LARP

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:47 pm

Perhaps I just have a stereotypical assumption of what this entails. So, what exactly do you all do?

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:03 pm

Well, like D&D, we have characters. And character sheets. But thats about where the similarity dies.

This is a sample of both a standard sheet used in a forum:

Name:
Nickname/s:
Age:
Race:
Gender:
Height: 0'0"
Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Skin Color:
Distinguishing Features:
Occupation:
Siblings?:
Spouse?:
Parents?:
Friends:
Habits:
Talents/Skills:
Hobbies:
Greatest flaw:
Best quality:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Usual Attire:

These will change a bit from forum to forum, but that sums it up well. This is a LARP sheet (That I created):

Name:
Nickname/s:
Age:
Race:
Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Skin Color:
Distinguishing Features:
Usual Attire:
Items Required to Cosplay:

Note that neither of these have Hit points or experience points, or any points what so ever. Thats because they don't exist. The characters don't level up. They don't age (Unless you want them too). They don't die (Unless you want them too).

Basically, after we create a character, we just write short stories. Some of them are pretty freaking long, too. If its LARPing, its the same thing. Only instead of a pen and paper, we "Write" our "Replies" in real-time, using our voice (Unless your video taping it. Then - just like in a movie - You have lines you need to follow). LARPing is a freedom, really. Because you can express emotion literally, rather than trying to explain the emotion in text. It also has its drawbacks. For example. I have a LOT of female characters that I use in forums (Don't judge me!

). I can't LARP a woman. If I tried...well...you'd be able to tell very simply. I also cant LARP animalistic characters. Mainly because the cosplay equipment either isn't made, cant be made, or it beyond most cosplayer's budgets.

Did that clarify?

ganonbanned · Post by **ganonbanned** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:20 pm

dude LARPers friggin scare me

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:56 pm

...Okay then...

Why?

ganonbanned · Post by **ganonbanned** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:23 pm

HBN wrote: ...Okay then...

Why?

alright let me tell you a story that took place when I was 12.

me and my friends were riding my bikes through some trail in the woods at like 8 at night. all of the sudden we see a bunch of elves and crap and goons and monsters jump out with plastic swords and start attacking eachother. we both thought it was a satanic cult and freaked out.

on other terms, I support acting...I have made a few horror films with my friends, 3 of them to be exact. the first one will never be released online because of how terrible it is. the second one will be released sometime next week, it was made last october and I just found it on a disk, I thought it was deleted. The third and final one for so far is called "manikin", and we made it last month. here the video for it is, im the person who doesn't get killed. part 2 is being made this summer.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GnrLJjjevk8

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:27 pm

Heheh...

Its your own fault. You waltzed onto a battle ground. You should be more careful. Your lucky you weren't deemed spies, and killed on the spot!

All joking aside, I can see how that'd color how you see us. But not all of us do that.

And how do you know they were LARPers? Maybe they were actual elves/goons/crap/monsters.

WhatULive4 · Post by **WhatULive4** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:11 pm

Regardless if you are dressing up as a neo-human or Santa Claus, pretend fighting is something I did when I was five. There is NO way I would do it now and think to be thought of as "cool".

In my opinion this is where you cross the line from geek to nerd.

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:25 pm

Who said it was pretend? Dude, people get hurt in these. The reason I want to choreograph it is so I can lower the chances. But this is not a game, by any means. The situations are very real.

Do NOT confuse this with the games you played when you were five.

Also, don't think it stops with "toy" weaponry (Usually they are wood. And wood can still can cause injury.). Some of us use very real swords in advanced, fast paced swordplay.

WhatULive4 · Post by **WhatULive4** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:36 pm

Anything that is choreographed I call pretend. If people get hurt, it is because they don't know what they are doing.

Ok, if you want to defend LARP fine. But why would you do it? What is the point?

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:55 pm

Thats pretty closed-minded, honestly. And saying that you only get hurt because you don't know what your doing? That doesn't even make any sense. The only reason I'm choreographing this is because its going to be video taped (I've said this before...), and I'm working with a person of the opposite sex. My job in choreographing this is to make it look real on tape, but without me actually hitting her.

The point of LARPing is to tell a story. And tell it in such a way that people viewing it become part of it. Have you ever read a book, or played a game where you wanted to be a certain character in it (Rhetorical)? Thats what this is. Becoming what you cant be in normal society.

Thousands of people go to renaissance festivals every year. Guess what; Thats one of the first forms of LARPing. Also think about this: What is a movie? Actors playing the part of somebody they aren't, in a world that doesn't exist, for a reason that takes an hour, forty-five minutes to fully be unveiled. Thats all LARPing is. Just normally, you aren't on camera. Thus, its not choreographed. But as this is going to be video taped, Me and my friend need to act. Which require guidance using a script, a choreographer and a director.

And this is the absolute truth about LARPing. You wont like it, unless you have the imagination to understand it.

WhatULive4 · Post by **WhatULive4** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:15 pm

I can understand wanting to be something that you can't be in the real world. That is why thousands of people get addicted to MMORPG's. If you want to be creative and have an imagination fine, I'm not bashing you for that. However, when it comes to giving yourself a race and having magical powers, I really don't see the point.

The reason people in movies dress up as elves and warriors and wizards isn't because they want to be someone else. It is because they are getting paid.

I'm not trying to be small minded or whatever, but what is so horrible about real life that you have to become something you aren't. I don't know if it is a confidence issue or what, but I'm not about to argue about it. I think play-fighting (which is what it is, regardless whether people get hurt or not) is childish.

Just like computer games some people get so obsessed with this kind of thing that it ruins their lives. When you start calling each other by your made up names, the lines cross. You ARE that person in that time. People do stupid things and kill each other. Don't tell me it doesn't happen, or won't happen because anything is possible.

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:46 pm

Once again, your bringing way to much D&D into LARPing. Forget I even mentioned D&D. It was stupid of me to use that as an example with people who - chances are - don't, or can't tell the difference between game-based roleplaying, and story-based roleplaying.

I didn't say that the actors---...forget it. Read what I'm saying. I don't have hidden messages. If I didn't say it, I didn't mean it.

As for being called by a character name. IC, or OOC (In Character, or Out Of Character)? Cuz if your IC, you gotta use the other peoples character name. Or its just confusing. OOC...Well, that has acceptions as well. My nickname is Nimron. This is also the name of a character I created. Granted, I had the nickname long before I had the character. But my friends still call me Nimron, or Nim.

Yes. People get obsessed. I'm not one of them. And saying its childish, and without having ever participated is...well...Childish. You cannot understand it unless you've seen it, or been a part of it. And as a request. Don't call it play-fighting. Its not. Calling the fight scene I'm doing, and the ones other people have done, a play-fight is like saying those strip-mining operations are people playing with Tonka trucks. And why is it all your talking about is fighting? Theres more to the story than a battle (Unless its that movie 300). The fight is just a small part of the whole. Having characters fight just because they can wouldn't be entertaining. Or fun to take part in.

Its a live performing art. Which is about as old as poetry.

Post by **Triton** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:57 pm

I can understand wanting to be something that you can't be in the real world. That is why thousands of people get addicted to MMORPG's. If you want to be creative and have an imagination fine, I'm not bashing you for that. However, when it comes to giving yourself a race and having magical powers, I really don't see the point.

The reason people in movies dress up as elves and warriors and wizards isn't because they want to be someone else. It is because they are getting paid.

I'm not trying to be small minded or whatever, but what is so horrible about real life that you have to become something you aren't. I don't know if it is a confidence issue or what, but I'm not about to argue about it. I think play-fighting (which is what it is, regardless whether people get hurt or not) is childish.

LARPing, and role playing in general, as with many other forms of entertainment, are a form of escapism, for some people just dealing with the "real world" day in and day out is extremely boring so individuals such as myself do things like read books, work on projects and yes, engage in forms of role playing. right now i am doing a sort of storytelling RP with a friend of mine over instant messenger, we made up some archtypical characters (a thief and a count) and made up a location and began crafting a story, its like collaborative storytelling and when you get into it its pretty fun, more so than writing a story by yourself because with this you have to be creative and flexible because you build your story off of what the other person writes and vice versa.

while i do not take LARPing as seriously as HBN might i would no be so full of myself and my opinions as to call somebodys hobby childish and stupid. your only looking at the surface and forming opinions without fully understanding what you are talking about, its not little kids fighting with sticks, its older individuals acting, crafting a story and practicing real swordplay (in some cases anyway) which is an art in itsself

WhatULive4 · Post by **WhatULive4** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:27 am

Triton wrote:
I can understand wanting to be something that you can't be in the real world. That is why thousands of people get addicted to MMORPG's. If you want to be creative and have an imagination fine, I'm not bashing you for that. However, when it comes to giving yourself a race and having magical powers, I really don't see the point.

The reason people in movies dress up as elves and warriors and wizards isn't because they want to be someone else. It is because they are getting paid.

I'm not trying to be small minded or whatever, but what is so horrible about real life that you have to become something you aren't. I don't know if it is a confidence issue or what, but I'm not about to argue about it. I think play-fighting (which is what it is, regardless whether people get hurt or not) is childish.
LARPing, and role playing in general, as with many other forms of entertainment, are a form of escapism, for some people just dealing with the "real world" day in and day out is extremely boring so individuals such as myself do things like read books, work on projects and yes, engage in forms of role playing. right now i am doing a sort of storytelling RP with a friend of mine over instant messenger, we made up some archtypical characters (a thief and a count) and made up a location and began crafting a story, its like collaborative storytelling and when you get into it its pretty fun, more so than writing a story by yourself because with this you have to be creative and flexible because you build your story off of what the other person writes and vice versa.

while i do not take LARPing as seriously as HBN might i would no be so full of myself and my opinions as to call somebodys hobby childish and stupid. your only looking at the surface and forming opinions without fully understanding what you are talking about, its not little kids fighting with sticks, its older individuals acting, crafting a story and practicing real swordplay (in some cases anyway) which is an art in itsself

Forget about what I said about it being childish etc. Go ahead. Be as artistic as you want. Dress up, tell stories, whatever. At the end of the day, in my opinion, role-playing should be kept to the bedroom...

HBN · Post by **HBN** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 7:31 am

Triton wrote:Right now I am doing a sort of storytelling RP with a friend of mine over instant messenger, we made up some archtypical characters (a thief and a count) and made up a location and began crafting a story, its like collaborative storytelling and when you get into it its pretty fun, more so than writing a story by yourself because with this you have to be creative and flexible because you build your story off of what the other person writes and vice versa.

Really? Me too. I'm awaiting my friend (Same one whose starring as my enemy in the video) to finished her next part, though. I hate the down-periods. Mostly cuz I love writing so much.

For those who haven't yet understood it. Triton's explanation explains LARPing as well. Only its "Live action". I'm clarifying this that way people stop associating it with D&D. They have some similaritys. But clearly, they are very different.

An interesting fact:
Even though its not D&D, and really has no solid connections to D&D, most RPers consider the co-founder of D&D - Gary Gygax - To have laid the foundation for RPing as we know it today.