An Epic Greek LARP

Community Game ideas
#33

[quote=“Anna K”]Like if you want someone freed from the Underworld but Hades said ‘No!’, you can try and get to him through Persephone. I’m sure I remember a mythological character trying this in some myth, but no name springs to mind.[/quote]And there are things like Psyche being sent to Persephone to bring back some ‘beauty’ in a box, or Adonis being given to her to look after as a baby.

[quote]A note on costuming: I know I’m a classics geek and pedantic, but pretty please can we not let people in togas play?[/quote]Both out of period and, I have it on the best of authority, demned uncomfortable to wear.

#34

Wandering about the interent I found these.

Ares

400×548

Hades

400×522

Herkules

400×552

Demeter

400×527

Zeus

#35

Oh yeah we’re all forgetting Hermes. He’s the main form of communication between demigod and gods. He also contacts mortals and is Zeus’ way of telling other gods what to do.

#36

you sure those aren;t D&D illustrations? cause they look very familiar…

#37

They are in fact, but they’re also really good. Especially Ares and Hades.

#38

Yeah, get rid of the blunt distinction and you also lose the “number of blows to kill” complication too. And people don’t have to pay attention to what they’re being hit with. Less rules, better game. IMHO.

If you want to restrict combat ability then restrict the weapon length, e.g. make the maximum length of clubs shorter than swords. In larp, weapon length makes a massive difference to effectiveness.

In your system, how do people know if they’re being hit with a blow that damages through armour? In the UK they call “through” for this type of damage. But I can’t suggest that, because I hate OOC calls. How about “by Ares, your armour will not avail you!” kind of stuff?

I’d suggest changing the name “incapacitated” to “wounded”. It’s a simpler word, and with no Hit Points in the system there’s no confusion over what being wounded means. If you’re wounded, you’re down. Also, that way it falls into line with an almost identical combat system I have in mind for another liove combat larp I have in mind. :wink: Actually, I’d like to playtest that combat system some time. I’m still in favour of a “combat workshop” sometime under the aegis of LARPS like I suggested over here, and I’d like to trial that combat system at such a workshop.

#39

Sounds very freeform. Maybe my thoughts about balancing power levels and restricting the god’s abilities and so forth aren’t appropriate then. I guess the question is, do the organisers want to plan out everything that can be done in the game in advance and tell the players, or will it have a cooperative storytelling feel to it where players can just make shit up? Either way can work, so long as the groundrules are clear.

[quote=“Derek”]
This one is spot on. The XIIIth legion short swords would be okay as well. Staves would be great.[/quote]

I reckon this would be great for a minotaur:

#40

I think the rule mechanics need to be sorted out in advance. But the specific details can remain reasonably flexible. I also think that the use of “lammies” would probably be a good thing to enable people to get straight into the game with minimal problems using the rules.

Magic Items can have little cards attached and anyone with special abilities can have a card describing their ability.

For example we may decide that if you are using magic you begin the spell with the god who has granted the power. Examples:

                 [b]Magic Spell - Lightning Bolt[/b]

Say: “By Zeus, you have been struck by lightning and are wounded!!!”

Range - 5 paces, target must be visible
Effect - target (and anybody touching them) is wounded and falls prone.

THIS SPELL MAY BE USED ONCE AND MUST BE RETURNED TO THE TEMPLE
  IT MAY NOT BE SOLD/STOLEN OR TRANSFERED TO ANOTHER PLAYER

              [b]Magic Item - Cloak of Invisibility[/b]

Say: “By Hades, everything this cloak conceals is invisible”

Effect - everything the cloak conceals is invisible. Multiple people
can hide inside it. Anything sticking out (hands/faces/feet etc) can be
seen.

       THIS ITEM ALWAYS WORKS, YOU CANNOT TURN IT OFF
   IT MAY BE SOLD/STOLEN OR TRANSFERED TO ANOTHER PLAYER
#41

Exactly what I had in mind.

#42

Good, that way it’s all consistent.

LAMMIES? Have you been reading this: ?

pagga.net/cgi-bin/vBulletin_ … hp?t=11393

#43

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]LAMMIES? Have you been reading this: ?
pagga.net/cgi-bin/vBulletin_ … hp?t=11393[/quote]

No, Brin (Tim) mentioned it in a thread on the mordavia list

#44

Greek clothing is easier than Roman clothing anyway. Especially if you’re only armed with a bed sheet.

Greek Clothing Link Here

#45

Some thoughts of easy Greek armour:

Bronze and silver coloured anatomically correct torsos used in shop displays are available on trademe, for example:

which could be converted with little work into:

#46

do you ever think that perhaps YOUR idea of little work and some other people’s may be slightly different?

but it is a good idea, methinks. if I had a whole lotta help, anyway

…and money. :unamused: damn

#47

Oh, I’m fully aware that some people have trouble starting working. :smiley:

I just made up a hoplite style helm. It’s made from 1/3 of a camp mat from the Warehouse that cost $7.99 and some glue and paint I already had

I figure a hoplite helm, greaves, vambraces, spear, sword and shield can be made from a single campmat, a cardboard tube you get from a fabric shop and a cardboard box.

I intend making the patterns available.

EDIT: and a piece of plastic pipe for the sword and you may as well have a bed sheet for a chiton (robe)

#48

Actually, for the financially challenged amoungst us, you could outfit two hoplites from a single $7.99 campmat. It would not have been unusual to see a hoplite armoured only with a helm and single greave on the left leg.

Mars (the Roman version of Ares - the Greek god of war) is sometimes shown with a helm, left greave and right vambrace. For an experienced warrior (and you’d hope Ares would be considered one) this is actually pefect armour for use with a large shield.

#49

Greek battles were all about pike blocks. To get the feel of a phalanx, we’re going to need lots of spears…

You can make acceptable LARP spears from the cardboard tubes that they use in fabric shops to wrap fabric around. I dropped into spotlight the other day to see what they had and they gave me a free cardboard tube :smiley:

We’d probably need at least 50 of them…

Cardboard Tubes for sale on trademe

#50

Okay, I’m thinking about possible player breakdowns…

Gods:
Four or five god would seem ideal. Plotwise, I’m thinking Bacchus is having a feast for some of the gods and has suggested a competition. All the gods have to present to the rest of the gods “the most valuable thing in the world”. They will sit in the feast, drinking wine and eating figs, olives and grapes while their minions search the world for it. They may nip out and see what’s happening from time to time. There is a prize, an amphora of “the wine of joy” and all the gods want it!

Bacchus (Raoul) - wine/intoxication (sleep/memory)
Hades (Ryan ???) - life/death

We need at least two godesses as well:

Aphrodite (???) - grants beauty (charm)
Athena (???) - grants skill in combat (power!!!)

Nationalities:
I’m thinking of nationalities now. Everyone who isn’t a god or a creature should have one! They’re free even: The Spartans, Macadonians, Trojans and Amazons spring to mind. I think we need a hero from each of these nations and some matching shields…

Heros:
Achilles (Matt ???) - huge advantage - but I have a cool disadvantage to even this out! Should make the character fun to play.

(Matt, I would have cast you as Heracules myself - but there you go.)

Heracules (someone big) - huge advantage and disadvantage

Creatures:

Centaur (I might use this or I may lend it to someone)
Satyr (Ryan ???)

I’m thinking we’ll also need a minotaur and a medusa at the very least.

Medusa (???) My wife (Kelsie) did an excellent medusa costume some years back. We put her hair in lots of thin plaits with little snakes heads made from green beads (with tongues of ribbon). We plaited thin wire (hat wire?) into her hair so it was able to be positioned really well.

Come on everyone, there must be some Greek hero you want to play!
Perhaps some of the classics nuts can start suggesting things…

#51

I agree Matt would be much better as Heracles.

I’d be up for just being a Spartan minion.

#52

Derek, because I’m almost as bad a classics geek as Anna… Athene, not Athena. First thing I noticed when I read through your post. Athena is the Roman version of her name… even though they had Minerva, they had to change Athene’s name too.

yeah, yeah, nitpicky. but my Classics teacher would kill you. just ask Anna, she’ll say the same.

As for suggestions… we must have an Odysseus. unfortunately, Odysseus is a character such that you have to be very smart and witty to play him properly, but it wouldn’t be a classic greek game without him.