I’m told for sure there is some LARP activity in Hamilton, namely in the form of ongoing OWBN campaign-type games. If anyone can PM me contacts for these players, I’d really like to visit soon and meet/greet!
Found this info on the OWBN website :
Danse Macabre (OOC: Hamilton, IC: Coromandel, NZ)
Genre: Camarilla Vampire
Directions: (Shay’s place) Shakespeare Ave, Hamilton
Council Rep: Robbo (darkelf{AT}owbn.org)
Head Storyteller: Tony Wright (DonAlexandro{AT}OWBN.org)
Storytellers: Robbo (darkelf{AT}owbn.org)
Event Schedule: Every 3rd Saturday of the month
Hm… that sounds like our Robbo, called Drow on the Mordavia forum.
I’ll chime in here with my compulsary “you may want to check out the local SCA group there”… They’re a keen and motivated group and if you like hitting people with sticks in heavy steel armour, you need look no further.
Actually, they do all sorts of other stuff like make medieval costumes, sing, dance, archery, feast etc.
There has also been a group called Quest Waikato who have run medieval fantasy games near Hamilton. Don’t know what their current status is.
Ryan: I used to be with this group a while ago and helped out on their rules a bit. when last i checked they were still running, i’ll sound out some contacts and let you all know just give me a couple of days…
I think Quest Waikato is run by Alista Fow [magic_alnz@yahoo.com].
They have their own system and regularly run modules in Hamiltron.
Oh yep, you’re right. Just found an old email from him wanting to be updated on the old Auckland LARP Guide:
[quote]Description: Fantasy/Medievil Live Role Play. We are now running Quest version 4.0. We have been running Lrp continuously in the Waikato since 1992. With the new edition we are taking the chance to reset our game. Hope to see someof you down here sometime.
Will send you the website address when we set it up again.[/quote]
[quote]I think Quest Waikato is run by Alista Fow [magic_alnz@yahoo.com].
They have their own system and regularly run modules in Hamiltron[/quote]
You might also want to look up a young lady named Erin Gamble, when i last had dealings she and Alista were co organising the game.
if the email addy you found doesn;t work try
haacnz@yahoo.com i just received a reply and he should be trying to contact the group here very soon.
You will be happy to know that LRP is still running in Hamilton. Quest Waikato has run several modules this year and we have recently updated to Quest Rules, edition 4.1.
We are a fantasy LRP system founded in 1989/1990. Our rules are based on 1st edition D&D and Palladium (Yes, the system is that old.). New players are always welcome.
We are also currently trying to arrange an Orcball tournament. Anyone interested?
Alista Fow
Founder Quest Waikato
Goodness, there is a name from the past. G’day Alista!
One of the best games I ever played I think was run by you many years ago in a cave in Waitomo. I died like a dog in the end (betrayed by my own party) but it was a great game…
Hey, great to have you on the site Alista! Would be great to have a whole Hamilton posse in here teaching us (mostly Aucklanders) a thing or two!
Hey Derek, Good to hear from you.
The cave modules have always been my favorites. We have used two caves in the past, total injuries, one sprained ankle. Fantastic mood though. There is nothing like fighting Drow elves when you are really a kilometer underground.
One of the caves has had to be closed for conservation purposes, but the other we can still use from time to time. If anyone is interested I might see about arranging a new module down the caves.
Alista
That sounds pretty amazing. Totally up for it in theory, depending on practical considerations like where and when. The larp calendar is starting to look really crowded next year and real life has a way of intruding.
Cool to have another experienced voice on here. I kept meaning to come down for a Quest Waikato game but didn’t get around to it. Maybe we should arrange for a bunch of us to come down and play in a game some time. Do you have info about the larp available somewhere?
Quest is still running. The next module will be in January, time and date to be confirmed. We will probably have an online presence again early in 2007. I’ll update you when we are downloadable. Otherwise any questions taht you have, feel free to ask.
Would you consider affiliating with NZLARPS? The society could offer you a web space at something like www.nzlarps.org/questwaikato and an advertising banner on Diatribe. There are various other advantages the society may be able to offer your group, and it doesn’t ask much in return.
Becoming a project of the society is also an option. Projects are fully funded by the society, it gives you money up front to pay for costs and absorbs any losses (but through good financial management on the part of projects it hasn’t had to do much absorbing yet), and accumulates gear for the whole community to use. Would be cool to have a gear pool in Hamilton.
More information about the society at www.nzlarps.org - see the pages on Projects and Affiliates for more details.
In terms of QW, can you give a rough idea of what scenarios are like? Are they all in the same setting, do characters and changes to the setting carry over between events, is the focus on drama, challenge, or both? What is a typical event like from a player’s perspective?
We run three major types of modules.
The fixed encounter module. This is where you have a series of planned encounters. Very useful down linear caves and for a change of pace.
The Vampire/Intelligent Monster Hunt. These are very free form modules. They have an underlying plot and there are encounters that can be fixed by space or time. These usually involve a bit of thinking as the monsters are smart as well. The record is a Lich that killed 4 parties.
Player driven modules. we are working on these and have only done a few. These are where players often are given a whole series of objectives, thrown in an area and let loose. The advantage of this is that you can have more players than monsters. Cool.
Also from time to time we have banquets. These are real meals often served on trenchers. Last meal we had wild goat as well as more as more normal food. And in the past we have had Arenas. These are tournaments where people have one on one combats to determine champions. Also we occasionally have werewolf hunts and play orcball. We’ve always wanted to put on a jousting tournament.
Being based on D&D and Palladium characters gain experience, gold and learn new skills over a series of modules.
If you think you can find some players we could probably arrange a tournament in Auckland. Some orcball and an Arena. Maybe some jousting, though be warned jousting can hurt and break bones.
Cool, the fixed encounters and monster hunts sound like old school adventuring. Up here Skirmish is doing similar stuff. I imagine you and Mike could learn a lot from each other about how you approach it.
The player-led stuff is closer to what Mordavia mostly did, although we did have a few more linear events too. For the most part our events were social situations with both adventurous challenges and player v. player opportunities built in. The GMs usually pre-planned some occurances based on what NPCs were up to, but overall it was a simulation where player actions would be taken into account and new encounters would be improvised as a result, while still being designed to maximise both challenge and drama. Put more succinctly, we made shit up as we went.
How many people would come up here for an event, do you think? Numbers might make a difference to what sort of an event would suit for a big Auckland/Hamilton gathering.
Also in terms of offers, would you like a Quest Waikato forum here on Diatribe? Can be useful for getting feedback and letting people know what’s happening - see the Skirmish forum for an example. No strings, honest.
Over the years many people from Auckland have played with us. We see our ideas from time to time in Aucklanders systems. Normally if we play with people from Auckland our players end up covered in bruises. Maybe the Auckland crowd hit to hard or maybe it is bad weapon design. We have had to ban the ‘Latex’ weapons because of this.
I’m not sure how many we could get to Auckland. Last time we tried we had a breakdown several kilometers from the venue. Bummer. I’ll ask around.