LARP

[Rednog]

Note that all LARPs aren't like the ones you see on youtube, some like the WoD LARPs are solved by rock paper scissors, or a card system (you draw a card add bonuses from your character traits and have to beat a certain difficulty). So not everyone who LARPs runs around wearing crazy outfits with foam weapons. That and WoD is usually a gothic theme so many people just wear trench coats & shades or suits.

 

[Silver]

There WAS one of these threads, once... But I don't think you need to worry, cause I was pretty new then. I'm neutral.

This WAS that thread. I created it a year ago. Check the first post.

Forgive me, is LARPing basically WoW just real?

Yes, some LARPs sadly are, mostly the German and American LARPs I mentioned in the first post, you even have character sheets and levels for some of them.

Seppo, I don't really feel like going into a really long debate here, and now, unless you or other people would really be interested in it. I tend to get carried away when it comes to this particular hobby of mine. I will say that I think you misunderstood my post, in part, I'm not at much of an elitist as you seem to think, I do however think that while maybe not superior, there's two very different forms of LARPing sadly caught up in the same word, when they really shouldn't be, in the same way that guitar hero and mgs4 are caught up in the word game, despite being so incredibly different.

If you really want to get into a debate, just answer here again, or send a pm.

 

[Easykill]

There WAS one of these threads, once... But I don't think you need to worry, cause I was pretty new then. I'm neutral.

This WAS that thread. I created it a year ago. Check the first post.

Nah, tis' the first time I've seen this thread. I wasn't on much in the summer. There was one months before that.

 

[Seppo]

I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I thought you were being elitist - the only thing about your whole post that I reacted to negatively was the comment you made about American LARP being an abomination - not just because I'm American, but because I I think it's a dismissive of the possibilities of other LARP styles, perhaps ones you haven't even tried. It's not necessary to try something to critique it, true, but it can be useful to explore why it is the way it is even if you don't intend to try it out directly.

Just to put it out there: I was the lead writer/developer for White Wolf's MET department for about a decade, I've played in several different boffer LARPs for the same amount of time, and I've played more different LARPs than I can name off the top of my head. I'm not saying that I'm a final authority on LARP - no such animal - but just putting it out there so you know I'm not some random fanboy either.

 

[Silver]

I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I thought you were being elitist - the only thing about your whole post that I reacted to negatively was the comment you made about American LARP being an abomination - not just because I'm American, but because I I think it's a dismissive of the possibilities of other LARP styles, perhaps ones you haven't even tried. It's not necessary to try something to critique it, true, but it can be useful to explore why it is the way it is even if you don't intend to try it out directly.

Just to put it out there: I was the lead writer/developer for White Wolf's MET department for about a decade, I've played in several different boffer LARPs for the same amount of time, and I've played more different LARPs than I can name off the top of my head. I'm not saying that I'm a final authority on LARP - no such animal - but just putting it out there so you know I'm not some random fanboy either.

The abomination part was written pretty tongue in cheek, to be honest, guess it didn't translate.

The thing I find worst about that is that those (mostly) American LARPs have set the "standard" for what people think LARPing is about. I think you know the type I'm talking about, like what is shown in the webcomic Geebas on parade, or this clip: http://www.break.com/index/what_is_larping.html

I'm sure they have fun, I'm sure I'd have fun there as well, but that is not the hobby I'm involved in. Neither is the German or British style of using character sheets, and keeping the dynamics of tabletop roleplaying through stats and GM's.

I'm not saying one is better than the other. But if they're stuck under the same name, one of them is an abomination, since they're as different as night and day. I know there was an Italian LARP group that visited a LARP here, and they were completely baffled, that it was so different. It might be something you'd want to try out, if you're looking to broaden your repertoir.

LARPing, any LARPing, american, british, WHATEVER, is just fucking sad

Thank you. I take pride in comments like this from selfrighteous nerds who think they're better than me. It's sort of like when a chav is complaining about my dress sense. I know I'm doing something right.

I'm also a bit curious. Could you explain WHY it's sad? Would you?

 

[Reap3r]

The one thing I've always wondered about LARPing is just how combat oriented it is. I know some differ from one another, but my German teacher once explained her LARP as basically a large battle in a field, complete with false castle walls in some scenarios. Combatants basically used false, hard weapons covered in a thin layer of foam, and wore armor similar to what would be found in actual medieval times, because, well, getting hid by a large stick still hurts like hell even if it's covered in a layer of foam. It included large-scale including everything from archers to spearmen. Afterwards they would go party it up medieval style while being in character.

Basically what I want to know is if this type of LARP even exists and how common it is, or if I just got the wrong impression from what she told us. I tried to find information on this myself, but silly people with character sheets seems to encompass all of the information I can find on LARPing.

 

[Silver]

Reaper, yeah, that type of LARPs exist, and they're quite common. It's more common that they use boffers so that armour isn't really necessary, but just a nice addition.

If that's not what you're after, I can assure you that it's very easy to find LARPs with more... Meaning, for lack of a better word, behind them. Many that doesn't even involve violence at all, if that floats your boat.

And there are variants of both where you need character sheets, at least in the UK and Germany, but in most places you should be able to find (or exclusively) find LARPs where character sheets aren't used.

 

[vid20]

Forgive me, is LARPing basically WoW just real?

Lol. Yes, it was invented 5 years ago because of Warcraft. No one had thought of it before then.

Larping was around well before then.. well well well before then. But I assume your being sarcastic..Ii hope your being sarcastic.. Are you being sarcastic?

On topic, I would LOVE to try larping.. but I don't know of any groups in Australia.. thought I think there are a few in NZ.. maybe I should take a week trip to try it out.

 

[ace_of_something]

I am a nerd
A big one (metaphorically and literally)
I play table top war games, role playing games (even obscure shitty ones), board games, i enjoy all forms of sci-fi and fantasy. I've even cosplay'd (once) I enjoy things that are not meant for people closer to 30 than 20.

but let me set one damn thing straight

I will never... NEVER be a big enough nerd to LARP.

also put "Fear of Girls" into a webbrowser.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

I was involved in a LARP game called Ampgard for a while and for the first few months it was fun, right up until a guy who was supposed to be my friend decided to hit on me wearing a bloody winch wig, and would not quit no matter how much I told him to stop. It seriously got to the point where I almost decked him for it. Also, there were a few players who like someone said earlier, basically live in the game and have no outside life. Ever since then I have completely sworn off it, but if you enjoy it, power to you man. However, I have been looking to participate in the SCA, but purely for the combat. I also own an actual suit of full body leather as well.

 

[Reap3r]

Reaper, yeah, that type of LARPs exist, and they're quite common. It's more common that they use boffers so that armour isn't really necessary, but just a nice addition.

If that's not what you're after, I can assure you that it's very easy to find LARPs with more... Meaning, for lack of a better word, behind them. Many that doesn't even involve violence at all, if that floats your boat.

And there are variants of both where you need character sheets, at least in the UK and Germany, but in most places you should be able to find (or exclusively) find LARPs where character sheets aren't used.

Thanks for the info, although I doubt I would find a less action oriented LARP as fulfilling as one I described; I'm sure I would find it fun but it would be just too much of an escape for me. I enjoy being myself, not a fictional character, even if we share identical personality traits.

As for character sheets, I strongly believe these should stay out of real life. I simply don't understand how applying stats to real life would be either fun or engaging. I play and love D&D, but character sheets and stats work in that universe. This leads me to my next question, just how can and do character sheets work in a real world setting?

 

[Seppo]

The thing I find worst about that is that those (mostly) American LARPs have set the "standard" for what people think LARPing is about. I think you know the type I'm talking about, like what is shown in the webcomic Geebas on parade, or this clip: http://www.break.com/index/what_is_larping.html. I'm sure they have fun, I'm sure I'd have fun there as well, but that is not the hobby I'm involved in. Neither is the German or British style of using character sheets, and keeping the dynamics of tabletop roleplaying through stats and GM's.

Yeah, I know what you mean to a degree about the boffer LARP phenomenon. I didn't even try boffer LARP until 2000; up until then I'd only really tried Mind's Eye Theatre. When I tell people that I LARP, they think the same thing and ask me "Oh, isn't that like D&D in real life, or something?" And I usually answer, "Not always." But yeah, it never translates well to film - to the people involved, it looks awesome, but to everyone else, it's Geeks On Parade: Extra Virginal Edition.

What's interesting is what you're describing doesn't sound like a "game" exactly - it sounds more like the SCA or other historical re-enactment societies. Nothing wrong with that either - been doing that for a while too - but as you said, it's a completely different animal. An immersive medieval village may be wonderful if you want to experience a historical scenario; I love my SCA weekends with folks around a fire, cooking and drinking and generally enjoying ourselves like 13th century brigands. Those nights have a magic that can't really be captured in any other format.

But if you want to represent, say, fantasy elements like magic or monsters, well, that environment probably won't work. And combat can be difficult since people naturally won't tend to agree on outcomes that work with their characters. You can argue that people have to simply fight it out, but what about the element of roleplaying? Say I'm a lousy fighter in real life, but I want to play a character who's a master swordsman. In the kind of games I play, I can take skills and abilities that help compensate for my lack of ability - I will never be as good as someone who plays a warrior and is actually a good fighter, but it will give me a hand against other players and help me play the character I want.

As I've said before, it's not better or worse, just different. With games like the ones you seem to be describing, if I want to do something, I must actually learn it, which has a certain appeal. Games like mine, the game rules and traits help you play characters you might not be able to emulate otherwise. Of course, Lord knows that also means I've had to take "beatings" from people who could barely swing their sword but played characters with mighty combat skills, but I'll take it as a tradeoff for them accepting that I'm a master thief (or savvy ranger or what have you).

I'm not saying one is better than the other. But if they're stuck under the same name, one of them is an abomination, since they're as different as night and day. I know there was an Italian LARP group that visited a LARP here, and they were completely baffled, that it was so different. It might be something you'd want to try out, if you're looking to broaden your repertoir.

I think your translation gear may be doing you a disservice when it comes to the term "abomination"; it's defined as:
1. anything abominable; anything greatly disliked or abhorred.
2. intense aversion or loathing; detestation: He regarded lying with abomination.
3. a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.: Spitting in public is an abomination.

You can see why that term might be causing some confusion. When two things are so different, one of them might be an aberration compared to the other, but that's about it.

 

[Silver]

Abomination can also mean unnatural and wrong, if I'm not completely mistaken, like it's used on occasion in the bible, which was the translation I was going for. Anyway...

I am a nerd
A big one (metaphorically and literally)
I play table top war games, role playing games (even obscure shitty ones), board games, i enjoy all forms of sci-fi and fantasy. I've even cosplay'd (once) I enjoy things that are not meant for people closer to 30 than 20.

but let me set one damn thing straight

I will never... NEVER be a big enough nerd to LARP.

also put "Fear of Girls" into a webbrowser.

What's it has to do with being a nerd? I know a lot of LARPers that aren't nerds, hell, I know LARPers that would be closer to jocks than nerds. Personally I take pride in being a nerd, but it's not LARPing I brag about when I do.

Thanks for the info, although I doubt I would find a less action oriented LARP as fulfilling as one I described; I'm sure I would find it fun but it would be just too much of an escape for me. I enjoy being myself, not a fictional character, even if we share identical personality traits.

As for character sheets, I strongly believe these should stay out of real life. I simply don't understand how applying stats to real life would be either fun or engaging. I play and love D&D, but character sheets and stats work in that universe. This leads me to my next question, just how can and do character sheets work in a real world setting?

Character sheets can be used to be able to do things you can't in real life, or to "balance" things. And to keep the separation between yourself and your character.

I have never personally attended a LARP with character sheets, but you pick skills and such, as in a normal roleplaying game. You might pick weapon proficiencies, so you can use bows or crossbows, you might pick alchemy or magic to be able to heal, or pick-pocketing or sneaking or lockpicking, then aided by tools. You might hold your hand above your head to show that you're sneaking or invisible and have people ignore you. You might find a locked chest and ask a nearby Gamemaster if you can pick the lock or whatever.


Personally, I've never found the appeal, that feels to me like it fits better in a tabletop setting. To me, if you can't sneak, you can't sneak. If someone notices you pick-pocketing, you're going to get caught.



Seppo, I suppose you might say it's close to reenactement, I'd say it's closer to roleplaying, but we're focusing on different parts. While some people think roleplaying is about stats, and dungeon crawling, I think roleplaying is about taking on another role, and telling a story. That's the same philosophy I use when I LARP, and the same philosophy my countries LARP-culture is based on.

We focus on the roleplaying part, and ignore the game aspect, since those are just tools. I'm sure you can agree that the system is never important when roleplaying, we just do away with it altogether, and use ourselves, and our own limitations instead.

I wouldn't call it reenactement, just because of that, we're not reenacting something, we are in another world, while often based on our own, and while many people like to keep things historically correct, it's not reenactement, since the illusion we're upholding is not of our own world. It is of a fantasy world, there is magic, elves, and trolls and orcs. We're living the tale, keeping the illusion alive. That's why we do away with gamemasters, with stats, with character sheets and with rules that has a visible impact. If someone fights, it's going to be a fight, if someone uses magic, they use magic, they don't draw cards, or roll dice, or ask a GM.

 

[Silver]

Oh I thought you would never ask, and I will be HAPPY to oblige

1. Spending ridiculous amounts of cash on costumes and weapons/armor/other things so you can go prance about in the woods and pretend you're doing an outdoor production of lord of the rings

As opposed to spending ridiculous amounts of cash on fancy dresses, or computer games, or cards, or gambling, or stamps, or televisions, or whatever else you do with yours?

I may have spent a lot of money on LARPing, but far from as much as I've spent on gaming, probably less than I've spent on RPG-supplements as well. It doesn't really cost that much money.

And it's not all in the woods, it's not all Lord of the rings.

2. It's a crippling social barrier. It's like fucking World of Warcraft without a computer. You aren't socializing with these other larpers, you're just playing your little game in costumes. Real socializing would be something like, going to a movie, going to a club, or even just hanging out and talking, not pretending you're the Grand High Elf of the Faggotini dynasty.

I won't be able to convince you otherwise, of course, but why? I'd say a watching a movie is a pretty solid barrier, since you can't talk when the movie is on. Sure, but you can talk afterwards, you say. In that case, what's to stop me from talking to people for real after the LARP?

I've made tons of friends through LARPing, friends I go to the movies with, friends I hang around and talk with, friends I invite over for dinner. And no, we're not in character when we do.

LARPing is a very social activity, both during and especially before and after. It's a group activity after all, mostly. Preparations before, meetings beforehand, etc. And while some would consider the fiction a barrier, I find that it doesn't limit social interaction. You're maybe not socialising too much during the game, but you find people that shares the same hobbies as you, just like you'd do in WoW, which I wouldn't really consider a barrier either. I've never played WoW, I still got to meet a lovely young lady in Britain and went to see The phantom of the opera with her, through a friend playing WoW with her.

If you want it to be a barrier, it can be, but it can also be a very good networking tool.

3. You're making your own town look bad. Theoretical case: someone visiting the town stumbles on your little kook festival while going for a walk. Then, if that person has any common sense, he will IMMEDIATELY leave the town, and tell everyone he knows never to go there, because it's clearly a town populated by escaped mental patients

Weren't we out in the woods playing LotR a minute ago? How can they notice us then?

First off, why would I care if I made my town look bad?

Secondly, why would it make my town look bad? I know you have a lot of horrible movies in your head, telling you that's how we act, but really now, you can't believe that any more than I believe that every computer gamer is like the angry german kid on youtube. Or if you do, I'd say you're the escaped mental patient.

We don't run around shouting fireball or hitting each other in cities, really. And most people aren't as narrow-minded and downright crazy as you seem to be, and wouldn't leave the town immediately and tell all people to stay away because some people there were dressed differently. MOST people, most sane people, would maybe ask, because they were curious, and would most likely recieve a polite answer. We're very protective of our image in media, what with people like you and newspaper accusing us of murder and stuff.

4. The clear destruction of the barrier between fantasy and reality. Escapism is fun, and a good way to relieve the stress of reality. But once you're bringing your escapism into the realm of reality, that's perverted (not sexually,...well, MAYBE not sexually). The idea of escapism is to give you a sense of disembodiment with reality, but at the same time, you still realize that you can not fully be a part of the escapism. When you start to cross those boundaries, your mind unconciously begins making associations of escapism in the realm of reality ( Case in point: I have a friend who had a girlfriend that did a vampire LARP, and her "Character" was in a relationship with some other character. Now, my friend didn't do LARPing, but he was cool about her doing it and even pretending to be some other guy's girl. His chick ended up cheating on him with that guy, and when he found out, she didn't apologize, oh no, she said it didn't count because she was "in character" and "what happens in the RP stays in the RP". He dumped her, and I will be completely be honest, if he had bludgeoned her with a rusty lead pipe, I would have been cool with that)

Is that enough or do you need more? Or did I just blow your fucking mind because you thought I had nothing to back my statements up and you thought I was just trolling?

There are idiots everywhere. You should know that. There are also people with a less than firm grasp on reality. Such people shouldn't do escapism, in any form, much less something as "extreme" as LARPing. It's not the fault of LARPing that she was an idiot, much like it's not the fault of America that Bush is an idiot.

SANE people are able to differentiate between reality and fiction, even LARPers, as long as they're sane. All people I know that have had in-game relationships have stopped those relationships before they actually become anything (two people playing married for example might talk sweetly to each other, they might hug, they might give each other a kiss on the cheek, but everything beyond that is a big no-no) OR they have a similar relationship outside of the game as well, and thus can take that step without worry. Case in point many LARPs here have "rules" or rather guidelines that says just that. That your character only extends so far, and that if you want to kiss someone, or have sex with someone or whatever that's between you and the other person, not your characters. You don't ask the character, you ask the person.




I know you're a horribly narrowminded and prejudiced person and that nothing I say will ever change your mind, I know several people like that, some LARPers, some not. One guy that for example wants the whole middle east nuked, and fully believes that every person down there deserves it (oh, he's a LARPer by the way, so all LARPers are definitely pro-genocide, use that next time).

And no, you DON'T have anything to back up your statements with, really. If you weren't so narrowminded I'd offer to show you how it really works, but you most likely live far away (at least I hope so) and you wouldn't want that anyway. You're content with thinking we're evil scary people. You like it that way. If we were normal people, you'd have to re-evaluate your world-view, and we wouldn't want that.

 

[TheIceface]

I might actually be interested in "LARPing" if I could inflict serious bodily harm on other people. From what I understand, how hard you hit the person isn't taken into accounts as "doing more damage'. I can hit pretty hard, I would like that to be acknowledged when fighting people.

 

[Wicky_42]

I might actually be interested in "LARPing" if I could inflict serious bodily harm on other people...

What?! You want to have a go only if you can commit a crime and hospitalise someone else? I think that you would be arrested, and trying to claim that you were 'just roleplaying' would not be likely to gain you any sympathy. Seriously, here there's a discussion about hobbies and you just want to maim people? 'Oh yeah, I'd love to go to one of those lan tournaments if I could actually shoot someone - I hear they dont actually wear body armour whilst playing!'

Sheesh...

 

[Seppo]

Thank you. I take pride in comments like this from selfrighteous nerds who think they're better than me. It's sort of like when a chav is complaining about my dress sense. I know I'm doing something right.

Hey, don't lump us all together, thanks. I never said I was better than anyone; in fact, as mentioned in an earlier post, I happen to share your dislike of people

1. Spending ridiculous amounts of cash on costumes and weapons/armor/other things so you can go prance about in the woods and pretend you're doing an outdoor production of lord of the rings

This is another glass houses/throwing stones argument. Pretty much every geek hobby that involves the word "gaming" also involves spending a lot of money on things that aren't practical and won't do much to impress anyone but other geeks. Putting together a decent-sized 40K army will cost you upwards of $1K, for example. Putting together a nice gaming computer can easily cost you two or three times that amount. Console games aren't cheap either. And keeping up with CCGs is famously expensive and addictive. A lot of people I know say "well, tabletop gaming only costs one or two rulebooks", which is technically true, but when I look at their gaming libraries I wonder.

In the end, I'm not going to fight you on this detail. (Well, except to point out that you're talking about one kind of LARP - fantasy boffer LARP - but other types of LARP don't require anything but modern street clothes.) While some people do boffer LARP on a budget, a lot of people spend a big chunk of change on their costumes, props, armor, etc. But to me that's no different than people spending money on any hobby or interest - when it comes to leisure, we all spend lots of money we don't need to on things that amuse us. I'm reminded of a friend of mine who poked fun at me for spending $100 on leather armor, then turned around and talked about dropping $1.5K on season tickets for football. To me, that's a ridiculous amount of money to go out in freezing weather and cheer for a sports team - I'd rather do that at home - but to him, it's fun. So long as he isn't robbing people for the money or failing to pay for things like food and shelter, it's all good.

2. It's a crippling social barrier. It's like fucking World of Warcraft without a computer. You aren't socializing with these other larpers, you're just playing your little game in costumes. Real socializing would be something like, going to a movie, going to a club, or even just hanging out and talking, not pretending you're the Grand High Elf of the Faggotini dynasty.

Well, yes and no. Some players do exactly what you describe - go to the games, only interact in character and then flee when reality looms - but they're a tiny, tiny minority. Even the most immersive LARPs can't escape the fact that you're people in costumes, and over time even if you're shy, antisocial or evasive, you're going to get to know the people behind the characters. Every game I know sponsors and/or encourages events outside of the game as a way for people to hang out in situations beyond the game, even if it's just hitting the diner after an event or doing a movie night or something simple.

And please, can you avoid the needless gay "jokes" like "Faggotini"? It's not helpful if you're honestly trying to avoid trolling.

3. You're making your own town look bad. Theoretical case: someone visiting the town stumbles on your little kook festival while going for a walk. Then, if that person has any common sense, he will IMMEDIATELY leave the town, and tell everyone he knows never to go there, because it's clearly a town populated by escaped mental patients

Point well taken, but I've been present on numerous occasions when normal folks wandered into a boffer LARP game and this is seldom the case. Most of them simply looked amused, shook their heads and kept walking. A few made Lord of the Rings jokes or asked us if we were off storming the castle. Only one time was there a problem, and that's because a parent with two small children saw one of my friends dressed up as a necromancer with skulls and spikes and such all over him (plus his considerable real-life tattoo assortment), and thought we must be Satanists. Fortunately my friend was able to talk to her and her children, explain that we were just playing dress-up ("like Halloween for grown-ups"), and reassure her that he had kids of his own and we were just being silly. Not all LARP stories end that well, I know, but most of them do.

If the game is any good at all, they work to make sure that players know how to handle such intrusions without ruffling feathers on either side. Most games I know have the policy of dropping character, explaining that we're playing a game, asking if we're intruding or bothering the people in some way (though with fantasy boffer LARPs we're often the ones with the land rights that weekend), and otherwise handling it as politely as possible. Games that rent land or spaces also often try hard to make nice with the owners by doing volunteer days to help clean up campsites, etc.

Pretty much any LARPer with a brain knows it'll never be a respected part of the community, exactly. But that doesn't mean everyone will shun the town if word gets out of a game in the area. A game I used to go to has been using a particular campsite for over a decade, and once some Girl Scout parents got upset because they found a plastic skull in the woods that someone missed at cleanup. The park ranger actually stood up for us, saying something like: "I know it's weird, but they're good people and I know they didn't mean to scare your kids." With his help, we smoothed things over with the parents and the Girl Scouts and life went on without a hitch. So while it may never be accepted as normal, it's not a town-ruiner either.

4. The clear destruction of the barrier between fantasy and reality. Escapism is fun, and a good way to relieve the stress of reality. But once you're bringing your escapism into the realm of reality, that's perverted (not sexually,...well, MAYBE not sexually). The idea of escapism is to give you a sense of disembodiment with reality, but at the same time, you still realize that you can not fully be a part of the escapism. When you start to cross those boundaries, your mind unconciously begins making associations of escapism in the realm of reality ( Case in point: I have a friend who had a girlfriend that did a vampire LARP, and her "Character" was in a relationship with some other character. Now, my friend didn't do LARPing, but he was cool about her doing it and even pretending to be some other guy's girl. His chick ended up cheating on him with that guy, and when he found out, she didn't apologize, oh no, she said it didn't count because she was "in character" and "what happens in the RP stays in the RP". He dumped her, and I will be completely be honest, if he had bludgeoned her with a rusty lead pipe, I would have been cool with that)

While I feel bad for your friend, truth is I've heard variations on this story for almost all kinds of gaming over the years - "My boy/girlfriend got lost in the game and wound up cheating/running off with someone they found at the game." In the last couple of years I've seen television news stories about marriages broken up by Warcraft relationships, read advice columnists lament the fact that some boyfriends spend more time with their Xbox than their girlfriend, and watched a (former) friend of mine blew his savings and lost his long-term girlfriend chasing a place on the Magic: The Gathering pro tour. (Didn't make it, either.) You're right that escapism can become dangerous if people start to lose track of reality, but just like the vast majority of people who play paintball for a hobby don't eventually graduate to shooting people for real, the vast majority of LARPers don't lose themselves to the notion that they're vampires or wizards. It's something they do for fun from time to time, but it isn't their life.

Nor do most LARPers use their hobby as an excuse for bad behavior like your friend's girlfriend did - if you told that story to most LARP groups, they'd say that those people are disturbed and/or total jerks and wouldn't be welcome at their game. If you asked the other people at that game, they'd likely have said the same - only the most disturbed people would think that it was fine to fool around in character and not think it would have consequences in reality. Chances are, that girlfriend was looking for an excuse to cheat, and found a (very lame) one in blaming the LARP for her bad behavior.

A friend of mine and fellow longtime LARPer is a developmental psychologist for a school district's child study team, and he put it this way: "People who lose themselves in fantasy gaming are generally borderline personalities to begin with. They're creepy LARPers now, but the fact is, if stamp collecting had caught their eye first, they'd be creepy stamp collectors instead. It's the person, not the hobby."

Is that enough or do you need more? Or did I just blow your fucking mind because you thought I had nothing to back my statements up and you thought I was just trolling?

That's quite a list indeed - I'm enjoying the discussion!

 

[WolfMage]

I go to a local park and LARP every Sunday, and sadly it is of the horrible American kind.
Although, we don't piss around with character sheets.
We pick a class when we sign in, and then go murder each other for hours on end.
That's a terrible explanation, but it'll have to do.

 

[Seppo]

With all due respect, and my famous tolerance for other peoples interests, I have to say I think Larping is one of the ... most ridiculous things I have ever heard of. The only reason I might be slightly for it, is because I watch videos of it on youtube and piss myself laughing. Pull your head out your arse, grow up and learn a proper skill.

My response is pretty much the same as before, but it's worth repeating. Pretty much everyone, geek or not, has hobbies that involve "useless skills" or expensive interests that don't "mean" anything in a practical sense. LARP is not instrinsically better or worse than anything else in that regard. I mean, I love (American) football. I watch it most every Sunday during the season. But while I'm watching at home, I see some funny parallels that its dedicated fans share with many boffer LARP gamers:

1. Both are often spotted outside in crazy weather for no "practical" reason. (I've seen fans attending games in blizzards, thunderstorms, etc. - weather we won't even LARP in!)
2. Both spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on their interest. (LARPers often spend hundreds of dollars on costuming and props; most of the hardcore fans you see attending American football games are wearing a couple hundred dollars of merchandise in terms of jerseys, hats, etc., not to mention that tickets start at several hundred dollars and can reach over $1K for season tickets.)
3. Both can look totally silly. (LARPers often wear elf ears, facepaint, etc.; I've seen fans wearing cheese hats, pig noses, painting their whole bodies team colors, etc.)
4. Both can quote volumes of "useless" information. (LARPers can often quote rulebooks and source material, not mention have things like Monty Python memorized; many fans can quote years or even decades of team and player statistics for their favorite clubs.)


In short, it's not what you do, it's how you are outside it. There are some horribly awkward basement virgins in the LARP crowd, sure, but there are bad apples in any crowd. As for proper skills, while there are some folks who LARP and ignore their normal life, after college age most LARPers I know hold decent, respectable jobs. They've learned a "proper" skill or two; this is what they do to goof off.