LARP - Live Action Role Play
You've probably seen the movie "Role Models" and so you have an idea in your head of what a boffer combat LARP can be like. You might have even heard of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) or Mind's Eye Theater. Maybe you've seen a group of people in medieval clothing fighting each other at a local park, or dressed up as vampires in your town square. All of these are different types of LARPs, or Live Action Role Playing Games. At it's core a LARP is a game played by a group of people that come together and develop personas that they role play for the purpose of telling a story. It's part improv theater, part arts and crafts and can even be a little bit martial arts.
I imagine if you are reading this, than you probably already have a pretty good idea of what a role playing game is, and are curious about LARPing. What makes a LARP different than a table top game like Dungeons and Dragons or RIFTS? Well, that question isn't entirely easy to answer. There are hundreds of LARPs in the world, and each is pretty unique. You can break them down into three different types, based on how much "Action" versus how much "Role Play" there is.
Boffer Combat Groups (Sword Tag)
On the scale of Role Play vs Action, boffer combat groups are probably the farthest down the action side of the spectrum. Though boffer combat is a pretty big part of a lot of medieval/fantasy larps, pure boffer groups don't generally worry about things like story or characters. Some games still have rules for costuming, but don't even pretend to care about persona (like Dagorhir or Belgarth). The also tend to be a little more hard core in their fighting, allowing things like grappling and shield bashing.
I've heard them described as "Paintball with foam swords," and it isn't an inaccurate description. In fact, I've heard of a handful of Post Apocalyptic and Zombie LARPs that add the Paintball markers back in.
Boffer LARPS
The difference between Boffer Combat Groups and Boffer LARPs is pretty much in execution of why people show up, and what they do at an event. There is actually a lot of overlap between the two game groups, with many players playing both types for different reasons. Boffer LARPs generally have an in-game story, or in-game world, and players are expected to have characters that fit that world. Depending on what game is being played, the line between character and player can be pretty loose or incredibly strict. This group is a bit of a hybrid between the other types of larps, emphasizing characters, but still settling actions by doing them.
Different games can very pretty widly in the range of how intense the fighting is, ranging from full contact combat all the way down to simple tapping of your opponents with swords.
No-Combat LARPs
Not to say that there isn't fighting between characters, but No-Combat LARPs have no fighting by players. Vampire and Star Wars LARPs both come to mind in this genre, with disputes settled by everything from tossing dice to playing rock-paper-scissors. No-Coms are probably the closest LARP cousin to traditional table top role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, and sometimes even have players carry character sheets. This is probably the most commonly observed type of LARP, since players do not require a lot of space for fighting, and they can often play anywhere that is open to the public.
In Springfield, MO for example, there is a White Wolf based LARP that uses the City Limits as the play field, and players can be found in character just about anywhere.
What is NOT a LARP
There are a lot of groups and organizations that have some cross over with LARPing, but are definitely not LAPRs in and of themselves. For example the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) organization that specializes in the study of sword combat in the same way that most modern Asian Martial Arts schools do.
Re-enactment groups are also do not qualify, as they are generally seeking to recreate specific events that have happened in history. Generally with as much accuracy as possible.
You've probably seen the movie "Role Models" and so you have an idea in your head of what a boffer combat LARP can be like. You might have even heard of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) or Mind's Eye Theater. Maybe you've seen a group of people in medieval clothing fighting each other at a local park, or dressed up as vampires in your town square. All of these are different types of LARPs, or Live Action Role Playing Games. At it's core a LARP is a game played by a group of people that come together and develop personas that they role play for the purpose of telling a story. It's part improv theater, part arts and crafts and can even be a little bit martial arts.
I imagine if you are reading this, than you probably already have a pretty good idea of what a role playing game is, and are curious about LARPing. What makes a LARP different than a table top game like Dungeons and Dragons or RIFTS? Well, that question isn't entirely easy to answer. There are hundreds of LARPs in the world, and each is pretty unique. You can break them down into three different types, based on how much "Action" versus how much "Role Play" there is.
Boffer Combat Groups (Sword Tag)
On the scale of Role Play vs Action, boffer combat groups are probably the farthest down the action side of the spectrum. Though boffer combat is a pretty big part of a lot of medieval/fantasy larps, pure boffer groups don't generally worry about things like story or characters. Some games still have rules for costuming, but don't even pretend to care about persona (like Dagorhir or Belgarth). The also tend to be a little more hard core in their fighting, allowing things like grappling and shield bashing.
I've heard them described as "Paintball with foam swords," and it isn't an inaccurate description. In fact, I've heard of a handful of Post Apocalyptic and Zombie LARPs that add the Paintball markers back in.
Boffer LARPS
The difference between Boffer Combat Groups and Boffer LARPs is pretty much in execution of why people show up, and what they do at an event. There is actually a lot of overlap between the two game groups, with many players playing both types for different reasons. Boffer LARPs generally have an in-game story, or in-game world, and players are expected to have characters that fit that world. Depending on what game is being played, the line between character and player can be pretty loose or incredibly strict. This group is a bit of a hybrid between the other types of larps, emphasizing characters, but still settling actions by doing them.
Different games can very pretty widly in the range of how intense the fighting is, ranging from full contact combat all the way down to simple tapping of your opponents with swords.
No-Combat LARPs
Not to say that there isn't fighting between characters, but No-Combat LARPs have no fighting by players. Vampire and Star Wars LARPs both come to mind in this genre, with disputes settled by everything from tossing dice to playing rock-paper-scissors. No-Coms are probably the closest LARP cousin to traditional table top role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, and sometimes even have players carry character sheets. This is probably the most commonly observed type of LARP, since players do not require a lot of space for fighting, and they can often play anywhere that is open to the public.
In Springfield, MO for example, there is a White Wolf based LARP that uses the City Limits as the play field, and players can be found in character just about anywhere.
What is NOT a LARP
There are a lot of groups and organizations that have some cross over with LARPing, but are definitely not LAPRs in and of themselves. For example the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) organization that specializes in the study of sword combat in the same way that most modern Asian Martial Arts schools do.
Re-enactment groups are also do not qualify, as they are generally seeking to recreate specific events that have happened in history. Generally with as much accuracy as possible.
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