What is a ref? Science just doesn’t know. Refs have a variety of guises: storyteller, game master, guide, DM. They organize, write and run games. But reffing LARP is different to DMing tabletop or writing a play (the two things I have seen the process compared to the most). The serious question is what is a refs role? Are refs there to make sure the players have fun? Are they there to make sure the game runs smoothly? Along a preset path? Its a surprisingly complex question to answer, and I certainly don’t have a quick pithy response for you. Here are my thoughts on the matter. It’s worth noting that I have written this from the perspective of a head ref, someone who also writes and organizes games. Sometimes these jobs are divided (ref could easily just refer to someone who helps games in the field as opposed to someone who deals with all the backend stuff)
What is a Refs Job?
To Provide Plot- No matter how freeform your game is, players *need* something to bounce off of. There are a very small number of players that you can lock in a closet with no stimuli and they will have a good event, the rest of us need alittle more structure. Plot can take 101 forms, but at its core it means presenting some form of conflict for the players to resolve/angst about/discuss.
While I think its fair to expect players to provide some of their own fun, you need to give them the framework to do so. At bigger games providing enough plot for all your players can be difficult (Fest Events are a very good example of this problem) in which case you really need to manufacture a setting which allows players to create their own conflict (factions with really differing values is a great way to do this).
To Make Sure the Game Actually Runs- There is alot of OC work that goes into running events. You need a site first and formost but there are a whole host of considuerations: food, shelter, insurance, having a first aider on site, making sure you have crew ect. Logistics are boring, but they do need to be done.
To Make Sure all the Players are in a Safe and Fair* Environment - This is probably the most unpleasant bit of being a ref. Sometimes people break rules, this is not on. One of the jobs as a ref is to deal with this. More important than dealing with cheating however is dealing with things that are actively OC harmful to your players, such as: (OC) Sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia, theft, sexual assault, unsafe fighting. My personal advice is to not be afraid of the Ban Hammer, but opinions vary. But if you are in charge, you absolutely must deal with these problems, letting them go creates an actively toxic environment for your game.
*fair in this context means within the confines of the game. Your game can be horrifically unfair and that’s fine, but there will most likely be something that’s still cheating within your system (not taking hits for example)
To Run the Game- Quite straightforward this one. You are a ref, go ref things. What this actually entails will depend on what your running, but it can range from determining the outcome of rituals, to answering rules questions, to making sure encounters actually go out.
There are however some caveats to this, which I will cover more later, but you have to remember YOU ARE A REF NOT CREW, refs monstering is a thing, but you should make sure all the good roles go to crew and that you are around to actually ref things.
To Make Sure Players Can Have Fun - So I have somewhat conflicted opinions on this one. You are not responsible for all of your players haveing fun. Not everyone will have will have fun at any given event. Note that I have said Can have fun not Are having fun. Larp is meant to be fun, and there are things as a ref you *can* do increase the amounts of fun people can have.
A very smart man once told me that you should always say yes to the maximum number of players. This often means saying no to individuals.
Example: Player A asks the refs to be invulnerable to damage. Saying Yes to this one person means saying No to the rest of the player base, as they can no longer damage player A. Therefore the best call would be to say no.
I really like this way of thinking about your game, it is not about making sure individuals have fun, but rather there is the greatest potential for fun for the largest number of players. This means you should set up a game that will have fun situations rather than focusing on an individual’s fun
Look After your Crew- This is deserving of a post on its own, but taking care of your crew is massivly important. They have given up their weekend to help you, the least you can do is make sure they have a good time. Give them stuff to do, make sure they are not board. Always give them the good roles. Talk to them, make sure they are having fun. Also be careful not to run them into the ground.
Communicate with the other refs and make sure everyone is on the same page- There is nothing more frustrating as a player two different calls from two different refs on the same things. Even if it means defering a call or keeping a running white board in the ref room, trying to keep calls as consistent as possible is a good idea.
Things that ARE NOT a Refs Job
Making sure the players win- Right to fail is important. It is never a refs job to make sure the players win. You should make sure they *can* win, but if they screw up let them.
Make sure the story runs the way you want it to - Player agency is super important. If they don’t have a choice then you might as well write a play and get all your friends in it. If players deviate from what you expect roll with it. It is not your job to determine how the story ends, just how it begins and what problems the players face.
Playing that super awesome NPC- As I said before, monstering when you are a ref is normal. However, as a ref you should take the crap roles and give the good ones to your crew. And you should never be IC for long stretches of time as it takes you away from refing. There is a discussion to be had about IC vs OC refs, but as this post is already rather long I might defer it another day. The point of the matter is you have responsibilities as a ref, both to your crew and your player base. You should always put them first.
A friend introduced me to firewood theory when we were discussing different play styles and it has been an important part of my approach to game design since. I would like to get this out of the way now, no one of these categories is better than any of the others, they are simply different. Firewood theory is based on what people do when presented with plot, and can give you guidance for how to create groups in the case of games with pre-generated characters or how to target plot hooks in the case of games with player-generated characters.
Firewood theory goes like this: peoples approach to plot can be broken down into three groups
Kindling: These are the people who take plot and explode, getting their plot all over everyone else. If they have a problem its *everybodys* problem.
Example: Player A falls in love with an enemy commander. They decide they shall run off with the commander consequences be damned. There is tons of fallout
Logs: These are the people who get their plot and get on with it. They tend to be proactive but don’t necessarily involve everyone or make a big noise about chasing their plot.
Example: Player A falls in love with an enemy commander. They broker piece between the two nations and take sensible actions to resolve the situation. There is minimal fallout.
Wet Logs:These are the people who need a little bit of a push to get involved in plot. They tend to favor internal roleplay and be quieter players. Often new players fall into this category as well.
Example:Player A falls in love with an enemy commander. They decide that it is a doomed love and that they should not act on it. They have a lot of angst as a result but there is no fallout for the player base as a whole.
How Firewood Theory Can Help You
These three groups of people interact with each other. If you are running a game with pre-generated characters you can combine them they way you would a fire (small amount bit of kindling, some logs, some wet wood) you get dramatic, tense situations that can play out without burning out too quickly. Kindling often create situations with *very* little provocation. Logs react and give the kindling something to bounce off of, and similarly wet logs get drawn in to the action without having to initiate. Its also useful when designing characters so their playstyle lines up with that of their player.
Example: Player A falls in love with an enemy commander and runs off betraying the nation (Kindling). Player B swears revenge and decides to take out Player A (Log). Player C is suddenly worried about the extremity of Player B’s response and tries to find a better solution (Wet Log).
In terms of games in which you don’t have the luxury of being able to arrange groups as a ref, firewood theory can still be helpful. different types of player react to different types and strengths of plot hooks. If you want to target different players knowing what type of thing they will react to, or how strong a hook you need is useful.
Or course firewood theory is dependent on you knowing your players, which means it might be difficult to apply in large games or games in which you don’t know pretty much everyone. But its still useful to think about if only to make sure you are not assuming players will react the way *you* would react to any given situation.
