A Positive LARP Culture

Over the last weekend, Eldaraenth had it's start of season feast and social event. We normally have the event in January, but, since 2012 was a really bad year for just about everyone, it took us a couple of extra months to get started. Since this event is the time for us to set the tone for the season, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on more than just story or character plot and look to what being part of a community and culture are really about.

As last year progressed, the game I love to play began to feel less and less like itself. One of the reasons I have been such an advocate for LARP and Role Play in general is because of the positive messages and lessons it can bring to those that are part of that world. I've always seen it as a way to improve myself and develop friendships that last for decades. During the course of 2012, however, even Eldaraenth, which has always prided itself on being those things seemed to be falling into the trap of becoming a place where people go out to fight and then spend the night partying.

I didn't do the frat scene in college, and I don't want to do the frat thing now that I'm almost thirty. In my introspection, I realized that as the game's leader, it was up to me to remind the players that I love exactly why we loved the game in the first place. So, I poured all of my thoughts and emotions into a speech and set off to the event ready to really share something important to me with the players around me.

The moment I got to the event site, I was bombarded with a lot of concerns and problems that players had spent all winter worrying over. I realized that most of what they were telling me were the same worries that were biting at the back of my mind. I wasn't alone in my concerns. I listened as each of them came to me with their fears.

I was actually pretty shocked when I realized that some of the most veteran players, people that had given a decade of their lives to this game, were in a place where they seriously considered not playing anymore. I'm not just talking about dedicated event attendees, either. I'm talking about hardcore veterans that spent weeks working on things for the game before each event. These were people that I couldn't imagine ever not playing the game.

I knew that I had made the right decision about what I had put in my speech. I knew that I had picked the right issues to address and focus on this year.

The speech I wrote was an emotional one for me. If you've ready any of my other blog, you probably know that I'm a bit emo. This speech was the most emo thing I'd written in a very, very long time. It took a lot out of me, standing in front of a group of people I have a lot of admiration and respect for and pouring my heart out. As soon as I was done speaking, I had to excuse myself from the hall we had rented for the feast and spend some cool down time outside.

When I came back in, I was almost immediately pulled into conversations about what had been happening the year before and how we could address those issues. They went beyond just talking about the partying and began bringing up ways we could improve ever facet of our game and our culture.

I was proud to be sitting at that table with a handful of players, veterans and new, who wanted to make their game a better place for everyone involved.

As one issue after another got address and resolved, the talk natural wound down and split off on tangents. I sat back and felt accomplished. I realized that I was really looking forward to this year after feeling so burnt out and drained from the year before.

People began to head out after a long day of fighting, eating and catching up. Several of them stopped and let me know that they had been feeling pretty down about the game before the event and now they were feeling incredibly positive and optimistic  Like me, just coming out and reaffirming what we wanted our community to be had rekindled their love of it.

For the first time in a very long time, I felt like I had done my job as the game's leader. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was living up to that mantle.

Even better, players were feeling like they had found something they had lost and remembered how much the loved and missed it when it was gone.

To me, that is the point of all of this.

LARP culture is an amazing place that can help boys and girls become men and women, or more. Knights and Wizards! Or Orcs and Trolls if that's what they're into. We as a community and as a culture can help children grow in a positive, amazing environment.

Then, in my excitement and with the encouragement and feedback of the people watching the video of my speech on Facebook, I posted a link on the LARP subreddit and was reminded that our culture can have a downside. There is an natural draw to games that allow you to fight, plot and scheme. It is a creative outlet for people that are aggressive and confrontational. That's a wonderful amazing thing, as long as it is directed into the positive atmosphere of a boffer field or an intense role play.

Where it gets damaging is when we allow those things to carry over into the mundane side of our games and community. Where a rivalry between two fighting companies makes for some intense, fun, and epic battles on the pitch, a rivalry between games or players becomes a dirty mockery of the values we should be embracing. Manipulating court politics can be an exciting way of getting involved in a story. Obsessing over game politics is a destructive waste of time.

I love Eldaraenth. It is the game for me. I love what I get from it as a game and what I get from the community I play with.

It is not better or worse than other games. It is different than other games. For me, that difference is mostly in who I play with and how we play, not what we play.

I feel like the greatest crime in LARP culture is the inherent rivalry that grows between games and the resentment that players harbor for one another. Those are the truly poisonous parts of our culture that we should all, regardless of game, genre, location, or tusk count should work to eliminate in favor of creating a more positive community all around.

We all have parts of our community that we can improve. I'm certain that even with a dedicated group working through every problem they could think of, we're still going to have some massive holes in our strategies. All of us, and I mean all LARPers, need to share and help one another.

What are some of the issues that you've seen in your game?
How did your game address them?
What is your State of the Game?

I'd love to hear from all of you on this. Together, we can all build a better LARPer.

Okay, you’ve been to your first event, gotten your hands on some basic garb, and even spent some time finding the perfect inspiration for your character. Now, you’re ready to take the next step and figure out exactly who you are. Where do you begin? What do you need to know?

5 Steps to Writing a Character History

1) Learn About the World

Not all LARPs have the same game world to them. Some characters just don’t fit in, that doesn’t mean that a little creativity can’t be applied to make it fit, but you’re probably best off learning the basic make up of the world and working to fit it there. You don’t want to play an Airship Pirate in a Sword and Sorcery LARP, and you probably don’t want to play a Muskateer in a post apocalyptic Zombie LARP.

Your best bet is to get with the friends you’ve made and start with something that fits in easily with them. You can always branch away from that later on, when you’re more confident and comfortable with the way the world works.

2) Know the Basics

Know the absolute basics of your character. These are pretty much the things that will come up in game quickly, and you can spend time fleshing out everything around them. The basics are usually pretty easy, too, because they’re the important things you’ll need to know just to play the game:

• What is your character’s name?
• If there is a choice, what is your character’s race?
• How about the class?

In addition to those, you might want to add a couple of details, like

• Where was your character born?
• Where did you learn your class skills?

3) Add Some Background

Once you’ve got the basic details down, you can start working to really flesh out your background story. Of course, the more you know about your character and motivations, the easier it is to role play. It is important in this step that you work with your game officers a little bit and make sure you’re not putting anything into your character background that goes against the game’s established story.

If you’re having trouble figuring out what you need to know, you might want to take a look at Dread Pirate Rose’s List of 100 questions to Ask About your Role Playing Character

4) Go Out and Play.

The absolute best way to build your character is to spend time playing it. Get out there and role play! Make friends, enemies, and the occasional bad decision. People learn who they are by living, and your character will do the same. Chances are, if you don’t know something about your character now, you’ll learn something about your character while you’re on the field. Maybe you’ll learn that you really are afraid of dragons, even if you don’t want to admit your afraid of anything.

5) You’re Never Really Done

From my experience, anything you put into your character background now will change a year from now, and probably again two years from now. The longer you play one character the more they grow, both in who they are now, and how they got there. Sometimes you might decided to change a detail that didn’t quite fit, and sometimes the game will change them for you, revealing secrets you didn’t even know about your character. That’s part of the fun of it all.

Don’t Worry if It Isn’t Perfect

Life is dirty and messy, and the best characters are no exception. Your history doesn’t have to be an immaculate best selling novel ready to hit the shelves. It doesn’t have to answer every question about your character. The only reason it exists is to help you, and your game officers, to get more involved in what’s going on. Don’t sweat it if you aren’t Tolkien. Just do what’s best for you.

Garbing Up For Medieval Times, a Newbie Guide

By now you’ve been to an event or two, and you’ve probably noticed that some people look truly awesome.

Chances are, the longer someone has been in the game, the better their garb. Looking good isn’t always cheap, though, and can range upwards of thousands of dollars.

Period clothing, often called “garb,” is something you put together over the course of years in a game. Don’t worry if it takes you some time to get your garb on, it’s a process, and can be a big part of helping flesh out your character.

There is an old saying in the Cosplay community:

“You can have it cheap. You can have it fast. You can have it look good. Pick two.”

My personal recommendation is to go with cheap and good, which means learning to do a little sewing, or finding someone that will help you out in that department, possibly in exchange for remedial labor or other services. (Although there are some alternatives) The second option is usually easier to find in the LARP community than you might think. If you’re looking at crunch time, though, you might have to find a little different route.

Basic Garb

A basic garb outfit needs 3 things:

1. Shirt
2. Pants
3. Belt

Everything after that can wait, and are just accessories. Luckily, pants and a belt are pretty easy to come buy, just swing over to your local general merchandising chain store and pick up a pair of black sweatpants and any belt you think looks cool. Look for something in black leather with a neat pattern on it. Don’t worry about getting your hands on a ring belt like those guys at a Renaissance Festival. The truth is the standard buckle we use today pretty much dates back forever, at least as far as the Roman Empire.

If sweatpants aren’t your thing, you have a couple of alternatives you can try out. I’ve known several people to wear the plaid fleece pajama pants, which have a more period style cut to them, but can wear out rather quickly. You can also try out a pair of scrubs. They’re a little more durable, and they look good enough for any fantasy game.

Basically, as a newbie, you’re going to get points for not wearing jeans here, so don’t sweat it too much.

Where to Get a Garb Shirt

The most noticeable part of your garb is going to be your shirt. Fortunately, getting something pretty basic is fairly easy.

Buying One Online

I don’t recommend buying a shirt online. Sizing can be all over the board, and the cost is definitely higher than what you’d pay to make one yourself. If you’re dead set on doing so though, be prepared to spend $30-90 for something basic. Shop around for something that suits your style. If you’re going to plunk down the dough on a shirt, you want to make sure its something you’re going to wear for a while.

My personal recommendation for where to buy is Medieval Collectibles. I’ve ordered several things from them, and the service is quick and the products are a good quality. If you keep an eye out you can usually pick up a good deal, too.

Making it Yourself

There are a dozen patterns out there for making a shirt, if you are so inclined. Hit up the costume patterns section of your fabric store. Never buy an off the shelf costume piece (unless it is of extremely high quality), but the patterns will work out well if you make them with the right material.

For a simple garb shirt or tunic, you can get away with some fairly common cotton fabric for a few dollars a yard. You are looking for solid colors, preferably in an earth tone. Try to avoid bleached white cloth if you can, but there isn’t anything wrong with that for anyone but the most die hard of historical accuracy buffs. If you don’t much care what color it is (and really, most starter garb ends up being loaner garb eventually anyway), then look for the cheap, clearance cotton. You might be able to score it for $1-$2/yard. Unless you are an exceptionally huge person, you can make a garb shirt with 3 yards of fabric or less. Total price to make it yourself is between $10 and $30, depending on the cost of your pattern.

Of course there are plenty of places online that can show you how to make a t-tunic with no pattern (PDF LINK).

The $5 Garb Shirt

Rowan of Dan Belegorn, a Belegarth player put it best when he said:

Get a polo shirt from Good Will ($3) then cut off the collar, buttons, and any noticably hemmed edges. Poke some holes where the buttons used to be and string some leather lacing through the collar holes. Wah-lah, instant medieval look!

He wasn’t the first player to think of it, and he won’t be the last, but he is the mad genius that thought to just put it out there. It has become the basic standard for a starting player. If you want to take it farther, get a long sleeved t-shirt and cut the hems off the wrist to wear under it, like this shiny picture of Mandragoran from the Belegarth Wiki, looking stylish in his polo shirt tunic.

There you go, you starting kit should be ready to take the field and at least look good while you’re getting beat on by your friends.

Now, get out there and rock.

5 Tips That Make Your First LARP Easier

Everything can be a little overwhelming the first time you attend an event or even a combat practice with a new group. This is even more true if it’s the first time you’ve ever attended anything. You can find yourself in a completely new group of people that have their own traditions. It can sometimes feel like they are speaking their own language. There are a few tricks you can use to get yourself acclimated quicker than you’d realize though.

1) Listen

Every LARP is different, and new things can be frustrating, but the best way to learn is to just soak it up. Most veterans will be more than willing to talk for great lengths. It has the benefit of letting you get to know not only the out-of-game side of things, but also lets you learn a little bit about the in-game things, too.

2) Ask

If you have a question, ask. It’s better in the long run to get your answers as soon as you can, and only a dick would make fun of someone for not knowing something. Find the person in charge and ask them any questions you have come up. If they can’t answer themselves, for example if they are swamped with a large number of players, they will be able to hook you up with a player that can help you out.

3) Don’t Expect Too Much From Yourself your First Time

A lot of new players go into a game thinking they have to be on the same level as the veteran players. Don’t. You are new to this, and everyone knows that. The less expectations you bring with you, the less shattered you will be if you don’t match them. Don’t worry about being the best fighter right away, or not having the right clothes or props. The skills come with practice, and if someone is worried about your clothes or props, then they will probably have loaners for you.

4) Don’t Expect Too Much from Game Officers

For the most part, they are volunteers that help run the game because they love it, and love to help new players. That doesn’t always mean they get to do as much as they would like. Especially in story/character heavy games, give them some time to work you in. A good story teller will do his best to get everyone involved in the game, but when there are a lot of players, it can take time to get to everyone. They are snubbing you, it’s just easier for them to handle more established characters first.

5) Find a Veteran and Learn from them

Most players coming into a new game will be brought by their friends, and can stick with them while they are learning the ropes. If you’re just starting out on your own, then the best thing you can do for yourself, and to help out those stressed game officers, is to ask if there is someone you can shadow for the day. The people they stick you with might not be who you end up running with in the future, but they are chosen because they’re established veterans that are good with new players.

Extra Bonus: Don’t be upset if you get passed from one vet to another. Most players who take newbies under their wing do so because they want to help you get into the game in a way that you’ll enjoy the most. If they ask you some questions and then hand you off, they are doing so because the person they’re passing you on to will be the best for you. That might mean they are from the same area you are, or that they can help you better establish what you want to do with your character.

More than anything else, just show up and expect to learn a lot of new things and have fun, as long as you’re having fun, you’re doing your job as a player. Everything else will come in time.