Illustrated Guide Teaches Dos and Don'ts of LARPing
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
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Yer because we looked like the silly people when the chavs where running from us as we sheild rushed them.... thats what you get for following us and taking the piss.JimmyBassatti said:Why is LARP ridiculous? They like it, and enjoy themselves. It's like paintball, but not ruined by your drunk uncle who has Vietnam flashbacks while shooting you and your friends in the nips.Lexodus said:Missed the biggest DON'T of all:
DON'T: LARP. You look pretty damn stupid, standing there in a field in a glorified dressing gown, yelling 'Fireball' at each other.
I'm kidding, of course. Some people don't like mages, and find plenty of other ways to embarrass themselves... ();
But then again, if there's one thing you can say about the human race, it's that people will never run out of ways to make themselves look ridiculous.
To be fair, you just highlighted why I don't go paintballing.JimmyBassatti said:Why is LARP ridiculous? They like it, and enjoy themselves. It's like paintball, but not ruined by your drunk uncle who has Vietnam flashbacks while shooting you and your friends in the nips.Lexodus said:Missed the biggest DON'T of all:
DON'T: LARP. You look pretty damn stupid, standing there in a field in a glorified dressing gown, yelling 'Fireball' at each other.
I'm kidding, of course. Some people don't like mages, and find plenty of other ways to embarrass themselves... (
But then again, if there's one thing you can say about the human race, it's that people will never run out of ways to make themselves look ridiculous.
However, there are Warhammer 40K, Cyberpunk, Space Marine LARPS that do let you use them.Alar said:I was disappointed when I found that out too.thenumberthirteen said:
Ooh, that way lies a split mightier than Nintendo vs. Sony.Aurgelmir said:
LARP = Fantastical History.
Re-enactors = REAL History. (Though the REAL bit gets very stretched)
LRP = Fantastical History by acting only. (Games like Vampire where LA would be impossible/dangerous)
DON'T get the three mixed up or you've just stepped into our console war.
DO have fun with all three.
Would I be right in saying, "only in America"? 'cos I am pretty sure if anybody in the UK, outside of a theater group, would never have to piss again. (due to people taking the piss out of them so hard, incase you didn't get that)
Just seems like an American thing to me, no offense to anybody of course.
Just seems like an American thing to me, no offense to anybody of course.
Oh no I am not confusing the three. I am on the other hand going ot use this as part of an argumentative statementThe_root_of_all_evil said:
You see the thing I find weird (and a little insulting) is that while LARPers gets called out as being Geeks, the Civil War Re-enactors doesn't seem to get the same treatment.
I will also add I know very little of either of the sub cultures, but being a sort of nerd I take offence every time something is referred to as geeky when similar things are viewed as more or less okey.
Is Civil War "nerds" not given the geek treatment, because what they do with their hobby is keeping history alive?
I personally have nothing against any of this, and find them all to be interesting subcultures. And I also think the LARPers come up with a lot of awesome things when it comes to their attire
It's partially that. Re-enactors tend to get lumped with trainspotters as their (sometimes) obsessive defence of their hobby is more important. LARP/LRP are mostly fictional, so they get lumped in with Geeks as they "aren't real".Aurgelmir said:
Often people will play in more than one of the groups, but the main sticking point is still "IT'S NOT REAL". Similarly with cosplay/re-enactors; and oddly why Sherlock Holmes having a pipe and deerstalker IS REAL, but how he originally appeared isn't.
Yes and no. The problem in the comparison is that they're not really different takes on the same concept, or competing ideas, they're completely different concept.Bretty said:
The biggest comparative strength of the SCA (its realism) is also sometimes its drawback. Even when I'm putting on a persona, or in combat, or doing any other task, it's still me (the individual) doing it, rather than my character.
But, RPGs are (at least on some level) about escapism. I'm not playing myself, I'm playing a wizard with superpowers, or a samurai.
The best way I can encapsulate this is with a direct comparison in the realm of combat.
LARPG: I swing a padded weapon at someone, hitting him/her somewhere on the torso, then pause while we determine the results. I cast a spell, and the results are determined mechanically. The results are determined by my character's skill, speed, and strength (or whatever other attributes are important to the conflict).
SCA: I put on a shit-ton of armor, and swing a sword made of ratan (kind of like bamboo, but thicker and harder) at someone. The results are determined by my skill, speed and strength. I personally have to be better than my opponent to win. Or I do fencing, but the concept is much the same (swap "swing" for "trust", "sword" for "some form of fencing blade", and "ratan" for "steel")
The difference is in whether there's any dissociation/fantasy involved. The big benefit of the SCA stuff is that it encourages you to actually get better. If I want to be more influential in the SCA, I need to work on my courtly manners, my talents, and making friends. If I want to be better at combat in the SCA, I need to practice hard, get more in shape, and learn the proper techniques. But, again, the escapism there is (and I say this with love and respect for the SCA) essentially playing house. I'm not really pretending to be someone else, just myself in different clothes and doing special events.
The escapism of an LARP (or any RPG) is more along the lines of "not being myself for a few hours". There have to be mechanics (like, yes, shouting "lightning"), otherwise you lose the escapism of it.
