LARP - Beginners guide

Before I begin this tale of my first ever experience with LARP that the people I meet and took me under their wing. This is a story about the people I meet in the first instance being introduced to this hobby, not the brilliant people I now know. So please don't be offended.

LARP (Live Action Role Play) A beginners guide.

One of the first times I felt out of place and just quite frankly confused was when I attended a LARP event with a friend. It started as a great idea, talking over few pints at the pub about the wonderful tales of heroic battle in a field, using latex weapons to pummel each other into submission. To me being a massive geek, it was a logical step to make into a whole new realm of nerdery. So I booked a ticket for the next main event ready to do battle with Goblins and the like, and I will tell you now booking the ticket was the easy part, then the problems began. I will describe these problems in separate sections.

Kit (Costume)

This is something many people entering the Larping world do not think about when starting, Kit is everything. When I say kit I do not mean a first aid kit or the like, I mean armor, pouches, etc. All these things are required to be able to blend. I showed up with an old leather jacket with the sleeves cut off, two LARP swords I had bought from eBay, and a pair of old combat trousers. I walked into the first day thinking I was great, how wrong I was. To make this more clear the night before the event is a night where everyone can catch up and drink Out Of Character (O.O.C. This will be important later in this tale) so everyone is dressed well normally. So then when the next day came everyone went to their colorful tents to don their personas. I donned my armor and went out keen to get stuck into it. I was immediately greeted by a field of professional Cosplayers (Well that’s how it looked) instantly every set of eyes in the camp turned to me and all they can see is a NOOB (A term I came to live with over those five days) I felt so out of my depth and began to search for my friend to make some headway this is where it gets tricky.

In Character

So I went in search of my friend who invited me to join him in this world, after few laps of the camp I found him talking to what appeared to be an Ogre and I believe to be an Ork (Can’t be sure he was painted green) anyway I approached to speak with him and I said “You OK Tom” it was met with silence and a wide-eyed stare from the three gathered here. He did respond with “who are you?”. So this is a concept I struggled with for the first few days, there were a lot of tuts and mutters of Noob but basically when you in character the people will only respond to their character's name or only if they know your character. This is very daunting to a new player to the game because the truth of it you don’t know anyone, you are a fresh character. It took me back to the days in school where each clique had its ways and you desperately trying to fit in with one group somewhere. This was not dissimilar. In their defense, I was not prepared for this, once you have had the chance to speak to someone on how it works it does become second nature, but at that moment I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

Fighting

Fighting in LARP is fun, getting stuck in fighting creatures of myth is great in a real setting compared to playing it on video games or in Dungeons and Dragons. All the weapons are safe and each LARP System has its own rules around combat, in this case, each location on the body had hit points assigned, and when they hit zero your down and require healing. So our first battle came in the form of 20 or so people dressed in red tabards and carrying big spears. They charged at us with full pelt, so being the brave warrior I was pretending to draw my sword and charged towards them. I think I got one hit in before I hear the man in front of me shout “CRUSH” and hit me square in the chest. I stood there for a second wondering what this was about. While in my state of confusion and before I can say anything, the man who had dealt this blow is shouting for a Ref (Basically these guys control the game and its rules) The man proceeds to tell the Ref that I’m not taking my hits, and instead of telling what I had to do. The Ref then tells me to lie on the floor as I am now unconscious. So as I lay there confused with other players looking at me like I’m some kind of cheat. The Ref returned and kindly explained to me what the call meant and said some people take this game way too seriously.

That weekend will always stick out in mind as one of the worst experiences in the LARP World but I did go back and I attended many events over 10 years. I have made many close friends through it and eventually, you find people on the same wavelength. You have to expect this when trying something new for the first time and I felt very small over that weekend. So my advice to you if you ever want to try LARP (And as much as this story does not cast it in a good light) follow this small list:

Kit: Look at buying or borrowing a basic kit/costume, it’s a stepping stone for your character to develop and grow in the world. It allows for some wiggle room in your character.

Rules: Always read the rule book for the system your attending, do not go on the word of others, have a basic understanding of the rules.

Pack for comfort: You are camping in a field after all but you can be on your feet for up to 14 hours per day. Think glamping bring an air bed, etc. Trust me your body will thank you for it later.

Don’t take it too seriously: I found that this ruined aspects of many systems I have played, I have seen grown men in their forties throw full-on two-year-old temper tantrums over a slight rule infraction. Just take it on the chin and enjoy the game.