Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Skindrill422 07-12-07, 12:17 PM	Some People in our RP group would like to start LARPing i think it would be great but how things like clerics,warlocks and wizards are going to work casting spells and stuff. A teacher of mine told me there was a set of rules talking about all that stuff and how to make it works, does anyone know of this?
Lyinginbedmon 07-12-07, 12:36 PM	Typically touch spells are handled normally (So you say you're casting Heal and then touch someone). Ranged spells are handled with small packets of some soft material (Rice, foam, whatever) that are thrown. So naturally spellcasters in LARPdom tend to have good pitches :P
Holy_Beholder 07-12-07, 12:58 PM	For spells, you usually throw a beanbag, pause, draw out a circle around it, then it hits everyone in the circle.
_Jayne_Cobb_ 07-12-07, 01:09 PM	Some People in our RP group would like to start LARPing i think it would be great Are you sure about that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InrhP3A6uAo Apparently to cast a spell you wang a beabag at someone and yell "fireball" or "lightning bolt" or "two magic." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufaBKdY60w Personally, I'd rather have actual lightning hit my beanbag. LARP is one of those things that sounds cool in theory but seems to be a complete frakking disaster in actual practice.
Salla 07-12-07, 01:10 PM	For spells, you usually throw a beanbag, pause, draw out a circle around it, then it hits everyone in the circle. You have to draw a 20' radius circle, in 'real life', when you cast a fireball? Feh ... I'll take minis and a battle mat any day.
Kusari_Gamer 07-12-07, 01:14 PM	For spells, you usually throw a beanbag, pause, draw out a circle around it, then it hits everyone in the circle. I suppose, though I always recommend LARPers use live grenades. This serves two purposes: 1) Live grenades create a much more realistic feel. It creates a much more dramatic feel. 2) Non-LARPing bystanders have something to look forward to.
Lyinginbedmon 07-12-07, 01:44 PM	With the last few comments, I can see why the events are held in isolated wilderness areas...for their own protection
Mindolin 07-12-07, 01:51 PM	If you do it in an enclosed location, you can use dice as the magic spells. It works, I was teaching a friend about casting the spells in p&p D&D, using magic missile as an example, while holding a d4, then launched it at him after completing the somatic components.
Jagyr Ebonwood 07-12-07, 01:56 PM	LARP is one of those things that sounds cool in theory but seems to be a complete frakking disaster in actual practice. Hear hear.
KoraktheBarbarin 07-12-07, 02:09 PM	I played L.A.R.P. in a White Wolf setting World of Darkness I believe for almost 2 years and it was great. We actually played through the summer months right outside in downtown Rockford, Illinois. Ah some of the good times we had. As for a D & D L.A.R.P. I see way to many complications to get it working properly, but you know the saying "Where there's a will, there's a way!" Just make sure you don't expect to try playing in a public place without some kind of cooperation/interruption from your local police at some point. As long as your mature and responsible about it they tend to like the idea, well at least that's the attitude we found with ours. Good luck with your endeavor.:)
Paladin_Hiroshi 07-12-07, 02:15 PM	I don't like L.A.R.P. myself, at least not D&D variety. Me and my friends took a camping holiday to a big forest in the UK, and had a great weekend with, instead of having magic and stuff, we had a fight against a bandit camp, with blunt steel swords and axes. We played in a norse setting, as a few of my friends fight historical reenactment stuff. :) It was brilliant hacking away at this snarling beserker though, and not a single spell slinger in sight! :D
Caelic 07-12-07, 04:15 PM	That's a big part of it; different LARP groups do things differently. The best LARPs, I've found, follow this basic rule: "If you can't simulate it without having it look pathetic, don't include it in the game." Thus, a good LARP will seldom feature dragons, because a couple of guys with a rubber dragon mask and a blanket over them will never look like anything other than a couple of guys with a rubber dragon mask and a blanket over them. Ditto spells; there's no non-lame way to simulate a fireball or a polymorph spell in a live-action situation. Certain groups recognize this and restrict magic in the game to things that can be simulated without looking cheesy. One group I associated with based their entire magic system on the old Nordic runes. You could put a rune on your shield for protection, or on your sword to make it strike true, but you couldn't fling fireballs or turn people into frogs. For that matter, you could put a rune on your camp to ward off enemies at night, or you could issue a deadly insult to someone with a Nith-rune. It was very flavorful and a lot of fun. In general: LARP is best, IMO, when it's low fantasy.
mlund 07-12-07, 04:34 PM	Dungeons and Dragons is not the sort of game that lends itself to Live Action Role Play. Mind's Eye Theater does a very effective job with some of the White Wolf properties along with the Camarilla fan-club. It still requires a lot of imagining rather than doing, however - especially with games like Mage or Werewolf. Vampire works out pretty well since it is modern, subtle, and most of the inroads made involve social situations rather than action-movie combat. D20 Modern or Spycraft might make for decent LARP functionality too. LARP is really about the kind of crew running and participating in the game though - and more disposed to a long-term game (acquiring power, alliances, territories, etc.) than a short-term adventure (like a dungeon crawl or single quest). - Marty Lund
zzo38 07-12-07, 04:52 PM	For spells, you usually throw a beanbag, pause, draw out a circle around it, then it hits everyone in the circle. Use a foldable circle (it would still be very big) with a X so that you know where the center is. Or, just play on a floor with tiles so that you can measure distances easily.
Kaius_Markades 07-12-07, 07:28 PM	I Find that when I think "LARP" I end up thinking that game we all used to play on the school feild when we were in primary. With my friends we would act out scenes from the Baldur's Gate game with our own characters inserted. Magic wasn't restricted, but mostly because we would stop everything and say what happened. I find it hard to believe a complicated rules system can be done this way without looking, somewhat lame really.
Holy_Beholder 07-12-07, 07:56 PM	Usually, the best LARP is in a no magic place, armor gives extra hits you can take, but you actually have to wear it(and the guy in full plate who takes 13 hits can easily be beaten by the unarmored guy who takes 5. Its called running circles around behind them because they have no training in armor at all.) Magic tends to complicate things up too much, the best I have seen is color coded chalk covered bean bags, every red dot they leave does damage, blue does more, yellow does more, white your screwed unless you have full plate. Not that you can dodge in full plate unless you actually train with it. D&D is way to rule heavy to work, and "pause a spell is cast, draw line" is really boring. The only fun drawing circles around objects ever involve is either paper wars, or crop circles.
Caelic 07-12-07, 09:28 PM	Usually, the best LARP is in a no magic place, armor gives extra hits you can take, but you actually have to wear it(and the guy in full plate who takes 13 hits can easily be beaten by the unarmored guy who takes 5. Its called running circles around behind them because they have no training in armor at all.) In the really good LARPs, you'll find that "no training" is not the case. Generally speaking, when you find a LARP with high constuming standards (actual armor, for instance,) it's run/patronized by people who actually own armor...who are frequently SCA members, Renaissance Faire jousters, and the like. That said, I still don't wear my full plate when I LARP. I know how to move in it, but I also know exactly how much water you need to down to keep from getting heatstroke in it. Breastplate and chain hauberk is my preferred kit.
Jungingen 07-12-07, 10:06 PM	I'm a long-time member of the SCA and never really could get around the silly window-dressing of LARP groups. Foam weapons really tick me off as well. What's the point of physically fighting the battles you've dreamed of if the best weapons are puny half-pound whipsticks and you hardly even get any bruises to show for your efforts? Check the SCA out if you're interested in actually getting a feel for more realistically weighted armor and weapons used at combat speed. The whole affair is still heavily anachronistic (as the name suggests), but it's very much what you make of it that matters and worlds apart from golf-tube swords and beanbag fireballs.
Caelic 07-12-07, 10:17 PM	I'm a long-time member of the SCA and never really could get around the silly window-dressing of LARP groups. Foam weapons really tick me off as well. What's the point of physically fighting the battles you've dreamed of if the best weapons are puny half-pound whipsticks and you hardly even get any bruises to show for your efforts? Well, there's the fact that some people don't want bruises for their efforts. :) Dunno how things stand in your kingdom, but the fighters up in these parts play a little rough--like "finish the tourney with a broken arm" rough, at times. That's not for everyone. More to the point, not everyone can really do that. My wife is a small woman and not all that sturdy; she'd be broken in half fighting heavy weapons. A LARP with foam weapons--and some of the better foam weapons have a heck of a lot better weight, balance, and action than the "whipsticks"--gives her the opportunity to do that. I heard an interesting exchange between a long-time SCAdian and a LARPer at one point. The SCAdian was expressing sentiments similar to yours. The exchange ran like this: SCAdian: "I just don't understand why you'd waste your time with LARPing when the SCA is so much better." LARPer: "Hey, you have your game, and I have mine." SCAdian: "You want to be careful about calling the SCA a "game." There are a lot of knights who would feel obligated to show you just how much of a "game" it is." LARPer: "...and that attitude is EXACTLY why I'm LARPing instead." (Please don't take that as a slam on the SCA; it's just that not everyone's willing or able to invest the kind of time and effort...and, yes, pain...it takes to be a first-rate heavy weapons fighter. When it comes to the SCA, I'll stick to my studies of calligraphy and high table service; I'm too old to get out there with the young lions and take shots to my ribs nowadays.)
trapspringer 07-12-07, 10:25 PM	From trapspringer Subject Re: LARPING CC all RUN!
Novabomb 07-12-07, 10:39 PM	Are you sure about that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InrhP3A6uAo Apparently to cast a spell you wang a beabag at someone and yell "fireball" or "lightning bolt" or "two magic." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufaBKdY60w Personally, I'd rather have actual lightning hit my beanbag. LARP is one of those things that sounds cool in theory but seems to be a complete frakking disaster in actual practice. Have you ever tried larping? Do not pass judgement on matters you lack sufficient knowledge of. I have had a reasonable amount of experience larping, and it is quite fun. But if you lack sufficient imagination, larping isnt for you. Most organizations have their own sets of rules. I used to play with the people from realmsofadventure.net, if your looking for a set a rules you might be interested in reading their site.
archerpwr 07-12-07, 10:53 PM	My friend had me larp with him once (there were two foam shortswords and a foam longsword). The friend has 8 inches on me and about 20 pounds on me. It was a blast. I can feint while my friend has no sense motive. As a result he got hit in the groin bout a dozen times while I never got hit. I love having more fighting experience and instinct than my friends. Getting picked on for being tiny really hones those killer instincts... I'm pretty sure I'm a pure neutral rogue.
trapspringer 07-12-07, 11:09 PM	... "with which you have insufficient experience" is how you'd say that while trying to sound sophisticated and mature, BTW. You're right, though, don't knock it if you haven't tried it, and a different rules set can make all the difference. I stand by my assessment, however.
Jungingen 07-13-07, 12:56 AM	Well, there's the fact that some people don't want bruises for their efforts. :) Dunno how things stand in your kingdom, but the fighters up in these parts play a little rough--like "finish the tourney with a broken arm" rough, at times. [snip for brevity] Yes, I suppose not all people have my masochistic drive...but then again you should meet my ex-girlfriend. Many's the time that she's put me to shame on the field and we're in mighty An Tir, where doubling up on killing blows is taken as a compliment rather than unnecessary roughness. It's absolutely different strokes for different folks though. Busted ankles, thumbs and elbows have a way of ruining everybody's fun. The best LARP weapons I've ever seen were at this incredible gaming store in Nuremberg, Germany. The place was a four-story monstrosity, with top-notch LARP armor and weaponry in the basement, all manner of tabletop games, CCGs and comic books on the two middle floors and a top level devoted to open playing space with massive W40k spreads and the like. Never seen anything to match it here in the States. They also get to have tournaments and wars at castles made of stone and not plywood, the buggers.
Thanuir 07-13-07, 04:53 AM	Modern larps are a lot less cheesy, for several obvious reasons. No rules or very light rules are pretty much a requirement for larping, so D&D rules should not be even considered. They simply won't work.
Warforged Goblin 07-13-07, 06:42 AM	www.nerolarp.com should answer all your LARPing questions. Is it exactly like DnD? No. There are no area affect spells, there are only 4 classes, and the Crafting rules actually make sense. Granted a lot of the "you can't do that" stems from safety concerns. Despite any "shortcomings", I LARP on a semi-regular basis and it's a blast. My buddies and I have a clan of hardcore, pipe-hittin "half"-orcs that scared the crap outta the other PCs. We even have a somewhat working Orc language. It's friggin great. And to the detractors, all I have to say is this: Would you participate in an activity where you need to dress in a silly outfit and run around on a grassy field trying to avoid being beaten up by an opposing force in silly outfits while you protected a small object? That said, is football any less silly than LARPing?
katarl 07-13-07, 07:24 AM	I believe friends of mine are working on a dnd larp system at the moment, it's a real pain to transfer the p+p rules to larp, i understand.
Caelic 07-13-07, 07:28 AM	And to the detractors, all I have to say is this: Would you participate in an activity where you need to dress in a silly outfit and run around on a grassy field trying to avoid being beaten up by an opposing force in silly outfits while you protected a small object? That said, is football any less silly than LARPing? The pinnacle is combining the two. One of our (sadly, now defunct) annual events involved all the players playing orcs and goblins, and culminated in a game of "Orcball"--basically, football with weapons and a severed head for a ball. Live-action Blood Bowl. ;)
_Jayne_Cobb_ 07-13-07, 11:36 AM	Have you ever tried larping? Do not pass judgement on matters you lack sufficient knowledge of. I have had a reasonable amount of experience larping, and it is quite fun. But if you lack sufficient imagination, larping isnt for you. So if I don't LARP I am both ignorant and unimaginative? Sorry, but if that is the typical attitude LARPer attitude you're really not making it seem any more appealing.
gimby 07-13-07, 11:55 AM	It's not really a typical attitude, but if you think that Larp looks bad, check out these photos from the one I help run: http://www.disturbing.org.uk/images/lrp/pd/coronation/index.htm You can find the rules and setting at: http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/ if you are interested.
Longtime_Lurker 07-13-07, 12:11 PM	For those in the U.K. may I point you in the direction of Heroquest (www.heroquest-larp.co.uk) a long established club that I have been attending for the last 10 years now (it has been runnning for nearly 20 years). Spells, damage and effects are all handled with a series of shouts, which accompany the blow or spell vocals. The important thing to remember about LRP is that it is every bit as cooperative experience as D&D. The Referee's, Players and Monsters (those who play the parts of the gribblys) all work together to make an enjoyable event (usually lasting a whole weekend, often longer). In the case of Heroquest the campaign has been running for the entire duration of the club, evolving with player input as the years have passed. The website has a message board with both in character and out of character sections where people can speak as their characters even when not on events. Cheers All Longtime Lurker a.k.a TAFKA Rules Monkey (on the Heroquest boards. )
Caelic 07-13-07, 12:20 PM	So if I don't LARP I am both ignorant and unimaginative? Sorry, but if that is the typical attitude LARPer attitude you're really not making it seem any more appealing. Not really relevant to the discussion, but I have to say: making that comment on a board where people routinely malign the creativity and intelligence of others over such weighty matters as dice rolling preferences and number of rulebooks used is pretty funny. :)
Holy_Beholder 07-13-07, 12:25 PM	That said, I still don't wear my full plate when I LARP. I know how to move in it, but I also know exactly how much water you need to down to keep from getting heatstroke in it. Breastplate and chain hauberk is my preferred kit. Exactly. People wear out quickly, there is a reason it was usually used on horseback. I prefer chain hauberk, with a few plates(greaves, lower arm guards, helmet) ,and either a longspear(8ft) or a short spear(6ft) and a shield.
_Jayne_Cobb_ 07-13-07, 12:38 PM	Not really relevant to the discussion, but I have to say: making that comment on a board where people routinely malign the creativity and intelligence of others over such weighty matters as dice rolling preferences and number of rulebooks used is pretty funny. :) No, it is sad that people routinely malign the creativity and intelligence of others over such weighty matters as dice rolling preferences and number of rulebooks used.
StMage 07-13-07, 01:22 PM	After 10+ years of LARPing my wife and I refined our own rules, mostly to do away with the disappointments of the other games in which we had played before. We run a very D&D style game full of easy to track damage, spells and skills. We have covered most of the capabilities that stem from the well known D&D game. Hand signals and colored headbands represent such abilities as invisibility, flight, and hiding. It does take some imagination, and suspension of disbelief. (As with ALL Role Playing Games!) We use a limited area of effect / blast radius with spells and poisons. We use a 5 foot area. If you can reach the point of origin with your weapon, you were affected, we don’t rules lawyer, stop the game and count out every square inch. We have minimal pauses in the action, and we have pit the group against various undead, orcs, goblins, mercenaries, a gelatinous cube, ogres, trolls, slime, mold, and a cockatrice without anyone “breaking game” to get a description about what it was they were encountering. We are a prop and costume heavy game so 50’ of rope is 50’of rope; something in a skeleton mask and ribcage tabard is probably a skeleton, a torch (although made of foam) is only available if you brought one with you, potions are small bottles, gems are plastic gems, etc… Rules are simple, someone yells “5 flame” at you, and you were burned for 5 point of damage where the packet hit you. If you were hit with a sword in the arm you subtract damage from that area. There are very few overt weapon damage calls. (As seen in the Youtube videos.) Our combat is quite and deadly. A strike from a 2-handed weapon to your chest should drop you! In our game you can drop a guard quietly, before he cries out. Usually the shouting of numbers for every strike, alerts the other guards around the corner, and spoils a sneak attack. With our system you can also taunt your opponents “I know something you do not! I am not left handed!” “Is that all you’ve got? My little sister hits harder than that!” instead of calling damage every swing. Simple is better. Without the use of some sort of holodeck technology it is the best we have and it is very close to the D&D style, nearly seamless interaction. LARPing is such a rush. I'd suggest to everyone that you try it at least once. It's safe, active fun you get such a rush after defeating some large menacing group or creature. It is also much more active and healthy than sitting on the couch playing a video game for hours. We are older also, and do not enjoy all the bruises and pains. I would dare to say that most LARPers prefer our pillow fights to live steel. Now for the shameless self promotion: www.Realmsoflegend.info
Forfeit 07-13-07, 02:39 PM	Looks like the only reason to LARP is to beat your friends with sticks and foam swords. Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwxtNOkGLBU Now, a good RPG to LARP must be Vampire. That just seems perfect. But D&D? Doesnt sound like a good idea.
trapspringer 07-13-07, 03:07 PM	If your sole motivation in larping is to wail on one another with sticks, might I suggest Kendo, traditional fencing (not SCA, but legitimate fencing), or any of the numerous martial arts if you aren't married to the whole "stick" thing.
zelf_gale 07-13-07, 06:39 PM	In case you actually wanted an actual system to play here is the wikipedia entry on Amtgard, a LARP I played once. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtgard I'd like to point out though that even though LARPs are traditionally considered to be real time affairs often involving actual motor skills during combat, you could just as easily have either a non-combat adventure (mystery being the most common) or have the DM pre-roll results that are called out as stage directions that could qualify as a LARPs. The final category would probably fit best in Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
Novabomb 07-13-07, 09:51 PM	So if I don't LARP I am both ignorant and unimaginative? Sorry, but if that is the typical attitude LARPer attitude you're really not making it seem any more appealing. You both misinterpret, and twist my quote to the extreme. Ignorant- lacking information/knowledge of some aspect If one has not larped, that one lacks knowledge of the larping experience. One is in fact ignorant on the subject of larping if this is the case. (By definition) If one is ignorant on a matter, it is unethical for that one to spread information with veracity unknown. (For Jayne Cobb) To answer you post I will say this. If you have not larped, you are in fact ignorant (at least on the subject of larping) furthermore you have performed an unethical act. On the matter of you being unimaginative, I have no way to measure that without knowing you. It would be fair to say the I am IGNORANT of your imaginations' capabilities. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clarifying the previous post on the matter of imagination: The mechanics for many larping systems have aspects that require a great deal of imagination to integrate. Not everyone wants to, or is able to for that matter, place that much effort into warping their own perception of the world, IE larping is not for everyone. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those that have tried, and dislike larping, thats cool, its completely appropriate for you to issue comments of distaste. If you wish to ward people off, I recomend that you list the details that you liked the least.
trent055 07-14-07, 05:51 AM	ive had my semi experience lrping. since i play football for my high school i natural have to go out running, witch i do with a few friends of mine. we decided to go for a run on more of a nature trail, change things up a bit. while jogin back there we found a group of 14 larpers, since i was the only one in the group who dnds i was the only one who knew what they were doing. our first reaction was to laugh, and laugh pretty damn hard (oky yeah i know its a stereotype, jocks laughing at the nerdy larpers, but it was true) we decided to take our break there (usually run for about 12 miles) and watch for a little do to the fact it was so damn bizarre. after about 5 minutes one of them walked over, these guys were most likely in college, they were older and we were avged at about sophs-JR (there were 5 of us) he walked up and ask what we were doing around here, they’ve never seen us in this fairly remote area, since it was off the main path ect ect, after a little he asked if we wanted to join them, they would be needing a few more people and said we fit the roll of orks/orgers quite well (dont know if this was an insult, but we were comprised of 4 o/d line and one LB) and after a discussion i told them we minus well give it a shot since no one would see us and it was a free excuse to hit someone. we joined in and since i knew a bit of dnd i asked the basic rules for what we could do , and basically we could hit them with the sticks we got, bull rush them and throw the, simple enough. i wont denie i had a fun time, because i did. it wasnt much like dnd, there basically no magic, while i may have looked weird to an outsider we eventually started to get into it. no we didnt do any rpin all our group did was fight but we were just fine with that. they told us we could be as rough as we felt like so long as we didnt go to bad, we actually "killed" two of the 10 PCs in the first round of fighting just by knocking them down and beating them with sticks. everyone was on the honor system about how much dmg you took. i was surprised though i thought it would be pretty easy but these guys kinda knew what they were doing, and the fact that those swords and clubs they had left a few bruises. overall id say it was pretty decent, not something i would go do on my freetime but not something bad. hopefully this enlightened some of the people here to the fact that not all larps are bad, sure ive seen my fair share of bad ones but that was actuly pretty decent, and my friends just had fun beatin the crap out of people.
Count Arioch the 28th 07-14-07, 01:12 PM	I have a question. Is it true that LARP's are good places to meet cute, easy goth chicks, and if so, where do I sign up?
Caelic 07-14-07, 01:20 PM	Now, a good RPG to LARP must be Vampire. That just seems perfect. But D&D? Doesnt sound like a good idea. Meh. A good Vampire LARP can be interesting. A bad one is high school social infighting with more velvet and leather.
Illiden_Nailo 07-14-07, 01:37 PM	I suppose, though I always recommend LARPers use live grenades. This serves two purposes: 1) Live grenades create a much more realistic feel. It creates a much more dramatic feel. 2) Non-LARPing bystanders have something to look forward to. I have a question. Is it true that LARP's are good places to meet cute, easy goth chicks, and if so, where do I sign up? :rofl: Sigged!:ayyyy!:
Legdiwena 07-14-07, 07:30 PM	Anyone know of any organizations that do live steel combat?
trapspringer 07-14-07, 07:57 PM	I have a question. Is it true that LARP's are good places to meet cute, easy goth chicks, and if so, where do I sign up? Supposedly. And the thing about chick gamers; they're crazy. And the thing about crazy chicks... Yea. 'Course that might just be a defense for the usual, "Dude, you LARP?"
GunmasterG9 07-15-07, 07:53 AM	What is this SCA you speak of?
Longtime_Lurker 07-15-07, 08:25 AM	The SCA is an acronym for "The Society of Creative Anachronism" a group which re-enacts historical periods. They use real weapons and props which are as authentic as possible. www.sca.org
Legdiwena 07-15-07, 03:23 PM	Since when did SCA switch from rattan to real weapons?
Jungingen 07-15-07, 10:00 PM	Since when did SCA switch from rattan to real weapons? We didn't, but rattan gets my vote any day. Live steel requires tremendous armor and/or rather slow speeds and/or rather light strikes. Usually a combination of the above. Rattan is great. Hits hard enough to lay dents in 12 gauge steel, but seldom breaks your opponent. Fairly easy to purchase, easy to craft, close to accurate weapon weight. It breaks down pretty quickly with use, but it's still a lot easier to wrap a stick in tape than it is to repair a blade.
varju068 07-16-07, 04:10 AM	you gotta be careful Larping.....i larped Vampire: The Masquerade back in Ohio and after i moved down to KY for college i found out 20 of em were arrested when they abducted 7 jr. high kids and locked them in a basement and "fed" off them.....creepy kinda guys. some ppl just take it too far
rpg_addict 07-16-07, 04:44 AM	http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4972863101931796723&q=reno+911+dungeons+and+dragons&total=25&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5 That is why I will never larp
Longtime_Lurker 07-16-07, 11:16 AM	Why? Because a comedy show made fun of it? In that case will you be giving up D&D following this clip? www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Rop4Zt-S0 Just curious
_Jayne_Cobb_ 07-16-07, 11:48 AM	To answer you post I will say this. If you have not larped, you are in fact ignorant (at least on the subject of larping) furthermore you have performed an unethical act. So not LARPing is "performing an unethical act?" What a load of horse****. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4972863101931796723&q=reno+911+dungeons+and+dragons&total=25&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5 That is why I will never larp Cos Reno 911 made fun of it? How silly. I'd be perfectly willing to give LARP a shot so long as I found one that did not involve yelling "One! One! One! One! One!" while I lightly tap someone repeatedly with a sword or "Two magic! Two magic!" while hucking beanbags around. I can think of little that would do a better job of taking me out of the experience, the opposite of what LARP is meant to be about.
Holy_Beholder 07-16-07, 12:06 PM	So not LARPing is "performing an unethical act?" What a load of horse****. Its talking like your experienced and explaining how it is bad without LARPing, because you are talking about something out of your experience as an expert thats unethical. Its like the people who complain about games that have never played one. For instance this conversation. Random Guy: "Chess sucks, all you do is move a bunch of pieces around, its a dumb luck game" Chess Player: "Have you ever played?" RG: "No" CP: "Do you know the rules? RG: "Sort of" In this case, the random guy was performing a mildly unethical act, because they were complaining about something that they knew nothing about. It isn't unethical to not play chess, but making complaints like that for no reason is slightly unethical.
_Jayne_Cobb_ 07-16-07, 12:31 PM	Its talking like your experienced and explaining how it is bad without LARPing, because you are talking about something out of your experience as an expert thats unethical. Its like the people who complain about games that have never played one. For instance this conversation. Random Guy: "Chess sucks, all you do is move a bunch of pieces around, its a dumb luck game" Chess Player: "Have you ever played?" RG: "No" CP: "Do you know the rules? RG: "Sort of" In this case, the random guy was performing a mildly unethical act, because they were complaining about something that they knew nothing about. It isn't unethical to not play chess, but making complaints like that for no reason is slightly unethical. I never claimed to know anything about LARP beyond what I have seen in those videos, and the various LARPers to which I have spoken. And if anyone claims that this is "unethical" then clearly thy have no grasp of what the word actually means.
Renvale999 07-16-07, 12:44 PM	When I lived in Arkansas (go figure) we had a group of LARPERS in our hometown. They dressed in black and all that jazz. Anyway, late one night they were playing out in a field and three pick up trucks pulled up and blasted all of them with paintballs. A couple people had broken bones(from running). Only reason I'm saying this is that OP, depending on where you are, you can get harrassed LARPING, so just be aware. And if you wondering, the guys in the pick trucks never got charged or anything, cause they told the LARPERS if they told anyone, they'd get it again... Glad I don't live there anymore.
Caelic 07-16-07, 12:51 PM	...of course, it's also pretty funny when people who sit around a table in a basement pretending to be elves and wizards look down their noses at people who run around a forest pretending to be elves and wizards. :)
Renvale999 07-16-07, 03:06 PM	...of course, it's also pretty funny when people who sit around a table in a basement pretending to be elves and wizards look down their noses at people who run around a forest pretending to be elves and wizards. :) I wasn't looking down at them, I played D&D with quite a few larpers in my day, I was just saying that they can get harassed. The local group in CA where i was had to have the cops drive by cause they had had fruit thrown at them... Kinda of silly but I would be ticked if people egged my house cause they saw I was playing D&D in it.
TheKremlin 07-16-07, 04:30 PM	I will put in a vote for LARP being damned good fun, and do not let the detractors scare you off without at least trying it. I'm fairly sure that, if you pick a good LARP, trying it once is all you'll need to get hooked... :D LARP has opportunities that tabletop simply lacks. Physical exertion, stress, panic. Body language - roleplaying becomes so much more intense when you're *actually* stood in the dark surrounded by foes and trying to bluff your way out, or *actually* attempting to seduce the bar-wench (ok, so finding one might be hard, these women and their wanting to play actual proactive characters or something :P ), or whatever. Then you get the fun of the costuming, and the combat is actually, IMO, a martial art all of its own with its own tactics, skills and techniques that may be different from fighting with big metal swords, but are no less valid for being so, whatever the macho types may tell you. Magic etc when done decently is really less immersion-breaking than you think. Equally, the UK LARPs I've played don't use bean-bags but simple call systems. "steve, double strikedown!" or whatever. It sounds bad but in practice is fine :) So, consider Maelstrom that Gimby posted links to photos of. Imagine being in character for 13 hours straight, with hardly a single OC thought, roleplaying in close to a real world with shifting currents of politics, tension, there are even a series of working currencies whose interaction and exchange rates affect the world in tangible ways and are entirely player-controlled. The environment is beautiful - go enjoy yourself in the Chamber of Delights, enjoy a fine oriental meal in the Jade Lotus restaraunt (run by players). Or maybe you'd rather discover religion - attend a service, sing hymns, listen to sermons and join the faithful in their attempts to prevent the corruption of the innocent by the influences of the demonic. Perhaps you want to play the trading game, have meetings with other trade houses and shipping cartels, make huge piles of IC money buying Alkonyan pistols and selling them on in the New World; talk to colony leaders and attempt to sell them your newest Malathian Corsair warship. The world of LARP is a rich, interesting and highly immersive one. You get sucked in - forget all about real life and really *become* your character in a way that I, for one, find to be far beyond the experience of tabletop. OK, I'll stop the sales pitch now, but really... don't dismiss LARP out of hand as silly beanbag-throwing. *goes to brush up on his swordsmanship - and whatever you say I *do* consider LARP-fighting a valid and interesting martial art*
Voran 07-16-07, 06:59 PM	Are you sure about that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InrhP3A6uAo Apparently to cast a spell you wang a beabag at someone and yell "fireball" or "lightning bolt" or "two magic." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufaBKdY60w Personally, I'd rather have actual lightning hit my beanbag. LARP is one of those things that sounds cool in theory but seems to be a complete frakking disaster in actual practice. Hehe, classic memories there. Not of LARPing, but of those clips.
katarl 07-17-07, 09:27 AM	The place i used to LARP at was particularly nice, since when it was all underground, so you spent more time playing and less worried about how absolutely stupid everyone looked. So much more effort than dnd though, handmade costumes, wildly expensive weapons, getting all the way there and back... Too much for me.
Rycochet 07-18-07, 08:37 PM	I've been working on a D&D LARP Guide that so far seems to be working. Ignoring magic it works almost perfectly and allows you to play the same characters in both tabletop and LARP settings. We're currently trying to balance the magic in such a way that it is both in balance with the other rules and with the Feats. Once it's all working properly then it's highly likely I'll be putting it out under the OGL. It is heavily based on the three core rulebooks however - mainly so it's not duplicating things that don't need to be. It is meant as a stand-alone guidebook for ppl totally new to larp. They might not get all the filler and in-depth rules that the core books give, but it gives enough information that they can play (with only the ppl running it required to know the "proper" rules). As we're uk based, we don't really go in for bean bags for magic (though they're mentioned as an option), and we do call damage. There's time-freeze where the ref (or dm) can tell individuals or groups anything they want without disrupting actions ("hey, you just stood on an acid trap, on time-in you'll take a blob of acid to the leg - feel free to scream as you see fit, and take 3 points of damage"). It's basically using a rule-of-three. All damage is max damage / 3, (magical damage might be 2/3 max damage to allow for the Maximize spell feat - but as I said - WIP). Armour becomes damage reduction. Dex gives automatic dodge to extremities. Your stat bonuses are the numbers you need to remember. Use rock-paper-scissors for saves, but only when the ref decides it's needed. You have to roleplay anything you want to do (but can ask for ref intervention if it's something your character can do but you're physically incapable of - ie, take account of disabilities). All in all it *should* work pretty well for a LARP system, but with the added bonus of also using the same characters on tabletop campaigns. In LARP the characters need to rely on their own skills a lot more - so the main differences between a low level character and a high level one are almost totally down to how long they can last in a fight. In tabletop a high level one is more likely to give and take a lot more damage - this reduces that significantly since it's not as easy to keep a larger group going with wide level differences. Before anyone suggests the DMG rules for creating higher level chars in the first place, with LARPing you feel a lot more connected to your character since you are actually doing everything - so dropping in someone who hasn't done that same amount of physical work can cause resentment. Anyway. My local group plays their own rules, and there's a lot about it that makes it more fun than some of the larger groups. It also has 3 different systems already. Low rules - so everything is roleplay based. Medium rules - not much battle-boarding (only time character sheets get updated), but a very plot-heavy system. And High rules - lots of battle-boarding as it's more complex, but very much rp enforced (can be the most fun, but b-b times can be frustrating). For some totally unsorted pics have a look at our flickr site here (http://www.flickr.com/groups/seaxe/). My best friend and I do most of the photography ;-) Robin ps. If anyone is interested in helping develop this system then feel free to MSN me, I don't use hotmail for email however. If you want to physically help try it out locally (rather than with your friends wherever you are) then I'm in Essex, UK.
Thanuir 07-19-07, 04:48 AM	Rycochet, does your system need a GM for every fight and such that happens? How is fighting handled, ruleswise?
Rycochet 07-19-07, 06:49 PM	There's a DM, or Uber-ref that is in total charge. Depending on the size of the group there can be several normal ref's underneath him (or her). Every adventure has a ref in charge going around with them. Again depending on the size of the group the ref will often be NPC/monstering too. All fights are being honest types. Your armour is basically armour bonuses + dex bonues etc (without the +10), then divide by 3. That normally gives quite low number. All damage is /3 which gives only 1-2 weapons that do quad (4) damage, most being single - triple. When hit you subtract your armour (not shield, which is separate and must actually block) from the damage then remove the remainder from your hitpoints. The only other difference is that the Dex bonus lets you ignore damage to your extremities. +2 lets you ignore hands and feet, +4 gievs forearms and lower legs, and +6 is below your shoulders and hips. This is only for "accidental" hits - if you try to deliberately block with your arm you'll still take the damage. (the Dodge feat with it's minimum req gives you a +2, which means if you can take it you can ignore damage to your hands). It is a sort of honor system - and like tabletop, ppl abusing it will get taken to the side for a quiet word. The ref is there for any disputes, and for any "special" events. Also to make sure that any AOE spells and the like get decided by the same person for consistency. In general anything that isn't part of the normal battle will have someone shouting "time-freeze", where everyone must stop moving, and then the ref tells ppl what happens (normally the ref would hear the "fireball level xx" call and stop things to tell ppl who's getting hurt). More often if it's something that doesn't need to interrupt everyone while it's going on the person doing the spell etc will shout out "ref call" to get the ref's attention, depending on the situation the ref might still call a time-freeze - but generally the players judgment is trusted. Using a shield is simple - it gives 2/4/6/10 damage reduction from buckler to tower shield. If you don't have the corect feat for a shield/armour then you only get half the benefit, and always take at least a single point of damage from any blow. I'll PM you a link to the guide - I don't want it going public anywhere as it's still a WIP and using a lot of copyright stuff - once it's worked out it'll get cleaned up to the d20 rules ;-) Robin
Irving 07-19-07, 07:06 PM	...and if you're living in the southern U.S., this is a very, very good high-production value LARP I've been playing for nearly 7 years: (http://www.redbuttonproductions.net/kg/) Stand and Deliver!