Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Of Horses, Carriages, and Other Impossibilities

One of the greatest challenges of a LARP is reconciling the Out-of-Game realities that effect the IG experience. Every LARP, of course, has to deal with a standard set of these (many of which are inevitable parts of campsite structure): cars become carriages, camp cabins are villages, taverns, or ruins, and some features, such as electrical wire, are just ignored entirely. Generally, this requires players to accept the "willing suspension of disbelief." But what about other things, especially creatures, that are standard parts of daily life? I'll give you one example: horses.

As any fantasy lover or historian will know, horses are integral parts of classic fantasy repertoire and actual historical maneuvers. Cavalry were essential to military development, and horse husbandry facilitated human complexity. Clearly, though, horses are not feasible for a LARP. While we may be able to forgive giants, dragons, and unicorns (all of which I've seen at a LARP), the absence of horses is a bit jarring. Horses are part of idiomatic parlance ("I could eat a horse/beat a dead horse/horsing around"), and, for many people, a day to day reality that is hard to ignore. So, in a LARP, it's reasonable to a) phys-rep some horses (difficult) or b) make an IG excuse for the dearth of equines. I know Madrigal has some excuse-- they were lost in a series of wars, or something similar, and I'm sure other games have encountered this. Mirror, Mirror has the very nifty and tidy "refraction" mechanic: things don't appear in the gameworld as they would elsewhere-- this is due to mirrorways and "refraction" through these mirrorways. (There is, in fact, a horse IG-- he has been refracted as a small mouse.)

What OoG/IG problems have you run into-- either as a PC, NPC, or plot staff? How have you dealt with these OoG realities that effect IG play?

World Building: What Do You Look For in a New Universe?

This is just a quick post that is really more for my edification. I'm currently writing LARP background plot for the up-and-coming Invictus. I love to write, so I find myself lost in the little details. However, I'm wondering what people look for in new game universe information. What sort of things get you to play a game? What do you need to successfully build a character? What is unimportant? What do games often leave out, that you wish was included? Consider the following topics, how important are they to you?

1. Cosmology, religion, and ritual practice.
2. A solid rule and skill system, clearly written and available. 
3. Pictures and visuals from the gameworld.
4. A detailed geography and climate with regional information and a map.
5. Suggestions for clothing, make-up, and props.
6. A guide to game-appropriate weapons and armor.
7. Culture write-ups for regions or ethnic groups.
8. A rich political system that PC can immediately join.
9. A guide to NPCs that a character would know or about whom a character would have information.
10. A timeline and current-events log for the game.
11. An active and usable forum system, website, and character database.
12. A bestiary.