the oceans who ran around with a mercenary company hitting things with a polearm.  Working all of that into one character history was a bit challenging, but fun, and I did have fun with all the new stuff.

  

     Mary, a human doctor/pirate, was created entirely in response to a request from some friends that I come play a healer for their pirate crew, because there were too many of them and only one healer, and because they were having a ton of fun with the game.  Somewhat amusingly, the OOG concept for her was 'Not Omi!'.  I was worried that me playing an OSG ('one sword guy') healer would end up with me automatically reprising Omi, so a lot of Mary was designed to guide me away from accidentally acting like Omi.  Omi was pretty goodly, Mary ended up a half-step away from sociopath.  Omi had a good childhood and a big family, Mary was an orphan with a traumatic past, and a chip the size of a ship on her shoulder.  Omi nearly always used her sword for defense only, Mary ran around the battlefield (somewhat stupidly) chasing things with her sword.  It was fun, but definitely a challenge.  One other thing that I think probably strongly influenced the design of that character was the knowledge that it was a short-term game, so I was free to try some things that I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull off/enjoy (like giving her a damaged voice that I continually had to remind myself of), because I knew I wouldn't have to keep it up very long. 

 

How about other people?

Simple to follow, and honest. Please leave comments below.

To see a developed character history, read Zephyr or Terra!

Aftermath

Contributor: Amanda/"Istamira"

Submission: The 4th and final 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.

Travels in Shadowfane: Terra's First Adventure

Contributor: Valerie H./Terra

Submission: IG fictive account of Terra's first time in Shadowfane.
LARP system: Madrigal / Accelerant
Your Location: Virginia, USA
Character name: Terra
Years LARPing: 8

From the same universe as Zephyr, Terra is a shaman in the Shadowfane universe. This is her fictive account of her first time LARPing in Shadowfane. Terra, live her fellow players, is a PC-- this first-time narrative is a description of her "travels as a new adventurer" in Shadowfane. The Seekers are a popular group in Shadowfane-- they are friendly, welcoming, and active members of the Shadowfane community. Terra, a dedicated members of the Seekers, will reveal more about this important Shadowfane group. (In fairness, I should mention Grum's Company, another much beloved Shadowfane group to which Zephyr's belongs. It is something of a cult. We will see more Grum's Company in entries to come.)

Terra is a shaman, in the Madrigal universe. She gains her powers, healing and some combat, by ritual communion with dead ancestors. In LARP, shaman and/or other animistic powers are common. While some might argue stereotypical and generalized, they are opportunities for people to explore other religions and belief systems. People are respectful, creative, and nuanced. Racist and simplified portrayals are criticized and questioned by some members of the LARP community. I invite people to comment, respectfully, on LARP portrayals of belief system and ritual. LARP has some diversity, but it needs much more. I am endlessly thankful to Valerie/Terra for sharing the Shaman experience.

Zephyr's pre-Shadowfane Thoughts: Part Three

Contributor: Rick Pierce

Submission: In-Game writing from Zephyr's character history (character background)

LARP system: Madrigal / Accelerant

Your Location: Connecticut, USA

Character name: Zephyr

Years LARPing: 22

Contact Email: rgpierce@earthlink.net

Read Part One!
Read Part Two!

This is the third part of Zephyr's character history.

Zephyr's pre-Shadowfane Thoughts: Part Two

Contributor: Rick Pierce

Submission: In-Game writing from Zephyr's character history (character background)
LARP system: Madrigal / Accelerant
Your Location: Connecticut, USA
Character name: Zephyr
Years LARPing: 22
Contact Email: rgpierce@earthlink.net

Read Part One!

This is the second part of Zephyr's character history. Character histories are fictive pieces, generally written by PCs, that provide a background for a LARP character. This background explains a character's motivations, personality, goals, hopes, fears etc. Character histories also provide plot staff with material to facilitate interesting game-play. While some character histories are brief and minimal, many individuals use this written record as a way to assert their characters within the framework of the game universe.

This piece, from Zephyr's character history, was written November 26, 2006 (1516 Madrigal time). "Shadowfane" is a fictional town in Madrigal's country Aerune. It is the center of Madrigal's narrative, and PCs start, and gather in Shadowfane. Each LARP event is, in fact, called "a Gather," indicating a time when the characters come together, in Shadowfane or a related territory. "The town" is a central part of Accelerant LARPs, and serves as a unifying location for all PCs. When writing character, new Madrigal PCs often incorporate a reason for why they have decided to travel to Shadowfane. In general, character histories also allow PCs to explore how they are going to roleplay a character.

Sink or Swim (Out of Game)

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. 

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Boffer (Out of Game)

Contributor: Amanda

Submission: The 1st 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

How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Love The Boffer (OOG)
by Amanda / "Istamira"


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.



It's been only 7 months since I started up this hobby, and it's already grown to occupy a great portion of my free time. It wasn't always so. I didn't even get started larping until I was 31. So naturally one might wonder, after all that time, what finally got me in? In summary, two words: peer pressure.

Ironically it’s normally peer pressure that can chase a person away from larping. Just by uttering the word, I received strong responses (and very often not positive). You’d think there would be a natural camaraderie among the roleplaying/number crunching/costume loving peoples of the world. To get funny looks from non-gamers was expected, but I was fairly surprised at how vehemently hostile my fellow gamers could be towards larpers. On more than one occasion I’ve been given an intricate breakdown of the geek food chain, always depicting larpers at the bottom one category above fetish furries. Repeatedly I’d hear the “why D&Ders and Larpers are natural enemies” rhetoric. Even among the few people I knew who participated, I was always given the “don’t tell anyone else that I do this” lecture.

I’ve never put much weight in that kind of social ridicule, which allowed me to glaze past the negativity and seeming shame that hung round the word ‘larp’ like an unwelcome fog. By that standard I probably shouldn’t have done theater, or D&D, or MMOs, or game conventions, or fiddling either – those are all things I love dearly regardless of what others said about them. So how bad could larping be honestly?

If anything, it was almost inevitable that I was going to get pulled into larping because I was already intrigued – you could say I was “larpcurious” ultimately. I had rolled the idea around in my head but without a lot of drive. Friends are a good driving force, but it took an attack from two completely opposite directions to finally push me over the edge and give it a shot.

Attack 1: Agony By Ambush

I started trying to expand my social circle and joined a few new D&D games. Sitting around the table telling stories, eating, laughing… it’s a great way to make new friends. I joined a game where the only person I knew was the GM, figuring it would be good to meet new people. I realized quickly that I was outnumbered. Every person at the table larped – apparently in the same games no less – except me. They were all very awesome people and it was great getting to know them, but I started to get that familiar third-wheel sensation … you know, the one where people are talking about a game system that you vaguely understand so you sit there quietly and politely listening while it zooms over your head? I felt that same feeling the first time I started hanging out with friends who played Magic, or who played D&D, or who played EverQuest. At some point they can’t help but go on about their hobby and you’re left in the dust… until they try to suck you in.

I was standing around quietly absorbing a discussion about how excited they all were for an upcoming “event.” Out of left field (or maybe sensing that I hadn’t run screaming for the hills when all the larp chatter started) my GM friend says “the question isn’t how excited you are for MJ, the question is when is Amanda going to start playing with us?” and shoots a sly look over at me. Instantly more eyes fell on me, lighting up with the same look as a kid who’s heard the ice cream truck jingle. I felt kind of bad because it blind sided me, so my first reaction was to shrink down and recoil from the attention stammering wordlessly, which may have accidentally come off as a “don’t make me” posture.  They didn’t press too hard on the topic, and while I was amicable towards the idea, nothing further came of it.

Over time, in my quest to branch out friendships, I realized my list of friends was rapidly shifting to include a lot of larpers. I started getting invitations to “come try” a few different games, always met with a polite nod and a “we’ll see” on my part.

Attack 2: Disarm

Of all my friends, it was a non-larper that delivered the last shove I needed. It was a discussion with some of my non-gamer girl pals (spouses of gaming friends mostly). To my vast surprise, one of them mentioned that she wanted to try larping some time. This I had to see. To her “gaming” was playing Settlers of Catan, and she had no interest in our D&D games. I just couldn’t fathom her playing in a larp. I explained what little I knew, and that I knew people who could hook us up if she was serious. So the next day, I picked the brains of the most larpiest larpers I knew to report back to her.

When you show the slightest direct interest in playing, it’s like a feeding frenzy of advice. You’ll get more information in 20 minutes than you could remember in a lifetime, and about thirty different variations of “all you need to do is ____”. I think the enthusiasm is what sells it though. When you hear well adjusted, friendly people describing how much they love something, it makes you think “well there must be something to it, or they wouldn’t be so jazzed”. Armed with information and links, I sent my findings back to my friend.

She backed out after I explained it. “Oh? I thought it was more like a one-night mystery dinner show or something.” I can’t say I was too surprised considering she hadn’t even rolled a d20 before, but rather than being discouraged, I found myself digging deeper for information. Could I do this? I could totally do this. After all, I had pledged that this year would be my “year of trying new things.” This was a new thing, right? I could do this. 

Maybe.

Finish Her

The rest of the night was spent digging up videos and links to various larp resources trying to understand just how it worked. The rules had a lot that I agreed with roleplaying wise - I'd always been more story focused in my RP circles anyway. I wasn't crowd skittish (public speaking and performance knock the shy right off you). That and I'm no stranger to making a fool of myself in public for the amusement of others. The costuming seemed fun, and was already something I dabbled in for parties and tradeshows. There was only one obstacle left to tackle before I could agree to go through with it: boffing.The very concept made my skin crawl in the worst way…

I’d seen it in action a few times at social functions. I’d obviously seen the infamous “lightening bolt” video. I'd heard my friends describe it, and had a few other visual references. It just looked so odd and awkward to me… in my line of work people often speak of the “nerf bat” metaphorically, but for me boffing was like the very incarnation of someone flailing a nerf bat. Watching two people going at each other in a duel made me feel embarrassed for them, like an episode of Peep Show where it’s so terribly awkward but you just can’t look away, so you keep cringing harder hoping for their sake that it ends so they can salvage whatever dignity is left.

It’s amazing how a little education goes a long way to beat a stigma. I stumbled on some very nice "tutorial" videos by keyword searching specifically for combat advice, rather than just "larping" or "boffing" alone (which generally pulled up out-of-context footage from people's games). In these videos, boffing was laid out with the same kind of tact as someone explaining martial arts. One of my all time favorites was WillGray42, whose teaching style focused on treating boffing as a fun hobby to share with friends, good way to be active, and something not take too seriously. 

"It's sword 'play' not sword 'fighting' we're not out here to hurt each other." - WillGray42, Lesson 5 Rules & Code

Suddenly it made waaaay more sense, and all the perceived awkwardness washed away. I realized that combat wasn’t just people randomly flailing at each other pretending to take hits….

• It was like fencing, with forms and offensive/defensive strategies that yielded specific results.
• It was like tag football, where your objective is just to “tag” the other person in certain legal areas.
• It was like a friendly sport, where accepted rules of play and equipment were somewhat standardized for the fun and safety of everyone.
• Most importantly: It was like something I could see myself getting into.

Friends or no friends, ridicule or no ridicule, experience or inexperience… I was going to try this. Thus a question that had been asked long ago was answered. When was Amanda going to start playing? Now.

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