LARP Hacks

Cheap tricks, low-effort fakery and life hacks for LARP games.

[larphacks]

Ten Tips for Crewing your First LARP

LARPHacks, my friends have convinced me to try LARP and I’ve decided to crew my first event so I can get a feel for the game before diving in as a character. How do I make sure it’s a good experience?

Glad you asked! This is geared primarily at people crewing small-medium “minifest”/large-linear games, about 40-100 people, based at sites like scout camps in the UK; but I think and hope plenty of the advice will be applicable more widely.

1. PACK YOUR STUFF

Crewing starts a week before the event. Check with other crew what you should be packing and make sure it's together. There's an example generic LARP packing list here, but as a bare minimum you should pack:

Comfortable footwear with ankle support

Sleeping gear, unless you are SURE the site has bedding

Warm & waterproof clothing sufficient to comfortably stand still in the rain in winter at night for >30 minutes

Washkit, including any medications and a towel

Plain dark trousers and top

Phone charger and power bank

List of emergency phone numbers (partners/friends/relatives) in case you damage your phone or get stuck out of signal

2. READ THE BRIEFS

Crewing starts a week before the event! There should be some material available to help crew understand the backstory to the event, roughly how it will run, what the PCs are trying to achieve and what obstacles they will encounter. You may have the opportunity to volunteer to play NPCs in advance, and those NPCs may have briefs. You should revise the rules so you understand what calls and mechanisms you'll encounter in play.

Sometimes you'll find there is too much of this material and it's overwhelming. If that happens, you should ask for a one-page summary, or a priority order of stuff you "must" read vs "could/should" read.

Sometimes you'll find there isn't enough of this stuff and you don't really understand what you're meant to be doing. If that happens, you should find a member of the game team or a more experienced crew member and ask them questions!

The rhino has a complex and intricate set of character motivations which the player was revising for weeks in advance.

3. LISTEN TO THE REFS

When you get to site, the refs/game team become your bosses. You should keep an ear out for when they're trying to talk. Good crew rooms are noisy, chaotic places, full of people enthusing about the encounter they've just come back from, or revising their brief for the one they're going out on next - all while trying to put on a chainmail shirt and find an appropriate weapon in the pile and glue the extremely important cardboard crown prop back together. This is fine - embrace the chaos! Get excited! But keep one eye on the refs and shut up when they start talking.

It's always okay to say "no" if the refs ask you to do something, but try to make it "no but":

"No, I don't think I can manage to fight again right now, but I could go in again as one of the non-combat restless ghosts we had earlier."

"No, I'm not ready for another role now, but I'll be good in 30 minutes, I’ll wait here until then."

"No, I don't have the brains to absorb a complex brief, but I'm happy to go in as something like a thug or bodyguard if someone else plays the Prince."

4. ASK THE REFS

At the same time, while the refs are busy, they would rather know if you're having a problem or don't understand something. Don't suffer in silence. There are always lulls in game time, so if you need help, collar a ref and ask them. Even better, ask a more experienced crew member - they'll be able to read the room and find you the right moment to speak to someone; they might even be able to fix the problem themselves.

If you're really keen to do something, make sure you communicate that to the refs - ideally before the event - so they have the chance to find something. Whether it's making kit, wearing a particular costume, playing a particular type of role - always worth asking!

A crew tent with all the essentials: bottled water, electric light, queer pride.

4. THROW YOURSELF IN

No matter how well organised the game LOOKS, it will have gone off the rails approximately two hours after time in. This is normal and expected. You will end up being asked to play roles you didn't prepare for: this is also fine and expected.

Try to play as many different roles as possible within your physical, mental and emotional capacity. Expect a big variety of different things to do. Throw yourself into the world and have a go at everything. You will not enjoy it all equally and that's fine - you're here to learn what works for you

Even if you have been given a single "big name" NPC with an important plot role, be prepared for them to arrive on screen late, leave early, or fall down a flight of stairs onto some PC knives thirty seconds after they appear. Getting keen for an NPC is great - getting overinvested in one is a recipe for disappointment and bad feeling (on your part or the players’).

Look around you at what the other crew are doing. If a role looks like fun, join in! If a ref asks for volunteers, stick your hand up! The louder, more interesting roles will go to more experienced LARPers who are "known quantities" unless you volunteer for them. Often those more experienced LARPers are itching for someone else to volunteer and will be delighted to coach you through being a squad leader, an evil magician, an angry space knight or whatever else comes up.

If you feel anxious in a complex or high energy role, ask if you can have a more experienced crew member as an IC servant, second-in-command or bodyguard. This gives them an excuse to stick close to you and whisper in your ear if you stray off track.

5. YOU ARE NOT A PLAYER

You are at this LARP to help create a living world for the PCs - the protagonists - to inhabit and affect. You may have a very important NPC with complex motivations and great kit - and you should immerse yourself and play them to the hilt! - but their concerns and goals must come secondary to the players.

Here are a few ways to reinforce that:

No NPC-on-NPC Action. NPCs should talk to each other as little as possible, only ever with players present, and ideally only ever at player instigation. If the players have worked all night to get the Margrave and the Duchess to negotiate a peace treaty, then of course they can negotiate. (Though it would be better if they each empowered a PC legate to negotiate on their behalf....). But it should be a big public negotiation with lots of opportunities for the players to observe and interject. If you find yourself talking to another NPC in private, then stop, walk away, find a PC and do your business in a way which includes and centres them instead. NPCs talking to NPCs with no player engagement is sometimes called “Facewank”, and is one of the three cardinal sins of bad LARP design.

Fight Generously. In combat roles, try to "sell" every blow the players make by flinching, rolling away, shouting in pain. It's good to give the players a challenge, but it's even better to challenge them AND make them feel heroic and badass when they defeat you.

Spot the Quiet Ones. Every time you go in as a “talky” NPC, look for the players who aren’t running to greet you, playing leadership roles, or pushing themselves forward. Give them an opportunity to engage with your role.

So, tell me about... It’s great to deliver your brief; it’s even cooler to give the players a chance to deliver their unique stories. Ask players about their kit, their customs, their names and deeds. There’s no quicker way to create the sense of a living world and culture than to have a fully IC reaction - and it can be anything! Approval, disgust, awe, curiosity - to something you already knew OC about a PC.

An NPC is there to fulfill a function - note briefing notes tucked into belt!

6. LOOK AFTER YOU

Self care is important for two reasons: you’re at a physically, mentally and emotionally demanding hobby, and you want to keep yourself safe; and if you don’t look after yourself, then it’s going to be one of the other crew or ref team taking time out of running the game to look after you. It isn’t big or hard or clever to forget to drink water or fight so hard you feel faint. It isn’t cool to wear uncomfortable kit (no matter how great it looks) which exhausts you to the point you’re incapable of participating in the game, or to keep banging your head against a role you’re really not enjoying.

Ask for help before you need it, not after; make your accessibility needs and limitations clear to the game team in advance; give yourself enough food, water, sleep and decompression time between intense roles. Looking after yourself isn’t selfish, it’s part of being a responsible crewmember.

A social role can make a great break between more physically active roles.

7. LOOK AFTER YOUR BUDDIES

Even if you’re new, you can still keep an eye on your fellow crewmembers. Check in on them if they seem down or subdued, and make sure they’re remembering to drink enough water and get some rest. A great way to cheer someone up is asking them what their favourite moment of the event has been so far, or to ask them to tell you about a highlight of a previous LARP experience - getting people to tell war stories is a good way to get perspective on the game.

And what friendly souls all of these crew seem to be!

8. IMPROVE YOUR FOXHOLE

Crew rooms are always chaos, particularly crew rooms for medium-sized combat games. Work out where things are meant to live and anytime there’s a break, gently tidy things up. Wash out cups, put the swords back where the swords live, throw rubbish away.

Go one better and improve the conditions - are people unsure of where the costume/weapons get stored? Grab a Sharpie and some paper and duct tape, and start making signs. Is there an obvious trip hazard? Tape it down or move it. Refs have left radios scattered over the desks? Put the spare ones on to charge.

If you don’t keep the crew room tidy, you’ll be left wearing the chicken wig.

9. PACK DOWN

Everyone is very excited and frothy at the end of an event, and it can be really compelling to catch up with the players you’ve only ever seen IC all weekend! But there is plenty of work to do to get the site collapsed, kit packed away, and everything cleaned and tidied. Make sure you leave enough energy to pack down your own and the event kit, and if you can’t see anything obvious to do, grab a mop or a cloth and start cleaning part of the site.

10. FROTH AND SELF CARE

Be prepared to look after yourself in the days after the event. Take a day off to recover.  Sleep, eat and rehydrate. You will be more drained than you realise. Carefully clean and disinfect any little cuts or grazes you picked up - the outside is dirty and they will infect quickly.

If it’s gone well, you’ll be on a big emotional high! If it hasn’t, you may feel a bit rotten. In either case, engaging in after-game froth on social media can be a great way to maintain the good memories of the event, as long as you’re sensible. Try to be generous with your engagement - give other people compliments on cool stuff you saw them do, tell them their kit looked cool, and try to think of something nice to say at least once for every time you’re complimented.

You may get a bit of low mood ("event drop") after a day or two. That's okay. It will pass. Write down the good frothy memories now while you're hyped about it and re-read them when you're low.

If some things didn't go so well, it's absolutely OK to talk and vent about them, but it’s courteous do it in a place the game team can't see it (e.g. personal Facebook, on a filter) for the first week.

Write down what worked well (roles/interactions you enjoyed, kit you liked) and not so well (things you should have packed, things you'd have liked to do but missed the chance) while it's fresh in your mind. Review the list next time.

I liked the bit where I died!

(Credit to Jessie for this bit:) When you roleplay a character getting emotional - you are likely to be using your own real emotions to physrep that. Those don't always go away just because you have stopped playing the character. So be gentle with yourself for how you feel for the next few days, and watch out for any responses that come from the character and not you. This is called "bleed" and its normal, basically everyone gets it. But you might feel, eg, weirdly close to or angry with a player or fellow crewmember, or like you've let people down or similar. If that happens it is worth pausing on the reaction and checking where it comes from before acting on it. In the same way that while your kit isn't actually covered in blood you still need to put it round the wash - you weren't actually in a life or death situation with your mates but your brain might need a gentle clean up as if you were.

[larphacks]

FAKE IT - Six Tips for Tacticool Radio Chatter

Hi all! From an off-Tumblr friend:

“How do you sound tactical on a radio?”

For anyone who plays a sci-fi, postapoc or modern military LARP, short-range walkie-talkies/UHF radios will be a familiar sight from the field. They can add a great coolthentic vibe to a group and allow people far away from the action to participate in missions.

But how do you sound tactical (or, more importantly, tacticool) without proper training? Talking clearly and correctly over a radio is a skill that professionals devote days and weeks to learning. You don’t have time for that! Instead, I’m going to give you a few quick tips to sound like you know what you’re doing, without doing any of the work.

Photo from Gruntz, by Oliver Facey.

Master Tip: Confidence and Consistency

Different professions have totally different protocols for speaking over a radio. Ambulance dispatchers, military units, merchant navies and astronauts all have their own way of doing it. Each protocol comes with its own unique set of grammar and vocabulary - often varying wildly between countries - sometimes called “voice procedure” or VP. There is no single “right” VP that will instantly make you sound professional, and this post isn’t going to teach you VP.

Instead, you should focus on confidence - practicing a few hacks to make your voice come out fluent, clear and reliable. The first few tips will focus on ways you can fake this. Then try to achieve consistency - a set of mutually agreed rules which mean you’ll communicate information the same way every time you pick up a radio, and more importantly, that your fellow LARPers will do the same.

As an example of the latter, in my professional life, I use the word “roger” to mean “yes, I’ve understood you”. But when I volunteer as site crew for a major UK LARP, everyone I work with uses the code “JG” - short for “jolly good” - to mean the same thing. If I’m the only person saying “roger” in that context, I don’t sound professional - I sound like an outlier. Better that I say “JG” instead, because then I’m widely understood. Consistent group language very quickly creates a group identity through shared speech (a sociolect) which sounds impressive and slick to an outsider listener. This single shibboleth makes it sound like we’ve all had radio training (most of us haven’t!) and that we’re sticking to a defined procedure - one of the hallmarks of professional voice communication. It’s more important in LARP to be consistent than to be “correct” by real-world standards.

Photo from Gruntz, by Oliver Facey.

1. Think, Rehearse, Press, Pause, Speak

One of the biggest mistakes unpracticed radio users make is working out what they’re going to say after pressing the transmit button. Two-way radio isn’t like a phonecall - people can’t talk over the top of you or interrupt: when you have that button held down, you’re broadcasting to every other set on your channel. That means you need to work out what you’re going to say before you start saying it!

Mentally rehearse the exact words you’re going to use before pressing the button. In a crisis, when you’re stressed, take the cognitive load off by physically rehearsing - whispering or subvocalising - before sending. You might think this slows down your chat, and it does, but you’ll save more time in the long run by not babbling, saying “ummm... errr....”, or using long inconvenient pauses.

Once you press the button, pause for a moment before you speak. Most handheld radio sets have a delay of up to half a second before your voice is actually transmitted. Always think - rehearse - press - pause - speak.

2. Use the ABCs

The ABCs of good radio communication are Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.

Accuracy - strive to use precise, unambiguous language. Say exactly what you mean in the simplest terms you can manage. If you’re asking for something, be clear on precisely what you need, when, and where. If you’re relaying information, ask them to “read-back” or verify they’ve got it correct.

Brevity - Say as little as possible. Time on the net is precious. Aim to never speak for more than 20 seconds at a time; break your transmission into multiple bursts if it’s long. If you need to have a drawn-out conversation with someone on a busy net, consider switching to another channel or moving to their location instead, rather than clogging up the main channel.

Clarity - your voice will be distorted over the radio. Speak slower than you think you need to, enunciate clearly, leave gaps between words. Don’t whisper or shout. High voices carry better than low voices over most frequencies, so consider altering your pitch if people are struggling to hear you.

A note on roleplaying. There are always going to be times when you’re going to want to convey emotion through a radio broadcast - this is LARP, after all, and if you’re panicking because you’re pinned down under a horde of zombies you want your fellow players at the other end of the line to be panicking too! Of course you can, and should, break these rules when it’s IC appropriate. If you play a character who has great VP most of the time, it’s even more harrowing and effective when you suddenly break down sobbing or screaming!

Photo from Arkfall, by Oliver Facey.

3. Callsigns

Everyone loves callsigns, right? They make you sound badass. They’re like the nickname you wish you had in school. Every action hero has a callsign.

Callsigns are great - in real life, they’re used to clearly identify who’s who on a busy radio channel. In military and paramilitary contexts, they also protect the identity of the speakers by avoiding the use of real names.

When picking a callsign, consider the cultural context of your character. How did they get their callsign?

If they’re a hot-shot independent type - a pilot, or a bounty hunter, say - perhaps they have a badass nickname which says something about their character. (”Goose”, “Maverick”, “Iceman”). In some organisations, these are picked by the individual; in others, they’re agreed by their peers during training. Link the callsign to a significant background incident for additional colour.

If they work for a hierarchical conventional military organisation, they’re more likely to have a standard pattern given out from above and based on their current role. This might be a string of letters and numbers - let’s say they’re the squad commander of 3rd Squad, 2 Platoon, they might be called 23A on the radio. This works great when you’ve got a bunch of characters from the same military unit who agree to use the same pattern, and gives an immediate impression of professionalism.

A nice midway point between the two is to give your whole group a team designation (this can be something “cool” - Kryptonite, Jackal, whatever) and then assign each individual a number or letter code. (Jackal-One, Jackal-Two or Jackal-Alpha, Jackal-Bravo and so on.) This is great if your group’s going to be interoperating with other groups also using the same net.

Alternatively, you might simply give people callsigns which reflect their role in the mission or team, particularly if it’s a small team. “Guns”, “Med”, “Base” and “Bossman” all clearly indicate who you’re talking to.

Photo from Contact LARP, by Oliver Facey.

4. Grammar and Vocabulary

Like I said at the start, I’m not here to teach you one set of VP. I could write a post explaining why in my profession you should never say “repeat” over the radio unless you want a lot more artillery than you bargained for, or why I immediately know someone who says “over and out” hasn’t had much training. But that isn’t why I’m here - you’re here to fake knowledge!

What I will say is that you should construct, or adopt some set of radio grammar and vocabulary, and agree it with your fellow players. It doesn’t matter what it is - what matters is you do it the same way every time. That’s how you quickly sound tactical. If you want to adopt an existing one, a fellow LARPer has written a great guide to the basics of the British system which is easy to steal, here.

If you’re constructing your own, I’d suggest at a minimum you probably want to consider:

a) How do people introduce themselves? You can’t always recognise voices on the radio - somewhere in the transmission they need to use their own callsign.

b) How do they make clear who they’re speaking to, or asking to speak to? “This is Iceman, I need backup!” is going to cause confusion as everyone tries to answer at once. “Hello Zero, this is Iceman, send reinforcements to Hut Three!” is going to get you what you need.

c) Do you have special words for encountering the enemy (”contact”)? For asking someone to repeat their last transmission? For acknowledging you’ve heard someone (”roger”) and/or that you’ll comply with what they’re asking you (”wilco”)? Do you use special words for different types of enemy?

(If you’re in a sci-fi or postapoc setting which is not strongly tied to modern militaries, this is a great time to start adding in your own distinct flavour. Pick something that isn’t “roger” or “affirmative” to mean “yes”, make sure everyone understands it. Use a few words in second languages to emphasise a linguistic legacy from particular modern Earth cultures, or add in bits of religious language for an occult vibe. It doesn’t take much before your sociolect is very distinctive and recognisable - great for group cohesion.)

d) How do you end a transmission - do you use a special word to make it obvious you’ve finished? 

(Many organisations in real life use “over” as the last word in a message to mean “I have finished speaking and expect a reply”, and “out” to mean “This conversation is over, do not reply”.)

e) Do you launch straight into transmissions, or do you use a “warning” transmission first to get their attention?

(Some organisations find it polite to send a message like “Hello you, this is me, message, over” to make sure they’ve got someone’s attention. This saves you talking to thin air as someone on the other end has left their radio on the table!)

f) Do you have specific types of report you will ask people to give - for example, instead of “how are things going”, might you ask for a SITREP (situation report)? Or a report on the status of casualties? Talk through these scenarios in advance and try to agree a format for what a “standard” report might include. Don’t be afraid to write down these formats on little laminated cue-cards so you can read them off when sending a report - professionals use these cheat cards in real life!

g) How do you tell someone that their message is clear? Or that it’s broken up and you’re struggling to hear them? Are they too quiet, or too fuzzy?

h) Do you have a special way of saying numbers or letters (which are often misheard over the radio)? For example, in a modern or near-future sci-fi LARP you might want to consider using the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Photo from Before the End, by Oliver Facey.

5. Check Your Comms!

LARP radios are notoriously unreliable. They will break down, constantly. This can be great fun when it happens in the middle of a tense stand-off! But to avoid it happening too much, make sure you check how reliable your comms are before setting out on the big adventure. Stand a good distance away from “base camp” and make sure the radios can hear each other. Plus, the action of conducting this comms check IC immediately establishes your professional credentials and is a nice bit of flavour roleplaying to get you in the zone.

If you have a particular pattern of checking, you can use this when you’re out and about on a mission just to check in and make sure your radios are still working.

6. Code Words

There will be times you want to communicate without everyone understanding exactly what you mean - this is a great opportunity to use code words. Code words might be used for the objective of a mission (a person, place, or enemy base), particular locations, or particular scenarios you’ve foreseen in enemy planning.

Remember, code words sound extremely cool, but they’re only useful if everyone remembers them! - so try to keep it simple. If you have three objectives to complete, calling them “bronze”, “silver” and “gold” or something equally logical is fine. You might feel super tacticool muttering down your mic that you’ve neutralised Objective Sparkling Thunder, but if nobody at the other end knows what you mean, you’ll end up looking a bit daft.

Location identifiers can be invaluable when you’re trying to talk someone on to a target. “Behind the tall tree” isn’t great - “fifty metres west of Hut Five” is much better. Helps if you have a map of your site and a compass, but even without that, you can designate location names on a site walk-round.

One particularly fun example of code words is a duress code - a phrase spoken over the radio which secretly tells your mates that you’ve got a gun to your head. This needs to be something sufficiently innocuous that you can work it into any normal speech without alerting the baddies. You might never use it - but agreeing it and rehearsing it with your colleagues can be a great piece of roleplaying!

Photo from Death Unto Darkness, by Oliver Facey.

Final Note: It’s OK to be wrong!

This stuff should help you fake a character who is professional and familiar with communicating over radios. As with all my advice posts, it is okay to get it wrong and that doesn’t make you a bad LARPer. Indeed, if you’re playing a character who isn’t familiar with the local standard for radio communication, getting it flagrantly and excessively wrong can be a great piece of roleplaying!

[larphacks]

Process Hack: Welfare

Hi all! After a long hiatus, ya boy is back with more unsolicited advice!

What are we talking about this week? It’s LARP welfare!

Common at medium and large games, the role of welfare officer, sometimes called “site parent”, and sometimes divided into crew welfare and player welfare, is very important. It’s also something which can go really smoothly if you do some decent prep before the event. I’ve been discussing the role with some LARPer friends recently, and I’ve put together some advice for good ways to tackle this role.

Some of the below advice falls into the category of sensible prep that everyone can do before a game too, so feel free to read even if you don’t hold (or want to hold) a position like this!

Some of the jobs I outline below might not fall into every welfare officer’s purview - mix and match as you choose. (If you’ve been asked to look after player or crew welfare and don’t know which of the below are your responsibilities, that means you need to have a chat with the chief organisers and find out!)

1. Positive Energy

This can be a surprisingly high-energy role. Particularly in the crew room, one of the most important things a welfare officer can do is be positive and energetic when everyone is feeling a bit tired and down. This is hard! But a bit of jollying-along goes a huge way to changing the dynamic. This is even harder when YOU'RE the one feeling tired and cold and sad. But if you are visibly struggling, nobody will approach you when they need help! A "brave face" is your best weapon.

2. Shut Up!

Sometimes you need to be the "voice of reason" - getting people to concentrate, or quiet down, when it's important that something needs to be done quickly. One good way to do this is to be cheerful enough most of the time that people LISTEN on the rare occasions that you raise your voice and ask them to please shut up for a minute.

3. Early Start, Late Finish

The two above points are ESPECIALLY important during set-up and take-down. You need to be "on the ball"/on duty during periods where other people are transiting into and out of the game. During set-up, your keen crew and players will all be busy frothing and sniffing each other's butts because they haven't seen each other for a year, they want to show off their new kit, and their adrenaline is through the roof. But - it's 30 minutes to time-in and nobody's in kit and the IC areas aren't set-dressed. You need to get them moving!

During take-down, everyone is exhausted, a bit overwhelmed, and wants to sleep (including the refs). But the site needs to be taken down, cleaned and tidied up, lost property needs to be organised, and there are always last-minute disasters involved in the logistics of getting people off site. You can't collapse now - your job isn't done. You might not be in charge of take-down, but you ARE the right person to gently corral and rally tired people towards the plan.

4. Who does what?

If you're the first point of call for someone who's having an issue, being able to confidently signpost to other crew is really important. So firstly, you should know exactly what the other other staff members do and where they're likely to be (in both time and space). If a player comes to you and says "I'm really struggling with the Sorcery rules and I feel very stupid", then sure, you can (and should!) offer them some immediate comfort and consolation. But in order to help them with the root of the problem, you need to know several bits of information:

a) What are the different staff members' responsibilities/expertises? Who does what? (Mike is the person who handles Sorcery rules.) b) Where in space are the other staff located? (Mike is currently refereeing the Clawed Fiend encounter on top of the hill.) c) When in time are the other staff available? (The Clawed Fiend encounter can't be interrupted. It is scheduled to end at 2100hrs. Mike should come back to the crew room after that.)

I'd also recommend you have a good "ticket-tracking" system to make sure your incoming queries are handled and nobody falls through the cracks. You could devolve this onto players ("Come back at 2110hrs and ask to speak to Mike") but it will help things flow smoothly if you are also logging things yourself. I'd recommend carrying a small notebook and pen so you can note things down and tick things off. You can also help things along by being an active communicator and setting the emotional context for solutions. If Mike comes back at 2100 and immediately gets jumped by an emotional player, he might be tired and confused and not give the best answer. But if he comes back and you tell him "There's a player who is having a bad time with the Sorcery rules, they seem quite distressed, I think you can help, they'll be around in 10 minutes" then he won't be surprised and will have the right bit of his brain switched on.

5. It’s all in the Filofax

There is admin information about players/crew which will really help you if something goes wrong too. I'd suggest having the following on-hand, glued into your notebook, on a tablet, or otherwise kept secure on your person (since some of it's sensitive personal data):

a) A list of everyone's allergies and medical conditions. b) A list of qualified first-aiders, and the locations of first-aid kits. c) A list of every vehicle on site, registration number against player/crew name, in case you need a car moved in a hurry. d) A rough understanding of who arrived from where, with whom. It doesn't need to be exhaustive, but if the vehicle which brought 6 people from London breaks down irrecoverably, then being able to help sketch out solutions to get those people and their kit home will be massively easier if you know roughly where people came from.

6. The Outside World

You are likely to also need to be able to signpost to help *outside* the game. If a player comes to you with a problem that can't be fixed with on-site resources, what are you going to do about it? You can't predict every scenario, but at a minimum I'd suggest having the following prepared:

a) A breakdown service for the vehicle that won't start (in the UK the most common is the AA). b) A mental health or emotional support helpline, like the Samaritans (116123). c) The emergency number for injured wildlife - in the UK, the RSPCA (0300 1234 999). d) The emergency and non-emergency medical numbers (in the UK: 999 emergency, 111 non-emergency) and police numbers (UK: 999 emergency, 101 non-emergency). e) A clear understanding of where on site you can get mobile phone signal. f) A plan for how you would get an ambulance onto site if you needed one: run through the whole thing (where on site can I get enough signal to call the ambulance? What is the postcode of the site, and do I have a set of clear directions to give the dispatcher in my notebook? Who am I sending to the site entrance to walk the ambulance on? Is their most likely route of approach clear for a large vehicle?). If you've never called an ambulance in this country, then ask someone who *has* to practice with you, so you understand what questions they'll ask and in what order.

7. Kit & kaboodle

The following are things which LARPers reliably fail to provide for themselves, and which you will benefit greatly if you have on hand. Find out from the organisers what your budget is, and buy accordingly:

a) Salty snacks (crisps/nuts) and quick energy (sweets/fruit). Keep a small separate store aside from the usual 'crew food' to help someone who is struggling. b) The ability to make a hot sweet drink in a hurry. c) Hydration solution (Dioralyte, Powerade, or the cheap alternative, which is six teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt per litre of clean water). d) Paper and pens. e) High-powered torch (for searching for lost objects). f) Your own phone on an in-country network, plus at least one charged mobile phone powerbank with multiple charger ends. g) Ice packs - ideally the "squeeze to activate" sort so you aren't relying on the site freezer. (Most common item left out of first aid kids - and immediate relief/comfort for the most common LARP injuries.) h) Warm blankets. i) An idea of how you'd provide a simple hot meal in a hurry. (This could be a packet of rice you can chuck in the microwave, a cup-soup and kettle, a ration pack and a Jetboil, or a good understanding of what the caterers' plan is for an emergency meal.)

If someone is in a lot of distress, going through the process of dealing with their physical needs (food/water/temperature/etc.) can often help them become better able to communicate their psychological/emotional needs. Often a LARPer who is dehydrated or low on blood sugar doesn't KNOW that's the problem, they just know they feel awful and are crashing hard.

8. Know the Ground

KNOW YOUR SITE - I can't stress this enough. If someone has a costume disaster and needs somewhere private to change, where can they do that? If someone is overwhelmed and needs a quiet, safe, cool (or warm) room or tent to lie down in for an hour, where can they do that? If a shy new player shows up and asks "Where do I put my kit?", then being able to answer them quickly and competently with a smile on your face will immediately endear you (and mean that they WILL come to you later, when they're suffering, instead of sitting alone on their bed being sad about it).

9. Late Bloomers

What is the late arrivals plan? If you went IC at 1900 and the traffic means some of your players don't arrive till 2200, then most of your key refs/crew will be busy running the game. You're the most likely person to escort the late arrivals onto site, get them set up, and get them integrated into the game. You'll need to reassure, but you'll also need to understand a lot of admin details to make sure they don't feel any more overwhelmed and embarrassed than they already do. This might involve giving a second safety briefing, pointing out any last-minute changes that weren't included in the game pack, and pointing them to the right ref to get their characters timed in. You can be as nice and friendly as you like - but some people will be even more reassured by practical, reliable and clear directions when they’re feeling rushed and panicky.

10. Herd those Cats

What is the crew plan? Depending on role, you may or may not be involved in "crew wrangling" - this is often a separate role, and deserves its own post. But even if you aren't "crew boss", you need to understand and be able to help balance crew energy and engagement. If there are long periods where crew are likely to be sitting around bored, where are the "pick-up-and-play" roles they can briefly read, digest, and go out to engage in? If crew are doing three hours of back-to-back combat roles, where is the plan for ensuring that they're all fed, watered, rested and properly kitted before their next high-energy role? The best refs will have considered this and have a clear plan for managing crew in small teams to maintain their energy levels - but as a welfare officer you are likely to be the advocate/interface if it doesn't seem to be working well, so make sure you understand where the weak spots and frictions in the plan might be so you can deal with them in advance.

What happens if a crew member comes to you and says they're really struggling with their NPC role and aren't enjoying it? (If you're the approachable face, they'll likely come to you first before a busier ref!) Do you understand the crew matrix well enough to think about solutions, alternative roles they could do, or how the timetable could be re-worked to end their role early? Wherever possible, you should strive to go to the refs with a solution rather than a problem: "Harry is struggling and I think if we brought the poisoning forward an hour, then let him play a gremlin for the rest of the night, that would fix it" is better than "Harry is struggling". They may not accept your solution, but the conversation is already moving onto alternative ways to fix the problem.

11. Easy In, Easy Out

How do players enter/leave the game if they're fatigued or unwell? Your game may not have a clear system for this, and it may be players' own responsibility to manage their fatigue. However, some will struggle to cross the IC/OC divide here: if the character is fighting for their life, how do they resolve that with the player needing to have a lie-down for an hour so they're safe to drive the next day? One of the best games I've run had a clear, signposted system where players who needed a break could "vanish" IC (with a clear IC logic for their disappearance) and take as much time as they wanted. When they were rested, they could go see a ref for a special briefing which told them what had happened while they were away (and explained how they reappeared). You won't find this in every game, but think about ways to make taking an OC break feel like a positive and productive experience, which leaves the character with plenty to talk about when they return, rather than a potentially embarrassing one which leaves the player out-of-the-loop and feeling like they've missed out on the fun.

12. Look After Number One!

Practice active self-care, both to facilitate all of the above and as a good example to others. Going back to the first point, most people can't project positive energy if they're sad, wet, cold, tired and hungry. Have a routine worked out to look after yourself. Understand what you can and can't do and work to your limitations. If you have lots of physical energy but are struggling to deal with six emotional crises in a row, get up and walk around site. If moving exhausts you, pick a central location to base yourself and make sure all the things you need to do your job are in easy reach.

Feel free to reblog with your own additions, checklist items or hacks for looking after your fellow LARPers’ welfare. Suggestions gratefully accepted!

[lrgcarter]

Larp Acting

There is a tumblr thread going round on the causes and necessities of different forms of acting; stage acting needing to be large enough for people at the back to see, early tv acting needing to be big enough for small screens to see, modern acting being helped by modern camera tech and set design, etc.

The thread went off in directions to do with language and accents, but I wanted to build on these earlier topics with regard to larp acting. I have in the past been accused of “over acting” or “being bad at acting”. This is understandable, I’m no [insert whoever you think is a good actor here, I’m not getting into *that* argument]. But there are a few things that are worth bearing in mind when thinking about larp acting. The following does apply to player characters, but is particularly true for non-player characters, and especially applies to those running the game.

This post is mostly being written for people who have played in games that I have helped run, it might help them understand where I was coming from with some scenes.

When running an encounter, you want to get the story across. You want people who are paying attention to be able to say “oh yeah, this happened” if asked about it later.

This leads to the following considerations.

1) It *didn’t* happen. This is a simple one, and not larp specific. We all know that fiction isn’t real, but I’m not talking about suspension of disbelief here. I’m talking about having a common stage ‘language’ that can be deciphered by all viewers.

Maybe you’re doing some healing on someone. In the real world, maybe what you’re doing results in the patient wincing and grunting a little. In larp, you might want to turn that up a bit so that people don’t need to ask what’s going on, they just need to look at you saying “arrgh, that hurt a lot, but I’m glad you just shoved my joints back into place”. The people running the show need to fill in the gaps of what isn’t really happening, so you know what is imaginary-happening. Even the fanciest special effects will lack the benefits of post-production editing, so larp/stage acting will always have to carry a workload that would be covered elsewhere on tv/film.

2) There’s a lot of stuff around a larp encounter that isn’t meant to be there. It’s the old larp joke that larpers train themselves not to notice hi-vis jakets. That’s what the game-runners wear, and they aren’t there, so you ignore them. Helpful in larp, less so in real-life safety situations.

It isn’t just the big stuff you ignore though. You end up ignoring lots of little things. Orienteering posts in the woods you’re using? Ignore them, they aren’t there. Telephone wires overhead? Ignore that, they aren’t there. Character hesitates when asked their name because their player can’t remember? Ignore that, happens to us all, didn’t happen. Character hesitates when asked their name because they are being deceitful? Ignore that, happens to us all, didn’t happen.

Oh shit, those last two look the same.

Larp acting requires a certain ‘turning up’ of the acting to cut through the ‘larp-blinkers’. You want a character who is trying to noticeably talk bullshit? You need to turn that up so that they aren’t mistaken for someone who has forgotten their brief. You want the players to notice something going on a little further down the path? You need to turn it up so that the players don’t think it’s just the organisers setting up the next encounter.

Those two examples are interesting because when you *have* forgotten your brief, or when you *are* trying to organise something ‘off-screen’ then you don’t want the players to be taking that as something happening in-character. They’ve developed those 'larp-blinkers’ as a kindness to the organisers, so you need to work with them rather than try to break them down.

3) Larp acting has the same 'people in the back need to see this’ issue as stage acting, while *at the same time*, maybe people in the back *don’t* need to see this?

By which I mean, you want to convey events despite the fact that they aren’t really happening, and you need to compensate for the fact that there’s a mixture of 'actually there’ and 'not actually there’ cluttering up the stage. The solutions to these problems need to take into account that you don’t want every little scene to dominate everyone’s attention, at the same volume level, every single time.

Maybe you want everyone to notice something, because you are role-playing something that everyone would notice. At this point, you get *really” ‘loud’, be it literally loud or you just ‘act loud’. Maybe you want people in the immediate vicinity to notice something, but aren’t too fussed about people a little distance off who would realistically be paying attention to other things. That’s a different ‘acting volume’. Maybe you want to do subtle things for just one person, but you want that one person to understand. That has to be ‘quiet acting’ *at the same time* that it is overcoming the previous issues.

This all comes down to the actor knowing what they want to achieve, and pitching their act to that precise moment. This does have a tv/movie equivalent; acting for a close up is different for acting for a long shot. However, in larp the close-up/long-shot acting is more complicated, because of the lack of direction/editing. You may be doing a 'long-shot’ act for a group that is far away, only to find someone you weren’t aware of is much closer than you thought. Most commonly, you may be doing an act pitched at the players far away, while the other non-player characters with you are thinking “jeez, reign it in a little?”

Anyway, this has been my rambling on what I think about when I play larp characters. If you have ever thought I might be hamming it up to much, or playing a character inconsistently, these are among the reasons. There’s probably other factors that I haven’t thought of but which, when mentioned, I’ll be like, “oh yeah, totes should have included that.”

If you’ve made it to here, thanks for reading!

[larprambles]

A Guide To Providing a Decent Crew Experience.

I have almost certainly forgotten something.

Keep reading

[larphacks]

Reblogged with no additions. Some day I’ll add my “easy crew briefing form” onto this blog, but today I’m simply going to reblog this excellent post and ack/auth everything in it*.

(*Except the bit about retconning: I am a firm believer in NEVER RETCON, IT HAPPENED NO MATTER WHAT. But there are games out there which disagree with me.)

[larprambles]

Dealing With Being on Your Period in a Field.

Because it is like, the worst.

Keep reading

[ladieswholarp]

This is perfect timing, I was just thinking of doing another post about this.

The main points are all covered here - basically, take care of yourself out there, and remember everything’s going to take more energy - but there’s a couple more bits I’d add: > Remember, at Fest LARPs in particular, that sometimes there is not readily accessible running water. When it’s a Code Red, this can be even more of an issue, because your hands should really be clean when you’re dealing with that. Consider hand sanitiser or wet wipes.

If your hands aren’t covered in mud and gore, what are you even doing with your game? 

Photo by Tom Garnett from The Fall of Vusoria.

> Are you running an event? Consider if there’s anything you can do to help a player on their period. Recently I did a 24-hour time-in horror LARP set in a space prison, phys-repped by a warehouse in Glasgow. We were going to have basically no personal comforts. I was already prepared for being cold, hungry, uncomfortable, scared out of my mind, and having no sleep. Buuuut theeeen I did the special 28-day maths and let out the long, low “noooooo” of those who see unavoidable horror coming.

But! I mentioned it to a ref, and she basically went “OH NO”, and reassured me that I’d be fine to have my own supplies on me, and that the bathrooms would also be well stocked at all times, and that they’d not only carry additional painkillers, but would keep track of when I could take them - because, IC, we’d never know what the real time was. It was really reassuring to know they had my back and meant I could focus on IC concerns. Like xenomorphs.

See? What a load off.

Photo by Oliver Facey from Incarceration.

> If you are attending an event, take spare supplies with you. Even if it’s not due, because sometimes it will defy all laws of biology and show up just to spite you. (This has happened to me.) And because sometimes it will spite someone else, and they might be caught out as well. And because sometimes someone might already have guessed it was coming, and gotten supplies, but they vanish somewhere en route to the event and suddenly it’s time for the player briefing and where are your damn pads. 

(Are you guessing what has put this issue on my mind lately? Are you suspecting it’s a series of Incidents? YOU ARE CORRECT.)

IN SHORT: BE PREPARED, FOR YOURSELF AND UNTO OTHERS.

Stick to the blood of your enemies.

Photo by Oliver Facey from Projekt Ragnarok.

[larphacks]

A couple of excellent posts for my LARP buddies who menstruate! And to reiterate this post, even if you DON’T have the anatomy, you should carry a tampon/pad in your first aid kit. Yes, even if you don’t have a womb! 

I do, and more than once I’ve been the first person an unexpectedly-menstruating friend felt comfortable coming to in a crisis - it was so great to be able to hand over emergency support right away so they could sort themselves out quickly while I went hunting for more supplies from elsewhere.

[accesslarp]

A group photo, taken before time in, of (some of) the spoonie LARPers at Empire LARP this weekend. Of course not everybody could make it or wanted to have their picture taken, but even with this small group I love the range of people, abilities, gender, age and character.  Photo by @tomgarnett

[larphacks]

Following up on my previous Opinions about representation: this is a really important photo (of some people I love dearly, but that’s by the by ;) ). Particularly I’d like to point out the LARPers in the picture who use a wheelchair and mobility scooter respectively. 

Every so often I get asks or messages worried about disguising the appearance of mobility aids at LARP, particularly large ones like wheelchairs. If making those items fit into the game is important to you and helps you LARP better, then absolutely, go for it! But it isn’t necessary - and photos like this, I hope, show that there’s no reason for anyone to feel self-conscious or awkward about using a mobility aid at LARP. Wheelchairs, scooters, canes and the like can and should fit into field and fest LARP games without a second glance. 

Physical accessibility is always going to be a challenge for high-combat games, and I’ve talked a bit about thinking about accessibility during the design process here. LARPing while disabled can be tough, and nobody should pretend otherwise. 

But in terms of being present in the setting, you should never feel like your mobility aid should single you out, break the game’s immersion or “look”, or attract any sort of OC comment, whether you choose to disguise it or not. If people are giving you hassle about the appearance of a mobility aid in a game, and it’s not over something you can fix in thirty seconds or less, they are in the wrong.

[larprambles]

LARP Celebrity Culture

And why it’s bullshit for all involved.

Keep reading

[larphacks]

An excellent and succinct post from @larprambles *. I highly recommend you head over to read his thoughtful, honest and gracefully worded opinions - it’s fantastic to see newer/younger LARPers thinking about issues like this and coming up with novel and helpful advice to work around them.

I’ve suffered - hard - from both sides of the problem he talks about. I’ve been so overwhelmed by certain Big Name LARPers that I felt I couldn’t approach them or interact with them meaningfully, like I wasn’t important enough to take up their time. I’ve also struggled with people making assumptions about my OC attitudes or roleplay style based just on one high-profile character.

(In the most recent example, some players at one game - Empire - wouldn’t stop talking about my well-known character at a different game - Odyssey - and in several cases threw OC banter which included addressing me by the character’s name - which is a big red button for me; I took a while to cool off.)

I can (helpfully/unhelpfully) testify that it gets better with time. The first time people assumed I only played treacherous or lying characters, I was genuinely hurt and upset and confused. It really wound me up. Ten years later, I am sanguine and experienced enough to deliberately subvert and play with assumptions and first impressions, and enjoy doing it. It can be thoroughly satisfying to see someone make the D: face when you show up in a butler’s wig, pince nez and a lot of nervous blinking, if they’re accustomed to seeing you in heavy plate and a greatsword.

*Which I’m now going to ruin by rubbing my verbose reblog text all over it

[larphacks]

Process Hack: Representation

Here’s a quick dit about representation and inclusivity in LARP.

Writing accessible, inclusive games is important. Having a clear, open accessibility policy is important. Improving accessibility in your own games and helping others improve theirs is important. Creating diverse, inclusive, welcoming settings and environments is important, and so is thinking about inclusivity etiquette and how you make it clear to your players that your environment welcomes them.

But representation - representation is VITAL.

I work in a profession which has, let’s be honest, a pretty poor history with LGBT+ issues. When I was starting to think about my transition, I was blessed with some hugely supportive, helpful, understanding colleagues and peers. They told me all sorts of things about how I’d be supported, welcomed, protected. How the process could be handled, how they’d provide the right balance of authority and autonomy, how they’d help defend my privacy. And I believed them; I trusted them; it helped, but... I was still very nervous, very anxious, and deep down, very convinced that I was soon to make a decision which would part me from a profession and a lifestyle I loved very, very much; because the two were simply incompatible - because the complexities and peculiarities involved in gender transition could simply not coexist with my profession. Because, no matter how good the chain of command could talk the talk, the profession, at large, would simply not walk the walk.

Then one day I sat in a big lecture hall full of other people in similar clothes, and a trans lady - about my age, about my seniority, who’d been through the same terrifying process I was staring down the loaded barrel of - stood up on stage. She spoke for about half an hour, and said a number of hugely helpful things, most of them targeted at the predominantly cisgender audience, about how to positively handle the challenges involved in commanding, leading and managing trans people in our profession. But one thing she said, right near the start of the talk, dropped my fucking jaw and left me feeling like someone just switched off the gravity.

She said “It wasn’t a big deal.”

She told the story of her coming out, in broad brushstrokes; the sort of preparations she’d made, a bit of personal history, the command climate, who knew and who didn’t. But that one line, and the context around me, was like the fucking sun coming up.

It wasn’t a big deal.

She could have been staring me right in the eye and speaking directly to my soul. I am like you; I am one of you; I have done the scary, intimidating, complex thing you’re about to do. It wasn’t a big deal. It went fine. You, LARPHacks, are going to be just fine. All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. My own personal Julian of Norwich, standing up on stage with saint’s halo, a big cheesy grin and a photo of her in Afghanistan five years ago with an adam’s apple and stubble.

Any number of my cisgender colleagues and commanders could have told me the same thing, and I would have nodded politely and thanked them for the sentiment but deep down not believed them. And that is why representation is vital.

You can see a lot of really positive comments in the thread captured in the image above, from simple expressions of welcome and acceptance to helpful, practical advice about gendered ablutions. But the line that, I guarantee you, will have put a big fucking grin on the OP’s face and made them feel like yes, yes, this game is for me too! is the very simple and straightforward:

“I’m trans. I write for Empire.”

In those six words, @alchymistryandcoldsteel has put a spike in the tyre of every gnawing little anxiety that a trans potential-new-player might have about trying this LARP. She speaks with the voice of Authority; she is Established; and she is one of us, where the OP wasn’t even sure there was an “us” in this game.

There’s so much subtext in those six words - she’s conveying not only that she’s trans and in an authority position at the game, but that she is out publicly, and moreover, so comfortable in that position that she’s willing to tell people so on the internet; she frames it as a simple statement of fact; later in the post, she’s realistic, which helps convey trust and investment in her sentiments... it’s brilliant. It’s a game-changer.

Not everyone has the resource, the courage, the freedom or the support to be out and proud and to act as a representative; nobody should ever feel pressured to do so. But for those who do, and who have those opportunities, and who want to: please don’t ever be scared that you’re putting yourself forward or “showing off” or making a big deal of your status by simply Existing Publicly While A Trans LARPer (or as a queer LARPer, a LARPer of colour, a disabled LARPer, a female LARPer, etc). You may never know the impact you’ll have on some new young LARPer’s life, when they see you across a field and go oh my god they’re like me, I can be me, I can be me!. 

Those simple, deeply courageous acts of quiet, firm representation are like manna from heaven to the uncertain, the nervous, the will-I-be-welcome. And if you’re not in one of those categories, but are in a position to enable or encourage representation - in photos, in blog posts, in setting material - from those who are, fucking do it. Get there now. Your LARP needs you.

(I tore a ligament in my fucking ankle three weeks ago by not following my own goddamn advice at a LARP so I’m crotchety and have opinions on the internet. I shall not apologise. BEHOLD.)

[dealingwithaces]

Helping Krystal recover from lightening

Support 'Helping Krystal recover from lightening' by donating or sharing today!

At a Dystopia Rising game, a member of our community was struck by lightning and thrown into a tree. If there’s any way you could help, some funds or a share or just kind words, I’d be personally grateful!

[larphacks]

I’m on hiatus because work is super busy, but guys! 

A fellow LARPer got struck by lightning! She’s broadly fine, but because she’s living in a backward country without free public healthcare, she’s going to be stuck with an approx $5k medical bill for a quick hospital stay and some scans. Let’s help out, yeah?

Krystal, if you are left with any cool scars then you MUST use them for future character stories ;)

[uk-pandora]

Watch as Zanna van Dijk shares her top three moves for a healthy workout #DOMotivate

Celebrate your strengths with the PANDORA ESSENCE Collection

[foodnugget]

Like for real who works out with jewellery on

[larphacks]

Usain Bolt sets Olympic records wearing a wristband and a Catholic medal necklace.

The woman who beat me by a clean fifteen seconds on our Company fitness test the other day did it with earrings in.

My 71 year old mother, who is a world record holding powerlifter, works out with jewellery on. She trains with jewellery on, she competes with jewellery on and she thinks she looks fucking fabulous doing it. She is correct.

(Apologies for the offtopic, but it winds me up when people assume that because a woman is wearing jewellery or pretty clothes to work out, that means she isn’t taking it seriously / isn’t doing a “real” workout / etc.)

(To make it briefly relevant to the blog, it ALSO winds me up when people make similar assumptions about women in decorative or ornate LARP kit, that they must not be “serious fighters”. It’s bullshit, in LARP and in real life. The history of combat equipment is the history of ostentation - from the Hoplite’s painted shield to the ridiculous excesses of the Gothic cuirass to the HESCO-wire crosses of Helmand. 

Yet somehow, because it’s a woman wearing dagged sleeves or a fancy kirtle over her chainmail, she’s “dressing up”, and her male counterpart with fancy fluted gauntlets or a gold rondel dagger isn’t?

Bollocks to it.)

[medievalthymes]

Egyptian Mythology

Popular Goddesses 

[larphacks]

So...

I saw this beautiful photo post and it reminded me of a moment back at Odyssey LARP (now, sadly, finished).

I was out walking from campfire to campfire one night with an Egyptian - I forget who I was playing; possibly my Roman signifer. The sky was clear and the stars were thick and bright. We were always very lucky with stars at Odyssey - typically we’d have a good clear night or two, and at least one of the two annual events usually coincided with the Perseid meteor shower, so the sky would be full of shooting stars. Those numinous flashes in the sky made it very easy to play characters who really believed in the power of omens and soothsayers, who saw the supernatural everywhere in the world - not only in places the game team had deliberately placed it, in strange-costumed beasts and sound-and-fury special effects and Gods walking among mortals, but everywhere; in the flight of (real) ravens over the camp, in the (real) thunder that rolled and rumbled just as the priests went to beseech an audience with Jupiter Optimus Maximus, in the lost coin-pouch found in a puddle just after praying to Athtar for luck.

Anyway, my Egyptian buddy looks up at the stars and smiles and says “Isn’t She beautiful?”. And I look puzzled and ask “who?”. And he points up and says “Nut! Doesn’t She look beautiful tonight? Look at Her, all stretched out.”

In that moment, there was nothing profound, nothing clever or odd about what he’d said. I just smiled and said “Of course”, I think. It was only later, after the game was over, that I considered how strange and special it was - that thoughtless blending of the natural and the supernatural, that absolute acceptance of the miraculous as part of daily life. That sense of wonder. 

O starry ones! I am a man by a river, gazing up. And how these same stars quiver above Kheraba and An. How these lights reach farther than the watch fires of Heliopolis. And what of hidden things?

My Egyptian friend wasn’t speaking metaphorically and I didn’t understand him so; we both accepted without question, in that moment, that the black sky and the silver stars we were looking at were the goddess Nut, Her form and substance - even though I, playing a Roman, had a totally different and mutually contradictory frame of beliefs about the nature of the sky; even though in reality, we were just two mates in sandals in a wet field in Buckinghamshire; even though we knew that if the game team had chosen to bring Nut into the game, it would have been some lass in a couple yards of black polycotton in a darkened garage tent full of smoke machine haze, or at best a projection on a screen. 

None of that mattered. We saw Her, and we wondered. 

It’s that sense of wonder, of astonishment, of existing in a world whose substance could not be explained, suspended in a solution of the miraculous, where the wild and wonderful things flooded in through the cracks. That’s what I miss about Odyssey. That’s what I want from my LARPs.

 Who shall comprehend? Who declare it? What is that which gleams through me, and strikes my heart without hurting it; and I shudder and kindle?

So tell me, LARPing Tumblr. When have you played a game that conveyed the miraculous to you in this way? How would you go about constructing one? What clever sorcery would you implement to give your players that experience of astonishment at the miraculous in the everyday?

[larphacks]

You had... nipple grafted on? I'm sorry I haven't followed for long

Yeah man it was wild. My mother took the piss out of me while I was high on morphine, I binge watched the entirety of Orange Is The New Black, I learned leatherwork and made a satchel, I had to go non-combat from LARP for like eight weeks in case my nipples fell off and it was the WORST DAY EVER ;)

And I had to have my chainmail retailored!

(If anyone in the audience is interested in some quick notes on LARPing post FtM top surgery, I’m happy to provide! Just drop something in the ask box.)

[larphacks]

Hi :) I found your tumblr today and am in love. I've never LARPed in my life and am thinking about starting. This site is helping a lot so thank you so much!! So, for my question, I'd love to know: How to play an insane character? And is it offensive? I love the Apocalypse theme, and it'd be fun playing some kind of SurvivorGoneBatshitCrazy character, I've always found those so interesting! Also, any Apocalypse LARP you recommend? And thank you so much for everything, I love your site!! <3

You’re a total sweetheart, thank you so much for your lovely comments! :)

This post here talks about some of the issues around roleplaying mental illness. It can be a pretty sensitive topic and is worth approaching with caution, so I do recommend reading around the subject before you dive in!

For post apocalyptic LARP in the UK, Forsaken is the one that immediately springs to mind. Future’s End is not quite postapoc (it’s alternate history / modern) but may fulfil some of the same criteria. Arkfall is set in the “Defiance” setting and is more sci-fi than postapoc but hits many of the same buttons.

Happy hunting!

[danilarpadventures]

I have a question about Faun horns. My very first player character in a LARP will be a faun so I'm gonna need to make some antlers. But I'd prefer to LARP without a wig, and my own hair is very smooth, bobby pins just slide out of it over time. Do you have any ideas how to attach horns to my own hair? The character I'm planning will be a fighter so I should be able to hop and run around. If all else fails I'm gonna stick some prosthetic horns to my forehead, but I'm not fond of most of them.

This is a great question!First thing’s first, I always go with the lightest material possible. Whether you buy them or make them (I must admit, though, I buy most of my horns), just make sure they’re either hollow, or made out of something durable and lightweight. The simplest way I attach my horns is with a thin strap of leather OR string that’s the same color as my hair. I make sure the string is around my hairline, though, and while it’s not ideal for everyone, honestly it’s not terribly noticeable once everything is on.Another method I’ve used for smaller horns is clear, stretchy elastic. I’ve even seen people tie on their horns with regular string and then wear a headband over it. My favorite, though, is my new PC minotaur I’m making. I’ll be wearing a flower crown around it to hide it :)But if you’re a fighter, you can actually use a combination of tying them on and sticking them on with spirit gum or liquid latex.Does anyone else have any suggestions? What works for me may not work for everyone, so I’d like to find as many options as possible! 

[larphacks]

@danilarpadventures delivers again with some quality tips on wearing horns/antlers as part of costume :)

[larphacks]

I just read your post about foot and boot care, but I don't see what to do when I get back to my tent each night at a wet and muddy event. I can do a "field polish" every morning, but am I supposed to be spending ten minutes trying to clean the wet mud off my boots each evening, or scrubbing the almost dry mud off before polishing in the morning?

Hello! :) Thanks for the suggestion - I’ll add a note to the post! (It’s here for anyone looking.)

Before you go to bed, quickly scrape off the worst of the wet muck with a stick or the back of a pocketknife. Don’t fuss about getting it all.

In the morning, bang your boots vigorously together (OUTSIDE THE TENT!) to dislodge dried mud. Now give them a quick vigorous scrub over the toecaps and vamps with the (dry) “On” brush to get some more dried mud off. “Clean” your On brush by rubbing it vigorously on one of the hessian sacks that litter the floor of your tent. Then apply polish as normal. You will end up inevitably polishing some mud, but a lot of the polish will go straight into the leather and help protect it. 

If you camp near a stand-pipe, rinsing your boots under the tap for thirty seconds before you go to bed is worth the trouble, assuming they are waterproof enough to take it!

[larphacks]

Hi! I might be late on the "LARPing barefooted" matter but I would just like to say how much I enjoyed your post about it. I'm actually LARPing barefoot since three years but like your Mom I normally don't wear shoes either. Plus, I keep away from fighting. If the person asking still really wants to go barefooted, try this: a tube of leather to cover the middle part of your foot. Attach two "ribbons" of leather and wrap like a support bandage. Supports your foot without loosing the look ;)

Hey, thanks, this is a great tip! :) I love it!